Wei Ying explained, “The third sister-in-law didn’t dare to reveal her true nature because our family’s status was too high, so she needed time to adapt. Mother, you may not believe it, the third sister-in-law had also learned swordsmanship. I must find a chance to compete with her.”
Concubine Guo was born and brought up in Pingcheng. She had long heard that Elder Yin loved his granddaughter Yin Hui very much, and she had also heard about the female teachers with unique skills invited by the Yin family. So she nodded and said, “Well, that’s right, how could the girl from the richest businessman in Yandi, be so petty?”
Wei Ying was happy to have an additional sister-in-law with a similar temperament.
Concubine Li had always been against her mother, causing Wei Shan and her to not get along with each other since they were young. The cousin girl Wen Ruyue who lived there was drawn in by Wei Shan. Wei Ying could only play with her uncle’s daughter. Later, the eldest brother and the second brother got married. But the elder sister-in-law Xu Qingwan was reserved, and the second sister-in-law Ji Xianxian was completely on Wei Shan’s side.
On the tenth day of the eighth lunar month, Wei Luo and his party walked on the road for a month, and finally arrived at the capital Jinling.
The three kings also had their own palaces in Jinling, but the mansions were similar to the residences of high-level officials, and far less luxurious than the palaces in the place where they lived.
King Yan’s mansion in Jinling was cleaned by servants all year round, and the two brothers Wei Luo and Wei Yang each chose a courtyard to live in.
Wei Luo only brought two entourages, one civilian and one military, and his luggage was simple. But because of Wei Yang and his wife plus two children, the servants were busy, and they were finally settled before dusk.
Dalang and Saburo were so tired that they went to sleep on the bed after taking a bath. Xu Qingwan and Wei Yang were in better spirits, and talked for a while after dinner.
Wei Yang said, “I asked someone to inquire about it. We are the first to arrive. The cousins, sons of Uncle Prince Qin and Uncle Prince Dai are still on the way.”
Qin was located in the northwest, and Dai was located in the southwest. To get to Jinling, one had to bypass the high mountains.
Xu Qingwan: “They should be here soon. Although the Emperor’s birthday is on August 20th, the Mid-Autumn Festival is coming soon. There must be banquets in the palace. How could they not come to celebrate the festival?”
Wei Yang: “Yes, I just don’t know how the four cousins’ temperaments are. Everyone is too far away, let alone seeing each other, and even hearing from them is difficult.”
Xu Qingwan turned over, put her hands on the back of her husband’s, and said worryingly, “His grandsons are coming to Beijing, will the Emperor arrange any competitions to test you?”
Wei Yang said with a smile, “Don’t be afraid, I and the third brother, neither of us will be at the bottom, and won’t lose face for father.”
Mentioning Wei Luo, Xu Qingwan said softly, “The third brother didn’t even have a maid to serve him on the journey, so he looked very lonely. As the elder sister-in-law, if I didn’t care, it would seem that I didn’t care enough. If I arrange for a maid to serve him and the third brother accepts her, I’m worried that the third sister-in-law would turn sour when we go back.”
Wei Yang: “You don’t have to worry about this, the third brother is not good with women, let alone ordinary maids, even if you just pick a beauty who is not inferior to the third sister-in-law and send her over, my younger brother won’t touch her.”
The speaker said that without hidden meaning, but Xu Qingwan’s heartstrings were gently twitched.
A beauty whose appearance was not inferior to that of the third sister-in-law?
The husband and wife had only met a few times, Yin Hui was so shy before, but her husband also noticed Yin Hui’s beauty?
“So that’s the case, then I can rest assured,” Xu Qingwan leaned into her husband’s arms while talking.
Wei Yang was exhausted from the carriage and was not interested that night, so he patted her on the back and fell asleep.
The next day, Wei Yang took his family and went into the palace with Wei Luo to pay respects to Emperor Jianlong.
The 60-year-old Emperor was healthy, and looked like he had a long life, but the prince who was present at the same time was obviously only forty-five years old, and his energy was not as good as his.
Emperor Jianlong seemed to like the two great-grandsons Da Lang and San Lang very much. Holding one in each hand, he was talking to the brothers Wei Yang and Wei Luo in a good mood.
“In a blink of an eye, my eldest grandson has to become a father. When I saw you last time, you were similar to Da Lang, right?”
Wei Yang nodded, showing a little sadness.
The last time he went to Beijing was when his grandmother passed away, so he went to Beijing with his father to express condolences.
Emperor Jianlong also sighed and asked Wei Luo, “Why didn’t you bring your wife here? Your father wrote me a letter to announce the good news in spring. Your Wu Lang will soon be able to climb, right?” Each of his sons gave him a bunch of grandchildren who he rarely met, but he was able to tell about Wei Luo’s family affairs.
“Wu Lang is too young, so this grandson left his mother to look after him at home, and when I set off, Wu Lang was able to lie on his stomach and raise his head.”
Emperor Jianlong smiled, thinking that it was a blessing that the descendants of the Wei family were prosperous.
“Okay, you guys go back first, take advantage of these two days to stroll around the capital, and I will announce a banquet for a reunion wine during the Mid-Autumn Festival.”
The two brothers said goodbye.
Not long after they came back, Emperor Jianlong gave them a reward. In addition to gold, silver and jewels, there were also eight singers.
Each of the two brothers had a share of gold, silver and jewelry, and the eight singers were not named how they would be distributed.