Both Jian Xubai and Song Yixiao knew the aunt sent by Empress Dowager, who turned out to be Yuguo, who had accompanied Song Yixiao to the Eastern Palace previously.
“Your Highness, Her Majesty was told that something had happened in your mansion last night and Your Highness had been injured. Feeling concerned, Her Majesty sent me here to inquire about the details.” After Yuguo paid her respects, the Jian couple invited her to sit down. Taking a cup of tea served by Jinxun over at her hands, instead of directly taking a sip, Yuguo added with concern, “Your Highness, I wonder how you were injured? Was the injury a serious one?”
Song Yixiao pointed at her neck and replied with a smile, “Thanks for Her Majesty’s kindness. I was just somewhat physically injured. It was of no consequence.”
She added, “It was because of my carelessness that I was trapped. I feel ashamed about making Empress Dowager worry about me!”
Yuguo replied, “Your Hi
Xie Yiren chuckled and said, “If she had targeted me, at worst, I would have apologized to others in the Sikong Family and stayed somewhere else where she couldn’t see me, which would have solved the issue! After all, I went there to offer my congratulations because of my friendship with Yiluo rather than for her sake. Did you know who she had targeted after she had been done with her makeup that day?”Song Yixiao asked, “Who?”“Her legitimate grandmother, Her Highness Great Grand Princess Zhenyang!” Xie Yiren sighed and continued, “Never have I ever seen such a disobedient and unfilial girl in my life!”Song Yixiao was astounded, “How come?”No wonder that Xie Yiren, a legitimate lady brought up obediently according to the rules in Duke of Lai’s mansion, would be driven crazy. In her opinion, Sikong Yihan, who had accused her legitimate grandmother, Great Grand Princess, in public, was overwhelmingly rebellious and cruel!
The weather on the fifth day in November was cloudless and sunny, making everybody assume that the weather the next day surely would be quite good too.However, nobody expected that it would snow that night.In the morning on the sixth day, by the time Empress Su got up, the window in the hall had opened a fraction. The chilly wind coming directly at them was mixed with the snowflakes and icicles surprisingly. As the wind blew past the face, people felt it painful as if their faces had been pierced by a knife.“As the saying goes, a fall of seasonable snow gives the promise of a fruitful year. Rarely has it snowed since the beginning of the winter this year. I hear that all the officials in the court are concerned that the spring plowing will be affected!” As the eldest palace maid, Fangyu, saw the look on Empress Su’s face became dull, she added in a hurry, “However, when the happy day comes when Her Highness Princess Changxing gets married, i
The pavilion was not as good as a real house. After the thick snow and the straw on the top were taken away, the cloth beneath the ragged reed mat was shown.“Hurry!” Pei Yourui’s hair was disheveled and scattered. Her Ruyi hairpins on the bun were gone, her fur was thrown away on the ground nearby, her wrist became purple in the air due to the cold winter wind and her slim and tender fingers were stained with blood for digging the frozen snow packs.However, she had no time to care about that. At the moment, she was only staring at the familiar cloth and urged loudly, “Hurry! Dig faster!”Looking at their young lady pull off a bundle of straw, the servants hastily moved faster.After a while, the rafter and eave purlins of the pavilion top were tied with the spare ropes to several horses. As the leading guard commanded, the horses were whipped and thus ran forward, dragging the pavilion top up. The left straws, reed mat and snow m
The wedding feast in Princess Changxing’s mansion didn’t end until the midnight. On the way back to Duke of Yan’s mansion, Song Yixiao lifted a bit of the curtain and saw the falling snow. She recalled that the compliment about “perfect couple and living together till old age” and couldn’t help sneering. Suddenly, she just threw down the curtain.Having drunk some wine at the feast, Jian Xubai was resting with his head leaning against the carriage. When he heard the noise, he opened his eyes and asked, “What’s wrong?”“It’s too windy.” Song Yixiao raised her arm without looking at him, saying indifferently, “The wind blew across the curtain.”Hearing that, Jian Xubai instantly fetched the cloak and put it on her, saying in a soft voice, “Do you feel cold?”Song Yixiao nodded her head aloofly, “I’m okay.”Jian Xubai stared at her for a while and heaved a sigh. Then he closed his eyes and leaned back.A grud
The next morning, Jian Xubai and Song Yixiao restored to the previous intimacy after getting up. Jinxun and other servants who came in the room for service saw their interaction and all felt happy to realize that they had made peace.They cleaned up through talking and laughing. After breakfast, they arrived at Jinguo Grand Princess’s mansion by carriage together.“Yixiao’s eyebrows are nicely penciled today!” When they arrived at the back hall, Jinguo Grand Princess and her husband were not there yet. Neither were Earl Shouchun and his wife. Only Commandery Princess Qingjiang and Nie Wuying were chatting at the back hall.Seeing that Jian Xubai and Song Yixiao walked into the hall with their hands held together, Commandery Princess Qingjiang stopped chatting with Nie Wuying and teased them instead, “Yet, somehow I find the way of penciling very familiar.”“I penciled the eyebrows for her.” Jian Xubai acknowledged, “Actually, I use
Linghu Deyin was under Duke of Ji, but he was the highest-rank official of the Ministry of War. As he lost his mother, Jian Xubai, Director of the Bureau of Military Appointments, should go for condolence anyway.At the moment, they couldn’t go to visit the Yuan Family anymore. Jian Xubai said goodbye to Song Yixiao and got off the carriage first. He took the horse of one of the guards and rode back home to get changed. Today was the tea ceremony of Jian Yiyou and Princess Changxing, so his clothes were not simple and unadorned, which were not suitable for him to go to the Linghu Family’s mansion now.He left in a hurry while Song Yixiao had no time to delay and directly ordered the carter to rush back home.As a saying went, husband and wife should be in rapport with each other. Since Jian Xubai’s supervisor lost his mother, she had to condole with the womenfolk of the Linghu Family.After a while, Song Yixiao finally arrived at D
Jiang Muting had stayed at home for claiming to be sick since the Empress Dowager granted the marital arrangement for Prince of Wei and Commandery Princess Nanzhang.In order to clear up the misunderstanding between her and Jiang Muting, Song Yixiao tried a lot of ways hoping to have a face-to-face talk with her but she failed in the end. She didn’t give up until she heard Jian Xubai talk about different political views after they got married.Today she was here only to walk through the formalities. However, to her surprise, before she even went to the mourning hall, she bumped into Jiang Muting first.In a hurry she advanced and said with delight, “Muting? Long time no see!”“Yeah, long time no see.” Jiang Muting looked thinner than she was at the feast of the Shangsi Festival, but maybe as the incidence happened half a year ago, she looked fine. She took a few glances at Song Yixiao and then went across the threshold, saying casu
Wei Chan wiped away her tears immediately and said expectantly, “What can I do?”“Isn’t there a public notice of successful candidates at the beginning of next spring?” Madam Mu said, “At present, seventy to eighty percent of the candidates for the examination have arrived. Our family is not that noble, but at least has three generations of officials. It’s no problem to find you a successful candidate-to-be!”Wei Chan heard Madam Mu say that her aunt and uncle didn’t want her to stay in the imperial capital at the very beginning, but she said later that there was a method, so Wei Chan thought that she could stay in the imperial capital. She didn’t expect that she was wanted to be married to a successful candidate-to-be from other places, which made her quite disappointed, and she said, “I’m sure the best ones will be able to pass the exam. But if they’re young and handsome, they will be taken a fancy by girls from noble families. How can I have the chance?