Chapter 271: Chapter 272 - Refuse His Proposal Once More

Jian Xubai responded, “There is something indeed. Helou Duhan visited me today.”

“He went to see you?” Song Yixiao immediately thought of the blind date when they were on Cuihua Mountain and asked in surprise, “Does he fall in love with Yourui?”

“He said that he always highly esteems such a dignified and reserved girl who respects the elders like Yourui.” Jian Xubai nodded. “When she refused him politely after seeing him earlier, he didn’t feel frustrated. But it happened that Virtuous Consort Jiang wanted to choose him as Princess Yushan’s husband. Later although he asked us to tell Lady Muting to remind Virtuous Consort Jiang in private and prevent it, he was afraid that if he immediately expressed his love for Yourui, it would harm her, so he has been waiting till now. Seeing that nobody talks about Yushan recently, he came to see me and said that he is willing to wait until Yourui finishes mourning. He wondered if she likes him.”

Song Yixiao answered knowingly, “We need to ask Yourui to say something in person before we give him a reply.”

Without hesitation, she agreed to go to her mother-in-law’s mansion next morning. Since Jian Xubai had nothing else to say, she stated, “I want you to help me. Just now my maternal grandma came with my aunt and cousin to see me, and we had a heart-to-heart talk. Before leaving, she mentioned two grandsons of hers, my cousins who stay at home out of work and wants to find jobs for them.”

“Tell them to see me in the government in the next two days. I will check what they can do.” Jian Xubai pondered for a moment and then added, “As long as they sincerely want to work, it’s easy to arrange jobs for them.”

They stopped talking for today. Next morning, Song Yixiao dealt with the family affairs after getting up and then took some cakes and fruits. She got into a carriage and went to Grand Princess Jinguo’s mansion.

Hearing that her pregnant youngest daughter-in-law had come, Grand Princess Jinguo hurriedly told the servant to lead her to come over and asked with concern, “Why did you come all of a sudden? Do you have something to tell me?” While asking, she looked at Song Yixiao’s belly involuntarily. Obviously, she was worried that there would be something wrong with the baby.

“Mother, thanks for your concern. Somebody asked my husband for help, and he told me to ask for your permission.” Song Yixiao noticed that and didn’t mind. She smiled, telling her mother-in-law what had happened. “This matter is related to Yourui’s marriage, so we can’t cross the line and should ask you.”

“Is it Helou Duhan?” Earlier, Grand Princess Jinguo was afraid that her foster daughter would feel sad because Pei Yourui mentioned her late father Pei He. Then although she was worried that the girl would stay single and waste her young age, she didn’t dare to push her. So she delayed choosing a husband for Pei Yourui temporarily and planned to mention it later. The grand princess was happy to see that her foster daughter would find a good husband. Moreover, Helou Duhan was a choice to be a future son-in-law that the grand princess liked.

Such an outstanding young man like him didn’t worry that he couldn’t marry a lady from a wealthy and powerful family, and lately even Virtuous Consort Jiang wanted to marry her daughter to him, so the grand princess didn’t suspect that he had a materialistic purpose as he insisted on asking Pei Yourui to marry him. Hearing that he was willing to wait for her foster daughter, the grand princess liked him more.

Just as Song Yixiao said, it was a significant matter of a lifetime for her foster daughter, the grand princess asked to confirmed it, “Is he really willing to wait until Yourui finishes mourning? Does he know that she has been in mourning for less than one year? If he waits, he has to wait nearly two years.”

She asked but it showed expectancy in her tone. Obviously the grand princess was moved.

“Since Mr. Helou asked my husband to send a message for him, even if he didn’t know, Xubai must have told him.” Song Yixiao added respectfully, “Moreover, it’s not that I am partial to our family, but with Yourui’s intelligence, beautiful face and temperature, if I were a man, I would be willing to wait for her.”

She said the last words to flatter her mother-in-law, but Pei Yourui was really beautiful and graceful. It was not just flattery.

Grand Princess Jinguo stated joyfully, “In that case, of course, it would be excellent. Last time Yourui didn’t say that she didn’t like him. She just said that she didn’t want to get married for now. I think it is no problem.”

However, she loved her child. Even though she said that, she still ordered somebody to bring Pei Yourui here. Then she waved the outsiders away and asked Song Yixiao to tell Pei Yourui what had happened. Afterward, she asked gently, “Yourui, what do you think about this man? Since he refused the princess yet asked Xubai to send a message that he is willing to wait until you finish mourning, it is obvious that he loves you sincerely. Although he is from an ordinary family, the most important thing for marriage is mutual love. If you agree to marry him, just tell Xubai to give him a reply later.”

