Chapter 56 - Teach by Precept and Example

Luckily, it had nothing to do with Song Yixiao temperately.

After the eunuch read out the Empress Dowager’s decree, servants of prince’s mansion instantly helped to entertain the eunuch. Prince of Hengshan belonged to imperial family and the Emperor would send them gifts on new year’s day and other festivals. So they were all familiar to entertain eunuchs.

After Song Yixiao accepted other people’s congratulation, not surprisingly, Wei Mengying called her to come.

Then Song Yixiao kept kneeling for nearly an hour. Wei Mengying reclined on the couch and looked darkly at her daughter who lowered her head and looked down obediently. Then she said casually, “Stand up!”

Song Yixiao didn’t move, “I know I have made a serious mistake and feel shameful to see you. So I’ll be comfortable to kneel longer.”

“You feel good. But have you ever asked my feeling?” Wei Mengying sat up and sneered, “Do you think a mother will feel good to see her kid kneeling for a long time?”

Song Yixiao finally looked up with tear in her eyes, “I know I’m wrong!”

Wei Mengying pointed to the stool next to her with a tight face, ignoring her daughter’s tears.

“Why didn’t you tell me that?” She asked in a deep voice after Song Yixiao stood up and staggered to sit down, “You’ve already known it, haven’t you?”

“I…” Song Yixiao just said a word. But her mother interrupted her immediately, “Tell me the truth!”

It was the first time that Wei Mengying showed ferocious features to her daughter, “Otherwise, you can’t call me mother anymore!”

“…”

After a long silence, Song Yixiao choked, “It was Commandery Princess Qingjiang’s request at the beginning. I also didn’t dare to believe it. When I first saw Duke Jian six years ago, you told me to stay away from him so as not to make princess unhappy!”

“So I planned to tell you that after it came true!”

“But when I came back from Marquis Boling’s mansion, you said some men proposed to me… I was so sad at that time! Then I ran out without telling you!”

“In the next few days, I was angry with you and didn’t want to tell you on purpose!”

“But the Empress Dowager’s decree didn’t come for a long time. I was afraid something unforeseen had happened and was too ashamed to tell you!”

Lowering her head and rubbing her clothes corner, she mumbled, “A long time later, the Empress Dowager’s decree finally arrives. I start to heave a sigh of relief.”

Wei Mengying glared at her and smiled angrily, “Are you ashamed to tell me? Don’t you know how lucky you are to marry him with your low status?”

“I’m still a princess consort!”

“If you told me early, I would help you when you couldn’t wait for the Empress Dowager’s decree!”

“How dare you be angry rashly at this time!”

“Don’t you have any appreciation of a thing’s importance?”

“How stupid my daughter is!”

“You will cause me to die of anger due to your stupidity!”

Wei Mengying was so angry at present, “You are really lucky. Although you performed badly, you can still marry him! Do you know popular Duke Jian is in the imperial capital? When Cui Jianlian was young, she tried to poison you without hesitation because she heard that Lu Guanlun treated you well!”

“Without Zhiqin, pines and cypresses on your grave have been luxuriant!”

“How can you forget such a big lesson few years later?”

“The Song Family’s ancestors must do many good things so that you can live till now!”

“You really let me down!”

“How dare you say you heave a sigh of relief?”

“It’s been nearly a month since the feast of the Shangsi Festival finished. You dare to conceal it from me until now!”

“I almost want to die of anger!”

Wei Mengying was scared when thinking of it. Someone might prevent such a good marriage easily because of her daughter’s concealment. She was angrier to see Song Yixiao. So she slapped on the table and blamed, “Who ask you to stand up? Continue to kneel down! Don’t stand up until you sober!”

Song Yixiao held back her tears silently and knelt back obediently.

Fortunately, she had been the future wife of Duke Jian according to the Empress Dowager’s decree. Even if Wei Mengying was angry, her maids couldn’t take no actions to let her kneel. Ms. Bo first smiled obsequiously, “Her Ladyship is still young and it’s inevitable for her to make mistakes. You can teach her patiently. If you still punish her to kneel longer, she will be ill and you will also feel sad!”

Then she persuaded, “Her Ladyship’s wedding is in the second half of the year. She can only accompany you with few months. The life as a wife is different from the life as a daughter. You need to teach her much about it!”

“You are pregnant now and can teach her when you feel better at earlier stage of pregnancy. But it will be inconvenient for you to talk with her several months later!”

“Anyway, you rage just because you are scared that Her Ladyship may destroy her future!”

“Everyone knows you call Her Ladyship alone after the Empress Dowager’s decree comes!”

“The rumor will be caused if Her Ladyship looks uncomfortable when she gets out of here!”

“The Dowager Consort and Second Young Mistress in the mansion don’t like Her Ladyship all the time!”

“At that time, you will worry about her again!”

“Your Highness…”

After persuading for a long time, maids like Qiaoqin also put in a good word for Song Yixiao. Wei Mengying finally started to glance at her daughter with angry face and said, “Why do you listen to me to kneel down at this time?”

“Your Ladyship, please stand up. Her Highness doesn’t blame you now!” Ms. Bo and others relaxed for a while and smoothed things over with a smile, “Her Highness is worried about you. How can’t you tell her about your marriage just because of anger? Her Highness is fearful after it happens!”

