It's not easy to get rid of this little ancestor - Chang Shi took a deep breath, forced a smile and made a round: "I'm sorry to make you laugh, my little niece is young and ignorant, she has always been outspoken, don't take her seriously!"

  "She's heartbroken, I understand." Song Yi smiled and wouldn't argue with Si Kong Yī Huā, shaking his head and saying, "But the dead can't be brought back to life, I hope your family will mourn in moderation!"

  "You are indeed magnanimous!" Chang's wife awkwardly fiddled with her handkerchief, then continued to lead her into the mourning hall. "These past two days, our elderly relatives have been exhausted and haven't had time to discipline her. In a couple of days, I'll definitely bring her over to apologize to you!"

  Song Yi laughed again, saying it was no big deal - but she wasn't close to the other members of the Cui family anyway. With Cui Yikai causing such a scene, after finishing the incense ceremony, she really couldn't stay any longer and bid farewell to the Chang family after some pleasantries.

  As she went out, she happened to meet Xie Yiren's maid, Lü Yi, who got down from the carriage and saw Song Yi smile. She hurriedly saluted: "Hello, Madam Song!"

  "No need for formalities!" Song Yi smiled and waved her hand, asking with a pleasant expression, "Are you here on behalf of your sister? Is Duke Lai's condition better?"

  The day before yesterday, the East Palace held a banquet, and Xie Yiren was also among the invited guests. However, her grandfather, Duke of Lai, had caught a cold, so Xie Yiren had to attend to him and was afraid of bringing the illness to the East Palace, therefore she apologized and didn't attend the banquet. Coincidentally, Song Yishang ran into Xie Yiren's maid and asked her about it.

  "As for my grandmother, the old master in our house is still not recovered from his cough, and Miss can't get away, so she sent me to pay her respects. Green Intention replied, then asked about her recent situation, saying 'Miss has always been thinking of Grandmother, if she knew I met you, she would certainly ask detailed questions.'"

  Song Yi laughed and praised her for being thorough, calling Jin Xun to reward her with a purse before letting down the carriage curtains.

  After leaving the Sī Kōng estate, Jǐn Xūn said: "The eldest young lady of the Sī Kōng family is such a polite and considerate person, how could she have a sister like that? It's no wonder Miss Xiè made excuses to take care of Lái Guó Gōng and didn't come to pay her respects in person."

  "That's the sisterly love!" Song Yi smiled and frowned, "Besides, it was also a matter of course on Xie sister's side. How well do you know the situation in Lai Guo Gong Fu? You speak as if you saw her intentionally not going to pay condolences herself. Who taught you this kind of viciousness?"

  But scolding Jin Xun is still scolding Jin Xun, Song Yi Xiao's heart is actually sighing continuously. "Si Kong Yī Huá is dissatisfied with me like this, and I'm afraid she has already hated Wei Jie to the bone! No matter what the outcome of this matter is, there must be a grudge between the two families - if Si Kong's sister were fine, it would be much better!"

  She listlessly returned to the Yan State Duke's mansion, changed her clothes and came out, seeing Xiao Quan with a respectful face waiting below, she asked: "What is it?"

  "You mentioned something last time, I just got some news, so I came to report." Cui Xian said while glancing around at the people nearby.

  Song Yi Xiao saw the situation and waved her hand, letting everyone except Jin Xun go down.

  Cai Xuan then spoke up, "A few days ago, Lan Hui, who was accompanying the Empress Dowager, ran into the dowry of Princess Dai Guo on the road. They chatted for a while before parting ways. Within two days, the Empress Dowager sent a request to see the Grand Empress Dowager."

  After the audience, "The imperial concubine returned to the palace and summoned the queen to her presence. She dismissed all idle people, even Lan Xiang was not present, and it is unknown what she said. It is only known that when the queen withdrew, her face was very strange, and it could not be discerned whether she was happy or unhappy."

  Song Yixiao listened thoughtfully, her slender fingers like new snow rubbing against the ruby-red peony flowers on the ceramic wall. After a while, she said: "You've been serving the mistress for many years, what do you think would make her both happy and unhappy at the same time?"

  "I'm stupid and really can't guess what Her Highness the Princess is thinking." Chuan Xian hesitated for a moment before saying, "But I feel that neither the Empress Dowager nor the Crown Princess will be able to estrange Your Highness from the Princess."

  The Empress Dowager would never say that, she wanted to suppress her daughter-in-law. The current Princess of Hengshan is no longer surnamed Wei either.

  As for the Grand Princess of Dai Guo, if she is afraid of this person, Wei Mengying cannot be on familiar terms with Song Yixiao. After all, Song Yixiao's mother-in-law, the Grand Princess of Jin Guo, is the only one who can control the Grand Princess of Dai Guo besides the Empress Dowager!

