"Eldest Sis, look." At this time, Shangguan Ning called for An Jin to look out the window.
An Jinxiu looked out the window. What attracted Shangguan Ning's attention was a stall selling masks. "Ning wants it?" An Jinxiu asked Shangguan Ning, but in her heart she was thinking, "In my previous life, why couldn't I see through the mask on Bai Chengze's face?"
Shangguan Ning looked eagerly at the multicolored mask hanging on the stall, but shook his head at An Jinxiu.
An Jinxiu took out a few copper coins and told An Yuanzhi, who was sitting outside the carriage, "Yuanzhi, Ning'er likes masks. Take her and choose one."
Shangguan Ning wanted to shake his head and say no, but was carried out by An Yuezhi.
"Money," An Jinxiu said as she handed the money over to An Yuezhi.
An Yuanzhi shook his hand and said, "Sis, I still have the money to buy a mask."
"What does Uncle want?" An Jinxiu turned to ask Shangguan Rui, who had been quietly sitting on the side.
Shangguan Rui smiled and said, "Sister-in-law, I'm not a child anymore."
An Jin looked at Shangguan Rui. "Uncle, you should get some clothes too. I'll do it when I get back."
"No need," Shangguan Rui hurriedly told An Jinxiu, but she saw An Jinxiu already looking out of the window, muttering what kind of fabric she was going to buy for her family. Shangguan Rui became quiet again. Their family had never been complete, now that their eldest brother was like a father and their eldest sister-in-law was like a mother, following this little sister-in-law into the house, their Shangguan family seemed to finally be complete.
When the four of them returned home, An Jinxiu hadn't even gotten out of the carriage when An Yuanzhi said from outside, "What are you guys doing here?"
Hearing An Yuanzhi's unkind tone, An Jinxiu hurried to get off the car. She saw the two servants of the Residence of An, standing opposite to her. Their expressions were disrespectful, and their eyes were filled with impatience.
Shangguan Ning was about to follow An Jin out of the car, but she was stopped by Shangguan Rui. The brother and sister sat in the car and listened to what was happening outside.
"Second Miss," the woman in charge saw An Jinxiu get off the carriage and bowed to her. "We came to escort Second Miss back to the house."
An Yuanzhi said, "My brother-in-law went to White Jade Mountain Pass. You didn't know?"
The matriarch in charge said, "The matriarch also knows that Second Miss has set off for the war, but the rules passed down by the older generation cannot be abandoned. Second Miss should return to the residence."
There was no rule for returning home after getting married to a concubine. After An Jinxiu had married out of the Residence of An, she had never thought of returning home again. Now that these two servants had said that it was from the matriarch, An Jinxiu didn't think that the matriarch had given her face. She didn't know what was waiting for her in the Residence of An today.
"You want my sister to come back alone?" An Yuanzhi said, "You'll have to wait for my brother-in-law to come back if you want to go back, right?"
The matriarch's servants looked at each other and was really impatient for the fifth young master. It was already a blessing for the matriarch to ask them to come and fetch the second young miss back. Not only were they not grateful, but one of them even shouted at them in a loud voice with a face full of unwillingness.
An Jinxiu looked at her neighbors, who were sticking their heads out of the window, and said to Zi Yuan, who was standing in front of the door, "Zi Yuan, carry the young lady to her house."
Only after hearing An Jinxiu's words did the woman run in front of the carriage to help Shangguan Ning off the carriage.
Shangguan Rui had clearly heard the conversation between the An siblings and the matriarchs of the Residence of An. Shangguan Yong hadn't told Shangguan Rui about An Jin's family, but Shangguan Rui had relied on these words to confirm that his sister-in-law and her brother didn't have a high position in the Residence of An. After Shangguan Rui got off the carriage, he asked An Jin, "Eldest Sister-in-law, do you want to go back to the door?"
"I need to listen to what the elders have to say," An Jinxiu smiled apologetically at Shangguan Rui, saying, "I'll boil the summer heat soup for you guys when I come back."
"If you don't go back, how can those people at home force you?" An Yuanzhi said in dissatisfaction.
"Don't say anymore." An JinXiu told An Yuanzhi to stop talking while she told Shangguan Rui to go home first.
Shangguan Rui wanted to accompany her back to the Residence of An. However, in this world, his brother hadn't come back yet, so he had to do it with her brother. Shangguan Rui could only tell her: "Then I'll wait for eldest sister-in-law at home with me."
"En," An Jinxiu promised Shangguan Rui as she was about to leave.
Seeing that An Jinxiu was about to leave, Zi Yuan quickly asked, "Miss, do you want me to accompany you back?"
Zi Yuan's worry was written on his face. An Jinxiu comfortingly patted his hand and said, "Take care of the door and take care of Miss."
An Yuanzhi then turned to the old woman in charge. "You came to pick up my sister and bring her over here?" Shall we walk back to the house? "
The matron in charge said, "It was all the servants' fault. They thought that there was a car at Second Young Master's house, so they didn't bring a sedan chair."
An Jinxiu stopped An Yuanzhi, who was burning with anger, and said in a voice that did not sound happy or angry, "It's fine. I'm just taking this carriage back to my house."
The coachman had business, of course, he would not refuse.
An Yuanzhi suppressed his anger and got on his horse.
After An Jin and her group had walked far away, Zi Yuan, who was standing inside the door, said to Shangguan Rui, who was still standing there, "Second Young Master, go back to your room. It's too late outside."
