The Heroine-Haloed Elder Sister (Continued)

It felt so good to see the other side's trump cards clearly!

The Grand Princess took her hand and said, "Why is it so cold? Have you been taking the supplements I gave you on time?"

"Yes, yes, I have," Gu Wanning said evasively. Looking at the concubines behind her, who had lowered their heads, she thought, What a hopeless bunch. What are you feeling guilty for?

"Oh, right," the Grand Princess said, seemingly unconcerned, though she had been watching Gu Wanning all along. "Your elder sister is coming today too. It's been a long time since you sisters saw each other, hasn't it? Have a good time together."

Gu Wanqing was coming?

Oh, the Prince of Qin had to call the Grand Princess his grandaunt, so they were related. Besides, the Prince of Qin was now deeply favored by the emperor. The Grand Princess was bound to hold him in higher regard and want to draw closer to him, so it was no surprise that she had invited Gu Wanqing too.

"All right." Gu Wanning smiled gently.

Let her come. In a Princess's Residence this big, was there no room for one more person?

The original owner had deeply resented this elder sister. Although Gu Wanning felt no such depth of love or hatred, she did not feel close to her either. She intended to keep things civil on the surface, and that would be enough.

The Princess's Residence gradually filled with people.

Many people looked at Gu Wanning with probing eyes, but she pretended not to see.

The Grand Princess had seated her just below herself. Occasionally, when a lady of senior generation and advanced age arrived, Gu Wanning rose and went through the motions of paying her respects, but there were very few such occasions.

After all, she was a marchioness herself, and today's flower-viewing banquet was generally an occasion for the ladies of each household to bring their daughters out. The old matriarchs did not come to join the festivities.

So most of the time, Gu Wanning sat quietly, drinking tea and eating.

"Try this. It's quite good." She casually handed a plate of Jade Dew Pastries to the concubines standing behind her.

It was a kind of milk pastry with carved patterns, rich in milky flavor, and she liked it very much.

Fourth Concubine hurriedly took the plate and whispered, "I've been eyeing it for ages. I kept trying to signal you, and my eyes were practically cramping before you finally noticed."

She had been craving it.

Gu Wanning could not help laughing. "Go on, eat. Whatever you want, help yourself."

"I wouldn't dare."

They chatted and laughed together.

Someone who wanted to flatter the Grand Princess offered insincere praise. "The marchioness is truly virtuous and gracious. I've never seen a wife and concubines live together in such harmony."

The Grand Princess, however, was delighted. With no little pride, she said, "Gu Wanning is not only of noble birth, but her disposition could not be better. I am extremely pleased to have such a granddaughter-in-law."

The unspoken implication was that no one should point fingers at Gu Wanning again, saying she came from a poor background or was willful and ill-mannered.

Everyone hastened to agree.

Gu Wanning pretended to be bashful, but what she was actually thinking was that there really was nothing good to eat.

The pastries were decent, but cloyingly sweet. She had eaten nothing that morning, and now she really wanted a proper meal.

When would the banquet start?

This was getting urgent. Who were they waiting for?

Oh, her dear elder sister, the Princess Consort of Qin, had yet to arrive.

What was going on!

She couldn't even summon any enthusiasm for a meal. How had she become a model young lady of the Capital? Didn't she know that food was heaven to the people?

Xu Weibei was outside keeping the male guests company. She wondered whether they would start the banquet...

As her thoughts wandered, she heard someone announce that the Princess Consort of Qin had arrived.

Gu Wanning had not wanted to move, but then she remembered that a princess consort outranked her.

Ah, no wonder everyone wanted to marry a man of high rank and great power. Having people bow to you might not be much to look forward to, but not having to bow to others was a real pleasure.

Gu Wanqing entered with Lu Baozhu, followed by maids, older female servants, and a beautiful woman dressed as a married lady.

Was she a secondary consort or a concubine of the Prince of Qin?

Gu Wanning really did not know much about her elder sister's situation.

Even so, Gu Wanqing did seem to have a heroine's halo from the moment she appeared. She was strikingly beautiful, dignified in bearing, and graceful in her movements.

Though she was not dressed in gaudy finery, and the silks and satins she wore were not the finest, she possessed the natural radiance of one whose heart was filled with poetry and books. Like a lotus rising from clear water, she held everyone's gaze.

Gu Wanning thought that, objectively speaking, among this crowd of ordinary beauties, herself included, there was a reason Gu Wanqing became the darling of men, surrounded like the moon by a host of stars.

She truly was fresh and free of worldly airs.

Gu Wanqing stepped forward to pay her respects to the Grand Princess, her manners attentive and flawless.

She also showed just the right amount of warmth. "Grandaunt, it's been many days since I came to pay my respects. You look younger and younger."

The Grand Princess beckoned her forward and took her hand. "Everyone says I dote on you, but with that face and that sweet mouth, who wouldn't? Besides, you're my grandnephew's wife and my granddaughter-in-law's sister. Chief Grand Secretary Gu raised his sons to be pillars of the court and his daughters to be virtuous wives and good mothers..."

Gu Wanqing smiled. "You flatter us."

"Where's An-ge?"

Gu Wanqing had become pregnant soon after marrying the Prince of Qin and had borne him his eldest legitimate son. He was two this year and was called An-ge.

"You still remember him! That boy is too naughty. Today he climbed onto a table to touch the calligraphy the emperor bestowed on us. I punished him, so I didn't bring him out."

"It's good for children to be a little mischievous. Why did you punish him? Even if he had really dirtied it, the emperor would only have laughed it off. Besides, where were the servants looking after Ange? Were they all dead? They're the ones who should have been properly punished."

"Her Highness the princess consort is kindhearted!" The young woman dressed as a married lady behind Gu Wanqing suddenly spoke up.

Her tone sounded flattering, but it was actually laden with barbs.

The smile faded from Gu Wanqing's face, and she turned her gaze on the woman.

At first, the woman forced herself to keep smiling, but under Gu Wanqing's gaze, her smile gradually faltered.

Gu Wanqing said nothing, yet her oppressive presence could be felt.

At last, the woman could bear it no longer. Lowering her head, she mumbled, "Forgive me, Your Highness. I spoke out of turn."

Gu Wanqing paid her no mind, but apologized to the Grand Princess. "I failed to discipline her properly and made a spectacle of myself before you."

"You're too easygoing, and people climb right onto your head. Tell me next time, and let Grandaunt deal with those petty people who keep pushing their luck!"

Gu Wanqing smiled. "Grandaunt, you're so good to me."