Jinguo Grand Princess and Daiguo Grand Princess were blood sisters of Emperor Xianjia. The former one, who was not as interested in politics as the latter one, only cared about entertainment, so she was more favored by the empress dowager and Emperor Xianjia. Even though she married for three times and her numerous romantic affairs were widespread in the imperial capital, the empress dowager and Emperor Xianjia just turned a blind eye and pretended that they didn’t know.
“The maid called Cuipiao said he had inherited the title of Duke Yanguo. Hence, he must be the youngest son of Jinguo Grand Princess, Jian Xubai?” Song Yixiao sat by the bed and left the woman to smear the vulnerary on her foot, thinking in secret, “His father, Jian Likuang is the third husband of the Grand Princess, who is said to be seven or eight years younger than her. I doubt that they are not in good relationship due to the age gap. Yet, they two still have two sons. Jian Xubai is the younger one and yet most favored. He has been raised by the empress dowager since childhood. Rumor has it that he is treated just like an emperor’s son!”
According to the little information she heard of accidentally in her previous life, Duke Yanguo, Jian Xubai seemed to live an enviable life. At the age of five, his grandfather, Jian Pingyu submitted his application for retiring and meanwhile passing his duke title to his youngest grandson.
Actually, even if the request was approved, by law Jian Xubai could only be Count Yan rather than Duke Yanguo.
Nevertheless, the empress dowager loved this grandson most.
Therefore, her imperial decree made an exception, granting him the title of Duke and bringing him into the palace to live with the empress dowager. Being raised by the empress dowager was an unprecedented privilege among all the emperor’s sons!
“It’s said that he is favored by not only the empress dowager but also the crown prince. To sum up, he is handsome and noble as a duke with the favor among the imperial relatives. No wonder he was the No. 1 Mr. Right among the nieces of Madam Liu in the previous life!” Song Yixiao thought of this and couldn’t help smirking, “Yet, they can never be with him this life!”
After all, the Liu Family gained extreme notoriety because Madam Liu dared to sell her husband’s legitimate daughter. As a consequence, it would be even harder for the decedents of the Liu Family to get married than the Wei Family. In no way could the girls dream of marrying such a noble man.
Thinking of the faces of the Liu Family in the previous life and their present devastated faces, Song Yixiao suddenly felt rather pleased.
Now the strong woman finished applying the vulnerary to her sprained ankle and wrapping the ankle with a clean napkin, and then stood up and said, “My lady, your strain is not serious and you will get well in two or three days.
Song Yixiao hastened to stop thinking and thanked her.
The strong woman talked with her smilingly. Noticing that Song Yixiao was sweating, she opened half of the window to let some air in.
Song Yixiao got some air and then asked to leave. Yet, the strong woman advised her to rest for a while and leave, “The vulnerary will take the best effect if you can sit for two or four hours. If you are not in a hurry, you had better not move.”
Of course, Song Yixiao was not in a hurry for anything. She was just afraid that Wei Mengying might be worried for not finding her after finishing her meeting, so she discussed with Zhiqin and sent her back first to report her situation and then come back for her.
The strong woman went out to ask someone to bring in some pastries and then left. After all, given her master’s position, she didn’t need to fawn on a little girl like Song Yixiao.
Song Yixiao was okay with the cold attitude. Zhiqin would come back for her later. By then it would be inconvenient if a stranger was with them.
She was waiting for Zhiqin, selecting the pastries. Suddenly, she heard a gentle voice from the corridor outside. The voice seemed to belong to a man who was not young and yet amiable. “Xubai, the cabbage rolls are bought from your favorite restaurant, which are still hot. Why don’t you have some?”
“Is the man Jian Likuang? Jian Xubai just complained to his maid and now his father has finally come.” Song Yixiao didn’t expect that the strong woman’s thoughtful action accidentally made her able to eavesdrop. She couldn’t help feeling amused. Then she fetched two cushiness quietly and leaned against them, pretending to be sleeping with her eyes closed, just in case that she couldn’t find any excuse if she was caught eavesdropping.
She just closed her eyes when she heard Jian Xubai say disgruntledly, “Uncle, how come you are here? Shouldn’t you be on duty now?”
“Today is your birthday. I have asked for one day off.” His uncle said gently, “Your mother has also prepared a feast at your home. Just have some cabbage rolls first and then go back with me, okay?”
Jian Xubai seemed to stay silent for a while before he asked sobbingly, “Where is my father? Where is my brother? Why is it you who comes to find me and bring me back? Why don’t they come?”
