"Princess, you mustn't! I know you and Ningning are as close as sisters, but if the Empress adopts Ningning as her goddaughter, she will inevitably be given the title of princess. Being made a princess is not a good thing."
Lin Xiangyin immediately spoke up to stop Chu Lange's dangerous idea.
Chu Lange looked at Lin Xiangyin in utter confusion. "Why? If Jiang Yourning is made a princess, no one will dare mess with her again."
Lin Xiangyin studied Chu Lange carefully, then spoke with a rare earnestness:
"Princess, you must understand that, as a princess, you have enjoyed fine silks and sumptuous food since childhood, along with supreme honor.
"But if the need arises, you must make certain sacrifices for that honor."
At this point, Lin Xiangyin's tone grew more somber:
"Princess, do you remember the Grand Princess back then? The favor she received as a child was surely no less than yours, was it? But do you remember what she faced afterward?"
"If Ningning becomes a princess, while you, as the Crown Princess, have the Emperor and Empress behind you, should the need truly arise... would Ningning be the one pushed forward?"
Lin Xiangyin left it at that.
Recalling her great-aunt's troubled past, Chu Lange immediately switched tracks. "You have a point. Then why don't you adopt me as your goddaughter?"
On a sudden impulse, Chu Lange reached out with both hands, snatched the tea bowls in front of Lin Xiangyin and Jiang Huai'an, and dropped to her knees:
"This Ancestral Hall is the perfect place. With Heaven and Earth as my witnesses, today I, Chu Lange, acknowledge Lord Jiang and Madam Jiang as my godfather and godmother. Godfather and Godmother, please have some tea!"
"..."
Everyone before her froze.
Standing outside the Ancestral Hall, Jiang Yourning and