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Xia Qingyun suddenly chuckled, her laughter carrying a touch of languor and an edge honed by her understanding of the world. "You little rascal! Once the cherished flower of a nation, a golden branch with jade leaves, graced with the honor of Zhu Liang's imperial surname-and you became a daughter-in-law of the Chen Clan Main Lineage."
Her fingertips tapped the table lightly, and her words abruptly sharpened. "A noble daughter of the imperial house, a princess of the realm, marrying into the Chen Clan Main Lineage-in the eyes of those high officials clad in purple and vermilion, did that count as casting a bright pearl into darkness, diminishing the imperial family's dignity?"
Xia Qingyun's words struck straight at the heart of the matter.
Zhu Qianqing met her gaze openly, her bearing as tranquil as water, yet her fingertips unconsciously brushed nonexistent dust from her shoulder-a courtly gesture engraved into her very marrow.
"You put it too strongly, Eldest Aunt." Her voice was composed, every syllable clearly enunciated through years of imperial upbringing.
"Qian Qing did not inherit the imperial family's core martial soul. What awakened in me was my mother's clan's martial soul. For that reason, my imperial father specially permitted me to take my mother's surname as a mark of exceptional favor. The palace rules made an exception for me as well."
"Besides, although the Chen Clan had once been in decline, it had already reversed its fortunes and still enjoyed an illustrious reputation. Yinzu, too, was a dragon and phoenix upon the jade steps. How could that be called 'marrying beneath me'?"
Xia Qingyun suddenly chuckled again, pointing a delicate finger at her. "True enough. We could hardly have you marry a close relative from a collateral branch of the imperial