As a saying went, “Man proposes, God disposes.” Before Song Yixiao finished her show of burying the hatchet, because Madam Cao took some move or Madam Pang just hated her first granddaughter, Song Yixiao’s belongings and maids were sent to her with an excuse of Madam Pang—“I am so old now that I even have made two mistakes in choosing a daughter-in-law. How can I raise a granddaughter well?”
“Now that Song Yuan has been impeached for not being able to managing the family well and lost his job, he will bring me to an adjacent city to stay away from trouble… Since Yixiao is your precious treasure and her birth mother is in the ascendant, she will be at your hands then!”
If that was all, Song Yixiao could still continue pretending to be filial, “Since my father is bringing grandmother to an adjacent city, how can I not follow and take care of my grandmother and father?”
However, Madam Pang went even further, “There are precedents for the dowry of the legitimate daughter of the Song Family. Yixiao’s dowries are shown in the list. If you find nothing wrong after reviewing, take it for her then!”
She even offered the dowry in advance!
It was an evident gesture that she would never accept Song Yixiao anymore. What else could Song Yixiao say?
“Yixiao, don’t be sad. The Song Family is such a dangerous place for you. It’s lucky for you not to go back there!” Wei Ge saw the disappointment in her face and then comforted her, “Your mother will take you to the prince’s residence soon. That place is bigger and more beautiful than the Song’s dwelling. Who would prefer the Song’s dwelling?”
Song Yixiao did!
Song Yixiao really preferred the Song’s dwelling!
In the Song Family, she was a justifiable lady. She had even conceived a plan about taking down her grandmother and father, seizing the power and riding the high horse in the Song Family!
What a familiar and practical smooth path! She was so happy to only think about that after resurrection!
Now she was told that she was going to Prince of Hengshan’s residence, a totally strange place for her!
What a joke for her!
Song Yixiao thought sadly, “The aunties are so brutal that they even make Madam Liu miscarry. Is it too serious a blow for my grandmother?”
This was out of her expectation. After all, even Madam Pang at present didn’t expect the wives of the Wei Family to be so fierce! Yet, as what Madam Liu did was too vicious, her miscarriage was covered simply.
However, Song Yixiao didn’t feel guilty at all after learning about that. In the previous life, Madam Liu did give birth to the baby that was indeed a boy expected by Madam Pang. Yet, the baby was congenitally deficient so it died after being born for a few hours.
At that time, Madam Liu blamed Song Yixiao for her son’s death, claiming that Song Yixiao brought bad luck to her brother and got him killed. If it were not for Ms. Zhao who tried her best to protect her, Song Yixiao would be choked to death!
But now… “I would rather that he could be born safe and sound, even if he regarded me as a thorn in his eyes just like the second son of Madam Liu in the previous life! I really mean it!” Song Yixiao felt bitterly sorrowful, “It’s better than me being a drag!”
Nevertheless, it was too late for her to regret. The Song Family didn’t want her and the Wei Family didn’t feel like raising her. She had no other choice but Prince of Hengshan’s residence!
Three days later, Song Yixiao was brought to Prince of Hengshan’s residence. The Fourth Commandery Princess, Lu Kou’er asked out of curiosity, “Rumor has it that you were sold to a brothel by your stepmother. What is a brothel? Is it fun?”
Facing the surrounding smirking, Song Yixiao answered in fear, “I didn’t go there. That woman sent me to my grandmother’s dwelling!”
“Oh…” Lu Kou’er appeared disappointed when Madam Jin, the second young mistress raised her sleeves to cover her mouth, saying sneeringly, “Kou’er, you are so silly. How can a lady of the Song Family talk of such a thing in public? If you really want to know about it, you should ask her in private!”
Wei Mengying, who was serving beside the dowager consort, frowned and said, “Yixiao was sent to the Wei Family by the woman. Madam Jin, what did you mean?”
Madam Jin put on a grieved face, “I share your thought! Just because Kou’er is too young and she puts forward an improper question the first day Lady Yixiao comes to our house, I only want to smooth the matter over!”
She turned to the dowager consort grinningly, “Grandma, you know, I am sharp-tongued but not malicious. Unexpectedly, my good will has offended my stepmother. Please help plead with her for me and ask her to spare me on this!”
She uttered every word clearly, especially the syllable of “step.”
Wei Mengying flied into a rage but she had to grip her napkin tightly and put up with it because of what the dowager consort said—“As a senior, why do you intervene with the matter among kids?”
However, she put up with it but Madam Jin reached out for yard after taking an inch, saying, “Grandma, you are right! Lady Yixiao and I are peers! Stepmother, we are having a peer conversation. Now that you’ve intervened, I will not dare to play with Lady Yixiao. Therefore, you should not worry too much. You ought to talk when time fits and you had better have a rest when time doesn’t. Okay?”