Shangguan Rui glanced at Zi Yuan, then turned around and walked into the living room.
Zi Yuan was scared by Shangguan Rui's gaze. A thirteen year old teenager like Fifth Young Master and a scholar. His eyes were fierce, as if he could see through everything.
When they arrived at the Residence of An, they found that there were already many carriages parked in front of the entrance. There were also quite a few servants standing outside the entrance, dressed in palace attire. An Yuanzhi thought to himself, "What's going on?"
The gatekeeper replied to An Yuanzhi's words in a low voice, "Fifth Young Master, the imperial concubine has come back to visit her family."
F * ck! An Yuanzhi cursed in his heart. This woman was here, why did she need An Jin to come back?
An Jinxiu got off the carriage and calmly looked at the servants in front of the door. She then paid the coachman to leave first.
When the steward wife saw that An Jinxiu had paid the bill, she walked up to her and said, "Second Miss, enter the mansion."
An Jin walked into the Residence of An and told An Yuanzhi to go see their mother. She followed the steward to tea room in the Matriarch's courtyard and waited.
After the steward's wife brought An Jinxiu into the room, she left. An Jin sat by the window in her room. She waited for six hours, but no one came in to talk to her.
In Matriarch Zhou's room, the crown prince's consort, An Jinyan, explained the entire situation in front of the matriarch and Madam Qin. No matter how delicate and barbaric An Jinge was, she did not dare to retort in front of her elder sister, An Jin. She could only lower her head as she received her punishment.
née Qin sat obediently under the matriarch. If it hadn't been for An Jinyan's return today, she wouldn't have been able to leave her own courtyard. The matriarch's blade-like gaze towards her made her feel apprehensive.
An Jinyan did not speak any good words for her mother. After she finished lecturing her mother, she used a cup of tea and asked, "How long has Jinxiu been waiting for?"
The matriarch replied, "It's been six hours."
An Jinyan called in the matron in charge and asked, "What is Second Miss doing?"
The head steward's wife reported, "To reply esteemed imperial concubine, Second Miss is sitting in her tea room dozing off."
It seemed that this An Jinxiu was different. If she knew that he was here in the past, this little sister of hers wouldn't have rushed over to ask for an audience. Now, she was just waiting by the side and taking a nap?
"Why is she back?" An Jinge still didn't know about An Jin return. She rolled her eyes and said, "She's really thick-skinned. Big Sis didn't want to see her and she even came running over sloppily."
An Jinyan first told the matron in charge, "Go invite Second Miss in," and then said to Matriarch Zhou, "I taught An Jinge for nothing. Matriarch, in my opinion, it's a good thing that she can't be the first wife of the Prime Minister's estate.
"Big sister." Seeing that An Jinyan wanted to scold her again, An Jinge immediately begged for mercy and called out to her.
"You've always been so stupid, what should we do in the future?" An Jinyan said, "In the future, no matter what family you marry into, a man will always have three wives and four concubines. You must have children born from a concubine. You can't tolerate your second elder sister. Who can you tolerate in the future?"
When it came to An Jinxiu, she would not lower her head to admit her mistake. She replied to An Jinyan without raising her eyes, "I just can't stand to watch that concubine-born act like that."
An Jinyan was about to teach this good-for-nothing girl a few more words, but when she looked up, she saw An Jinxiu standing in front of the door. She quickly put on a smile and waved at her.
When An Jinge saw An Jinxiu enter the room, she was not afraid that she would hear what she had just said. She gave a loud harrumph to An Jinxiu and sat down next to née Qin.
An Jin acted as if she didn't see An Jinge. She gave a proper bow to An Jinyan with proper etiquette.
An Jinyan smiled and said, "Get up. We are sisters from the same family, so how can we be so polite?"
After she stood up, she looked at An Jinyan and smiled. The consort had been a beauty since she was young, and now she exuded a noble air, as if she was already a matriarch.
In her previous life, the Crown Prince failed to ascend the throne. An Jinyan was killed by Bai Chengze's cup of poison wine. In this life, was this young mistress' life as a queen? Even if Bai Chengze did not have An Jin by his side, the Fifth Prince would still try to seize the dragon throne. Would the Crown Prince be a match for the Fifth Prince, Bai Chengze?
An Jinyan looked at the smile on An Jinxiu's face, but it didn't feel good. This kind of smile shouldn't appear on her face.
In An Jinyan's heart, An Jinxiu had always been an idiot who couldn't see her own identity clearly. She had always strived for power, and a fool should have struggled until she died without hope.
An Jinxiu waited for An Jinyan. Seeing that she didn't say anything, she bowed to Matriarch Zhou and Madam Qin as well.
The matriarch spoke up. "Your husband is off on a campaign. You have to live a good life at home. Grandmother doesn't care what you think, but since ancient times, women have always been like chickens or dogs. You have to follow the path of a woman." "You are a concubine-born, but now you've become principal wife when you go to the Shangguan Family. You must behave properly!"
An Jinxiu acknowledged with a 'yea'.
née Qin sighed, "Ah Jin is in a lowly marriage. I'm still sad thinking about it now."
Matriarch Zhou was about to tell née Qin to shut up when she heard An Jinyan say, "I'll tell the crown prince about General Shangguan when I get back. Sister in the family, why am I watching the brocade suffer?"