The cannon fodder heiress trembled with fear after being recognized as a member of her family.

The old woman's words caused everyone to pause in their work.

The three people who fell into the water have changed their clothes and tidied themselves up.

"I understand, you may leave!" The young princess said with a stern face, ordering the palace maids and nannies to leave.

“My father will still have to gloss over this, Aunt Qi, I’m afraid I can’t get justice for you. If you can still marry into the family, then you can vent your anger.”

Qi Yuejiao's expression changed several times, but she remained silent.

Even if she marries into the royal family, she won't have a peaceful life now.

"Interesting! It seems the Prince Chen's residence has made its choice." After Han Cuiyin said this, only the young princess was embarrassed.

"Power, oh power, how dazzling!"

Han Cuiyin sighed and left the room. A ray of sunlight shone on her, and her face still shone darkly in the light and shadow.

The young princess just stared at her back for a long time without saying a word. Is power really that good?

"Let's go! Do you want to come with me or go find one of your palace servants?" Qi Yuejiao asked casually.

This little girl has lost her mother; she's really pitiful. Her father doesn't seem to care about her either.

At this moment, she didn't seem to like the eldest prince as much anymore.

Qi Yuejiao grabbed her loose hair and twirled around, quietly waiting for the young princess to make a decision.

"With you!" After saying that, the little princess tightly grasped Qi Yuejiao's hand and returned to the courtyard where the girls were with Han Lingzhi.

After they passed by, there was no trace of Han Cuiyin.

Han Yueshi and Lin Jiabao have also disappeared.

The man in the lake was also rescued, but his whereabouts are unknown.

Qi Yuejiao squatted down until she was the same height as the young princess and said softly, "Young princess, go and call the palace servants around you and ask them how things went."

She knew exactly who was missing. Among those missing were the people behind the scenes, excluding Han Cuiyin.

Han Cuiyin and Marquis Jingyun have a close relationship, which is obvious to everyone. Those princes are all shrewd and would not offend the Grand Princess Jinghe's residence for no reason.

The remaining noble ladies, with fake smiles, fawned over the three of them, their former arrogance gone.

When she attended the flower-viewing banquet before, those people had a completely different attitude. Now they are being so humble, only because of the young princess.

Qi Yuejiao didn't take it to heart.

"Aunt Qi, let's go to that courtyard to admire the flowers." After saying that, the little princess pulled Qi Yuejiao away.

Han Lingzhi didn't care and quickly mingled with the girls she was close to.

"Lingzhi, you should stay away from your sister from now on and be more careful." This person is the legitimate daughter of a general under Master Xu, named Su Wenqi, and the two have always been on good terms.

Su Wenqi was the daughter of a military officer, and she had never gotten along well with the daughters of noble families or civil officials. Han Lingzhi was an exception.

Unlike other daughters of military officers, she was a rare individual who excelled in both literature and martial arts. In addition to practicing martial arts, her mother also hired a female tutor for her to learn to read and write, so she was quite knowledgeable.

"I know that, of course. If my mother hadn't insisted that I come, I would have preferred to ride a horse on the road rather than be bored here." Han Lingzhi was naturally wary of Han Yueshi, and with her friend's reminder, she felt comforted.

"After the Mid-Autumn Festival, I will be going to the border with my mother. I don't know when I will be back." Su Wenqi sighed. "You know me. I am not good with words. You are my only friend in the capital. I don't know if the girls at the border will be easy to get along with."

Han Lingzhi was stunned for a moment upon hearing this news. "You're going there? General Su isn't returning to court? Will the Emperor allow your grandparents to stay in the capital?"

Since ancient times, when a general left the capital to guard the frontier, not all of his family members could go with him. He always had to leave a few close relatives in the capital to reassure the emperor.

In her dream, Su Wenqi did not leave the capital, but instead got married next year and had a child the year after.

When the Second Prince raised his army, her husband followed him, thus gaining merit by supporting the emperor.

Han Lingzhi lowered her eyes and pursed her lips. Recent events differed greatly from her dreams, and they were gradually becoming less accurate. Before June, they were quite accurate and not much different from reality.

“My second brother will stay in Beijing to study, while my mother and I will go there. If I write to you from there, you must reply and don’t forget me.” Su Wenqi held Han Lingzhi’s hand and gave her the instructions again.

Han Lingzhi nodded, somewhat absentmindedly.

"Miss Han, His Highness the Second invites you to enjoy the scenery in the front courtyard."

The palace servants bowed deeply, showing utmost respect.

Han Lingzhi became the focus of attention.

The girls around her would glance at her from time to time; whether they envied her or not, only they knew.

"Go quickly! We'll get together privately another day, and you have to see me off." Su Wenqi felt no jealousy; on the contrary, she was happy for her friend.

She heard rumors that Grand Secretary Han intended to arrange a marriage between his daughter and the Han family, and she was worried for a while.

Now that the second prince has his favor, they can avoid a marriage alliance.

Han Lingzhi nodded and followed the palace servant away.

"This is going to be interesting! Miss Han has been invited away by the Third Prince. The two sisters will meet. I wonder what will happen."

Those who remained at the pavilion in the middle of the lake had no intention of marrying into the royal family; instead, they gathered together to speculate about the exciting events in the front courtyard.

After Han Lingzhi arrived, several pairs of eyes focused on her.

Some were resentful, some understood, some sympathetic, and some even envied.

Han Yueshi, in particular, felt extremely uncomfortable sitting with the Third Prince.

Han Lingzhi was led to sit down next to the Second Prince, and the surroundings suddenly became quiet.

Luo Jingqian handed Han Cuiyin a handkerchief, gesturing for her to wipe her mouth.

There are cooks in the imperial estate. These cooks are retired imperial chefs who have nowhere else to go, so they spend their retirement here.

Everyone was doing their utmost to ensure their masters had a good meal and remembered them, which benefited Han Cuiyin greatly, as she was extremely satisfied.

When Han Cuiyin was invited over by Luo Jingqian's men, there were no other women present.

The princes were surrounded by a group of powerful and wealthy young men talking to them. Not far away, some noble ladies were eyeing the princes covetously, hoping to bump into them. They were carrying several handkerchiefs.

It was only the Fourth Prince who was hosting the banquet, and everyone spoke in this hall, while only the First Prince moved around.

Unfortunately, the eldest prince's second wife had already been chosen, and he also had his eldest legitimate daughter. These ambitious young women looked down on him.

Unaware of what had happened at the pavilion in the middle of the lake, they assumed the Crown Prince had taken a liking to them and scattered when they saw him emerge.

Only Lin Jiabao went up to her and said some ambiguous things.

The eldest prince led Lin Jiabao in, and everyone looked at them.

“Changshou, it’s so boring to just sit here. Why don’t you act as a matchmaker and get these young men and women to compete in their skills? Send someone to invite them all over from the pavilion in the middle of the lake as well. That would make it more lively.”

When the eldest prince made his suggestion, no one in the hall spoke; they all looked towards the other princes.

Lin Jiabao sat next to the eldest prince and echoed, "The eldest prince is absolutely right."

None of the people present were fools; they already knew the whole story of what had happened at the pavilion in the middle of the lake.

Only the eldest prince is still in the dark, or is pretending to be stupid, so that he doesn't have to deal with Lin Jiabao and won't offend the Chen Prince's Mansion.

The fourth prince looked in the direction of the eldest prince and blinked slightly. "When did you become so familiar with Miss Lin, elder brother? Anyone who didn't know better would think she was our sister-in-law."

As soon as these words were spoken, subtle expressions appeared on everyone's faces.