"But what?" Wen asked impatiently.
Song Zhaoyang said indifferently, "I can't guarantee that the second brother will be released smoothly."
Wen's face darkened, and then she said, "Do your best!"
Song Zhaoyang nodded.
Then she went back to the backyard to change her clothes. Just as she reached the drooping flower gate, she saw Young Wen with a flushed face.
Seeing Song Zhaoyang, Young Wen immediately complained, "Sister - in - law, why won't you let me go in and see Yaoyao?"
Song Zhaoyang looked at her coldly and questioned, "In what capacity are you here to see Yaoyao? Sister - in - law, Yaoyao is my daughter, not yours. Get this straight! See the guest out!"
Hearing Song Zhaoyang's order, the old nurse beside her ignored Young Wen's struggle and dragged and carried her away.
Song Zhaoyang entered the palace to see the Empress Dowager.
Before she stepped into the Empress Dowager's bedroom, Eunuch Hua whispered to Song Zhaoyang in front of the gate, "Madam, Princess Gaoyang is inside. She's crying to the Empress Dowager, saying that the second master of the Xue family defiled her niece from her husband's family. This servant thinks you'd better not go in. The Empress Dowager is not in a good mood at the moment."
Hearing Eunuch Hua's reminder, Song Zhaoyang stuffed a small gold animal into his hand.
She said with a smile, "Eunuch Hua, I came to the palace just for this matter! This morning, my mother - in - law came to the Marquis's Mansion and told me about this. She asked me to come to the palace to plead for the second master of the Marquis's family."
Saying this, she restrained her smile and sighed, "There's no way. Anyway, this matter will affect the reputation of the Xue family in the capital. Princess Gaoyang has only returned to the capital after so many years. Now that something like this has happened to someone around her, I can't bear it."
"No matter what, I must enter the palace to plead guilty to the Empress Dowager!"
Hearing this, Eunuch Hua shook his head and said, "Then be careful, Madam."
Saying this, he looked at the little gold turtle in his hand and a smile appeared on his face.
"Madam is so kind. She still remembers what this servant likes."
"Of course! Eunuch, you've watched me grow up. I regard you as family!" Song Zhaoyang said seriously.
Hearing this, the smile in Eunuch Hua's eyes became even stronger.
Song Zhaoyang walked into the bedroom. At this moment, Qi Yunshuang was crying out of breath.
"Mother, I've watched Yan'er grow up since I was a child. I regard her as my own daughter in my heart. Now that she's been defiled, I really wish I could tear that man to pieces!"
After saying this, she was out of breath.
Hearing this, the Empress Dowager frowned and advised her, "Alright, don't get so angry. I'll send someone to ask what's going on. If it's really that guy from the Xue family who defiled that girl, I'll definitely issue an imperial edict to ask the Magistrate of the Capital to handle the case impartially."
As soon as she finished speaking, Song Zhaoyang walked in.
Seeing Song Zhaoyang, Qi Yunshuang looked angry and then sneered, "Song Zhaoyang, what are you doing here? Do you want to plead for the Xue family? Dream on! That bastard defiled Yan'er. I want him to go to hell and atone for his sins!"
Song Zhaoyang ignored the angry Qi Yunshuang and greeted the Empress Dowager.
"This subject's wife pays respects to the Empress Dowager."
Seeing Song Zhaoyang running around for the Xue family's matter, the Empress Dowager showed displeasure on her face.
"You came to the palace to plead? Since the family has split up, there's no need to plead for those people anymore!"
Hearing the Empress Dowager's words, Song Zhaoyang smiled helplessly and said, "Empress Dowager, this subject's wife doesn't want to plead either, but we have to find out what's going on. After all, we all share the same surname Xue. Even if the family has split up, Xue Chuzhong has done such a heinous thing. Anyway, he's still the second brother of my husband. This will also affect the Loyalty Marquis's Mansion."
Hearing Song Zhaoyang's words, Qi Yunshuang said in a sarcastic tone, "Song Zhaoyang, you're really a dutiful daughter - in - law of the Xue family!"
