Song Yi Xiao coldly smiled and said: "No matter if she died from evil deeds or if her evilness was full to the brim, in short, it has nothing to do with the Wei family or you, Mother!"

  Who among those who suspect that Liu's death was unjust does not think that Wei's family or Wei Mengying is the real culprit behind the scenes?

  Even if Song Yixiao comes out and confesses now, people will still think this way - who made her only eight years old at that time?

  Others might threaten her with this matter, but it's nothing compared to her own mother coming up with such an idea. What is she afraid of?

  "You've really grown up!" Wei Mengying looked at her with a complex expression, "It's also true that it's hard for you to pretend to be obedient under your mother's hands for so many years!"

  She understood what he meant by "growing up", that his wings had hardened, and Song Yi Xiao did not deny it. His own mother was best at finding weaknesses, and if she showed even a hint of softness, she would seize the opportunity.

  To put it simply, being obedient and listening won't move Wei Mengying, she'll just lead you by the nose; if you want her to compromise, you can only rely on strength and power to speak!

  So Song Yixiao said calmly: "Mother, you think I'm unfilial now. Let me ask Grandmother, what was her intention when she deliberately tried to deal with Cousin Yan? I'm pleading for Cousin Yan because she's already suffered enough and Cloud is ultimately unharmed. Mother, you have both children safe and sound, respected and wealthy, why must you insist on being at odds with poor Cousin Yan?"

  What goes up must come down!

  You're now being tough on your birth family, don't blame me if one day this daughter learns from you!

  Wei Mengying understood the implication of her words and, furious to the point of laughter, said: "You want me to spare Wei Zhuang? Well, it's not impossible to discuss! However, I've worked hard to raise you since you were little, schemed to get you into girls' school, season after season gave you new clothes, painstakingly taught you how to be a good wife... and sent you off with a grand wedding procession - tell me yourself, don't I deserve something from you?!"

  Seeing Song Yi smile silently, she continued sternly, "Since I owe you nothing as your mother——"

  "Even if you were my own daughter, there's no way I'd blindly follow your wishes and do things your way!"

  Wei Mengying's eyes were filled with disdain, "You let your brother take the position of Crown Prince, not to mention letting Wei Zhuang off, even if you find her a good marriage, Mother will agree to it, how about that?!"

  "This thing I can't handle and don't want to handle." Song Yi smiled and shook her head in refusal. "Mother, think of other conditions!"

  "What else?" Wei Mengying sneered, "As the princess, I am wealthy and have many people at my beck and call. The only thing I lack is someone to rely on when I'm old - aside from this one thing, what do I need to ask of you?"

  Song Yixiao said lightly: "Mother, why must you be like this? As you said, after all, you raised me for a lifetime. Without you, there would be no today for your daughter! Now, just because I asked you to show mercy once, you're putting on the airs of a mother-daughter rift and only talking about transactions without emotions. Is our mother-daughter relationship over these many years really so shallow?"

  "You're talking about feelings with me now?" Wei Mengying teased, "If you want to talk about feelings, that's fine, but don't step on my mother's good deeds!"

  "I'm begging you to spare Yanyan this once, is it just for her sake?" Song Yi smiled and looked at her, saying lightly, "Mother, you haven't paid attention to me for some time now, perhaps you don't know: the other day, the matter with Liu's family was dug up again, and my maternal grandfather even went to the capital prefecture and spent a night in prison. If not for the prefect being reasonable, I'm afraid even I wouldn't have been able to escape the rumors!"

  Wei Mengying sneered, "You've just entered the family, and your father was taken by Jingzhao. How could I not know? But now you're telling me this, what do you want to say? Are you saying that Liu Shi was actually killed by my mastermind, or are you saying that if I don't follow your demands, you'll expose me, your own mother?"

  "At that time, Liu Zhenxi personally found the Jingzhao official and wanted to transfer the case to the Ministry of Punishment, but was refused by Jingzhao." Song Yi smiled and brushed a strand of hair behind her ear, her eyes calm and unruffled. "Then Jingzhao concluded the case in just three or two days - up until now, this matter seems like it's all in the past."

