As twilight fell, rows of red lanterns were lit up at the main entrance of the Duke's Mansion.
The main gate stood wide open. The old lady, accompanied by a group of family members, waited at the entrance.
Even the great clan elder of the Liang family had come.
Song Wanchu had never seen the Duke's Mansion go to such great lengths to welcome anyone.
"Surely the eunuch from the palace must have informed them before we arrived. The old lady is happy and it also shows her respect for the imperial order," Liang Yuzhou said, squeezing Song Wanchu's hand to comfort her in case she got nervous.
The carriage slowly stopped at the main entrance. Song Wanchu and Liang Yuzhou got off.
The moment the old lady saw her, she quickly walked down the steps with a beaming smile on her face.
Behind her, except for Princess Jiahe, who was also a princess, everyone knelt down and kowtowed to Song Wanchu.
"Old lady, this is really not appropriate," Song Wanchu said, feeling a bit uneasy.
The old lady patted the back of her hand and said with a smile, "You are a member of the Duke's Mansion and also a member of the royal family. Just accept the salute with peace of mind."
Song Wanchu told them to rise and then personally helped up the clan elder of the Liang family.
The clan elder was an octogenarian with white hair and beard, but his eyes sparkled with vigor, showing that he was still in good health in his old age.
"Our Liang family is a prominent family in the capital. Over the past century, many of our family members have been granted titles and served as high - ranking officials. Those who have made great contributions are also numerous. But you, Wanchu, are the only one in our family to be granted the title of princess for your achievements," the clan elder said.
The old lady also laughed and said, "It has been a long time since there has been such a happy event in our Duke's Mansion."
"Wanchu managed to persuade Taoist Priest Qingzhou to come back from the south of the Yangtze River and saved the life of the old duke. The military power of the Duke's Mansion has also been properly taken over by His Highness, the Prince Rui. Wanchu is the lucky star of our Duke's Mansion," the clan elder of the Liang family spared no praise. "The old lady said back then that Wanchu was a good girl. Many people doubted it at that time, but now time has proven the old lady's good judgment."
Princess Jiahe was extremely excited to see Liang Yuzhou willing to enter the Duke's Mansion. She was even more grateful and approving of Song Wanchu.
While everyone was praising Song Wanchu, she also showed a sincere smile. "When Wanchu was Yu Zhou's noble concubine, she managed the household very well. Whether it was the rural estates and shops outside or the maids and servants in the inner courtyard, she took care of everything in an orderly manner."
As soon as she finished speaking, everyone suddenly fell into an awkward silence.
Everyone could tell that Princess Jiahe was sincerely speaking well of Song Wanchu and not being sarcastic.
But she had always been rather oblivious. What she said was very inappropriate.
Not to mention that during the years when Song Wanchu was Liang Yuzhou's noble concubine, there were many misunderstandings between them and their relationship was not as good as it was now.
Wasn't it she, as the mother - in - law, who had given Song Wanchu the most trouble during those three years?
Song Wanchu just smiled and didn't mind.
When she thought of the past, she no longer felt the pain that cut like a knife.
Perhaps it was because Liang Yuzhou had given her enough sense of security. She knew that she was favored.
She had gained enough satisfaction and happiness from Liang Yuzhou.
Because her heart was bright and open, when she looked back on the past again, there was no longer any gloomy and negative emotion.
Princess Jiahe also realized that she had said something inappropriate. She pretended to wipe the sweat off with a handkerchief to cover up her embarrassed look.
The old lady took Song Wanchu's hand. "Let's go inside and talk. I've prepared a few tables of food in my courtyard. After eating too much rich food during the New Year, we'll have vegetarian food today. It's light, refreshing, and good for relieving greasiness."
Actually, everyone knew that the vegetarian food was prepared to take into account Liang Yuzhou's identity.
Since Song Wanchu and Liang Yuzhou entered the mansion, Liang Yuzhou really acted like a Taoist priest. He kept a low profile and said nothing.
He didn't seem to be returning home. Instead, he seemed more like Song Wanchu's protector, accompanying her into the main gate of the Duke's Mansion.
When facing everyone, including his own mother, his gaze was cold and detached.
