Chapter Three: Reunion in the Twelfth Lunar Month

"Sister, what are you thinking about?" Ankang asked.

An Yi withdrew her thoughts, shook her head with a smile, and said, "Nothing much."

A flash of worry crossed Ankang’s eyes. "Sister, he is an imperial prince now."

Hearing this tone, An Yi instantly sensed something amiss. She narrowed her eyes at Ankang and asked, "Eldest Brother, what are you overthinking this time?"

"No, I am not overthinking anything," Ankang denied flatly.

An Yi curled her lips. "Eldest Brother, don't deny it. I know what you're thinking. Rest assured, I don't like him, nor have I ever thought about marrying him."

"Understood. Your eldest brother was just worrying too much." Ankang smiled. "Where is Mother?"

"Mother is next door at the Yu residence, playing mahjong with Madam Yu." An Yi glanced at the water clock. "She hasn't returned this late, so she's most likely staying for dinner at the Yu family and continuing the mahjong session into the evening."

"Then we won't wait for Mother. Let's have dinner!" Ankang suggested with a smile.

An Yi sent a maid to the kitchen to have their dinner brought to the Pearl Pavilion. After finishing their meal and chatting for a little while, Ankang left to escort Lady Luo back from the Yu residence.

The emperor gaining a new imperial prince was a shock to certain households, but to the majority, it made little impact. Invitations were sent out as usual, and banquets were hosted just the same.

The An family received an invitation from the Han family. The Han family's three-year period of mourning had concluded over a month ago, followed by another month of wearing plain white garments. Now, having officially left mourning and with the New Year approaching, they were sending out invitations to various households, inviting guests to visit and signaling that the Han family was ready to resume social engagements, meaning invitations could now be sent to them as well.

An Yi was not surprised that the Han family had sent an invitation to the An family; she was only surprised that the invitation was personally delivered by Bai Wuming.

When Bai Wuming arrived, Lady Luo had gone next door to play mahjong again. As an unmarried young lady, according to the rules of avoiding unrelated men, An Yi could have chosen not to see him. However, guessing that he had something specific to discuss since he had personally braved the snow to deliver the invitation, she said, "Please invite the Seventh Young Master to sit for a moment in the Shunyi Hall."

An Yi changed into attire suitable for receiving guests, remade her hair, and went to the small parlor of the Shunyi Hall to meet Bai Wuming.

Seeing An Yi holding a hand warmer, Bai Wuming asked, "Has your injury not healed yet?"

"It's almost healed." Knowing that he was aware of her injury, An Yi dropped any pretense and pulled her hand out from the hand warmer.

A maid brought in new, steaming hot tea, replacing the lukewarm cup by Bai Wuming's side.

"Fangrong, Xiangqin, you two go with the others to the side room to warm yourselves by the fire. You aren't needed to serve here," An Yi instructed.

Fangrong glanced at Bai Wuming, lowered her head, and withdrew along with Xiangqin and the others.

"What brings you here?" An Yi asked directly.

"Can't I come to see you without a reason?" Bai Wuming gazed at An Yi, asking in a soft tone.

"Han Seventh Young Master, acting like this, going out in a heavy snowfall is inconvenient." Having heard similar remarks from Bai Wuming in the past, An Yi didn't read too deeply into his words, remaining convinced that he never visited without an ulterior motive.

Bai Wuming's gaze dimmed slightly. He picked up his teacup, using the rising steam to hide the bitter smile at the corner of his lips. He took a couple of sips of the hot tea and said, "Young Master Gong is now an imperial prince."

"I know. My eldest brother told me about this last night."

Bai Wuming took another sip of tea, looking at An Yi through the steam, and asked, "What are your plans?"

"What plans?" An Yi asked, bewildered.

"Having just regained his status as an imperial prince, he has no power base in the imperial court. Your father will become a target for him to win over," Bai Wuming said with unconcealed anxiety.

An Yi curved her lips into a cold smile. "There are simply too many people who want to win over my father. He will handle these matters properly; I don't need to meddle."

