This marriage was totally out of Song Yixiao's expectation. She repeated subconsciously as she asked, “What did you just say?”

“Miss Wei Chan will marry Third Young Master Lu.” Liyu reminded her as she continued, “Did you forget what had happened when we had been living in Hanxia Villa? Her Ladys.h.i.+p had been there for a short period.”

It was not until Song Yixiao heard Liyu's words that she made sure she had not misheard anything. However, she was not happy at all. Instead, feeling dubious, she contemplated for a while as she said, “Call Qiaoqin over here. I have some questions for her!”

Qiaoqin was sent by her to help Ms. Zhao some days ago. After the case of Youhong was closed, she helped Ms. Zhao for two days. Only yesterday afternoon did she return to the mansion, so Song Yixiao gave her a two-day break.

Qiaoqin was taking a nap in her room at that moment. After she was informed about Song Yixiao's order, she got changed in a hurry and presented herself in front of Song Yixiao as she said, “Madam, what can I do for you?”

“Take a seat!” Song Yixiao waved her hands and ordered the servants not concerned to retreat. After that, she got down to the point and asked, “Back when Mother arranged Sister Chan to stay in Prince of Hengshan's mansion for a while, did she intend to set her up with Lu Guanlun?”

As Qiaoqin heard her words, she was at a loss. It was not after she had been hesitant for a while that she replied, “Madam, Her Highness did tell the Wei Family so.”

Sensing Qiaoqin's words had some hidden meanings, Song Yixiao frowned slightly and asked, “Even though Mother told the Wei Family so… Then what was her real intention?”

“Her Highness…” After all, Wei Mengying, who was quite calculative, was Qiaoqin's previous master. Fearing that Song Yixiao would doubt her, Qiaoqin revealed Wei Mengying's scheme in a somewhat nervous manner as she continued, “Her Highness the Princess Consort intended to take advantage of Miss Wei to make Third Young Master Lu confront a distinguished guest showing up there to offer his congratulation at Her Highness Dowager Consort's birthday party, cutting off his path to the heir of Prince of Hengshan!”

It was not after Song Yixiao had been silent for a long time that she asked, “Then why did nothing happen that day?”

“That was because the distinguished guest disliked Miss Wei, whom he thought was less good-looking. After Miss Wei b.u.mped into him, he left directly without bothering with her.” Qiaoqin added cautiously, “Although Third Young Master Lu was attracted to the scene that day, he found out the distinguished guest neither teased nor bullied Miss Wei. Of course, no conflict happened between them in the end.”

“It turned out Lu Guanlun's charity was rewarded.” It was not until Song Yixiao heard Qiaoqin's explanation that she understood why Wei Chan had avoided talking about what had happened to her after the birthday party of her grandmother came to an end. Even Ms. Zhao had thought she had been bullied at the party. Whoever it was that had been disgraced to such an extent, she certainly would be unwilling to mention anything about it.

She pondered for a while and asked, “Then who was the distinguished guest, whom Mother planned to play against?”

“It was the heir of Marquis Fuyang.” Qiaoqin forced a smile and explained, “The heir of Marquis Fuyang had been well-known for his frivolousness and arrogance since his childhood. According to Her Highness's original plan, Miss Wei would have b.u.mped into him carelessly. In that case, whether it was because either the heir of Marquis Fuyang had l.u.s.ted for her beauty at the first sight or he had been dissatisfied with her behavior, he should have made a great scene. However, it occurred to n.o.body that he would only push Miss Wei away and swagger off directly, saying that the kind of beauty like Miss Wei shouldn't go after him. After that, even Her Highness felt annoyed, saying that if she had known the situation would end up this way, she should have trained a good-looking maid instead.”

Song Yixiao sneered and replied, “In my opinion, as usual, the Prince of Hengshan's family prefers to sit on the fence, which Daiguo Grand Princess knows quite well. How come did she ever think of drawing the Dowager Consort to her side? It turned out that she knew what the weak point of the Prince of Hengshan's family laid due to this accident.”

A step daughter-in-law had dared to play against the legitimate son of the first wife at her mother-in-law's birthday party, indicating how ferocious the internal conflict of the Prince of Hengshan's family was!

In that case, of course, Daiguo Grand Princess, who was occupied with drawing alliance to Prince of Wei's side, would work out some plots.

“In this case, the reason why Mother was distant from me probably was that Daiguo Grand Princess had threatened her with what she had done to Lu Guanlun, forcing her to do so!” Song Yixiao pinched between her eyebrows and thought in secret, “If so, since the Dowager Consort had something on mother as well as got the support from the Empress Dowager, why did she ask Lu Guanlun to marry Sister Chan?”

