C79

The next day, the two most respected masters of the palace once again made two orders for the sake of the same person. In an instant, this woman, who had been low-key for five years, once again entered the eyes of the people of the capital.

"Your subject's wife, Lady Yu Song, greets the empress dowager. May the emperor have blessings on his fortune, and the empress dowager have a thousand years of good fortune."

Song Xinyao wasn't the most beautiful girl in the world. She was weak and delicate, and such a woman could easily arouse the desire of men. If she were to say something coquettish again, most men would be touched.

The empress dowager gave Song Yao a faint glance, but didn't speak up. After a long time, Duanmu Yu Ling's eyes filled with pain. He wanted to speak, but the empress dowager shot him a look to stop him.

"Madame Song, since you're This Dowager's adopted daughter now, call for the empress dowager's imperial brother and sister-in-law from now on. As for This Dowager, call for the empress dowager instead."

"Yes, Majesty." Song Yingyao's eyes were filled with tears as she looked at Duanmu Yuling. The empress dowager's words clearly showed that she didn't like her. In this deep palace, only the emperor could rely on her.

"Get up." The empress dowager was extremely disgusted by Song Yingyao's actions. If it wasn't for her son, she wouldn't have spoken up so easily. She didn't know what kind of bewitching soup she had given him.

"Empress, I'll leave the Song Family to you."

"Yes, Imperial Mother."

Qing Qing didn't want to get involved in this mess, but since the empress dowager had called her name, she couldn't just ignore it.

He stepped forward and held Song Yingyao's hand. With a smile on his face, he said, "Xinyao, you've already chosen your residence. We'll temporarily set it up in the Yi Lan Palace. If you don't like it, I'll order someone else to change it."

There were tears in Song Yingyao's eyes as she spoke gratefully to Qing Qing, "Thank you, sister-in-law. The preparations you've made will definitely be the best."

Qing Qing smiled and let go of Song Yao's hand. She took off the golden hairpin from her head and placed it on Song Yao's head. "This looks much better, just a little too clean. Now that you're the adopted sister of the Great Zhou Empire's Son of Heaven, you should look more respectable."

Song Caiyao felt slightly uncomfortable. She dressed up like this just to gain sympathy, but the empress's words seemed to be saying that she lost face for the imperial family. She wondered if she was overthinking things.

"Xin Yao came in a hurry, I'm sorry for making a fool of myself."

"Alright, Xinyao just entered the palace. If the empress has anything to say, we can talk about it in the future." He was quite satisfied with the empress's performance, but his heart ached when he saw the fatigue on her face.

"Yes, chenqie will bring Yao Yao down now."

"..."

These days, due to the arrival of Song Yao, the concubines of the harem, whether new or rich, had all united together. They all knew about the matters between Duanmu Yu Ling and Song Jin, and they all knew that Song Ying was the one Duanmu Yu Ling truly wanted to pamper. Now, they all agreed that Song Yingyao was their main enemy. If Song Caiyao got her favor, then they, who adored Duanmu Yuling, would not have a chance to rise.

Thus, whenever Duanmu Yu Ling wanted to be alone with Song Yuyao or speak a few words with her, there would always be people disturbing her. Many times, Duanmu Yu Ling wanted to throw a tantrum, but he couldn't find fault with them, so he could only bear with it.

Qing Qing was also very happy to see such a scene. The only bad thing was that Song Yingyao seemed to be using her as a protective umbrella, running towards the Phoenix Perch Hall every day.

"Imperial Sister-in-Law, Imperial Brother said that he will bring my lil sis in this year's Autumn Hunt. However, even she doesn't know what to prepare, so she has specifically come to ask you for guidance."

Qing Qing took a sip of her tea and laughed. Song Yao's excuse was really awkward. Why would a palace maid need to prepare something for her own consideration?

"Don't worry, all the head stewards and aunts will be working hard."

"Yes." Twisting the handkerchief in her hand, she said, "I've heard from Big Sister Consort De that Imperial Aunt's zither skills are incomparable to mine in the State of Zhou. Coincidentally, this Subordinate Sister's zither skills are also superior.

Qing Qing's smile deepened, and said how this Song Huiyao spoke today in a rambling manner, she actually had a purpose.

In the past, Duanmu Yu Ling hadn't ascended to the throne of the emperor, but was merely an unfavoured prince that was bullied by others. Meanwhile, Song Ying Yao was only the daughter of a fifth-grade official, so she was able to recognize Duanmu Yu Ling thanks to Song Yao's sister, Song Hui Yao.

At that time, Hui Wei was still a very favoured concubine. She forced her sister to stay in the palace for a few days. At that time, when Song Yingyao saw Duanmu Yu Ling being bullied yet stubbornly unwilling to cry out in pain, she didn't know if she felt pity or if she had some other motive. Every time after Duanmu Yu Ling had been beaten up by someone, she would appear before him with a zither and play for him, saying that she hoped that his worries would dissipate with the sound of her zither.

Having no warmth all year round could only be accompanied by his mother's concubine, the Prince of Bitterness. This was undoubtedly providing coal in the midst of a snowstorm. From then on, he hid Song Caiyao in his heart.

However, their feelings were opposed by the emperor. He felt that although he could not like his son, he could not marry a fifth-rank official's daughter as his first wife, and this woman was his sister-in-law. This was even more impossible.

Now that Song Yingyao was acting like this, it was simply because she was worried. She wanted to use this to bring up the memories between her and Duanmu Huanghun, and it just so happened that Duanmu Huanghun was coming to the Phoenix Perching Palace for lunch today.