Just as the main gate of the Duke's Mansion was about to close, suddenly an aggrieved cry was heard: "Old lady, great clan elder, I know I was wrong. Please let me see my father!"
Everyone was shocked and turned around. They saw Liang Yuchuan kneeling upright at the main gate.
The pride and glory of the past had long disappeared from him.
Instead, there was unprecedented frustration, loneliness, and fear.
Liang Yuzhou gave him a cold look and let out a disdainful snort from his nose.
He had always disdained to look at Liang Yuchuan directly.
Liang Yuchuan didn't care about the cold and hard floor tiles. He banged his head three times on the ground.
"Old lady, your grandson has seen the error of his ways and is willing to make a complete change. I only beg for the chance to kneel in front of my father and repent."
The Princess Dowager had fallen from power and was demoted to a commoner. There was no way she could stage a comeback.
The Princess Dowager's followers were brutally purged. Officials of all ranks in the capital were in a panic, afraid of being found out to have any connection with the Princess Dowager.
As soon as Liang Yuchuan heard that the Marquis of Wude's mansion had been raided and convicted, he quickly broke off the engagement with Cheng Siyi.
He had once betrayed the Crown Prince for the position of the heir apparent and defected to the Princess Dowager's camp. Who knew if Lu Sihong would hold a grudge and also purge him? Now, the best way to protect himself was to seek his father's forgiveness and return to the Duke's Mansion.
Although his dream of becoming the heir apparent was shattered, the title of the eldest young master of the Liang family still carried a lot of prestige.
With the Duke's Mansion as an unshakable backer, the Crown Prince wouldn't dare to do anything to him.
Liang Yuchuan's attitude of admitting his mistakes was very sincere, as if he really hated his former self.
He even gave himself two hard slaps in the face in front of everyone.
"Grandmother, your grandson really knows he was wrong."
The old lady watched Liang Yuchuan's performance silently without saying a word.
The clan elder of the Liang family frowned deeply.
Logically speaking, as the great clan elder of the Liang family, he had the full power to deal with a descendant like Liang Yuchuan, who had betrayed his ancestors and was unfilial.
With just one word from him, Liang Yuchuan would be expelled from the family genealogy.
But the Duke's Mansion was the most important and prominent branch of the Liang family. The old duke's say was no less powerful than his as the clan elder.
The old duke had not said a word about how to deal with the mistake Liang Yuchuan made more than a year ago.
Although he had been driven out of the family, his name was still in the Liang family's genealogy.
Many people in the clan speculated that the old duke had deep feelings for his late wife and had doted on Liang Yuchuan for so many years. Even though Liang Yuchuan had betrayed his father for personal gain, the old duke couldn't bear to really drive him out of the family.
Otherwise, those who had been discussing that Liang Yuchuan would become the heir apparent some time ago wouldn't have been so convinced.
The clan elder of the Liang family glanced at the old lady.
The old lady called the head steward over. "Go and ask the old master a question."
Liang Yuzhou spoke for the first time. "Also, tell the old duke that Taoist Priest Qingzhou wishes to see him."
The head steward was a bit stunned and then quickly ran off.
Liang Yuchuan gave Liang Yuzhou a fierce glare, but since he was playing the role of a repentant junior, he couldn't say anything bad to Liang Yuzhou.
Liang Yuzhou gave him a cold look, his eyes as light as if the person in front of him was not someone of any importance, but just a decaying leaf about to fall.
Liang Yuchuan clenched his fists tightly and his face was tense.
Not long after, the head steward ran back.
The old lady was not in a hurry. After he caught his breath, she asked, "What did the old master say?"
"The old master said that after the banquet is over, he would like to meet Princess Yuening and Taoist Priest Qingzhou," the head steward said. The old duke had specifically instructed that this sentence should be said first.
Liang Yuchuan was eagerly waiting for the next part.
He thought that in the end, his father couldn't let go of his feelings for his mother. After scolding him for a while, he would forgive him.
But the head steward uttered a cold sentence: "The old master also said that he doesn't have a son who betrayed his father for personal gain, and the Liang family doesn't have such an unfilial descendant. Keeping his name in the family genealogy is a great shame to the Liang family!"