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 Highness, why did you say so? Her Majesty was so surprised about the audaciousness of these servants. In Her Majesty's opinion, if you didn't execute one as a warning to others, all the distinguished families and extraordinary clans certainly couldn't rest at ease from now on. After all, they reaped what they had sown. As the mistress of Duke of Yan's mansion, it was certainly justifiable of you to examine the accounting as the end of the year was drawing near. However, it occurred to n.o.body that these beasts would dare to a.s.sa.s.sinate you out of desperation! Fortunately, you were safe and sound. Otherwise, according to Her Majesty, these beasts couldn't atone for their crime even if they were all beheaded!”

“It seems that regarding what happened this time, Jian Xubai made up a story to the outsiders. According to Jian Xubai's story, as the end of the year was just around the corner, fearing that he would be caught when I examined the accounting, Chief House Steward, who had been engaged in many corrupt practices over the years, was in desperation and decided to a.s.sa.s.sinate me.” Song Yixiao figured the ins and outs in secret and thought, “Jian Xubai didn't mention about how I had been taken as a hostage and anything about Cousin Chan. He did so to avoid causing many groundless talks.”

As Jian Xubai saw Song Yixiao contemplating while lowering her head, he thought for a moment and spoke, “However, after all, these people were a.s.signed specifically to my mansion for guarding by Grandfather at that time. If Grandfather knows about the big scene they made this time, I am afraid that it won't do any good to his health!”

Yuguo replied with a smile, “Your Highness, no worries. According to Her Majesty, Prime Minister Jian is a veteran statesman serving two emperors in a row, who certainly is open-minded and generous. He surely won't be angry about how you dealt with these beasts. Moreover, both Her Highness and you are liberal. You certainly won't vent your anger on him because of what the servants did to you. The misunderstanding will be solved if you take advantage of the upcoming New Year Holiday and ask someone to send gifts to him and offer him an explanation. After all, you are a family!”

“Aunt Yuguo, what you said makes sense.” As Jian Xubai heard Yuguo out, he smiled gently. Whether his grandfather was open-minded or not, with his grandmother saying so, he had no alternative but to be considerate.

The same situation had happened when Jian Pingyu had been “stricken with illness” previously.

Instead of keeping talking about Jian Pingyu, Jian Xubai asked about how the people in Qingxi Hall were doing now.

Yuguo replied with a smile and took the initiative to disclose more details, “When the Empress and the concubines paid their respects to Her Majesty a few days ago, Her Highness Princess Changxing was also there, who also brought some cakes baked by herself. It happened that I was serving by their sides. Glimpsing at the cakes, I found out that they were quite delicate. It was said that Her Highness Princess Changxing had cooked the cakes based on the recipe, which was descended from the ancestors of Duke of Ji's family! Unfortunately, Her Majesty had a poor appet.i.te at that time. In the end, she gave out all the cakes to the maids, including me, as a reward!”

As Song Yixiao heard Yuguo's words, she bit her lips and thought in secret that Princess Changxing seemed to have been disfavored by the Empress Dowager, at least, temporarily.

Otherwise, since there were only two princesses in the palace, with Changxing being a legitimate one in the Intermediate Palace, however annoying the Empress Dowager found the cakes baked by Changxing, in no case would she give all the cakes to the palace maids as a reward without even taking a bite by herself.

Moreover, before Princess Changxing baked the cakes, she certainly had taken her grandmother's favorite and age into consideration.

“The reason why the Empress Dowager did so was more than she had been furious about how Changxing had seduced her future-to-be husband from another girl. The Empress Dowager was mainly concerned about the possibility that Changxing might win Jian Yiyou and his grandfather over and convince them to support and stand up for Prince of Zhao, her half-junior-brother, after she got married.” Song Yixiao vaguely figured out the Empress Dowager's intention as she thought, “The reason why Aunt Yuguo took the initiative to disclose this information to us today was probably more than getting close to Jian Xubai. The Empress Dowager might have told her to do so, which was to encourage us subtly to offend Changxing openly without taking her royal status to our hearts after she got married!”

It was clear that the Empress Dowager backed the Eastern Palace up. No wonder she would take a clear-cut stand and stand up for Jian Xubai. She even had promised him openly that she would help him deal with how Jian Pingyu might respond to his executions of the group of people, including Chief House Steward.

“Whatever the reason why the Empress Dowager did so is, after all, it is a good thing to me!” As Song Yixiao thought of this point, she was relieved. Although she was n.o.ble enough as a first-rank-t.i.tled-lady, it wouldn't be appropriate for her to be compared with Princess Changxing, who was born in the purple. After all, her parents by blood were the Emperor and the Empress!

