The princess occupied the moral high ground and brought up the kindness of the King of Hengshan in raising Song Yixiao, making sense wherever she spoke.

  Wei Mengying did her best, but in the end, she only managed to persuade the empress dowager to let her daughter get married within this year: "The empress dowager is eager to marry off Xiao Xiao, no doubt because she's afraid of implicating Ke'er and the others. But think about it, Empress Dowager - if Xiao Xiao gets married as soon as she returns from the Bo Ling Hou Mansion, who wouldn't suspect that something fishy is going on? Wouldn't that just make things worse for Ke'er and her sisters? If we delay the wedding by a few months until the rumors die down, won't that be more aboveboard?"

  "But she can't go to the Bolinghou Mansion again! From now on, it's best not to leave Huanxia Xiao Zhu even!" The Empress Dowager made an excuse of "being concerned about her granddaughters' reputation" to have a fit, but her real purpose was to clear the way for Lu Guanlun to become the Crown Prince, so whether Song Yixiao would marry immediately was actually unimportant. The key was that she couldn't let her help Wei Mengying gain power.

  He took a step back, his face cold, and said, "You don't even consider Cui Er or Chai Er, but Zong Er is still your own flesh and blood!"

  The mother and daughter left the Taifei courtyard with pale faces, returned to Weimengying's place, and immediately ordered a cleanup. As soon as the door closed, Weimengying slammed her hand on the table and shouted: "This old woman is simply too deceitful!!!"

  Thin mother waited for those who didn't retreat to give her a smooth flow of air, and gently persuaded them with warm words.

  After a long while, Wei Mengying's anger subsided slightly, and she pushed away their hands, turning to her daughter and saying bitterly: "You see? Even as the noble princess consort, having given birth to a son and a daughter for the prince, once the empress dowager speaks, I am still left with no recourse!"

  Song Yi smiled silently and sighed deeply in her heart.

  As expected——

  "You said two days ago that your mother told you to get close to the Duke of Boling, it's because you can't be a human being! Now I know this kind of talk is childish!" Wei Mengying sneered repeatedly. "Now where is the king? The empress dowager says she will drive you out if you don't behave! In the future, when the king is no longer there, the one sitting in that position won't be your own brother, can our mother and children not be swept out of the house immediately?"

  She also said, "Even if the Empress Dowager didn't force me to find a husband for you today, when you get married in the future, won't you rely on your brothers? Why did I have a hard time at the Song's house back then and why did the Empress Dowager look down on me? In terms of talent and looks, where am I inferior to others? Isn't it just that the Wei family is only an ordinary official family, not noble enough?! If you had a younger brother who was the heir, even if you weren't a princess of this palace, who would dare to belittle you?"

  The one who spoke the most was Wei Mengying, but when she looked at Song Yi, she saw that Song Yi was smiling and lowering her head to fiddle with her hem, her red lips tightly pursed and still refusing to speak. Wei Mengying knew that Song Yi's heart must be in a mess right now, so she didn't force the issue, just waved her hand and said: "You go back and think carefully! I'm getting old and my life is almost over, what else can I hold onto except for you two siblings?"

  Song Yi smiled and walked out of the door with a dejected expression, immediately regaining her composure - but Jin Xun, who had been following her all along, was on the verge of going crazy!

  Upon returning to the Huanxia residence, Jin Xiang hastily told Zhao Mama about what had happened. This made Zhao Mama flustered: "Originally, Miss staying in the Wang residence was already somewhat improper, if even her reputation is ruined by others, how can this marriage be carried out? Even if they somehow manage to get married, whether it's good or bad isn't the point, but how will their life be after getting married?"

  "The empress dowager doesn't necessarily want to drive me out of the palace, she just doesn't want Guanyun to be the crown prince." Song Yi smiled, understanding the empress dowager's thoughts clearly, but things weren't up to her to decide. "As long as I don't go and get in touch with those nobles who can help Guanyun, and behave myself, the empress dowager actually doesn't care if I stay in the palace for two more years. But... Mother will never swallow this insult!"

  It's likely that Wei Mengying will frequently arrange for her to meet Yuan Xuepei from now on!

  What should I do?

  Song Yi thought deeply with a bitter smile.

  She didn't know that Wei Mengying's plan was doomed to fail - not only because of her previous message, but also because Yuan Xuepei had no intention of letting her accompany her sister recently; let alone the position of Princess Bogong, which the Yuan family had long regarded as a foregone conclusion, and none of Liang's nieces could compete with it, how could they tolerate outsiders intervening?

  Yuan Xuepei was after all a prince, even if he had lost the use of his legs, he was not someone that Song Yixiao, a weak and timid lady, could compare to.

