Marriage Alliance? (1)

October, Vermilion Bird Empire, Dragon City...

In the heart of the city, there stands an imposing architectural complex, comparable in grandeur to the Imperial Palace. Hmm, it seems to be a part of the Imperial Palace.

"Long Ji, how are your aunt and uncle doing?"

A Noble Lady looked at a young girl and asked a question, her eyes filled with concern that was easily felt. From this, it was clear that she cared a lot about the person she was asking.

Within this Imperial Palace, there seems to be only one girl who can be called Long Ji, and that is Princess Longji. Only a few people can address Princess Longji by her given name, and this Noble Lady is one of them, the Empress Dowager.

"They are all very well, but they have quite a few social engagements... As you know, even without our connections, they are still the center of attention," Princess Longji replied.

Princess Longji already has her own territory, so she has her own residence in Longcheng, and Ye Chengtian and the others stayed in her residence this time.

This is a matter of reciprocity. In the past, when Princess Longji visited Soaring Sky Imperial City, she always stayed at the Ye Residence. Now that they have come, they will naturally stay at Princess Longji's place.

Actually, this was also to refuse the Empress Dowager's invitation. The Empress Dowager had previously asked them to stay in the Vermilion Bird Imperial Palace, but Ye Chengtian and his wife felt that this seemed a bit inappropriate, so they declined.

Originally, they would have found a place on their own and hadn't thought about Princess Longji. But Princess Longji happened to arrive in Longcheng at that time, so she naturally invited them to her residence.

The Ye Chengtian couple couldn't refuse, so they agreed.

They had met the Empress Dowager and Vermilion Bird Emperor on their first day of arrival, but had not seen them since. Therefore, if the Empress Dowager wanted to know anything, she could only ask Princess Longji.

"Social engagements are unavoidable; they are not ordinary people..." The Empress Dowager smiled, having already anticipated this.

At this time, the Ye Clan was someone almost everyone wanted to win over. Their neutral attitude and Ye Lang's extraordinary abilities made everyone want to get closer to the Ye Clan.

Even if they couldn't win over the Ye Clan to their side, they should at least have a good and friendly relationship. However, the Ye Clan hadn't given them such an opportunity in Ye City. Now that they were here, these officials and nobles of the Vermilion Bird Empire would naturally take the opportunity to invite them.

Furthermore, these people were somewhat aware of Long Anqi's identity, so they naturally wanted to show even more friendliness.

In the past, they might have needed to consider the attitude of the Empress Dowager and others, since not many people could understand the relationship between the Empress Dowager and Long Anqi, and they would have had some reservations.

Although no one knows what's going on yet, one thing is certain: the Empress Dowager intends to associate with Long Anqi and wants to have a good relationship with her, so they naturally want to add to the goodwill.

However, even if the Empress Dowager has any dissatisfaction or dislikes Long Anqi, many people will still try to curry favor with Long Anqi, either secretly or openly. After all, Ye Chengtian's power is now unparalleled in the region.

"But it's the aunties who are busy, while Lan Yu and Yazhu are quite relaxed, playing around everywhere," Princess Longji replied with a smile.

"Didn't I say that you should call me 'Aunt' now? Why are you still calling me 'Auntie'?" The Empress Dowager frowned slightly, seemingly a little displeased.

"Ah... it's just a habit..." Princess Longji playfully stuck out her little tongue, looking a bit like a little girl. This was an expression she rarely showed, but it was quite normal for her to behave this way in front of her grandmother.

The previous way of addressing Princess Longji was actually Long Anqi's idea. She didn't want to be called "aunt" by Princess Longji. Besides wanting to minimize the chances of being discovered, there was another very important reason: Long Anqi was also somewhat unwilling to acknowledge that Princess Longji was her niece, which meant she didn't want to acknowledge the relationship with the Vermilion Bird Empire.

The term "auntie" is often used, sometimes simply as a polite form of address, and sometimes without even specifying the relationship.

"Would Lan Yu and the others be interested in coming here for a visit?" the Empress Dowager asked casually.

"Well, they don't seem to like the Imperial Palace very much. It's not that they dislike this place, but rather that they don't really like any of the Imperial Palace. It's probably because of that incident," Princess Longji said thoughtfully, shaking her head.

The Empress Dowager remained silent for a while, but she understood what Princess Longji was talking about.

That incident was about Zhao Yarou seizing the throne. The psychological blow she suffered that time will not be so easily resolved, leaving a bad impression on the Seventh Princess.

The Empress Dowager seemed unaware that the Seventh Princess disliked the Imperial Palace, not only because of this, but also because she had never liked places of power struggles. She had disliked the Imperial Palace since childhood, but she had to live there because of her birth.

Zhao Yarou's incident completely severed her ties with places like the Imperial Palace, which, in a way, is a good thing!

"Since they don't like it, then don't force them! However, I can go there myself." The Empress Dowager smiled; she wasn't the type to follow the rules, especially when it came to what she wanted.

"Yes, you can go by yourself. Your aunt and the others don't object to your coming." Princess Longji nodded. She knew how the Empress Dowager acted. More importantly, Ye Lang had spent some time at her residence. The Empress Dowager didn't visit every day, so this was a lesson from the past.

"I'll go with you later! By the way, what brings you here today? Don't tell me it's just to pay your respects; you wouldn't be that filial," the Empress Dowager said, teasing Princess Longji.

She didn't believe that Princess Longji had come so early to pay her respects on special occasions; she must have something else on her mind. If she were truly so filial, she wouldn't have come so infrequently after all this time.

Of course, the Empress Dowager knew what Princess Longji was busy with: her birthday banquet and keeping her company with Long Anqi and the others.

"No way, I'm very filial..." Princess Longji pouted and said somewhat reluctantly.

"Speak up, what exactly did you come here for? I won't say anything to you." The Empress Dowager looked at Long Ji and smiled, her adoring eyes filled with a unique kind of doting affection.

"My father called me here. He said that a princess from the Aila Empire was coming and that I should go and greet her, saying that my status was appropriate," Princess Longji said.

"Is your status appropriate? You're not the only princess in the Imperial Palace, and your status is even more special. Could it be that the princess who came to the Aila Empire this time isn't here to offer birthday greetings or just to go through the motions?" The Empress Dowager frowned slightly.