Wei Mengying's due date has not arrived yet, but good news came from the East Palace: Consort Cui is pregnant!

  Cui Ce Fei was Cui Jian Lian, because she wasn't the main wife, after receiving the imperial edict in March or April, it didn't take long before she packed her things and entered the Eastern Palace. Calculating from then, serving the Crown Prince for less than half a year, she became pregnant, it's impossible not to feel that her good fortune was deep.

  The Crown Prince already had two sons and one daughter, but except for the eldest son born to the Crown Princess, the mothers of the other two children were very humble. Cui Jianli was a noble concubine and also his first cousin, now pregnant, so the Crown Princess had to make some gestures: she specially invited close relatives and outsiders to hold a small banquet in the East Palace to celebrate for her.

  Song Yixiao, although not yet conferred with a noble title, will inevitably become a first-rank lady; and considering the close relationship between Jian Yu and the Crown Prince, the Crown Princess would not forget her.

  An invitation was sent to the Yan State Duke's estate, which saved Song Yishao from having to go through the formalities of requesting an audience.

  "I've long wanted to meet you, younger sister!" Although the Crown Princess and Wei Yinlian were biological sisters, they didn't look alike. The latter had almond-shaped eyes and rosy cheeks, while the Crown Princess had a cloud-like hairdo, delicate bones, and plump muscles, with a hint of charm in her beauty.

  After dismissing Song Yiliao's courtesy, she smiled and bestowed a seat, saying warmly, "The other day when you came to the palace to thank me for my kindness, I didn't manage to catch up with you! Now that we've finally met, brother and sister are indeed as lovely and charming as I imagined!"

  "Flattering words!" Song Yi smiled humbly, "Your Ladyship is elegant and refined, with a beauty like that of the goddess Xiang, I am but a humble woman, not worthy to be mentioned in the same breath as you!"

  "His Imperial Highness has been raised in the palace since childhood, and is considered to have grown up under the Crown Prince's care. You shouldn't be so formal with me either!" The Crown Princess saw that she referred to herself as "your subject", and scolded her, "Otherwise I would think you are unwilling to get close to me!"

  Song Yi was about to speak when a group of people walked in from outside, led by a young woman wearing a light purple palace dress. She wasn't very old, but she walked with the support of a palace maid's hand, her eyebrows and eyes were beautiful, and her figure was slender and elegant - it was Cui Jianliang.

  "Is your sister here?" The crown princess paused her conversation, smiled and said, "Please sit down quickly, don't get tired!"

  Cui Jianlian lowered her eyelashes and nodded slightly before saying softly: "Thank you, sister."

  "Although I am not on good terms with her, the reason for entering the East Palace this time is to congratulate her on her pregnancy. Now that the host has arrived, I must stand up and say a few words of courtesy: 'I, your subject's wife, offer my congratulations to Concubine Yi on her pregnancy, wishing you peace, safety, and a long line of descendants!'"

  She spoke with a mismatch between her words and heart; Cui Jianliang was playing with the porcelain cup in his hand, listening with an expressionless face - after hearing it, he let out a scornful laugh without giving any face, turned his head to one side, and a string of pearls between his temples slightly swayed, as if drawing an ironic arc.

  Seeing this, Song Yixiao hadn't said anything yet, when the Crown Princess frowned and subtly gave Cui Jianli a look. However, since the latter didn't respond, the Crown Princess pursed her lips and could only come out to mediate the situation herself: "Song's younger sister's kind intentions, both I and Sister Cui understand!"

  "Also, Sister Cui has always been quiet and rarely speaks, don't be surprised, Brother Song!"

  "Princess, you're being too serious." Song Yi smiled lightly, "Concubine Yan is serene and beautiful, captivating one's heart. Where does the phrase 'see a monster' come from?"

  The crown prince's consort smiled and said, "I think she is just like a close younger sister." But after this sentence, she immediately changed the subject, apparently afraid that Cui Jianli would say something that would make people lose face and spoil the atmosphere.

  Because Cui Jianlian was present, Song Yixiao, although chatting with the Crown Prince's consort, did not have the opportunity to mention Jiang Muxiu.

  After a while, other guests who had received the invitation arrived one after another. After exchanging greetings, there were more people surrounding the crown princess, and gradually, they almost forgot about her.

