The people in the pavilion didn"t expect Commandery Princess Nanzhang and the others to come in. They looked at each other for a moment. It was so embarra.s.sing!

A long while later, Song Yixiao saw that no one was talking, so she had to say first, “Marquis Yuan, Xue"e, Muting, are you resting here too?”

“Yes!” Yuan Xue"e represented the three to answer quickly, “Muting was here first. My brother and I were a little thirsty after walking for a while, so we also came in to have a seat.”

She also complimented Commandery Princess Nanzhang, “You are so beautiful with the clothes. Is the embroidery work of the lotus from the palace? Outsider embroiderers don"t have that kind of skill.”

Song Yixiao said to Yuan Xuepei, “Several days ago when I was in the imperial capital, Xubai told me about you. You"re looking well now. How"s everything going?”

The two joined forces to smooth things over, Commandery Princess Nanzhang thought quickly and finally decided that rather than fleeing away, it was better to come in, sit down and face the rival in love. She replied Yuan Xue"e reservedly. After entering and taking a seat, she took the tea Yuan Xue"e asked to make and took a sip. She did not care the topic about a tree not far away from Song Yixiao, but only tilted her head slightly and looked at the expressionless Jiang Muting, laughing softly, “Cousin Jiang, long time no see!”

She said in a low voice and with a tranquil tone. It seemed like she was just her ordinary sister-in-law. When they met, they greeted with each other naturally.

But before she finished speaking, the pavilion was suddenly in silence, for a moment even breathing could be heard.

There was a moment of resentment and weakness in Jiang Muting"s eyes, but she raised her head high quickly, straightened her back, looked at Commandery Princess Nanzhang, and said word by word, “yes, long, time, no, see!”

“I heard you were not in a good condition not long ago?” Commandery Princess Nanzhang put down the tea cup elegantly and said gently, “How are you feeling now? It"s our fault. We were too busy with the marriage before to see you!”

Song Yixiao pursed her lips and took an opportunity to glance at Prince of Wei when drinking tea, who was half similar to Emperor Xianjia with a face of n.o.bleman. His eyebrows showed he had read many books. Although he had the golden crown, jade belt and expensive costume, he was more like a learned scholar than a prince.

In short, he was handsome and n.o.ble without losing his elegance.

It was not surprising that Jiang Muting would fall in love with this cousin.

He was sitting there with impeccable manners, sipping tea calmly, which was certainly beautiful like a picture. However, he was just watching his wife, who had taken his love from Jiang Muting, making things difficult for his cousin he had let down. Song Yixiao dropped her eyes to hide the disgust in them.

“I am already fine.” Jiang Muting"s knuckles that were gripping on the tea cup were all pale from exertion. Her tone was so icy that couldn"t be hidden, “It"s none of your business!”

“You"re still blaming us by saying that. Otherwise why wouldn"t you ever call me "sister"?” Commandery Princess Nanzhang smiled. The pearl dangling ornament between her temples swaying gently, making a crisp sound of pearls and jades, like her mood at the moment, light and bright.

She said in an almost cheerful tone, “Alright, alright, I"ll apologize again: As your cousin-in-law, it was my fault that I had neglected you. And don"t be so small-minded. If the worst comes to the worst, I"ll find you a suitable husband who"s as talented and handsome as your cousin later, how about that?”

If she had only occasionally provoked Jiang Muting just now, these words would surely have stung Jiang Muting"s heart!

Song Yixiao"s expression turned a lot and she interrupted with a forced smile, “Your Highness, try this dessert. Commandery Princess Qingjiang had the cooks make it on purpose. It"s so sweet!” She casually took a plate of cake and pushed it to Commandery Princess Nanzhang.

Yuan Xue"e pretended to have just noticed it was late when looking at the sky, saying surprisingly, “Oh! We have been sitting for so long. It"s time for my brother to go to the hot springs. Or it would be delayed. Muting, about Princess Yushan…”

“Is Cousin Jiang leaving too?” Commandery Princess Nanzhang paid no attention to them and only stared at Jiang Muting, whose tone was gentle, but the corners of her eyes and eyebrows were full of naked provocation. She said with a long and gentle voice, “What a pity! I just wanted to talk longer with you. Although you are not our sister, my husband treats you as his real sister. We need to be closer in the future, don"t we?”

