She Became A Downfall Noble Lady

As Princess Fu strolled along, she explained to Madam Yin, "The lanterns crafted by the artisans were initially stored in the warehouse. It only occurred to me yesterday that hanging them in the garden for today’s banquet would allow everyone to admire them, adding to the scenery. Last night, the stewards of our mansion managed to hang them all up by working through the night."

Madam Yin responded with a smile, "Your mansion’s lanterns are spectacular, not just in the garden but also if they were hung in the streets. During the Lantern Festival, the streets where Prince Fu’s Mansion hangs its lanterns always draw the largest crowds."

Behind the trio, maids and old woman servants followed. They walked along, observing and commenting on what they saw, and as they turned past a pavilion, they suddenly noticed some men standing under a corridor not far away, admiring the zodiac animal lanterns hung from the eaves of the verandah, seemingly in appreciation.

The sight prompted Ye Xinyan to imagine all sorts of dark schemes and calculations typical of the inner quarters, but she immediately burst into self-mocking laughter when she saw Madam Yin and Princess Fu at her side, and when she considered the servants of the Prince’s Mansion and Cui Bai and Jiu Yue, all following at a respectful distance. She realized her nerves had become oversensitive, a side effect of an incident from two years prior, making her see malice in every shadow.

Princess Fu pointed ahead and said to Madam Yin with a smile, "Look, they’ve come to see the lanterns too. I thought men wouldn’t be interested in these fancy things." She then looked inquisitively at Ye Xinyan and asked, "Since we’ve run into each other, why don’t we greet them? It would be beneath us to avoid them now. What do you think, Xinyan?"

Ye Xinyan replied, "Your Highness is right."

The men in front had also noticed their group, and the leading figure stepped forward with a smile, "Had we known you would be here to see the lanterns at this time, we would have come later. It wouldn’t be good to accidentally offend any female relatives while enjoying the lanterns." The speaker was none other than Prince Fu.

Princess Fu laughed, "We decided to come on a whim, only thinking of it just now. We had planned to visit after dinner, as a way to walk off the meal. No need to worry about offense; I’ve instructed the servants to keep an eye on the guests entering the garden, with servant women nearby, so there should be no disturbance."