Chapter 57
"Princess Consort of An?" Lin Ziyi was momentarily stunned. If she remembered correctly, Prince An hadn’t taken a wife yet, had he?
"Madam Wei, you must not have heard. His Majesty bestowed a marriage upon Prince An today," Eunuch Liu quickly explained, seeing the confusion on Lin Ziyi’s face.
"May I ask which noble family’s daughter is the Princess Consort?" Lin Ziyi inquired curiously, thinking that Prince An’s charming and refined demeanor shouldn’t be wasted on just any young lady.
"It’s the daughter of Lord Li, the Vice Minister of Revenue," Eunuch Liu replied with a smile.
At this, Lin Ziyi was dumbfounded again. Who was this Vice Minister of Revenue?
Was his surname Zhao or Chen?
But as far as she recalled, that lord’s daughter had already been married off long ago.
Where had another daughter come from?
"Eunuch Liu, this Vice Minister of Revenue is..." Lin Ziyi wondered if the position had been newly appointed.
"Haha, it’s none other than Li Tianyou, the wealthiest man in the Tiannuo Kingdom," Eunuch Liu clarified without annoyance.
"So it’s her." Lin Ziyi was surprised. After all, she had heard about Li Zhiwei’s marriage into the Ruan Marquis Residence.
Who would have thought that the Li family would now also gain the position of Vice Minister of Revenue? But then again, every cloud had a silver lining.
"Madam Wei, this old servant will take his leave now. His Majesty is still waiting for me," Eunuch Liu said before departing.
Lin Ziyi was still puzzled by the emperor’s sudden invitation.
To ease her mind, she decided to seek advice from her mother-in-law, Madam Lan.
"If His Majesty sent Eunuch Liu to deliver the message, you must attend the banquet," Madam Lan said after a brief pause. She hadn’t received any news from the palace herself.
It seemed this banquet didn’t require her presence.
Still, as her daughter-in-law, Lin Ziyi needed proper guidance.
"Understood," Lin Ziyi replied, though she felt uneasy. In the past, she had always attended palace banquets with Madam Lan.
Now, going alone made her nervous.
"Once you enter the palace, speak little, avoid looking where you shouldn’t, and never say what you shouldn’t," Madam Lan instructed sternly.
After all, the palace wasn’t exactly a welcoming place.
"I understand," Lin Ziyi said, still somewhat intimidated by her mother-in-law.
After much deliberation, Lin Ziyi decided to visit Li Zhiwei.
Perhaps she could gain some insight, and having a companion would be comforting.
When Lin Ziyi arrived at the Li residence, Li Zhiwei was puzzled—she didn’t recognize the wife of the Minister of Ceremonies.
But since the guest had already arrived, she couldn’t very well turn her away.
"My, isn’t this the future Princess Consort of An?" Lin Ziyi, being an admirer of beauty, couldn’t take her eyes off Li Zhiwei’s delicate and radiant appearance.
She thought to herself, Prince An was truly fortunate to marry such a stunning bride.
"And you are...?" Li Zhiwei was momentarily confused by the woman staring at her with sparkling eyes.
"Princess Consort, greetings. This humble wife is Lin Ziyi, wife of Wei Jing'an, the Minister of Ceremonies," Lin Ziyi quickly introduced herself.
"So it’s Madam Wei. May I ask why you’ve come today?" Li Zhiwei didn’t understand the purpose of this visit. Could there be some grudge between Prince An and her?
But if that were the case, why seek out the Princess Consort?
"Ah, sister, forgive my sudden visit. Don’t mind me," Lin Ziyi said, slightly dazzled by Li Zhiwei’s beauty.
"Not at all," Li Zhiwei replied, though she wasn’t quite used to Madam Wei’s familiarity.
"Sister, I’m a straightforward person, so don’t take offense. I heard His Majesty also invited you to the palace banquet in three days, didn’t he?" Lin Ziyi asked bluntly.
"Yes," Li Zhiwei nodded, though she still wasn’t sure what Madam Wei wanted.
"Ah, that’s wonderful! Eunuch Liu mentioned it to me today, and I was just worrying about going alone," Lin Ziyi said excitedly, already imagining how envious Madam Qu would be when she saw her accompanied by such a beautiful young lady.
After all, there weren’t many noble ladies in the capital as striking as Li Zhiwei.
"So Madam Wei was also invited to the banquet in three days?" Li Zhiwei relaxed slightly. If it was just about the banquet, she didn’t mind having company.
"Yes, yes. I wonder what kind of banquet His Majesty is hosting this time. Usually, my mother-in-law attends with me, but she wasn’t invited this time," Lin Ziyi said with a sigh.
"Have you attended such palace banquets before?" Li Zhiwei asked curiously.
"Of course, but I always followed my mother-in-law’s lead. Sister, don’t call me Madam Wei anymore—just call me Sister Lin," Lin Ziyi said, finding the formal address a bit too distant.
"Very well, Sister Lin. Did you ask Minister Wei about the nature of this banquet?" Li Zhiwei thought that since the Ministry of Ceremonies handled royal rituals, he might have some insight.
"I haven’t seen him these past few days. Who knows what he’s busy with?" Lin Ziyi grumbled at the mention of Wei Jing'an.
Li Zhiwei was now at a loss. Prince An was also preoccupied, and she couldn’t very well visit him to ask.
"Don’t worry. His Majesty and the Empress are quite amiable. Stick with me, and I’ll make sure you’re taken care of," Lin Ziyi declared, patting her chest confidently.
She couldn’t help but think how blind Lin Jitong had been—choosing the petty Zhou Yutang over the wealthy and stunning Li Zhiwei.
Truly throwing away a gem for a pebble.
But such thoughts remained strictly in her mind.
Meanwhile, at Rushan Academy—
Xu Qingshi sat listlessly in his seat, not absorbing a single word from the lecturer above.
Ever since he, Xie Yanzhi, and Jiang Yu were retrieved from the black box by their fathers, they had been sent to this academy under the guise of "enlightenment."
The other students were all older and looked down on them.
The lecturer droned on, and Xu Qingshi nearly dozed off.
Xie Yanzhi and Jiang Yu weren’t faring much better.
Finally, when the lecturer left—
"Young Master, you’ve really landed us in trouble!" Jiang Yu groaned, glaring at Xu Qingshi. If not for his idea to "see the treasure," he would’ve had at least two more years before being sent to an academy.
Now, they had to memorize texts and practice calligraphy—none of which he was good at.
"My father said we shouldn’t stay home and torment our families," Xie Yanzhi muttered, equally disgruntled.
"Hey, you three! Come here and sweep this place clean!"
Just as they were complaining, a voice barked at them from nearby.
The three boys turned in confusion toward the speaker.
