The day the princess arrived, the weather was fine.

  After noon, the officials and their wives from Jiangyang Prefecture arrived at the city gate ahead of time to wait for the imperial carriage. Meanwhile, Qin Miao, being pregnant, had sent someone two days in advance to report to the princess's entourage and obtained permission to stay in the prefecture to receive the imperial visit.

  The princess specially instructed, please thank Old Lady for not being in a hurry, just waiting quietly in the mansion is fine.

  When the old lady first received the princess's instructions, she was quite surprised. As a noble and aristocratic person, and also as an official's wife, she should have welcomed her. But she didn't know why this princess was so kind-hearted. She immediately told Xie Wei and Qin Miao that this princess must be a benevolent person, and it would not be difficult to serve her in the following days.

  Xie Wei and Qin Miao secretly admired each other, but neither of them had the chance to meet again. Seeing Old Lady's comforting words, they felt relieved.

  This time, Yi An's trip was obtained with the permission of Emperor Guangwu and Empress Pei. In fact, it can be said that it was a permit, but it was actually Empress Pei who spoke three or two words to Emperor Guangwu, making him helpless and could only close his eyes.

  While Pei Hou's thoughts were simple, Yi An had taken a liking to Xie Yan and wanted to work hard to win this marriage for herself. After thinking it over, she still felt that knowing oneself and knowing others was the key to victory.

  So, Yi'an and her confidant palace maids discussed the countermeasures for several days and decided to "make a direct attack on the dragon's lair". Firstly, they wanted to see what kind of person Xie Yan's current wife was and whether there was any possibility of comparison with her. Secondly, Empress Pei knew that Xie Yan loved his own sister and respected Lady Xie, so she let Yi'an make some efforts from these two people first.

  The abacus is clicking away, but I don't know what effect it will have. Of course, these crooked thoughts are all bottled up inside the Qin family.

  From a distance, the sound of gongs and drums clearing the way could already be heard. The old lady led a group of family members from the mansion to wait at the gate. Before long, a large red canopy-covered eight-sided sedan chair came slowly from that alley, with four maids walking elegantly on either side of it. The sedan chair was surrounded by guards.

  If it weren't for knowing that she was a princess, people who didn't know the situation might think that this grand procession was for someone's new bride.

  The octagonal fragrance car stopped in front of the mansion, and after a maid put down the footstool, two other maids accompanied the princess out of the car. Seeing the people of the Hou Mansion prostrating themselves at the door to welcome her with their heads bowed, Yi An felt a little comforted that she had come out of the remote gate. She secretly admired that this Wei Yuan Hou Mansion was indeed an old and noble aristocratic family in the capital, and they did the first courtesy so well that it made people feel satisfied.

  She smiled and stepped down from the footstool, standing still to look at the group of female servants below. The maids saw that her expression was slightly tense, knowing that she was looking for Madame Houfu who had been muttering all the way.

  At this time, one of the maids had sharp eyes and whispered in her ear. Yi An followed her description to look again, and indeed behind Old Lady's back, she saw a woman with a bun, her back small and arched on the ground, she was different from others, others were all kneeling close to the ground, while this Madame of the Marquis only pressed down half of her body. In this crowd, it was particularly eye-catching.

  Yi An furrowed her brow, still wanting to be gentle and calm, but when she saw the man's behavior, she became somewhat angry. At this time, a maid beside her lightly cleared her throat, and Yi An finally came out of her own little emotions.

  "Attention!"

  When the carriage finally arrived, and the princess called out to dismount, Xie Wei felt like it had taken a long time. Her knees were a bit sore, and she thought that her sister-in-law was now pregnant, so it must be even more tiring for her. As soon as the princess asked them to get up, she quickly helped Qin Miao up from the side. Indeed, Qin Miao's profile looked a bit flushed, and there was already a faint sweat on her forehead.

  Xie Wei asked with concern whether she was okay, but Qin Miao pressed her down with one hand and shook her head, telling her not to speak.

  Look again at the old lady, wearing a first-class official uniform, standing upright with the support of her maid.

  "Your Highness has arrived, I hope everything was alright on the way?"

  Yi An nodded slightly, with a gentle and calm tone, responded: "It's fine."

  After some polite small talk, Old Lady Xie nodded familiarly and gestured with her hand, and the people behind her understood, making way for a path. The family members still respectfully attended to both sides, their eyebrows and eyes harmonious, not daring to be presumptuous.

