Chapter 191 - Talk to Smart People

Song Yixiao entered Qingxi Hall uneasily.

The uneasy feeling got increasingly apparent when she found that Jian Xubai was not present.

Unexpectedly, after Song Yixiao made a curtsey, the Empress Dowager didn’t look angry and instead, waved her hand amicably, saying, “Good girl, come and sit next to me.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty!” Song Yixiao, not sure of the Empress Dowager’s intention, curtsied respectfully and sat on the embroidered chair near the Empress Dowager. She only sat on the one third of the seat, which demonstrated her reverence and respect.

The Empress Dowager saw her bearing clearly and said smilingly, “No need to be so nervous! I won’t eat you anyway!”

Yuguo, standing aside, said with a smile, “Duke Jian begged you in your arms for a while just now. Even if you really eat people, you won’t eat Lady of Yan! Otherwise, if His Highness can’t find Lady of Yan after going back to the mansion and come to you for her, what should you do then?”

“I was just saying. Now you are making fun of me about eating people?” The Empress Dowager said with feigned anger. Before Yuguo responded, the Empress Dowager turned to Song Yixiao and said, “I demand to meet you for no reason but only to give you an explanation just in case that you may have doubt after meeting Cui Jianlian. The Noble Consort thought that her niece would return from the lost way so she begged me to give Cui Jianlian an opportunity to remedy the situation on her deathbed!”

Then the Empress Dowager burst out laughing, “The Noble Consort cared too much about her niece to think calmly. I don’t think Cui Jianlian was a person who can correct what she has done wrong, was she?”

Song Yixiao answered carefully, “Your Majesty, the Side Concubine of the Crown Prince never realized her fault even when she died!”

“That shameless woman not only got the Noble Consort and the Crown Prince into trouble but also deceived me back then!” The Empress Dowager nodded her head and sighed, “If I had known that she was such a conscienceless woman, I would have never allowed her into the Eastern Palace. It’s really a pity that my twin great-grandsons were not safely born!”

It was not easy for Song Yixiao to respond. After all, Cui Jianlian just defamed her. If she responded to the Empress Dowager by saying that Cui Jianlian was vicious, she would appear ungracious.

It would be sillier if she refuted the Empress Dowager!

Therefore, she thought fast and said in a soft voice, “Now the country is at peace and reigned by a wise emperor, which is a sign of the Great Rui being blessed by the Heaven. It serves to show the good fortune and prosperity of the imperial family. Your Majesty will have more great-grandchildren!”

“I do want to live longer, at least long enough to see the child of you and Xubai.” The Empress Dowager talked of her regret about losing her great-grandsons, but she was laughing brightly, which suggested that she was not that grieved. It was not because the Empress Dowager was indifferent to her descendants. When the Empress Dowager was young, she lost two sons and two daughters. Afterwards, when she was in the battle for the throne, three more daughters of hers perished in depression.

Among her grandchildren, especially the children of Empress Xianjia, excluding the miscarriage cases, at least seven or eight of them perished young even after they were born!

Jinguo Grand Princess also lost two children in their infancy after conceiving her eldest daughter and prior to giving birth to her second eldest son.

Daiguo Grand Princess’s eldest son died of a cold just when he took up toddling.

Having been through so many things, the Empress Dowager became insensitive to the loss of kids no matter how amicable she was.

Moreover, the Crown Prince already had Commandery Prince Zhongling born by the Crown Princess. Even if Cui Jianlian didn’t act so foolishly, the two children she gave birth to were not that significant to the Empress Dowager.

Therefore, she sighed regrettably but she still didn’t take it too seriously. Instead, she said smilingly, “Princess Consort of Wei is good at educating children. Even the Noble Consort is not as good as her, which can tell from the differences between you and Cui Jianlian. In my eyes, Cui Jianlian was simply spoiled by the Noble Consort! Gladly, I won’t need to worry about you and Xubai’s children. You are rather sensible so the children raised by you must be gracious and decent!”

Song Yixiao sensed the implicit meaning and hurriedly rose to apologize regardless of her bashfulness, “Your Majesty, I’m so flattered. Please forgive my ignorance and discourtesy!”

“You are not a born knowledgeable sage. How can you not make a mistake? Seniors should feign ignorance about the juniors’ mistake at the proper time!” The Empress Dowager waved her hand casually and asked her to sit down with a smile, saying amicably, “I was young before. Back then, I made mistakes too. Why would I be harsh on you now?”

