Chapter 182: Chapter 182 - Tell Frankly (1)

Song Yixiao took a deep breath and put on a peaceful look, saying calmly, “Mother, do you remember this? As I said just now, according to my stepmother, it is not only the Liu Family but also the Jin Family who collude with Cui Jianlian in the conspiration against me.”

“Exactly, but it should not be Jin Suke’s idea?” The Grand Princess said seriously. “Jin Suke is not such a person, but some of his descendants are rather disappointing!”

“If I’m right, the reason why the Jin Family interferes with this matter must be that the second young mistress in Prince of Hengshan’s mansion acts as a go-between!” Song Yixiao said. “Xubai tells me that the Jin Family hasn’t shown the attitude in court by far?”

The Grand Princess said with a frown, “You want to force the Jin Family to support the Crown Prince with this? It is kind of a merit, but I don’t think it will let the Noble Consort vent her anger. You’ve underestimated how mad a person of an exalted position could be after being driven into a tight corner! To be honest, even if you succeed in winning over the Jin Family, or even help get the Crown Prince out of critical trouble, Noble Consort Cui won’t necessarily let go of you!”

Song Yixiao noticed that her mother-in-law was referring to her only. Obviously, the Grand Princess told her implicitly that the crisis must be solved by Song Yixiao alone and that Jian Xubai shouldn’t be involved!

However, she was not surprised by the situation. If Wei Mengying were in the Grand Princess’s shoes, she would be thinking over how to exchange Song Yixiao for the best interest. After all, her mother-in-law gave her a chance to save the day.

“I don’t have a good mother but I have a good mother-in-law!” As she recalled, when she was in the bed net of her grandmother, she heard her mother complain to her grandmother about being unable to meet a good mother-in-law. She couldn’t help thinking with self-mockery, “My mother-in-law treats me much better than my birth mother!”

But now was not the time to sigh about it.

Therefore, she quickly came to her sense and said, “I planned to frame Cui Jianlian for forcing me to get a divorce, but you know, the reason is too absurd. Ordinary people won’t believe that a side concubine of the Crown Prince can say that!”

“But I’m not afraid of the body search, which puts me on the upper hand!”

More importantly, “I seldom hang out with Cui Jianlian. There must be a reason why she asked me to have a long talk! But due to the testimony of Dowager Consort of Hengshan, she cannot use the excuse of the old grudge years ago! Moreover, since she wants to ruin me, she will never admit bearing grudges against me unless absolutely compelled! I’ve pondered in her shoes. The only excuse she can acknowledge reluctantly is the Fourth Commandery Prince of Hengshan.”

After all, Song Yixiao’s connection with Cui Jianlian was so little that there was no suitable common topic but Prince of Hengshan!

The young and the old in Prince of Hengshan’s mansion also attended the feast of the Lantern Festival. If Cui Jianlian cared about the Dowager Consort, she could have gone forward and paid respects. There was no need to ask Song Yixiao to talk in the dressing room! Moreover, Song Yixiao didn’t live in Prince of Hengshan’s mansion anymore, who could no longer know the recent situation in the mansion.

As to sharing the burden for the seniors, Cui Jianlian was not estranged from the Prince, but they were not so close that the people in Prince of Hengshan’s mansion would stand up for her!

Even though Dowager Consort of Hengshan agreed to let her spy beside Wei Mengying deliver a message for Cui Jianlian, it didn’t mean that she would allow Cui Jianlian to ruin the reputation of Prince of Hengshan!

Although it was believed that Prince of Hengshan helped Song Yixiao a lot, given the exalted threshold of a hereditary prince, how could the people in Prince of Hengshan’s mansion forced her to pay back for the past kindness!

Therefore, from the perspective of Prince of Hengshan, to raise Lady of Yan was only for accumulating merits for the descendants, to show sympathy for a poor girl and to follow the example of the Empress Dowager and Emperor Xianjia. All in all, the noble, majestical and benevolent Prince of Hengshan never required Lady of Yan to repay!

Let alone sending someone to remind Lady of Yan of keeping the kindness in mind!

Therefore, the only reasonable excuse for Cui Jianlian was Lu Kou’er.

Because this was the birth daughter of Cui Jianlian’s aunt, Cui Jianlian’s own cousin and peer.

“So I guess that she would say that she learned about the misunderstanding between Lu Kou’er and me, given that Lu Kou’er and I were about the same age and also kind of relatives, so she would like to talk with me in private so as to bury the hatchet. Therefore, after running into me in the side hall for getting changed, it stood to reason that she could talk with me but it turned out that she was harmed by me!”

