The day before, her emotions had been on a rollercoaster, and she had cried again. The next day, no one woke her up, so Song Yisheng slept until almost noon before slowly waking up.

  She hadn't fully woken up yet, but she already heard a thrilled voice coming from beside her bed: "My son! You've finally woken up! How are you feeling now? Are you hungry? Come on, first drink some water to moisten your throat!"

  Song Yi Xiao was dazed and confused, having been fed some water, her parched throat finally able to make a sound, she exclaimed in surprise: "Mother, how are you here?"

  The noblewoman in the embroidered dress sitting on the edge of the bed was none other than her own mother, Wei Mengying. Upon hearing this, she tucked in the corner of the quilt for her and didn't say a word. However, Thin Mama, who was standing behind Wei Mengying, replied on her behalf: "As soon as the princess heard that you were ill, she rushed over like crazy!"

  She also said, "It's already been an hour since the appointed time, and I've been waiting for you for a whole incense stick - if it weren't for Cuiyan and the others saying that nothing was wrong with you, I would have gone to invite the imperial physician long ago!"

  "Daughter is unfilial, making you worry!" Song Yi smiled and thought of Jian Yu Bai's promise last night. She knew that if it weren't for the Empress Dowager's words, her mother might not have come. But she didn't want to say anything, only asking Wei Mengying if she had eaten, "Don't starve yourself because of me, the entire Weishan Wangfu is still relying on you!"

  "My son, seeing you in this state pains me to the heart and I can hardly bear to look at you. How can I eat? But now that you're awake, I'm truly relieved - is there anything you'd like to eat? I'll have the kitchen prepare it!"

  Song Yi laughed and said, "Let's have some steamed egg custard."

  "This is good." Wei Mengying nodded and asked her thin mother to spread the word, then called in a servant girl to serve Song Yixiao with washing and dressing.

  Originally, Song Yixiao was about to speak up, but she was pressed back by her own mother. After dismissing the attendants on either side, she scolded her for being muddle-headed: "This time you're ill, and your son-in-law is anxious like crazy, fearing that the Empress Dowager will use the current situation as an excuse to not let me come, so he specially asked someone from the Empress's side to pass on a message - it clearly shows how much he values you!"

  "In this case, 'How can you be fine so quickly?' It's just right to seize the opportunity and let him suffer a bit!"

  Song Yi Xiao still had Wei Chang's affairs on her mind, how could she be in the mood to learn Gu Cong's tricks?

  Considering Wei Mengying's temperament, the conversation between mother and daughter might not go smoothly next time. It's better to talk about it after lunch, otherwise this meal will probably be ruined!

  But she didn't say a word, and Wei Mengying thought her daughter was shy, so she continued to instruct her in a nagging tone: "I heard Jin Xun and the others say that you haven't consummated your marriage yet?"

  "Because..." Song Yi Xiao felt a headache coming on and was about to make an excuse, but Wei Meng Yin cut her off with a wave of her hand, saying: "Don't worry, I'm not scolding you - just look at how attentive your husband is to you now, that's all the proof we need. What I've been teaching you is ultimately for the sake of capturing your husband's heart! As long as you can grasp his heart, how you spend your days is up to you, do I not wish for your happiness?"

  Seeing her daughter sigh in relief, she said, "However, this string can't be tightened all the time! You two are husband and wife after all. This young man is impulsive and hard to control. Once you're better, find an opportunity to satisfy his desire. Otherwise, those who take advantage of the situation will seize the opportunity and take advantage of you, and you won't even have time to cry!"

  Song Yi Xiao sighed inwardly and said, "Mother, you can rest assured! I remember all the things you taught me, and I won't lose face for you!"

  She didn't want to hear any more of this, so she said that sentence and asked the three younger siblings who shared the same mother but different fathers without waiting for Wei Mengying's response, "Little sister, I haven't seen you in a long time, who do you look like? And how have Yuner and Zhen'er been lately?"

  Wei Mengying smiled and said: "Xiaojiu's name has already been chosen, it's Cui'er - with parents around, what could be wrong?"

  Song Yi smiled and said, " 'Cui' means luxuriant vegetation, but I hope you're as healthy as your name suggests!"

  Seemed to recall something and said, "Last time in the palace, I was given some bird's nest, I checked they were all very good, remember Cloud loves to eat this, wait a minute mother must bring it up!"

  She also said, "Two days ago, I saw two pairs of little girls wearing ankle bells in the warehouse. They were very elegant and I took them out on purpose to keep for Zhen'er and Cui'er. Children grow up quickly too, and in three or five years, they will be able to wear them."

  "It's better not to live with your mother-in-law, then you can be the master of everything." Wei Mengying sighed a little, "But Yun'er and her family don't lack these things either, you should take good care of yourself!"

  Her words sounded like concern, but in fact, she had the intention of scolding her daughter: although swallow's nest and tinkling ankle bells were good things, with the identities of Lu Guanyun, Lu Jiner, and Lu Cui'er, they weren't particularly rare!

  So even if Song Yi has become the mistress of the house, she still hasn't reached the point where she can put on airs in front of her mother's family!

  Moreover, the words "not living with one's mother-in-law is good, and everything can be done as one pleases" also imply a reminder to Song Yishuang that she can be in charge of this household only because her mother-in-law, the eldest princess consort, does not live with her son and daughter-in-law. Once the eldest princess consort starts asking questions, Song Yishuang's words may not count in this Yan Guo Gong Fu!

