"Aunty, what did you want to speak with Jin-er about?" An Jin was quite excited, but she didn't express it. She had a feeling that her Aunt Rong would be sharing some secrets with her. It should be very important. Otherwise, she would not have dismissed her servants.
Aunt Rong had a mysterious expression on her face at the moment. She then turned her head to look at An Jin with a flawless smile on her beautiful face.
"I clearly know what Jin-er's plan is." Â What Aunt Rong said had a deep meaning, making An Jin to be stunned and was unable to figure out what she meant.
Seeing the dumb look on An Jin's face, Aunt Rong couldn't help but be slightly disappointed as it was obvious that An Jin didn't understand the meaning of her words.
"Jin-er do not understand. Aunty, please quickly explain it to Jin-er." Having heard Aunt Rong said that, An Jin was even more curious. She kept feeling that her second aunt was plotting something.
"Jin-er, ah, Jin-er, you are usually very intelligent but now you are so silly" Aunt Rong said this lovingly. Compared to her own biological daughter, An Lian-er, she doted more on An Jin.
An Jin frowned as she started to think about the words Aunt Rong had said. The reason she had come here today is to let Aunt Rong look for a good marriage alliance for that An Yan and talk to her father about it and fix a marriage after all. She would then personally inform Qing-er about that, making her anxious.
Following that, she would strike the iron while it was hot to suggest to her father would to arrange a marriage for Qing-er as well. She would then continue to persuade her father to make Qing-er marry to someone that was of similar status to the one she was going to marry.
If Qing-er were to directly approach father, father would listen to what his beloved Qing-er wanted due to his favouritism.
She, An Jin, did not want that as she could only marry the Grand Tutor's son. Even though she liked Zhilan gege, if her sister, Qing-er, were to marry the Crown Prince, wouldn't she, An Jin, have to kneel before An Qing in the future whenever they met in the future? The Crown Prince would then become the Emperor in the future and An Qing would similarly become the empress. On the other hand, she would just be the first wife of the Grand Tutor's son. Their future outcomes would be completely different even if they were of similar status in the family!
She was the eldest sister so she wasn't willing to kneel before her younger sister.
Though An Jin and An Qing's relations.h.i.+p was quite good since young, she couldn't help but overthink when their personal interest and future was at stake. If she couldn't marry into a supreme n.o.ble family, how could she let her younger sister do so?
What does her aunt mean now?
"Jin-er should probably know that something was happening between Qing-er and Yuewei!" Aunt Rong saw that An Jin was in deep thought and jumped to the main point right away.
An Jin was alarmed that her second Aunt knew about that!
"Huh…Aunty…that..?"
Aunt Rong just smiled, remaining silent.
The party was still going on as everyone celebrated the two beautiful sisters' birthday within the gaily decorated Prime Minister's Manor. But everyone was plotting against each other.
✶
The night in the Prime Minister's Manor was extremely tranquil.
After busily cleaning up the mess that the n.o.ble guests had made during the party, the servant boys and maids stretched their waist as they yawned. They were exhausted and wanted to rest up for the day badly.
But An Yan was different; nights were when she was mostly wide-awake.
She lit a candle before she carefully burned some of the coals that her second Aunt had given her, making her ice-cold room to warm up instantly. She just waited for her Aunt Ye to come with her clothes all tidy after that.
Aunt Ye was the person she liked the most in the entire manor apart from her second Aunt. Aunt Rong had indeed treated her well and provided her with what she needed to live peacefully in the manor. However, it was Aunt Ye that taught her how to read, study and how to face her enemies.
Aunt Ye should have arrived already, judging by the time. Why isn't she here yet today?