Song Yixiao stood up with the help of Qiaoqin and then sat back on the stool. “It’s my fault. I shouldn’t be willful!”

Wei Mengying sneered, “How can’t you be willful? Your willfulness makes you get the Empress Dowager’s decree, right? You are so lucky and you don’t need other people to worry about you!”

“Mother!” Song Yixiao burst into tears suddenly and bit her red lips with white teeth tightly. She looked pale completely and wanted to kneel down again, leaning against the stool. She said, “Please don’t say like that… I, I really know my fault!”

“Sit back!” Wei Mengying had no expression on her face, but stared at her behavior from the corner of her eyes. Seeing that, she felt her intention had been achieved. After all, she didn’t just want to vent her spleen when she called her daughter to come here. So she hissed, “Don’t your knee feel painful after kneeling for a long time? Why do you still kneel down when I ask you to sit? Do you think I don’t be worried enough about you? Do you want to make me sad when you are ill by kneeling?”

Song Yixiao held back her tears silently again and sat back.

“I won’t blame you about your concealment. But if you do that again, don’t call me mother anymore!” Wei Mengying said with harsh words and stern looks. Seeing her daughter nodding with serious face, she made her tone gentle, “Your wedding is coming. I must tell you how to be a wife! Otherwise you won’t know what mistakes you have made after wedding!”

When she said, she glanced at the servants around. Ms. Bo hurriedly went out with others.

“When did Duke Jian like you?” Wei Mengying moved tea leaves in the tea bowl with its lid. She didn’t teach her to be virtuous, but asked her why she could marry Duke Jian.

Song Yixiao thought about it in her heart and then looked depressed, “He doesn’t like me. So I didn’t dare to tell you the truth!”

“Huh?” Wei Mengying was shocked, “He doesn’t like you? Why does the Empress Dowager ask you to marry him?”

“He said that he was satisfied with my low status and consideration!” Song Yixiao’s fault was just caught by her mother. So she couldn’t refuse if her mother asked her to help her younger brother be the heir of the prince!

So she pouted with tears in her eyes and was afraid her mother didn’t see her grievance and resentment. She explained, “He casually gave me his jade pendant when I passed by him at that time! I really don’t know how to be his wife in the future!”

“It’s not a big deal!” Wei Mengying heaved a sigh of relief after hearing it. She chuckled, “What a silly kid you are! Look, there are many considerate young ladies from low official family in the imperial capital. But Duke Jian only chooses you. Even if he doesn’t love you so much, he must like you, right?”

Song Yixiao reminded her, “That’s just because I passed by at the proper time and he was tired to continue to see other girls!”

“That’s fate!” Wei Mengying narrowed her eyes, “Young men like Duke Jian always don’t admit their true thoughts. You don’t need to mind his words! You will be his first official wife, which means he won’t hate you! Since so, I promise he will fall in love with you after I teach you!”

The former mistress of the Song Family who was the present Princess Consort of Hengshan was so confident about it, “It’s easy to guess what men think! You are my daughter. How can’t I teach you all my experience?”

Song Yixiao flushed a little. She opened her mouth but said nothing.

Wei Mengying didn’t mind it. Young ladies from noble family were always shy about this kind of topics. She said, “Don’t refuse to hear that even if you are awkward! Women rely on fathers and brothers before wedding. Then they depend on husbands after marrying. Women can’t rely on their powerful family too much after getting married. Otherwise they won’t live happier even if their lives look better!”

So, “No matter what identity your husband has, you will have a good life as his wife if you make him love you!”

“The first thing you should pay attention to is concubines!” Wei Mengying took a sip of tea and indoctrinated her daughter cautiously, “Don’t be so tolerant and magnanimous. Only fools will not feel jealous! If you like a man, you will feel uncomfortable if he takes a look at other girls! Especially his concubines have the right to sleep with him!”

“Even if you don’t like him, you can’t let other women grab him because he is your husband! Otherwise you will lose your husband’s love and have no dignity, even if he doesn’t abolish your status due to his beloved concubine! Besides, you can’t have a son if he doesn’t like you. As a result, a concubine’s son will inherit the legacy and treat the concubine with filial respect, while you get nothing as a legal wife!”

“At that time, if the concubine’s son is not a kind man, you will suffer much!”

Wei Mengying said sincerely, “So you must make Duke Jian only love you and not have any concubines!”

She also had solutions if Song Yixiao failed. “I’ll give you some prescriptions. If some girls attract him, you can let them take this medicine and they will die naturally without any flaws!”

She was the only beloved woman of her husband. In order to let her daughter inherit her achievement, Wei Mengying thought of many ways, “Few years ago, I asked people to find some secret prescriptions to make me pregnant. Some of them are useful. That’s why your brother is born. Take them when you get married. As long as you have a son, elders won’t blame you even if there is no concubines!”

She was a little indignant when mentioning it, “If I could have a son in the Song Family, I wouldn’t have let Madam Pang blame me!”

Before Song Yixiao comforted her, she sneered again, “But you father doesn’t have a son until now! That’s must because the Song Family’s ancestors did many bad things. But they just complain their son’s wife!”

You just said that the ancestors of the Song Family did many good things so that I could live!

Song Yixiao looked obedient. But she thought secretly, “I just want to weather the storm!”

Could Mother stop teaching me that at present?