Chapter 254 - Disputes Between the Two Princess Consorts

“I know. You can bring it to my husband and let him take a look.” Jiang Muting was dejected for her marriage and she might think of Prince of Wei and his wife when she heard about “Daiguo Grand Princess”. Thinking of this, Song Yixiao didn’t take the invitation card and just let Liyu walk away.

Unexpectedly, before Liyu turned around, Jiang Muting said, “Wait a minute!”

Then she asked, “Does Daiguo Grand Princess invite all of the supporters of the Crown Prince or just some people of his side?”

The point of her question, of course, was, “Is Marquis Boling among the invited guests?”

“It’s said that Marquis Fuyang’s mansion is going to celebrate the birthday of the Grand Princess ceremoniously. Almost all the families in the mountain have received the invitation cards, and Marquis Boling should be no exception.” Before Liyu’s voice had died away, a pleasantly surprised look flashed in the eyes of Jiang Muting. But even if it was true, it would not be easy for her to meet him in the side yard of Daiguo Grand Princess as they did in the Marquis Boling’s mansion last time. After all, Yuan Xuepei was in control of everything in his mansion, and thus it was not difficult to meet her in private at that time.

However, Daiguo Grand Princess would not provide chances for their private meeting. What’s worse, even though she wanted to see Yuan Xuepei, he might not be willing to meet her.

Her eyes became dim, and she listlessly expressed her thanks to Liyu. She sat for a while and then found an excuse to leave.

After Jiang Muting left, Song Yixiao sent people to call her husband back to the backyard and asked about Yuan Xuepei’s plan of getting married. Jian Xubai said, “Xuepei intended to do this before the summer vacation, yet he was too busy at that time. Two days ago, when he was at leisure, he let out the news, and naturally there are many people who want to be the matchmaker.”

“Is there really no hope for Muting?” Song Yixiao muttered to herself.

“To tell you the truth, Xuepei did this because he doesn’t want to get embroiled with Miss Jiang anymore.” Jian Xubai thought for a moment and said, “He is afraid that he may waste the time and youth of her. As a result, he decides to settle the marriage for him as soon as possible, so that Miss Jiang will give up!”

Song Yixiao was in a mixed mood and said, “I was relieved before when I saw him refuse Muting decisively. Now I can’t bear to see the sad look of Muting.”

“We’d better not interfere in such matters. After all, people change their ideas easily, and no one can be sure about the future.” Jian Xubai reached out his hand to stroke her hair, and said in a gentle voice, “What we do today may turn to be counterproductive in the future.”

Song Yixiao also understood this truth and nodded, “I just have a feeling about this matter. I won’t do anything.”

In the following days, Jiang Muting came to see her twice, yet she did not mention Yuan Xuepei. Song Yixiao decided to stand by and naturally would not take the initiative to ask about him.

In the twinkling of an eye, it’s the eighth day of the seventh lunar month. The originally busy Cuihua Mountain in the summer vacation was bustling in the early morning.

Song Yixiao heard Liyu said that Marquis Fuyang’s mansion had invited almost all the families in the mountain, yet at that time she didn’t pay much attention to it because Jiang Muting was there.

This day she witnessed the “ceremonious celebration” personally. The mountain path in front of the side yard of Daiguo Grand Princess was congested with crowd. The yard couldn’t contain all the dining tables, and hence those less important guests are invited to take a seat in the square before the gate.

“It’s no surprise.” As the wife of Daiguo Grand Princess’s nephew, Song Yixiao, who was pregnant, naturally didn’t have to wait for a long time like those guests lining up outside the door. As soon as she arrived at the door, she was welcomed in. She and Jian Xubai went to the main hall to celebrate Daiguo Grand Princess’s birthday after making a salute. After offering their congratulatory speech, they separated as usual.

Jian Xubai went to the front yard to take a seat, while Song Yixiao went to the drawing room in the backyard to sit with a group of young womenfolk.

After she sat down, she greeted the nearby people she knew. Before they began to have a talk, she suddenly heard a voice from not far away, which was clear but sarcastic. The woman said slowly, “A few days ago, His Majesty not only visited the Crown Prince and Commandery Prince Zhongling, but also appointed Lord Gu, teacher of Commandery Prince Zhongling, as the Prime Minister. Now all people in Cuihua Mountain know which side the wind is blowing. Consequently, how can Daiguo Grand Princess not display her power and wealth through her birthday to raise the morale of her men?”

