When he came out, Jiang Changning told him about the Xie family and explained, "When I was in the boudoir, I got along well with her, so I met her this time."
After hearing her words, Prince Jin knew that Jiang Changning was worried that the person Xie Baoyin was going to marry was Qin Zhaoxi.
Qin Zhaoxi was the nephew of the Empress Dowager and a natural royalist.
"It's okay, if you want to interact with her, then go ahead." Prince Jin said with a smile.
Jiang Changning smiled, but he had already made up his mind not to have too close contact with Xie Baoyin, and would be more careful when they were together.
The next day, Xie Baoyin came as promised and was led into Zhengzeyuan by Xiulan.
Seeing Jiang Changning, Xie Baoyin smiled and said, "Princess, Happy New Year."
"Sister Yin, Happy New Year. Please sit down and talk." Jiang Changning said with a smile.
The maid brought in tea and then left.
"When did Sister Yin come to Beijing? Was everything okay on the journey?" Jiang Changning asked with a smile.
"We arrived in Beijing on the 20th day of the twelfth lunar month. Everything else was fine except that it was too cold. We couldn't stand the freezing on the road, and my grandmother also fell ill." Xie Baoyin explained why she didn't come to visit before the New Year.
"Traveling in winter is really a torture." Jiang Changning also suffered this when he went north.
Xie Baoyin echoed a few words and said, "Sister Ning, I won't beat around the bush with you. I came here today to ask Sister Ning for some advice."
"What do you mean by giving me some advice? If you don't understand something, just ask me. I will tell you what I know." Jiang Changning said with a smile.
"My father is just a small military officer. The various prefectures in the capital are so intertwined that I'm afraid I might offend someone if I'm not careful."
Jiang Changning smiled. Xie Baoyin was being too modest. When Xie Jiancheng was transferred to the capital, he was promoted. Now he was the commander of the left wing battalion from the second rank.
He is considered a top figure in Beijing.
"Although there are many palaces in Beijing, there are only a few that we should pay attention to. Among the prince's palaces, the Prince Qing's Palace is the most valued by the emperor now."
"Princess Qing is old and no longer in charge of things. The one in charge now is the Crown Prince's Consort, who is the niece of the old lady of the Longxi Earl."
"The eldest grandmother in the mansion, Xu, is the eldest daughter of the Duke of Wei. When you first meet her, you will find her to be quite kind, but when you get to know her, you will find that you can only see her from the outside, not from her heart. You should be more careful when dealing with her in the future."
It was impossible for Jiang Changning and Xu to get along well, and he spoke ill of her directly.
Xie Baoyin was deeply moved and felt that Jiang Changning treated her sincerely, "Sister Xie Ning reminded me."
Jiang Changning smiled and continued, "When I got married, the Grand Princess Jiashan was my consort. When I went out, the Duke of Xinjian and the Grand Princess Jiashan agreed to be my parents. Our two residences had close contacts."
These are all things that are out in the open. Even if she doesn't say it, Xie Baoyin can find out from other places. Besides, there is nothing impossible to say.
"The wife of the Duke of Xingzhou is the Empress Dowager's sister. I have met her twice at banquets, but I didn't have a chance to talk to her. She seems quite amiable."
"On the day of the Little New Year, the princess sent someone to deliver gifts." Xie Baoyin said.
Jiang Changning sincerely wished: "It seems that the Qin family is quite satisfied with this marriage. Congratulations, Sister Yin."
Xie Baoyin smiled, she was also full of expectations for this marriage.
"The second wife of Baling Palace, Jiang, likes to take her sisters to various banquets, and she tries every means to send them to various palaces to be concubines of the masters of each palace."
"This Jiang family is too self-degrading." Xie Baoyin frowned.
"Don't be too polite when you see her in the future. If you are polite, you will be stuck with a dog-skin plaster. If you don't accept a daughter of the Jiang family, you will not be able to get away."
"The world is so big, there are so many things."
"The Princess of Yu is Zhao Xifang, and the Princess of Ningxia is Song Yirou. You have come into contact with them in the palace and know what kind of people they are, so I won't say much."
After chatting about the situation in each prefecture, they talked about the gossip in the capital in recent days.
"Is my great-aunt really willing to let Miss Zhuang Wu become the prince consort's concubine?"
"Why wouldn't I want to be able to get into the princess's mansion?"
Xie Baoyin bit the corner of her lip and lowered her voice, "Aren't you afraid that Princess Yirao will leave the mother and the child behind?"
Jiang Changning took a sip of tea and said, "Princess Yirao, there is no need to do this."
Even if Zhuang Qingmei successfully gave birth to a son, a concubine's eldest son could not shake Princess Yirao's position.
Jiang Changning invited Xie Baoyin to have lunch at his house, and then prepared a gift for her to take back.
Not long after Xie Baoyin left, Shu Fei came in and reported: "Princess, someone from Baling Palace is here to announce the death."
"Is it Princess Baling who passed away?" Jiang Changning guessed.
Jiang Changning didn't want to discuss condolences with Mrs. Qiao, so he went to Liuxuanyuan.
At the gate of the courtyard, I met Qiao who was rushing over.
Jiang Changning smiled and nodded, "Sister-in-law."
Qiao snorted coldly and rushed into the yard first.
Upon hearing the bad news, the Princess Dowager of Jin was not surprised. "She has been ill for so long, it is not easy for her to survive this year. As she ages, she will return to her roots like the fallen leaves in autumn."
Mrs. Qiao rushed to say, "Mother is in good health and will live a long life."
The concubine looked at her and said, "Prepare the money first. There is no need to rush to pay your respects. Wait until the prince comes back."
"Mother, how much is the appropriate amount for this silk and gold seal?" asked Qiao.
"Do you need to ask me this? The title will be based on the old rules." The concubine said unhappily.
Mrs. Qiao went to the account office to seal the money. Jiang Changning helped her explain: "During the New Year, there were many things to do. Sister-in-law was busy running around. She was so busy that she lost her mind and lost her order."
The toffee curled her lips and said, "You just keep busy all day long."
"Kang Ren is growing up, and my sister-in-law is kind-hearted and wants Kang Ren to have a good reputation as a talented girl."
"Does the princess of Prince Jin's Mansion need to use this method to gain fame? She is just stupid." The concubine became even angrier after being persuaded by Jiang Changning.
"Mother is right. That's why I say that if mother were not here in the mansion, I don't know what kind of chaos it would be." Jiang Changning complimented.
Toffee smiled and tapped her twice with his finger, "You just have a sweet mouth."
Half an hour later, Prince Jin returned and said, "Tomorrow I will take the princess to the Baling Palace to pay my respects."
Qiao was anxious, "Don't I have to go?"
"Sister-in-law, isn't it enough to have the Prince of Jin and his wife go to pay their respects? Even though a princess of a county passed away, no one in the entire family went to pay their respects." Jiang Changning's eyes flickered, "Mother, what do you think?"
"Brother Yu's daughter-in-law is right." The concubine glared at Mrs. Qiao and said, "You should just stay at home and rest, so as not to get too busy and do stupid things."
At the palace banquet on New Year's Eve, the Concubine Dowager couldn't get over the fact that Mrs. Qiao asked Princess Kangren to perform. She was still angry at Mrs. Qiao and vented her anger on her.
(End of this chapter)