These six words “treats you as his real sister” beat Jiang Muting"s heart heavily. Even though she tried to control herself, her trembling hand still loosened because of spasm. “Bang~” The porcelain cup with plum blossom painted in ruby fell to pieces on the bluestone floor. Her peach skirt was splashed with some tea that had been left in the cup, which quickly dyed the skirt red like blood!

Both Song Yixiao and Yuan Xue"e were shocked and angry, and they all looked at Prince of Wei!

Yet he looked calm, as if he hadn"t even seen the scene!

“Muting was simply blind in the first place!” Song Yixiao cursed in her heart and was about to speak up for Jiang Muting when she heard a gentle and elegant man"s voice, “Even though you don"t like Virtuous Consort, after all, Virtuous Consort raised Prince of Wei up. Why not think of the bond with Prince of Wei?”

It was Yuan Xuepei. He was even calmer than Prince of Wei, but his words almost made Commandery Princess Nanzhang bristle with anger, “As the saying goes, one needs to think for her husband after getting married. Your sister-in-law, Her Highness Princess Yushan, chose to live in a place far from Buyue Villa. Let alone you did not go to care about her as her sister-in-law, but just think of yourself and live with your own mother in Ruyi Garden. However, you just pay all your attention to please a cousin of Prince of Wei, and neglect Princess Yushan…You are so unfair to your husband and don"t realize who is your closer relative. Those who don"t know would have thought that Prince of Wei was adopted in your family, and that"s why you were allowed to be reckless!”

Before he finished talking, not only did Commandery Princess Nanzhang stand up in anger, Prince of Wei also stopped being deaf. He looked at him sternly, “Marquis Boling!!!”

“Your Highness, you probably don"t know that as soon as Princess Yushan arrived yesterday, she went to Lunong Building to visit her brother, Prince of Zhao first before picking her residence. In terms of seniority, you are an elder brother, while Princess Yushan is your younger sister; in terms of knowledge, you are a learned man, but Princess Yushan is just a woman no matter how n.o.ble she is!” Yuan Xuepei played with the tea cup in his hand, said calmly without seeing their eyes, “However, till now, have you ever cared about either your sister or your brother?”

He lifted his head, seemingly smiling, “Have you ever thought of the consequences, if it was spread to the ears of Empress Dowager and His Majesty?”

Obviously, it was a threat after the previous irony, but his face was full of the words “I just want to help you, Your Highness”. Neither Prince of Wei, nor Commandery Princess Nanzhang could not come up with any words to retort, both being extremely angry!

In a rage, Commandery Princess Nanzhang said without careful diction, “You"re a cripple who can"t even stand up. I was wondering if you are sterile and think that you can get Lu Hexing"s unwanted hussy by saying a few words for Jiang Muting now?”

Lu Hexing was the name of Prince of Wei.

The words of Commandery Princess Nanzhang were so unpleasant that Jiang Muting, who was already near collapse, almost pa.s.s out! Yuan Xue"e hurried forward to help her and comfort her in a low voice. Prince of Wei didn"t look good either but didn"t say anything in the end after glancing at his wife.

“It"s better for you, Princess Consort of Wei, to be cautious!” Song Yixiao, who could not stand long ago, stopped Yuan Xuepei from speaking with these words and raised her voice, “Who doesn"t know that Marquis Boling was wounded on the battlefield? If not for the men who fight in the frontiers to defend our country, how would we be rich and comfortable today? Empress Dowager and His Majesty have been at pains to remind us of the hardships our ancestors endured. What do you mean by saying like this? How do you regard the millions of soldiers in Great Rui, the soldiers who have fought against the Hu, and Empress Dowager and His Majesty who have taught us this?”

