Actually, as the emperor's only daughter, Princess Qin should have been the apple of everyone's eye. Unfortunately, Lu Wanning, the Princess of Zhaoyang, was the great-niece of the empress dowager and the niece of the queen. She was extremely favored in the palace. Even the emperor doted on Lu Wanning more. Not to mention Lu Wanning, the Princess of Hekang from the Prince Xiao's Mansion, with her charming and lovely personality, often entered the palace and outshone Princess Qin by far.
Lu Wanning and Princess Qin only had a nodding acquaintance at palace banquets.
"Isn't His Highness the Prince Yu going? Has he been very busy lately? Last night was the Lantern Festival. The crown prince went out, but I didn't see him."
Jiyue had never inquired about His Highness the Prince Yu, but Granny Gu smiled and said, "The emperor places great trust in His Highness the Prince Yu. Whenever there's a thorny matter, only when His Highness the Prince Yu handles it personally can the emperor feel at ease."
Lu Wanning had an impression of this. It was written in the book that the emperor's suspicion was growing day by day. Except for his son Sheng Jinyu, he didn't trust anyone else, including the crown prince Sheng Chenyi. This was probably the sorrow of those in high positions. But why didn't the emperor suspect Sheng Jinyu at all?
Forget it. These were not things she could fathom. Anyway, the only person the emperor trusted was the Prince Yu. She still had to find a way to curry favor with him.
After the New Year, Lu Hongxi and Lu Hanchi had to attend both major and minor court sessions. They also had to visit the military training ground every day to check on the training of the troops. Although Lu Hannian wasn't that busy, he still had to lead the Lu family army in training and was not idle.
As a result, Lu Wanning got bored again and decided to go out for a stroll with Jiyue.
"Let's go to the teahouse to listen to storytellers today."
Jiyue was reluctant. After the incident at the teahouse last time, she had been haunted by lingering fears.
But Lu Wanning didn't care. "Your princess is very capable. Don't worry. This is the capital. Such things won't happen easily."
The main reason she wanted to go to listen to stories was that the teahouse was a place full of people from all walks of life, and she could hear a lot of gossips about the capital. Although the private affairs of noble families would never be spread, there was still something to listen to.
After listening for a whole morning, she didn't get much useful information. Lu Wanning felt bored and was about to find a place to have a meal. She planned to go to a musical instrument store in the afternoon. It was a refined place, and maybe she could find something suitable to give to His Highness the Prince Yu.
The teahouse she came to today was quite out-of-the-way and usually only visited by ordinary people. People of high status generally didn't like to come here. Lu Wanning also came here in a low - key manner without attracting attention.
The place was full of the hustle and bustle of daily life. Lu Wanning quietly lifted the curtain and looked out. What she saw surprised her.
The veiled girl standing on the street, even though her attire had changed and her true face couldn't be seen clearly, Lu Wanning recognized her at a glance. It was Jiang Shishi. And wasn't the person standing opposite Jiang Shishi He Nanfeng?
What was going on between these two? Why were they standing together?
They were quite far away, and she couldn't see clearly. Jiang Shishi's maid was standing beside her, and the distance between He Nanfeng and her was not close. They seemed very estranged.
After the maid stepped forward to take the package from He Nanfeng's hand, Jiang Shishi bowed and turned away.
Only He Nanfeng remained standing there, staring blankly at Jiang Shishi's back.
Seeing that the two were no longer interacting, Lu Wanning's doubts deepened. Did these two have feelings for each other? She remembered the engagement between the He family and the Jiang family. If Jiang Shishi hadn't been ill, she would have been engaged to the heir. And originally, He Nanfeng's father was the heir. If his father hadn't died young and had become the duke, He Nanfeng would have been the current heir.
So, in a way, Jiang Shishi should have been He Nanfeng's wife.
Hearing Lu Wanning's astonishing words, Jiyue quickly reached out to cover her mouth. "Your princess must never say such things outside. How can a woman be betrothed to two men? Miss Jiang is already engaged to the second young master of the He family. How could she be involved with the third young master?"
Lu Wanning said angrily, "You've seen He Wenbo's behavior. He has no sense of responsibility at all. He only has eyes for that scheming woman. If Sister Jiang marries him, her whole life will be ruined!"
Although Jiyue thought the same way, she still advised, "Your princess, Second Young Master Fu may have done some inappropriate things, but in the capital, he's considered a good man. I heard that he doesn't have any concubines or maidservants in his house, and he doesn't like to go to brothels. He's a self - disciplined person."
Lu Wanning rolled her eyes. "He doesn't respect women at all. No matter how self - disciplined he is, he's still not good."
"But Miss Jiang's situation is indeed like this. She has a weak constitution. It was said by a fortune - teller that she wouldn't live long. If it weren't for this early engagement, it would be difficult for her to get married. If the engagement is broken off, she can only marry a poor scholar. But if she does, it will be difficult for her younger sisters and nieces to get engaged in the future."
Lu Wanning was very unhappy and asked again, "So the reason I was able to break off the engagement smoothly is that I don't have any sisters from the direct line?"
Actually, it was true. Lu Hongxi was the only one from the direct line of the Lu family, so the influence of the collateral branches on the engagement was not very great. But the most important thing was that she was a princess. The empress dowager could decide her engagement, and there was no need to care whether the man's family minded or not.
Lu Wanning lost the interest to have a meal or go shopping. She returned to the mansion early and kept thinking that if there was a chance, it would be great to get He Nanfeng and Jiang Shishi together.
Although He Nanfeng liked to play tricks on people and was not a good guy, he was still much better than the others in the He family. And from what she saw today, He Nanfeng clearly had feelings for Jiang Shishi. If she didn't play the matchmaker, it would be a bit unreasonable.
After returning home, Lu Wanning went to the courtyard of the princess consort. She pulled the princess consort aside and asked, "Has Cousin He, the third young master of the He family, gotten engaged?"
The princess consort looked at her curiously and shook her head with a smile. "When you were a child, your grandfather intended to match you with Sister Jiang. But unfortunately, Sister Jiang was in poor health, so the match was changed. Later, the Princess Consort of Prince Xiao thought he had good looks and character. But unfortunately, before he grew up, your eldest uncle... The Princess Consort of Prince Xiao didn't want Princess Hekang to marry someone of a much lower status. Since your third cousin couldn't be the heir, the Princess Consort of Prince Xiao gave up that idea. Why do you suddenly ask about him?"
Lu Wanning propped her chin with her hand. "I saw He Wenbo's behavior a few days ago. I really looked down on him. I think Third Cousin is much better than him."
She knew that people here valued their reputation, so she naturally wouldn't casually talk about seeing Jiang Shishi and He Nanfeng together today.
The princess consort paused and poked her on the forehead. "Don't act recklessly. Your personality is so impulsive. Don't worry. Wenbo is a child I've watched grow up. He's just young and inexperienced. He'll surely change for the better after getting married. But for you, the person you should be worried about now is not others but yourself. The Fu family has sent messages to the mansion many times. They want you to continue the engagement with the Fu family. What's your own opinion?"