  After enduring the imperial court's scrutiny, he finally had a chance to focus on his sister's marriage.

  This is also reasonable, Yuan Xue'ai was already sixteen years old.

  At her age, many girls have already married, but her marriage has not been arranged - two years ago, the Tu family had wanted to arrange a marriage for her, but because Yuan Xuepei was still alive although she was being held captive by the Wuhuan people, Wei Mengying intervened and stopped it: "Since ancient times, major events such as marriage have always been decided by one's parents; if the parents are no longer around, then it is the older brother who takes on the role of father and the older sister-in-law who takes on the role of mother. I've never heard of a situation where there is an older biological brother still alive, yet someone else comes out to interfere without even consulting with their own grandson!"

  The second lady of the Wang Mansion, "Stepmother Concubine" Wei Mengying, was furious. After gritting her teeth, she didn't hesitate to use it on Madame Tu: after all, she's just an old lady from a marquis mansion, and still has a conflicting relationship with the heir, so what if she bullies her?

  Yuan Xuepei has returned now, and all the urgent matters have been settled. Of course, it's time to hurry up and marry off her sister, so as not to delay her youth any further!

  Although the marriage of Song Yiliao was already on Weimengying's mind at the end of last year, there is still no sign of it now. As for Yuan Xue'e's lifelong partner, Yuan Xueshan had thought of it long ago: Lu Guanlun.

  After all, Yuan Xueying's thoughts were simple, and she didn't want to give her a thick one, so Yuan Xuebo was afraid that his sister would be taken advantage of.

  You Yu had crippled legs and would probably spend the rest of his life as a marquis - it was unbearable for him to let his sister marry down; if she didn't, he couldn't provide enough security.

  It seems that only Lu Guanlun is the most suitable, the eldest son of the Wang family's original partner, Yuan's legitimate nephew, a kind and honest person who knows his roots.

  But...

  "This matter is now somewhat difficult to handle." Yuan Xuepei's father, the old man who had accompanied him on his expedition six years ago, and the leader of the guards, Yuan Zhan, shook his head and tactfully advised, "The Empress Dowager of Hengshan and the Princess have great differences in their opinions on the selection of the crown prince, and the King of Hengshan has been unable to make up his mind..."

  It ends here, but what hasn't been said isn't hard to guess: with this marriage, the Empress Dowager will definitely find a good family for her grandson to marry into, in order to increase his chances of becoming the Crown Prince.

  If Yuan Xuepei returns as a hero, achieving the limitless future that everyone expects of him, and with his relationship with Jian Yuxiao, he might still have hope to fight for his sister. But now?

  Yuan Zhan stole a glance at Yuan Xue's icy expression, hesitated for a moment, and finally ventured to say: "I heard that Lord Jian refused the empress dowager and the empress's offer of betrothal. Since Lord Jian has always been on good terms with Marquis Hou, our eldest sister may be naive and innocent, but in terms of talent and beauty..."

  "This idea won't do!" Yuan Xuepei immediately shook her head, "Ah Xiao doesn't like Ruo Er's temperament at all. If it weren't for my sake, he wouldn't even bother to give Ruo Er a glance, can't you see that?"

  "Master Gong and Master Hou are like brothers, and when he scolded the young lady earlier, it was because she had caused you a lot of worry in her panic, fearing that you would be exhausted." Yuan Zhan actually thought that matching Yuan Xueyu with Jian Xuwei would be easier than matching her with Lu Guanlun. He reminded them, "After the news spread from the palace that Master Gong did not want to marry the princess, there were many families in the capital who wanted to form an alliance with him - but didn't he refuse them all?"

  He spoke more fluently, "Obviously, the young master has no one in his heart now, but such a large Yan Guo Gong Fu must have someone to take charge. Especially since the young master has officially entered politics, the Jinzhi Yuye of the Jun Guo Long Gong Zhu is not possible to replace the young master's manipulation of the back house, otherwise, the Empress Dowager would not urge the young master to get married! Even if the young master has no intention of marrying the eldest sister now, after becoming husband and wife, the days will pass and it will be fine, right?"

  "Do you know why Ah Xū refused to marry the young master?" Yuan Xue Pei looked at him, a hint of mockery in her eyes, and said lightly, "Although Ruo Er is not as noble as the princess, who made the Boguang Hou Mansion different from ordinary侯爵 families? It's hereditary! Because of this point, even if I'm crippled, Ruo Er will absolutely not be able to become the wife of the Yan Guo Gong, do you understand?"

  Yuan Zhan's expression was still bewildered, Yuan Xuepei pinched her brow and lowered her voice, "Your Majesty has been ill for a long time, the Crown Prince has only worn the crown for four years. Although the Crown Prince is wise and benevolent, the imperial relatives, nobles, high-ranking officials, and famous generals all need experience to have experience, and need strategy to have strategy - how can Your Majesty not worry?"

