The legitimate daughter returns to the capital and embarks on a splendid life, tearing apart the fak

Granny Zhao's heart skipped a beat. She replied "Yes," bowed, and left. She went to the storeroom, took three items, placed them on a tray, and went to Zheng Jie's room.

Zheng Jie was sulking when she saw Granny Zhao enter carrying a tray with a white silk ribbon, a dagger, and a medicine bottle. She sat up abruptly and asked in a trembling voice, "What are you going to do?"

Granny Zhao repeated the Princess's words verbatim, and finally said expressionlessly, "Miss Zheng, please!"

Zheng Jie stared at the tray in her hand, her lips trembled a few times, she stretched out her fingers, but in the end she didn't dare to choose, and finally covered her face and cried out.

She was afraid of dying.

She never intended to die; her hunger strike was merely a fit of pique, an attempt to force the Princess to compromise and let her leave. But she miscalculated; the Princess was not someone she could threaten.

Granny Zhao stood for a moment, then stopped asking her questions and said calmly, "Miss, since you refuse to choose, this old servant advises you to behave yourself and not provoke His Highness's anger! Tomorrow at dawn, this old servant will come and teach you the palace rules."

After saying that, she turned and left. From then on, Zheng Jie began to behave herself and obediently followed Granny Zhao to learn palace rules.

Minister Zheng thought he had kept the news of Zheng Jie's escape from home a secret, but little did he know that the news had still reached the Prince of Zhennan's residence.

Upon hearing the report from his attendant, the Prince of Zhennan snorted coldly: "If it weren't for the sake of the Princess, would I have married a young lady from a Vice Minister's household as my principal wife? Since she doesn't know what's good for her, I don't need to give her any face."

"Pass down the word: the wedding need not be conducted according to the rites for a principal wife; it should be conducted according to the rites for a concubine. I want to see who makes a fool of themselves!"

The attendant asked in a low voice, "Your Highness, should we inform the Princess?"

The Prince of Zhennan shook his head: "No need. The Princess is more than happy for me to give her a hard time!"

Zheng Jie's incident didn't even cause a ripple in the capital, and it had absolutely no impact on Yun Jin.

Yun Jin was very busy because she had received an invitation to the New Year's Eve palace banquet.

The invitation was sent by the Empress. In addition to receiving a separate invitation, Chu Wanqing and Yunxiu also received invitations, but their names were on the same invitation, as was Yun Lang's name.

Upon hearing the news, Old Madam Yun gritted her teeth and asked Granny Wang, "Who received the invitations?"

After hearing what Granny Wang said, she gritted her teeth and squeezed out a few words: "There's none for me?"

Seeing that she looked unwell, Granny Wang quickly comforted her, "Old Madam, there's no need to be angry. Perhaps Her Majesty the Empress doesn't know you've returned to the capital. If she did, she would definitely send you an invitation. After all, the eldest young lady is the future Fifth Prince's consort, and the second young lady is a county princess personally bestowed by His Majesty. Although she's just an adopted daughter, she's still on the Yun family genealogy."

She knew the old lady too well. Although she disliked Yun Jin, that was within the mansion. If they were outside, the old lady would be proud of her.

After listening to Granny Wang's words, Old Madam Yun thought about it more and more and felt that it made sense. The Empress must not know that she was in the capital.

She took a deep breath and instructed, "Go and tell the gatekeeper that I have a bit of a headache, and if Heting returns, have him come to see me immediately."

The palace is holding a New Year's Eve banquet, so Yun Heting is quite busy, since he is still in the Ministry of Rites.

He was busy in the palace until he had dinner before returning home. Hearing from the servants that his mother had a headache, he didn't even have time to change out of his official robes before heading to the old lady's courtyard.

As soon as he entered, he saw the old lady sitting on the couch with a somber face. He quickly stepped forward and asked with concern, "Mother, I heard you have a headache. Have you called a doctor?"

