Jian Xubai remained silent for a while about his wife's question and then replied, “I told you before that Aunt Daiguo held grudge against n.o.ble Consort Cui. Do you know how the grudge was harbored?”

Song Yixiao puckered her lips, “Don't you know about my family background? I can never hear of such anecdote unless it is spread all over the city.”

“It happened many years ago. I didn't hear of it until I grew up.” Jian Xubai said. “One spring, n.o.ble Consort Cui went to appreciate flowers in the imperial garden. When she arrived there, she saw that her favorite flowers were all broken and ruined. Of course she felt so furious that she spoke a few angry words. However, the flowers happened to be ruined by the lynx raised by Aunt Daiguo, who left temporarily to chase the lynx and then heard her when coming back. At the moment, she flew into a rage!”

Daiguo Grand Princess, as the young legitimate daughter of late emperor, she was less free in the previous dynasty than the current dynasty. However, due to her brothers and sisters, she was not too much stressed out. By the time when she should get married, she couldn't avoid getting into a political marriage like her sisters. Luckily, she was married to a loyal man endowed with both beauty and talent.

Before she got married, she was a daughter of a royal family, dearly cared and cosseted by her mother, brothers and sisters.

After she got married, Ji Weiguan loved her so much.

How could such an imperial daughter of this background suffer any wrong?

Therefore, she rushed forward, grabbed n.o.ble Consort Cui by her collar and gave her a slap!

However, it was not over! After Daiguo Grand Princess did the beating, regardless of n.o.ble Consort Cui's anger or the explanation of the maids of the Palace of Xifu, she left and complained to Emperor Xianjia.

Emperor Xianjia was known for pampering his sisters born by the same mother. Without any investigation, he asked the empress to keep n.o.ble Consort Cui grounded for half a year and to deduct a year of her allowance. In the end, thanks to the empress dowager's mediation, n.o.ble Consort Cui was only grounded for three months with a deduction of half a year's allowance.

Song Yixiao didn't know how to react, “Given such a grudge, no wonder Aunt Daiguo wants to change the crown prince.”

Even n.o.ble Consort Cui couldn't resolve the grudge with kindness!

Now that Emperor Xianjia was still in power, even as the birth mother of the crown prince, the n.o.ble Consort couldn't do anything to Daiguo Grand Princess.

However, when n.o.ble Consort Cui became Empress Dowager Cui in the future, could Daiguo Grand Princess still remain safe?

“However, Aunt Daiguo dislikes Prince of Zhao for his excessive unswerving determination. Besides, Empress Su and the Su Family are not easy to mess with. Once Prince of Zhao ascended the throne, Aunt Daiguo can never take the upper hand for sure!” Jian Xubai narrowed his eyes and said casually, “Hence, she chooses Prince of Wei, whose birth mother was born of humble origins and foster mother's family background is much inferior to Marquis Fuyang's.”

Then he suddenly changed the topic, “Duke of Ji's conspiring to make us captured by the people of Wuhuan was secret though. After five years, Uncle is still in power and our family background cannot be underestimated. Therefore, some clues were gradually acquired. The Su Family realized that they couldn't seize power so they had no other choice but to give up the thought. Instead, they worked with others and saved us.”

In this case, “With no hindrance for the war of Wuhuan, our army achieved victory easily. What worried Duke of Ji would be how to reply to Uncle who was suspicious about him after he came back!”

Song Yixiao pondered, “For example, to save you from Uncle Qiu?”

Yet, the problem went back to the first one, “Why did Uncle Qiu set against you?”

“Because he is in favor of establis.h.i.+ng the legitimate prince as the heir!” Jian Xubai gave a scornful smile and said, “And Prince of Zhao's biggest advantages are not only his ident.i.ty as the legitimate son but also Duke of Ji, his uncle, the senior official working for two dynasties! Therefore, Qiu Shuxia must keep Duke of Ji safe. As to himself, he is the only son of the Qiu Family. Given the respect for Grandmother, even if he plots treason, Uncle will not kill them. What can he fear?”

