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  On the second day morning, Dan Hong was waiting for Ming Xuan in front of her dressing table to comb her hair. Her hands moved constantly as she spoke softly, "Later when Miss goes to An Tai Yuan to pay respects, I'll let Su Wan accompany you. I'll go to the east wing and chat with Zuo Zi. I won't say much, just reveal a little bit of news, and wait for Eighth Miss to bring something to bribe me before I'll speak about Sister Yun Fen's affairs."

  She muttered, "If we don't let Eighth Miss suffer a bit, it would be a waste to just hand over the news about Yunfen sister to her like this, I also feel somewhat unresigned."

  Ming Xuan let out a snort of laughter, her eyes slightly upturned as she couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. "You're absolutely right," she said. "If Sister Cai knew that there was someone here who had served as her personal attendant in the past, she would definitely be willing to pay any price to get them."

  She paused, and actually gave Dan Hong an idea. "Don't be too arrogant, Cang Jie's temper is narrow-minded, it's hard to guarantee that she won't take revenge in the future when she gains power, but also don't be too soft. I remember last year during her coming-of-age ceremony, a aunt from our clan tried to curry favor with Eldest Maternal Aunt and gave her a pair of golden bangles made of pure gold, heavy and finely crafted, with Cang Jie's zodiac animal carved on the inner circle. I reckon it should be worth at least 200-300 taels of silver."

  This was originally considered a heavy gift, but Qiang Jie was aloof and self-satisfied at the time, thinking that gold and silver were vulgar, so she somewhat discarded it like a worn-out shoe, not even bothering to take a look, and had her maid collect it and lock it in the warehouse.

  When Ming Xuan said that, Dan Hong also remembered the matter, she couldn't help but purse her lips and smile, "I remember, those bangles were specially made by the third madam of the eastern Tandan Street in our clan, wanting to take advantage of the hairpinning ceremony to curry favor with Eighth Miss and gain face in front of Madame Hou. Who would have thought that Eighth Miss could so publicly humiliate her like this."

  She thought for a moment and said, "I just told Zuo Zi that the other day I saw Rui's mother wearing a pair of gold bangles with jade rabbits on her hands, which were both heavy and beautiful. I was very envious. I don't know when I'll have the good fortune to receive the master's favor and be given a pair."

  Ming Xuan smiled and nodded, "Qiang Jie is of the same age. It's a ready-made thing, she wants to win her over, so she won't mind that bracelet. Now it's good, Qiang Jie got some useful information for her, our Dan Hong got the bracelet without losing out, in the future when she gets married, there will be this dowry to rely on. It's also good to save me some silver."

  She said, lost in thought, "It's about time we put our family matters on the agenda."

  Dan Hong's face turned red with embarrassment, and she called out in a low voice, "Miss is teasing people again!"

  After laughing for a while, Ming Xuan looked left and right in front of the copper mirror, seeing that she was tidy, she sent Dan Hong to the east wing, and herself stood up and called Su Wan to go to An Tai Yuan to pay respects to Old Lady Zhu.

  Her marriage had been fixed by the astrologer, and was set for the tenth of June. Now that it was already the first ten days of May, the day of her departure from home was drawing nearer and nearer, and Old Madame Zhu became more and more reluctant to part with her. After asking after her health every day, she would always keep her behind to chat with her for a while longer. She knew that her grandmother's feelings were not good, and she also felt apologetic for having asked Nurse Rong to make her grandmother even lonelier, so every day she had to go to the An Tai Temple.

  Madam Zhu had been in poor health since the death of Madame Jian'an, and after a slight stroke, she never regained her former vigor. She spent most of her days lying on her bed, rarely getting up or moving around, knowing that this old body could only last for two or three more years, and it was hard to avoid feeling somewhat melancholy.

  Ke Mingxuan is about to get married, no matter what kind of dragon's lair or tiger's den the Pei family is, Mr. Pei is a capable man, this marriage will not be completely useless, in order to help her beloved granddaughter, Mrs. Zhu forced herself to cheer up, carefully checked the dowry list for any omissions, and busied herself with deletions and reductions, after which she was able to dispel some of the worries of old age.

  Ming Xuan and Madam Zhu recited scriptures together, then chatted idly for a morning, seeing her grandmother was tired, she bid farewell.

  As soon as she came out of the main hall, she saw Shun taitai smiling and standing in the courtyard waiting for her. She also smiled and walked up to her, "Taitai!"

  Yan Laolao smiled and said, "In the past few days, I was busy handing over my tasks to Guan Laolao and Song Laolao, and didn't have time to come to Shuoyu Pavilion to pay my respects to you, Miss. Now that everything is finally settled, I thought to myself that since I'm no longer a person of Antai Courtyard, it's about time for me to follow you to Shuoyu Pavilion to live."

  Her tone was tinged with a hint of reluctance, yet it sounded remarkably casual. "Miss, would you please grant me an empty room? It would be nice for me to have a place to rest."

  Ming Xuan was overjoyed, she hastily grabbed Yan's arm and said, "The house has been cleaned up by Dan Hong long ago, just waiting for your esteemed arrival."

  Her dowry servant girl has been assigned to Yan Qie, so from now on, all the trivial matters in the rooms of these servant girls will be handled by her. Since the tasks in An Tai Yuan have already been handed over, it's natural to ask Yan Qie to go to Xun Yu Ge first to take care of things for her, and also to get familiar with the people below, so that she can assign tasks later on.

