When Song Yixiao left, Jian Xubai stopped her, “Bring the Water Chestnut Cake with Rose and the Crystal Wintersweet Buns with you and never serve them to me. They are the least favorite deserts to me!”

“Did Jinxun get it wrong?” Song Yixiao looked back in surprise, “I asked Jinxun to inquire about your taste and according to her, these are your favorite desserts! Hence, I asked the chefs to make them specially. Why don't you make do with them and eat them up?”

She put on an embarra.s.sed look, “Otherwise, the servants may think that I have offended you when they come to take them away and see them.”

Jian Xubai took a look at her and said, “Fetch the third book from the right on that shelf for me!”

“Is this?” Song Yixiao didn't think too much. She went to fetch it from the shelf and glanced over it only to find that it was a book about one's travel notes. She couldn't help wondering why he would read this book while dealing with official doc.u.ments, but she still pa.s.sed it to him. Unexpectedly, Jian Xubai put down the brush and reached out his hand. However, he didn't take the book. Instead, he grabbed her wrist, dragged her into his arms and pressed her against his knees!

Song Yixiao didn't come to her senses until he put his arm around her waist. She shouted in surprise, “What are you doing?”

“You can't leave until you finish the two plates of desserts!” Jian Xubai placed her to a position where she couldn't escape and he wouldn't be hindered. Then he released his hands and continued to read the doc.u.ments. With his eyes full of mockery, he said casually, “Do you think that I cannot find that you want to revenge yourself on me for the Stewed Perch?”

Song Yixiao was speechless.

It was bad enough for her to have a scheming mother. Worse still, her husband was so cunny too!

The evils that were brought on oneself were the hardest to bear. Song Yixiao couldn't get away after trying for a few times. Due to her struggling, Jian Xubai miswrote several characters continuously. Out of impatience, he raised his arm to take off the two dangling hairpins from her hair and put them into his sleeves. As her hair was spread around her shoulders, he sneered, “You can go out if you dare to!”

Generally, the servants might have a lot of guesses about a newly wedded couple staying in the study alone. However, if Song Yixiao left the study with her hair disheveled, the gossip aroused therein must be different from the case where they both left with a decent outlook.

Song Yixiao couldn't stand being that shameless but to compromise. Sadly, she didn't like the desserts either!

“You can think of them as me.” Looking at her countenance, Jian Xubai proposed a piece of advice to her, “Since you cannot defeat me in a fight or quarrel, you can only bite 'me' to vent your anger. Right?”

Song Yixiao didn't know how to respond.

She wished she could bite the real Jian Xubai. Yet, when she fixed her eyes on him, he said casually, “You must bear the consequence yourself!”

After careful consideration, Song Yixiao felt helpless and had no other choice but to reach for the dessert…

When she finished most of the desserts, Jian Xubai finally let go of her. When he returned the dangling hairpins to her, he gave her a reminder, “Don't put a long face when you go out, or the servants may think that I have offended you!”

He just returned what Song Yixiao said just now to her as a counter-back. What a narrow-minded man!

“There is some misunderstanding between me and Miss Jiang.” Song Yixiao held back her anger and resumed her hair to a decent state. She couldn't stand suffering only so she demanded, “I want to explain to her but I can't find a suitable opportunity. Can you think of a solution for me?”

Jian Xubai said with a casual air, “Didn't the Crown Prince invite you to visit his wife when you are free? Regardless of the reason behind the misunderstanding, can't it be solved with the help of the Crown Princess?”

He happened to put down a doc.u.ment and then glimpsed Song Yixiao, “Unless you didn't go too far!”

Song Yixiao forced a smile, “She seems to believe that I am the reason why she failed to be Princess Consort of Wei. Do you know about the story?”

“Well, you are wronged indeed!” Jian Xubai answered in a calm voice, “It's her own fault!”

Song Yixiao got surprised and thought of something. Then she ventured a question, “His Highness Prince of Wei holds great ambition?”

“Only a fool would believe that you, a stepdaughter living under the roof of others, could intervene with a royal son's marriage!” Jian Xubai didn't answer her directly. Instead, he sneered, “It is foolish of Miss Jiang to believe that. If I were Grandmother, I wouldn't take her as my granddaughter-in-law!”

Then he added, “I don't care whether you still want to make peace with Miss Jiang, but if you want to hang out with her, you'd better let the Crown Princess be informed.”

Song Yixiao didn't understand what he meant at first. After she left the study and returned to her room, she finally thought it through, “Jian Xubai didn't admit that Prince of Wei was ambitious but he didn't deny either! If I am right, the Jiang Family are relatives of Prince of Wei while Jian Xubai is close to His Highness the Crown Prince…”

No wonder he asked her to keep the Crown Princess informed!

“The Crown Prince told me to hang out more with the Crown Princess. Does it have anything to do with this?” She pinched the middle of her eyebrows. In her eyes, she and Jiang Muting only met for several times, so they were not very close. There were two reasons why she felt like explaining to her. For one thing, she didn't dislike Jiang Muting's conduct; for another, she didn't want to have one more enemy.

If they did fall out, Song Yixiao would feel disappointed at most. She would never take it to heart.

However, as the sister of the Crown Princess, Wei Yinlian would never make trouble for her sister in terms of stance. It would be a problem whether the friends.h.i.+p between them would last!

However, these two young ladies were dearly favored by their parents. There was no need for Song Yixiao to worry for them.

Therefore, after ruminating back and forth, Song Yixiao decided to solve her own problem first. She summoned Qiaoqin in a loud voice, “Ask about whether the Crown Princess is free recently. I would like to meet her!”

Qiaoqin took her order and yet didn't leave. Noticing that a maid was looking around in the room, Song Yixiao called her in and questioned, “What's the matter?”

