The Duke's Daughter is Reborn

The old lady's words hit Song Hongwen's heart like a heavy hammer. His heartbeat became more and more rapid, and a thin layer of sweat appeared on his forehead. He lowered his voice and said, "If the Duke's Mansion can send the third girl to the East Palace at this critical moment..."

However, before Song Hongwen could finish his words, he was interrupted by the old lady's suddenly raised voice, "Duke!" The old lady's voice rose a little, and her eyes signaled Song Hongwen not to say anything more.

At the same time, Yang He and Yang Jing had already huddled in the corner, staring at the tips of their shoes, not daring to make a sound - they originally came to listen to their grandmother talk, but at this moment they felt that the air in the room seemed to have become sticky, making it a little hard to breathe.

Then, the old lady's eyes slowly swept over the three sisters of Yang Lan, and finally stopped at Yang Lan, and said: "Lan'er, you have been with me for a long time today, go back to your own yard and rest first."

When Yang Lan stood up, her handkerchief was clenched into a ball by her fingertips. When she passed by Song Hongwen, she heard her father whisper, "Mother, do you think... can this marriage really be successful?"

"Whether it works or not, we have to give it a try." The old lady looked at Yang Lan's back, the Buddhist beads turning quickly in her palm, "The Fifth Prince is weak now, and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is in a good time. If the third girl can enter the East Palace..." She didn't finish her words, but saw that Song Hongwen's eyes were bright as if lights were on.

"Mother, that's a great idea!" Song Hongwen slapped his thigh, and the hem of his official uniform made the teacups on the table clink.

The old lady looked at his flustered appearance and shook her head gently.

The candlelight reflected the white hair at the old lady's temples. She remembered that she was in the same situation last year. For the future of the Duke's Mansion, she planned the affairs of Yang Lan and the Fifth Prince - now it was Yang Qi's turn.

After leaving the old lady's courtyard, Yang Lan stood in the corridor and turned around, looking at the light that was still on in the upper room.

"Second sister." Yang Jing came from the corner door, her voice a little timid, "I just heard father say..."

Ever since An passed away, Yang Jing seemed to live up to her name and became quiet all of a sudden, without any trace of her former willful self.

"What?" Yang Lan turned around, the moonlight falling on the jade bracelet on her wrist, which had always been worn by An Shi. "You said you wanted to let the third sister enter the East Palace?"

Yang Jing heard every word that the old lady and Song Hongwen said in the upper room today.

When Yang Jing returned home many years ago, she never thought that her third sister, who was not loved by her father, might have the possibility of marrying into the Eastern Palace one day.

Yang Jing didn't say anything, just looked at the red corners of her eyes.

Yang Lan suddenly smiled and reached out to help her tidy up her wind-blown hair: "Silly sister, if grandma and father's plan can really come true, that would be great."

Her fingertips touched the strands of hair behind Yang Jing's ears. "Look, now we have someone who can protect us from the wind and rain. Isn't that good?"

Yang He lowered her head and replied "yes", but she saw that there was a fire burning in Yang Lan's eyes as he looked up at the upper room - that fire was hotter than she had ever experienced before, but also colder than ever before.

As soon as Yang Qi stepped into the mansion, she heard Nanny Zhu rushing to greet her: "Third Miss, the old lady and the Duke are waiting for you in the upper room. They said they have something important to discuss."

Nodding, Yang Qi knew the reason why the old lady and Song Hongwen were looking for her. She just wanted to ask what the Queen wanted to say when she summoned her to the palace today.

Yang Qi took out the golden hairpin with lotus stems that the Queen Mother had given her and inserted it carefully into her bun. This golden hairpin seemed heavier than any jewelry Yang Qi had worn before, but it was also particularly delicate.

After everything was packed up, Yang Qi took Nanny Zhu to the upper house.

Song Hongwen in the room was still chattering about the future arrangements, while the old lady smiled and gently rubbed a string of Buddhist beads in her hand, seeming to be quite satisfied with Song Hongwen's words.

Suddenly, she heard the announcement outside that "the third girl is back." The old lady paused with the Buddhist beads in her hand, looked at Yang Qi who had just entered the room and had not yet sat down, and asked hurriedly, "Third girl, did the Queen say anything?"

"Grandmother, the Queen said that the palace will hold a Hundred Flowers Banquet on March 30th, and the Emperor will entertain all the ministers." Yang Qi lowered his eyes and mentioned the words he had discussed with the Queen in advance. "She also said that the palace affairs are busy these days, so I am afraid that I will have to come to the palace to help more often."

During this period of time, Yang Qi had to go in and out of the palace frequently because he needed to keep the information he had in sync with the Queen and discuss things together.

Because of this, the Queen Mother came up with such an excuse. If Yang Qi needed to stay in the palace in the future, this reason could be regarded as a countermeasure prepared in advance.

At this moment, there was a crisp "clang" sound. It turned out that the teacup in Song Hongwen's hand suddenly hit the table.

This sudden voice startled everyone present, and they all turned their eyes to Song Hongwen.

At this moment, the old lady happened to look up and caught a glimpse of Song Hongwen's slightly reddish ears.

Song Hongwen looked up and saw his mother's narrowed eyes. His Adam's apple rolled twice. Finally, he couldn't hold it back anymore. He threw his sleeves and sat up straight. "Mother, what do you think the Queen is thinking?"

Even though Song Hongwen didn't care much about the affairs of the harem, he knew that the queen would never let a maid enter the palace to help with the palace banquet for no reason.

"What's the hurry?" The old lady gathered the Buddhist beads around her wrist, and the beads made a crisp sound. Then she looked at Yang Qi kindly and asked, "Third girl, when was this Hundred Flowers Banquet decided?"

Yang Qi responded, "Grandmother, according to what the Queen said today, the Hundred Flowers Banquet was decided by the Emperor today.

The exact officials who will be attending and the agenda have not yet been fully confirmed.”

That means this matter is still under planning. The Queen Mother informed Yang Qi about this matter, which shows how much she values ​​Yang Qi.

Moreover, according to the previous palace rules, only the Empress and the Crown Princess or the Prince's wife were to handle palace banquet affairs. How could she allow a maid to assist her at will?

Could it be that the Queen Mother really intends to let the third girl marry into the Eastern Palace?

Thinking of this, the old lady couldn't help but get excited. At this moment, she noticed the lotus hairpin on Yang Qi's temples. Her voice trembled a little: "This, the hairpin is..."

Song Hongwen also came over to take a look, his throat rolling: "But it was given to the Queen by the Empress Dowager?"

Yang Qi nodded and said, "This hairpin was just given to me by the Empress. She said it was given to me by the Empress Dowager herself."

The room was completely silent. The candlelight reflected the twin lotuses on the golden hairpin, casting their shadows on the wall, like two lotuses in full bloom.

"Okay." The old lady took out a handkerchief and wiped her eyes. "Tomorrow I'll ask the accountant to give you twenty taels of silver to make you a pair of golden hairpins to match."

Yang Qi replied "yes" and caught a glimpse of Song Hongwen holding the teacup in a daze.