Although she was telling the truth, it was embarrassing when she said it in public on the birthday of Daiguo Grand Princess and in her side yard for summer vacation.

Song Yixiao followed the sound to find the speaker, and she was not surprised when she saw clearly who she was. It was Sikong Yihan, Princess Consort of Liang.

She covered half of her face with a silk fan, only showing a pair of eyes with a faint laughter. The handle of ebony fan set off her white and soft knuckles. The end of the handle was strung with two jade beads as a fan pendant. Attached to the beads were long tassels in pomegranate red, and the tips of the tassels just fell on her slightly swollen belly.

Perceiving Song Yixiao’s gaze, Princess Consort of Liang turned her head, moved the fan to the side, and nodded slightly, “You are also here?”

Because of the death of Sikong Yiluo, she transferred her anger on Song Yixiao and never said a good word to her when she saw her, not to mention greeting her. Obviously, she changed her attitude today because Song Yixiao saved her.

As a matter of fact, Song Yixiao helped her for the sake of her sister. She did do not want to get close to her, so she only politely replied, “Greetings, Your Highness!”

“…” Feeling her estrangement, Princess Consort of Liang found that she was bringing contempt upon herself, and felt quite embarrassed. She snorted a little, turned away and went to talk to others.

Her behavior meant that “You don’t want to talk to me, and I also want to ignore you.” Song Yixiao couldn’t help but wear a faint but helpless smile. She thought that Princess Consort of Liang was raised in the manor after all. Even if she encountered so many twists and turns and became an expectant mother now, she was still like a little girl.

Song Yixiao certainly wouldn’t care about such a trifle because Princess Consort of Liang didn’t offend her, while her previous words unquestionably offended today’s host. A moment later, people near the door of the drawing room suddenly fell into silence. Everyone looked up and then their look became strange. Princess Consort of Wei was here!

As the only daughter of Daiguo Grand Princess, Princess Consort of Wei actually arrived very early. Her body was heavy after her belly was clearly swollen, so after sitting for a while she went to the back room to have a rest and planned to get up when the banquet was ready. Now she came here in advance. She probably heard what Princess Consort of Liang said just now, and specially came to support her mother.

Sure enough, after Princess Consort of Wei came in, she greeted several people casually, and then just sat opposite Princess Consort of Liang. She said with a faint smile, “I hear that you are probably expected with a boy. No wonder you are full of vim and vigor these days. As the saying goes, people are in high spirits when involved in happy events.”

What she said and did not said suggested that Princess Consort of Liang was so arrogant because she was pregnant with a boy. It could be seen that she was a shallow and disgraceful woman.

“My honor can increase with the birth of my son!” Princess Consort of Liang was a person who liked asking for trouble. She made impertinent remarks to Daiguo Grand Princess even if no one ever offended her. Now, Princess Consort of Wei came to goad her, she became even more aggressive. She moved the silk fan away and showed a sarcastic smile, “I’m not like you who gained honor on the strength of your mother!”

Princess Consort of Wei was born in a noble family. She used to be very arrogant for being indulged by her parents. If it was in the past, she would vent her anger as soon as she entered the door. While today was the birthday of her mother, she had to control her temper and planned to solve this problem politely. Out of her expectation, Princess Consort of Liang touched her nerve on purpose. What did “gained honor on the strength of your mother” mean?

On hearing this, almost all the people present remembered that Prince of Wei and Jiang Muting, the niece of Virtuous Consort Jiang who was also the adoptive mother of Prince of Wei, were a match originally. It is said that even Emperor Xianjia agreed to the marriage in private. Unfortunately, in the end, the current Princess Consort of Wei meddled in and Jiang Muting was knocked out. The reason why Princess Consort of Wei succeeded was that Daiguo Grand Princess was her mother!

For a moment, everyone’s look changed subtly.

Princess Consort of Wei’s face blushed for a moment, and she reached out her hand to the tea set not far away. It seemed that she lost her temper and was going to start the fight. Of course people around her could not continue to be bystanders, and rushed forward to mediate!

Unexpectedly, after taking a few deep breaths, Princess Consort of Wei didn’t throw anything. Instead, she held a cup of tea and took a sip of it. She looked at Princess Consort of Liang deeply and said, “I’m a little tired. Excuse me for my absence!”