“Of course they did but they just failed.” His uncle sighed and said in a soft voice, “They also asked me to find you. By coincidence, I come to the silk store and find you here…”
“Really?” Jian Xubai’s voice suddenly turned a bit cold, “Uncle, don’t you lie to me. I will ask my father and brother about this later. You know, if my brother didn’t ask you to find me here, he wouldn’t mind telling me the truth!”
His uncle was speechless instantly. After a while, he said, “Anyway, a feast has been prepared in your home. You are the apple in the eye of the Jian Family. How can anyone forget about it? Good boy, go back with me. Do you know how many people are waiting for celebrating your birthday?”
Jian Xubai said sorrowfully, “But my father doesn’t care about my birthday at all! It was my brother’s birthday at the beginning of this year and my father attached great importance to that. He even helped pick clothes and accessories for my brother for that day! Why doesn’t he take my birthday seriously at all? Even when I talk about my birthday first, he seemed not to care at all. Uncle, my brother and I are blood brothers of the same parents. I am not saying that my father cannot favor either of us but I just fail to understand what wrong I have done to make him ignore me like this! I am always trying to be a good son!”
He asked in a deep voice, “Is it because I went across my elder brother and inherited the title of Duke? But I was five years old by then! I didn’t even understand what a duke was. I would never become a duke without the consent of the seniors. I didn’t mean to fight for it against my brother!”
“What is that?” Song Yixiao smiled and felt the resentment outside the door, “I thought that it was Jian Likuang who came to reconcile with his son, so it would be fine to listen to their conversation. Out of my expectation, it was the uncle who came. Now they are even talking about the story behind the inheritance of duke title!”
She didn’t dare to listen more so she nudged the silver vase on the table deliberately so that it could heat the nearby celadon lotus leaf dish. The clear crashing sound immediately ceased the conversation outside.
After an instant, the patter of steps gradually ebbed away.
Song Yixiao let out a sigh and leaned back against the cushions.
After a while, she heard the patter of steps and found that only one was coming. She thought that it must be Zhiqin so she hastened to get up. Unexpectedly, as the door was opened, it turned out that Jian Xubai returned alone with his hands at the back!
Looking at his poker face, Song Yixiao couldn’t help wondering with fear whether he came back to morganize her.
Jian Xubai stayed by the door for a while. Then he stepped over the threshold and then closed the door, which made Song Yixiao even more alerted and vigilant.He just walked to Song Yixiao slowly and didn’t mean to do anything against her. With an embarrassed face, he opened his mouth and seemed to say something.“Anything I can help?” Song Yixiao looked at him suspiciously.“Kind of.” Jian Xubai answered with uncertainty and remained silent for a long while. He even blushed and then talked of his intention in a low voice, “My uncle says girls are good at how to act like a spoiled child. I am wondering how you do this to your father.”After he said that, his face was completely red. He kept looking around and yet didn’t dare to look at Song Yixiao. It was too embarrassing for him to ask a girl younger than him how to act like a spoiled child before her father. Even though he was eager to win favor from his father, he felt so awkwar
Song Yixiao heard it and felt surprised. Then she just recalled, “Oh crap! I forgot that my mother expected me to marry into the purple. Today since Lingdang saw me make friends with Jian Xubai, my mother must try her best to set me up with him!”She had a nice conversation with Jian Xubai for a reason. Firstly, she was afraid that he would figure out that she was the real conspirator for the tragedy of the Song Family and Liu Family. Therefore, she went all out to flatter Jian Xubai in case that he would suspect her.Secondly, somehow Jian Xubai felt like fighting for paternal love against his elder brother and sister out of no reason, so he had to inquire Song Yixiao about how to act like a spoiled child! Although Song Yixiao couldn’t teach him how, he must feel disgraced after asking such a question! Even though Song Yixiao didn’t laugh at him, Jian Xubai must have conflicting feelings.Afterwards, once Song Yixiao talked of what happened to
Song Yixiao asked curiously, “Who?”“Cui Jianlian.” Wei Mengying’s face didn’t look good, “She is the legitimate niece of Princess Consort Cui in her maiden line.”Generally, the wife of a second marriage always was inferior before the maiden family of the previous wife, but Wei Mengying feared Miss Cui not for that. “Princess Consort Cui is the youngest aunt of Cui Jianlian and her elder auntie is Noble Consort Cui as well as the birth mother of the crown prince!”Song Yixiao couldn’t help narrowing her eyes, “Since the Cui Family have successfully cultivated a princess consort and a noble consort, why do they send the daughter to the girl’s school of the prince’s residence?”Given such an achievement in terms of girl education, all the other people would feel eager to send their daughters to the Cui Family for study. Why would a daughter of the Cui Family study in the school of Prince of Hengshan?Wei Mengying snorte
