Aside from Yin Ji, the rest of the Yin family was satisfied and even excited about Yin Feifei’s impending marriage into the royal family. As soon as the empress’s message arrived, Yin Feifei’s mother meticulously dressed her up before allowing her to leave.
As soon as Yin Feifei got into the carriage, her face turned cold. Her maid, seeing this, grew worried. "Miss, please don't be like this. The master has already said he will find a way to cancel the marriage arrangement."
Yin Feifei shook her head and said irritably, "The marriage is granted by the emperor, and the imperial decree has been issued. Unless the crown prince dies, it won't be so easy to cancel it."
Even if the Crown Prince died, as long as the Empress was still alive, she would force her to marry into the royal family, and might even let her be buried with the crown prince. Yin Feifei had never thought that marrying into the royal family would bring any good, nor did she believe that the Crown Prince or the Empress were kind-hearted people.
"Miss, the wedding is still over half a year away. The master will surely find a way. Besides, if you think life will be hard in the future, why not enjoy the present while it’s still good? Otherwise, when you look back on these days in the future, you’ll feel just as unhappy, and that would be truly miserable."
Yin Feifei was amused by her maid and poked her forehead with a finger. "You’re such a clever one, but you’re right. I should enjoy myself more before I get married."
Seeing Yin Feifei smile, the maid felt relieved. "By the way, Miss, do you know why Her Majesty the Empress suddenly summoned you to the palace?"
Yin Feifei could roughly guess it had something to do with her father. She replied, "Whatever the reason, I’m just a daughter focused on preparing for my wedding. I know nothing about anything else."
When she entered the palace and met the Empress, Her Majesty first warmly asked Yin Feifei about what she had been doing and learning recently. Then, she expressed how much she liked her and hoped she could marry the Crown Prince soon to become her daughter-in-law.
Yin Feifei pretended to be shy to handle the situation. After the Empress finished with the pleasantries, she got to the main point and asked if Yin Feifei knew what her father was up to.
Yin Feifei shook her head in confusion. "My father never allows the family to inquire about court affairs."
A flicker of dissatisfaction flashed in the Empress's eyes. "It’s fine if you don’t know. When you return, just deliver a message to your father for me. Tell him that his daughter is the future Crown Princess, and he should recognize his position. Not everything in this world needs to be pursued for the truth. It will be bad if he ends up hurting his own people."
Yin Feifei looked at the Empress timidly. "Your Majesty, I don't understand the meaning of these words."
The Empress waved her hand impatiently. "You don’t need to understand. Just relay the message to your father exactly as I said. That’s all. I’m tired now. You may leave."
This was the Empress’s usual style, using people and then discarding them, her attitude completely different before and after.
"Yes, I'll take my leave," Yin Feifei bowed respectfully and left Changning Palace.
She walked quickly, and her maid hurriedly followed behind. The two of them moved as if dogs were chasing them, not slowing down until they had left the palace and boarded the carriage. Only then did they both let out a heavy sigh of relief.
The maid found the Empress quite frightening, while Yin Feifei was worried about what the Empress might do to her father.
After thinking for a moment, Yin Feifei calmly said to her maid, "Let’s swap clothes. You wear my clothes and take the carriage directly back to the manor. I’ll get off halfway to take care of some business and return later."
The maid didn’t quite understand what she was planning to do. "Miss, maybe I should go with you. It’s too dangerous for you to go alone."
Yin Feifei began to undo her clothes. "It’s fine. I know the way."
The two quickly swapped clothes, and when they reached the busiest part of the street, Yin Feifei got off the carriage. She then bought some snacks from a roadside stall and walked slowly, holding them in her arms.
Her destination was the Wei family. The Wei and Yin families were now tied to the same boat, and Yin Feifei planned to send a message to the Wei family first. Whether the Empress was targeting the Yin family or trying to cut off certain clues, it would be very unfavorable for them.
The gatekeeper, seeing Yin Feifei dressed as a maid, wisely reported to the steward, who led her to Zhao Yun Yuan .
Jiang Lin and Wei Yunzhao were reading a letter—a letter sent by the eldest prince from the border. In the letter, he wrote that he had no intention of competing for the throne and that the marriage arrangement was not his desire. He would do his best to delay his return to Shengjing, assuring the Wei family not to worry about the marriage. Once Wei Yunji was a bit older in two years, he would return to Shengjing to annul the engagement.
The eldest prince was a military general and understood the difficulties of long-term border defense and leading troops in battle. Therefore, he held great respect and admiration for the Wei family, who had been military generals for generations. This was evident from the wording of his letter.
Compared to marrying, he would rather write a few more letters to discuss tactics with Wei Yunzhao.
After reading the letter, Jiang Lin even remarked on the eldest prince’s naivety. He thought that by saying he didn’t want to compete for the throne, he would be left alone. What a beautiful thought.
With a mother like the Empress, how could the Crown Prince allow a threat like him, a man with high military achievements and command over troops, to live?
"Eldest Young Master, Young Madam, Miss Yin is here," Bai Zhi’s voice suddenly came from outside the door.
Jiang Lin opened the door and saw Yin Feifei still dressed as a maid. He hurriedly invited her in. "Has something happened?"
Yin Feifei said, "The Empress summoned me to the palace today." She then recounted the purpose of the Empress’s summons and the message she was asked to relay to her father.
"I’m worried she might do something to my father," Yin Feifei said, her composure from the journey finally breaking as her anxiety showed on her face.
Jiang Lin poured her a cup of water. "Don’t worry. She won’t do anything to your father. The Crown Prince wants to marry you precisely because your father is currently in the Emperor’s favor. If something were to happen to Master Yin, they would be the ones at the greatest loss."
"Even if they want to attack, it will be the other members of the Yin family, as a warning to your father." But this was not good news either.
"What should we do then?" They couldn’t figure out what the Empress was planning, nor could they take precautions.
Jiang Lin paced around the room with his hands behind his back, then smiled. "The more she fears something, the more we should make it known to everyone. She can silence one or two people, but she can’t silence everyone in the world."
Jiang Lin flexed his wrist. He had been busy lately and hadn’t written a script in a long time. Coincidentally, the theater hadn’t staged any new plays recently, and his earnings had decreased.
Jiang Lin told Yin Feifei to go back first, relay the Empress’s words to her father exactly as they were, continue investigating as needed, and wait for his news.
After thanking him, Yin Feifei pushed the snacks she had bought toward Jiang Lin and hurriedly returned home.
Jiang Lin sat down and began eating the snacks Yin Feifei had bought while discussing with Wei Yunzhao, "What do you think about asking the sixth prince for a favor?"
"Su Qiao is a girl from our family. If he wants to court her, he should at least show some respect to us, her elder brothers."
Wei Yunzhao said, "The sixth prince probably doesn’t want to acknowledge us."
Jiang Lin replied, "It’s fine, we’ll take the initiative. He will have to acknowledge us whether he wants to or not."
Jiang Lin stuffed a piece of pastry into his mouth, stood up, and pushed Wei Yunzhao’s wheelchair toward the door. "Let’s go find Su Qiao and have her whisper in the sixth prince’s ear."
"Alright, it’s up to you," Wei Yunzhao said, full of indulgence.
The two took a carriage to the small courtyard where Su Qiao lived. Before they even got off the carriage, they sensed something was wrong. Jiang Lin sniffed the air. "Why do I smell blood?"
Wei Yunzhao’s expression turned serious. "Su Qiao might be in danger. Don’t worry about me, go in and check quickly."
Jiang Lin didn’t hesitate. He jumped off the carriage, pushed open the door, and rushed inside. As soon as he entered, he was shocked by the scene before him.
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