  With a satisfied expression, he walked through the crowd with his head held high, but when he passed by Qin Miao and Xie Wei, he naturally slowed down his pace, half-closed his eyes, and glanced at them. Seeing her big belly, he couldn't help but curl up the corner of his mouth.

  A maid who was close to the princess naturally understood her unhappiness, but since they were still at the gate, it wasn't good to be too obvious. So she proactively stepped forward, pretending to support her, and only then did she send the person into the mansion.

  After seeing the princess enter, Qin Miaocai slightly calmed down. She wasn't a foolish person and naturally noticed the princess's deliberate pause as she passed by her side, as well as the faintly angry aura. However, for now, she couldn't figure out what it meant. Could it be that there was something wrong with her outfit today?

  She subconsciously examined her attire. The old lady had a noble title, and her clothes were subject to certain rules. Although she was the legitimate wife of Xie Yan, she had not yet received the imperial edict. She and Xie Wei, as the masters of the mansion, had their clothes checked by the old lady in advance. After all, the old lady, as a noblewoman with a first-class title for many years, had attended more palace banquets and social gatherings than herself, so she should not have made any mistakes.

  What caused the princess's sidelong glance and discontent then?

  The princess walked forward, and she and Xie Wei dispelled their doubts in their hearts and quickened their pace to follow.

  To show respect for the princess and the imperial family, Qin Miao discussed with the old lady and moved out of the main courtyard where she lived with Xie Yan. The name of the courtyard was also changed to "Yi An Ju".

  Yi'anju is a five-compound courtyard located to the right of the central axis of the General's Mansion. To its left is the mansion's flower garden, and to its right is a lake that separates it from the East Garden where the Second and Third Houses reside. To its north lies the residence of the elderly lady.

  The General's Mansion itself was not large, and after Qin Miao moved out, she lived in the north courtyard of Old Lady's residence, becoming neighbors with Xie Wei. If Xie Yan returned to the mansion, he could only humbly live in the study room in the front yard. Fortunately, Qin Miao was pregnant now, so it didn't matter where she lived anyway.

  The princess entered the Yi'an residence, although it couldn't compare to the newly renovated palace of the Yu Zhang Wang Fu, but it was also elegant and delicate, quite cozy. She turned back to ask the old lady: "The Hou Fu is indeed exquisite and refined, not common at all. It seems that this palace will have to stay for a few more days."

  Just now when she first entered, the old lady introduced the general situation of Yi'an's residence. Only then did Yi'an know that this garden was actually the main courtyard of Xie Yan and Qin Miao. In her heart, she thought to herself, this Qin Miao is quite sensible. As soon as she thought about the traces and shadows left behind by Xie Yan in the courtyard, her mood became elated.

  The old lady saw her smiling face and finally felt at ease, then said: "Yes, this is the daughter-in-law's arrangement, being able to enter the princess's eyes is her good fortune."

  Old Lady Xie deliberately mentioned Qin Miao, and during the princess's stay, the two of them would inevitably meet often. It wasn't that she was afraid Qin Miao wouldn't do a good job, but rather if she could take advantage of the princess's good mood to say a few nice words for Qin Miao, it would make serving her later on much easier.

  But unexpectedly, Yi An only nodded slightly after listening, without any intention of continuing the conversation. She then walked away with her maid to look at the courtyard.

  The old lady was taken aback and exchanged a glance with Qin Miao. Both of them were speechless.

  After taking a look around the courtyard, Yi An felt somewhat tired and let the Xie family members all withdraw, herself going up to rest on her bed. During dinner time, Qin Miao sent someone to come back and report that a banquet had already been prepared in the flower hall. However, the maid's response was that Princess Yi An was tired from traveling by boat and carriage, so dinner could be directly delivered to her residence.

  The plan to meet with each house in the mansion at dinner time was also changed to tomorrow due to Yi An's physical discomfort.

  After a day of anxiety, Qin Miao was also very tired, let alone the elderly lady. The three of them heard that the princess wanted to rest for a night and collectively breathed a sigh of relief. They then distributed the dishes from the banquet to each room, and the three of them had a simple meal in the North Garden. There were still many things to attend to the next day, so the three of them gathered together again with the housekeepers to go over everything once more before they each went to wash up and rest.