She Holds the World After Being Reborn
Chapter 34: One’s Honor is Everyone’s Honor, One’s Disgrace is Everyone’s Disgrace

Chapter 34: Chapter 34: One’s Honor is Everyone’s Honor, One’s Disgrace is Everyone’s Disgrace

"Kneel?" Yan Wanqing spoke deliberately, "I can kneel, if the old lady can bear the consequences, then this Commandery Princess shall kneel."

As she spoke, she really began to lift her skirt, intending to kneel down.

At her side, Sun Shi remained silent, only Aunt Song frantically protested, "This must not be done!"

"Why not? It is common for granddaughters to kneel to their grandmothers in the villages, where is it not possible?" The second aunt spoke nonchalantly, thinking to herself, could it be that Yan Wanqing’s knees are too precious?

Ridiculous!

Seeing that Yan Wanqing was about to kneel, Aunt Song hurriedly stepped forward to stop her, "You must not kneel!"

She looked at the old lady and said, "The eldest miss is the Commandery Princess of Anping, personally appointed by His Majesty, symbolizing the everlasting peace and security of Dawei. She can even stand in the presence of His Majesty without kneeling. Old lady, this one kneel could ruin our Marquisate Household!"

The old lady, advanced in years, could not follow for long, only catching the word "ruin" before she directly spoke, "Is that so?"

Yan Wanqing raised an eyebrow, "Still kneeling?"

How could anyone continue kneeling after that statement? No one could afford the consequences of Yan Wanqing’s kneel.

The second aunt quickly tried to smooth things over, "It’s all a misunderstanding, a misunderstanding."

Seizing the moment as she passed by her, Yan Wanqing deftly removed the hairpin, causing the second aunt to cry out, "What are you doing?"

Yan Wanqing examined the hairpin closely, confirming it was indeed the one she had carved herself—the bunny ears even had the deliberate scratch marks left from that time.

"The second aunt’s hairpin is not fitting, let someone pin it again." Yan Wanqing handed over the hairpin, and as the second aunt reached out to take it, Yan Wanqing loosened her grip, letting the hairpin fall to the ground, breaking into three pieces.

"Apologies, second aunt, when I’m free tomorrow, I’ll carve you another one," Yan Wanqing said gently.

The second aunt, infuriated and about to speak, was interrupted when Sun Shi, who had been silent, finally spoke.

"The children have just returned from a banquet hosted by the Empress at Southern Mountain and are exhausted. Now that they have seen their mother, allow them to return to their quarters to rest."

The old lady glanced at Sun Shi, unexpectedly holding her tongue, and nodded, "Alright, these children give me a headache, let them all disperse."

The second aunt, thinking about how her goals for the day had not been achieved, was somewhat dumbfounded, "Are we dispersing just like that?"

Sun Shi glanced at her, "Sister-in-law, do you have other matters you wish to discuss with the children?"

The second aunt felt a chill in her heart, "No, no." In fact, she wanted Yan Wanqing to take her son out for a walk, but mentioning it now might lead to scolding, especially since Yan Wanqing was notoriously difficult to deal with. She worried her son would be disadvantaged.

"Since that’s the case, then we’ll leave. You and mother had a long journey, you should rest well," Sun Shi said decisively, leading the group away.

Sun Shi directly took Yan Lingzhen away, leaving the others to return to their respective quarters.

After Yan Wanqing finished bathing, she leaned back on the Imperial Consort’s couch to rest and suddenly felt someone gently tapping her knee.

She opened her eyes, and there was Cong Huan, with a face eager to please.

"Miss," Cong Huan whispered.

Yan Wanqing responded with a hum.

Cong Huan said nothing further, continuing the massage, making Yan Wanqing drowsy.

Eventually, Cong Huan could no longer hold back.

"Miss, I think Xiaoliu is not as simple as she appears," she ventured after much thought.

Upon hearing this, Yan Wanqing slowly opened her eyes.

"So?"

"Didn’t the eldest miss notice? Xiaoliu’s actions today seemed intentionally designed to provoke conflict."

Yan Wanqing let out a soft chuckle, fixing her gaze on Cong Huan, "You are as clever as ever."

Cong Huan, flattered, felt much better, "...It’s all thanks to your teachings, miss."

She energetically continued massaging Yan Wanqing’s legs, "Miss, can you call me back? I can’t bear to be away from you."