“Madam Lu sent words that she is pregnant.” The maid advanced and reported, “Ms. Zhao has kept the messenger in the side hall for tea and sent me to see whether it is convenient to report to you.”

“It's good news indeed.” Song Yixiao nodded her head with a poker face and slightly became stern, “That's my stepmother, not an outsider. Why do you refer to her as Madam Lu? The ignorant ones may think that the messenger have come to a wrong place!”

Shocked with fear, the maid hastened to kneel down and make an apology!

“Given that you are young, I'll forgive you this time.” Song Yixiao waved her hand to let her rise, “Qiaoqin, tell the other servants to refer to my birth mother as Princess Consort and my stepmother as Madam. They are both my seniors. How can I allow the servants to call them mistakenly?”

She disliked the Song Family indeed, but she would not be that stupid to allow her servants to defy her birth father and stepmother. Otherwise, she might be criticized for that.

Then she ordered the maid, “Now go to tell Ms. Zhao that I am available now and she can bring the messenger here to meet me!”

After a while, she dressed herself decently when Ms. Zhao conducted a thin woman into the room.

The woman greeted politely and introduced herself as Zhang Cuiniang, a maid who accompanied Madam Lu to marry Song Yuan.

“Ms. Zhang, please sit down!” Song Yixiao received her politely, “What kind of tea would you like? Is Light Green of Wenjun okay?”

Zhang Cuiniang felt so flattered. After fetching the tea bowl with both her hands, she expressed her grat.i.tude. Song Yixiao told her nicely to feel at ease, “As a close maid of my mother, you are not an outsider for sure. Please make yourself feel at home here.”

As she was calmed down, Song Yixiao continued to inquire about the health of the Song Family. Eventually, she mentioned Madam Lu, “I heard that Mother is pregnant?”

“Yes, it must be a blessing due to Your Ladys.h.i.+p's marriage!” Zhang Cuiniang was all smiles, saying with respect, “Madam didn't give birth to any offspring after Lady Yibao was born. Given that His Lords.h.i.+p has no son yet, she was really worried. However, after you got married, Madam suddenly started to fall for the sour flavor. According to the doctor, she is found to be pregnant!”

Therefore, “After confirming on her pregnancy, Madam hurriedly sent me to deliver the news to you so that you can be delighted too!”

Why would Song Yixiao be delighted?

Song Yixiao took a sip of tea. Although she didn't wish viciously that the Song Family would have no sons, she didn't feel happy with having a half-brother. Anyway, she just wanted to stay out of the Song Family's matters.

“It is such good news indeed, but I wouldn't say it is due to my marriage!” Putting down the tea bowl, she smiled faintly, “It is just time that my father and mother should have their son. How can I take the credit?”

Zhang Cuiniang said yes smilingly and still insisted, “It just happened when you got married. What a beautiful coincidence! Evidently you and His Highness are a destined couple! And your family can share your luck too!”

“Reputedly, if a pregnant woman prefers sour flavor, the baby must be a boy; if she prefers spicy flavor, the baby should be a girl.” As she couldn't reject the credit, Song Yixiao smiled and changed the topic, “Mother must take care this time!”

“I hereby thank you on behalf of Madam!” Zhang Cuiniang made a curtsey and then talked for her own mistress, “It's a pity that Madam is still pregnant for a short time. The doctor cannot tell the baby's gender yet.”

Madam Lu surely hoped it to be a son, but no doctors dared to be sure of the baby's gender before it was born. What Song Yixiao said was auspicious and yet Zhang Cuiniang still added her comment in case that anything went wrong.

“Now that my parents and Grandmother only have Yibao with them, they must feel lonely.” Song Yixiao didn't intend to mention that the Song Family wanted a baby boy so anxiously. She had no affection for this stepmother. Neither did she hold any grudge against her. Even though she disliked being disturbed by Madam Lu, she didn't want to upset her during pregnancy. So she said nicely, “Whether it is a boy or a girl, Yibao will get company anyway. Moreover, Mother is still young and I am sure Yibao and I will have more siblings in the future!”

Zhang Cuiniang felt relieved to hear this and her smile became more sincere, “You are right!”

After the conversation was over, Song Yixiao sent Ms. Zhao to see her off while she went back to her room to put on comfortable clothes.

Amidst helping Song Yixiao get changed, Jinxun couldn't help praising, “Your Ladys.h.i.+p must be blessed! After you got married, putting aside Old Master of the Jian Family, the Song Family has gained benefits.”

“Do you really believe that?” Song Yixiao glimpsed her, “My stepmother must have found out about her pregnancy before. She just wants to show respect for me so she deliberately doesn't disclose it until now.”

“She is so thoughtful then!” Jinxun was dazed and then said with delight, “In this case, even if Old Master doesn't get well temporarily, no one dares to say that you are not blessed.”

Song Yixiao said sneeringly, “If I were really blessed, why would I live under the roof of Prince of Hengshan for six years! Madam Lu was married to my father four years ago. Did she ever care about me before? Now that she shows such respect for me, do you think that she doesn't ask for anything in return?”

She heaved a sigh and looked stern, “I'm afraid that I cannot distance myself from them completely.”

After all, the baby that Madam Lu was conceiving was due to the happiness of her sister's marriage. If Madam Lu tried to pay her a visit in the guise of expressing grat.i.tude, Song Yixiao couldn't say no then.

In this case, how could Song Yixiao stay out of the Song Family's matters?

Realizing that Song Yixiao was upset, Jinxun thought for a while, “By estimate the Princess Consort is about to have a baby. Should we prepare a gift for the baby in advance?”

As expected, speaking of her birth mother, Song Yixiao's face became relaxed, “Let's go to the warehouse and have a look later!”