Then the Empress Dowager just skipped this issue and asked her about the recent situation in the mansion of Duke of Yan before letting her leave under the guise of feeling tired.

After Song Yixiao got out of the hall gate, Yuguo hastened to serve the tea to the Empress Dowager for bettering her throat, asking in confusion, “Doesn’t Your Majesty dislike those who are haughty because of being pampered and indulged? Madam Song has just made big trouble for Her Highness Jinguo Grand Princess and Duke Jian. She didn’t ponder over her faults. Worse still, she urged Duke Jian to come into the imperial palace in the early morning and beg your mercy for a foster nurse! Such a person…”

Normally, how could the Empress Dowager tolerate her?!

“You are obviously showing partiality for Jinguo and Xubai!” The Empress Dowager took a sip of tea. Her face was no longer amicable but indifferent, “Of course I hate those who are haughty because of being pampered and indulged, but what Song Yixiao has done is justifiable though the trouble she made is rather significant!”

Complicated feelings glinted in the Empress Dowager’s eyes, “When Wei Mengying left her behind and remarried, she was only eight years old. She must have schemed a lot to make her what she is today, but in my eyes, she has suffered a lot of grievance and helplessness!”

“As Xubai said, if one can be a carefree noble lady loved by her families, she won’t try her best to conspire against others!”

“Moreover, even though she knew that Cui Jianlian was backed by the Noble Consort and the Crown Prince, she still insisted on avenging her maid. Despite her disregard for hierarchy, she is proven as a person who values affection and friendship!”

“In my eyes, no matter how cruel she is, she is somewhat creditable!”

Yuguo wanted to say something more but as she suddenly caught the words—”value affection and friendship”, her face turned pale and she instantly swallowed back her words. The Empress Dowager accompanied the late Emperor throughout a lot of years’ hardships but in the end, she was almost defeated by the favored consorts. Although she won at last, regardless of decades of love and affection as well as the ten children, she had to obtain what she was supposed to get by intriguing against her enemies.

The past was past, but how did this most exalted woman in the Great Rui feel every time she recalled that experience?

Therefore, no matter how bad or reckless Song Yixiao was, only by virtue of “value affection and friendship”, the Empress Dowager just didn’t want to be too hard on her from a personal perspective. If the late Emperor valued affection as Song Yixiao did, how could the Empress Dowager and her son suffer during those years?

“Besides, given her situation in the past, if she were not cunning, she would be killed long before!” The Empress Dowager didn’t pay attention to Yuguo’s gaffe and continued saying, “In that case, how could she relieve her grievance?”

Therefore, essentially, “Song Yixiao is only a poor girl! Even if she is to blame for being vicious, shouldn’t the unkind people like her parents and grandmother be brought for trial first? A girl unprotected since childhood is really miserable. How can we blame her for self-protection?!”

Moreover, “Even Xubai can forgive her. Why do I have to create difficulties for her?”

Now Yuguo didn’t dare to speak ill of Song Yixiao anymore. She said carefully, “Your Majesty is being too serious! Actually, this time the cause of the matter is Side Concubine Cui. Madam Song is simply innocent. It was foolish of me to ask that!”

“Actually, I did give her a bit of warning just now!” The Empress Dowager knew that Yuguo, who had watched Jian Xubai grow up, inevitably showed partiality for him, so she wouldn’t blame Yuguo and instead, said gently, “After all, just as Jinguo worries about, how can a couple not quarrel? As to ordinary scraps, I can just turn a blind eye, but if she exerts the malicious tricks that she used against Cui Jianlian on Xubai, I won’t forgive her then!”

After all, “My partiality for her is merely between her and Cui Jianlian! Xubai is raised by me. Apart from the Crown Prince, he is my favorite grandson!”

Yuguo couldn’t help saying, “Since so, why did you only give her a little bit of warning just now?”

“At an early age, Song Yixiao survived from the situation where her father didn’t love her, her mother remarried, her grandmother didn’t adore her and her previous stepmother was not virtuous. Why do I need to say much to her?” The Empress Dowager shook her head and said, “The best thing about talking with smart people is no need to talk much. With a few words, she will understand. If she really listened to me, it was enough; if she didn’t, it was no use saying more. Why would I bother to do that?”

