"Would you like a pastry, little sister?"
Liu Xiaopang generously shared his pastries with his little sister, showing his brotherly affection.
Liu Jiaying smiled brightly and accepted one. "Thank you, big brother."
That was the main reason she wasn't jealous or angry at all.
Who could be mad at such an adorable big brother who cared about his little sister?
Watching the friendly siblings, Jia Yuanchun smiled with satisfaction.
When Liu Zhong returned home and saw his lovely wife with their young son, he smiled too.
The Emperor's consort appointments had little to do with anyone outside the families of the women who had been selected.
Jia Yuanchun only went to the Duke of Qi's residence once to offer her congratulations, then returned home to enjoy her quiet life.
But before long, word spread that the Emperor had issued an edict allowing his consorts' families to visit them at the palace.
Those families immediately began building villas for the visits.
They snapped up building materials, driving prices up across the capital and affecting households that needed to carry out ordinary repairs.
But there was nothing to be done. No one dared offend the Emperor's relatives.
While Jia Yuanchun was at home making knotted cords for her daughter's wedding, someone from Ningguo Mansion came to report a death: the mansion's young mistress, Qin Keqing, had passed away.
Jia Yuanchun was surprised and prepared to return to Ningguo Mansion.
Liu Jiaying clung to Jia Yuanchun, wanting to go with her.
Jia Yuanchun refused.
A child's fate was fragile; she might be harmed by going to the home of someone who had just died.
Liu Jiaying rolled her eyes. "Then I'll go to Rongguo Mansion and ask Second Aunt and Third Aunt to keep me company."
Jia Yuanchun couldn't do anything about her insistence, so she took her along and went to Rongguo Mansion first. She left Liu Jiaying in the care of Yingchun and Tanchun, then headed to Ningguo Mansion.
At Ningguo Mansion, You Shi was "ill" and unable to manage affairs, so Wang Xifeng took charge of Qin Keqing's funeral arrangements.
Wang Xifeng had been married to Jia Lian for several years.
She wasn't the eldest daughter-in-law of Rongguo Mansion and had no authority over the household. She only assisted Zhang and the Princess in handling affairs, so she wasn't nearly as overworked as she had been in the original story. She didn't have to keep pushing herself to work while pregnant.
She took good care of herself during her pregnancy. Besides Qiaojie, she also gave birth to a son and named him Jia Gui.
Wang Xifeng was highly capable and managed Ningguo Mansion's affairs with great efficiency.
Jia Yuanchun burned a stick of incense and then returned to Rongguo Mansion.
After all, Qin Keqing was a younger generation. Jia Yuanchun couldn't stay behind to keep vigil for her.
When Jia Yuanchun went to find her daughter, she saw her sister-in-law, the Princess, her second sister-in-law, Li Wan, and the young ladies Yingchun, Tanchun, and Xichun chatting together.
Her daughter was playing with the Princess's children, as well as Qiaojie and Jia Lan.
They were discussing poetry and literature, not the events at Ningguo Mansion.
In fact, the married women among them had all heard something about the mess at Ningguo Mansion.
The Princess felt both anger and disgust over Qin Keqing's death.
She knew Qin Keqing's true identity.
Back then, Jia Hu had been puzzled that Jia Zhen had chosen the daughter of a minor official to marry his son and become the matriarch of Ningguo Mansion. He had sensed there was something suspicious about it.
He hadn't thought much of it at the time, but after Liu Zhong reminded him, he investigated Qin Keqing's background.
His investigation led him to Prince Yizhong, the deposed crown prince.
Qin Keqing was Prince Yizhong's illegitimate daughter.
Jia Hu was so furious he nearly laughed.
If Ningguo Mansion wanted to get itself killed, it shouldn't drag Rongguo Mansion down with it!
The Emperor had already secured his throne. What were they trying to do?
Were they planning to rebel alongside Commandery Prince Yizhong?