  She glanced at Wei Mengying, "A lone Liu Zhenxi, who dares to cause trouble for the Yan Guo Gong Fu? When he went to Jing Zhou Fu, he was flying the flag of Li Bu Shangshu Qiu Xixia! Mother shouldn't need me to say what kind of person Qiu Xixia is, right?"

  The only male heir of Empress Dowager's natal family, as long as she lives, he will come to no harm.

  He is a stubborn and obstinate person who regards his own views as life itself, and for the sake of upholding the "orthodoxy" in his mind, he would not hesitate to cut off his sons and grandsons!

  Being so cruel to oneself, let alone others?

  Such a person, if he didn't notice the struggle for the crown prince of Hengshan Wangfu, that's fine, but once he noticed it, he must be on Lu Guanlun's side!

  Wei Mengying's face also changed slightly: "Do you want to divert the disaster to the east?!"

  "What did Mother do that made her always think I wanted to harm you and your brother?" Song Yi smiled and let out a breath, saying lightly, "I heard that back then, Mother distanced herself from me because the Empress Dowager brought up the ancestral teachings of the Wang family, which absolutely forbids meddling in the matter of succession, and also got the support of the Grand Empress Dowager, is that right or not?"

  Wei Mengying's mind was quick to understand, and as soon as she heard this, she realized: "That time when the princess met with the empress dowager, it was actually Princess Yongle trying to win over the Hengshan King's household for Prince Wei's use - Princess Yongle, who is Prince Wei's mother-in-law, can make decisions on behalf of her son-in-law; how could Qiu Xixia, who wholeheartedly supports the eldest son and grandson inheriting the throne, not help pave the way for Prince Zhao?"

  However, Wei Mengying was not so easily intimidated. She thought for a moment and said, "As for the matter of the Liu family, to be honest, it's now impossible to investigate clearly! At present, as mother and daughter, I am a princess consort and you are an imperial noblewoman of the first rank. No matter how troublesome the Ji family is, can they still use the Liu family's one-sided words to condemn us?"

  "This matter of the Liu family, I'm not worried at all." Song Yi smiled and said, "It's just that Qiu Xuanxia sent a servant, Liu Zhenxi, to personally take charge, but in the end, they didn't bother much and let the Jingzhao government close the case. They just let it go like that, do you believe it?"

  Wei Mengying fell silent for a moment before speaking: "You mean that Qiu Xixia is still keeping an eye on the Yan Guo Gong Fu?"

  "Also staring at the Hengshan Wangfu!" Song Yi Xiao reminded, "When the Liu family had an accident that year, I was only eight years old. In people's eyes, what could I be responsible for?! The ones with the surname Qiu and the ones with the surname Liu chose this matter as a test, to get to the bottom of it, how could the purpose possibly be me, their daughter?!"

  "Qiu Xixia has no grudge against us, so it's not necessary to target us. As for Liu Zhenxi, although he has a personal vendetta against us, his goal is definitely not just revenge - over the years, I've heard that the marriage of the Liu family's children has been affected in no small way! Wouldn't Liu Zhenxi want to clear the name of the Liu family?!"

  She said this to force Wei Mengying to confess, but it's not all nonsense. After all, in the You Hong case, the behavior of Qiu and Liu is really suspicious!

  Judging from the existing news, it seems that these two really have such an idea!

  "Wei Mengying sneered: 'The wrongs the Liu family did to you are not false, what is he rebelling against?! Does Qiu Xixia think she can help him turn black and white upside down, does she really think everyone in this world is blind?!'"

  "But the world doesn't know how many twists and turns there are!" Song Yi smiled faintly, "I've been reading some criminal cases in my husband's study lately, do you know, Mother? Many old cases that couldn't be solved at the time were later closed, except for a few rare instances where they coincidentally fell into the hands of experts, it was... wait!"

  Wei Mengying's eyes widened slightly: "Wait?"