"I'm asking you, did you know that Her Majesty the Empress sent an invitation to a palace banquet?" the old lady asked bluntly.

Yun Heting paused for a moment, then nodded and said, "I know. Why did Mother suddenly ask about this?"

The old lady suddenly slammed her hand on the table and angrily rebuked, "Why do you think I asked about this? Everyone in the household has it, but mine is the only one missing!"

My granddaughter is going to be a princess, and I, as her grandmother, can't even attend a palace banquet? What will people think of me if word gets out?

"You're a Minister of Rites, surely you can handle this? Find a way to get me a letter of authorization!"

Yun Heting felt a headache coming on. He patiently advised, "Mother, the invitations to the palace banquet were decided by Her Majesty the Empress; I can't make that decision. Besides, the rules in the palace are strict; it's not as comfortable as being at home..."

"Can it be the same?" the old lady interrupted him, her tone tinged with grievance. "On New Year's Eve, you all went to the palace, leaving me, an old woman, all alone in the mansion, all cold and lonely!"

It's not that I care about that palace banquet, but other people's old ladies can go, so why can't I? You're the Minister of Rites, so you should find a way to talk to the Empress and ask her to send me a formal invitation.

Her Majesty the Empress surely doesn't know I'm in the capital. If she did, how could she have left me out?

Yun Heting said helplessly, "Mother, I am an outsider, how can I casually request an audience with Her Majesty the Empress? Mother, please don't make things difficult for your son."

The old woman stared at him for a long time, then waved her hand irritably, "Fine, fine, I won't make things difficult for you. Go away, don't get in my way."

Yunheting felt as if he had been granted a pardon, quickly bowed, and withdrew.

The door closed, and the old lady slammed her hand on the table, saying to Granny Wang, "See this? This is my son! It's just an invitation to a palace banquet, and he won't even bother to look after me. What can I expect from him?"

Granny Wang gave an awkward smile and forced a persuasion, "Madam, perhaps the master is truly in a difficult position. Actually, it's better if you don't go. I've heard that the food at the palace banquet is served cold, and the main hall is freezing. Many ladies and young misses who attended the palace banquet fell ill afterward. You might as well stay at home..."

Grandma Yun was clearly unwilling to give up. She sighed and waved her hand, saying, "You can go out now. Let me be by myself for a while."

Helpless, Granny Wang had no choice but to turn around and leave.

The old lady was alone in the house, and the more she thought about it, the more upset she became.

As she gets older, she becomes increasingly concerned about her image. Her granddaughter has been betrothed to the fifth prince, and she wants to experience the feeling of being admired. However, her son cannot understand her.

Just then, Liu Zhixue's voice came from outside the door: "Is the old lady resting? I heard she wasn't feeling well, so I came to check on her."

Granny Wang gestured towards the house, about to speak, when the old lady called out towards the door, "Is that Zhixue? Let her in!"

Granny Wang quickly lifted the curtain and let her into the room.

When Liu Zhixue entered, she immediately noticed the old lady's gloomy expression and pretended not to know, asking, "Grandma, I heard you had a headache. Are you feeling any better?"

The old lady waved her hand and forced a smile, saying, "It's nothing serious, I'm just a little tired. Please sit down and keep this old woman company."

Liu Zhixue sat down beside the old lady as instructed, then suddenly sighed and said, "Old lady, I heard that Her Majesty the Empress sent invitations to the palace banquet. Everyone in the household received one, but yours was not. Master must have been so busy that he forgot to report your name."

The old lady's forced smile froze for a moment after she had touched on her secret, but she still stubbornly said, "Nothing like that. It's just a meal. I don't even care to go. There are too many rules in the palace. I don't even feel comfortable eating there."

Liu Zhixue didn't expose her, but moved closer to the old lady and said mysteriously, "Does the old lady want to attend the palace banquet? If you want to go, Zhixue has a way."

The old woman's eyes lit up, and she asked urgently, "What method?"