After all, the Prince of Hengshan's family was subst.i.tuted by generations. As its legitimate master, Lu Guanlun was most likely to be the heir of the prince of Hengshan, who could choose any distinguished lady from outstanding families at will. When it came to Wei Chan's situation, regardless of her family background, she was not outstanding in both her appearance and talent. Although the Dowager Consort might not necessarily loathe her because of Wei Mengying, ordinarily she should look down upon her.

If Song Yixiao was told that Wei Mengying had helped Wei Chan with that, she would feel somewhat dubious. She thought, “The reason why Mother could be who she was today was that her appearance, talent, and sophistication were all the best. Even so, Grandmother Cao and the aunts had somewhat a.s.sisted and enlightened her along the way. The reason why they had taken great efforts to help Mother was no more than that although the Wei Family was not distinguished, fortunately, Wei Mengying had not failed them. Of course they should have her back! If Sister Chan also married someone from a distinguished family, she certainly would be a distraction, making the Wei Family focus less on helping Mother.”

Most importantly, there was a huge difference between Lu Guanlun's and Wei Mengying's interests. Based on Wei Mengying's character, she was more unlikely to allow her niece to marry Lu Guanlun. Otherwise, she would make the Eldest Young Master Wei's family her enemy. If Wei Mengying's birth mother, Elder Lady Cao, were asked to make a choice between making her granddaughter the heir of Prince of Hengshan's wife and supporting her grandson to be the heir of Prince of Hengshan, she probably would choose the former one!

After all, Lu Guanyun was only 4 years old. Even though he looked vigorous and cute now, the situation when little children died young or pa.s.sed away happened frequently. n.o.body could guarantee that Lu Guanyun could grow up safe and sound. Even if he grew up, based on the current situation when the Empress Dowager had said no to make him the heir of Prince of Hengshan explicitly, the hope for him to take the hotly-sought-after position was surely slim!

However, her granddaughter's situation was different. Wei Chan could get married. If she was lucky after getting married, she could give birth to children to consolidate her position within a few years, which would be an advantage within easy reach!

As Song Yixiao thought of this point, she couldn't help feeling chilly in secret as she thought, “Could it be that Sister Chan and the Dowager Consort… ?”

Since Wei Mengying would not pave the way for her niece, normally, neither would Dowager Consort of Hengshan accept her step daughter-in-law's biological niece to be her granddaughter-in-law… In that case, the biggest probability would be that Wei Chan had united with the Dowager Consort to play against her biological aunt, bartering for her future!

“If it turned out what I guessed was true, from now on, the situation of Prince of Hengshan's mansion would be quite noisy!” Song Yixiao let out a long sigh and said to Qiaoqin, “The Wei Family will hold a party within a few days. Let's go there together and have a look!”

It was true that the Wei Family didn't get a glorious name. Although it had been connected to the royal families consecutively, speaking of the guests showing up at the party that day, they all held mediocre social status.

Although Song Yixiao had not been officially conferred with an imperial t.i.tle yet, the social status of her husband was still there. As a result, hardly had she arrived there when she was escorted to the internal hall, where Elder Lady Cao would entertain her in person.

“Good kid, you are finally here!” Elder Lady Cao held her granddaughter's hands and inquired about her situation with interest as she said, “Originally, I thought it was just a short period since you got married, fearing that you would not make it here due to the large amount of house ch.o.r.es! I feel relieved finally after meeting you in person!”

After that, she went on asking how she was doing after getting married, how she got along with her seniors, husband, and servants, and so on.

Song Yixiao answered Elder Lady Cao's questions one by one, saying that she was absolutely doing well and everything had gone according to her will. After that, she apologized on behalf of Jian Xubai as she said, “Xubai works in the Ministry of War. The Minister's mother was seriously ill. So he had been quite anxious in the last a few days. Consequently, Xubai could not make it here and offer his congratulations in person, hoping Grandmother, aunts, and uncles won't take it to your heart!”

Although the Wei Family members, including Elder Lady Cao, were disappointed about Jian Xubai's absence, it was not a secret at all that Linghu Deyin had encountered his mother's death. They could relate to Jian Xubai's situation.

“Mother, as I said before, you don't need to worry about anything at all.” Madam Mu, the Eldest Young Mistress of the Wei Family, sat on the right-hand seat and added, “It is well known across the whole capital city that Yixiao is greatly blessed, whom Duke Jian treats as his treasure. He surely won't make her suffer any wrongdoings.”

Song Yixiao's other aunts and the guests on the scene all echoed one after another, agreeing with what Madam Mu had said.

As Song Yixiao handled the teasing with ease in a perfunctory manner, she looked around and found out Wei Chan was absent. She asked smilingly, “Where is Sister Chan? I am here to offer my congratulations. Why did she hide herself?”