  Since neither of them would be the reason for Wei Mengying's sudden change in attitude towards her daughter and son-in-law, then...the answer is self-evident.

  Empress Dowager

  Song Yi Xiao recalled the audience of yesterday: "The Empress Dowager was gentle, but after listening to her mother-in-law's words about her production, not only did she not show concern or reward, but instead lightly brushed it off with a sentence 'I don't know yet', and then went on to enthusiastically discuss Lu Guanlun's marriage, showing great concern - what a clear attitude!"

  As for this situation, she wasn't very surprised. "When Jian Yu Bai mentioned his requirements for a wife, he said that the family background shouldn't be too good. He was raised by the Empress Dowager, so naturally she would favor him. Although my brother's achievements can't be considered as me coming from a prominent family, it can still be considered as my mother's family influence. For Jian Yu Bai's consideration, the Empress Dowager will also choose Lu Guan Lun!"

  She had always been opposed to Lu Guanyu becoming the young master in her heart, and thinking of this, she felt a sense of relief.

  Just thinking about it carefully, I still don't understand. "If the Empress Dowager really supported Lu San Gongzi as the Crown Prince instead of Yun'er, and exerted pressure on Niang through the Imperial Consort, how could Niang's expression be so strange? Even if she was intimidated by the Empress Dowager and didn't dare to show her anger, shouldn't she at least be greatly disappointed?"

  Moreover, she was cold to her daughter and son-in-law on this matter. "Isn't she afraid that the Empress Dowager will find out, thinking that she is dissatisfied with the Empress Dowager's orders, and venting her anger on the Empress Dowager's grandson and granddaughter-in-law?"

  Song Yixiao thought that there must be some inside story here, but unfortunately, Qiaorui had only heard limited news and could only guess this far.

  She decided to turn back and tell Jian Yu Bai about it, to see if he had any suggestions.

  "This matter will be put on hold for now, and if there's any progress, I'll let you know." Song Yi smiled and took a sip of tea, bringing up the topic of replacing staff in the mansion. "Madam has recently acquired new property, and the workload is overwhelming, so I've already instructed the head steward to select a batch from our mansion to send over. However, this means we'll also be short-handed ourselves. Take a look at the people who came with me as dowry, see if there's anyone suitable for serving in the inner courtyard, and make a list for me to review!"

  After finishing this matter, the servant brought in several pots of golden chrysanthemums and said they were sent by the Song family: "The person who came said that next month is the birthday of the old lady of the maternal family, and the maternal grandmother is arranging the courtyard. She saw these chrysanthemums and thought they were good, so she sent a few pots for you to enjoy."

  "Is it Grandma's birthday?" Song Yi smiled as she was reminded and instructed those around her, "Prepare another gift list!"

  He glanced at those few pots of chrysanthemums and said, "Take some of the swallow's nest that the Empress Dowager rewarded last time, add some small toys for little girls, and send them to the Song family."

  Song Yi's stepmother, Lu, was determined to get close to her, and Song Yi had no choice but to go along with it. However, the rift between her and the Song family couldn't be bridged by small favors. So, although she didn't want to be rude on the surface, she felt extremely annoyed in her heart.

  Jian Yu Bai returned to the backyard and saw a pot of chrysanthemums that had been deliberately placed in the house. She asked about its origin, and Song Yi smiled and said: "It was sent by my stepmother, who really went out of her way for me. While pregnant, she took care of my grandmother's birthday banquet and also thought of me not having seasonal flowers to appreciate."

  "You don't like the Song family's disturbance, and if you hint at it, your father will become aware of it, right?" Jian Yu Bai said while taking off his outer robe, "I've heard about your father's temperament, if he knows you look down on the things your stepmother sends, he definitely won't let her send them again."

  "Where would I have seen him?" Song Yi smiled with a corner of his mouth, "For my grandmother to live to be 100 years old, I don't dare go back to the Song family. Robbing people on the road is feasible, but you know how my father is, if he thinks I'm being disrespectful to my stepmother, in public, who knows, it might get me into trouble!"

  Jian Yu Bai hung his outer robe on the clothes rack, rolled up the sleeves of his inner garment, lifted the curtain and entered the tent. He looked at his wife who had taken a step ahead to occupy the couch, with a hint of a smile: "I wondered why you specially moved a pot of chrysanthemum into the inner chamber. It seems that you were counting on me to be the villain?"

  Song Yi Xiao tried to placate him by saying: "My father doesn't even look at me with a favorable eye, how would I dare show you an attitude?"

  "This matter is not difficult to handle." Jian Yu Bai leaned forward and patted the edge of the bed, his bright red lips slightly curved upwards. The candlelight from a distance shone on his face, and in the warm glow, his complexion was like jade, but his phoenix-like eyes, shining like stars, were devoid of any emotion, yet added a hint of coldness to his originally handsome features.

