Xue Chucheng's face darkened like ink.
When Yaoyao was just one - month old, the emperor wanted to bestow a marriage and name Yaoyao as the Crown Princess. Although he had declined the offer, this yoke had been weighing on Yaoyao for all these years.
Before the Crown Prince had officially named his Crown Princess, Yaoyao had always been a thorn in the side of many.
He said in a solemn voice, "My lady, it's unrealistic for us to arrange a marriage for Yaoyao right away. Tomorrow I'll go to the palace and ask the emperor to settle the Crown Prince's marriage as soon as possible."
Song Zhaoran nodded after hearing Xue Chucheng's words and asked, "How about the miracle doctor we invited for Princess Gaoyang?"
Xue Chucheng replied, "He's already been brought back to the capital. He'll go to the princess's mansion with the imperial physicians tomorrow."
Hatred flashed in Song Zhaoran's eyes as she said viciously, "My lord, I wish she could drop dead right now!"
Even though they hadn't yet confirmed that Qi Yunshuang was the mastermind behind all this, the fact that she had dared to give Yaoyao a poisoned Buddhist rosary was unforgivable!
Xue Chucheng looked at his wife with pity and comforted her by patting her on the back. "Don't worry. She won't be able to evade the price she should pay just because she's a princess. It's impossible to let her die right away. It'd be better if she were to live a life worse than death!"
Song Zhaoran nodded and said, "You're right, my lord!"
—
After Qi Yunshuang learned that the attempt to assassinate Bailiu had failed, the coldness emanating from her made the temperature in the room drop several degrees.
"You useless lot! Can't even handle a weak girl!"
Qi Yunshuang was so angry that she smashed all the porcelain in the room.
Ji Hanyan hung her head, not daring to make a sound.
She had never expected that the secret guards she had trained for so many years would fail to assassinate Bailiu.
She had no idea what had happened. All she knew was that the secret guards had entered the Xue Mansion and never come out. That meant the mission had failed.
Why had they failed in dealing with the Xue sisters? Did someone protect the Xue sisters?
She immediately voiced her suspicion.
Hearing this, a murderous look flashed in Qi Yunshuang's eyes.
"Someone's protecting them? Does that mean I've been exposed? Hehe! The Xue family. I underestimated them!"
A plan formed in Qi Yunshuang's mind, and then she sneered. "Since the Xue family has such capabilities, I'd like to see where their bottom - line lies."
Squinting at Ji Hanyan, she said, "This is your last chance to make up for your mistakes. Start with Xue Chuzhong, Xue Chucheng's half - brother!"
Ji Hanyan understood what she meant.
—
Although Xue Chucheng hadn't slept all night, he went to the morning court early the next day.
Song Zhaoran was worried about Yaoyao. She tried to catch up on sleep in bed but couldn't fall asleep. So she went to Yaoyao's room.
"Did the young lady sleep well last night?" Song Zhaoran asked Magpie.
Magpie replied respectfully, "Don't worry, madam. The young lady took the sedative last night and slept quite soundly."
Song Zhaoran nodded. Looking at Yaoyao, who was still unconscious in bed, she felt relieved.
Xue Mingxiao rushed in.
"Mother."
Song Zhaoran saw that her son looked strange. She put a finger to her lips, signaling him to be quiet, and then led him out of Yaoyao's room.
"What's going on?"
Xue Mingxiao said, "Aunt sent a message. It seems that Bailiu was taken away from the Xue Mansion by thieves last night and was thrown at the mansion's gate early this morning."
Song Zhaoran saw her eldest son looking so serious and calmly said, "I know about this. I was the one who arranged it."
Xue Mingxiao's face froze. "You did it, mother?"
Song Zhaoran told him what had happened.
As he listened, his expression became more and more solemn.
"So the mastermind is trying to silence her?"
Song Zhaoran sneered. "Definitely! Now that Bailiu has lost her memory, I don't know if this person will make another move. Go and tell your aunt not to interfere in Bailiu's matter. Let the old madam and the Lady Wen handle it themselves."
"These two women locked Bailiu in the wood - shed. Now that Bailiu has been kidnapped and sent back, based on my understanding of them, they must think Bailiu is no longer pure and will surely find a way to get rid of her. We'll just wait and see."
"Xiao'er, don't worry about Yaoyao. Concentrate on your exams. Your father came back last night. Your father and I will handle this matter."
Xue Mingxiao heeded Song Zhaoran's advice and replied, "Yes."
Sure enough, as Song Zhaoran had expected, the Young Lady Wen looked at Bailiu in bed with disgust and directly said to the Lady Wen, "Aunt, why keep this slut? Just find someone to marry her off. We can even get a dowry to supplement our family income!"
The Lady Wen glared at the Young Lady Wen and said, "Have you forgotten the purpose of keeping her all those years ago? If we marry her off like this, how can we control the main branch in the future?"
The Young Lady Wen said rudely, "I feel sick just looking at her. She's like a rat dropping!"
The Lady Wen said, "Just ignore her. Anyway, she's an important pawn. We can't get rid of her for now."
Seeing that the anger on the Young Lady Wen's face was increasing instead of decreasing, she comforted her, "Alright, I've been holding you back from getting revenge all these years. Since Bailiu is so disobedient, you can beat and scold her as you like. As long as you don't kill her, you can do whatever you want with her!"
Hearing this, a malicious look flashed in the Young Lady Wen's eyes.
"Fine, it's a deal! From now on, she'll be the lowest servant in the Xue Mansion!"
The Lady Wen nodded and was about to return to her courtyard when the butler rushed in.
"Old madam, it's bad! The master is in trouble!"
The Lady Wen's eyelids twitched, and she asked, "What trouble has he gotten into this time?"
The butler gasped for breath and said, "Old madam, this morning the master was arrested by the yamen runners from the Magistrate of the Capital in the inn on the charge of forcing a good - family girl!"
"What?!" The Lady Wen was shocked. "This is impossible! How could my Zhong'er force a good - family girl?"
The Lady Wen immediately denied it.
Based on her understanding of her own son, even if he was muddle - headed, he would never force a good - family girl. It must be a consensual thing.
The Young Lady Wen sneered and mocked, "Serves him right!"
"Shut up!" The Lady Wen was annoyed. "At this time, you're still saying such sarcastic remarks. Zhong'er is your husband after all."
The Young Lady Wen said disgustedly, "I don't have a husband who can't control his desires."
"You!" The Lady Wen was at a loss for words. Then she said to the butler, "Go! Call Lady Chang here!"
Chang Qiao'er had also heard about Xue Chuzhong's incident. Before the Lady Wen could say anything, she said straightforwardly, "Mother, I can't handle this matter. If it were just an ordinary good - family girl, we could just give her family a sum of money and bring her into the mansion in a sedan chair as the master's fifteenth concubine. But this girl is not an ordinary one."
"She's the niece of Princess Gaoyang's husband's family. It's said that Princess Gaoyang treats her like her own daughter. I've also heard that Princess Gaoyang has entered the palace to ask the empress dowager to seek justice for her!"
Hearing this, the Lady Wen felt dizzy. She grabbed the arm of the maid beside her to steady herself.
"Quick! Prepare the carriage. I'm going to find Lady Song!"