“There is no way that I will avoid you, Yixiao!” As Song Yixiao just finished her words, Wei Chan walked from outside and added smilingly, “I was standing in front of Grandmother a moment ago. However, the little nephew, who had just enjoyed the maltose, clenched at my hemline. Unfortunately, I was dressed in a pleated skirt embroidered with mandala, whose bottom was of pale white color. As a result, the skirt was instantly smeared with two handprints, forcing me to go back to my room and get changed. It didn't occur to me that you would happen to be here. Sorry for my negligence!”

“Chan, as the saying goes, joy puts heart into a man. Your dressing like this today makes me hesitant to recognize you!” Song Yixiao smiled and continued, “You look so beautiful and gorgeous. If I were a young master running into you on the way, I certainly would stop you from leaving me!”

What Song Yixiao had said was not totally true. After all, Wei Chan's appearance was there. It was impossible for her to transform herself into a G.o.ddess with a few simple make-ups. However, compared with her situation when she had been living in Prince of Hengshan's mansion for a short period, she did seem to look radiant, holding her head high.

Wei Chan teased her and replied, “Yixiao, never did I expect that you would act frivolously if you were a man.” After that, she conversed with the guests at the hall for a while. Sensing that there were no distinguished guests, she said to Elder Lady Cao, “Grandmother, there is some more time to go before the party begins. How about I take Yixiao to my room and sit there for a while?”

Elder Lady Cao, who was anxious to see her two granddaughters getting closer to each other, of course she consented to Wei Chan's request and said, “I know you are on good terms with each other. Feel free to leave here!”

The cousins went together to Wei Chan's room, which was located at an embroidery compound in the south-eastern corner of the Eldest Young Master Wei's house. All the girls among the current generation of the Wei Family lived here. However, as the youngest girl of the family, Wei Chan lived here alone since her senior sisters had all got married.

“There aren't many good things here. Yixiao, kindly put up with it!” After they entered the compound, Wei Chan asked the servants to pour tea and said smilingly, “Even Auntie spoke highly of these mince pies. Yixiao, please have a try!”

Song Yixiao took in her advice, had a piece of mince pie, and said, “It tastes agreeably sweet. It's true that it is delicately baked!”

Based on her guessing, the reason why Wei Chan had pulled her over here would be probably that she had something to confide to her in person. As a result, although the mince pie did taste good, she didn't take more after finis.h.i.+ng one.

As expected, Wei Chan, who saw Song Yixiao's behavior, winked at her maids and asked them to retreat. So did Song Yixiao, who asked her maids, including Qiaoqin, to go out. After all the maids went out one after another, Wei Chan moved to Song Yixiao's side, held her hands, and said with tears in her eyes, “Yixiao, you must help me out!”

“What's wrong with you?” Song Yixiao, who had guessed roughly in secret what had happened to Wei Chan exactly, said surprisedly instead, “Why did you cry out of the blue? If you encounter any difficulties, feel free to tell me. We are close cousins. I certainly will try my best to help you.”

Wei Chan drew a handkerchief out of her sleeve and applied it on the corner of her eyes. It was not until she calmed herself down that she said, “Originally, I was ashamed to make such a request to you, Yixiao. Neither do I dare to commit suicide. So I have no choice but to ask for your help in person!”

Song Yixiao reproached her as she said, “Why did you say so on such a great date? You are not alone. Whatever the difficulty is, you have the elders, brothers, sisters, nieces, and nephews by your side. As so many people work together, the difficulty will surely be solved in the end!”

Although what Song Yixiao had said sounded nice, she was implying that she was no more than one of Wei Chan's relatives. If Wei Chan did encounter some troublesome difficulties, she couldn't put her hope on her.

“However, you are the only one who can help me out this time, Yixiao!” Wei Chan had figured out the hidden meaning of Song Yixiao's words. She wept with tears instantly and said miserably, “Third Young Master Lu looked down upon me and insisted on breaking off the marital engagement between us! If the marriage was broken, I would certainly be ashamed. What do you think, Yixiao? How should I live on in the future? Can I have other ways out other than committing suicide?”

Song Yixiao was speechless.

Originally, she had thought that Wei Chan had trapped Wei Mengying previously, making her fear that she would be given a hard time by her biological aunt after getting married, who was also her future mother-in-law. That was the reason why Wei Chan had intended to ask Song Yixiao to mediate between her and Wei Mengying!

It turned out the problem lay in Lu Guanlun instead!

“Although I don't meet Third Young Master Lu often, I am told frequently that he is a decent man. Since the marital engagement between you was made public, how could he trick you like this?” Song Yixiao took a deep breath and asked calmly, “Don't blame me for my straightforwardness, Chan. Since you asked for my help, you have to tell me what on earth you did, making him disgrace you to such an extent!”