Matriarch He had been living in the capital for so long that she understood all the nuances of the etiquette in play here. Her face was kindly, making her look approachable despite her age.
“There’s no need for you to greet me. It is my honour to be invited to Princess Wei’s birthday banquet. I will have to trouble Senior Servant Lan to pass on my blessings to Princess Wei.”
He Ying was standing to one side. When she saw how courteous her mother was acting towards a servant, disdain surfaced on her expression.
This person wasn’t even the princess herself, she was only a servant. Did her mother really need to fawn over a mere servant like this, with her title as first-ranked noble wife? Could it possibly be her age getting to her?
Senior Servant Lan was sharp-eyed, as befitted her position. She had caught He Ying’s small movements.
“You’re too courteous, Matriarch. This old servant will pass on your words to Princess Wei later on. It’ll be the eve of the new year tomorrow. Has there been any news from Honoured Lady Jinyi in the north?”
Senior Servant Lan had mentioned Chu Lian in front of Matriarch He at this time on purpose. A smart person would instantly realise what she meant.
Matriarch He had never been a slow-witted person as the de-facto leader of her family.
Senior Servant Lan wasn’t really asking about news of Chu Lian. Princess Wei had sent two of her bodyguards along when Chu Lian had left for the north. If there was really any news, Prince Wei’s Estate might even find out earlier than they did.
Right now, she was using the mention of Chu Lian to remind her that the only reason they had received the invite and why they now able to mingle with Prince Wei’s Estate, was purely due to Chu Lian’s efforts.
When you drink water, think of the person who dug the well.
Matriarch He sighed, “I have not received any news of her. I’ve always been thinking of Lian’er, please pass on my gratitude to Princess Wei for remembering Lian’er. If there’s any news, I’ll definitely send a message to the princess immediately.”
When Senior Servant Lan saw that the matriarch had understood her reminder, she ended the topic. She spoke up courteously, “Look at this, this old servant has completely forgotten about the time while chatting. Apologies for keeping Matriarch here out in the cold wind. This old servant has failed in my duties. Matriarch, it’s getting late. This old servant will guide you to the inner court.”
He Ying had already lost her patience some time ago while waiting.
It wasn’t until the three ladies had gotten onto the sedan that the prince’s estate had arranged to take them into the inner court that Matriarch He finally got the chance to give a stern warning to her daughter.
“Miss Ying, what kind of look was that just now?” Matriarch He intoned.
He Ying was too stubborn to accept the scolding and snapped back, “Mother, what were you doing talking so nicely to an old servant? Even if she’s dressed lavishly, she’s still just a servant. We’ll lose our dignity if we lower ourselves in front of a servant!”
Matrairch He harrumphed, annoyed with her daughter’s tone. “What do you know?! That servant you’re talking about is a highly ranked court lady! Her rank is even higher than yours!”
He Ying was frozen stiff in shock, “That old woman is a court lady?”
Matriarch He suppressed her rage, not wanting to have it out with her daughter at this time. However, her tone turned more icy, “Put away that haughtiness of yours! This birthday banquet is extremely important, and so are all the guests here. If you offend a respected personage and make enemies for me, I’ll send you right back to Siyang.”
He Ying shrunk back. It was only after the matriarch had pulled out that threat that she really felt fear.
Back when she had still been a young miss in House Jing’an, the house hadn’t been as illustrious as it was now. They didn’t even have a noble title then. Old Count Jing’an had earned that title by risking his life on the battlefield.
Thus, she had never interacted much with the nobles in the capital. It was normal that she wouldn’t realise an unassuming senior servant would be a formally titled and ranked court lady.
The court ladies’ ranks in the Great Wu Dynasty were equal to ranked noble madams. Senior Servant Lan was a seventh-ranked title at the very least. That was much higher than He Ying’s own rank now. Furthermore, court ladies had always been looked up to.
After this small commotion, He Ying decided to give up all of her airs and remain low-key on this day.
The timid Pan Nianzhen had also been properly frightened from all this. The capital was really teeming with all sorts of noble ranks. If a stone randomly fell from the sky, it would likely hit someone with a noble title.
Princess Wei was waiting in the main hall of the inner court for her guests.
There were many esteemed madams and misses here today. Some of them were the noble wives of the ministers of the cabinet. There were even some high-ranked imperial clan members around.
Even Matriarch He wasn’t able to lift her head high in front of all these people.
She hurriedly gave her greetings to Princess Wei before retreating from the circle with He Ying and Miss Pan.
Old Duchess Zheng and a few other senior members of noble houses were gathered in one area, naturally forming a social circle.
Matriarch He entered the circle and sat down. Old Duchess Zheng greeted her with a smile, “It’s just us old ladies left in this circle.”
After saying so, she glanced over at He Ying, who was behind Matriarch He.
Old Duchess Zheng was close with Matriarch He and knew about all the events that had happened in their estate a few decades ago. She frowned slightly before continuing, “When did Miss Ying return to the capital?”
Matriarch He set aside the ill feelings in her heart and returned the smile. “She came back just a few days ago. After so many years, I just couldn’t rest easy with her raising her child in Siyang. The young ones in my estate aren’t around much so I get lonely easily. Thus, I thought of bringing Miss Ying back.”
While Old Duchess Zheng didn’t approve of the matriarch’s decision, she kept it to herself and didn’t make any mention of it in front of He Ying. She nodded, “It’s good that you’ve brought her back. Now that we’re old, all we want is to see our children happy by our side!”
Following that, Old Duchess Zheng turned to Pan Nianzhen, whose head was still pointed at the ground, “This is…”
House Jing’an didn’t have any young misses around this age. She had seen Chu Lian a few times before, so she would recognise her if it was Chu Lian.
Matriarch He smiled, “This is my granddaughter. She came back from Siyang along with her mother.”
