Song Yi Xiao didn't beat around the bush either, and directly said: "I also asked my mother that day, but she only said that since my brother had no hope of becoming the heir, he wanted a daughter-in-law who got along with her!"

  Yuan Xuepei thought: "What's gotten into him? Is he looking for a fight?"

  However, he was inquiring about news from his own biological daughter, so it wasn't good to say that Wei Mengying was wrong to her face.

  After a moment of contemplation, Fang said, "Lu Guanlun was previously engaged to your cousin Wei Qiuzi, but the engagement was called off not long after. I believe Wei Qiuzi stayed at the Yan State Duke's residence for several days afterwards. I think you know the inside story behind their broken engagement?"

  Song Yi smiled and pursed her lips. After a moment, she said, "I can't tell you about this!"

  "I know!" Yuan Xuepei's mind was so sharp that as soon as she heard this, she knew that something must have gone wrong with Wei Chan. After all, given the relationship between Song Yixiao and Yuan Xuepei, if Lu Guanlun wasn't good enough, even if she didn't say why, she would still hint that this marriage was not suitable.

  It's straightforward and obvious that Lu Guanlun is not in the wrong.

  "If Xue E had promised to marry Lu Guanlun, I'm afraid you two wouldn't get along well in the future." Yuan Xueshan thought for a moment, then raised her head and said, "After all, marrying out means following one's husband, but Ah Xu and Lu Guanlun are not on the same path."

  Song Yi Xiao was taken aback by his words and asked: "Marrying out and following the husband's family - do you agree with this marriage?"

  She added a word to Yuan Xuepei's original words, but the meaning was different: Yuan Xuepei only mentioned the disagreement between their husbands; Song Yixiao implied the struggle for the heir of Hengshan Wangfu, and Yuan Xuepei actually let her precious sister wade into this muddy water?

  "Firstly, Lu Guanglun was indeed my top choice for a sister-in-law from the start. I only gave up on him because I really couldn't intervene at that time." Yuan Xuepei said in a gentle voice, "Secondly, I won't hide it from you: although I've already pledged allegiance to the Crown Prince just like Ah Xu, when it comes to the struggle for succession, no one can be certain until the very end! For now, the Crown Prince's position is still stable, but the King of Wei and the King of Zhao are also making their moves!"

  If the future heir is the crown prince, then so be it. "But if Prince Wei or Prince Zhao wins out, I myself am willing to admit defeat and wear mourning clothes, that's not a big deal! But unexpectedly, Xue Lian was implicated. It's just that you think, now everyone knows that my Boling Hou Fu is the crown prince's person, the brother-in-law I can choose, either belongs to the crown prince's side, or has a clean background and hasn't taken sides yet New Jinshi, or it's the neutral faction of Hengshan Wangfu who never participates in the struggle for the throne!"

  And since he didn't want his sister to take risks, the Crown Prince's side was definitely not an option. "Even if the new jinshi hadn't taken sides before, after marrying Xue Lian, he would automatically join the Crown Prince's camp - what's the difference between that and following me? So only a family like the Hengshan Wangfu, which doesn't get involved in politics, is reliable!"

  In fact, he wanted to form an alliance with the neutral faction, and apart from the Hengshan Wangfu, there was no other choice: those families had all chosen to remain impartial and uninvolved, so why wouldn't they worry that marrying his sister would be seen as currying favor with the Crown Prince?

  Also, the Hengshan Wangfu has a deep foundation and high status, and is also the maternal family of Yuan's siblings, with blood ties already in place. Coming to this kinship, there is still hope to clear up political relations.

  If the Crown Prince fails, Yuan Xuepei won't have to worry about implicating her sister, and Lu Guanlun's broad-minded nature means he won't turn against Yuan Xueying because of this. If the Crown Prince succeeds, then even if the neutral Hengshan Wangfu doesn't get any credit for their role in his ascension, they won't be left out in the cold either. Yuan Xueying can bask in her brother's glory and rise to a higher position in her husband's household - it's like adding flowers to brocade!

  "Master Hou is indeed like a father to his elder brother!" Song Yi smiled and heard the words, silent for a long time, before looking at him with a complex expression. "It's said that parents' love for their children is deep and far-reaching, Master Hou's painstaking efforts are almost the same as those of a parent!"

  With his arrangement, no matter who the new emperor is in the future, Yuan Xueying will not suffer any losses!

