Chapter 305 - Accident

Despite Prince of Su’s unpredictable future and Nie Wuying’s compromising origin, after the imperial edict was handed down, all noble families prepared gifts to congratulate them one after another.

The congratulatory gifts from the Eastern Palace to both sides were especially grand. As the winner, the crown prince should show enough generosity to his brothers at this important time. The crown prince knew this without being reminded by the crown princess.

Moreover, Grand Princess Jinguo helped the crown prince a lot before.

“It is said that Her Majesty gave you a pair of blood jade hairpins carved with a pair of lovebirds and twinned trunks, which were handed down by the Su Family from the Wei Dynasty. They were made of rare blood jade.” Although there were so many guests in the Grand Princess’s mansion this day, Nie Wuying was not an artful person. Being surrounded by these people, she was a little flustered instead of feeling that she was the center of attention.

Seeing her uneasiness, Lady of Earl Shouchun tried to ease the atmosphere and asked, “I wonder if you can show the hairpins to us.”

Nie Wuying was relieved when she heard this and got up, saying, “I’ll go and fetch them!”

A moment later, she personally took out the red sandalwood box. After it was opened, the rare blood jade hairpins surprised everyone.

Because of Noble Consort Cui’s death, the crown prince and his wife had to observe mourning for Noble Consort Cui. They were afraid of bringing bad luck to Nie Wuying, so the crown princess didn’t come this day.

However, Wei Yinlian, the sister of the crown princess, was an acquaintance of Nie Wuying because of Song Yixiao, so she came.

Seeing the hairpins, she covered her mouth with her sleeve and said with a smile, “These hairpins have something to do with our Wei Family! More than 200 or nearly 300 years ago, a legitimate daughter of our Ruiyu Hall received the hairpins from her future mother-in-law. Later, she and her husband loved each other very much and had a very happy life that was envied by the world. Her Majesty gave this pair of hairpins to the County Lady, which is a great omen!”

Not many people knew this story. After all, it happened two or three hundred years ago. Even Grand Princess Jinguo didn’t know that before Prince of Su relayed Empress Su’s words to her.

At the moment, hearing what Wei Yinlian said, the others became curious and asked about the details of the story.

Wei Yinlian regretted it when she saw this. The limelight should be Nie Wuying on this day. She inadvertently said those things and stole the limelight. So, she didn’t dare to speak much but just said, “In fact, it was the story about Magnate Shen and his wife in the West Liang Region when Yong Dynasty was founded.”

As a result, it suddenly became quiet on the site. Wei Yinlian only told the story roughly just now. Naturally, others were not so clear about the ancestors of the Wei Family, especially their female ancestors, but when it came to Magnate Shen of the Shen Family in the West Liang Region when Yong Dynasty was founded, anyone who read a few historical books would know who this person was.

After all, magnates were not in decline back then, and the magnates of the six influential families were all very powerful. Magnate Shen was not only one of the feudal lords vying for the throne in the late Wei Dynasty, but also a meritorious hero when the Yong Dynasty was founded. At that time, he was famous all over the country and one of the figures that must be mentioned at the late Wei and early Young Dynasty.

In Great Rui after the Yong Dynasty, even women knew something about him.

The point was that as Empress Su said, although Magnate Shen went through ups and downs, he eventually grew old with his wife and had a happy life with a lot of children and grandchildren in his old age, and died a natural death. However, several years after the Yong Dynasty was founded, he made a quest and returned to his hometown the West Liang Region on his own initiative.

Nominally, he went back to garrison the frontier. In fact, he was suspected by the royal family and had to go back.

However, the legitimate offspring of the Mingpei Hall of the Shen Family lived in the imperial capital in the Wei Dynasty.

If he wasn’t forced by the royal family of the Yong Dynasty, why would he return home with his wife in his prime?

At present, everyone knew that Prince of Su would not stay in the imperial capital for long. Once Emperor Xianjia died, he would leave the capital and become a seignior after offering condolence. The empress sent such a pair of hairpins to Nie Wuying, hoping that she and Prince of Su could have a peaceful and happy life like Magnate Shen and his wife though they were far away from the prosperous imperial capital.

Why did the sister of the crown princess mention Magnate Shen at this time? What did she mean?