“Mother…” Pei Yourui turned pale after hearing that. She pondered for a moment and then continued, “It happens all of a sudden. Please give me some days to consider it, okay?”

Grand Princess Jinguo told her to come just because she was afraid that her foster daughter would nurse a grievance. Of course she wouldn’t refuse, so she expressed with a smile, “Okay. If you worry about it, it’s no big deal to let you see him again. Anyway, it’s fine only if you are satisfied with him.”

Pei Yourui finally heaved a sigh of relief and talked with them for a while. Then she talked to Song Yixiao. “Yixiao, you haven’t been here for a few days, and Wuying talked about you the other day.”

“I also miss you, but we just came back from the mountain, and there are many things in the mansion, so I can’t find time to come,” Song Yixiao explained in a hurry. “Even if I don’t have the job to send the message today, I plan to come to see you these two days.”

“How can we tire you now?” Pei Yourui couldn’t help but laugh. “We should go to see you. Do you have a good appetite these days?”

Finding that they talked happily, Grand Princess Jinguo smiled and was about to speak, while a servant came in and asked cautiously, “Your Highness, Master Cai has sent people to ask three times. Will you go to see him today?”

Hearing that, Pei Yourui and Song Yixiao looked at each other and both of them felt awkward. They never heard that there was a Master Cai in this mansion in the past, yet he dared to send somebody to push the grand princess when she was talking with her children, so they knew that it must be the newcomer who took over Mr. Qiao’s job.

Meanwhile, Grand Princess Jinguo looked calm and stated, “I have forgotten him. So you have a good talk. I am off now.”

The two hurriedly got up and saw her off.

After the grand princess went away, Pei Yourui invited Song Yixiao to visit Nie Wuying in the Mingzhu Villa. On the way, she suddenly told the servants to go away and gazed at Song Yixiao. “I want you to do something for me. Would you like to help me, Yixiao?”

Song Yixiao was surprised. “Yourui, why don’t you take me as your family? If you have something, just tell me to do it.”

She was clear that Pei Yourui knew what she shouldn’t do even though she was always favored by Grand Princess Jinguo. Even if she asked for help, she wouldn’t make an unreasonable request, so Song Yixiao agreed without hesitation.

Unexpectedly, Pei Yourui nodded while saying impassively, “Please refuse Mr. Helou for me.”

“Yourui, you don’t love him?” Song Yixiao was stunned after hearing that and asked subconsciously.

A complicated expression was shown on Pei Yourui’s face. She looked at the orchids not far away and seemed to make a decision after a long while. Then she replied in a deep voice, “Right.”

Song Yixiao was confused to see that. Pei Yourui had seen Helou Duhan only once and never talked with him. There was no outsider here. If she really didn’t like that number one scholar, she could say it immediately. Why did she need to think it over?

Although her relationship with Pei Yourui was not distant, Pei Yourui was not as close as Yuan Xue’e to her. And she couldn’t speak to this foster sister as freely as to Nie Wuying. So she pondered in secret, yet she didn’t have the courage to ask directly. She just responded, “In this case, I will tell Xubai after going back home.”

Then she thought that after driving the servants away, Pei Yourui still seriously asked her for help and seemed to suggest that the couple were meddlesome. So she added after a pause, “It’s our fault. I am sorry to disturb you.”

When she said that, she was certainly unhappy. Helou Duhan was not a man who didn’t deserve Pei Yourui. He loved her, which was not a humiliation for her, and the couple didn’t try their best to bring them together. They just sent a message for Helou Duhan. Logically, they didn’t offend Pei Yourui, but judging from their foster sister’s behavior and attitude, it seemed that she blamed them.

Pei Yourui noticed the hidden meaning and frowned. “Yixiao, don’t get me wrong. I don’t mean anything else. It’s just…”

She kept silent for a moment before continuing, “Please don’t mention something like this again in the future. I am really not in the mood to…”

Song Yixiao felt embarrassed as she thought that Pei Yourui was still sad for her father’s death, so she comforted the girl. “He has gone far and you need to cheer up. Otherwise, if Grand Secretariat Pei’s soul knows it, he would be worried about you.”

Pei Yourui smiled bitterly and didn’t answer. She just told their servants to come back and then stated, “Let’s go to see Wuying.”

The two went to the Mingzhu Villa and spent some time with Nie Wuying. Then they had lunch together. At dusk, Song Yixiao said goodbye and left.

When she returned to the mansion of Duke of Yan, her husband had come back, so she didn’t return to the bedroom to change into a housecoat but first told the servants to go away. Then she stated, “I didn’t finish the job you told me to do.”

