Song Yi Xiao was not familiar with Princess Yu Shan, so after seeing this scene, apart from feeling a sense of wonder at Su Shao's charm, she didn't pay much attention to it.

  The longevity banquet lasted from noon to evening before dispersing. After leaving the palace, as soon as she stepped into the carriage, Song Yi laughed and slumped onto Jian Yu's shoulder: "Let me lean on you!"

  A first-class imperial edict's nine-tree flower hairpin and nine-grade cloud-patterned robe are indeed beautiful and elegant, but the grandeur and majesty behind them is just a sufficient portion. From getting up early to dress up until now, Song Yi has been wearing this head-to-toe attire for six whole hours, and she had already been holding on tight; when she let down the carriage curtain, her spirit relaxed, and suddenly she felt exhaustion flood in like a tidal wave, engulfing herself.

  She didn't even hear her husband's response and fell asleep drowsily.

  When she woke up again, it was almost noon the next day. Jin Xun shook her awake while helping her get dressed and urged: "Miss Nie is already waiting in the flower hall, and she came over today because you, madam, invited her. You can't sleep anymore!"

  Song Yi Xiao was startled by his words: "Why didn't you wake me up earlier?"

  "Master said this morning that you were exhausted yesterday." Jin Xun's expression was a bit strange as she spoke, and her face turned slightly red. "If Miss Nie hadn't come to visit, I wouldn't have dared to disturb you!"

  "What's wrong?" Song Yi smiled and noticed, raising her hand to hit her, "He said I was too tired from attending the banquet yesterday!"

  Jin Xun smiled and said: "I didn't say it wasn't, either!"

  After this little episode, both the master and servant hastened their movements, quickly finishing up. Song Yiliao didn't even have time for breakfast, hastily drinking a bowl of rose petal porridge before rushing to the flower hall: "Fifth sister! I'm really sorry, I overslept today!"

  Nie Wu Yan hastily said it was nothing: "It's just that I didn't think it through and came too early!"

  The sisters-in-law yielded to each other for a moment, and then Song Yi Xiao cut to the chase: "I have to see my sister's foundation before I know how to teach."

  The place where they teach dance is a good place that Nai Wu Xiang first came to ask for this thing and then collected it, which can be used as soon as the door is opened.

  However, after a test, the result was disappointing - Nie Wuyan didn't have any foundation at all. This was within Song Yixiao's expectations, but what she didn't expect was that in the subsequent guidance, she found that this little girl wasn't very perceptive either. For a simple action, Song Yixiao demonstrated it over a dozen times, and still had to personally adjust it for her every time.

  "This girl is not cut out for this at all!" Song Yi smiled on the surface but secretly sighed in her heart, "Fortunately, she doesn't need to rely on dancing skills to make a living, otherwise I would have suggested that she change her major!"

  Although so, after the evening of that day, Song Yixiao still reluctantly praised her: "At this age, learning dance is already very late, fortunately, my sister is clever and has a future!"

  But Nian Wu Yan didn't return to the city, nor did she have a city to return to. She wasn't stupid and upon hearing this, she disbelievingly said: "Could it be that Fourth Aunt has been helping me adjust my posture all along?"

  "We all started out like that!" Song Yi smiled, her expression unchanged. "I was even worse than you when I first learned it, don't believe me? Ask Jin Xun!"

  Jin Xun's mouth twitched as he caught the glance she gave him, and with a helpless abandonment of his conscience, said: "Miss Nie is indeed quicker to learn than you were when you first started, ma'am!"

  Nie Wu Yan finally revealed a sincere smile, her eyes sparkling as she said: "I'll practice when I get back too, don't worry sister-in-law, I absolutely won't lose face for you!"

  "Good girl!" Song Yi smiled and reached out to smooth the wind-blown fur on her fox coat, saying, "But don't overexert yourself either, or your aunt will worry!"

  Laughing and chatting, they saw off the young lady. Song Yi laughed as she returned to her room and fell onto the couch, shouting at her attendants, "Quickly massage my shoulders and legs, I'm exhausted!"

  She was exhausted after attending the banquet yesterday, and although she got up late today, she still didn't fully recover. Then, in order to teach her younger sister, she had to demonstrate in person, adjust things with her own hands, and explain again... After a whole day like this, she's completely worn out!

  Jin Xun and Qiao Chen followed the words, went forward to serve, and couldn't help but say: "The lady just said it as if it were true - Miss Nie is obviously not suitable for learning dance!"