  It's no wonder that now I'm reminding myself to keep a distance from Yuan Xueer in the future, so as not to bring trouble to his precious little sister if something goes wrong with the Crown Prince!

  But is the water in Hengshan Wangfu really so good?

  Wei Chang's matter cannot be said; Wei Mengying's character is also not good to talk about as a daughter.

  So Song Yi smiled and said, "If Sister Yuan really marries Young Master Lu, not only will it be inconvenient for me to interact with my sister in the future, but I'm afraid it will be the same for you, Duke? Sister Yuan's thoughts are simple, and suddenly becoming a wife, who knows if she can get used to it?"

  Yuan Xuepei obviously heard her hint and worry, but only smiled warmly: "She has lived in the Hengshan Wangfu before, even if it's different from being a guest and a daughter-in-law, she'll get used to it after some time."

  This is obviously just an excuse - Song Yi had come with good intentions, and the reminder just now even seemed to have a hint of going against her own mother, yet Yuan Xuepei was still being cautious around her. Even if she got along well with Yuan Xueshuang, this would still be somewhat unpleasant. She coldly said: "If that's the case, then I've spoken out of turn. If there's nothing else, I think it's getting late and I'll take my leave!"

  Yuan Xuepei apologized repeatedly, but still refused to mention how he would resolve the situation after Yuan Xueshu married into the Wang family of Hengshan and how to deal with the complex relationships within the Wang family. As a result, Song Yishuo became increasingly annoyed as she listened, her face sinking as she hastily left without even going to see Yuan Xueshu.

  After she left, Yuan Zhanfang, who was hiding in the inner chamber as a guard, came out and asked inexplicably: "Master Hou, I heard what Madame Song said, and it seemed like she was truly thinking of our young miss. Even if you didn't want to tell her the truth, couldn't you have found another excuse to placate her? Why did you let her leave in anger?"

  He is a member of the Yuan family and will not take sides with Song Yixiao for no reason. The main thing is, "This lady is now very much liked by the Prince of Yan, if she goes back and complains to the Prince of Yan about her grievances, it may affect your relationship with the Prince of Yan!"

  "It's precisely because she genuinely cares about Xue Lian that I won't tell her!" Yuan Xue Pei took the tea from him and sipped it calmly, saying, "After all, my next move is to scheme against Wei Wang Fei. If I were to tell her, who do you think she would help? On one hand, there's Xue Lian, with whom she grew up and shares a sisterly bond; on the other hand, there's her own birth mother, who raised and nurtured her - isn't this deliberately putting her in a difficult position?"

  Yuan Zhan suddenly realized, but still thought: "Why not secretly inform the Duke? To avoid misunderstanding?"

  "No need." Yuan Xuepei said confidently, "With Ah Yu and my tacit understanding, there's no need to tell him, he'll think of it himself!"

  He was calm and composed here, but Song Yi smiled and returned to the Yan Guo Gong Fu with a belly full of anger - before she had time to find Jian Xu Bai to talk to him, Cui Xian came up and said: "Madam, the Empress Dowager just sent someone over, saying that she was thanking you and the Duke for the things you sent yesterday!"

  Although on the day of the Chong Yang Festival, Jian Yu Bai noticed his wife's suspicion and said it was nothing if he didn't send anything to Wan Shu Ren. However, the next day, almost everyone who attended the Chong Yang Festival sent gifts to the palace, and Song Yi Xiao also picked out a few pieces of dark-colored clothing from the warehouse, adding some nourishing medicine to follow the trend.

  Of course, it was sent to the empress for delivery.

  This will be heard to reply, also didn't take it seriously, said: "After all, is the attendant of Your Majesty, don't know is fine, since met, slightly express intention is should - in addition to this matter, can say other?"

  Qiao Xuan said: "It's also mentioned that the ninth day of the first month is the birthday of Princess Yushan, and there will be a small banquet in the palace at that time, so I kept an invitation letter!"

  "Almost forgot about this!" Song Yi laughed and was startled by the words, fortunately saying, "Luckily, the person sent by the empress mentioned it!"

  The more relatives you have, the worse it is. Whether it's a wedding or a funeral, you can drink from New Year's to New Year's!

  If you're not careful, you'll miss someone!

  This is still after Emperor Xian of Jin ascended to the throne and basically beheaded all his half-brothers and sisters - otherwise, if all forty or so children of the previous emperor were still around, how would she have had the energy to go to the Yuan family?

