Chapter 194 - Madam Huang 'Died of an Illness”

“Madam Huang passed away?” The couple were startled to hear the news, asking in one voice, “How did that happen? Wasn’t she okay at the imperial feast of the Lantern Festival?”

Song Yixiao greeted her at that time!

It had only been a few days since then!

“It is said that she died of an acute disease,” the maid said cowardly, “As it happened too hastily, the messenger came and left in a hurry, telling that he had to send the message to other relatives too. Hence, we didn’t invite him into the mansion.”

Song Yixiao called Madam Huang as Grandma and the latter was kind to her, but they actually had no communication in private and their amicable relationship on the surface was only a show to the public.

Therefore, when Song Yixiao heard of the death of this nominal grandmother, she was astonished and yet not grieved. Then she came to her sense quickly, sent away the maid and then started to discuss about the condolence with her husband, “Since the Lu Family has sent us the word, we must pay condolences then, or it will bring shame on us!”

Jian Xubai nodded and said, “Let’s go there before the curfew. I think they will not keep us for long.”

The couple summoned the servant to talk about it and then both got changed before arranging a carriage towards the Lu Family’s mansion for condolences.

Maybe it was too late and Madam Huang died a sudden death, so it was rather lonely before the gate of the Lu Family’s mansion.

However, when they went into the mansion, only the house steward came to receive them and explained with a weird look, “Madame arrived just now and then passed out due to too much grief, so it was a bit messy in the mansion. Old Master is worried about Madame’s pregnancy and thus, he cannot come out and receive. Please understand!”

The Lu Family had no relatives of the same clan in the imperial capital, so since the mistress of the family, Madam Huang passed away, the juniors must observe mourning for her at the mourning hall.

Now only Lu Yicheng was available to receive them but he was not only a third-rank official and a subordinate official of the Crown Prince as well as the nominal grandpa of Song Yixiao. Thus, there was nothing to be said against his receiving by himself.

Jian Xubai and Song Yixiao both said it was fine.

According to the house steward’s words, Song Yixiao speculated that by “Madame”, he should mean her stepmother, Madam Lu. Therefore, she had to show her concern, “Is my mother awake now?”

“As a man, it is not appropriate for me to go into the inner yard and have a look, so I have no idea about it,” the house steward hummed and hawed, saying, “But Master has taken her pulse and didn’t send for a doctor. Supposedly, she is fine?”

“Then I would like to visit her later. Is it convenient?” Song Yixiao asked then.

Normally, there must be no problem with such a little request, but the house steward gave a hollow laugh and said, “Of course I dare not obstruct your filial piety, but Madame is still grieving now. Just now she claimed that she would like to stay alone. Lady Yixiao, please don’t mind it.”

Since Song Yixiao referred to Madam Lu as mother, it was okay for the Lu Family to take her as the daughter of Madam Lu. Even though she was a titled lady now, it was not improper but intimate to address her as Lady Yixiao.

Nevertheless, in fact, she was not close to the Lu Family. Now the house steward’s calling her as Lady Yixiao was kind of a reminder for her about the estrangement between them.

“Even though they and I are not close, but since my stepmother is pregnant and passes out, why can’t I visit her?” Song Yixiao had such a keen mind that she immediately realized something was wrong, “Is it inconvenient to my stepmother that I go to visit her or just the Lu Family don’t want me to meet her? Or both?”

She and Madam Lu were both females. Even if Madam Lu couldn’t get off bed now, it was reasonable for a nominal daughter to go through the curtain and inquire about her health. Hence, it couldn’t be inconvenient for her to visit Madam Lu. Thus, Song Yixiao found it most likely that the Lu Family deliberately obstructed her.

“It is so strange!” She pondered herself, “I’ve met my stepmother before and didn’t do any harm to her. Moreover, even if I want to hurt her, I cannot do it at the Lu Family’s mansion, a completely strange place to me. Why do the Lu Family take such precautions against me?”

While she was still pondering, they were conducted to the mourning hall. After paying their condolence, the Lu Family inside the curtain in the mourning hall returned by rule. Jian Xubai and Song Yixiao surely needed to say something condolent, so Song Yixiao said in a soft voice, “I’m sorry for your loss. Please accept my condolences!”

However, from behind the curtain, a young man suddenly said with grief, “It’s all your fault! How can you have the nerve to…”

His voice suddenly stopped and then the sound of grapple came along. Obviously, he was stopped by someone.

Song Yixiao couldn’t help feeling astounded and Jian Xubai also frowned, asking, “Cousin, what did you mean?”

“Please forgive his misconduct!” The people behind the curtain talked for a while, and then the eldest son of the Lu Family and his wife lifted the curtain and came out, explaining, “My son is raised by my mother. This time my mother died of a relapse, for which my son is so grieved that he is sort of out of his mind. He shouts at everybody for the half of the day. Please forgive his offense if any!”

After saying that, he ordered the young man to come out and apologize with a kowtow. After a while, a young man with swollen eyes and a resentful look was nudged outside, who was unwilling to admit mistake, with his head lifted. Under the severe watch of his parents, he knelt on the ground reluctantly, “Lady of Yan, please punish me for my behaviors!”

“You’ve taken it too seriously!” Adhering to her mother’s words of being gracious in public, Song Yixiao didn’t blame him and instead, replied in a soft tone, “You are such a virtuous man of filial piety. How can I blame you?”

She feigned supporting him up and would like to say something nice when the young man rolled his eyes at her with disdain and quickly turned around to go through the curtain. His parents were quite embarrassed on the spot and intended to ask him out for apology, but Song Yixiao didn’t want to play courtesy with them anymore. She just directly changed the subject, “I heard from the house steward that Mother passed out for over grief?”

