"My lord, do you know who is coming?" Since the carriage curtain was drawn, An Jing couldn’t see the people inside the carriage, and therefore didn’t know who was coming.
Xiao Changyi paused his bamboo raft-making activities, glanced in the direction of that splendidly covered carriage, and said, "One of the guards is someone I’ve seen in the East Palace. It must be someone from the East Palace." He paused, "It’s not Chengyu."
An Jing also felt it couldn’t be Su Chengyu, as Su Chengyu always visited them in plain clothes.
Seated in such a lavish carriage, protected by a team of guards, it was clear that this person held a significant position in the East Palace.
And with Su Chengyu having several consorts of stature, An Jing genuinely couldn’t guess who the individual in the carriage was.
However, when the carriage stopped not far from them, a maid whom An Jing recognized as the personal maid of the Crown Princess, named Bi Zhu, crawled out first.
Given that, it was absolutely certain that the visitor was the Crown Princess herself.
Indeed, not long after Bi Zhu alighted, Crown Princess Ning Wenxian was respectfully assisted down from the carriage by Bi Zhu.
"Wen Xian, how come you’ve come?" An Jing immediately walked over with a smile, quite delighted.
She hadn’t met any of Su Chengyu’s other consorts, but she knew Crown Princess Ning Wenxian, who was exceedingly courteous. During the few days she and her husband had been in the Imperial Capital, Ning Wenxian had sent them several necessary items.
Ning Wenxian was already well-mannered and aware of proper conduct before her marriage to Su Chengyu. Now, having been the Crown Princess for many years, her behavior was even more generous and appropriate.
Parting briskly and straightforwardly from An Jing, Ning Wenxian approached with a slight smile on her lips, heading toward An Jing.
Upon meeting, she greeted An Jing with a bow, "Royal Sister-in-Law."
Following that, Ning Wenxian also bowed to Xiao Changyi, who was still engrossed in making the bamboo raft, "Royal Brother."
After exchanging pleasantries, Ning Wenxian smiled and said, "Royal Brother and Royal Sister-in-Law have been in the Capital for many days, and Wen Xian has not had the opportunity to visit. I hope you can forgive me. Today, Wen Xian finally had some free time to come and see both Royal Brother and Royal Sister-in-Law."
With no Empress in the harem, the Emperor of Xiyun had decreed that all matters concerning the harem be managed by Ning Wenxian, the Crown Princess. Ning Wenxian was genuinely busy.
An Jing understood and also smiled, "You finally have some free time, but you don’t need to visit us. It’s more important for you to rest well in the East Palace."
"Royal Brother and Royal Sister-in-Law are family, and it is right for Wen Xian to visit." Then, Ning Wenxian turned to her personal maid Bi Zhu, "Wen Xian didn’t bring anything special, but I’ve brought some items that may be useful from time to time. Bi Zhu, quickly take the items inside."
"Yes, Crown Princess." Bi Zhu, along with others, carried a wooden box of items into the main hall.
The things from the Crown Princess could never be poor in quality. The set of green jade tea set that they were currently using in their house had been sent by the Crown Princess a few days earlier.
Originally, she hadn’t intended to use such valuable items, but since they were already delivered and sitting idle, An Jing decided to use them as it wasn’t a waste and it saved them from buying their own.
An Jing smiled and said, "You have already sent over a lot of things. Most of the items we use at home were brought by you."
Ning Wenxian replied, "It’s good that Royal Brother and Royal Sister-in-Law find them useful."
If it had been someone else, An Jing perhaps wouldn’t have accepted their gifts, but this person was Ning Wenxian, whom both the Emperor of Xiyun and Su Chengyu seemed very satisfied with and highly valued.