"Sister Wenjun, why can’t we just speak our minds?" The delicate-featured woman complained, "Sister Wenjun, you’re just too kind, always considering others."
"I’m doing this for your own good." Shang Wenjun poured each of them a cup of tea, calmly analyzing, "Ye Qiu is now a ritorious official, deeply trusted by Your Majesty. What if soone with ulterior motives hears what you say and uses it against you?"
"What could she possibly do to us? Yingxin is a Commandery Princess!"
"Precisely because Yingxin is a Commandery Princess, she represents the Imperial Family. If word gets out, people might think the Princess and His Majesty are at odds!" Shang Wenjun explained unhurriedly, "So, you should speak less."
"My uncle dotes on the most, he wouldn’t punish !" Tong Yingxin said defiantly, but eventually fell silent.
"Are we just going to let Ye Qiu have her way? You saw how she treated His Highness just now! She even made His Highness smile apologetically. Who does she think she is!"
"After all, she has earned military rits."
"What military rits? Wasn’t it her grandfather who initially lost Eyun City? She’s just redeeming herself."
"It’s not up to us to decide whether she’s redeeming herself. I’ve heard that her prestige in the army is now so high that the Ye Family Army subtly takes her as their leader!" Shang Wenjun shook her head and casually dropped this bombshell.
"Is she really that formidable?" The delicate-featured woman widened her eyes.
But Commandery Princess Tong Yingxin frowned, "What she’s doing is treasonous! The army belongs to the Imperial family, not the Ye family. I must speak to my uncle about this."
Upon hearing this, Shang Wenjun smiled with satisfaction, "In three days, it will snow heavily, and the plum blossoms in my courtyard will bloom. I’ll host a Plum Blossom Banquet then. You should all co."
"Who else will be there besides us?"
"Just the usual sisters we gather with."
"Oh, Ye Qiu has just returned to the capital, hasn’t she? Why don’t we invite her too, so no one says we’re excluding her?" Tong Yingxin’s eyes sparkled as she continued, "And let’s invite the Crown Prince as well. He’s great at composing poetry; we can have him critique our work then."
"Sure, great idea!" The delicate-featured woman nodded eagerly, exchanging a mischievous look with Tong Yingxin.
On her side, Ye Qiu entered the palace gates. Although everyone was polite, it was just superficial politeness. So even showed disdain, blatantly saying that a woman shouldn’t be so prominent, as it damages the Darong Dynasty’s reputation.
"Mr. Imperial Tutor, I wonder if losing a city brings more disgrace to our dynasty, or does having a woman like go to war bring more disgrace? For Mr. Imperial Tutor to criticize so harshly, does that an a city ans less to him than a woman’s conduct?" Ye Qiu retorted icily.
The imperial tutor’s face turned red with anger, "You’re being unreasonable."
"I don’t know if it’s unreasonable. I only know that expanding our dynasty’s territory and ensuring people live peacefully are far more important than my public presence!" After speaking, Ye Qiu ignored him and marched forward.
"Please bear with her, Mr. Imperial Tutor. I apologize on behalf of General Ye. But General Ye is right; indeed, our dynasty’s territory is more crucial." The Crown Prince said with a bright smile.
"I..." The imperial tutor was so ashad his face turned from red to black.
At the banquet, the ministers had various expressions, but seeing that His Majesty and His Highness the Crown Prince favored Ye Qiu greatly, the words they had prepared remained unsaid. They could only watch as Ye Qiu was conferred the title of Marquis Changning as a woman.
After the banquet ended, besides the Crown Prince escorting Ye Qiu out of the palace, no other ministers spoke to her, and Ye Qiu didn’t mind. If they had approached, she would have worried about losing ti to reunite with her sisters-in-law and nieces and nephews!
"Finally back." Two sisters-in-law greeted her at the door, looking a little pale, suggesting they had been standing for a long ti.
"In this cold, why didn’t you wait inside?" Ye Qiu quickly stepped forward.
"You’ve gotten thinner and darker." The elder sister-in-law i Wanwan tenderly stroked her cheek.
The second sister-in-law Lin Jiao disguised her concern in her scolding, "Didn’t I tell you to take care at the border? Did you not use the skincare products I sent?"
"I haven’t lost weight, just gotten stronger." Ye Qiu made a fist to show her strength, then joked with the second sister-in-law, "Second sister-in-law, life in the barracks is hectic; there’s no ti for those things. Now that I’m back, you can play with all you want, I promise I won’t escape."
"Such a glib tongue, I still can’t believe how you managed to kill that female killing god Zha Bu." Lin Jiao pinched her cheek, "Hurry inside, Mumu misses you. He’s been asking for you to check his howork for days. And Lu’er, you haven’t t her yet; she’s just started talking. Guess what her first word was?"
"Could it be ’aunt’?"
"Exactly!" i Wanwan laughed, "For that, your second sister-in-law was envious for quite so ti."
Ye Qiu chuckled, "Second sister-in-law is so petty. It just shows Lu’er and I are destined to be close!"
"Isn’t it destiny indeed? I just hope she doesn’t end up liking martial arts as much as you," Lin Jiao said worriedly, thinking about how people’s opinions of their Ye family had changed in the capital over the past year and a half. She kept many thoughts to herself, hoping only for peace and safety; power and influence could take their course.
"Aunt!" As soon as Ye Qiu stepped inside, a little cannonball launched towards her.
Behind him was a slightly clumsy little girl, babbling, "coo coo," and, like the boy, dived into Ye Qiu’s embrace with a broad smile.
"Here I am, and she acts like she doesn’t even see ," Lin Jiao feigned jealousy, but her face was all smiles.
"You’ll get used to it. Look at Mumu, he’s so grown up now. A few days ago, I wanted to sleep with him, and he refused, saying n and won are different. Yet today, he ignores that and drools all over his aunt." i Wanwan spoke with the wisdom of experience.
"So well-liked by children, you should have several of your own when you marry." Lin Jiao teased, then exchanged a concerned look with elder sister-in-law i Wanwan, both frowning with worry.
Marriage proposals for their family were already scarce, and now with the little sister-in-law known as a female killing god, even fewer would co. Even if proposals did co, they had to assess if the suitors had ulterior motives, especially since their little sister-in-law held a title that could be inherited.
"I have a cousin on my side, though not very powerful, he’s a scholar with good character," Lin Jiao suggested after thinking for a while.
i Wanwan nodded, "If he’s suitable, we can arrange a eting."
As her two sisters-in-law planned, Ye Qiu pretended not to hear. Certainly, His Majesty wouldn’t allow her to marry at her own will.
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