  "When the culprit strikes again!" Song Yi smiled coldly, "After catching the crime, following the trail will lead to solving many old cases on this person's hands!"

  Seeing her mother's changing expression, she smiled lightly and said, "For example, if the evidence of your harming Lu San is found on the side of Liu Zhenxi, and it is required to clear his sister's name, all this has passed for six years. At that time, people who were grateful to us, mother and daughter, were willing to prove that the Liu family had indeed wronged those people. How many are there now? Even if they are still around, would they be willing to come out and testify?"

  By then, under the pressure of public opinion and with the help of those in power, Liu Zhenxi might be able to portray himself as a kind and virtuous person who was wrongly accused by Wei Mengying and her mother, and was persecuted to death.

  At that time, the Wei family and Wei Mengying were able to drive the Liu family to death, relying on nothing but telling people about their granddaughter's miserable experience.

  “……These are just your guesses.” Wei Mengying was silent for a long time, then said, “The ancestral teachings of the Hengshan royal family have been passed down since the founding of the country and never involve the struggle for the throne——being able to persist until now also has some foundation. Even the princess of the Dai State tried every means to win her over, but did not dare to coerce her, let alone Qiu Xiaoxia? This person relied on the power of the empress dowager, but was still able to sit in the position of Minister after opposing my son-in-law for so long, showing that she also has some real ability!

  "If he hadn't been foolish enough to come here, he shouldn't have rashly taken action against me! Otherwise, wouldn't it be a waste of effort for Zhao Wang to offend people?"

  Song Yi smiled and said, "Mother, you're right, but since it's just the two of us, I'll say something treasonous: everyone knows that Qiu Xixia's arrogance is due to Empress Dowager! But Empress Dowager's eldest grandson, Prince Zhongling, is already seven years old!"

  How many more years can this most noble woman under heaven live?

  When she was alive, no matter what Qiu Xiaoxia did, Emperor Xian would not have gone to extremes with her being the only blood relative of Empress Dowager's natal family!

  But once Empress Dowager passed away, Emperor Xian of Jin still remembered the old times, but it was not the same as when she was alive - people leave and tea becomes cold, this is how the world has always been!

  Similarly, as the grandson of Empress Dowager and the nephew of Emperor Xian of Han, Xu Shicheng, the only son of Princess Langya, is much more low-key than Jian Yubai and Ji Zifu, these cousins. He was not happy in the Ministry of Officials and was at a loss for what to do, and he was a clear example!

  "How can Qiu Xiaoxia not be anxious?!"

  His greatest advantage is the Empress Dowager, but the Empress Dowager is already old!

  So Qiu Xixia must settle the major issues before Empress Dowager passes away!

  In this case, "he may not have the patience to play with water grinding skills! Moreover, as long as he grasps enough handles, he will not be afraid of offending his mother?"

  At that time, Wei Mengying begged him to spare her life!

  At this moment, Wei Zhuang hopes that his aunt will show great compassion!

  Wei Mengying remained silent for a long time before saying, "Even if he didn't have this handle on you, you've made up your mind to protect Wei Zhuang. Telling him about this would be no more than a trivial matter... isn't that right?"

  "How dare I?" Song Yi smiled wryly, feeling a slight bitterness in her heart. But thinking of her mother's ways, she still forced herself to be ruthless and laughed lightly, saying, "You are my birth mother, Yun'er is my younger brother, even if I want to protect Wan'er, sister-in-law, I absolutely cannot abandon you and my brother for her sake!"

  As expected, her words made Wei Mengying sigh and admit defeat: "A daughter has grown up and has her own ideas, what can a mother say?"

  She stood up, "Let Wei Cui return to the Wei family, although she is not as good-looking as you and is no longer chaste, after all, she is young! Men sometimes just love novelty - if she stays in the Guo Gong Fu, who knows what might happen with her son-in-law, by then it will be too late for you to cry!"

  It wasn't until she had left that a sentence floated back, "I will send someone to discuss the aftermath with the Wei family - this matter is now at an end!"