“This story sounds a bit nosy and yet reasonable!”

Song Yixiao said, “Besides, the maid who conveyed the message under the guise of my mother is actually a spy assigned by the Dowager Consort to keep a watch on my mother. However, if I failed to notice the trap of the Diyi and to prove my innocence from hurting the side concubine of the Crown Prince, the maid would claim that she acted as per my mother’s order so as to drag my mother into trouble!”

Since Lu Guanlun was about to be made the heir of the prince, Dowager Consort of Hengshan was simply focused on ensuring that Wei Mengying didn’t make any scene. How could she think of setting against Song Yixiao?

However, if the scheme worked, Wei Mengying could never turn the table and the Dowager Consort could rest assured then!

“In this way, it wouldn’t be believed that Cui Jianlian proactively invited me to the side hall. Instead, people would believe that it was me who asked my mother to keep a watch on Cui Jianlian’s behaviors and that my mother reminded me to wait in the side hall first so as to take the opportunity to hurt her when Cui Jianlian went to get changed!”

Under this circumstance, who would doubt what Cui Jianlian and Song Yixiao talked about in the side hall?

It was indisputable!

“Therefore, when I said that Cui Jianlian demanded me to get a divorce for Kou’er, their prepared story couldn’t work then!”

Because as long as Cui Jianlian and Xiaoman acknowledged the conversation involved Lu Kou’er, the strained rumor could take effect!

Cui Jianlian might not care about the cousin’s reputation but Lu Kou’er was not an orphan with no backing, whose grandmother and father wouldn’t let her bullied by others! Even if Cui Jianlian was under the cover of the Noble Consort and the Crown Prince, nowadays the Crown Prince was trying his best to retain his position. How could he easily offend Prince of Hengshan, the hereditary clan that was passed down since the country was founded?

By then, even if he still didn’t sacrifice Cui Jianlian, he would feel disgruntled about her. Cui Jianlian would begrudge letting go of her babies but not herself. Moreover, as she held a severe grudge against Song Yixiao, she must hope that she could see Song Yixiao meet with a misfortune while she was living a gracious life herself!

She would never perish with Song Yixiao!

“Cui Jianlian’s maid is a bit quick-witted. When she saw that you dragged Lu Kou’er into trouble, under duress she had to talk of the grudge between you and Cui Jianlian. However, this is also within your speculation. Because Dowager Consort of Hengshan would never admit this for the sake of Lu Guanlun.” The Grand Princess, rolling the bracelet on her wrist, said with a nod. “With the guarantee of the Dowager Consort, even Mother will not question easily. Even if the Noble Consort entertains doubts, she can never badger about it!”

She said in a voice beyond description, “The daughter taught by the Princess Consort is smart indeed. Go on!”

Song Yixiao took it as a compliment. She smiled bashfully and said, “With the testimony of Dowager Consort of Hengshan, no evidence could be found on my clothes, and I also have support of you and Qingjiang…”

She kind of expressed her gratitude for her mother-in-law and sister-in-law. Then she said, “If Cui Jianlian and her maid want to deny my statement, it is not that easy. However, considering the Noble Consort and the Crown Prince behind her, I will not let her convicted!”

Therefore, as per Song Yixiao’s plan, after she insisted that Cui Jianlian had made a pretentious request, she would make others believe that Cui Jianlian was actually tricked by others into doing so!

However, as the side concubine of the Crown Prince, how could she be tricked into demanding a lady of duke to divorce for her cousin?

“Usually, she can’t be so stupid, but if the Noble Consort’s speculation was right, Cui Jianlian believed that I had done what a titled lady shouldn’t do and something happened between Lu Kou’er and Xubai due to some mistake. In this case, she acted in a rage out of indignation or in order to defend for Xubai, which was reckless and yet understandable!”

Song Yixiao said, “Just because she is the side concubine of the Crown Prince, it has been well known that the Crown Prince always treats Xubai as his real brother!”

The Grand Princess took a tumble. “So you plan to make Madam Jin, the second young mistress of Prince of Hengshan’s mansion to undertake the responsibility of cheating Cui Jianlian?”

“Exactly!” Song Yixiao said with a nod. “Back then, the mastiffs ran into the backyard of the Prince’s mansion. The plotter was Cui Jianlian, and the second young mistress was also one of the accomplices! I don’t want to let go of her either!”

She was not worried about failing to frame Madam Jin, because Cui Jianlian didn’t want to drag Lu Guanlun into trouble either!