  "His daughter is still so clever!" Song Yi smiled to herself, "Just forced the Wei family to abandon Yuanyuan, and then turned around to learn from the Wei family's lesson, fearing that I would follow their example, relying on my husband's power, escape her control, and even turn around to manipulate her?"

  She felt a wave of listlessness and said faintly: "Is the rice cake still not steamed well?"

  A moment later, Song Yishou brought up the yogurt and lunch he had prepared for Wei Mengying.

  The mother and daughter finished their tea, rinsed their mouths, and cleared the table. Wei Mengying put down her teacup and asked seriously: "You've always been in good health, how did you catch a cold and end up like this?"

  "Is the person who invited you here saying that I have a cold?" Song Yi smiled slightly, got herself a pillow and sat up slowly, saying, "I thought mother already knew the whole story...Yan's younger sister is even younger than me by one year, but fortunately Cloud didn't get hurt. I want to ask mother to spare her life, can you please consider our mother-daughter relationship and let her off?"

  When Wei Mengying heard the three words "Cui Biao Mei", her face suddenly turned ugly, and when she heard her daughter mention "mother-daughter relationship", she couldn't help but sneer: "You keep talking about mother-daughter relationship! How can you not think that as soon as you said you caught a cold, I was so anxious to come see you! I didn't even have time to deal with the difficulties from the Empress's side! And what about your brother Wei Cui? He almost took his own life! Have you forgotten how many days Yun'er was listless after being sent to your Huánxiǎo Xiǎozhù?"

  "Can you think, Imperial Concubine, why Meng'er had to do this?!" Song Yi's eyes were icy cold as she said in a low voice, "She was originally living peacefully in the Wei household. If she hadn't been forced into desperation, how would she dare offend Your Majesty?! She's only thirteen years old - wasn't what happened on the day of the Empress Dowager's birthday enough to cause her pain?!"

  "The We family's children are not making any effort, the girl wants to achieve something without putting in any hard work! How can there be gains without first paying the price!" Wei Mengying said sternly, "You think I'm your mother? In the past, I was able to marry your father and now I'm the Princess of Hengshan. Do you think this is just a matter of sitting at home, eating well, drinking well, and enjoying good fortune that fell from the sky?"

  She disdainfully swept her eyes over her daughter, "It's you! If your mother hadn't worked hard in the girls' school, flattering and fawning on people like Lu Ke'er and Lu Jie'er, would we have gotten to where we are today?! At least my daughter and I have been blessed with good looks by heaven. Wei Cui doesn't have much beauty or a good family background, but she's not willing to marry into a family that's just barely decent like her sisters did. What makes her think she can just sit back and enjoy the benefits?!"

  Song Yi Xiao listened to these words and felt they were off, she was stunned for a moment before suddenly saying: "You knew ahead of time... on the day of the Grand Consort's birthday, something would happen to Cui'er!!"

  "How would I know?" Wei Mengying was shocked and immediately denied, "Although she can't compare to you in her mother's heart, after all, she is also the daughter of my own brother. If she hadn't harmed your younger brother first, how could I have harmed her? To say the least, when we received her at the Wang Fu residence, it was originally to help promote her - her later misfortune was also a matter of fate! If you had spoken well with me, would I not have avenged her and helped her plan for the future? Yet, you believed those who harmed her and instead went to harm your own nephew! What's wrong with me standing up for my son?"

  "Are you still trying to deceive me, Mother?" Song Yi's body turned cold as she smiled wryly. "Mei told me that the purpose of her short stay at the Wang Manor was to intentionally bump into Fuyang Hou's son on the day of the Grand Princess Dowager's birthday, when Lu San Gongzi would be passing by, so as to provoke him into taking sides! I thought it strange at the time - Fuyang Hou's son is the beloved child of the Grand Princess Dowager, not someone with a good temperament! Don't you worry, Mother? What if Mei really offends him and Fuyang Hou and the Grand Princess Dowager take their son's side and shift the blame to the Wei family and you?"

  She smeared her face and stared straight at Wei Mengying, "Not to mention that the Princess of Dai Guo intends to support the King of Wei in seizing the throne! The Hengshan Wangfu has never interfered with the struggle for the crown prince! Even if the king likes you very much, but on such a major issue involving the future of the entire manor, I think you wouldn't dare to offend arbitrarily, would you?!"

  "You and the Wei family, as well as your cousin Yan's words are all just excuses!" Song Yi sneered coldly, "You've been calculating Yan's misfortune from the very beginning - isn't that right?!"

  Wei Mengying's face changed for a moment, and finally she said expressionlessly: "You're great! I've raised such a good daughter! I treated you like my heart's treasure, with fine clothes and food, and carefully brought you up to be so big. What has Wei Zhuang ever done for you? At most, it was just that before your marriage, you lived with her in the Huanxia Pavilion for a few days. You actually think of me as your mother like this, and still use the relationship between mother and daughter to pressure me?"

  She fiddled with the bangles on her wrist, her eyes full of disgust and hatred. "If I had known it would be like this today, I wouldn't have given birth to you, you white-eyed wolf!!!"

  Song Yi Xiao listened to these words, but she didn't get angry or anxious. Instead, she smiled lightly and said: "But you've already given birth, and I'm already married. Now that you regret it, it's too late!"

  Wei Mengying's eyes were fixed on her, cold and stern.

  Song Yi smiled and replied with indifference.

  The mother and daughter stood facing each other for a long time, before Wei Mengying suddenly sneered: "Good daughter! You want to talk about conscience? Then tell me, how did your first stepmother die all those years ago?"