Damn it, Rongguo Mansion was part of Ningguo Mansion's extended clan too!
Jia Hu didn't dare waste time. He went to the palace to see the Emperor and reported everything about Qin Keqing.
The Emperor didn't care much about one illegitimate daughter of Prince Yizhong, but he made a note of Ningguo Mansion's actions.
When the time came to deal with the Four Kings and Eight Dukes, Ningguo Mansion would be the first he struck.
The Emperor reassured Jia Hu that Ningguo Mansion and Rongguo Mansion were separate households. He wouldn't blame Rongguo Mansion for Ningguo Mansion's actions.
Only after receiving the Emperor's assurance did Jia Hu finally breathe easy.
Jia Hu told no one else about the matter, only Zhang and the Princess.
He didn't even tell Jia She.
He was afraid his father might get drunk and let the secret slip.
But Jia Hu knew that Lady Jia Shi was aware of the truth too.
Like Jia Zhen, she was trying to place a bet, hoping to keep a valuable asset in reserve.
But did they really think they had the ability of Lu Buwei?
Jia Hu couldn't help lamenting that his grandfather had died too soon. Without him to keep her in check, his grandmother had grown reckless and brazen.
Luckily, Jia Zhen was the only one who listened to her—Jia Zheng did too, but he was so rigid that Lady Jia Shi couldn't involve him in certain matters. That limited the scale of the trouble they could cause.
Did they think that marrying the illegitimate daughter of a deposed crown prince would make them part of the imperial family and earn them credit for backing the future ruler?
Dream on. That might happen in a dream.
Jia Yuanchun didn't know Qin Keqing's identity, but Liu Jiaying did.
She played with the children while straining to listen to the women's conversation. Unfortunately, they were talking about poetry, and she couldn't understand a word.
In her previous life, Liu Jiaying had been a science student. She hadn't even memorized all of the Tang poems and Song lyrics, let alone learned to appreciate their meaning.
In this life, she couldn't become a talented poet like Lin Meimei. She couldn't even judge poetry as well as Yingchun and Xichun.
Liu Jiaying hadn't heard anything useful at Rongguo Mansion, so she went home in low spirits. The next day, she couldn't be bothered to go back.
She might as well stay home and sleep in. If she wanted to hear gossip, Jiqiu was there, wasn't she?
Qin Keqing's funeral was held on a grand scale. The Four Kings and Eight Dukes all arranged road offerings in her honor.
This made Jia Hu and the Emperor suspect that people in all the Four Kings and Eight Dukes' households knew Qin Keqing's true identity.
It was quite possible they had all placed their bets on Commandery Prince Yizhong.
The Emperor sneered.
So, the Four Kings and Eight Dukes thought they were something.
Did they really think he wouldn't dare deal with them?
White stone balustrades and red pillars, green trees and clear streams, blossoms in profusion, their fragrance intoxicating.
What a splendid scene from a celestial realm.
A graceful figure suddenly appeared, passing through the stone archway inscribed with "Taixu Illusion Realm" and entering a palace.
The many beautiful women in the hall saw her and hurried over.
"Keqing, you're back already?" one of them asked in surprise.
Keqing was Fairy Keqing, who had left Qin Keqing's body and returned to the Taixu Illusion Realm.
She answered Yinchou Jinnu, who had just spoken. "My mission is complete, so I came back. But, sister, weren't you supposed to bring Shenying Attendant's soul into the Taixu Illusion Realm? I arranged for him to stay in my bedroom in the mortal world. Why didn't you come to collect him?"
Yinchou Jinnu's face turned troubled. "Sister Jinghuan has gone into seclusion."
Fairy Keqing was shocked. "The plan is almost finished. Why did she go into seclusion?"
Chimeng Fairy replied, "Not long ago, Sister Jinghuan suddenly vomited blood and suffered a serious injury. It seems she was struck by the backlash of a spell. After that, she went into seclusion and still hasn't emerged. None of us knows whether her condition has improved."
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