  "Ahuai is the beloved son of Empress Dowager and has been raised under her knees, and also holds the title of Guo Gong. He let out a sigh, tiredly saying: "With his age and bloodline, his current status is already too high! If he were to marry another princess or a noble lady from a prestigious family, do you think the Crown Prince would still dare to use him in the future? Not to mention the Crown Prince, even His Majesty wouldn't want to see another couple like Fuyang Hou and his wife in the imperial court!"

  Fuyang Marquis couple refers to Fuyang Marquis Ji Youguan and Princess of Dai State.

  There's something I want to say about past events.

  Xian Emperor's brothers and sisters add up to more than 40, he occupied the name of the eldest son, but neither was the eldest son nor very favored by the previous emperor. The reason why he could take the throne of the East Palace and eventually dominate the world is not only because of his own means, but also because some courtiers have always supported the establishment of the eldest son, and the sacrifices of his sisters who share the same mother cannot be ignored.

  He originally had five sisters with the same mother, but now only Jin Guo Zhang Gong Zhu and Dai Guo Zhang Gong Zhu are alive.

  The other three all died young and left no descendants, with two of them not even leaving behind any children.

  The diagnosis given by the hospital was unanimous: it was all due to depression and anxiety that had been pent up in the heart for a long time, eventually leading to illness from which there was no recovery.

  Even Princess Chong of Jin State petitioned for a divorce from her first husband less than three months after Emperor Xianjia ascended to the throne.

  Among the five sisters, the luckiest one is Princess Dai Guo, who fell in love with Marquis Fuyang at first sight. The couple has been loving each other till now and they have a son and a daughter, making their life perfect.

  But what made Emperor Xian of Jin most headache was also her sister.

  Because this princess is really too unscrupulous, court politics, border fortresses, the imperial harem... there's nothing she doesn't interfere with!

  Moreover, with a straight face and an air of confidence: "In the past when my imperial brother wanted to use me, I didn't hesitate for a moment before descending. Now that I just want to share some of my imperial brother's worries, why should he suspect me?!"

  It's tolerable for Princess Shangyang to interfere with politics, after all, she is just a woman.

  Although her husband, Gui Wu Guan, was only a marquis, he could make the Emperor Xian of Jin, who was then still the crown prince, take his own sister as a concubine, and his power can be imagined.

  How can Emperor Xian of Jin not worry?

  But thinking of the three sisters who are no more, and looking at the Jin State Princess who was recognized as "intelligent and elegant, virtuous and refined" in the previous emperor's time but has become a notorious woman in this dynasty, with many members of the imperial clan ashamed to mention her name. Among those elder and younger sisters of hers who should have enjoyed honor and glory all their lives, only the Jin State Princess truly lived like an imperial princess.

  Really can't bear it.

  Ke Xian Jia Emperor can tolerate his younger sister accompanying him through the difficult years of fighting for the throne, but he will never allow a similar situation to appear in the imperial family again.

  How can he still be in charge?

  "Ah Yu must hold the heavy power." Yuan Xue Pei gazed at a branch of apricot blossoms outside the window, saying lightly, "This concerns his life and death, so don't say such words that will drag him down in the future."

  Yuan Zhan wiped away the cold sweat on his forehead and bowed respectfully: "Yes!"

  "Right, I had Xiang'er write a letter to Miss Song of the Hengshan Wangfu. You can find someone to deliver it later." Just as Yuan Xuepei was about to wave her hand for him to withdraw, she suddenly remembered something: "The Empress Dowager's intention to find a good match for A'ru is already known to you, let alone others. From now on, the imperial capital's young ladies will likely be secretly vying with each other. Miss Song is beautiful and intelligent, but unfortunately, she doesn't have a father or brother to support her. Xiang'er needs to stay with me to nurse my injuries and can't go out, so if she were to attend those gatherings alone, who knows, she might be taken advantage of like a soft persimmon used to intimidate others. It's better for her to avoid that kind of situation."

  After all, in the past six years, Wei Mengying and her mother have taken good care of him, so it's only natural that they would return personal favors with a mere lift of their hands. Yuan Xuepei wouldn't let this opportunity slip away.

  What a pity it would be if such an intelligent girl were to ruin herself like that.

  It was just that his kindness didn't reach Song Yixiao's hands - the old Princess of Hengshan had gone blind with age, and leaning on her side on the couch, she listened to her senior maid Lan Hui read out the letter that had been intercepted at the door, before opening her eyes and coldly laughing: "Really good sisters... take it away and burn it!"