  Song Yixiao was just about to take a break and have a cup of tea to soothe her throat - she hadn't even finished the cup, but then she noticed someone not far away staring at her with a very complicated gaze.

  "That is the Crown Prince's guest, Madame Huang." Noticing her confusion, the Eastern Palace palace maid standing behind her nodded slightly and introduced in a low voice, "She is your maternal grandmother's mother from your mother's maiden family."

  "It was Grandma!" Song Yi smiled and immediately put down her tea bowl to pay respects.

  "It's not good!" Huang knew that she would meet her stepdaughter today, but she hadn't thought of how to greet her yet. Unexpectedly, Song Yi smiled and came over first - not only that, while paying respects and asking for well-wishes, she also said warmly: "I don't know if I should face my grandmother, just now I was slow in my manners, please forgive me, Grandmother!"

  Her completely nonchalant demeanor made Huang's eyelids twitch, and he hastily helped her up, "In all these years, my daughter has never fulfilled her filial duties, so I won't even mention it. Being scolded by you once is already a great shame, how could I still dare to accept your courtesy?"

  "Grandmother, you're being too polite!" Song Yi smiled and said respectfully, "I was afraid of disturbing Grandmother, so I haven't returned to the Song household in all these years. With Grandmother's advanced age, Father's busy official duties, and Second Sister's youth, it's all been up to Mother to manage everything inside and out. Mother has contributed so much to the Song household; as a daughter of the Song family, how could I not regard her as my own mother? Since I consider Mother as my own mother, it is only natural that I should show filial respect to you, Grandmother."

  She joked again, "Grandma shouldn't think I'm foolish and doesn't want to recognize me as her granddaughter?"

  "Too much, really too much!" Looking at her natural and smiling demeanor, Huang's mood was complicated and couldn't be expressed. He forced a smile and took off the jade and gold flower bangle from his wrist and put it on hers. "I originally knew that Princess Wei personally raised such a girl, and she also entered the empress dowager's eyes, so she must be extremely intelligent and sensible. But I didn't expect you to be even more generous than I thought!"

  Song Yi Xiao didn't decline and accepted the bangle. After putting it on, she smiled and said: "Grandma dotes on me, so naturally everything I do is good."

  Everyone present praised them for their filial piety - after Song Yixiao returned to her seat, someone who knew Huang's family whispered with a smile: "You were worried that your granddaughter wouldn't know how to behave, but now you can rest assured!"

  Never mind what Song Yixiao thinks in her heart, at least she has done enough on the surface.

  What Huang was worried about didn't happen at all, and to outsiders, the result was quite good - after all, they were not related by blood, and it was their first meeting, so how could they expect Song Yixiao to be as dependent on and admiring of Huang as Song Yibao was?

  However, Huang said with a smile: "Isn't that so? I was thinking that although we are grandmother and grandson, we had never met before, what if the child doesn't recognize me? Now looking at her calm and composed appearance, it's actually me who is narrow-minded and underestimated this child!"

  This remark is the most sincere, and when he said it, Huang even unconsciously grasped his sleeve: a 14-year-old girl was so calm and composed, showing how deep her city was!

  Reconsidering the grievances she suffered in the Song family back then, Huang Shi thought that this was obviously a master who would not make a sound if not provoked but would shock people with one cry - if she were allowed to develop freely, one day when she took revenge, how could her own son-in-law and his family withstand it?

  "We can't let her go on like this!" Huang's heart was filled with anxiety, but as she glanced at Song Yilai's elegant and composed demeanor, she felt unable to make a move. "She has status and she has schemes, yet she can still endure... how can we deal with someone like that?"

  Huang's mind was filled with thoughts of how to trick her granddaughter, but Song Yi smiled calmly - she had called out to Huang just to prevent others from getting a handle on the situation. Now that the scene had passed, Huang was already forgotten, and Song Yi turned to greet Si Kong Yiruo who had walked up: "You're so late today? I've been waiting for you for a long time."

  "No way, I'm not like you, the Yan State Duke's mansion is much closer to the East Palace?" After avoiding the heat, the two had become quite familiar with each other. Shi Kong Yiruo sat down beside her and joked, "I have to rush over from far-off City South, can't be late, right?"