Wei Mengying’s face was ghastly pale! No matter how she feared the dowager consort, provoked by her daughter-in-law again and again in public, if she didn’t make any move, how could she gain a foothold in the prince’s residence?
Instantly she said, “Although you two are peers, you have been married. How can you still regard yourself as a girl? Then how can I and your father expect you to look after Guanqun?”
She snorted and looked at a pretty servant girl beside her, “Guanqun is studying assiduously now, without a considerate person taking care of him. Your father and I are really worried! Since you are still as innocent as a young girl after being married for two years, Linu, look after the young master later for me then!”
Madam Jin was stupefied, “You…”
She turned to the dowager consort immediately. However, before she said anything, Madam Kong, the first young mistress suddenly said, “Alas! Is it time that Marquis Yuan and his sister arrive now?”
“Yes!” Wei Mengying looked at her with satisfaction and fixed her hair, saying to the dowager consort smilingly, “Since we are receiving the honorable guests, we shall not leave Yixiao here. Can she be excused?”
The dowager consort glimpsed at her and Madam Jin, saying causally, “Then clean the Hanxia Villa for her to reside!”
Wei Mengying immediately stopped smiling!
A delight crossed Madam Jin’s eyes. She immediately said, “The Hanxia Villa is situated in the flowers and trees, which faces the lake too. How kind Grandma is to let Lady Yixiao live in such a good place! You are so nice to this abandoned kid! Am I right, Stepmother?”
“That place is quiet. I suppose that after going through those things, Yixiao must dislike noisiness.” The dowager consort didn’t respond to Madam Jin. Instead, she held her favorite grandson, Lu Guanlun, saying in an unhurried way, “What do you think?”
Wei Mengying felt the determination of her mother-in-law and realized that it was a revenge act to show her dissatisfaction for arranging a girl for Madam Jin’s husband. Wei Mengying thought carefully and didn’t dare to offend the dowager consort openly and said with her head lowered, “You are so nice to Yixiao. What else can I say?”
“I knew it! I wouldn’t live a good life under others’ roof!” Song Yixiao was rather depressed, “It’s okay if the place is remote. Don’t tell me that someone used to die there before…”
As she was new to the prince’s residence, Song Yixiao didn’t dare to ask about whether anyone had died in the Hanxia Villa before.However, after being led to her room by Ms. Bo, the maid of Wei Mengying, she looked around and felt quite good, “This place seems quite nice?”The Hanxia Villa was in among malus halliana. Now the florescence almost ended so only a few flowers were on the branch. It was not hard to imagine how beautiful the blooming scene was. To her satisfaction, the Hanxia Villa was delicately decorated and spacious, in which the furnishings were not new but all in readiness.Ms. Bo sighed and said, “Her Highness wanted to let you reside in the Xiluo Villa, which is next to the fourth princess of the third rank so that you two can accompany each other! However, the dowager consort interferes and makes you live in such a lonely place!”Song Yixiao put on an obedient face, “As long as I can be with my mother, I am even
Although Song Yixiao guarded against Madam Jin, nothing happened in the following several days.Of course it didn’t mean that Madam Jin wouldn’t vent her anger. When Song Yixiao went to greet Wei Mengying, she learnt, “Marquis Yuan hopes that his sister can live here for some time. These two days, Her Highness has taken the order of the dowager consort so she is busy discussing with the two young mistresses about how to help Miss Yuan settle down. I’m afraid that she has no time to meet you!”Song Yixiao also learnt from Madam Kong that Marquis Yuan and his sister came to pay a visit the day when she entered the prince’s residence. Yet, it was now that she learned about the background of these two big shots. They were the grandson and granddaughter of the dowager consort. Young as they were, their parents were dead now.Yuan Xuepei had inherited the rank of Marquis two years ago. He just finished mourning for his parents and there were seniors
“Get lost!” A young man shouted angrily from the dark cave, “I’ve told you that I wouldn’t eat. Who grants you the permission to disturb me again and again?!”Song Yixiao heard him and knew that the man must have misunderstood. She supported herself up with her hands against the ground, intending to explain after getting up. However, when she tried to move, she felt a sharp pain in her ankle. Instantly, her face turned pale!“My lady, what’s wrong?” Fortunately, Zhiqin was fine. She got up neatly and found out that something was wrong with Song Yixiao at once. She hurried to support her, “Is your foot hurt?”Before Song Yixiao replied to her, the young man in the cave sensed that something went wrong and then walked out. That was a young man around 11 or 12 years old, dressed in a red round-collar suit decorated with bamboo pattens. With a jade belt tied around his waist, he also wore a green craped coat. He looked rather handsome with red lips
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
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,