Song Zhaoyang ignored Qi Yunshuang's sarcasm, looked at her, and bowed.
"Princess, if Xue Chengzhong has really done something wrong, he should receive whatever punishment he deserves. The Marquis and this subject's wife won't interfere. But we're just afraid that he's been wrongly accused."
Qi Yunshuang slapped her hand heavily on the table and sternly questioned, "Song Zhaoyang, what do you mean? Are you saying that I've wronged her?"
Song Zhaoyang smiled helplessly, but the smile didn't reach her eyes.
She explained to Qi Yunshuang, "Princess, this subject's wife doesn't mean this. Please don't get angry. But..."
She said suspiciously, "The princess is angry, and she looks much better. Look, how forcefully she slapped her palm."
"You!" Qi Yunshuang was so angry that she choked. She gritted her teeth and said, "You're so sharp - tongued!"
Song Zhaoyang turned to look at the Empress Dowager again and said to her, "Empress Dowager, today, the old lady of the Xue family said that Xue Chuzhong was captured in an inn. He spent the night with the princess's niece in the inn. This subject's wife has some doubts when I heard this."
"Coincidentally, the princess is also here. Could the princess please solve this subject's wife's doubts?"
The Empress Dowager asked suspiciously, "Tell me, what doubts?"
Song Zhaoyang said, "The princess's niece is an unmarried girl. She didn't return to the mansion all night. Isn't the princess worried? If it were my daughter, I would definitely not be able to sleep all night. I would go out to look for the child overnight instead of waiting until the next day and letting something happen to her."
Qi Yunshuang argued, "Who said I didn't send someone out to look for her? She went out of the mansion yesterday and didn't return for a long time. I sent someone to look for her long ago. But out of consideration for the girl's reputation, I didn't report it to the authorities."
Saying this, tears streamed down her face. She choked with sobs and said, "If I had known that something would happen to Yan'er, I would have reported it to the authorities earlier!"
Saying this, the look in her eyes when she looked at Song Zhaoyang was full of hatred. She said angrily, "Xue Chuzhong! The Xue family! I will never let them go!"
Hearing this, Song Zhaoyang's eyes flashed slightly.
She wondered why she felt that the hatred in Qi Yunshuang's eyes was real, the kind of hatred that wished to tear someone to pieces. This hatred didn't seem to be aimed at Xue Chuzhong but at her.
She was puzzled in her heart. She and Qi Yunshuang shouldn't have such a great hatred, right?
She said indifferently, "The princess is not in good health now. Why doesn't Miss Ji Hanyan stay in the princess's mansion to take care of you?"
Qi Yunshuang sneered and said, "Speaking of this, I'd like to ask you, Song Zhaoyang. Before, I asked the Empress to let Yan'er study in Huazhou Academy. Why did you make things difficult for her and not let her enter Huazhou Academy?"
"If it weren't for the fact that she was sad about this, I wouldn't have let her go out for a walk, and she wouldn't have been abducted by that bastard and lost her innocence!"
"Song Zhaoyang, you're just as much a culprit as that bastard!"
Saying this, Qi Yunshuang stared at Song Zhaoyang with hatred all over her face.
Song Zhaoyang said indifferently, "Princess, regarding the question of why Miss Ji couldn't enter Huazhou Academy to study, I asked Dean Yan of the academy. She said that Miss Ji didn't meet the admission requirements of the academy. As for why she wasn't admitted, I asked the reason."
"Dean Yan said that the entrance exam paper given to Miss Ji was indeed more difficult. The reason was that her special situation was taken into consideration."
"The class that Miss Ji wanted to enter was just reduced to ten students two days ago. These ten young ladies stood out from more than thirty young ladies. If Miss Ji didn't have the ability, she naturally couldn't enter this class just because of the princess's status."
"I didn't expect Miss Ji's ability to withstand pressure to be so poor. She even went back to the mansion and complained to the princess."
"Song Zhaoyang, you!" Qi Yunshuang's face darkened.
Just then, a voice came from outside.
"His Majesty the Emperor is coming!"