In the elegant private room on the third floor of Linglong Pavilion, He Nanfeng was reclining by the window, looking outside leisurely with a faint smile on his face.
"My little cousin was quite smart when she was a child. The last few times she came back, I thought she had just become overbearing after growing up and lost her childhood wits. But seeing her today, I realized I was wrong before."
Sheng Jinyu didn't comment. He raised his eyebrows and asked, "The jade flute you asked me to take before was for her?"
He Nanfeng turned to look at him. "How did you know? I remember my aunt was very good at playing the flute when she was young. I originally wondered if my cousin would... But now it seems she takes after my uncle more than my aunt."
How could a person full of heroic spirit be someone who plays the zither and flute?
Sheng Jinyu let out a soft laugh. "Return it to the original owner."
"What?" It took He Nanfeng a while to understand. He immediately stretched out his big hand. "Return the money?"
There was a mischievous glint in Sheng Jinyu's eyes. "Money? I accepted the gift. Why should I return the money?"
He Nanfeng didn't really want the money. He tapped on the table with his hand. "I'm just curious. Jinyu, you're actually willing to accept a woman's gift?"
Sheng Jinyu's face darkened. He averted his eyes and said coldly, "If it weren't your thing, why would I accept it?"
After chatting for a while, He Nanfeng watched the imperial guards coming and going on the street. His expression darkened slightly. "The Crown Prince is becoming more and more aggressive. This time he deliberately targeted you. He just wants to see you make a fool of yourself. Lu Wanning accidentally helped you today, but what about in the future? Are you still going to keep enduring like this?"
Sheng Jinyu lowered his eyes. "Let's talk about it later."
He Nanfeng stared at him intently for a long time. He didn't persuade him further but simply said, "If you're determined to fight for the throne, why be so indecisive? The more things you care about, the more they will hold you back. Talk about it later? Will he give you that chance?"
It took Sheng Jinyu a long time to raise his eyebrows. "Your He family is the maternal family of the Crown Prince. You shouldn't be so close to me."
He Nanfeng sneered. "When my grandfather was alive, it was still our family. But now, it's no longer."
...
Lu Wanning was reclining on a chaise longue, nibbling on the snacks on the table while watching her mother and sister-in-law bustling around. It was already after the 20th day of the twelfth lunar month, and the New Year gifts from the prince's mansion hadn't been sent out yet. In addition, the New Year provisions sent from the manor today all had to be checked and sent out in the next few days.
"Mother, this is for the Duke Protector's Mansion, this is for the Marquis Yongning's Mansion, and this side is..."
Lu Wanning was originally dozing off. Hearing her sister-in-law's words, she couldn't help but open her eyes and take a look. She noticed that the list of New Year gifts for the Duke Protector's Mansion seemed to be the longest.
She quickly sat up and asked, "Mother, weren't you angry with your sister-in-law? Why are you still preparing such generous New Year gifts? Did they also send gifts to our family?"
The princess put down the list and gave Lu Wanning a reproachful look. "What nonsense are you talking about? Even if I'm angry, it's still your uncle's family and my natal family. I'm a princess. How can I be impolite in such matters? Besides, most of these New Year gifts are for your third cousin, not just for your uncle."
"Third cousin?" Lu Wanning asked curiously. "Who is the third cousin?"
Lady Wei explained, "He Nanfeng from the eldest branch of the He family. He's the cousin who came back from his studies some time ago and even sent you a gift."
Lu Wanning scratched her head. There wasn't much description of this person in the book, and the original owner didn't have much impression of him either. After thinking for a while, she vaguely remembered that when the original owner was a child, because she envied others for having an elder brother to accompany them, she often followed this cousin around.
"He Nanfeng? Isn't he the eldest cousin?"
The princess glared at her impatiently and then lowered her head to continue sorting.
Lady Wei continued to explain, "Your eldest uncle got married late and didn't have any children for several years after marriage. Your eldest and second cousins are both from the second branch of the He family. Although your third cousin is the legitimate son of the eldest branch, he's the third in terms of age."
