Chapter 271 - Worry too Much

On the way back to the mansion of Duke of Yan after the banquet, in the carriage, Song Yixiao told her husband what she had seen at the banquet. In the end, she frowned. “I don’t know if there will be something wrong with Princess Consort of Liang after she ate two crabs.”

She had watched all the time. Obviously, Princess Consort of Liang liked eating crabs. After she opened a crab, she didn’t feel satisfied and opened another one before stopping. Although till they came out of the imperial palace, Song Yixiao didn’t see that Princess Consort of Liang looked unwell, thinking of the princess consort’s prominent belly, she always felt restless.

“Since she didn’t feel unwell just now, I think there will be nothing wrong with her.” Even though the legitimate paternal grandmother of the two young ladies from the Sikong Family, Great Grand Princess Zhenyang was Jian Xubai’s great-aunt, and he was their cousin, they had never stayed together, so they were not as close as other relatives. He heard that and just comforted his wife casually. “After all, Grandma told you not to eat crabs just in case, and she didn’t say that there would be something wrong after you ate.”

Song Yixiao pondered for a moment and sighed softly. “Perhaps because Yiluo passed away at this season last year, I thought of her when I saw the crabs, and I felt sad.”

Then she felt remorseful. “Obviously, there is something wrong with the maid Princess Consort of Liang brought to the banquet today. Before leaving, I should have found a reason to talk with Princess Consort of Liang secretly. Even if I didn’t remind her that her maid was negligent, I should have advised her to drink some honey water after she returned home, yet I forgot it in the end.”

Jian Xubai was listless but got stunned after hearing that. “She just ate crabs. How can you tell her to drink honey water?”

Song Yixiao explained, “You know what? When Yiluo started to get sick, we knocked on the gate of Master Shaoge’s residence to ask for help, and then the old butler there made some honey water and told Yiluo to drink it. After drinking it, she got much better.”

“I finally understand why Su Zhiyong hurriedly went there and recommended himself that time as soon as he came back to the residence even though he knew that the patient was an unmarried woman and somebody was sent to ask a doctor. He just ignored the difference between men and women.” Jian Xubai sighed upon hearing that. “It’s a taboo on eating crabs and honey at the same time. Even a healthy person would have an accident after eating them, let alone Lady Yiluo who was in poor health then.”

Song Yixiao was so shocked that she almost stood up in the carriage. “What?”

“The old butler must not have done that intentionally. After all, you just chose a family randomly to ask for help, and he didn’t expect that Lady Yiluo had just eaten crabs,” Jian Xubai said gloomily. “And a lot of people know this taboo. Even many people who don’t have medical skills know it. Even if he wanted to kill somebody, he didn’t need to do that so obviously. Probably he thought that he helped you, but Su Zhiyong heard about it after going back, and he thought that there must be crabs at the banquet at this season. Before the doctor arrived, he hurriedly went there to have a look, in case that something bad happened.”

“However, something serious happened in the end!” Song Yixiao had complex feelings and murmured, “I just wondered why Yiluo suddenly…”

Jian Xubai shook his head. “Su Zhiyong hid the reason to protect his butler, but Lady Yiluo’s death might have nothing to do with it. After all, the doctor arrived later, and then she was moved back to the Sikong Family’s mansion. How would the family not ask doctors? Moreover, when you fed honey water to Lady Yiluo, her maids also knew it. If the honey water caused her early death, how would the family not investigate it?”

Song Yixiao stated in a deep voice, “However, the current Princess Consort of Liang is Yiluo’s half-sister, a daughter of her father’s concubine. The Sikong Family has only two daughters. If they wanted to continue to be related to the prince by marriage as soon as Yiluo passed away, how would they get me and Master Shaoge into trouble? Prince of Liang is the crown prince’s younger brother and has nothing to do with Master Shaoge and me.”

After Sikong Yiluo died, all people in the Sikong Family thought that it was Wei Yinlian’s fault. Wei Yinlian was the crown princess’ sister, the crown prince’s sister-in-law. She had persuaded Sikong Yiluo to drink wine at the banquet in the Eastern Palace.

So in the end, Wei Yinlian gave the Sikong Family her trousseau as the compensation, and Prince of Liang married Sikong Yiluo’s half-sister Sikong Yihan.

After all, the reason of the marriage of Sikong Yiluo and Prince of Liang was that Great Grand Princess Zhenyang personally asked the Empress Dowager for help as she knew that the descendants of the Sikong Family were mediocre in recent years and she was afraid that the family would be declining after she passed away. As a result, she made a match for her legitimate granddaughter she had brought up in person and the crown prince’s younger brother Prince of Liang.

It meant that this marriage was very important to the Sikong Family.

