Although Song Yixiao guarded against Madam Jin, nothing happened in the following several days.

Of course it didn"t mean that Madam Jin wouldn"t vent her anger. When Song Yixiao went to greet Wei Mengying, she learnt, "Marquis Yuan hopes that his sister can live here for some time. These two days, Her Highness has taken the order of the dowager consort so she is busy discussing with the two young mistresses about how to help Miss Yuan settle down. I"m afraid that she has no time to meet you!"

Song Yixiao also learnt from Madam Kong that Marquis Yuan and his sister came to pay a visit the day when she entered the prince"s residence. Yet, it was now that she learned about the background of these two big shots. They were the grandson and granddaughter of the dowager consort. Young as they were, their parents were dead now.

Yuan Xuepei had inherited the rank of Marquis two years ago. He just finished mourning for his parents and there were seniors who could educate girls. Hence, it was a bit strange that he sent his sister, Yuan Xue"e to live in the prince"s residence.

Wei Mengying"s first maid Lingdang, with the intention of playing up to Her Highness"s birth daughter, disclosed the hidden information to Song Yixiao, "Elder lady of the Yuan Family is the step-grandmother of Marquis Yuan, who has been antic.i.p.ating that Marquis Yuan and his sister die soon so that her own child can inherit all the a.s.sets. Marquis Yuan will go to war soon and he is afraid that something bad may happen to his sister in their house. Therefore, he comes to visit the dowager consort once he finishes mourning for his parents, requesting the dowager consort to allow Miss Yuan to live in the prince"s residence temporarily. And he will take his sister back after returning home in triumph!"

Song Yixiao couldn"t help sympathizing with them, "It is difficult to live under the control of the step-senior indeed. I thought that only I lived a miserable life before. Unexpectedly, even a marquis dreads so much that he has to send his sister out of their home for the sake of her safety!"

In this case, she felt that her mother was kind to her anyway. Even though this woman did nothing to save her from danger, the woman would not hurt her deliberately.

Now that she learnt that Wei Mengying was busy, Song Yixiao would not bother her then.

After Song Yixiao lived in the Hanxia Villa for a few days, Wei Mengying finally had time to send Lingdang to summon her for a talk, "The dowager consort puts you in that lonely place on purpose, making it inconvenient to bring dinner for you from the center kitchen. Hence, you have to cook yourself. Obviously, she just wants to isolate you from the others in the residence, leaving you to run your own course!"

"Therefore, you may as well go to girl"s school. Although you may be pushed aside afterwards, it is better than living in the Hanxia Villa alone and learning nothing. Moreover, you have no sister. If you don"t even have a good friend after getting married, you may be belittled by your husband"s family!"

She was right so Song Yixiao surely accepted the offer.

They two agreed on the girl"s school thing and then Wei Mengying decided again, "Tomorrow I will take you out to buy some costumes and paraphernalia in case that you will lose face before your schoolmates."

As Song Yixiao was still young, she didn"t have to put on makeups or many accessories. Hence, what she needed most was clothes.

Wei Mengying made a reservation with a familiar silk store. When they arrived, the store owner, who had been waiting for them, hurried to greet them courteously upon seeing their carriage stop.

Wei Mengying spared him the courtesy via the curtain and then got off the carriage with Song Yixiao. The store owner rolled his eyes and immediately flattered Song Yixiao on her lovely appearance, "This young lady"s brows and eyes just take after you. She must be as beautiful and blessed as you after growing up!"

"Thank you!" Wei Mengying antic.i.p.ated that her daughter would marry into the purple. She felt happy about the man"s holiday words but she still said, "I only hope that my child can live a peaceful life. As to her other matters, just let fate take its course."

"Your Highness, you are being too humble!" The store manager brought the two honorable clients to the back hall for some tea. After Wei Mengying put down her tea bowl, he just cut to the chase, "We have the newly purchased Zhiyun Silk in stock. Our master has offered some for Jinguo Grand Princess and she also likes it. Now it is rather popular among the n.o.ble ladies in the imperial city. Your Highness, would you like to take a look at it?"

Wei Mengying nodded her head, "We are here for the Zhiyun Silk. After all, Jinguo Grand Princess has seen a lot of good things. Even she likes it so it must be good then!"

"Does the silk store have anything to do with Jinguo Grand Princess? Or why does a grand princess praise the goods of the store on her own?" Song Yixiao heard that and couldn"t help pondering. However, this was none of her business, so she would not bother herself about it anymore. Instead, she started to appreciate the Zhiyun Silk brought into her, "Mother, this kind of silk with red background and auspicious cloud patterns must look good on you!"

The other people at present all complimented her on filial duty and said that Wei Mengying loved her daughter and deserved to enjoy the happiness of a family union. Wei Mengying was happily flattered and kept selecting the cloth for her daughter, "I have a lot of clothes. We are here to pick cloth for you. These bright-colored colors fit you most. This, this, and that, I will take them all!"

The shop owner felt so delighted to see her squander generously so he kept fawning upon the two respectable clients. Wei Mengying was so flattered that two hours later, she told him not to show her more cloth for selection, "Now it is the end of spring and start of summer. There is no need to make clothes for spring. Just make the clothes for summer and autumn first. Postpone making the winter clothes then. Maybe there will be new pattens or cloth by then. Now these are enough."

The store owner put down the brush pen and said smilingly, "Let me read it for you and you can see whether the list is correct."

Wei Mengying nodded her head when the shop a.s.sistant of the silk store suddenly came in to report, "The eldest mistress of the Wei Family happens to pick cloth here, who hears that you are here too and wants to greet you. Would you like to meet her?"

"My sister-in-law?" Wei Mengying hastened to say, "Sure!"

After a while, Madam Mu came in. She greeted Wei Mengying and winked at her. Wei Mengying immediately told Song Yixiao, "Yixiao, you have been selecting cloth for so long. Are you tired? How about walking around in the yard with Zhiqin? If you want anything to drink or eat, just tell the servants of the silk store."

Song Yixiao had no idea whether to cry or laugh. She could only leave and sigh, "I thought my mother really meant to buy things for me. It turned out that she just wanted to find a chance to talk with Untie in private." Otherwise, why did she ask Song Yixiao to leave once she met with Madam Mu? They must have made an appointment.

Song Yixiao wanted to eavesdrop. Wei Mengying only asked Zhiqin to accompany her. Meanwhile, she also ordered her men to keep watch for her outside the door. In this case, Song Yixiao couldn"t do anything about it and Lingdang kept winking at her. Therefore, she had to walk far away with Zhiqin.

Song Yixiao had never been out with her maid before. The back yard of the silk store was furnished like a backyard garden, where there were lush trees, gra.s.s and rocky b.u.t.tresses. The scenery here was rather worth appreciating. They two wandered in jest and then arrived at a lonely place unknowingly.

"Oh my! It"s raining now!" Song Yixiao just snapped a pomegranate flower when she suddenly felt something cold drip on her face. She raised her head to take a look. It had turned cloudy from a previously sunny day. After a few raindrops, it started to rain heavily soon.

She hurried to put the pomegranate flower into her sleeve and looked around for a shelter from rain.

"That seems to be a cave?" With her sharp eyes, Zhiqin pointed at a nearby entrance mostly blocked by flowers and trees.

They ran over there to take a closer look only to find that it was a rockery cave indeed. Dark as it was, it was the only shelter for them due to the increasingly heavy rain.

However, Song Yixiao just walked in the cave first when she was harshly pushed by an arm from the darkness. Caught off guard, she didn"t even have time to scream but stumbled backward. Then she b.u.mped against Zhiqin, causing them both to fall on the ground!