Chapter 673: Chapter 673: Rare Top Quality Qiubo speculated, “Could it be because Prince Liang is getting married that we have noble guests visiting?” “Anyone who the Tian Family calls a noble guest is no small matter,” Leng Yu Yan nodded, “it’s likely they are here for Ye Zhenyu and Zheng Liqi’s marriage.” There was no point in guessing, as they’d eventually find out who the visitors were. With that thought, she continued, “Yesterday’s lotus leaf chicken was a success, and even if Your Highness gets temperamental, he wouldn’t have cause to; today we’ll make peach preserves.” Before long, after having had breakfast, Leng Yu Yan took the maids to pick several baskets of peaches. Today, she planned to make dried peach slices and peach preserves. Dried peach slices were easy; wash the peaches, slice them, and then leave them out to dry directly in the sun to capture their most natural flavor. Peach preserves were a bit more complex; after washing and slicing the peaches, they would add sugar and a pinch of salt for curing, then cook the peach slices, drain them, and finally lay them out to dry. By the time all was done, it was nearing lunchtime. Ye Yiheng had not returned to the Eastern Palace for the meal, which Leng Yu Yan found unsurprising, as she had heard from the morning that a noble guest had arrived, and presumed he was surely accompanying the guest. Leng Yu Yan stood at the doorway of her bedroom palace, looking at the vast courtyard filled with round bamboo trays, covered with sliced peach meat, feeling a sense of accomplishment. Dong Yan walked up to her side, “Commandery Princess, it’s time for lunch.” “Alright,” Leng Yu Yan smiled, “with the sunshine so good today, it should become ready after drying for three days.” Dong Yan couldn’t help but laugh, “By sunset today, I guarantee some will come sniffing around to steal a taste.” Nᴇw ɴovel chaptᴇrs are published on 𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹⟡𝓯𝓲𝓻𝓮⟡𝙣𝙚𝙩 Leng Yu Yan also laughed, walking towards the dining room, “Then we must keep an eye on it; despite the large quantity spread out now, there won’t be much left after three days of drying.” Dong Yan replied, “Yes, the maids have discussed it and will take turns watching over it, and also to keep flies and insects at bay.” Just as Leng Yu Yan was having lunch, Song Guo came running back. “The Crown Princess Consort, His Highness had his lunch in the palace.” “Alright, I understand.” Song Guo, smiling, asked, “Crown Princess Consort, those many peach slices drying outside, may I have some?” Sure enough, Dong Yan’s prediction was correct, Leng Yu Yan said smilingly, “They’re not ready yet, so you’re not allowed to eat them.” Song Guo nodded vigorously, “I understand, once they’re ready, the Crown Princess Consort will let me have some, right?” He had to be a bit shameless to make sure the Crown Princess Consort wouldn’t forget about him. Miao Zhu gave him a sidelong glance, “As long as your heart is with the Crown Princess Consort, you surely won’t miss out on your share.” “Yes, yes, yes!” Song Guo said earnestly, “I was wrong about the matter in the small courtyard earlier! The Crown Princess Consort is magnanimous not to hold it against me, and I am immensely grateful!” “Smooth talker!” Leng Yu Yan said indifferently, “You’d better return to His Highness’s side.” “Yes, then I’ll take my leave.” Saying so, Song Guo backed away to leave. Leng Yu Yan nodded, “Go on.” Whether it was he who had been thoughtful or Song Guo, the fact that he made a point to inform her of his absence from lunch was quite considerate. In the afternoon, after being busy all morning, Leng Yu Yan felt a bit drowsy and let Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter watch over the drying peaches, making sure to tell Miao Zhu that she couldn’t eat them either. Miao Zhu said solemnly, “Commandery Princess, rest assured, no matter how much my mouth waters, I will hold back.” Leng Yu Yan couldn’t help but laugh, “Turn the peaches every half an hour.” “Yes!” they all agreed. Leng Yu Yan then went to her bedroom to take a nap. Upon awakening, it was already late afternoon. Although there was still sunlight, it was no longer as intense. Leng Yu Yan didn’t know how the sun-drying of the peach flesh was coming along and hastily left her bedroom. To her relief, Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter were ordering the eunuchs and palace maids to turn them over. Chun Liu, seeing her up, said, “Crown Princess Consort, if we turn them over one more time, they should mostly be ready to be gathered. We can sun-dry them again tomorrow.” “Alright,” Leng Yu Yan nodded. What puzzled her, however, was that the expressions of Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter all seemed a bit odd, so she inquired, “What has happened?” Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter looked at each other, but none dared to speak first. Unable to contain herself, Miao Zhu rolled up her sleeves, strode over to Leng Yu Yan, and huffed, “The Crown Prince has brought back a woman who is now in the small building’s study.” “A woman?” Leng Yu Yan’s brows slightly furrowed. “That so-called noble guest?” “Yes, that woman is quite arrogant. Just now, as she passed in front of the bedroom, she pointed at the peach flesh drying on the ground and sneered, asking when the Eastern Palace became a rural field,” Miao Zhu said, clearly agitated. “Commandery Princess, the girl from the small courtyard before was an imposter and easy to deal with. But the woman today is of significant status, and the Crown Prince has directly brought her into the Eastern Palace.” Hearing this, Leng Yu Yan felt a twinge in her heart. She should have anticipated that the Tian Family’s princes wouldn’t be limited to one woman… She ordered herself to calm down and took a couple of deep breaths before asking, “What exactly is the identity of the visitor?” “I couldn’t manage to hold onto Song Guo to ask,” Miao Zhu whispered. “The visitor definitely is of no small importance. When she came to the Eastern Palace, she was accompanied by the Eighth Prince.” “Ye Yongwang…” Leng Yu Yan frowned in thought. “Go to the study and ask the Eighth Prince to come here.” With the woman from the small courtyard before, she hadn’t understood the situation at the beginning. Now that another woman had appeared, she needed to get things clear early on. Since Ye Yiheng was the master of the Eastern Palace, it was inconvenient for him to leave with guests present. If Ye Yongwang was accompanying, then he must know the identity of the guest. Besides, as he was just keeping company, stepping away from the study temporarily wouldn’t be improper. Once she knew the identity of the visitor, she could formulate a corresponding strategy. Miao Zhu affirmed, “I will go quickly and return quickly.” An hour later, Ye Yongwang was indeed brought before Leng Yu Yan by Miao Zhu. He bowed with his hands clasped, “Sixth Sister-in-law!” Leng Yu Yan was sitting in the pavilion and raised her hand to signal the man to sit down. “The Eighth Prince is older than I am, but according to the ranking here in Your Highness’s side, may I call the Eighth Prince ‘Eighth Brother’?” The man before her, wearing a Prince’s python robe, Ye Yongwang, was two years older than she was and only two years younger than Ye Yiheng. Since she was someone’s Crown Princess Consort, naturally, she followed Ye Yiheng’s ranking within the Tian Family. “That’s how it should be,” Ye Yongwang smiled as he took his seat. “I wonder, what is the matter for which Sixth Sister-in-law has called me here?” Leng Yu Yan gestured for the palace maid to serve him tea, then got straight to the point, “When the distinguished guest arrived at the Eastern Palace earlier, I was resting and was unable to welcome her, which was really improper. I was thinking of asking Eighth Brother, who is the person who has come?” “So that’s the matter,” Ye Yongwang laughed again. “The visitor is the Princess of Nandian Country.” “The Princess of Nandian Country?” “Yes, the status of this Princess is extraordinary.” “Oh? Could Eighth Brother share more, so that next time I meet the visitor, I do not fall short of Tiancheng’s etiquette?” “The Emperor Nandian has no sons, and this Princess, being of great talent and strategy, is recognized by the Nandian Court as the Imperial Princess.” Pausing a moment, Ye Yongwang added, “Although she hasn’t been officially conferred, it’s pretty much the same.” Leng Yu Yan took a light sip of her tea and asked evenly, “Does Nandian Country possess the rare top-grade pearls, am I right?” Ye Yongwang couldn’t help but praise her, “Sixth Sister-in-law knows quite a lot! Indeed, every nation in the world has pearls, but only those of Nandian Country are the most precious. Because they are so precious, Nandian Country does not generally sell their pearls externally.” Leng Yu Yan asked another question, “Does Eighth Brother possess pearls from Nandian Country?” Ye Yongwang shook his head, “Two years ago, the Princess of Nandian also visited Tiancheng once, and at that time she only gave a box of pearls to Sixth Brother.”