  Yan's aunt smiled and nodded, "I'll go collect some firewood and come over."

  Ming Xuan returned to the Washing Jade Pavilion with a pleasant mood, just in time to see Zuo Zi hastily rushing out of the main house without even saying hello, looking somewhat disheveled and flustered. She slightly raised an eyebrow, thinking that Dan Hong's plan must have succeeded.

  As expected, Dan Hong saw her and quickly pulled her into the inner room. After confirming that no one was around, she happily took out an object wrapped in red silk from her bosom. She opened the silk to reveal a pair of crimson gold bangles.

  The smile on Dan Hong's face couldn't be stopped, "I just mentioned Cloud Fen's name, Eighth Miss knew and had Zuo Zi bring this thing to coax me."

  Ming Xuan's mouth twitched slightly, "The imperial concubine will give birth in a few days, and Cai Jie is more anxious than anyone else."

  When the Honorable Consort gives birth to a prince, the edict for Xiang's sister to enter the palace should be issued. Although Xiang's sister has learned some superficial knowledge from Ming Rong's old letters in the Shu Yu Pavilion, only those who have truly served Ming Rong can provide her with the most urgent news she needs - Ming Rong's private personality, temperament, and preferences, which are the key to tempting people's hearts.

  Dan Hong nodded in agreement, "Eighth Miss does seem to be in a hurry, as soon as she found out about Yunfen's news, she had the carriage prepared and left."

  These two days, the top priority for Madame Hou was the Imperial Concubine and the Crown Prince. She entered the palace every day, and even temporarily handed over household chores to the eldest son's wife, Cai Shi. She didn't have any extra energy to spare, and besides, since Ming Ju somehow persuaded Madame Hou, she hadn't been managing her anymore. As a result, these days Ming Ju had been coming and going from the Hou Mansion with great freedom.

  Ming Xuan's mouth curved into a faint smile, "Everyone has their own aspirations, let her be."

  It's a great honor to be a concubine or imperial consort, but in her eyes, the inner palace is a beautiful tomb with no exit. It's a battlefield where countless women fight for the same man. Winning might bring boundless glory and wealth, but losing means sacrificing one's life and family. Survival after entering the palace is already a problem, not to mention happiness.

  But perhaps those women who sharpened their heads to enter the palace didn't care about what happiness is at all.

  She was lost in thought when suddenly a little maid came in and reported, "Ninth Miss has arrived."

  Mingwu wore a pale yellow skirt and walked in with a gentle swaying motion. She greeted everyone graciously, then placed the box adorned with gold lacquer on the table. Smiling, she said, "This is a pair of hairpins I got from my mother the other day. I think they look nice and suit you well, sister, so I brought them over as a gift to add to your dowry."

  The wooden box was opened, and inside lay a pair of golden peony-shaped hairpins with delicate tips, looking simple yet elegant, like something from the Treasured Pavilion, extremely luxurious and magnificent.

  Ming Xuan's face was calm and unruffled, with only a faint smile playing on her lips. She stretched out her hand to push the box over a bit, shook her head gently and said, "This pair of hairpins is exquisite and luxurious, Ninth Sister should keep it for herself to wear. This expensive thing was prepared by Eldest Matron for my sister, if I took it, wouldn't that be something?"

  "She paused for a moment, 'My sisters and I all got married around the same time, we just helped each other out with our dowries, as long as the thought was there it was enough, no need to spend too much.'"

  Ming Wu seemed to have never thought that she would be met with such a direct and blunt rejection, her face immediately becoming somewhat awkward. Between sisters, adding makeup was indeed just a matter of being sincere, but if someone else wanted to give expensive jewelry, it had never been heard of that anyone would reject it so abruptly. Seeing Ming Xuan's calm expression, she couldn't help but wonder whether Seventh Sister was intentionally trying to make her lose face or genuinely thinking of her well-being.

  She held an innocent expression, pitifully biting her lip, "I just saw that this hairpin matches my sister..."

  Ming Xuan burst out laughing, "Silly girl, you'll soon be Mrs. Bo! This golden peony pin is elegant and refined, just right for your status, and it's a perfect match for you. Aunt must have had this in mind when she gave it to me, if I were to pass it on to you, wouldn't that be wasting her kind intentions?"

  She closed the box and handed it over to Mingwu, "Take this back."

  This remark was reasonable, so Mingwu couldn't say anything more and had to put the box back. Her face looked a bit awkward, her body slightly twisted, as if she wanted to get up and leave, but didn't stand up after all. Her mouth opened and closed, looking like she wanted to say something else.

  Nothing can be accomplished without entering the Hall of Three Treasures.

  Ming Xuan knew that Ming Wu had come to talk to her, but the expression of not speaking clearly was waiting for her to ask first. She felt some disdain in her heart, thinking that although Ming Wu was deep and ambitious, she was still too petty and liked to pretend, which was far less lovable than Ming Cong's straightforwardness.

  A hint of mockery flashed in her eyes, thinking to herself that if she didn't say anything, then she wouldn't ask and it was fine, after all, the one who would end up anxious and uncomfortable wouldn't be her.

  As expected, Ming Wu saw that Ming Xuan was slow to speak up and couldn't help but feel anxious. After thinking it over, she finally couldn't bear it anymore and spoke up, "Seventh Sister, there's something I want to ask of you!"

  （）

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