However, it happened that Sikong Yiluo died before marriage and there was no other legitimate granddaughter brought up by Great Grand Princess Zhenyang in the family who could match Prince of Liang. Prince of Liang was Emperor Xianjia’s son, and his biological mother was a noble consort who was second only to the empress. His brother was the heir to the throne, so how would he marry a concubine’s daughter?

What was more, she was a concubine’s daughter sent to a manor to fend for herself since childhood, and nobody taught her to be a noble lady.

“No wonder the Sikong Family came to the Eastern Palace and pestered Yinlian that day but didn’t blame me, who was at the same table.” While thinking, Song Yixiao felt sadder. “Because only in this way can they have the hope to be in connection with the royal family through marriage.”

The marriage of Prince of Liang and Sikong Yiluo was decided because the Empress Dowager agreed to help Great Grand Princess Zhenyang.

However, the marriage of Prince of Liang and Sikong Yihan was the Eastern Palace’s compensation as Sikong Yiluo died soon after she returned home from the banquet in the Eastern Palace.

Nevertheless, if Sikong Yiluo’s death was not caused by Wei Yinlian but because Su Shaoge’s old butler did something wrong out of kindness, why would the Eastern Palace help the Sikong Family persuade Prince of Liang to marry Sikong Yihan?

The empress was Su Shaoge’s aunt, while the problem was that Empress Su was not the biological mother of Prince of Liang. When Prince of Liang had his mother, the noble consort, and his brother, the crown prince, the empress almost didn’t have a say in his marriage, and she would never use his marriage to make up for the mistake of her nephew’s servant.

So if the Sikong Family wanted to continue to be related to the royal family by marriage, they could only blame Wei Yinlian.

“The Sikong Family might think so, but what about the Eastern Palace and the Wei Family?” Jian Xubai still shook his head after listening to his wife’s conjecture, and he reminded, “You also said that Lady Yinlian personally fed Lady Yiluo the honey water. After Lady Yiluo died, the Wei Family would repeatedly ask Lady Yinlian what had happened, and it was impossible that she never talked about it. Since the Wei Family knew the details, how would they not speak it out?”

However, the Wei Family never mentioned this point. The Wei Family in Fengzhou was one of the Six Warlords, the descendants of the Ruiyu Hall, like the Su Family in Qingzhou. Even though they were inferior to the Su Family now, it was unnecessary for them to fear the Su Family.

They didn’t mention it because this careless mistake was useless obviously. If they spoke it out, they would just offend the Su Family and even gain a bad reputation as they returned kindness with ingratitude.

“…It seems that I worry too much.” Song Yixiao thought that it was true and sighed. Then she leaned against her husband’s shoulder again. “But there are problems with that maid of Princess Consort of Liang indeed, yet we have no contact with the family of Prince of Liang. I don’t know how to remind her.”

Jian Xubai pondered for a moment and then suggested, “Don’t you keep in touch with the Sikong Family? How about asking them to send a message? And then you can do the family a favor.”

At the beginning of the year, after Princess Consort of Liang made a big mistake, the Sikong Family chose to abandon her to dissociate themselves.

Since then Princess Consort of Liang fell out with her family openly, and even when somebody from her family came to see her after she got pregnant, she ignored them. So the Sikong Family was resentful and hated her because of her attitude. After all, if this daughter was well-behaved all the time, how would they abandon her as they tried every means to claim ties of kinship with the royal family?

As a result, she stayed alive luckily, but she didn’t think she was wrong. Instead, she bore a grudge against her parents’ family.

The problem was that even though the Sikong Family thought that Princess Consort of Liang was heartless and failed to distinguish right from wrong, the declining family needed this daughter to support them, so if they knew that the maids of Princess Consort of Liang were unreliable, they would try their best to help her.

As a result, Song Yixiao would achieve two goals at one stroke. She could help Princess Consort of Liang and improve her relationship with her family.

“I think that Yiluo must also hope to see that her half-sister gets along well with their family and supports their family with her identity as the emperor’s daughter-in-law in the future.” At this thought, Song Yixiao believed that her husband’s idea was excellent, and then she turned her head to kiss him as a reward.

They arrived home late at night. After washing up in a hurry, they went to bed.

The next day, Song Yixiao dealt with some trifles after getting up and checked the time. Then she ordered Jinxun to visit the Sikong Family. “Tell them that the cakes Madam Chang sent to me last time are to my taste but the people in our kitchen can’t make that flavor, so we come to ask for them shamelessly.”

She lowered her voice. “After you arrive, tell Madam Chang what happened after I ordered you to remind Princess Consort of Liang last night.”

Jinxun understood. “Your Highness, please rest assured. I will tell Madam Chang in details.”

After nearly half a day, Jinxun came back and brought a pair of gold materials besides a box of cakes. “The cakes are for you, Madam, and the gold materials are given to me as a reward. Madam Chang said she would come to thank you in person another day.”

