The spring rain that has been falling for days finally gave people a day to catch their breath. The sun was high in the sky, and the city of Beijing, which had been shrouded in haze for so long, saw its first sunshine. New leaves sprouted, and people's moods were lifted.

  The British public son Shen Xiaohai returned to the government office, and saw that Madam He, the wife of the public son, was discussing with her eldest daughter-in-law about the congratulatory ceremony at General Zhongyi's mansion.

  "Did you come back a bit early today?" Mrs. He put down the bill in her hand and got up to help him take off his cloak personally.

  The old lady also came up to pay her respects and see her off, Shen Xiaohai nodded and waved her hand for her to go down.

  "Has there been any news from the Song family about what happened at the Zhongyi government office?" Shen Xiaohai casually sat down in a yellow birch wooden armchair, raised an eyebrow and looked at He Shi: "I heard that the young master of their mansion went to Qingzhou, what's going on? Wasn't it originally agreed that he would go to participate in the autumn hunt? With this back-and-forth delay, it's definitely not possible for him to go."

  Madam He helped him take off his boots and put on a pair of comfortable woolen socks, while also responding to his words: "It was when I went to Qingzhou that day that Old Lady Song happened to mention this matter. It was a coincidence, sir, you're not unaware of the scandal involving their family's young lady."

  Shen Xiaohai nodded, seemingly with a mindset of watching the excitement: "This year their family's Song Ren can't go, in April he will definitely be following the hunting trip. The second and third elders have just returned from a long journey. Logically speaking, they should send someone who is in charge to go, how come this time Song Jue has to go personally? Is it that something is wrong?"

  He spread his clothes on the rack, thought for a moment and said: "I think so too, Song old lady seems to be in a bad mood. The eldest daughter of the Bo Mansion, fell into this situation, it's really a pity."

  Shen Xiaohai didn't think so and stopped mentioning it, then said: "Be more alert when you get there, Old Lady Song is a shrewd person, she also went through great storms in the past. Don't leave any clues."

  He hesitated for a moment before speaking up: "But the He family has already produced an imperial consort, how can they be willing to rely on another family?"

  "What about the Imperial Consort then?" Shen Xiaohai sneered with a smile: "She has only given birth to a princess up till now, not even a single prince. Moreover, even if she were to give birth, it's uncertain whether the child would survive to adulthood. The Emperor and Empress have been together since childhood, their feelings for each other run deep, how can she compare? Even Xian Fei has given birth to two princes, both of whom are already grown and have been enfeoffed as kings. Now that she's at an age where she's neither young nor old, compared to the others in terms of emotional connection, she can't compare to Xian Fei or Liang Fei, and in terms of status, she can't compare to the Empress, shouldn't she be thinking about her own future?"

  Noble and virtuous, Song Chuchen became the first of the four consorts in just a few short years, appearing to be in a glorious position on the surface. However, upon closer examination, it is not difficult to see her awkward situation.

  Jian Zhang Emperor was already over fifty years old, but she was only twenty-three years old, in the prime of her youth. If no more imperial sons were born, it would be difficult to predict what would happen in the future.

  He still had some insight, thought for a moment and reminded him: "Lao Bo Ye is an old fox, he is now the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, with identity and status, and will only be more cautious and stable than before. He won't risk the future of the Song family."

  "So this matter can't be rushed." Shen Xiaohai pointed to the loquat on the table, gesturing for He to pass it over: "The virtuous consort in the palace is a person without her own opinions, isn't she just doing whatever Prince Duan tells her to do? Once she gets familiar with the noble consort, some things will naturally be easier to say. If the noble consort has any ideas, can the Song family still afford to ignore it? And with our help from outside, the matter will have a 60-70% chance of success."

  He peeled the loquat for him, picked it up with a toothpick and handed it to him. With a worried sigh, he said, "After all, this is a big deal. Do you want to discuss it with your father?"

  Shen Xiaohai couldn't bear to hear this, and a look of impatience appeared on his face. He also stopped accepting the loquat.

  "Discuss with him? What else can he do besides muddling along and waiting for death? Now he's still holding on and refusing to pass the position to me, isn't it because he's afraid of being demoted? If I don't make some achievements soon, by the time this position is passed down to Qing Rong, it will be a mere title. The Duke of Chang Ning has real power and authority, what do we have? When we're demoted to become a lesser title like the Duke of Chang Ning, can our lives compare to theirs?"

  There was a noble consort in the Changning Bo Mansion. The master also made an unprecedented achievement by passing the imperial examination and becoming a high-ranking official, climbing to the position of Minister of Revenue.

  This was also a blessing from the Tian family. In those years, the old Marquis of Ningyuan's own brothers fought over property and shocked the previous emperor, who reprimanded them and demoted their title from marquis to earl. The Ningyuan Earl's estate was severely damaged.

  Originally, the eldest brother of Bo Ye, Song Chengyan, inherited the title, but unexpectedly, he was killed in a riot by the Twelve Guards just a few days after inheriting the title. At this time, the second son, Song Chengyu, who did not need to inherit the title, had already passed the imperial examination and taken office as a prefecture governor.

  The previous emperor remembered the merits of Langning Marquis, and also remembered that Song Chengyan was after all a martyr, so he allowed Song Chengyu to inherit the title with his official position. The Langning Earl's mansion became even more prosperous because of this.

  This is certainly something that the British Consulate, which will be downgraded after four generations, cannot compare with. Seeing that it's about to be downgraded, Shen Xiaohai couldn't sit still.

  The position of the East Palace Crown Prince is as stable as Mount Tai, and such a person with an empty name but no real job has defected to the past, and can't get any benefits. Can only take a detour.

  He saw that he was unhappy and did not dare to say anything more, only responding with a simple "yes" or "uh-huh".

  Shen Xiaohai hated her for showing this kind of behavior ----- He Shi was notorious for bullying the weak and fearing the strong, being arrogant in front of women of lower status outside, but at home, she would not tolerate anyone else's opinions, only acting like a yes-woman in front of her husband and parents-in-law.

  If it weren't for the fourth generation of British aristocrats indulging in pleasure and neglecting their duties, how would they end up marrying a daughter from an outer family with no real power? Just look at this upbringing, compared to other noblewomen, she's already showing weakness.

  Thinking of this, thinking again of Wang Jin's childhood playmates who were raised in the imperial palace, can't help but feel unenthusiastic.

  Despite having this layer of dislike, he still didn't forget to remind He Shi once again: "This time's matter mustn't be messed up, and don't speak too much. It's natural for the people from Zhongyi General's estate to say something, you'd better not talk too much and provoke Song Old Lady's suspicion."

  He dared not disobey, and hastily assented.

  Shen Xiaohai stood up and took his outer garment to go out.

  "Are you home for dinner?" Mrs. He hurriedly came up to help him put on his clothes, with a mixture of expectation and disappointment on her face.

  Shen Xiaohai shook his head, and after tidying up his clothes, he stepped out the door. He thought for a moment and turned back: "Right, you'd better discipline that little brat properly every day. Since they're about the same age, have him come with the Song family's... what was it, which one in the ranking?"

  He Shi knew what he meant and hastily picked up the conversation: "The ranking of the girls seems to be sixth."

  "Just let them come and go as they please. That little girl is one more advantage than the other girls in the Song family." Shen Xiaohai said, and walked away without looking back.