Mrs. Jin, accompanied by Yu Yao, had just reached the second gate when she saw Princess Xue and Her Highness Her Imperial Consort Sanzhuo being led by a matron.
The Consort of Jin quickly walked a few steps forward, her face full of smiles, half-kneeling to bow, "Welcome Your Highness Princess Xue. I didn't expect Your Highness to come in person. Please forgive any rudeness on my part."
The crown prince is the designated successor, and his consort will also be the future empress. Although the Consort of Jin holds the title of princess's wife, she remains a subject.
"Sixth Cousin, please don't be polite. I've been delighted for several days after receiving your invitation. As soon as the day came, I hurried over. On the way, I just happened to run into my younger brother's wife, so we came together."
Although she is the concubine of the crown prince, Mrs. Jin, as her elder, is indeed her superior. She does not like to accept Mrs. Jin's etiquette directly. She simply helps her up.
The Prince of Jin is the sixth son of the late emperor, while the current emperor is ranked second. That's why the Crown Princess addresses the Consort of Jin as Sixth Royal Aunt.
"Have you met Sixth Royal Aunt!"
The Third Consort, with a smile, also emerged and greeted Mrs. Jin.
The Prince of the Third is just a prince and has not been granted a title, so his consort's status naturally does not match that of Mrs. Jin, who is a princess's wife.
"The Consort of the Third Prince, please don't be polite. Please rise quickly."
Mrs. Jin, smiling sweetly, reached out to steady her and said.
"Is this the Consort of the Marquis?"
The Crown Princess had noticed Yu Yao, who was accompanying the Consort of Jin, long before. She was truly beautiful. Even this woman couldn't help but feel her heart pounding, let alone men.
"Look at me? I'm so happy to see the Crown Princess that I forgot to introduce."
The Consort of Jin smiled apologetically, took Yu Yao's hand, "This is my newly-married daughter-in-law. Yu'er, come and meet the Crown Princess and the Consort of the Third Prince!"
Yu Yao smiled slightly, walked forward, and bowed respectfully, "I have the honor to meet Your Highness the Crown Princess and Your Highness the Consort of the Third Prince."
The Crown Princess smiled gracefully and solemnly, stepping forward and holding Yu Yao's hand, sizing her up for a while, "Wow, what a wonderful woman! She's so beautiful. Get up quickly."
She remembers that she is the adopted daughter of the Marquis of Yongling, who was nearly married to the newly appointed scholar-official, Li Luoshu.
Now she has become the consort of the crown prince, which is indeed good fortune.
Yu Yao stood up after hearing what the Crown Princess said, and then, she secretly observed the other person.
The Crown Princess is beautiful, dignified, and elegant, a truly superior beauty. Of course, she cannot be compared to her.
She secretly looked at the Consort of the Third Prince again.
The Consort of the Third Prince's face is slightly pale, but her makeup is good and her attire is appropriate. She exudes grace and luxury without overshadowing the host. She also seems to be a very attractive woman.
The problem is that the other person's gaze towards her is not friendly, though it's hidden very well, but it was still picked up by Yu Yao's keen senses.
She was puzzled in her heart. She had never met the Consort of the Third Prince, so she didn't understand why she disliked herself from the very beginning.
The Consort of the Third Prince looked at Yu Yao and couldn't help but recall a few days ago when the Third Prince returned from the palace, inexplicably started to despise her.
He even told her to learn from the Consort of the Marquis Yan and not to do everything so strictly, saying it was old-fashioned and boring to watch.
Although the Third Prince wasn't particularly fond of her before, he hadn't shown any signs of disliking her.
After that, she sent someone to find out, and found out that the Third Prince and the Consort of Yan met at the Convergence Pavilion, had a meal together, and this woman was also present at that time.
The Consort of the Third Prince couldn't help but feel restless and irritated when she thought about this incident.
Yu Yao always felt that the Consort of the Third Prince looked at her in a very strange way, like a mistress looking at a concubine.
Thinking about it, she felt embarrassed in her heart and quickly threw this unreliable guess out of her mind.
After the small talk, everyone entered the main hall of Qing Yun Hall, which was the hall used by the Prince of Jin for receiving guests.