  The whole first month of the lunar year will be spent busy visiting and paying New Year's greetings to uncles and aunts!

  She didn't have the mood to bother with Yuanshuo anymore, so she tossed her hair and ordered: "Quickly send someone to Qingjiang Junzhu's residence to ask on my behalf, what gift should be given to Yushan Gongzhu on her birthday, and how much?"

  The talented people were sent out, but Jian Yu Bai returned to the backyard.

  As soon as he entered the door, he waved his hands to dismiss those on either side. Song Yi Xiang still thought it was about settling last night's accounts and was full of vigilance, but then she heard him say: "Is your wet nurse's grandson being raised in our estate?"

  Song Yixiao smiled and said, "Yes. Because my wet nurse and her husband divorced, her brother and sister-in-law didn't like her very much, so Zhao's mother asked me to give her a job in the backyard, and also bring the child along - that child is a boy, but he's still young, it's okay to raise him in the backyard, right?"

  Jian Yu frowned and said, "I'm not talking about that. Since she's your milk sister, find her a quiet job, just to support her as a person, why make her do this and that? Such a small child with no one to take care of, how can it be okay? Today I happened to run into her, but what if next time she runs into a fake mountain or falls into the pool?"

  "What I entrusted her with was just sweeping an uninhabited side yard!" Song Yi laughed incredulously, "And specifically instructed others not to let her be too busy, so that she could have time to take care of the child! Now, many things in the backyard are being taken charge of by Zhao Mama, can it be that someone dares to bully her?!"

  Also thinking of Jian Xu Bai's route back to the front yard - there are many fake mountains and lotus ponds along this road, and many places have several levels of stairs. A three or four-year-old child alone wandering around is simply too dangerous!

  "What about the child now?"

  "I've asked Ji Su to take him to find his wet nurse." Jian Yu Bai said displeased, "You should ask about this matter properly, who does things like this as a mother?! If you think the child is a burden, in my opinion it's better to send him back to the Fu family to try their luck, or see if there are any childless families that want to adopt him. It's better than her being so irresponsible and accumulating bad karma——I was just thinking, during the New Year, our household only has two people to serve, how could his birth mother be too busy to take care of him?"

  Song Yi Xiao fiddled with the bangle on her wrist: "I'll ask Zhao Mama about it later!"

  Jian Yu Bai estimated the time, and Ji Su should have sent the child to Zhao Mama's place and packed up. His wife happened to ask about this matter at this time, which was just right. He said: "I forgot something in the study room, I'll go back and get it, and come back later!"

  After he left, Song Yi's smile instantly fell, and she called in the servant: "Go invite Zhao Mama and also Qing Chun Jie Jie!"

  After a while, Zhao's mother and daughter came over together, both looking somewhat frightened.

  Mrs. Zhao held her grandson's hand, and Song Yi smiled at the scene, grabbed a handful of fruit from the basket on the table, beckoned to the child to come forward, handed it over to him, and shouted to Jin Xun: "Take him to the side room to play for a while, don't let him get hungry or thirsty."

  That child was timid and silent, seemingly afraid of people, but when Jin Xun went to hold his hand, he became extremely gentle - this gentleness didn't seem like a natural disposition, it seemed more like he had been intimidated into submission.

  Song Yi smiled and looked at him with dissatisfaction, but because of Zhao's mother's face, she dispersed the servants and asked in a slow tone after a moment of silence: "Just now, my husband came back and said that on such a cold day, this child was playing alone in the yard without anyone to accompany him, fearing that something would happen, so he asked Ji Su to send him to his mother's house and also instructed me to ask about the reason."

  Just saying this, Yu Qingchun had already knelt down with a tense expression: "I know my fault! It's just that this child is naturally mischievous, and as soon as I turned around, he ran out and didn't expect to bump into the master..."

  "Speak up!" Song Yi smiled and pursed her lips, "What does a child so young know about what's going on? Nanny, did you hear my question clearly: I'm not asking about his fault, but why no one is taking care of him! I remember the task assigned to you, it shouldn't be so busy that you don't have time to take care of the children!"

  Here is the translation:

  At this point, Yu Qingchun was about to kneel again - while Zhao's mother looked guilty, she endured for a moment, and her tone became even softer. "I didn't mean anything else, I just thought that Nai Jie might have some difficulties? If so, just say it. After all, I'm the one who raised you, and you're my own flesh and blood, we're our own people, aren't we?"