Therefore, Qiu Shuxia communicated with Duke of Ji in secret and decided to send desperadoes to kill Jian Xubai on the ground of punis.h.i.+ng his relatives in the cause of justice before Jian Xubai and other n.o.ble descendants were rescued from Wuhuan. At that crucial moment, Duke of Ji appeared unexpectedly to eradicate all the desperadoes and save them. By doing so, he earned the grat.i.tude of Jinguo Grand Princess and the families of all the other victims. With the mediation of these people, it was easier for Duke of Ji to be forgiven by Emperor Xianjia after returning home.

“I must say they plotted a good scheme!” Jian Xubai sneered slightly, “However, the prime minister of Wuhuan didn't coordinate well. He was bribed by my mother's subordinate into releasing us without letting the king of Wuhuan know! In this case, we were released earlier than their estimated time. As a result, the people sent by Qiu Shuxia, out of quick wit, stopped us on the way back to Great Rui and tried to catch us in the guise of the pursuing forces of Wuhuan!”

However, those who came to Jian Xubai's aid were not weak. As they found something wrong, they broke into the prime minister's mansion of Wuhuan with Jian Xubai and other victims. With great effort, they persuaded the prime minister of Wuhuan into siding with them determinedly. In the end, the prime minister not only killed most of Qiu Shuxia's subordinates but also convinced the other officials to betray the king of Wuhuan!

“The reason why I was appointed as Director of the Bureau of Military Appointments, Ministry of War was not only that the Su Family wants to make compensation but also that my mother's subordinates incited the prime minister of Wuhuan to betray the king and I took the credit then.” Jian Xubai remained silent for a while afterwards and then said with a gloomy face, “Apart from me, Zifu and other captured peers were also compensated. The one who suffered the most is Xuepei. His injury cannot be recovered forever and he cannot work as an official in his life! As to the t.i.tle of marquis or money, he doesn't need it.”

Song Yixiao thought that Yuan Xuepei was really unlucky. If others were captured by Qiu Shuxia, they wouldn't get into that trouble. Unfortunately, hereditary marquis as Yuan Xuepei was, he had no seniors to speak for Duke of Ji because his parents had pa.s.sed away. In the eyes of Qiu Shuxia's subordinates, Yuan Xuepei's only value was to help them find Jian Xubai, for which he had to suffer for sure.

“In this case, Qiu Shuxia should be sorry for you. How can he be shameless to make trouble for you?” Song Yixiao was respectful to Qiu Shuxia before but now that she figured out the ins and outs of the matter, she couldn't be as respectful as before.

“Actually, when Duke of Ji returned to court and applied for retirement, he was going to retire too.” Jian Xubai answered with a casual air, “But despite Duke of Ji, can I just allow Qiu Shuxia to retire and leave so easily?”

He sneered, “Once an official is retired, all the previous resentments must be cleared off! Qiu Shuxia is my uncle too. If he really retires, how can I and Xuepei seek revenge on him?”

Although they could do it in sneakingly, how could it be relieving than working off their anger in a decent way.

Therefore, when Qiu Shuxia just submitted the application for retirement, Jian Xubai snorted in a somewhat public way, “He is retiring? That's nice! By then, when His Highness the Crown Prince ascends the throne and holds him accountable for supporting Prince of Zhao's conspiracy of seizing the throne, given that he is only an ordinary person, what can he use to atone for his fault other than his families' lives?

“When Qiu Shuxia heard this, of course he had no guts to retire then!” Song Yixiao thought Qiu Shuxia was too stupid. A lot of people dreaded to be dragged into the trouble of seizing the throne. However, even though he was protected by the Empress Dowager and no one dared to plot against him, he should step into the trouble himself!

Jian Xubai looked at her with a faint smile, “I didn't say that specially for him!”