“Are the crown prince and the crown princess very dissatisfied with what the empress did?” For a moment, everyone thought so, including Song Yixiao, “Could it be that the crown prince and the crown princess thought that the empress implied that they ignored brotherhood and forced Prince of Su to leave by encouraging Prince of Su with the story of Magnate Shen and his wife?”

Wei Yinlian didn’t react at first. When she saw that the others looked at each other, she realized that something was wrong and hurriedly explained, “I heard the story about the hairpins from my elders when I was a child. If I hadn’t seen them today, I would have forgotten it!”

Naturally, she implied that she mentioned Magnate Shen and his wife not because of the crown prince and the crown princess. It was purely because the hairpins were related to the Wei Family’s ancestors. She heard the story by chance when she was a child. In fact, she told the story because she wished that Nie Wuying and Prince of Su could love each other for a lifetime like Magnate Shen and his wife. There was no insinuation in her words at all.

After hearing this, the others were relieved, but after they had that conjecture, the atmosphere was affected. Lady of Earl Shouchun was regretful and thought that she shouldn’t have asked that and encouraged Nie Wuying to take the blood jade hairpins to show everyone. Otherwise, such a thing wouldn’t have happened.

So she took a chance and said to Nie Wuying, “It’s enough for us to see such a precious thing. Wuying, put them away quickly in case we’ll break it in such a crowded room!”

Lady of Earl Shouchun was afraid that Nie Wuying was sensitive and would feel bad and keep her feelings hidden after such a thing happened, so she winked at Song Yixiao. Song Yixiao understood her intention. After Nie Wuying put away the red sandalwood box and told the crowd that she was going back to her room, Song Yixiao got up and said, “I think the pearl hairpin in my hair is a little loose. Wuying, can I use your dressing table?”

Nie Wuying quickly said, “Sure, please come with me!”

After they entered the inner chamber, Song Yixiao pondered how to comfort Nie Wuying. Nie Wuying really thought she wanted to retouch her make-up and grooming. So, she handed the box to the maid Wanxiang, went to the dressing table, opened the dressing box, and said enthusiastically, “How do you want to retouch it? Change your hairstyle, or just reinsert the pearl hairpin into your hair? Your pearl hairpin seems a little heavy. It indeed slips out easily.”

Hearing this, Song Yixiao could tell that she wasn’t in a bad mood. She pushed the pearl hairpin in the hair on her temple slightly and said with a smile, “I just thought it was going to slip out, but I don’t feel that now. It was probably the pendant on the nearby pearl hair ornaments that misled me.”

“You are afraid that I will be angry at Miss Wei’s words?” Nie Wuying was simple, but not stupid. When she heard Song Yixiao’s words, she figured out her intention and couldn’t help smiling, “I’m not that narrow-minded, am I?”

“Of course not!” Hearing her words, Song Yixiao simply came to the point, “We’re all here to congratulate you today. Although Miss Wei didn’t mean to embarrass you, her words were indeed inappropriate.”

Nie Wuying said with a smile, “I don’t think her words were inappropriate. She told me the story of the blood jade hairpins. I’m grateful to her!”

Speaking of this, she looked back at the door and saw that no one came in. She lowered her voice and said, “To tell you the truth, I’m not a person with great aspirations. Earlier, when Prince of Zhao…Prince of Su wanted to be the crown prince, although I liked him and he also told me he would marry me, I knew that I had a very slim hope of marrying him. Her Majesty doesn’t like me, and Mother won’t entrust me to his care at ease. Now, although he failed in the fight for the title of heir to the throne and is about to leave for his vassal state, we can be together rightfully even if we’ll die in a foreign land in the future.”

Seeing Song Yixiao’s relieved look, she continued with embarrassment, “Yixiao, do you think Prince of Su will be angry if he knows my thought?”

“You’re really confused. Prince of Su is His Majesty’s child anyway. Even if His Majesty has no intention of making him the crown prince, he will spare a thought for him,” Song Yixiao thought that Nie Wuying could say these words to her but how could she say them to Prince of Su? Although Prince of Su was the same age as her, he might not think she was the only love in his life and only wanted to spend his whole life with her. If he thought so, he wouldn’t have put so much effort into the fight for the title of heir to the throne. At present, he had failed. Even if she was his love, she would upset him by saying those words!