Before they answered, she added, “I’m really worried to hear about that so I would like to check on her very much! But the house steward told me that Mother might not be in the mood to meet me. I’m wondering whether I can take a look at from outside so that I can feel relieved. After all, she is showing obviously now. If I don’t make sure she is fine with my own eyes, I cannot just go back!”

She made a good point. The Lu Family looked rather reluctant but they couldn’t make any excuse to object anyway. After all, faced with Song Yixiao’s such request, their decline would be not only an inhuman act but also an indication for Song Yixiao and her husband that there was something wrong!

“Your mother is resting in the wing-room. It is okay to see her from outside the room, but you had better not go in,” the wife of the eldest son of the Lu Family considered and then said, “She passed out just now due to excessive excitement. Now she is still calming herself down. I’m afraid that she may become vehement if she meets anyone. You know, she is seven months pregnant now! The Song Family has few male descendants and we don’t dare to put her at risk!”

Actually, she leveraged Song Yixiao’s reason for meeting Madam Lu and made a counterattack. If Song Yixiao didn’t want to be suspected of hurting her stepmother’s pregnancy on purpose, she had better only look at Madam Lu from outside the room and not be discovered by Madam Lu as per the requirement of the Lu Family!

In this way, of course she couldn’t get to talk with Madam Lu.

Song Yixiao had to agree and yet grew more dubious.

After a while, she was ushered into the backyard by a servant of the Lu Family and only had a look through the window. In the room the curtain was put down. Although the candles were lit, it was hard to identify in the light whether the person on the bed was Madam Lu.

Despite that, Song Yixiao didn’t stay long and the servant hinted her that it was time for her to leave.

After all, as a guest, she couldn’t barge into the room.

Song Yixiao couldn’t help but to meet with her husband and leave with him.

After leaving the Lu Family’s mansion, Jian Xubai frowned, “Today, the Lu Family looked really weird. It was fine that Lu Yicheng didn’t come to receive us when we arrived, but he didn’t even show up as we left. It is kind of an insult to us!”

After all, they were juniors but given the social status of Duke of Yan and the not-close-enough relationship, they shouldn’t act improperly.

“I’m thinking about one thing!” Song Yixiao put on a stern face and then whispered to her husband, “Does Grandma Huang’s death have anything to do with Cui Jianlian?”

Jian Xubai was stunned, “She was a relative of the Crown Princess. As far as I know, she always worked for the Crown Princess!”

“It was my stepmother who told me that Cui Jianlian had dealings with the Liu Family and the Jin Family,” Song Yixiao reminded sternly, “She claimed that she heard it accidentally when she was at a feast of her maiden family. I always thought that she got the information from the Song Family!”

After all, Madam Huang was always thought as an affiliated ally of the Crown Princess. By reason, if she learnt about Cui Jianlian’s secret, she must tell the Crown Princess.

But these days, the Crown Princess never mentioned it to Song Yixiao.

When Madam Lu disclosed it to Song Yixiao, the Crown Princess was not mentioned either!

“My father is always on good terms with Liu Zhenxi. It is said that Liu Zhenxi set him up with Madam Liu back then.” Song Yixiao rolled her bracelet on the wrist, perturbed and upset, “And there was a time when my current stepmother seemed eager to patch things up between my father and me! Therefore, I thought that she heard from my father about Cui Jianlian’s dealings with the Liu Family and the Jin Family, but she deliberately used her mother as the guise in case that I might be got estranged from my father!”

However, considering the current situation, it was likely that Madam Lu did hear it from Madam Huang!

Otherwise, why did Madam Huang die such a sudden death?

And why was the Lu Family’s attitude towards them so strange?

After all, Song Yixiao had no grudge against the Lu Family despite no blood relation!

Song Yixiao and Jian Xubai rushed here for mourning as soon as they heard of the loss though it was already late, which demonstrated enough respect for the Lu Family!

Under this circumstance, the Lu Family had no reason not to treat them nicely!

Unless Madam Huang’s death had something to do with the couple, or at least in the eyes of the Lu Family!

“If Madam Huang worked for Cui Jianlian behind the Crown Princess, it is not surprising that she is dead then!” Jian Xubai frowned and said with a poker face, “Even if Grandmother and Noble Consort Cui spared her, the Crown Princess wouldn’t!”

He didn’t think that his wife needed to be responsible for Madam Huang’s death, “Madam Huang was only your nominal grandmother, who was not related to you by blood or ever looked after you. And you didn’t show any disrespect for her. You didn’t owe her anything but she just conspired against you. Didn’t she deserve to die? I didn’t think of this just now, or I wouldn’t let go easily of that guy who spoke rudely to you!”

“I don’t mind the Lu Family!” Song Yixiao rested her head against his shoulder and said with an agitated look, “I’m worried about my stepmother! If I guess it right, how do you think she feels now? After all, she told me the news out of kindness back then!”

When Madam Lu told Song Yixiao the news, she didn’t expect to get her mother, Madam Huang killed one day, or she might not do it. However, she did tell Song Yixiao out of worry.

In Song Yixiao’s conspiration against Cui Jianlian, the news also did play a significant role.

Anyway, considering the favor, Song Yixiao didn’t hope to see her get too sad and hurt her own health for over grief.

“If this is really the case, it is not proper for us to meet with her then.” Jian Xubai felt headache and pondered before saying, “Gladly, a lot of people are concerned about her. Putting aside the Lu Family, the Song Family won’t let anything happen to her baby. We don’t need to worry too much about her!”

Song Yixiao heaved a sigh with a heavy heart, “I hope so! If anything untoward happens to her unborn baby, I… I don’t know what I shall do.”