“Since she gave them to you, just share with Yuedeng and the others.” Song Yixiao glanced at the gold materials and found that they were not light, different from the usual rewards. Obviously the Sikong Family thanked her sincerely this time. Then she added casually, “The cakes are given to you.”

She mentioned that she wanted the cakes of the Sikong Family as an excuse to send Jinxun to visit them, and she didn’t want to eat them.

Jinxun understood and expressed thanks to Song Yixiao. Then she left with the things happily, preparing to go back to share with Yuedeng and the others.

She came back soon after she left and reported, “Your Highness, Elder Lady Cao has come with Madam Mu and your cousin Lady Chan.”

“Invite them in.” Song Yixiao guessed that her legitimate maternal grandmother came in person must because of her pregnancy. The Wei Family was not powerful enough, and when the others went to the summer resort, they were not on the list of people accompanying the emperor. They thought that it would cost a lot of money on the journey, so in summer, they just used the ice saved in winter and didn’t move to Cuihua Mountain.

Therefore, they got the news only after Song Yixiao and her husband followed the emperor back to the imperial capital. Of course, they would come to see her.

Song Yixiao personally came to the second gate to welcome Elder Lady Cao and the others. After they exchanged greetings, the elder lady mentioned the purpose of their visit. As expected, they came to congratulate her on her pregnancy. “I got the news as soon as you came back, and I wanted to come then, but I was afraid that you just returned and should have a rest and put everything in order, so I waited some days. However, unexpectedly, I had a cold a few days later, so it delayed and we just came today.”

“We should go to see you, Grandma. How can we tire you by visiting us?” Song Yixiao supported Elder Lady Cao’s arm and asked with concern, “Grandma, you had a cold lately? How are you now? Why didn’t you tell us? We could have served you.”

“Don’t worry. I am well now. Otherwise, I won’t have come here.” Elder Lady Cao smiled gently and patted the back of Song Yixiao’s hand with affection, adding, “It was just a minor illness, and I don’t need to tell everybody. Moreover, you are pregnant. How can I bear to see that if you are affected?”

After chatting with her grandmother, Song Yixiao turned to greet Madam Mu and Wei Chan. They talked happily and came to the front hall. Then they sat down and the servant served tea. Elder Lady Cao picked up the teacup and took a sip of tea. Then she carefully asked about Song Yixiao’s baby. Hearing that everything was well, she nodded repeatedly and stated, “I said long ago that you are blessed. As expected, you married a good husband, and your first baby is safe and sound, so I don’t need to say more.”

Song Yixiao smiled. “Grandma, you want to be lazy, but I don’t agree. It’s said that an elder in the family is like a treasure. You have come, and how can you not give me instructions?”

After she got pregnant, Grand Princess Jinguo and the Empress Dowager cared about her a lot, and the female doctor Aunt Yun in the mansion was skilled in nourishing, so she was taken good care of all the time and looked even better than she had been before she got pregnant. So she didn’t need Elder Lady Cao to worry about her, yet in front of her legitimate grandmother, she needed to ask for advice to show that she respected and relied on the elders.

“I don’t want to be lazy, but you are born with fortune. I haven’t seen a lot, so I can’t give you instructions.” Elder Lady Cao was clear about Song Yixiao’s intention and sighed with emotion secretly as her granddaughter wasn’t always raised in the Wei Family, yet she cared about her family more than the girl who had been cultivated carefully in the family, Wei Mengying. Then she restrained her emotions and calmed down. In the end, she told Song Yixiao her experience. Song Yixiao kept it in mind and then expressed thanks to her, inviting them to have lunch. Later, they talked a lot, and when Jian Xubai almost came back from work, Elder Lady Cao said goodbye.

Song Yixiao asked them to stay, while they refused politely, so she had to walk out with them and see them off at the gate.

Before Elder Lady Cao left, she pretended to talk casually and said that two grandsons of hers were in their twenties yet stayed at home idly all day long, and it was not a good thing, but the Wei Family couldn’t find them suitable jobs. Song Yixiao promised knowingly that after her husband returned home, she would ask him if he had job offers. Hearing that, Elder Lady Cao went away with satisfaction.

After talking with them randomly for more than half a day, Song Yixiao felt tired. She went back to the bedroom and ordered somebody to prepare hot water in the bathroom. After she stayed in the tub for quite a while, she told Jinxun to massage her shoulders. Then she felt refreshed and took a deep breath before getting up to change clothes.

When she came out and returned to the bedroom, Jian Xubai had come back a moment ago. He changed into a cyan housecoat and took off the jade crown, with no accessory except a bamboo hairpin on his black hair. He sat by the window with a book in hands and didn’t look like a nobleman as usual but was like a gentle scholar.

Seeing his wife come in, he conveniently closed the book and put it aside, saying, “Please go to see Mother tomorrow.”

Song Yixiao asked curiously, “Is there anything wrong?”