Song Yao was often amused, and today was no exception.
“Let her be. Even if she glares her eyes out, I won’t lose a piece of flesh.”
Ru Shuang, seeing her mistress’s indifferent attitude, was somewhat puzzled and reminded her: “Mistress, is that Mobei Princess still pining for the Crown Prince, which is why she holds hostility toward you?”
Song Yao: “Not necessarily.”
“I think she never intended to marry His Highness from the start. She just calculated that our court wouldn’t agree to her marrying into the Eastern Palace, using our hands to avoid her own fate of political marriage.”
Ru Shuang suddenly understood. She had wondered why her mistress hadn’t been jealous recently, given how intimately close she and the Crown Prince had been lately. So the Mobei Princess never genuinely wanted to marry.
Indeed, with so many Mobei soldiers having died at the Crown Prince’s hands—even the Third Prince of Mobei hadn’t been spared—and such a large territory being ceded, among other grievances, the Mobei Princess would harbor resentment rather than desire to marry.
At the beginning of the Weishi hour, at the royal hunting grounds, black banners embroidered with five-clawed golden dragons fluttered in the wind, imposing and majestic!
The long procession stopped in the vast open space beside the palace. The nobles either dismounted or emerged from the carriages.
Song Yao was extremely delicate; Nangong Yi personally helped her out of the carriage. Ru Shuang, whose job had been taken, wasn’t idle either, holding up an oil-paper umbrella to shade her mistress from the sun.
Soon, Song Yao came face to face with the person she wanted to see—Ruoxue, wearing a goose-yellow ruqun dress, held in the Sixth Prince’s embrace.
Being a former assassin, and with Song Yao’s gaze unconcealed, Ruoxue immediately noticed her stare and looked over, a flash of vigilance and killing intent in her eyes.
Song Yao pretended to be frightened but bravely maintained her composure, smiling slightly at the two before withdrawing her gaze. As she turned, she clung to Nangong Yi’s arm as if seeking security.
Seeing her like this, the Sixth Prince Nangong Zhe, who always prided himself on being a playboy, sneered inwardly, wondering what his eldest royal brother saw in Song Yao. Beautiful she was, but her personality was utterly dull.
Ruoxue lowered her head in frustration. How could she forget she was no longer a shadowy assassin? If someone noticed she differed from ordinary women, it might bring disaster and implicate the Sixth Prince.
Meanwhile, Nangong Yi noticed Song Yao’s unusual behavior and followed her gaze.
Nangong Zhe’s playful expression stiffened, and he smiled ingratiatingly. When Nangong Yi looked away, his lowered eyes were filled with resentment and malice.
Having just arrived at the hunting grounds, everyone needed to rest and settle in. Servants busied themselves with arrangements, while the nobles took a break to cool off and enjoy tea.
Nangong Yi had matters to attend to, so Song Yao seized this opportunity to meet her second brother in Qingyun Hall, reserved for the Crown Prince and Crown Princess.
The people of Da Yuan all knew that the Prime Minister and his Furen had four children: The eldest daughter, Song Wan, skilled in medicine, having inherited a divine healer’s true teachings.
She opened a medical clinic in the Royal Capital specifically treating women, for which her parents criticized her for degrading her status and being shamefully unprofessional.
However, among common women, official wives, and even the palace consorts, Song Wan held considerable prestige.
The second son, Song Lin, currently served in the Ministry of Justice. A noble son often dressed in pristine white, he appeared like an unattainable flower on a high peak but was actually approachable, secretly capturing the hearts of countless women.
Yet in the Ministry of Justice, he was known as the Smiling Yama.
The third son, Song Ye, was an official’s son who lived extravagantly, lacked ambition, and idled his time away.
The fourth daughter, Song Yao, was one of the many impeccable and well-behaved noble ladies in Wangdu City, with no particularly outstanding qualities aside from her reputation as the greatest beauty of Da Yuan.
In comparison, the differences were clear.
The elder siblings were accomplished, while the younger brother and sister were two little good-for-nothings.
In the main hall, the two siblings maintained a proper distance as they chatted.
“How has little sister been lately?” Song Lin was tall and slender, with a face as fair as jade and smiling eyes—a highly deceptive appearance that always made people let their guard down and feel drawn to him.
At this moment, Song Lin’s expression held the doting affection of an elder brother for his younger sister. A few days earlier, he had been tied up with official duties and unable to attend the palace banquet held to welcome the delegation from Mobei. Now that he saw his sister, he couldn’t help but inquire after her well-being.
The weather was hot, so Song Yao didn’t drink tea.
A maid in pink stood by, fanning her. Song Yao had someone bring a cool, lung-moistening pear sweet soup. After a few sips to relieve the summer heat, she picked up a lotus pastry and took a bite. Smiling, she countered without answering, “What does second brother think?”
Song Lin had observed and remembered his sister’s living conditions after her marriage and her rosy complexion during their recent meetings. His last trace of concern faded as he chuckled:
“Not just well—second brother thinks the Crown Prince has spoiled you to the point of lawlessness. Just now, His Highness personally helped you down from the carriage, and all the officials saw it.”
After exchanging a few more words, Song Lin brought up the important matter that had brought him here.
“Elder sister, third brother, and I all heard that Mother sent someone to deliver a medicine formula to you. Third brother had a huge argument with Mother over it and even took his rowdy friends to smash the clinic of the physician who prescribed that formula.
Afterward, Father scolded him and ordered him confined to the estate, but he ran off last night—probably hiding out somewhere indulging in dissipation again. Don’t worry about him.”
“Elder sister asked me to pass on a message: don’t believe Mother’s nonsense. There’s no medicine formula in this world that guarantees the birth of a son and not a daughter.”
Song Wan and Song Ye held no official positions, so of course, they wouldn’t appear on an occasion like today. Song Lin had to relay their words.
Song Yao couldn’t help but laugh. She wasn’t worried about third brother, of course—he was her original business partner in this world and the second-in-command of their organization. There was nothing to worry about.
What amused her was elder sister’s blunt words. It seemed the medicine formula had angered her so much that even this gentle beauty, who usually spoke softly, had resorted to rather crude language this time.
“What about that physician who prescribed that dubious formula? Did third brother beat him to death?”
In front of her elder sister and two brothers, Song Yao generally didn’t put on an act.
Besides, her elder sister and brothers were all clever people. Having lived closely with her and genuinely doted on their younger sister, how could they not understand her true nature?
Song Lin took a sip of the sweet soup and disapprovingly said, “Of course not. The state has its laws, and the family has its rules. How can we abuse power to take a life arbitrarily?”
“As a physician, this man lacked medical ethics—deceiving, swindling, and spouting nonsense. The formulas he prescribed have harmed who knows how many young women. Naturally, he was arrested according to the law and is now detained in the prison under my jurisdiction.”
Song Yao: “…”
Song Lin spoke with such nonchalance that Song Yao felt goosebumps rising by the end.
Detained in second brother’s prison? Heh, hehe. That physician would have been better off if third brother had beaten him to death on the street—it would have been a quicker end.
Song Lin: “If Mother ever does something like this behind our backs again, just tell us. We’ll handle it.”
Song Yao obediently agreed on the surface, but in her heart, she had her own calculations.
Again? There would be no again.
She hadn’t sent Qian Mian to replace Granny Cai by her cheap mother’s side for nothing. In just these few days, Qian Mian had already uncovered many of her cheap mother’s hidden little secrets. Just the correspondence with that childhood sweetheart who managed the bookstore alone had yielded quite a collection.
She had no interest in meddling in her crazy parents’ private lives, but she never said she wouldn’t use whatever leverage she obtained to her advantage if given the chance.