Chapter 234: Chapter 235 - Help Her Out

After a moment, they entered the back hall where Dowager Consort of Hengshan stayed. By now several guests had arrived and they were about to talk with the Dowager Consort. Song Yixiao curtsied to the Dowager Consort with her birth mother. After being asked to rise, she went forward to offer congratulations and meanwhile looked over the Dowager Consort in secret. The Dowager Consort was dressed in an extremely official and graceful way, whose nine-floral hairpins glistened in the sunlight from the side window and made the whole hall greatly radiant.

However, even with the splendid jewels, this old lady was clearly much thinner. She didn’t like wearing makeup, but today she put on heavy makeup. Her multi-layered makeup covered her truly pale complexion and her face was so delicately powered that it looked like a mask. Under the reflection of the hairpins and Di clothes, she seemed indescribably magnificent and elegant.

Before Song Yixiao approached, she noticed that there was a glint of tiredness in the Dowager Consort’s eyes which seemed hard to conceal, but she still struggled to talk merrily with the guests reluctantly.

Faced with Song Yixiao’s greeting and congratulations, the Dowager Consort exchanged pleasantries with a beaming face and then asked with concern, “The good news of Princess Consort of Wei announced the other day reminded me that you had been married for more than half a year. Besides, you and your husband are so in love. I wonder when I can hear good news from you two.”

Song Yixiao knew that she asked the question deliberately to exert stress on herself. She was about to answer when Wei Mengying spoke first with a smile, “I was talking with Yixiao about it just now. Princess Consort of Liang got married later than her but she is pregnant now. Even if Her Majesty the Empress Dowager and Jinguo Grand Princess are not anxious, I feel worried about for her!”

Now Wei Mengying didn’t look like the woman who had just cursed her mother-in-law and named her as the old malicious woman a moment ago. Instead, with a decent faint smile and a gentle look, she stared at the Dowager Consort respectfully and intimately, “That’s why I bring her to get some luck of yours, Mother.”

“I’m old now. How can I be as lucky as you?” Dowager Consort of Hengshan gave a resigned smile with her eyes glistening but she didn’t say anything special. Then she just exchanged some pleasantries and then sent her away, “You are too young to chat with us. No need to stay here all the time. You may as well go to the drawing room and chat with your peers. My eldest son’s wife is receiving guests with Kou’er and Chai’er over there!”

Now it was all the senior noble ladies who were sitting in the hall. The only exception was Yuan Xue’e who was married into the family for less than half a month. She rose and volunteered, “Shall I take Shanyao there?”

“How can you leave? The prince’s mansion will count on you. It is a rare occasion when the seniors are here today. What a good opportunity to open your eyes! You will regret if you leave!” Unexpectedly, Wei Mengying stopped her smilingly, “The guests in the drawing room are in the charge of Madam Kong, Kou’er and her sister. Moreover, Yixiao lived in the prince’s mansion before anyway. She knows how to get there. You should just stay here with ease. I’m going to leave Mother’s next birthday feast to you so that I can slack off!”

Everyone was a bit startled to hear her. It was well-known how fierce the competition for the heir of Prince of Hengshan was. If Wei Mengying didn’t say so, no one would know that the result had come out. However, Lu Guanlun was the one favored by the Dowager Consort. Now that Wei Mengying lost, she didn’t look frustrated or disgruntled. Plus, she even hinted that she would transfer the power?

This was so odd!

However, Wei Mengying and her mother-in-law didn’t mean to explain at all. Then Wei Mengying turned to her daughter, “Go ahead. You haven’t met Kou’er and Chai’er for a long time!”

Surprised and doubtful, Song Yixiao took a glance at her and thought that her mother couldn’t mean well by complimenting Yuan Xue’e since she just claimed snappishly not to smooth things over. Song Yixiao wanted to intercede on behalf of Yuan Xue’e, but how could she do it in front of the public?

Therefore, she could only hold back her worry and then take a look at Yuan Xue’e before rising with a curtsy and leaving.

Having gone outside, she adjusted her clothes and strode towards the drawing room.

She had just arrived at the entrance of the drawing room when she saw Madam Kong, Lu Kou’er and Lu Chai’er were receiving the guests separately.

It was all young womenfolk who were conducted here. They were all young and pretty, but Song Yixiao still saw Su Shaoling at the first sight.

This young lady of the Su Family was wearing a light-blue narrow-sleeved blouse and a white skirt with a silver painted pink ribbon tied around the waist. She also had a hundred-flower brocade shawl around her arms. Her hair was braided into a Fenxiao Chignon of a childish style, adorned with three jade dangling ornaments which looked like the spread tail of a peacock. The ends of the dangling ornaments were all decorated with a dark red camellia, hanging next to her cheeks, which set off the white of her skin, the black of her hair and the radiance of her face.

Actually, in terms of beauty, even excluding Song Yixiao, Su Shaoling couldn’t be rendered as the No. 1. Yet, even if the legitimate lady of Fufeng Hall was less beautiful, she had the nurtured glamor of a noble family on her, who was extraordinary.

Thinking of that she was just engaged to Ji Zifu, given that they two were acquaintances, by reason, Song Yixiao should go forward and offer congratulations. However, it was rumored in the imperial capital that Ji Zifu was not a good man. She was wondering how Su Shaoling felt about having such a fiancé.

If Su Shaoling was very distraught, would her congratulations be annoying to her?

Therefore, after she entered the drawing room, she greeted Madam Kong first. Yet, hesitant, she didn’t immediately look at Su Shaoling.

Unexpectedly, while she was pondering, Lu Kou’er left the two female guests behind, walked to her and then held her arms with a smiling face, saying in a low voice, “Come here and explain to me!”

Every word was uttered through her clenched teeth!