With that, she stood up, supporting herself against the maid’s hand, and staggered out.

Xie Yiren, who just came in, asked Song Yixiao in a puzzled low voice, “What’s the matter? It seems that there was a dispute between the two princess consorts just now?”

The connotation in her question was that Princess Consort of Wei was never a magnanimous person. In the early time, she took Jiang Muting’s fiancé away from her. When she ran into Jiang Muting in Zhanchun Venue, she not only did not feel guilty, but also took the initiative to stir up trouble!

Even though Xie Yiren didn’t know how Princess Consort of Wei had a dispute with Princess Consort of Liang, she knew that Princess Consort of Wei was not a person who would make a concession first.

“Why don’t you think that she becomes smarter?” Song Yixiao smiled after hearing the words. She pulled Xie Yiren to sit next to her, whispered the whole story, and then said, “Princess Consort of Wei suppressed her indignation this time, but when the story is spread in the palace, the Empress Dowager, the Empress, and even the Noble Consort will all force Princess Consort of Liang to apologize to Aunt Daiguo. At that time, she may have to go to the Prince of Wei’s mansion to make amends!”

Xie Yiren took a fan to cover her mouth, got close to her ear, and said with a smile, “I know this. It’s just that she always avenges herself on the spot and never complains to others afterwards. Today she totally changes her attitude. I couldn’t have believed it if I haven’t seen it with my own eyes!”

“I think she did this because of what Princess Consort of Liang said just now.” Song Yixiao pressed her lips and said, “His Majesty has been caring for the Eastern Palace recently. Even Aunt Daiguo needs to be more tactful during this period.”

After all, the reason why Daiguo Grand Princess was able to support Prince of Wei to participate in the fight for the throne was that Emperor Xianjia indulged her.

If Emperor Xianjia was cruel enough to ignore this younger sister, she was just an ordinary woman in the royal family.

Therefore, even if she was arrogant and domineering in the daily life, she should restrain herself when Emperor Xianjia became serious.

After all, Daiguo Grand Princess had experienced the fight for the throne in the previous dynasty, and thus no matter how arrogant and intransigent she was, she knew clearly what she could do and could not do.

Xie Yiren agreed with her and said with a smile, “It couldn’t be better if Aunt can think so.”

“Participating in the fight for the throne is definitely not just a game.” Song Yixiao compressed her lips and thought, “It is especially true when there is a private grudge between Aunt Daiguo and Noble Consort Cui. As she has taught her daughter to show restraints, she may not want to give up the fight for the throne. Instead, I’m afraid that she just wants to continue her plan secretly given that His Majesty has demonstrated his attitude recently!”

For example, today’s dispute between the two princess consorts could be a good excuse. Song Yixiao could imagine the scene that Daiguo Grand Princess wept out her grief to Emperor Xianjia. “You just supported the Crown Prince, while the wife of the Crown Prince’s brother even dared to ridicule at me, who is her aunt. If the Crown Prince ascends the throne in the future, can we still survive?”

“My husband says that Prince of Liang and his wife have made up in the past two months because of their unborn child.” Speaking of this, Song Yixiao cast a glance at Princess Consort of Liang who was still elated, and shook her head, “This time Princess Consort of Liang provoked Aunt Daiguo out of nothing. I doubt whether she was deliberately bringing trouble to the Eastern Palace for the sake of Sikong Yiluo. Nevertheless, the Crown Prince probably will be implicated because of today’s event. If Prince of Liang knows this later, the couple definitely will quarrel with each other.”

Hence, even though she gave her a helping hand in the past, she did not want to be close to Princess Consort of Liang. Princess Consort of Liang’s defense for her sister Sikong Yiluo was touching, while Song Yixiao didn’t dare to make friends with her because of her unscrupulous behaviors. She could only keep herself away from Princess Consort of Liang.

Fortunately, people like Princess Consort of Liang are few and far between after all.

When they were waiting for the banquet to start, no one dared to disgrace themselves except for this accident. People who had a grudge in private would only euphemistically satirize each other.

When it was time for the banquet, Daiguo Grand Princess sent her confidant maid to inform them. Then they left the drawing room in small groups and went to the banquet hall.

When they arrived at the hall, they all were stunned to hear the news: Emperor Xianjia was also here!