The sky has gradually darkened and the snow outside has stopped.

  Lin Yan and Cheng Shi Zheng Shi have all gone back, Lin Yi looked at the eyes that were sleeping with their eyes closed on the recliner, poked the charcoal in the brazier to make them burn, and then walked to the window and closed it.

  Zhuang's family walked in from outside at this time and saw the old Mrs. Zhuang sleeping inside, frowning: "Why are you sleeping here?"

  Lin Yi turned back from the window, smiling and saying: "Just told Huan Niang, Er Sao and San Sao about the stories of our house and great-grandfather's past for half a day, now I'm afraid you're tired."

  Lin Yan said, pausing for a moment, then continued: "Mother, Grandmother is thinking of Grandfather."

  Zhuang sighed and walked over to pick up the fallen quilt from Old Lady Zhuang's body and re-covered her with it.

  The old lady seemed to have regained consciousness, half-opening her sleepy eyes, and seeing her daughter, she murmured: "Xian Niang, I just dreamed of your father." She mumbled again: "Your father has been gone for so long, I don't know how he's doing down there. He's the kind of person who can't take care of himself. We agreed to meet at Naihe Bridge, but I don't know if he waited or not. Maybe he got tired of waiting and went to reincarnate on his own. I have to tell him that although I didn't give birth to a son for him, I gave birth to a good daughter for him. Our daughter is married and living happily, and has given us four lovely and clever grandchildren - two grandsons who look like their father, and two granddaughters who look like Xian Niang... It's been over twenty years now."

  As he spoke, his eyes became moist at the corners, then closed again, and he fell asleep with a tilted head.

  Zhuang wiped the moisture from her eyes and patted her lightly, saying: "Don't worry, Father is reluctant to part with you, he won't give up until he sees you, so don't be anxious."

  Lin Xuan quietly walked to Zhuang Shi's side, and Zhuang Shi let out a sigh, saying: "These past two years, your paternal grandmother seems to be clear-headed one moment and confused the next. Actually, I know she's always been clear-headed in her heart. In the past, she couldn't put me down, but deep down, she probably always wanted to reunite with your paternal grandfather sooner."

  Zhuang said, his eyes also became a little moist, and he had a deep concern for Old Lady Zhuang.

  Lin Xiao gently patted her mother's shoulder, and Zhuang Shi reached out to grab her daughter's hand.

  After a while, she wiped the corner of her eyes and then said to Lin Xiao: "Your grandmother is looking for you, hurry up and go find your grandmother. I'll take care of your maternal grandmother's side."

  Lin Dai nodded and then left for Foning Hall.

  Li was instructing the maid to take out the clothes for tomorrow's Winter Solstice banquet at the palace, when she saw Lin Daiyu come in. She beckoned her over and grasped her hand, saying: "It's so cold outside, why aren't you wearing a cloak?" Only after confirming that her hands weren't cold and she hadn't caught a chill did she feel relieved.

  Lin Yan said: "I'm not cold, I have thick clothes on." Then she asked again: "What did grandma call her granddaughter over for?"

  "Alright, this set will do. Have the maid sweep off the dust and then fumigate them tonight." After saying that, she took Lin Daiyu's hand and led her into the inner chamber with Lin Daiyu pretending to support her.

  "Tomorrow is the winter solstice, and all the ladies of the inner and outer courts will gather in the palace for a banquet. It's also your first major gathering since you were appointed as the empress. You must make an appearance in front of everyone. If something happens to you at the palace banquet tomorrow, do you know how to handle it?"

  Lin Yidao said: "The granddaughter listened to her grandmother's advice."

  "First of all, tomorrow when you enter the palace, you will inevitably meet those imperial consorts who will see the emperor. These are the women you will be dealing with in the future. The other consorts are still okay, they will all consider the Lin family and your future identity as the empress. But Wu Guifei is different, she has always been a bit arrogant and overbearing, and the Wu family has had a long-standing grudge against our Lin family. If she deliberately tries to make things difficult for you, what would you do?"

  "The general will stop the soldiers and the earth will bury the water."

  Li said: "Although you will become the empress in the future, but now after all there is no status, what if Wu Guifei asks you to perform the ritual of subject and monarch?"

  Lin Yan said: "I am a minister's daughter, she is a first-class noble consort, it is only right to pay respects to her."

  "Suppose she were to pay homage to you as if you were an empress?"

  Lin Daiyu said: "Receive it graciously and then pay her respects as a subject would to their monarch."

  Li nodded in satisfaction. Lin Xiangru's current status in the palace was not easy to handle, being too hard would give people a sense of arrogance, while being too soft would make people think she was weak and easily bullied. It was neither beneficial for her to manage other concubines after entering the palace, nor could she be suppressed by Wu Guifei.

  But saying it is easy, doing it may not necessarily be able to take care of both. Fortunately, Yuanyuan is still a clever and wise child who can see through many things.

  Li asked Lin Xiang some more questions, setting up hypothetical situations that might occur in the palace tomorrow and asking Lin Xiang how she would handle them.

  Lin Daiyu answered, and if Li was satisfied, she nodded; if not, she asked what to do, and what consequences would arise if things were handled poorly. Afterwards, she also mentioned some other matters, explaining the complex relationships between the women inside and outside the palace in the capital.

  Actually, Li had been spreading these things to her all along, and Qi and Zhuang would often mention them. Mu's aunt also told her about the current situation in the harem. She already had a general impression of these relationships. However, more subtle things can only be known by experiencing them personally, seeing them with one's own eyes, and hearing them with one's own ears.

  The grandmother and granddaughter chatted for almost an hour, before Madam Li let Lin Xiang return. She said to her: "Go back now, rest well tonight, and you'll be in high spirits to deal with the matters at tomorrow's palace banquet."

  Lin Dai nodded and then bid farewell and left.

  She returned to her own courtyard when Mu Qing had not rested yet, standing beside the table in the main room, smiling at her.

  Lin Xiao called out: "Aunt Mu."

  Mu Qing smiled warmly and said: "The servant girl made some chestnut cake, would Fourth Miss like to have a piece?"

  Lin Dai nodded.

  Mu Qing's chestnut cake was different from others, always extra delicious. After the emperor ascended to the throne, Mu Qing followed her aunt into the palace, and she hadn't eaten her chestnut cake for many years, always missing it terribly. She had asked the chef to try making it according to her recipe, but the flavor was never quite right. It wasn't until these past few days that she finally tasted that familiar flavor again.

  Lin Daiyu was holding a piece of chestnut cake in her hand, nibbling at it with small bites, and asked her: "Mu Auntie, are you worried about me entering the palace tomorrow?"

  Mu Qing shook her head and said, "Fourth Miss is cleverer than ordinary people, I'm not worried at all."

  Lin Xiao didn't believe it, but she also didn't say anything more.

  Just then, Mu Zhi came in from outside and said to Lin Xiao: "Miss, Guizhi's mother just requested to see you at the gate of the mansion. I brought her in and she is now standing at the entrance of the courtyard."