Upon seeing Song Yixiao's confused countenance, he said with a playful tone, “It was for the Su Family.”

“Oh I see!” Song Yixiao was suddenly enlightened, “Oh yeah, the Su Family and Prince of Zhao are closely related. If even Qiu Shuxia cannot avoid being punished, neither can the Su Family!”

Therefore, if the Su Family didn't want to die miserably, they must carry on their plan of seizing the throne! Only when Prince of Zhao ascended the throne can the whole family be relieved from danger!

Now Duke of Ji couldn't stay in office, those in favor of Prince of Zhao could never let go of Qiu Shuxia, the Director in the Ministry of Rituals, who played a significant role in court!

Jian Xubai's words just provided them with a fabulous reason to ask Qiu Shuxia to stay in office.

Having figured out how Qiu Shuxia harbored grudge against Jian Xubai, Song Yixiao still felt puzzled, “Only Fu Junchang may not be able to create difficulties for me. Besides, back then I was not married to you yet. Even if he ruined my reputation, could he blame you for failing to teaching your wife well? And now as long as you divorce me, you can stay out of trouble then! Does Qiu Shuxia make such effort and send Liu Zhenxi to Jingzhao Munic.i.p.ality to plead for mercy only for the purpose of forcing you to divorce me?”

If she didn't ascertain that she had never met Qiu Shuxia before, Song Yixiao would start to doubt that it had nothing to do with Jian Xubai and that she was the target!

Did the one who plotted this want to set against Jian Xubai?

“To divorce you?” Jian Xubai glanced at her with a cold look and then sneered, “The game is not officially started and you are sure that I will lose?”

It was then that Song Yixiao realized that she had talked improperly. She hurriedly apologized, “I have a feeling that Qiu Shuxia's move is suspicious. How can he be able to compete with you? But for Her Majesty the Empress Dowager, how could he live so decently until now? He would be beaten by you seriously!”

Jian Xubai smiled and suddenly threw the tea table between them on the ground!

Even with the 1-inch-thick carpet as a buffer, the dropped heavy padauk table and the tea set still caused some noises.

Song Yixiao was startled and the servants outside were also in a flurry, “Your Highness, Madam?”

“I broke something by accident.” Jian Xubai shouted outwards in a calm voice, “Come to clear it later. Now don't come in!”

The servants obviously misunderstood and then answered with “Yes, Your Highness.” before they walked away lest that they would disturb His Highness and Madam from having a frolic moment.

Having driven away the servants, Jian Xubai turned around to look at his wife. With faint fierceness reflected in his eyebrows, he appeared aloof, saying to Song Yixiao with a wave, “Come here!”

Song Yixiao hedged and felt frightened by his fierce look. In a hurry she softened her countenance and approached him obediently.

Jian Xubai put his arms around her waist, held her on his knees and then placed his chins against her shoulders. They looked very intimate now but his eyes were emotionless.

He fondled Song Yixiao's back with his thin and white palm. After a while, he started to talk with a faint smile, “You had better think in this way. You must be aware of one thing. Since you are married to me now, you are mine forever! In this case, regardless of any mistake or sin you make, I am the only one to judge you! I don't care about any national law or family regulation!”

He whispered that in Song Yixiao's ear, leaving his breath lingering around her cheeks. It gave Song Yixiao a surprise and fright. She became still at the moment, just like a bow that was about to leave the string.

Muddle-headed, she nodded her head and failed to guess what he was going to do next.

Yet, Jian Xubai only raised his head and pinched Song Yixiao's chin to force her to look at his eyes. His face was full of coldness, “Therefore, don't ever think about divorcing me. Very few men can do the same thing like your father. At least, you are not as lucky as your mother. Let me tell you. For this lifetime, either you share weal and woe with me or I announce your sudden death!”

Song Yixiao was speechless now.

How naive she was!

She just felt guilty to always scheming to kill her husband. Unexpectedly, her husband actually had determined her outcome?

They were indeed destined to be together!