The Legend of the Concubine in the Harem

"Thank you, Second Sister, for telling me." He raised his hands to salute like a grateful adult.

The second princess put the whip back to her waist and said, "It's just a coincidence that I met you. I have something I want to ask you for help with. I wonder if you are free?"

Xie Yi thought about it and realized that he was still too young, and it was not his turn to entertain those officials. He just needed to show up. Now he was free, so he wanted to go back to find his mother. It was not urgent. "What's the matter, Second Sister?"

She had just turned twelve not long ago, and because she was still in mourning as queen, there was no big birthday party.

The second princess, who had gradually become a pretty girl, waved with a puzzled look on her face: "Do you know who came from the Anguo Marquis's family today?"

Marquis of Anguo?

Xie Yi was puzzled for a moment, then he remembered his family's connection with the royal family - the prince of Anguo was engaged to the eldest princess.

The eldest princess is already fifteen years old. If the emperor does not want to keep her for too long, she will have to get married in two years at most.

"Marquis Anguo and the Crown Prince are here." Xie Yi tried hard to recall. Although he was the owner of this mansion, he was not in charge of the affairs. Today's banquet and the work of sending invitations to other families to invite guests were all handled by Xie's mother, with eunuch Wang assisting. If Marquis Anguo was not one of the few people who needed to be greeted by Xie Yi, he would not have known how many people in this family had come.

"There are also the prince's aunt and two younger sisters." Xie Yi continued to answer.

The wife of Marquis Anguo was frail and often bedridden. All external interactions of the female members of his family were led by the wife of the second wife. The wife of the second wife of the Marquis Anguo's mansion had a maiden name of Dong, so outsiders called her Mrs. Dong Er.

Of the two girls brought by Mrs. Dong Er, one was a concubine's daughter in her courtyard, and the other was the legitimate daughter of Marquis Anguo and the prince's biological sister.

"What does Second Princess want to do by looking for them?" Xie Yi found that after he told her everything he knew, the expression on the girl's face changed several times, and finally settled into an expression of annoyance that looked a little weird.

It's not very obvious, but the gratitude is visible.

The Second Princess waved her hands at him and said, "I'm just looking for them for something. I just looked around the inner courtyard but couldn't find anyone, so I wanted to try my luck with you. By the way, I want to ask you if you know where the Prince of Anguo has been assigned."

Xie Yi has been smart and precocious since childhood. Seeing the second princess's appearance, how could he not understand that she was hiding something and didn't want to tell him directly?

But after a little thought, Xie Yi pointed out the location where the Prince of Anguo was to the Second Princess, and assigned a servant to lead the way for the Second Princess.

After the second princess rubbed his head with a smile, thanked her and left, Xie Yi quickened his pace to the stables, found Xie Yuzhen who was sitting by the stables watching Jun Yuexin teaching Concubine Xu how to ride a horse, and told her everything about what the second princess had just looked for him about.

After Xie Yuzhen finished listening, he looked at Xia Zhi who was standing beside him and said, "Send a few people to take a look. Although the Second Princess is a little too lively, she is not the kind of person who stirs up trouble without any reason. I'm afraid that something has happened to the Prince of Anguo."

"Yes, Madam." Xia Zhi bowed his knees slightly and said, "I think if it's just some other matter, it's fine. I'm afraid it will involve the marriage between the eldest princess and the prince."

Ever since Xie Yuzhen was promoted to the position of concubine, the status of Chunfen and Xiazhi, who had been with her from the beginning, also rose accordingly. Now they have become female officials in the inner court with official titles and seals.

"......Yes, I have met the Prince of Anguo Marquis once. He has a rather dull personality. If it weren't for the relationship with the eldest princess, the second princess would never take the initiative to deal with such a person." Xie Yuzhen thought for a moment and said.

The eldest princess' biological mother was the late Concubine Hu Duan, who was the niece of Empress Dowager Hu. Although Concubine Hu Duan was not very close to the Empress Dowager when she was alive, and the Empress Dowager also had old grudges with her family, the eldest princess was her granddaughter most closely related by blood, so she valued her to some extent.

Back then, Concubine Hu Duan died as a result of the assassination of Concubine Deng Xian. Empress Dowager Hu, who did not know that Concubine Deng Xian was the murderer at that time, had thought of asking the Queen to be the adoptive mother of the eldest princess. However, due to various twists and turns, the eldest princess was raised by the murderer who killed her mother.

As the emperor's first child, the eldest princess was once also very much valued by him. However, the eldest princess was raised in the harem, and the emperor did not like Concubine Deng, so he only summoned her when he thought of her and seldom visited her in Changrui Palace. Later, his children were born one after another, and his love for his eldest daughter gradually diluted.

The marriage between the eldest princess and the son of Marquis Anguo was arranged for her when Concubine Deng was still alive. Marquis Anguo was also a nobleman who had been passed down since the founding of the country. However, unlike Marquis Shunyi, his ancestral fiefdom had long been handed over, and his sons had never given up their skills in martial arts and leading troops. They had never gotten involved in the fight for the throne among the princes. Even if in a previous generation, their daughter had entered the palace as a concubine and gave birth to a prince, and they had been involved in the fight, they had also proved that their whole family were staunch royalists.

It has been passed down from generation to generation in a low-key and stable manner. Although it is not as close to the royal family as the Duke of Yingguo's Mansion once was, it is precisely because of their consistent low-key and loyalty that the emperor can trust An Guohou's younger brother, the master of the second house of the marquis's mansion, to lead the troops outside, while An Guohou himself works in the Ministry of Revenue as the right vice-minister of the ministry.

It can be said that the marriage chosen by Concubine Deng for her adopted daughter was extremely prominent and secure. Empress Dowager Hu and the Emperor could not see any ambitions in her at the time, and the Second Prince was still very young, so they quickly agreed to arrange the marriage between the eldest princess and the prince.

Worried that something had really happened to the Second Princess, Xie Yuzhen immediately asked Xia Zhi to personally take a few palace maids with him to prevent any accidents.

The second princess, who had no idea that her search for the prince of Marquis Anguo had been betrayed by Xie Yi, followed the servant all the way to the courtyard where the male guests were being entertained. At this time, the opening banquet of the Marquis Yongjia's Mansion was already half over. Although the male and female guests were separated at first, now both sides began to move around.

Relatives and acquaintances would gather together to chat and drink. The older ones would talk about government affairs, family matters, and their children. The younger ones would call up their good friends and find places to play in groups of three or five, playing tossing pots and throwing covers, reciting poems, painting, and so on.

The second princess was a little depressed because she failed to find the Prince of Anguo. She hastily sent away the servant who led the way and looked for an acquaintance in the crowd who might know where he had gone.

As she searched, the second princess' eyes lit up. She grabbed a girl who was slightly older than her, and without waiting for her to greet her, she took her to a place with fewer people and asked, "Yuse, where are your cousins?"

The person she pulled over was Ruan Yuse, the second concubine of the Anguo Marquis's mansion. Ruan Yuse was startled by the second princess's sudden action and question. She subconsciously lowered her head and shook her head, and replied: "Your Highness, I don't know either. I just... I only saw my cousin go west, and my cousin may have followed him."

"Have you seen my elder sister come here?"

"I haven't seen Her Royal Highness the Princess today..." Ruan Yuse was stunned for a moment, and lowered her head even more anxiously.

The Second Princess narrowed her eyes and moved closer to her: "You - are you covering up something for Ruan He and Ruan Xiang'e?"