Wei Mengying was doing her motherly duty, painstakingly advising her daughter when in the Cui household, Cheng Shi who was also a mother was filled with sorrow: "Lian'er, do you want to make the entire Cui family lose face?!"

  Three steps away, the disheveled Cui Jianlian was not wearing an outer garment, only a pink narrow-sleeved undergarment, holding a sharp hairpin, her eyes resolute: "I said it before, except for Lu San, I won't marry anyone else!"

  "The imperial edict has already been issued——"

  "What's the imperial edict?" Cui Jianlian sneered, "Who went to invite whom to marry - don't I know? At the Shangsi banquet, I slapped the face of Qingjiang County Princess. How could she possibly speak well of me in front of the Empress Dowager? If it weren't for your meddling, how could the Empress Dowager have appointed me as a concubine to the Crown Prince?"

  Cheng's words choked in her throat, and after a moment, she sobbed: "If Guanlun has feelings for you, would you consider it for Mother's sake?"

  What's more, "The two consorts of King Hengshan have been openly and secretly fighting for the position of heir for many days. You're not unaware of that! Recently, Wei Shi has become pregnant again, and King Hengshan is overjoyed. He even rewarded her adopted daughter who was brought into the palace. Although Queen Dowager Hengshan is a senior, she's also at a disadvantage. What can you do by going there in such a messy situation?"

  Cui Jianlian gritted her teeth and said, "If I were to marry Lu San, just because of the crown prince's face, would the son of a lowly born woman like Wei even be worthy of competing with Third Brother?!"

  "What a shameless thing to say!" Cheng's lips were bitten, and she was about to persuade her daughter again. However, a cold shout came from outside the door. Cui Zi Yu, dressed in court attire, walked in slowly with his hands behind his back. His eyes were icy, and his face was stern. "Let's not mention that Princess Wei would never allow Lu Guang Lun to marry you, even if Lu Guang Lun himself, how could he possibly look up to you? You think we can just push you into the East Palace, and you'll get what you want?"

  Choi Jianlian's face turned pale upon hearing this - Chengshi's heart was filled with pity: "Old Master!"

  "It's too late now, you have to enter the Eastern Palace whether you want to or not! But unfortunately, Cui Zi Yu completely ignored her and coldly stared at his daughter, "You can die if you want! As a father and daughter, I will find a way to send Lu Guang Lun to the underground to reunite with you after your death."

  "Father, have you gone mad?!" Cui Jianliang shrieked, "Lu San is your own nephew!"

  Chui Zi Yu sneered lightly: "My daughter, whom I raised with great difficulty, died because of that little brat. How can I not avenge her death?! Nephew? What's the comparison between a nephew and a daughter?"

  After finishing speaking, he didn't even look at her desperate appearance, and only threw down a sentence: "Honestly dress up and go out to receive the decree, then enter the East Palace to serve the Crown Prince well! In this way, you are good, he is good, and the Cui family is good. If not, you will be bad, and he will be even worse!"

  With a flick of his sleeve, he left!

  She heard the unwavering determination in his tone, and Cui saw her staring blankly for a long time, the sharp hairpin in her hand falling to the ground with a "ding" sound, and she also lost all her strength, fainting in Cheng's low cry.

  ...such a major event was naturally kept strictly confidential by the Cui family and not leaked to anyone.

  The eunuch who transmitted the imperial edict was puzzled by Cui's pale face and lack of energy, but considering the prestige of the noble consort and the crown prince, and having been handed two land deeds in his sleeve, he pretended to be nonchalant.

  As for Hengshan Wangfu, Song Yishao listened to Wei Mengying's teachings for a full two hours before finding an opportunity to take his leave.

  As soon as Ren Fang was about to leave the hospital, she was stopped by Lan Hui, the senior maid of the Empress Dowager, who said that the Empress Dowager had summoned her.

  Fortunately, Empress Dowager Cixi did not truly like her, but rather was being polite out of respect for the emperor's wishes.

  After calling Song Yixiao over, he casually said some polite words, gave her some things, and sent her away, which didn't take much effort.

  "Congratulations, elder sister! Congratulations, elder sister!" Just returned to Huan Xia Xiao Zhu, Wei Chan led the way to congratulate her. She smiled with curved eyes, like a crescent moon, full of joy and a hint of hidden envy. "I heard that younger brother-in-law is talented and handsome, and has the title of Guo Gong, he and elder sister are truly a match made in heaven!"

  "Nice words can't escape laziness!" Song Yi smiled and pinched her cheek, "The imperial consort's birthday gift must be rushed out, you have to help me with it!"

  Wei Chang was not as good at embroidery as Song Yi Xiao, so she couldn't really help her with the actual work. However, helping out in other ways wasn't a problem, especially since Wei Chang was meticulous. After Song Yi Xiao had her help twice, she didn't even want to order Jin Xun around anymore - but thinking about helping out made her suddenly remember Zhi Qin: "In my past life, Zhi Qin's embroidery skills were even better than mine..."

  But six years ago, Zhiqin was already disabled and couldn't even hold scissors properly, let alone the delicate embroidery needle?

  Taking a deep breath, Song Yi smiled and led her cousin into the embroidery room - both cousins knew that time was of the essence, so they exchanged brief pleasantries before getting down to business.

  They kept embroidering until it was time for dinner, when Old Mother Chao came in personally to urge them to eat, and only then did they put down their needles.

  "Today, I've been troubling my cousin!" Song Yi smiled and sat down in the flower hall where lunch was served, letting Jin Xun hold her arm, and apologetically looked at Wei Yan who had a similarly tired face, "The things that were sent over these past two days, cousin can take whatever she likes, don't be polite with me!"