Song Yixiao surely didn’t know about the trap that Madam Jin set for her. After arriving back at the Hanxia Villa, she told Ms. Zhao about what happened to her while she was out and then had a rest.Four or five days later, her foot was recovered and her new dresses as well as silk-flowers headwear were all delivered.Wei Mengying got to the Hanxia Villa on her own and dressed her daughter up before she brought Song Yixiao to the girl’s school. The girl’s school in the residence of Prince of Hengshan was set at the corner of the garden, which was a three-entrance courtyard. Upon entering the courtyard, you could see an artificial hill that was about 1.67 meters high and looked like a screen. Behind the artificial hill, you would see the courtyard, in the northwest of which you could walk through a door and find the classroom inside.“I will leave Yixiao at your hands from now on!” Wei Mengying left her daughter to the female teachers sincerely,
The Hanxia Villa was situated in a lonely place. Hence, Song Yixiao and Zhiqin were walking on the desolate path back.Yet, it was in the daytime anyway. Although the path was quiet and secluded with thick forests and grass, they were not frightened, discussing with each other on the way, “Shall we report what has happened today to the princess consort?”“No. Only my clothes have been stained, which can be cleaned later. Moreover, there is no evidence showing that the maid did it on purpose. I can only punish her in the end even if I keep badgering… However, doing so would make me look stingy and ask for trouble deliberately!”Zhiqin’s heart ached with pity, “The ink was specially thick and your stained clothes were lunar white. I don’t think the clothes can be cleaned. It is the first time that you have worn the blouse!”“Then you can have it if you want.” Song Yixiao tried to comfort her, “Don’t you also like this kind of color?”
“Send for Doctor Fu! Now!” Lu Guanlun ordered and yet his manservant still hesitated, “She is only a maid. Doctor Fu is a young man. Is it inappropriate for him to come to the inner courtyard?”“How can we not save such a loyal servant?” Before Song Yixiao replied, Lu Guanlun said in a deep voice, “As to the inappropriateness you mentioned, you just follow him closely. You must adapt your actions to different circumstances if needed!”The manservant took the order and left. Song Yixiao stared at Lu Guanlun with her lips trembling, saying sobbingly after a while, “Thank you so much for your help!”“Young as Doctor Fu is, he is good at healing injuries.” Lu Guanlun came to Zhiqin and took a look. Sympathy crossed his eyes, “I thought she had been dead… She is very lucky anyway!”He took off his coat and put it over Zhiqin, explaining in a soft voice, “One will feel cold after losing blood.”After a while, Wei Mengying ar
Song Yixiao was in a trance. She didn’t pass out with a sense of relief until Doctor Fu said the maid’s life was saved. All the while she didn’t find that she sprained her ankle again. Moreover, her sprain was even more severe than before.After she woke up again, she still had no time to attend to that.Because she learnt that Zhiqin survived indeed but she was severely hurt with irreversible wounds by the instant biting. The injury on her neck with her bone exposed to air had stopped bleeding, but an unrecoverable scar would exist forever. Worse still, she couldn’t speak anymore!Most of her right palm bitten off, she had only two fingers and part of the palm left.Moreover, she even had numerous injuries all over her body.What made Song Yixiao saddest was that Zhiqin also lost one eye. The scratch that crossed most of her face ruined not only her beautiful face but also her left eye!“It’s lucky enough
“I have reached an agreement with Dowager Consort that Madam Jin must go to the house in the suburbs to introspect herself for one year, during which I will cease providing the birth control medicine of her husband’s concubines!” A look of coldness crossed the face of Wei Mengying, “As long as there is nothing wrong with Lu Guanqun’s body, his concubines must be able to get pregnant in one year! When Madam Jin is back, I will try my best to help the concubines give birth to the children!”Seeing the indifferent look of her daughter, she smiled, “Since there are concubines conceiving children for Lu Guanqun and Madam Jin is not a kind woman, she will not treat the Shu children well if she has her own children in future. Therefore, in order to teach her to be a good legitimate mother, I don’t think she should have her own children in case that she has a partiality!”Wei Mengying held grudge against her daughter-in-law. Now that Madam Jin conspired an attempte