However, after the Empress Dowager made her standing clear, the imperial power Princess Changxing stood for would be somewhat weakened!

To be honest, up till now, Song Yixiao still couldn't understand what the princess was thinking about. It was no secret at all as to how she had fallen in love with Jian Xubai. In the end, she had schemed to marry Jian Xubai's elder brother, who was even on bad terms with him!

Based on the relations.h.i.+p between Jian Xubai and his elder brother, setting aside how awkward Changxing would feel when she met Jian Xubai in the future, who would be her family member at that time, she might surely feel uncomfortable while spending time with Jian Yiyou alone.

“Did she probably do so for Prince of Zhao?” As Song Yixiao pondered on it, she thought she could only explain why Changxing had done so in this way. Otherwise, Changxing, who was a n.o.ble daughter of the Emperor, however self-willed she was, under the Empress's monitoring, she certainly wouldn't insist on doing something to humble herself.

As Song Yixiao pondered on Changxing's motive, Jian Xubai talked with Yuguo for a while. Glimpsing at the time, Yuguo planned to leave as she said, “Her Majesty is eager to know about your situation. I have to go back to the palace and report to her in a hurry in case she will be anxious!”

The Jian couple stood up at the same time. Jian Xubai said, “Aunt, I will walk you out. Shanyao, you're not fully recovered yet. So you'd better not go outside.”

Yuguo agreed with Jian Xubai. So Song Yixiao did as Jian Xubai had said and stopped as she followed them to the door.

She saw them walking out of the court and went back to the inner chamber.

A while later, Jian Xubai came back and spoke to her, “You don't need to enter the palace tomorrow. I finished writing a declaration letter expressing your grat.i.tude for the Emperor's honor on your behalf and submitted it already. These servants made a scene audaciously. You have to lie in the bed for a few days to make the situation look serious!”

Only by doing so could the outsiders think it was justifiable and reasonable of him to ask his underlings to cut hundreds of senior servants into pieces, who had been a.s.signed to him by his grandfather.

Song Yixiao had no problem with Jian Xubai's suggestion at all. Although she didn't trust him anymore, she did know she shared woe and wealth with him as always. If Jian Xubai was viewed as a merciless and unfilial person, it wouldn't do her any good at all.

However, she offered a suggestion as she said, “I wasn't seriously injured. Besides feeling bored while lying in the bed for the whole day, it would be difficult for me to pretend to be feeble when people came to visit me in batches. Moreover, neither would it be good to us if someone saw me through. How about I make an excuse saying I won't accept any visitors since I am confined in bed due to the injuries and n.o.body can manage the business in the back hall?”

Jian Xubai thought for a while and said, “You can do so in the first few days. However, after you 'recover gradually', you have to see some people. Otherwise, it would be unreasonable.”

Finding out what Jian Xubai said made sense, Song Yixiao had no choice but to consent to him.

In the next few days, the news that the senior servants in Duke of Yan's mansion had intended to a.s.sa.s.sinate the mistress to cover up how they had been encroaching on Duke of Yan's properties gave rise to heated discussion across the imperial capital.

Those who were familiar with Song Yixiao all submitted the visiting cards, asking to visit her in person. However, the doorman refused to entertain them, saying that the mistress couldn't entertain the guests due to the serious injuries. In that case, it would be inconvenient for Duke of Yan, who was taking care of all the ch.o.r.es inside the mansion currently, to see the female guests in person.

At the same time, taking advantage of this period, Song Yixiao stayed in the back hall secludedly and discussed the manpower replacing in the back hall with a group of maids, including Ms. Zhao. She said, “It surely isn't sufficient for us to choose manpower out of those accompanying me here on my wedding date. When I announce to the outsiders that I can take care of the ch.o.r.es a few days later, purchase a batch of manpower from the middleman of human trade!”

Ms. Zhao obeyed her order and submitted another paper to her, “Your Highness, here lists their respective responsibilities after my discussion with a few other senior maids.”

“Why will Qingchun be a.s.signed to clean up the side yard?” After Song Yixiao took over the paper and looked over it for a while, she added, “Cleaning up the side yard is not easy. Since Qingchun also needs to take care of her kid, she surely can't handle it. a.s.sign her with another task!”

Ms. Zhao replied hurriedly, “Your Highness, no need. Qingchun isn't educated at all. She can't do anything else except for cleaning up. Moreover, the side yard is vacant. It surely won't take her much time at all to clean it up two times a day, one in the morning and the other in the evening respectively. I a.s.signed this task to her out of my selfish motive and consideration for her!”