  As she spoke, her eyes swept up and down Song Yishu, with a hint of a smile, "Wow! This new bride is radiant! I almost didn't dare to recognize you from afar just now!"

  Song Yi Xiao heard this and didn't feel embarrassed or annoyed, she just smiled and said: "Don't be in a hurry, don't be in a hurry, aren't you also getting married next month?"

  "Pfft!" Xi Kong Yiruo's smile was met with ridicule instead, and she playfully punched her on the arm, "This jade bangle of yours looks great, is the flower on your hairpin a peony or a gardenia?"

  "Is it peony?" Song Yi smiled, just now didn't take a closer look, but was mentioned by Si Kong Yiruo, then lowered his head to take a closer look and said, "My grandmother just gave it to me."

  Sikong Yiruo smiled and said, "This jade water head is so good, with your great-grandmother's status, it's probably a treasure that can't be taken out. Giving it to you as a gift for our first meeting is really generous!"

  "Basking in the glory of my cousin from my mother's side - she's still young, so these good things, my grandmother can only give to me for now." Song Yi smiled faintly and Shi Kong Yirou, hearing that she didn't want to talk about Huang Shi, changed the subject: "Speaking of which, I have something I'd like to ask you!"

  She lowered her voice and leaned in close to Song Yishang's ear, asking softly, "What is the Fourth Princess of Hengshan Wangfu like in private?"

  "What's going on with her?" Song Yi smiled and thought for a moment, guessing, "It can't be...?"

  "I have a cousin who is of marriageable age, and my aunt happened to meet the Fourth Miss of the county once. She thought that her appearance, temperament, and character were all satisfactory." Xiāng Kōng Yī Luó didn't hide it either, "However, you also know that appearances can be deceiving, and my aunt only has one son, so she must be extremely cautious when choosing a daughter-in-law. She's afraid of welcoming someone who is not genuine into the family, which would lead to trouble later on."

  This is really embarrassing - Song Yi had no good impression of Lu Ke'er, but first, she was not close to Si Kong Yiruo, and after just a few months of knowing her, she began to confide in the daughter of the family that raised her about all sorts of evil deeds, which was really too heartless and unrighteous; secondly, she didn't like Lu Ke'er, but that didn't mean others wouldn't like her either, what if Si Kong Yiruo's aunt's dream daughter-in-law was someone like Lu Ke'er?

  After a moment of hesitation, he said: "To be honest, I'm not very familiar with the Fourth Princess either. The main reason is that the Wang Fu area is vast and we live far away from each other, so it's not convenient for us to come and go frequently. Moreover, there are many tasks in school, and everyone has little free time. As for the private affairs of the Fourth Princess, I'm really not very clear about them."

  Xī Kōng Yī Luó heard this and wasn't disappointed, saying: "I think you're not very familiar with her either, it's just that Auntie knew I was coming over today and would run into you, so she asked me to ask around."

  "Right, Xie sister has something to attend to and won't be coming today. But I don't know about Wei sister..." Song Yi smiled as she said this and let out a sigh of relief, took a sip of tea, looked at the crown princess surrounded by people, and asked after a moment of contemplation, "I'm asking if Yinlian sister will come?"

  Just as Sī Kōng Yī Luó was about to respond, Sòng Yí Xiào suddenly felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned around in surprise and saw Wèi Yín Liàn, dressed in a green shirt and yellow skirt, standing behind her with a sly smile, saying: "You were just talking about me, weren't you? Did I catch you speaking ill of me?"

  "It's time to laugh... Oh, now it's time to call Shanyu! She has been thinking of ways to deal with Jiang Muxiang for days!" Ci Kong Yiluo is a neighbor and has known her since childhood, although they are not particularly close, but they can talk freely. This time, while peeling an orange, she sneered, "Can you still think of anything else? If I didn't speak up for Shanyu, that person would have been angry for so many days, shouldn't he have calmed down by now?"

  When mentioning Jiang Muxian, Wei Yin furrowed his brow, wanting to say something but looked around and seemed inconvenient to mention it, so he just pulled Song Yixiao's sleeve and said, "Let's find a place to talk about it later."

  Song Yi Xiao saw her attitude didn't seem like she was biased towards Jiang Mu Qian, secretly let out a breath of relief and said: "Good!"