  "What do you know?" Song Yi smiled and scolded, "She's still a child at heart. Children, after all, are useful for bragging and fighting. Besides, can I hit her?"

  Also warned them not to say it, "Otherwise she will take it seriously, and when the time comes, she may not come. If the grandmother knows, I can't afford it! Moreover, she is almost thirteen years old, how can she stay in the Long Princess's mansion all her life without going out? This is a lifelong thing!"

  Jin Xun and Qiao Chen both knew that Nie Wu Yan had a thin face, and they promised to keep their mouths shut.

  Yue Deng knocked on the door and came in, reporting: "The master has sent someone to deliver a message, saying that he will be going to the He manor for dinner tonight and won't be back for dinner." She also said, "The master said it's possible he'll return very late, so please don't wait up, madam."

  Song Yi Xiao thought for a moment before remembering: "The He Manor? Is it the residence of He Wen Qiong, the Left Servant of the Ministry of War?"

  "Returning home, it was indeed He Shilang's residence."

  Song Yixiao remembered that Jian Xubai had said that the left servant, He Wenqiong, was the most promising person to take over as Minister of War after Linghu De's mourning - the key point being that he was a eunuch from the East Palace and belonged to the Crown Prince, just like Jian Xubai.

  Tonight, Jian Yu Bai came to his superior's house for a banquet. It is estimated that eating is just an excuse, and most of it is discussing how to work together to help the crown prince take down the entire Ministry of War.

  "This is a serious matter," Song Yi smiled and put down her heart, slightly nodding: "I know, that means the kitchen should make two fewer dishes..."

  Speaking of which, I suddenly thought of Wei Cui and asked those around me, "How's my cousin doing today?"

  "After noon, the Wei family sent a carriage to pick up Miss Biao," Jin Xun said. "Miss Biao came to Keshao Hall to bid farewell - at that time you were instructing Nie Miss, Miss Biao found out and insisted on not disturbing you, she just kowtowed a few times outside Keshao Hall and left."

  Song Yi Xiao was taken aback by the words and somewhat displeased: "She said she wouldn't disturb you, so you really didn't disturb her? After staying for so long, I didn't even send her off when she left, is that right?"

  Jin Xun saw that she was angry and said timidly, "Miss Biao said that when she returns... to break off the engagement, it's not suitable to attract attention, so it's best not to ask you to see her off."

  Song Yi finally felt relieved.

  That night, Jian Yu Bai didn't return until the first watch, Song Yi Xiao had left a lamp for him and gone to sleep herself.

  The next morning when the light was dim, she woke up and found that there was no one beside her. She knew he must have gone to court before dawn.

  Song Yi laughed and got up to wash, dealing with the trivial matters that had been accumulated for two days before Nie Wu Xing arrived. When she came, the aunt and niece exchanged a few pleasantries, then went to practice in the back.

  By dusk, Nie Wu Xian bid farewell again with joy and excitement after being praised - Yue Deng came to report that Jian Yu Bai still had to go to the He manor today, and let Song Yi Xiao not wait for him.

  He was so busy that he didn't even have time for the New Year's celebrations.

  Except for the 15th of November, when they had to enter the palace to congratulate on the Emperor's birthday, including rest days, they would leave the mansion before dawn and return at midnight. Song Yishang had the responsibility of teaching Nie Wuxuan, and teaching dance was very exhausting, especially since Nie Wuxuan was not talented, so it was even more tiring. Therefore, during this period, she hardly saw him at all.

  The fifteenth of the twelfth lunar month was Nie Wu Yan's birthday, and Song Yi Xiao gave her two days off in advance: "There is only one birthday a year, it doesn't make a difference to miss two or three days of practice, little sister go back and spend more time with your mother, on the actual day, sister-in-law will go congratulate you!"

  Nie Wu Yan didn't come to the Yan State Duke's residence for three days, so Song Yi Xiao took advantage of the opportunity to settle all matters inside and out, and rested for half a day. By the 15th, she was finally able to go out with renewed energy.

  "Fourth Aunt, don't you think this pearl flower is beautiful?" She had just arrived at the Duke of Jin's mansion and was about to enter the inner hall when a small figure rushed towards her, almost colliding with her. With a crisp laugh, she asked, "Look at these, peonies!"