  "What can I do to help you?"

  "Just don't help then." Song Yi smiled upon hearing this, immediately putting away her expectant expression, and calmly said, "Let's talk about the main issue: Before, I had contacted Empress Dowager on behalf of our country, and afterwards, the Grand Empress asked to see Her Majesty the Empress Dowager... I was thinking, is there a connection between this and last time when we were not allowed to stay for dinner at Hengshan Wangfu?"

  She changed her face like a book, one moment she was smiling brightly, the next moment she was solemn and stern. Jian Yu Bai was stunned for a moment before regaining his composure, his face not looking too good as he lay down on the couch, lazily saying: "If it's like this, most likely it's the Empress Dowager trying to get the Duke of Wei to win over the Prince of Hengshan. However, the Hengshan royal family has never interfered with the struggle for the throne, so the Empress Dowager will probably be disappointed."

  "So that's why Mother was being so distant, she was afraid of getting dragged into the struggle for the throne?" Song Yi smiled to herself and pondered, "Jian Yu Bai is on the side of the Crown Prince..."

  Thinking of this, she couldn't help but ask: "Last time I thanked you, I saw that Your Majesty loved the Crown Prince so much. Has it only been a few days? Did the Crown Prince lose your favor and become unstable?"

  "When the crown prince was four years old, he was brought up by the imperial uncle and personally raised. The father-son relationship can be imagined! " Zhan Yu Bai said casually, "It's just that the empress dowager had humiliated Cui Guifei in her early years, and they haven't made amends until now, so it's natural to worry about the future. But the empress dowager is not someone who can swallow her pride and apologize, thinking about it, it's hard to avoid wanting to replace the east palace - the imperial uncle is also a headache!"

  Song Yi thought to herself, "This emperor of our dynasty is capable of beheading over 40 brothers and sisters in one breath, how can he be so indecisive on such a major matter?"

  Ten have eight nine, is want to borrow substitute country long princess and Wei Wang's hand, grind a little crown prince.

  After all, as Jian Xu Bai said, the current crown prince was appointed at the age of four and has Emperor Xian's protection, so it can be said that he is sailing with the wind. Although the crown prince has always been evaluated positively, it's still reassuring to have some experience under his belt.

  "This principle is probably not unknown to the Princess of the State, but if it weren't for this, relying on Emperor Xian's consistent emphasis on the Crown Prince, the King of Wei wouldn't have had any chance at all! Although he has been made into a whetstone for the Crown Prince now, there is still a glimmer of hope."

  Song Yi Xiao thought for a moment, then suddenly remembered Jian Xu Bai's reminder two days ago and said: "You mentioned last time that Zhao Wang is growing up? Is the Zhao Wang also going to wade through this muddy water?"

  Jian Yu's subtle nod made her heart sink slightly!

  Although Zhao Wang was only twelve years old, in terms of nobility, he was not comparable to the King of Wei: this was the eldest son of the imperial palace.

  He was also the only son of Emperor Xianzong.

  The maternal family was a famous family in Qingzhou during the reign of Emperor Taizong of Tang, and one of the founding merits of the great sage.

  Uncle Ji Guo Gong, a giant in the military.

  Su Shaoge, the acknowledged number one scholar.

  He also has a reputation for being intelligent and studious, with a handsome appearance.

  This young man also had a mind to compete for favor... In this grand and wise imperial court, it's hard to imagine that there wouldn't be undercurrents surging.

  "No wonder the empress didn't even see me last time!" Song Yi sighed secretly, "Just one Prince Wei may not be able to do anything to the crown prince. But if Prince Zhao also joins in, that's a different story!"

  According to Wei Mengying's character, since the crown prince is not invincible and the Hengshan Wangfu has an ancestral tradition of not participating in the struggle for the throne, she doesn't need to take this risk. Now that she has distanced herself from her daughter and son-in-law, if the crown prince fails in the future, it won't implicate her; and if he succeeds, she won't lose out either: after all, she is Song Yixiao's biological mother, and Lu Shi, that stepmother, has a thicker skin, but even Song Yixiao can't get rid of her, let alone her own mother?

  "It's just that after Cui Xian said that the princess was summoned by the empress, she seemed to be both happy and unhappy - unhappy must be because the empress supported Lu Guanlun as the crown prince, this happiness... where is it coming from?" Song Yi thought for a while, but couldn't figure it out. "Even if the future emperor ascends to the throne, he may not necessarily go against the empress's orders! If Wei Wang and Zhao Wang succeed, then it will have even less to do with you!"

  She suddenly turned pale, "Mother wouldn't have taken good care of those two and already made a bet, would she?"