Anyway, “I am not dying right away. She is only a peer of my grandchildren. No matter how talented she is, do I have to fear her causing any big trouble?”

By then if Song Yixiao was insensible, “I can tell Xubai that I’ve talked nicely to her and showed trust for her but she still failed my expectation and hurt my feelings like Cui Jianlian. By that moment, if I claim to punish her seriously, what else can Xubai say?”

The Empress Dowager rubbed her forehead and sighed, “This is also a lesson drawn from the case of Beautiful Lady Nuan! As a saying goes, very few men can get away from the obsession of beauties, which is rather true! I never expected that I still needed to worry about this at such an old age. If this method can work on Xubai’s wife, do you think I can be kinder to Beautiful Lady Nuan and indulge her so that she may make mistakes? By then I can get the goods on her and fall out with her. In this case, will I have a better chance of persuading the emperor?”

Yuguo replied with a bitter smile.

Ignorant the Empress Dowager’s thinking, Song Yixiao got out of the gate of the imperial palace with delight and worry. She was delighted because the Empress Dowager implied something in her words but basically, her attitude was amicable; She felt worried because just now she had no chance of mentioning the matter of Ms. Zhao or even Jian Xubai’s whereabouts.

Now she left the imperial palace safe and sound, but she still didn’t know where her foster nurse was and how she was.

With a glimmer of hope, she decided to go home first.

Now it was almost the last third of the first lunar month, but due to the cold spell in late spring, it started to snow on the halfway.

The snow with sand fell on the ceiling of the carriage, making a loud sound. Song Yixiao occasionally lifted the curtain and looked outside only see the passers-by trying to avoid the snow in the street. Then she said to Jinxun, “Ask the guards whether we also need to hide somewhere first?”

After a while, the leading guard rode the horse to the carriage and reported, “Your Highness, please rest assured. The snow-sand is no big deal! Now it is too cold. Despite the coal in the carriage, you had better go back to the mansion as soon as possible. What do you think?”

Song Yixiao wanted to go back early and then said, “So be it!”

Speaking of that, the leading guard was about to leave when one of his subordinates came to report. As they stood close to the carriage, Song Yixiao heard roughly them mention “snow-sand”, “bamboo hat” and “scholar”, so she asked casually, “What happened?”

“Your Highness, just now I saw a scholar sheltering from the snow under the roof on the corner. He looks underclothed so I’ve ordered to send a bamboo hat and a coat to him. That’s what we are talking about,” The leading guard hurriedly said, “After all, the spring top-level national examination is around the corner. If he gets a cold at the moment, it will be a big problem. I just don’t want to see that his 10-year efforts are wasted! Your Highness, please punish me for making the decision without authorization!”

Actually, he didn’t mean to do good deeds behind Song Yixiao’s back on purpose. It was just because that scholar was a young man and Song Yixiao was also young. If she ordered to send something to the scholar even out of kindness, it might easily cause a rumor. If Song Yixiao refused to help the scholar and others found about that, she would be inevitably gossiped about not being kind and virtuous.

Either way, Song Yixiao would be wrong.

Therefore, it was better that he helped the scholar personally without informing the mistress.

Song Yixiao also understood that so after she heard him out, she just smiled and said, “This is a good thing. Why do I punish you?”

Then she asked him, “It seems to be you who always guard me when I’m out? May I know your name?”

“My name is too insignificant for Your Highness to ask about.” The leading guard realized that he gained the attention from his mistress. He was not in the charge of Song Yixiao, but it was well-known that Jian Xubai loved his wife. Now he was secretly pleased and thought that good-heartedness often met with recompense, “My name is Yu Shiheng, with my courtesy name as Shouzhi!”

The carriage left, but Song Yixiao and her guards didn’t notice the young scholar at the corner, who just put on the bamboo hat and the coat. He looked away from the leaving carriage, absorbed in thought, “The guard told me that he helped me under the order of his leader, but when he went back, he directly walked to the carriage to report. In this case, the one who really wanted to help me is the person in the carriage?”

He was not born of official family and just arrived at the imperial capital the other day. Now he couldn’t speculate about the background of his benefactor. However, “Judging from the ritual, they are not ordinary influential officials. We will meet again after I pass the examination. Then I will find a time to return the favor anyway!”

Thinking of this, the scholar was finally relieved and left chicly!