Seeing that there was sweat on his wife’s forehead, Jian Xubai took out a handkerchief and gave it to her to wipe it. Then he asked in surprise, “What’s wrong?”

“Mother approved it, yet Yourui secretly told me that she doesn’t love Mr. Helou.” Song Yixiao sighed. “And she told us not to talk about this matter with her in the future. I think that she seems to still feel sad for Grand Secretariat Pei’s death, so I can’t say more.”

Jian Xubai couldn’t help but laugh. “I wondered what you didn’t finish… I like Mr. Helou’s temper and moral quality, while compared with Yourui, he is only an outsider. She doesn’t love him, and how can I force her to marry him? We reached an agreement that we just sent a message.”

Song Yixiao pondered for a moment and then spoke out her suspicion in the end. “Although Yourui refused Mr. Helou twice with the same reason that she felt sad for Grand Secretariat Pei’s death and wasn’t in the mood to consider her marriage, when I asked her directly today if she loves him, she answered after a moment of hesitation. I wonder if she has other intentions. However, I seldom talk with her, and I was afraid that I seem to pry into her privacy while we are not close, so I thought twice and didn’t ask her.”

“Talk about it with Mother later.” Jian Xubai thought about it and then murmured, “Mother is closest to Yourui as she almost grew up before Mother’s eyes.”

“When I go to see Mother next time, I will find an opportunity to talk with her.” Song Yixiao nodded and kept it in mind.

The next day, Jian Xubai gave Helou Duhan a response. After he came back, he told his wife, “He looked disappointed, and I feel that it is a pity, but marriage can’t be forced.”

“Exactly.” Song Yixiao sighed. “Hope that each of them can find a good spouse with mutual love in the future.”

She said that, but the two people almost had nothing to do with her. She had tried her best. Although it was a pity, and she sighed with emotion, she put it behind her and concentrated on nourishing the fetus.

In a few days, the eldest daughter-in-law of the Sikong Family, Madam Chang fulfilled her promise and brought valuable gifts to thank Song Yixiao. “Madam, if you didn’t remind us, something bad would happen to Princess Consort of Liang.”

Madam Chang was always calm and graceful, yet today there was joy in her eyes evidently, and she even walked briskly. Obviously, the Sikong Family made peace with Princess Consort of Liang smoothly. However, it was not surprising. No matter how much Princess Consort of Liang hated her family, without her family’s help, at first, her baby might not be saved, let alone herself.

Sikong Yihan would continue to bother about what happened in the past at the crucial moment only if she was out of mind.

Moreover, she was wrong in the past.

The chance to make peace was like a Heaven-sent gift to the Sikong Family. They couldn’t fully express their thanks to Song Yixiao even after Madam Chang thanked her to her face, and in the end, only the gifts could express their gratitude.

Song Yixiao received the gift list but didn’t check them. She just replied modestly to Madam Chang and then asked, “There is something wrong with that maid?”

Madam Chang responded resentfully, “Not only the maid. My grandma sent the old maid who served her at her wedding to investigate it. After only several days, she found that few of the maids of Princess Consort of Liang are well-behaved.”

“How is it possible?” Song Yixiao was astonished to hear that. “Since Princess Consort of Liang got pregnant, the servants who take care of her are watched by Consort Cui personally.”

Even though Princess Consort of Liang made mistakes in the past and perhaps Consort Cui didn’t like her, the baby in her womb was the first legitimate son of Prince of Liang. For the sake of her grandson, Consort Cui shouldn’t neglect her, right?

Madam Chang sneered. “It was fine when Consort Cui watched in person. An imperial doctor found that she was harmed secretly in the past one or two months. It happened that Consort Cui was busy then and ignored her. Those servants are so bold and dare to plot against a princess consort and the emperor’s grandson!”

Song Yixiao checked the dates and realized that when “Consort Cui was busy”, it must be the period around Grand Princess Daiguo’s birthday banquet. Although the haram pushed Concubine Chen out as a scapegoat, Noble Consort Cui was degraded to be Consort Cui and irritated the Empress Dowager. After something like this happened, Consort Cui could hardly protect herself. No wonder that she ignored her youngest daughter-in-law’s pregnancy.

However, since those people were arranged by Consort Cui for Princess Consort of Liang, they wouldn’t try to kill the princess consort as soon as Consort Cui stopped watching them even if all of them didn’t like Princess Consort of Liang.

Not to mention what profit they could gain after killing Princess Consort of Liang, if there was something wrong with the princess consort when they looked after her, wouldn’t they take the responsibility?

Song Yixiao felt that a cloud of suspicion was hanging over her.