“To explain about what?” Song Yixiao struggled to shake off her hand and yet, she couldn’t. After being dragged out of the drawing room, although she knew what was happening, she still feigned ignorance, “Fourth Commandery Princess, what do you mean?”

“Stop playing possum with me!” The position where they were standing could be seen from the drawing room but it was a distance away. Besides, thanks to the coverage of the window and the plants, they couldn’t be clearly seen anyway. Hence, Lu Kou’er couldn’t be bothered to pretend to be close to her.

She let go of Song Yixiao’s arm and rolled up her own sleeves, snorting, “You hold a grudge against Cui Jianlian and the deceased wife of my second brother. It is fine that you set against them! However, I have never hurt your maid or intended to kill you! Even though I did say something offensive to you when you lived under the roof of the prince’s mansion, you were raised in my family for several years. What’s wrong with suffering some cold words from me? Do my family have to please you as a matter of course? If you found it grieving, why didn’t you go back to the Song Family?”

She got angrier and angrier, “How dare you accuse me of coveting your husband before the Noble Consort, the Crown Princess and the maids sent by the Empress Dowager and the Empress in the imperial palace?”

“How can you be so vicious?”

“If this leaks, my life will be ruined!”

“You are disgruntled about Cui Jianlian and Madam Jin because they hurt your maid for a trivial matter. What about you?”

“What grudge do you hold against me, which makes you ruin my reputation in this way?”

“Say it!”

“Tell me!”

Looking at Lu Kou’er, who was so emotional, Song Yixiao twitched the corner of the mouth. She dragged Fourth Commandery Princess down for two reasons. Firstly, it was for the big picture of her plan; secondly, she heard the information from Xie Yiren and intended to stifle her rival in love in the cradle. Nevertheless, it was not the right occasion to tell Lu Kou’er about that.

Therefore, Song Yixiao thought for a moment and then said in a soft voice, “If I really want to ruin your reputation, how come no one gossips about you outside these days?”

“That’s because Her Majesty the Empress Dowager and the other seniors are penetrating, who ordered to block the words!” Lu Kou’er snorted, “Are you going to take credit for that?”

“Fourth Commandery Princess, you’ve got me wrong,” Song Yixiao said softly, “I mean…”

She took a step forward and whispered to Lu Kou’er softly, “Since you know that the former side concubine of the Crown Prince, Cui Jianlian, and your sister-in-law, Madam Jin, were both dealt with by me. If I want to ruin you too, do you think you can stand here, safe and sound?”

This came as such an unexpected shock to Lu Kou’er. She widened her eyes subconsciously and then her pupils suddenly shrank just like a needle. Then she caught Song Yixiao’s collars and shouted angrily, “You are threatening me?!”

“Of course not.” Song Yixiao pushed away her hands and adjusted her collars calmly, replying in a low voice, “I’m simply reasoning with you. I really don’t want to hurt you. Otherwise, when you gripped my collars just now, I could have cried out. By then, all the people in the drawing room would suspect that you were forcing me to requite your kindness.”

“You!” Stamping her feet in anger, Lu Kou’er snapped, “Shame on you!”

Song Yixiao didn’t care about her cursing and still smiled, “Therefore, you should be calm! If you shout louder, you will be heard by the people in the drawing room. By then you are the one to be gossiped about!”

“You are such a poseur!” Lu Kou’er wished to rush forward and slap her, but when she looked at the nearby drawing room, she found some people were staring at them curiously. Barbarian as she was, she was not so willful as Cui Jianlian. She had some concerns anyway. After pondering for a while, she still put up with it and stood there, saying through clenched teeth, “I can just fall on the ground and claim that you push me!”

Song Yixiao chuckled instantly, “Then I will not defend myself and only apologize to you humbly, ready to take the punishment. After all, there are some people gazing at us over there in the drawing room. I don’t even need to say whether I have touched you or not. By then…”

Lu Kou’er almost felt like vomiting blood with anger. She was about to speak when a beautiful voice came first, “Madam Song, Fourth Commandery Princess!”

It was Su Shaoling who walked out of the drawing room gracefully. With a smile, she said, “I’ve heard that Madam Song dwelled in the place called Hanxia Villa when you were still living in the prince’s mansion. And the place got the name because of the Malus halliana in front of it. May I go there and take a look at the flowers?”

Song Yixiao and Lu Kou’er were surprised. They looked each other in the eye and both realized that Su Shaoling was trying to smooth things over with an excuse as she had seen through their dispute.

“It happens that the feast won’t start until a few moments later. How about me taking you there?” Song Yixiao didn’t mean to quarrel with Lu Kou’er. Now that she had a chance to get away, of course she would take it. She hedged and then agreed. Then she turned to Lu Kou’er, saying, “Fourth Commandery Princess, there seem to be a few more guests in the drawing room. I suppose Madam Kong and Sixth Young Lady are a bit occupied. I’m fine here. You may as well go and do them a favor!”

“Don’t make yourself sound like I was attending to you specially just now!”

Lu Kou’er rolled her eyes at Song Yixiao resentfully. Unfortunately, before Su Shaoling, she couldn’t refute willfully so she only nodded her head reluctantly and then left with a flick of her sleeves.

After she left, Su Shaoling suddenly laughed and winked at Song Yixiao mischievously, saying in a low voice, “Everyone who has just arrived here comes to offer congratulations to me, on and on. I’ve heard enough of them. I can’t stand it anymore. Hence, I want to go out to take a break with you as my excuse. Please don’t blame me for using you!”

Song Yixiao also laughed. Her comments on this girl given in front of Ji Zifu were quite correct. The girl came to help her out and yet didn’t take the credit. Instead, she said she was using Song Yixiao. How could anyone not fall for such a considerable and sweet girl?