Lu Wanning nodded. Anyway, she couldn't even remember what he looked like.
"Is Mother on good terms with the third cousin?"
Only then did the princess put down the list and think intently for a while. "Your eldest uncle is the eldest son of the He family, and I'm the eldest daughter. We both grew up in front of your great-grandfather. Our bond is extraordinary. Your eldest uncle and aunt passed away early. Your third cousin lost his parents when he was young. He's been away from home for a long time. Even though I've wanted to show more pity, I've been unable to do so. I can only take this opportunity to care more about him."
Lu Wanning asked again, "Then... why doesn't Mother invite the cousin to the mansion for a get-together?"
The princess paused. Nanfeng used to come often when he was a child. But after he went out for his studies and came back, he became more and more aloof. Even when he came to pay a visit, he only stayed briefly. She originally thought it was probably because there were only female relatives in the prince's mansion. But now that she thought about it, she felt that Nanfeng had become much colder in nature.
After thinking this over, the princess turned to Lady Wei. "Zhaozhao, now that the prince, Hanchi, and Hannian are all at home, you can arrange to send an invitation to invite Nanfeng to the mansion for a gathering."
Lady Wei agreed. After hesitating for a moment, she asked, "Should we also send invitations to invite the other two cousins from the He family?"
A look of annoyance flashed across the princess's face. She didn't really want to invite them, but it wouldn't be appropriate not to.
Lu Wanning immediately spoke up. "Sister-in-law, of course not. I don't like He Chan, and I don't like the two cousins either. Don't let them into the mansion."
Hearing this, the princess burst out laughing instead. "Since Ning'er doesn't like them, then we won't invite them. Anyway, they're both on duty and probably won't have time."
Whether they have time or not is someone else's business. If the proper etiquette is to be observed, Lady Wei should invite them all. But seeing the looks on her mother-in-law's and younger sister-in-law's faces, they were both reluctant. Of course, she wouldn't risk offending them. She just wondered how to word the invitation when sending it out tomorrow.
She didn't have to worry for long. Early the next morning, Lu Wanning sent a nanny over, saying that since the third cousin had finally returned to the capital, she remembered the childhood fun they had together. She was also grateful for the generous gift he had sent as soon as he came back, so she wanted to invite the third cousin to the mansion for a get-together.
The reason was perfectly justifiable, so Lady Wei breathed a sigh of relief. She quickly sent someone to invite He Nanfeng as Lu Wanning had suggested.
Lu Wanning was lying on the couch, eating and drinking, feeling that life was extremely comfortable.
Jiyue was a bit worried. Seeing that Lu Wanning's cheeks had puffed up after just ten days or so, she quickly advised, "Your Highness, please stop eating. You couldn't even put on your winter jacket this morning. If you keep eating like this, you'll get even fatter."
Lu Wanning put down the snack in her hand and looked down. She didn't think she had gained much weight, but the winter jacket was indeed a bit tight. It would be a waste to make new clothes during this period.
Forget it. She'd eat more after spring.
Lu Wanning clapped her hands and asked Jiyue, "By the way, I don't even know what gift the third cousin sent me. I'm afraid I'll expose myself if I'm not careful. Go and take out the gift he sent me. If it's a jade pendant or something, I can just wear it. It'll be good for me to catch up with the third cousin later."
Jiyue's face froze. "Your Highness, have you forgotten? The gift you found to thank His Highness the Prince of Yu some time ago was the jade flute the young master sent."
Lu Wanning was stunned for a moment. This was a bit embarrassing. But it didn't matter. The third cousin and His Highness the Prince of Yu probably weren't very familiar. Even if they were, it didn't matter. His Highness the Prince of Yu didn't seem like a person who liked to show off. Presumably, he wouldn't carry the jade flute she gave him around every day.
As long as there was no exposure, it would be okay.