Lou Yi got up exactly early to prepare for going out. After reading through the report sent to her by shopkeeper Xiao Han, she knew that she had to visit her elder sister for a little chat. She also sent a message to her third sister's courtyard to accompany her for the visit.
Just as she was in the middle of partaking her breakfast, she saw Xiao Ning enter the courtyard with three girls in tow through the opened window. Xiao Ning signalled the girls to stay in the courtyard and wait for the princess to summon them. She, on the other hand, went closer inside the room to say her greetings.
"Greetings, Your Highness.", Xiao Ning greeted. Lou Yi waved her hand at her maidservant. Xiao Ning then went to the side to allow her mistress to finish her meals.
Although she knew that there are people waiting for her, Lou Yi still ate at a leisurely pace. Only when she was done eating and had washed her mouth did she turn towards Xiao Ning to address the people she had dragged along with her.
"Are these the people shopkeeper Xiao Han had mentioned?", Lou Yi asked in a low voice.
"Yes, Your Highness.", Xiao Ning responded.
Lou Yi observed the girls who are standing still in the courtyard. According to shopkeeper Xiao Han's letter, these are the trained girls who will serve as Qian Yu's dowry servants. Of course, these girls may not look like it at first glance but they are actually quite skilled in martial arts. They are just the right maidservants to pass to Qian Yu who needed people to help her relay messages to and from her.
Out of the three princesses, Qian Yu is actually the only one who didn't bring a dowry servant with her. That is only natural as she didn't have a close confidant she can trust wholeheartedly. That isn't because of any other reason but the fact that she hadn't really stayed in one place before. She had travelled the jianghu alone in the past to develop to perfection not only her martial arts but also her knowledge of the existing weapons of their current era. After stabilizing her roots in the jianghu, she returned home, only to face their imperial father's death a couple of weeks later.
Lou Yi, on the other hand, travelled from one city to another disguised as a merchant. It was during these travels that she had established Yu Xiang Pavilion. She had brought Xiao Cui, Xiao Mei, and Xiao Ning with her during those times so she can put her trust in her three maidservants without problems. It was also these three who carried out her orders perfectly during the infant stages of Yu Xiang Pavilion.
The three newly arrived girls are handpicked ladies trained at Yu Xiang Pavilion. They are skilled and loyal so Qian Yu should have no qualms using them.
"Xiao Ning, have someone prepare three carriages for us. We will be going to the Great General's manor in a while", Lou Yi instructed once she finished visually inspecting the three girls. "Xiao Cui, go to third sister's courtyard and tell her that I'll be waiting for her at the manor's main gate."
"This servant obeys.", bot Xiao Cui and Xiao Ning gave a slight bow to acknowledge their orders and immediately withdrew.
Meanwhile, Lou Yi went back inside the inner room to change her outerwear. She allowed Xiao Mei to help her dress up as well as tie her hair. Although it can oftentimes get troublesome to dress up, she had no choice today but to do so. After all, she and her little sister will be visiting a newlywed's love nest in a while. Moreover, she doesn't want the Great General's people to look down on her during the visit as it would have an impact on her elder sister's standing in their manor. The more noble and dignified she and Rou Xi acts during the visit, the more it will leave an impression that her sister can never be bullied.
She didn't take long in changing her clothes and, in a while, she was walking the path towards the main gate. Along the way, she encountered her third sister.
"Second Sister, why are we visiting Eldest Sister today? They only had their wedding yesterday. Won't it be inappropriate?"
"Why would it be inappropriate?"
"Well, normally, shouldn't today and tomorrow be the time for the new couple to spend getting to know each other?", Rou Xi asks with an innocent expression. "If our matters are not urgent, shouldn't we wait for the third day for when the bride returns home?"