Song Yixiao, who had originally planned to insist on her arrangement, felt that her sleeve was pulled all of a sudden. So she swallowed all the words she had intended to say. It was not after the group of maids all retreated, including Ms. Zhao, that she asked Qiaoqin, “Why did you stop me a moment ago?”

Seeing that there was n.o.body else on the scene except for Jinxun, Qiaoqin got up the courage to say, “Your Highness, Sister Qingchun is flawless. However, she is too soft-hearted. If I may be so bold as to interject my opinion, it's OK that she is a.s.signed to clean up the courtyard. However, if she is a.s.signed to an imperative position, I am afraid that she can't convince other maids!”

Knowing that Song Yixiao trusted Jinxun more than her, she took an example after finis.h.i.+ng her words, “Your Highness, I was a.s.signed to the You Family by you to help Ms. Zhao previously. At that time, Sister Qingchun's son was seriously injured. According to a doctor that Ms. Zhao had asked for, except for taking medicine, her kid should build up his strength and make himself stronger. Otherwise, he might be in the danger of dying young!”

Normally, You Qingchun, who was the kid's mother, should have figured out ways to make her kid stronger after hearing the doctor's words.

“However, after I sent the Chicken Soup Simmered with Ginseng to the room where Sister Qingchun lived, which I had been simmering for several hours a.s.siduously, fearing I would disturb them, I retreated first. Estimating that it was time for her kid to have drunk up the soup, I came back to the room to take back the tableware, only to find out her nephew was drinking the chicken soup there. While her son lay on the bed, watching his cousin eagerly!”

As Song Yixiao heard her words, she couldn't help frowning as she asked, “How much chicken soup left in the bowl at that time?”

“Your Lady, after that, I asked Sister Qingchun's kid in secret. It wasn't until the kid was hesitant for quite a while that he dared to tell me that he had only taken a mouthful of the soup. According to the kid, after his cousin came in and saw him drinking the soup, his cousin cried out loudly, saying Sister Qingchun and her kid didn't belong to the You Family anymore and he wondered why they were eating and drinking freely there. After that, Sister Qingchun s.n.a.t.c.hed the chicken soup away from her kid hurriedly and gave it to her nephew. Setting aside the fact that it was me who had cooked the chicken soup, it was you who had sent the ginseng to the You Family and bought the chicken, which Sister Qingchun also knew.” Qiaoqin forced a smile and added, “The kid is the only one son she… she has!”

Song Yixiao let out a sigh and was discouraged from intending to entrust You Qingchun with an important position. She thought, “Since n.o.body lives in the yard she is going to clean up, you should take care of her more frequently on usual days. After all, she is Ms. Zhao's daughter by blood!”

Qiaoqin and Jinxun both obeyed her order in a hurry.

Since both the insiders and the outsiders knew how the senior servants of Duke of Yan's mansion had acted disorderly, they all thought it was reasonable to get all the manpower in Duke of Yan's mansion replaced.

The servants in the forecourt, who had arrived in the imperial capital soon, all reported to duty within a few days.

As for the manpower in the back hall, although Song Yixiao didn't have enough manpower in stock, she recruited quite a few maids in succession. These maids were on various levels of standard, few of whom could be put to good use right away, they surely couldn't take care of all the ch.o.r.es in the back hall temporarily. Fortunately, there were only two masters in Duke of Yan's mansion now. They should be able to handle all the ch.o.r.es normally at the end of October.

After counting the days, Song Yixiao thought it was time for her to declare that she had been fully recovered. On the next day after the news was announced, Xie Yiren was the first one to visit her in person. After they saw each other, they exchanged a few formalities with each other as usual. After confirming that Song Yixiao wasn't in a bad condition, Xie Yiren began to pour out her grievances as she said, “Shanyao, it was a blessing in disguise for you this time!”

Song Yixiao asked surprisedly, “What do you mean?”

“Since it isn't until today that you can entertain the guests, of course, you weren't on the scene when Sikong Yihan got married eight days ago.” With a look on her face indicating that she had reached the end of her forbearance, she said aggrievedly, “Taking my friends.h.i.+p with Yiluo into account, I attended the wedding that day. However, Sikong Yihan… I sincerely pray that never will I come across her in the future in my life!!!”

Although Song Yixiao knew Sikong Yihan was hard to deal with, she was surprised that Xie Yiren, a legitimate lady from a decent and distinguished family, whom even the Grand Empress Dowager praised for her manner and self-restraint, had acted so inappropriately.

She couldn't help sitting up straight as she asked, “Could it be that she had put you in an awkward position on her red-letter day?”