If Yuan Xuepei"s words had left Prince of Wei and his wife mute and unable to speak, Song Yixiao"s words were a direct attack on their hearts.

She directly regarded the sentence that Commandery Princess Nanzhang called Yuan Xuepei as a cripple as a meaning that Commandery Princess Nanzhang was defying all the soldiers and the teachings of Empress Dowager and Emperor Xianjia!

“Never forget the hardships our ancestors endured” were the words that every person in power would teach more or less.

So even though she knew that Song Yixiao had never heard of such words when she met Emperor Xianjia and Empress Dowager, it couldn"t be denied that those words she said to accuse Commandery Princess Nanzhang in the name of these two people were inappropriate.

Commandery Princess Nanzhang stared at Song Yixiao with a look in her eyes that would have swallowed her alive. Song Yixiao looked at her coldly. Her apricot-shaped eyes were full of coldness and mockery.

A short while later, the Commandery Princess, with a remaining thread of sanity, waved her sleeves heavily, “I"m tired. I will go back first!”

Prince of Wei swept his eyes at Yuan Xuepei coldly and had a looked at Jiang Muting before catching up, “I"ll accompany you!”

Nie Wuying looked at Song Yixiao at a loss for words. They came here with Prince of Wei and his wife, and now these two departed abruptly, what about themselves?

Song Yixiao wasn"t in the mood to care about her now. After Prince of Wei and his wife had gone far, she looked around and saw that there were all her own people, except for her sister-in-law. Eventually, she frowned, “Marquis Yuan, I should have been allowed to say all these words!”

She was not only a relative of Prince of Wei and his wife but also a woman. So even if she took Jiang Muting"s side openly, it was just a conflict between relatives or in a backyard, which was easy to deal with. At least it was easy to calm down on the surface.

As for Yuan Xuepei, he smiled, “We are all on crown prince"s side. Who says there"s a difference between us? Besides, not only do I not enter the service now, but also rarely leave the house, so who am I afraid of offending?”

Song Yixiao knew it wasn"t that simple, but Yuan Xuepei had said so, and Jiang Muting was there, so she couldn"t say anything. She was only thinking that she would write a letter when she returned later and tell Jian Xubai about it quickly.

“It"s all because of me, and I"ve gotten you all involved!” Jiang Muting had been trembling in Yuan Xue"e"s arms and finally controlled her mood now. She stood up to salute, and choked, “If there is any trouble for Marquis Yuan in the future, please do send someone to tell me!”

Song Yixiao and Yuan Xue"e returned her salute, but also scolded her for taking them as an outsider… Yuan Xuepei"s knee was shattered and was in a wheelchair, so it was difficult for him to get up. He received her salute, and laughed lightly, “I have no alternative. My sister nearly tore my sleeve off just now, and if I still keep from talking, she"s going to be mad at me when we get back today!”

Of course, this was just a joke, and Yuan Xue"e was not an ignorant person. Yuan Xuepei was now crippled and suffering from pain, so it was precisely when less trouble was better than more. No matter how worried she was about Jiang Muting, Jiang Muting couldn"t be as important as Xue"e"s own brother after all. It was ok for her to smooth things over. How could she ask Yuan Xuepei to come out to help?

But now everyone has a tacit understanding. Yuan Xue"e even deliberately didn"t comply, “How could I tear off your sleeve? I just have pulled for twenty or thirty times!”

“If I hadn"t pulled the armrests in time, I would have literally been ripped out of my chair by you!” Yuan Xuepei laughed, “Don"t deny it!”

After they are having jokes for a while, the atmosphere in the pavilion, which had been cold, was relaxing. Song Yixiao turned the subject to the scenery in Zhanchun Venue. After talking about this for a while, everyone"s mood calmed down and then went back respectively.

As soon as they were outside the pavilion, Song Yixiao suddenly remembered her sister-in-law, and her heart thudded, “Oh no! This girl has been neglected for so long…”

When she was still thinking about it, she heard Nie Wuying"s voice, “Yixiao, you helped that Miss Jiang just now, what will you do if Aunt Daiguo asks about it later?”