Song Yue scoffed. The mere fact that he was the former crown prince was enough to make people tremble with fear. Only the Emperor of Northern Chu was magnanimous enough not to care.
Otherwise, he would have been assassinated long ago.
She vaguely remembered that after the death of the Northern Chu Emperor in her previous life, the Prince of Guangjia also fell seriously ill and died the following year. Counting the days, this Prince of Guangjia had four years left to live.
Zhao Zhiyan sized up Song Yue: "The Emperor won't kill him easily."
"But they are separated by the hatred of their fathers' murder."
Zhao Zhiyan shook his head, hesitated, and then changed his words: "Even without the Prince of Guangjia, someone else will soon want to marry you, and you may even be forced into a political marriage."
"Why?" Song Yue asked, puzzled. What had she done to deserve this?
Zhao Zhiyan sighed softly, offering no reply. Instead, he poured himself a cup of tea and took a sip. Song Yue smiled coldly: "Marrying me means you've got the Emperor under your thumb?"
After these past few days of trouble, everyone knows that Song Yue is Princess Jia Hua's Achilles' heel, and Princess Jia Hua is, in turn, the Northern Chu Emperor's Achilles' heel.
Marrying Song Yue would be tantamount to having the Northern Chu Emperor under his control.
"The Prefect of the Capital discovered that the guard who died at the Duke of Jingguo's mansion that day had other knife marks on his body, and found new evidence. Princess Qing has also confessed. The Emperor was furious and demoted Princess Qing to a commoner and gave her fifty strokes of the cane. If someone hadn't pleaded for her, the Emperor would have had her beaten to death."
After this action, everyone became even more convinced that the Emperor was supporting Princess Jia Hua.
"The Emperor also decreed that weddings within the next three months should not be celebrated in a grand manner."
The marriage between the Prince of Zhennan's Mansion and the Prince of Qing's Mansion is set for two months from now. This is also a warning to the Prince of Zhennan's Mansion. Today, the Prince of Zhennan's face was extremely ugly when he was in court.
Song Yue raised her eyes: "What if I don't marry him?"
"If you can't marry this one, you'll marry another one eventually. The Emperor can protect you for a while, but not forever, unless you're already married." Zhao Zhiyan's eyes flickered slightly.
Song Huan, who was listening nearby, became anxious: "How can that be? Third Sister can't just marry anyone she wants."
Song Yue took a deep breath: "If I don't marry, these people won't give up. They will try every means to ruin my reputation. They will send people to assassinate me or kidnap me. I will become my mother's weakness. If I drive my mother crazy, it will be the same as driving the emperor crazy."
Zhao Zhiyan sighed softly, which could be considered tacit agreement.
Song Yue bit her lip tightly, closed her eyes to adjust her breathing, and asked again, "What about the Hidden Pearl? What does Eighth Prince plan to do with it?"
“I will send someone to the Duke of Jingguo’s residence to pick him up.”
"Alright."
Cangzhu is a deep and shrewd woman, not to be underestimated. Just as she was about to offer some advice, Zhao Zhiyan said, "Don't worry, she won't live past noon tonight."
Song Yue finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"As for your brother's matter, there are no leads yet. I will send someone to inform you if I find anything," Zhao Zhiyan said.
Song Yue cupped her hands in thanks: "Thank you, Eighth Imperial Uncle."
Seeing that it was almost time, she left with Song Huan. Before leaving, Zhao Zhiyan had someone bring her many rare spices.
She didn't refuse; she accepted with a smile.
Once inside the carriage, Song Huan became anxious: "Third sister, let's not leave the manor anymore. If we stay here, no one will scheme against you."
Trapped in the Duke of Jingguo's mansion for life?
That won't do.
Song Yue said, "I will discuss it with my mother."
"That's right. Aunt is so smart and capable, she'll definitely come up with a solution."
When she returned to Yuehua Pavilion, the Duke of Jingguo had already left. When she went to pay her respects, she saw Princess Jiahua sitting by the window, looking lost and dejected.
Song Yue hesitated whether to step forward, but Xiu Shu pulled her back: "Miss, let the princess have some peace and quiet."
Upon hearing this, Song Yue took two steps back and went out the door, asking softly, "What did the Duke of Jingguo say to Mother?"
Xiu Shu said, "It's all because of the eldest son's antidote. The Duke of Jingguo lost his temper, and later there was an argument in the room, which resulted in a lot of things being smashed."
She now suspects that the Duke of Jingguo must have known about Song Hengchuan being switched.
"Xiushu, before Mother passed away, did Consort Yuan only give birth to Song Yao?"
Xiu Shu nodded: "Of course, the princess is of noble status, how dare anyone give birth to the eldest son of the legitimate wife before the princess."
Song Yue fell into deep thought. What if someone was pregnant before their mother married into the family?
The more she thought about it, the more suspicious it seemed. She quickly went back to her room and called over Zhang Mama: "Mama, tell me about the concubines in the mansion. Before Mother entered the mansion, all the women who served the Duke of Jingguo must be mentioned."
Zhang Mama nodded and began to recall: "Before the Duke married the princess, he only had two concubines, Qin and Fang, who were both maids in the Grand Madam's courtyard. Later, Qin made a mistake and was sent to the estate by Concubine Yuan. She died of illness not long after. Fang collapsed in the mansion, but she fell into the pond and drowned a few years ago. Now she is mentally unstable."
"When the princess entered the manor and became pregnant with the eldest son, she did favor two concubines, Concubine Yuan and the one who had died."
Suddenly, Granny Zhang said, "There's one more!"
"who?"
"She is the Grand Madam's niece, Miss Fan. She almost married the Duke as his principal wife. Later, the imperial decree granted the marriage, but Miss Fan refused to become a concubine and was sent back to her parents' home by the Grand Madam. I haven't heard anything about Miss Fan all these years."
"How close are you and the Duke, Miss?" Song Yue pressed.
Zhang Mama nodded: "Back then, I was the head maid in the Duke's courtyard. The Duke treated Miss Cousin a hundred times better than he treated Concubine Yuan. In fact, Concubine Yuan was favored because of Miss Cousin."
Song Yue was puzzled.
"Aunt Yuan's eyebrows and eyes look just like Miss Yuan's."
Upon hearing this, Song Yue understood what was going on.
“Miss, very few people know anything about my cousin. So many years have passed, even this old servant has almost forgotten. My cousin is gentle and kind, but also strong-willed. She almost became the Duchess of the State. I heard that she was ridiculed when she returned to the Fan family. Later, the Fan family moved to Lingcheng and we haven’t heard from them since.”
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