Seeing the cold smile on An Yi's lips, Bai Wuming realized she had misunderstood his intentions. "Nineteenth Sister, I am not here to act as a lobbyist for someone else."

"I know you aren't here as a lobbyist; you are here out of kindly intentions to warn me. If you truly wanted to be a lobbyist, you would have gone to find my father and my eldest brother."

Bai Wuming lowered his head to gaze at the tea in his cup, a complex series of emotions flashing through the depths of his dark eyes. After hesitating for a long time, he set down his teacup and said, "Nineteenth Sister, I must be going."

"Is the manservant who brought you here waiting in the porter's lodge?" An Yi asked.

"Yes."

"I'll see you out." An Yi opened the door, but the wheelchair could not pass over the high threshold. An Yi frowned. "Do you really intend to fake a disability for the rest of your life?"

"Of course not. Once the New Year passes, I will 'stand up,'" Bai Wuming said, looking at An Yi with an uplifted smile.

Lacking the strength to help Bai Wuming get his wheelchair out, An Yi called out loudly, "Fangrong, Xiangqin."

At their summons, Fangrong and Xiangqin hurried out from the side room. Together, they lifted Bai Wuming out of the parlor and carried him down the steps.

Snow was falling from the sky. Xiangqin brought over two umbrellas—one for An Yi and one for Bai Wuming. The mistress and her two maids escorted Bai Wuming all the way to the porter's lodge.

The four manservants who had accompanied Bai Wuming hoisted him along with his wheelchair onto the carriage, and they departed from the An residence.

That afternoon, when Lady Luo returned from her mahjong session at the Yu residence and saw the Han family's invitation, she remarked, "Come to think of it, the Fourth Young Master hasn't visited our home in a long, long time."

An Yi hugged her hand warmer, her eyelids lowered, uttering not a single word.

Lady Luo was merely making an offhand remark and did not require An Yi's response. She handed the invitation to Shanyao. "Remember to remind me to attend the banquet on that day."

On the evening of the sixth day of the first lunar month, An Qinghe returned from the military camp, covered in the dust of a long journey. The moment he stepped through the door, before he could even exchange a few words with Lady Luo, Wei Yang also arrived. "Elder Sister, Brother-in-law."

"Little Brother!" Seeing Wei Yang return caused Lady Luo far more excitement than seeing An Qinghe come back. She continuously showered him with questions about how he had fared outside.

Standing nearby and watching this, An Qinghe felt rather out of sorts. He cradled his teacup, shook his head, and sighed softly.

Lady Luo asked about every detail without missing a thing, while Wei Yang reported only the good news and omitted the bad, insisting that everything was fine.

Lady Luo smiled and said, "Living a nomadic life out there, there was no way to send you a message telling you that Xier didn't die—she has returned."

"Xier is back? She really returned? Where is Xier now?" Wei Yang had constantly harbored sorrow and guilt for failing to rescue An Yi, which was why he had stubbornly sought to uncover who had hired the assassins so he could avenge her.

"Xier is in the Pearl Pavilion. I just had a maid go call for her; she'll be here shortly." Lady Luo grasped Wei Yang's hand. "Now everything is fine—Xier is back, and you are back too. As for the matter of the assassins, if it truly cannot be investigated, stop looking into it. From now on, our family will live a peaceful life together."

"I will listen to Elder Sister." In front of Lady Luo, Wei Yang was an extremely obedient and good younger brother.

Lady Luo beamed with joy. "Good, good, good."

"Brother-in-law, tonight we must drink to our heart's content," Wei Yang said, raising an eyebrow.

An Qinghe understood his meaning. "We'll drink until we're thoroughly drunk."

"Drink to your heart's content? Thoroughly drunk? You must drink in moderation; too much is bad for health. Each of you is only allowed one jar of wine," Lady Luo scolded, glaring at the two of them one by one.

"Fine, fine, fine, one jar is one jar. We'll just drink a jar the size of a water vat," An Qinghe said with a chuckle.

Lady Luo spat lightly in mock disgust and smiled. "There are no jars that large in this house, and it's already dark now—shops are closed. Even if you wanted to buy one right now, you couldn't."