However, she only said, “His Majesty mentioned your marriage to Prince of Su to Mother after he just had Prince of Su adopted, precisely because he knew how important you were to Prince of Su. Since Prince of Su likes you so much, how can he be angry with you?”

Then she advised in a mild tone, “But most of the people in the world worship the strong and bully the weak. You should not say such words in front of Prince of Su. Otherwise, although Prince of Su might agree to your idea, others might say that Prince of Su is deserted by His Majesty because he’s immersed in love.”

Nie Wuying thought about it and nodded seriously, “I’ll take your advice!”

So, she really wanted to bare her heart to Prince of Su like that? Song Yixiao gave a wry smile secretly. She knew Nie Wuying really loved Prince of Su, but Nie Wuying should at least see if it was the right time for her to do that. It had only been several days since Prince of Su failed. He probably hadn’t recovered from the blow. If Nie Wuying told him that it was also a good thing that he failed, he would very likely be upset.

After all, Prince of Su was still very young.

Fortunately, Wuying was persuaded. Otherwise, such a good couple might be ruined after they had bad feelings for each other.

Seeing that there was nothing else to do, Song Yixiao straightened her sleeves and was about to say it was time to go back to the gathering. Suddenly, she heard a “bang” not far behind her. It seemed that something fell to the ground. Before she and Nie Wuying turned around, Wanxiang had already dashed over. She couldn’t catch the falling box. Listening to the dull “clang” after the “bang”, Wanxiang was almost scared to death!

Besides her, Song Yixiao and Nie Wuying who had turned around also had their hearts in their mouths when they saw the familiar red sandalwood box, “What happened? The hairpins?”

How Wanxiang wished she could faint at this time, “I… I put the box on the cabinet. Just now I opened the cabinet to fetch things. When I just…just closed the cabinet. It… It fell down!”

“Open it quickly and see if the things in it are broken,” Song Yixiao was not in the mood to listen to her explanation. After reminding the maid, she comforted Nie Wuying who looked pale, “There is a brocade pad in the box, and the cabinet is not very high. They might not be broken.”

Nie Wuying bit her lips, hurried forward, snatched the box, and opened it carefully. With that, her expression changed instantly!

Song Yixiao saw this and knew the hairpins might be broken. She stretched her neck and looked at it. Sure enough, one of the hairpins had been split into three sections, and a little jade powder was scattered on the brocade pad!

Wanxiang was so frightened. She knelt on the ground and kowtowed desperately, “Miss, no, County Lady, please spare me! County Lady, please spare me!”

The Lovebirds Twinned Trunks Blood Jade Hairpins were an antique of the Wei Dynasty. It had been handed down for hundreds of years. Wanxiang broke such valuable things, and her hope of surviving was already slim. In addition, this pair of hairpins was given by the empress and carried the blessing of Empress Su to her son and future daughter-in-law. They had such great symbolic significance. However, one of them was broken by Wanxiang. How could she escape death punishment?

Song Yixiao knew that Wanxiang was frightened. Even ants were cravenly clinging to life. It was understandable that she would beg for mercy. However, seeing that Nie Wuying was holding the wooden box with trembling hands, she couldn’t help but slap Wanxiang in the face and scolded in a deep voice, “Shut up!”

After Wanxiang stopped begging for mercy, Song Yixiao forced herself to calm down and looked carefully at the broken hairpin. She said, “Only a very small part of it has turned into powder. We can take it to a skilled craftsman and it could look the same as before after it’s repaired!”

Wanxiang breathed a sigh of relief when she heard this. She looked at Nie Wuying with an apologetic look. Nie Wuying’s face was paler than a piece of paper, but her eyes were surprisingly bright. She stared at the broken hairpin, with tears running her cheeks silently. After a while, she whispered, “Even if it is repaired, it can’t be intact anymore.”

Hearing this, Wanxiang almost slumped to the ground. Song Yixiao opened her mouth but didn’t know what to say. At this time, the unlocked door was pushed open. Lady of Earl Shouchun came in tentatively with some worry and said with a smile, “Yixiao, Wuying, why are you in the room so long? Is something wrong with Yixiao’s…”

Before Lady of Earl Shouchun finished speaking, she saw the broken hairpin in Song Yixiao’s hand and suddenly gasped in astonishment, “What happened?”