Hearing her words, Yan Wanqing sneered inwardly, Xiao Hongshen was getting impatient.

"Fine, you can return to the inner court tomorrow."

Upon hearing this, Cong Huan was overjoyed and after pressing further for a while, she said, "The weather is getting colder, I’ve stewed some bird’s nest with white fungus for Miss, I’ll bring it to her now."

After Yan Wanqing nodded, she happily left.

Cong Huan considered herself clever, having seen through Xiaoliu’s tricks, but how could she know she wasn’t just adding fuel to the fire?

In Madam Sun’s room at the time, she was fixing Yan Lingzhen’s hair after her bath.

She sighed while combing.

"... such clever tricks must never be used again today."

Yan Lingzhen’s body shook and she pretended not to understand, "Mother, why do you say this?"

Madam Sun looked at her feigning ignorance and sighed, "You really think your elder sister hasn’t noticed?"

Yan Lingzhen was still in a daze when she heard Madam Sun say, "Usually, your elder sister is indifferent, nothing from inside or outside the household escapes her eyes, yet today she erupted in fury just for you, do you really think you acted well?"

Yan Lingzhen pursed her lips, "Is Mother blaming me? Then my elder sister..."

"Of course I’m not blaming you, you’ve been raised outside for so many years, your mother feels very guilty about it, what happened today was merely your elder sister venting anger on your behalf," Madam Sun recalled the afternoon’s drama and Yan Wanqing’s expressions, she lamented, "Xiaoliu, you’ve just returned home, but you must understand, we of the Yan family, share both honor and disgrace together."

Years later, Yan Lingzhen would remember these words from Madam Sun and her chest would still ache, back then she had no idea about the destiny borne by her mother, elder sister, and indeed all the women of the Yan family.

Snow had fallen again today, blanketing the entire Capital City in white, the red walls and white tiles reflecting each other’s brilliance.

Yan Wanqing was practicing martial arts in the courtyard with Yan Hongzhao as usual, but today she felt her blood churning, and not even an hour into their practice, she bent down and coughed up blood.

Unable to grab a handkerchief in time, she covered her lips with her hand, her blood seeping through her fingers, appearing exceptionally translucent under the blazing white sun, like a pool of blood-colored agate.

Yan Hongzhao hurriedly sent the maids to find a doctor and supported Yan Wanqing to rush back to her room to sit down.

All Yan Wanqing could do was stare blankly at the palm of her hand as the handkerchief wiped away, yet still left a residual blood mark.

She suddenly grabbed Yan Hongzhao’s hand.

"Elder Sister," Yan Hongzhao was startled by her.

While her lips were still stained with blood, she took out a jade ornament from her bosom, a dark green piece strung with a greenish pearl necklace, it appeared unusual.

"Do this for Elder Sister," the poison of the Thousand Mechanism had already penetrated her marrow.

Since the last time she fell into the water, Yan Wanqing had distinctly felt her body deteriorating further.

On the outside, she looked radiant, but inside, she was thoroughly decayed.

She worried that she would not hold up until that day when there would be no one left in the Yan family to strategize.

She motioned for her fifth sister to come closer, enduring the bloody taste surging in her chest, and explained everything in detail.

Yan Hongzhao, after hearing all the instructions, was full of confusion.

"Don’t ask too much, just go do it, when the time comes, Elder Sister will naturally explain everything to you."

Yan Hongzhao obediently nodded, put away the jade ornament and turned to leave the room.

Once the room was emptied, Yan Wanqing finally coughed violently, the blood flowing unstoppable, frightening the people lurking in the shadows, who could no longer hide and all came out.

"My lord!" A young girl dressed in dark red looked at Yan Wanqing with distress, fumbling with bottles and jars from her bosom.

Yan Wanqing pressed her hand down, "I’m fine, the doctor will be here soon, Hong Wu, follow Hongzhao and make sure everything is arranged properly."

"Has my lord really made up her mind?" Hong Wu’s eyes were filled with reluctance.

Yan Wanqing wanted to smile, but she felt dizzy and blurred, she softly hummed and waved her hand, "Hurry along."

As long as the poison of Thousand Mechanism wasn’t cured, she would remain a hazard.

She had to be fully prepared.

Drowsily thinking, Yan Wanqing only felt today’s bright sun was indeed a bit too glaring, amidst the ringing in her ears, she vaguely returned to the year she first came of age.