  Wei Chang didn't mince words, smiling and saying: "The sheep fat jade headdress that the Imperial Consort gave to my elder sister, I took a liking to it. Would my elder sister mind me being so presumptuous, but since I've already spoken up, I'd like something as valuable as this?"

  "How can one set of clothes be enough?" The Empress Dowager didn't like Song Yishang, and Song Yishang also had no good feelings towards the Empress Dowager. She was even annoyed with the things the Empress Dowager gave her. Now that Wei Zhu wanted them, it was perfect, so she readily said, "You can take half of those fabrics too, I alone can't wear them all."

  Wei Zhuang declined, "Two days ago when Aunt called someone to make summer clothes for my cousin, they also took my measurements at the same time. Why would I still want my cousin's fabric?"

  Song Yi Xiao wanted to persuade again, but the servant had already started serving dishes and interrupted the conversation between the two sisters.

  After dinner, Zhao's mother advised Song Yiliao to rest early in the evening: "It's still early, especially since Miss Biao is helping you now. Why bother staying up late? It's bad for your eyes and skin. If the princess finds out, she'll scold us servants for not taking good care of you!"

  Wei Chang also helped out on the side, Song Yi Xiao thought for a moment and then nodded - Wei Chang quickly called someone to fetch a Go board, wanting to play with Song Yi Xiao.

  "I'm not very good at this, don't be disappointed!" Song Yi hurriedly said with a smile, "Or you can call Jin Xun to accompany you, she's even better than me."

  What she said was true. No matter how talented one is, human energy is limited after all. She has spent most of her time in recent years on her artistic skills and can't help but be unfamiliar with the ways of entertainment.

  "This isn't just to accompany my sister-in-law in practice?" Wei Chan played with the dice and scolded, "My sister-in-law's fiancée is an expert in this field. That's still okay, but it's said that Miss Pei learned this specifically for the Princess of Jin State! Later when my sister-in-law gets married, her sisters-in-law will come and go, accompanying the princess, I'm afraid she'll have to play a few rounds!"

  "What Miss Pei?" Song Yi laughed in surprise.

  "Didn't you know, Eldest Sister?" Wei Zhuang was surprised, but after a moment's thought, she also understood. "After receiving the imperial edict, you went to Auntie and the Imperial Concubine one after another. I suppose no one told you? Today, three joyful edicts were issued in the palace, all of which were marriage decrees - the first was to the Cui family, Miss Cui is to become the Crown Prince's secondary consort; the second was to the Wang family, you and Jian Gongye; the third was to the Pei family, Miss Pei and Jian Gongye's older brother Jian Yiyou!"

  She also said, "The elder sister and Miss Pei don't seem to be very familiar with each other. I heard from someone when I went out with my mother that Miss Pei is good at Go, and has often accompanied the Princess of Jin State to play this game for many years! This time she was selected, it's probably because the princess favors her."

  Song Yixiao thought for a moment before remembering the Miss Pei she was talking about - her given name seemed to be You Rui, and her father Pei He was the current Hanlin Academy University Scholar.

  At the Shangsi banquet, among the girls specially pointed out by the lord of Qingjiang County for questioning was she.

  As usual, this is not the point. The key is that her relationship with Jian's family or, to be precise, her relationship with Princess Zhao of Jin State is a bit different: she is the biological niece of Pei Ze, the second husband of Princess Zhao of Jin State.

  Pei was married to the Princess of Changguo in the first year of Xianjia, and it is said that he was a man of extraordinary bravery and talent. As a young man, he was already famous in the capital for his elegance and refinement, which is why the princess had chosen him as her husband.

  Unfortunately, his life was short-lived and he fell off a horse and died less than half a year after becoming the emperor's son-in-law, without leaving behind any descendants.

  Less than a year after his death, the Jin State Princess chose another husband, who is now known as Jian Zhi Ma, Jian Li Kuan.

  Although the Jin State Princess had long since ceased to be a member of the Pei family, she still maintained a good relationship with them. This Pei You Rui often visited the Princess's residence as a guest when she was young, and in many people's eyes, it seemed like a natural fit for her to become the Princess's daughter-in-law.

  "You didn't mention it and I really didn't know!" Song Yi laughed and said, "I didn't have much contact with Miss Pei before... Go or Double Land? Let's play a few rounds to try."

  Although Jian Yu Bai is a national public figure, he doesn't need to live with his elders and brothers, but during the New Year's festival, they will inevitably meet. If they can't play together at that time, it's hard to avoid being excluded!

  Especially the eldest daughter and three sons of Princess Jin, not to mention Qingjiang County, the second son Shouchun Bo Du Ruo's wife had a complete set of children, regardless of whether they got along with Princess Jin or not, considering her grandchildren, Princess Jin also had to give her some face.

  Precisely three days ago, Pei You Rui, although not yet married, can be considered as having been raised by the Empress Dowager. This imperial marriage decree is likely to have been personally issued by the Empress Dowager herself, and belongs to the category of those who have already gained favor with their mother-in-law before even entering the door.

  Only Song Yixiao, with an unremarkable background and awkward circumstances, would not know how to curry favor with her mother-in-law, or else she wouldn't be compared unfavorably to her sister-in-law.

  She was not a proud person to begin with, and after being reminded by Wei Cui, she naturally became virtuous.

  It's just that in her heart, she can't help but remember Wei Cui saying one day: "Cui Jianliang has indeed entered the East Palace... The position of Taizi's side concubine is not low at all! Especially since she will become a princess in the future!"

  Although she herself has married well beyond expectations, the title of Guo Gong's wife is only a first-class imperial decree - Jian Xuwu regained favor, but after all, he is not the crown prince! Moreover, it's hard to say whether he is willing to help her settle old scores or not!

  "What can be done?" Song Yi smiled while playing Go with Wei Cui, "The revenge of Zhiqin has been delayed for six years!"