It was Xiaoman who admitted that Song Yixiao and Cui Jianlian bore grudge against each other since they were kids.

Xiaoman was the trusted maid of Cui Jianlian. Although she knew that Cui Jianlian admired Lu Guanlun, at the crucial moment, Cui Jianlian’s position in her heart must be higher than that of Lu Guanlun! If Cui Jianlian was on the spot, she would not say that even if driven into a corner!

After all, Noble Consort Cui and other ladies were not silly. Even if they didn’t let the matter pass, how could they not suspect Cui Jianlian? Instead, why did they set against Song Yixiao?

If they wished to make Lu Guanlun stay out of the trouble, they could only deny the fact that they used to bear grudge against each other completely!

Chance contrived better than the people themselves. According to Song Yixiao’s scheme, even if Cui Jianlian slandered Song Yixiao for hurting her babies, she would stop at where it should instead of really hurting herself!

However, she would sacrifice her babies! If it were not for that Cui Jianlian had to be sent back to the Eastern Palace for induction due to the twin babies, Xiaoman wouldn’t be the only one left for interrogation!

“If Cui Jianlian chooses to protect Lu Guanlun, she will follow my lead and drag Madam Jin into the trouble!” Song Yixiao described her ex-ante speculation in a low voice. “In this case, she will try her best to make the Noble Consort and the Crown Prince believe that it is Madam Jin deliberately who puts a wedge between the Crown Prince and Xubai, or that it is Madam Jin who purposefully makes the Crown Prince disappoint you and Her Majesty the Empress Dowager!”

Jinguo Grand Princess never asked about the court affairs but because Jian Xubai was close to the Crown Prince, she had a good opinion of the Eastern Palace. However, despite the clear support for the Crown Prince, the Empress Dowager would still feel unhappy if she was made to believe that the Crown Prince let the grandson raised by herself suffer wrong only for a girl.

If the Crown Prince disappointed these two ladies due to Cui Jianlian, it would create an opportunity for Prince of Wei and Prince of Zhao.

“Under the circumstance, the Noble Consort and the Crown Prince will surely believe that Cui Jianlian and I have been conspired by Madam Jin! They will aim at Madam Jin too!”

However, this second young mistress in a prince’s mansion obviously couldn’t bear these two ladies’ fury!

“Moreover, Dowager Consort of Hengshan adheres to the parental guidance and never intervenes in the fight for the throne! In order to let the prince’s people out of the trouble, the Dowager Consort will surely choose to abandon Madam Jin. The only way is to prove that Madam Jin has lied to Cui Jianlian behind the prince. In addition, it is not the servants in the prince’s mansion but the servants of the Jin Family who Madam Jin orders!”

This was not difficult to make it, because Madam Jin always used the people of her maiden family for the incidences over the past years!

When Madam Lu disclosed that Cui Jianlian had dealings with the Liu Family and the Jin Family instead of Madam Jin. A married daughter belonged to another family. If Cui Jianlian only colluded with Madam Jin, Madam Lu wouldn’t mention the Jin Family. At most she would mention some people of Prince of Hengshan’s mansion!

Song Yixiao would not buy it completely due to her stepmother’s side of story. However, she had been tricked into going back to the Song Family’s mansion shortly after the incidence of mastiffs happened to her seven years ago. Liu Zhenxi persuaded Song Yuan into disabling her and marrying her to the Liu Family. The Jin Family didn’t step forward directly, but how could Madam Jin, the second young mistress of Prince of Hengshan’s mansion, persuade Liu Zhenxi and Song Yuan without her maiden family’s support?

Therefore, the Crown Prince got the goods on Jin Suke in secret!

If this Officer Invincible at Court didn’t want to come to a bad end, what else could he do but turn to the Crown Prince?

“In this way, you’ve become one of the young and innocent victims from a plotter who meets trick with trick. The Noble Consort and the Crown Prince will feel greatly better than you!” The Grand Princess slightly nodded. “Moreover, thanks to the support from Jin Suke accidentally and my mediation, the Noble Consort and the Crown Prince will eliminate the grudge against you instead of seeking revenge on you in the future.

Then she frowned. “But it is only your plan. The current situation doesn’t accord with it!”

“You are right!” Song Yixiao said respectfully. “I once ruminated that if Cui Jianlian chose to abandon Lu Guanlun or she would die with him because she couldn’t have him, then the Liu Family would be doomed!”

The Grand Princess remained thoughtful for a while and failed to guess her daughter-in-law’s thinking, asking in confusion, “What do you mean?”