  Song Yi Xiao lowered her head, saw that it was Duan An Gu, and smiled as she pointed to the petals of the pearl flower: "Beautiful! But not as beautiful as the people of An Gu!"

  Dong An'ei heard this and happily ran back to Bo Shi's side, boasting: "Fourth Aunt also said it looks good!"

  "Your fourth aunt is giving you face!" Bai shouted with a sneer.

  Yao Yi Xiang couldn't help but laugh at Song Yi's confusion, "I took her to buy hairpins, she picked this one out herself - I said it was too big, not suitable for someone of her age, but she wouldn't listen and insisted that I buy it. Fine, we bought it, and then she had to put it on right away! This morning, I and a few maidservants worked together, struggling for half the day before we could barely get the pearl flower to stay in place!"

  Song Yi smiled and said: "However, this pearl flower is indeed quite beautiful."

  Dong Anyi was only seven years old this year, and although she had been keeping her hair long, it was already waist-length. Unfortunately, she still had a small head. The peony-shaped pearl flower was intricate and beautiful, with a diameter of about three or four inches, and it sat on top of her head, almost the same size as the flower crown. If not for the help of many small hairpins to secure it in place, it would probably fall off as soon as she moved!

  It's no wonder Mr. Bai didn't want to buy it for his daughter in the first place.

  She couldn't help but say, "No matter how good-looking it is, it's not suitable for her. Fortunately, she's still young now, and dressing up like this is just comical, everyone will just laugh it off. If she grows up a bit more, I'll really have to worry about her taste!"

  "It's just that at a young age, one doesn't think things through." Song Yi smiled and glanced around the back hall, discovering that apart from Bo Shi bringing two children, only today's main character Nie Wu Xian was sitting in the first seat, Qing Jiang County Master and Changxing Princess hadn't arrived yet, and Jin Guo Long Princess also hadn't come. "Wait until you grow up a bit and you'll naturally know how to dress yourself!"

  Bo Shi said: "Also." Noticing her gaze, he said, "Husband has something urgent today and can't get away from it, so I'll have to ask you to apologize to Fifth Sister on his behalf."

  Nie Wu Yan spoke softly, "It's not a big deal anyway. I originally said that the banquet didn't need to be set up, but Mother said that the mansion had been quiet for too long and it was a good opportunity for everyone to relax."

  Song Yi Xiao heard this and awkwardly said: "I'm really sorry, Fifth Sister, your Fourth Brother won't be able to make it today either!"

  It's been over a month since Linghu De's death, and his family has escorted his spirit back to their hometown. He Weiqing, who was previously considered the most likely candidate to replace him, is still serving as Left Servitor-in-attendance. Moreover, there are rumors that Prince Zhao will enter the capital in the spring, and Princess Daiguo also wants to take this opportunity to seek the same treatment for Prince Wei, making the current court a complex and turbulent place.

  As the prince's biological cousin and confidant, Jian Xubai is now in a difficult situation, unable to extricate himself from this predicament, so he can only have his wife convey the gifts and apologies on his behalf.

  But Song Yixiao didn't expect Shou Chunbo to not come today either, and with only one brother absent it would be fine, but two being absent made it seem like they were disrespecting Nie Wuyan. And yet she was still the last to speak up about her husband not coming, although Nie Wuyan said again that she didn't mind, she still felt a bit embarrassed.

  Who would have thought that soon after, Qingjiang County Master and Changxing Princess arrived one after another - it was normal for Zhuo Ping'an not to come, but Jian Yi actually let his wife apologize on his behalf: "The imperial son-in-law is busy with official duties and really can't spare the time, so I can only ask Fifth Sister to be more forgiving!"

  Nie Wu Yan pursed her lips: "Nothing."

  It's like this, three brothers with the same mother but different fathers all arrived at the same time without prior agreement, which obviously gave the girl a heavy blow, so much so that after she said this, she immediately got up and said "I remembered something to go take a look!"

  As she turned around, keen-eyed people had already seen the glint of tears in her eyes.

  "What's wrong with my second, third and fourth brothers?" Qingjiang County Master frowned slightly as she watched them leave, then said displeased, "No matter how busy they are, they still need to eat, right? It doesn't matter where they eat, the imperial court won't stop running just because they're not there. And it's not like they have a lot of sisters, but on my fifth sister's birthday, which only comes once a year, they can't even spare a moment to come and offer their congratulations - not even just to raise a glass during the banquet?!"