In her previous life, she felt that she was wronged. Her mother passed away and she was very sad. It was also related to herself, but the most fundamental reason was Meng Shao, Jiang and other people in the Meng family.
But now think about it, Jiang was wrong in many ways, but there was one thing she said that was absolutely right: it was her stupidity and willfulness that killed her mother and ruined her own life.
"Mother Liu will return to the mansion every two weeks from now on. First, she will visit my mother and let her know that I am doing well. Second, she will inquire more about the affairs of the mansion. I have asked my second sister to pay attention to some things. Her inquiries are one aspect. I am afraid that those old sisters from your time in the mansion may have some information that my second sister does not know."
Madam Liu wiped her eyes and said, "Don't worry, Princess. This time, I went back and brought some boxes of snacks to walk around the mansion. I actually found out something."
Meng Qi turned around, "Oh? About whom?"
"Third Miss."
Meng Qi walked over to the kang by the window and sat down. "Yuan Dong, you all should go down. Remember to go to Bi Bo Tang and ask Zhang Decheng how many people the prince needs to prepare for meals."
Yuandong agreed and led everyone out of the east room. Xiaoman followed behind, "Sister Yuandong, isn't Eunuch Zhang with the prince? Why did the princess ask you to go ask? Isn't Eunuch Zhang going to prepare lunch for the prince?"
Without waiting for Yuan Dong to reply, Su Xin put her arm around her shoulders and said, "Since the prince is in the inner palace study today and it's almost noon, even though we know that lunch has been served in Bibo Hall, the princess still needs to ask about it. Do you understand?"
Xiaoman blinked her eyes and said, "We just need to let others know that the princess cares about the prince."
"Yes, come on, let's go and see how the small kitchen is going." Su Xin took Xiaoman's hand and walked out.
"I just went to check it out with Sister Lixia. Eunuch Wang is really amazing. He's already built it and is just waiting for the mud to dry before applying the surface. Eunuch Wang said that if we dry it overnight, it will be ready for use tomorrow morning."
"The princess asked the Crown Prince's wife to help find a cook. The Crown Prince's wife told you not to worry." Mother Liu said softly after seeing the other maids leave.
Meng Qi nodded. The kitchen is a strategic place and those unclean people or those involved with other things must not be allowed in.
"Tell me, what did you find out?" Meng Qi gestured for Mother Liu to have some tea. Mother Liu waved her hand and slowly told her the news she had found out.
"What did you say?" Meng Qi said in surprise after hearing what Mrs. Liu said.
Madam Liu nodded. "That woman was the one who boiled water in the back room of the Third Madam's courtyard. She was afraid the water she had brought earlier wasn't enough, so she brought another bucket to go. It was cold, and no one was outside. As she was passing the east room, water splashed onto her shoes. She was afraid they would get soaked, so she put down the water to wipe them and heard it."
Meng Qishi had never expected Meng Juan to actually bring Meng Xiu to meet Wu Zhengda. She hadn't expected the Wu Zhengda Meng Xiu had met wasn't the real Wu Zhengda at all, but Meng Hai, a lieutenant general under her third uncle. The real Wu Zhengda was a man disfigured on the battlefield.
Meng Xiu was completely unaware of this, and perhaps Meng Hai and Liu were also worried that if Meng Xiu knew Wu Zhengda's true appearance, she would not agree.
Meng Qi rapped her hand on the table. Meng Hai's matchmaking between Meng Xiu and Wu Zhengda wasn't simply a desire to use Meng Xiu to lure her into Luo Bing. Even if Meng Xiu hadn't led her to the courtyard, Liu and Meng Juan would have thought of other solutions. So, there must have been other reasons for Meng Hai marrying Meng Xiu to Wu Zhengda.
No, she had to thoroughly investigate Wu Zhengda herself. But she couldn't rashly ask Song Chengze to investigate Wu Zhengda's situation. He wouldn't believe her claim of having been enlightened by an immortal in a dream. If her aggressive approach gave him a negative preconceived notion of Wu Zhengda, or if it made him doubt her, that wasn't what she wanted.
"Princess, I heard from Yuandong that the prince has not given you the power to manage the household affairs."
Mother Liu's words interrupted Meng Qi's thoughts, "Well, he thinks I just arrived and am not familiar with everything."
Madam Liu said carefully, "Today, the Crown Prince's wife asked this old servant to remind the Princess."
"Remind of what?"
"The Crown Prince's wife said that although you are young and can have many children in the future, the prince already has two legitimate sons. The Crown Prince's wife asked you to maintain a good relationship with the two young masters, because even if you give birth to a son, the age difference between you and the two young masters is still quite large."
Meng Qilue understood what her mother meant after a moment of thought. She meant that even if she had more children, with Song Chengze's two legitimate sons already in front of her, it would never be her son's turn to sit on the throne of the prince.
If she were a normal stepmother, she might make careful plans for the first legitimate son, or flatter Zhou Yu like Princess Hu of the Prince of Shen's Mansion, whom her second sister was going to marry, did, or she might ignore the two children like she did in her previous life.
But in this life, she wants to cooperate with Song Chengze, so she naturally cannot ignore Song Baimo and Song Bairan. At the very least, she has to let Song Chengze see that she always has to show some face.
She recalled how Song Bairan was fine when she came to pay her respects today. After all, she was young and had a nurse to take care of her. But Song Baimo couldn't continue like this. If he didn't bring the child back to the right path, he would probably be led astray by Xiaolin.
Song Chengze was busy scheming with his brothers and helping the Crown Prince accomplish his great cause. He rarely visited the inner chambers, and even rarely returned home on time, let alone caring for the children. He handed his eldest son over to his aunt, presumably never suspecting Xiao Lin. This, in turn, gave Xiao Lin so many opportunities.
She said that she wanted to prove it to Song Chengze, and maybe it didn't have to be a big event outside.
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