"Father, you're back—" An Yi spotted An Qinghe first. Before she could finish her sentence, she caught sight of Wei Yang. Overwhelmed with pleasant surprise, she cried out, "Uncle!"

"Xier." Looking at An Yi, Wei Yang was overcome with a myriad of emotions. He had thought he would never see this precocious and sensitive girl again. Fortunately, the heavens were not so cruel; she had returned safely and had not met with a tragic end.

Had An Jian returned as well, it truly would have been a complete family reunion, but unfortunately, An Jian was still stationed at the military camp. During the family reunion dinner, An Yi found no excuse to slip back to the Pearl Pavilion. When she pulled her hands out of her hand warmer, An Qinghe, Lady Luo, and Wei Yang all immediately noticed the cloth bandages wrapped around them.

"What happened to your hands?" the three of them asked in unison.

"It's nothing. I was learning how to ride a horse and hurt my hands," An Yi replied. Fearing she would frighten Lady Luo, she dared not mention the assassination attempt and had to invent a lie on the spot.

"You're a young lady, why on earth were you learning to ride horses?" Lady Luo reached out and grabbed An Yi's hands. "When did you get hurt? Is the injury serious? What did the physician say?"

"It was just a few days ago, when I went out. It's not a serious injury; it will heal in a few days." An Yi cast a sideways glance at An Qinghe and Wei Yang. If they had just delayed their return home by a few days until her hands had healed, that would have been wonderful—all her days of hiding the truth would have been saved.

"No wonder the other day you made me feed you," Lady Luo recalled the events of a few days prior, curving her fingers to give An Yi's head a gentle tap. "You are not allowed to be so wild in the future. Young ladies must be poised and virtuous."

"Understood," An Yi feigned obedience.

Under Lady Luo's strict surveillance, An Qinghe and Wei Yang shared a single jar of wine together. The moment they finished complaining of dry throats, the wine was completely gone.

After finishing dinner and exchanging some casual household small talk, An Yi returned to the Pearl Pavilion while the three men headed to the outer study.

"The person who hired the assassins has been tracked down. His surname is Huang, and people call him Uncle Song," Wei Yang said in a lowered voice.

"Uncle Song is the courtesy name of Lady Huang's father," An Qinghe said, his face turning gloomy.

By this point, the matter was entirely crystal clear. The Huang family had wanted to marry Lady Huang off to An Qinghe as a concubine, and Lady Luo had stood in their way as a stumbling block. Consequently, the Huang family had used An Qinghe's name as a pretext to hire assassins to hunt down Lady Luo and the An family siblings.

"Father, we can now throw our full might into dealing with the Huang family," Ankang said coldly.

A murderous aura surged intensely in An Qinghe's eyes. "The Huang family's greatest reliance right now is the Third Prince and the Noble Consort in the palace. Have people focus on seizing the Third Prince's vulnerable points. Once the Third Prince completely loses the Emperor's favor, the Huang family will never be able to make a comeback. For the suffering Xier endured while wandering outside, I will make the Huang family pay it back a hundredfold."

The scheming Huang Jie had never imagined that after the Huang family went to such painstaking lengths to send Lady Huang to An Qinghe as a concubine, believing they had secured a powerful alliance, An Yi would return before the alliance was even fully cemented, causing it to instantly disintegrate. Now, with the matter of hiring assassins exposed, the An family had become the Huang family's mortal enemy.

The three men kept all of these matters concealed from Lady Luo and An Yi, refusing to let them know.

Two days later, it was the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month—the Laba Festival. Following the customs of the capital, various households sent out the Laba porridge they had simmered the previous night to the households with whom they shared friendly relations.

The military officers under An Qinghe's command all sent people to deliver Laba porridge, and the An family sent Laba porridge in return. Next, the Hu family sent someone with Laba porridge, followed by the neighboring Yu family, the Marquis of Dingyuan's household, Minister Li's household...

Once all the visitors had been seen off, An Yi discovered that the Laba porridge her own household had simmered was completely gone, replaced entirely by bowls from other families.

This book was first published on Xiaoxiang Shuyuan; please do not reproduce it elsewhere!