After taking their seats, soon some serving girls brought delicate tea cakes and fruits.
Before long, guests began to arrive in a steady stream.
The ladies were greeted by the Consort of Jin and Yu Yao, while the gentlemen were welcomed by the Prince of Jin and Nan Gong Yan.
Although the invitations were for ladies, the young gentlemen from each family would still come to join the fun.
Mrs. Jin kept Yu Yao company, greeting the ladies, and couldn't stop.
She watched wave after wave of elegantly dressed ladies, accompanied by maids, as they walked into the courtyard.
In an instant, the courtyard was filled with the sound of jingling rings.
Listening to Mrs. Jin introduce this is the wife of that family and that is the daughter of another, being polite and small talk, Yu Yao felt her face almost stiff with smiles.
Just as she found a moment to rest, she heard Si Qin say that Yu Wan had come with her personal maid.
She raised her eyebrows and went to welcome them at the second gate.
In the distance, Yu Wan was seen entering with her maid. She was dressed in aquamarine silk, elegantly dressed and clear of the world.
Being the most beautiful woman in the capital was no idle claim, but compared to Yu Yao, she still seemed to pale in comparison.
Yu Wan also saw Yu Yao and saw the other's sublime beauty, as well as the noble demeanor that transcended the mundane. For a moment, she felt dazed.
Is this person really her adopted sister?
Even if the other person had hidden her sublime beauty before, how could one explain the behavior and the aura of elegance that exuded from her?
She couldn't understand how one's change could be so great, or whether the Fengshui of the Prince of Jin really nurtured people so well?
But why didn't it nurture her in the past life? Instead, it tortured her to the point of death.
Yu Wan collected her jealousy and bowed slightly towards Yu Yao, speaking with a sense of shame: "I am Yu Wan, the adopted daughter of the Consort of the Third Prince. My mother-in-law is unwell and cannot come in person. Please forgive me."
She originally didn't want to come, and in this life, she didn't want to set foot in the Prince of Jin's mansion or see Yu Yao's arrogant and successful appearance.
It was her husband who said, "Since the Consort of Jin has sent out invitations, if we don't go, it might offend people."
Thinking about her husband's low position, she reluctantly came for the sake of not causing trouble for her husband.
Yu Yao glanced at Yu Wan's reluctant appearance and felt extremely uncomfortable in her heart.
It was as if someone was forcing her.
Thinking about what Yu Wan said that Zhou's body was unwell and couldn't come.
Of course, she knew why Zhou couldn't come. Her foot had been burned so badly by Yu Wan that she couldn't come. Now, naturally, she wouldn't mind.
But in order to disturb Yu Wan, she showed a worried expression at the appropriate time, "Big sister, how is your mother-in-law? Has she seen a doctor?"
Yu Wan was indeed disturbed by this, so she twisted the handkerchief tightly, her face hardening as she said, "It's not serious. I have already seen a doctor. The doctor said it will be better after a few days of rest."
"That's good."
Yu Yao timed her breath and said apologetically, "Big sister, please take a seat inside. There are many guests today, and my little sister can't accompany you."
She said this and waved her hand at the maid behind her, "Si Qin, take Big sister to the garden to see the peonies that the Emperor bestowed. They are all valuable varieties, including Yao Huang and Wei Zi. They are very beautiful. Big sister should look at them more carefully as it will be difficult to see them outside of Jin's mansion."
Her first sentence was directed at Si Qin, and her last words were aimed at Yu Wan.
Yu Wan tugged hard at the handkerchief in her hand, this damned harlot, was she flaunting in front of her?
She also didn't look at the fact that the position of the Crown Princess was given to her by someone else. She is truly a lowborn person.
"Yes, Missus Yu, it's a good idea for Big sister to look at them more carefully."
Yu Wan suppressed the urge to strangle the woman in front of her, her face rigid as she said.
Yu Yao had enough of watching Yu Wan's frustrated appearance, so she didn't feel like continuing to talk to her and quickly left.
She was just about to find a place to rest when she heard that the Crown Prince and a few princes had arrived.
