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

Yun Jin shook her head, unwilling to discuss the topic further, and leaned close to Chen Mengyao's ear, whispering, "Don't just talk about me. Sister Mengyao, has Grandmother made any arrangements for your marriage?"

Chen Mengyao's face flushed red. She lowered her head, twisting her handkerchief with her fingers, and after a long while, she nodded gently.

Seeing her shy appearance, Yun Jin became interested and moved closer to her, asking, "Who is it? Do I know them? Tell me quickly."

Chen Mengyao bit her lip, and after a long while, blushing, she squeezed out a few words through her teeth: "It's...it's Cousin Wenxuan."

Yun Jin was slightly taken aback. Zheng Wenxuan was Zheng Guodong's eldest son and Chen Mengyao's cousin.

Is it that close?

However, considering that in this era, marriage between cousins ​​was the most common way for prominent families to maintain their social standing.

She swallowed the words that were about to come out and asked softly, "Would Brother Wenxuan be willing?"

Chen Mengyao nodded, somewhat embarrassed, and said, "My maternal grandmother said she couldn't bear to see me marry into another family and suffer, and that she could protect me in front of my aunt. I just mentioned this to my aunt a few days ago, and she went back and asked my cousin Wenxuan, who was also willing, so the matter was settled."

Yun Jin breathed a sigh of relief for her.

She had witnessed the Zheng family's traditions firsthand. Old Madam Zheng was kind and loving, Madam Wang was generous and kind, and Zheng Wenxuan was her childhood sweetheart.

Marrying into the Zheng family was indeed a good outcome for Chen Mengyao.

She congratulated him and then asked if the wedding date had been set.

Chen Mengyao shook her head and said, "My maternal grandfather's idea is to wait until after the fifth day of the lunar month and then ask the director of the Imperial Observatory to calculate an auspicious day."

Yun Jin smiled and said, "Alright, once the date is set, I will definitely prepare a grand gift."

On the other side, Yunxiu almost bit her teeth to pieces.

She watched as Yun Jin was surrounded by a group of ladies and noblewomen offering their congratulations, watched as Xiao Jingyan glanced at Yun Jin from time to time, his eyes filled with undisguised tenderness, and watched as Princess Yi made no attempt to hide her affection for Yun Jin.

Why? How could Yun Jin, a wild girl, marry into the royal family just like me? And Prince Yu is a prince, while the Fifth Prince is still just a prince.

The emperor is in his prime and does not want his sons to compete for the throne, so he has never granted any titles of kings to his sons.

The more she thought about it, the angrier she became. Finally, she couldn't hold back any longer and turned to Grandma Yun, saying, "Grandmother, it's a bit stuffy in the main hall. Xiu'er is going out for some fresh air."

Grandma Yun nodded, and Yun Xiu led Mei Xiang out of the main hall through the side door.

Grandma Yun sat to the side, her heart filled with mixed feelings. While she cursed inwardly, "That brat is really lucky," she had no choice but to put on a smile and accept the congratulations from the women around her.

Yun Heting's expression was even more fascinating. The curve of his lips seemed to be smiling, but there was no smile in his eyes. Today, the emperor's bestowal of marriage on Yun Jin and Prince Yu had disrupted his plans.

If this girl becomes the Princess Consort of Prince Yu, will he still be able to control her?

He glanced subconsciously in Liu Zhixue's direction, trying to read some hints from her face.

But Liu Zhixue was standing with her hands at her sides behind Old Madam Yun, her eyes fixed straight ahead, not even glancing at him out of the corner of her eye.

He had no choice but to look away and barely manage to deal with the congratulations from his colleagues.

After the sudden arranged marriage between Yun Jin and Xiao Jingyan, none of the noble ladies had any desire to perform on stage.

Several people had originally prepared a grand finale performance, but after what just happened, who would still be interested in watching them play the piano and dance?

Seeing this, the Empress gave a wink to the palace maid beside her, and the drums and clappers on the stage started to sound again. The actors from the Imperial Music Bureau took to the stage in their makeup and began to sing incomprehensible opera.

Yun Jin enjoyed her meal while listening to the opera, finding it quite pleasant.

The main hall was much warmer than the last victory celebration banquet because of the firewall.

Each table had a heater next to it, and the dishes were kept warm on the heater so they were still hot when you ate them.

Ignoring the various gazes from others, she chatted and laughed quietly with Chen Mengyao while enjoying the imperial dishes in front of her. These were the dishes made by the imperial chefs, and the taste was something that countless people in later generations had searched through historical records but could not recreate. The fact that she could actually eat them on New Year's Eve was a perk of her time travel.

She was engrossed in her meal when she caught a glimpse of Liu Zhixue leaning down and whispering something in Old Madam Yun's ear. The old lady nodded, and Liu Zhixue straightened up and quietly slipped out through the side door.

Yun Jin placed her chopsticks on the chopstick rest, picked up her teacup to cover her lips, turned her head slightly, and whispered to Dong Xue behind her, "Follow her. Be careful, don't get caught. See where she goes, who she meets, and what she says."

Dongxue nodded slightly, then quietly left the main hall through the side door and followed.

Seeing this, Chen Mengyao asked her curiously, "What's wrong?"

Yun Jin shook her head, picked up her chopsticks, and smiled at Chen Mengyao: "Sister Mengyao, try this, it's delicious."

Seeing her nonchalant expression, Chen Mengyao shook her head helplessly and asked in a low voice, "Yunxiu just went out. Aren't you curious about what she did?"

Upon hearing this, Yun Jin glanced across the room and met Xiao Jingyan's gaze. Her face flushed red, and she quickly lowered her head. Why was this guy staring at her instead of eating properly?

She composed herself, then thought, "Why should I feel guilty? I haven't done anything wrong."

She raised her head again, meeting his gaze openly, then glanced subtly at the Fifth Prince's seat before glancing at Yunxiu's empty seat next to her.

Xiao Jingyan followed her gaze, raised an eyebrow slightly, then beckoned to Jin Hu behind him and whispered an instruction.

Jin Hu nodded, turned around, and quickly retreated through the side door.

Yun Jin withdrew her gaze and met Chen Mengyao's ambiguous smile.

Chen Mengyao tilted her head to look at her, then leaned close to her ear and teased, "Oh my, being granted a marriage really makes a difference, doesn't it? You can exchange glances even through a whole hall of people, tsk tsk."

Yun Jin playfully pushed her, feigning anger, and said in a low voice, "What are you saying, sister? Didn't you ask me where Yun Xiu went? Look across the table, isn't the Fifth Prince also not at the banquet?"

Chen Mengyao glanced across the room and, sure enough, noticed that the Fifth Prince's seat was empty. She then exclaimed in realization, "You've asked the Prince to keep an eye on them? You two are so in sync; he knows what you're up to with just a glance?"

Yun Jin raised an eyebrow and smiled slightly. "Yes, sister. At least for now, Ayan understands me."