The Battle of the Noble Ladies (Book 2)

Chapter 24 - Deep Meaning

The First Lady Song thought carefully and realized that sometimes family background and upbringing were indeed of utmost importance. In the past, her second sister-in-law, Cui Zhanmei, although gentle and easy to talk to, had never made any mistakes when it came to receiving guests and managing social interactions. Her in-laws were satisfied with her, and even Wang Jinsi had nothing to criticize about her. It was common for them to visit her for a chat...

Compared to herself, Yun Shi, and the later-arriving Li Shi, she indeed fell short in many areas, especially when it came to perspective and experience—she was far behind...

Her heart grew heavy, and she quickly grasped the helplessness that Old Lady Song must have felt.

She nodded and composed herself, agreeing to the matter, "Speaking of which, it's been quite a while since Third Sister-in-law returned, and I haven't had a good chat with her yet. I'll go find her when I have a moment."

In any case, she considered herself competent in raising children. Of the few she had taught, apart from her second daughter, who was rather taciturn, the others were all good kids. However, Yun Shi had indeed spoiled her children too much; Song Chumi had grown quite selfish, and Song Yue didn't have the best temper...

It seemed that the Old Master still had at least a decade before he could step down, and he was in good health. As long as their parents remained united, the Song family wouldn't split up for at least the next decade. If anything happened in the future, even the eldest branch wouldn't escape unscathed.

The First Lady had long understood this reasoning.

Seeing that she was coming to terms with it, Old Lady Song felt her own anxiety lessen considerably. She nodded and reminded her, "Tomorrow, Xiao Yi will return. Make sure to send someone to Guan Ju Courtyard to check on things; don't let those maids cause trouble."

Song Chuyi had gone to Tongzhou early in the morning to celebrate the full month of Lianyi's daughter and wouldn't return until the next day.

In the past, the First Lady thought that Old Lady Song and Old Master Song were overly indulgent with Song Chuyi. However, after witnessing the situation with Song Chumi, she now felt she understood why only Song Chuyi received such special treatment. Such an exceptionally clever and obedient child, who also showed genuine respect and filial piety, was naturally likable to anyone.

Even for herself, she couldn't help but feel a certain gratitude toward Song Chuyi, who had never used Noble Consort Song's matters as leverage and never held grudges.

With a smile, she nodded and said, "I've already sent Jinling over to check, and Ziyun is there as well, keeping an eye on things. Those younger maids wouldn't dare cause any trouble. Besides, I've prepared a few bolts of cloth to make new clothes for her, though I wonder if it might be too little."

The cloth she'd chosen was fine ramie from Jiangxi, perfect for summer and currently hard to find in the capital, even for a high price. Old Lady Song chuckled and shook her head, "It's more than enough. I remember you only had three bolts of that ramie, and you're giving them all to An An. And you think it's not enough?"

"I considered gifting her clothes I made myself, but I was worried it might be inauspicious, especially with another family member expecting soon," the First Lady said with a smile, noticing Old Lady Song's good mood. "Besides, while the fabric may be rare, it's not as if our family doesn't have other items of equal worth. Since Xiao Yi is fond of An An, it's only fitting as her aunt that I give her some face."

Old Lady Song rested her head on the pillow, the purple-gold hand warmer in her hand gradually losing its warmth. She handed it to Yushu, nodded thoughtfully, and after a moment's pause, shook her head and said, "Very well, if Xiao Yi likes it, let her be. Oh, by the way, a message came from the palace inviting us to bring Xiao Yi along this time."

Hearing the mention of the palace, the First Lady straightened up, her smile fading slightly. She hesitated and asked, "But if we bring Xiao Yi in now, would it be inappropriate?"

Although the Honored Empress Dowager Rongxian had already been "defanged" and was reportedly drowsy all day, she was still a tiger, after all...

To be honest, the First Lady was quite curious about these old affairs. Although Emperor Jianzhang was the eldest son, Prince Tai held the legitimate status as the son of the main wife. Why, then, did Emperor Chenghua insist on appointing Emperor Jianzhang? Clearly, the Empress Dowager and Prince Tai both had flaws; otherwise, there wouldn't have been the later incident of Prince Tai attempting to seize the throne.

Emperor Jianzhang had truly done all he could for the Empress Dowager, as it would have taken only a slight manipulation of Prince Tai's affairs to ruin Empress Dowager Rongxian, his biological mother. In that case, how could she still be alive and well today?

"Even Princess Shijia has passed, so the Empress Dowager Rongxian has half a foot in the grave and no energy left to bite," Old Lady Song remarked coldly, her expression subtly grim as she mentioned the Empress Dowager. "Since Her Highness, the Noble Consort, wants to see Xiao Yi, there's no harm in taking her along."

After all, this time, they had done the Empress and Crown Princess a significant favor, and these two would surely show them a bit of goodwill in return. Her Highness, the Noble Consort, likely understood this clearly and thus made the request.

Emperor Jianzhang held respect for Empress Dowager Rongxian, deeply moved by her decades of nurturing him, because from the moment he opened his eyes, he believed she was his mother.

But the Empress didn't share this sentiment. She had watched with her own eyes how Empress Dowager Rongxian used Emperor Jianzhang's trust and guilt to slowly devour the Lu family bit by bit. To ask her to have the same sentiment as Emperor Jianzhang and always retain feelings of mercy toward Empress Dowager Rongxian would indeed be too difficult.

Moreover, this time, Empress Dowager Rongxian even reached her hand toward the Crown Prince and his eldest son — at least, that was how the Empress and Crown Princess saw it.

Now that they'd finally managed to make Emperor Jianzhang firm in his resolve, how could they possibly allow Empress Dowager Rongxian a chance to catch her breath? Of course, they would press her down completely. Old Lady Song even suspected that Empress Dowager Rongxian's current half-dead state might be exactly what the Empress intended. Otherwise, given Empress Dowager Rongxian's temperament, upon learning of Princess Shijia's death, she likely would have long followed her and Prince Tai to the grave, rather than lingering on to suffer. In the past, at least she held the title of Empress Dowager to restrain the Empress; now, she had nothing. For a person as proud as her, it was remarkable she could even bear this humiliation.

Since Old Lady Song had spoken her mind, the First Lady naturally had no objections. Over the past two months, only Old Lady Song had been entering the palace on the first and fifteenth of each month. The First Lady had long wanted to visit her daughter in person but had not dared to mention it to Old Lady Song. Now that Old Lady Song herself had suggested they enter the palace together, she could hardly contain her joy and dared not object to anything further.

Old Lady Song, feeling somewhat weary and seeing that she had explained everything, nodded to the First Lady. Taking the hint, the First Lady quietly retreated and let out a long sigh of relief.

The events of the past had always been a rift between her and Old Lady Song. Now that Old Lady Song had made it clear she no longer minded, the First Lady felt a great sense of relief.