Ji Lingchuan was truly worried just now that Song Yihuan might be made things difficult for by Lady Jiang.
However, he never expected that Song Yihuan could dispel Lady Jiang's suspicion and dissatisfaction towards her with just a long brocade.
If Lady Jiang could detect the hidden meaning, how could Ji Lingchuan not?
The words that the old lady of Marquis Ding'an said on her deathbed had been confirmed by Lady Jiang, so they couldn't be false. This meant that the old lady of Marquis Ding'an didn't hate Concubine Rou, who had "betrayed" her.
There must be some unknown secrets about why Concubine Rou was left in the marquis's mansion back then and why the old lady of Marquis Ding'an's illness worsened. It was definitely not as simple as the rumors circulating in the marquis's mansion.
"My lord," came the call of Duke Jiang from his side. Ji Lingchuan quietly shifted his gaze away from Song Yihuan and looked towards Duke Jiang.
"I've known for a long time that you were coming, my lord. I've sent someone to prepare some good tea. Please come this way, my lord."
Ji Lingchuan came to the banquet today not only to offer birthday greetings but also with other purposes. He indeed had important matters to discuss with Duke Jiang.
He looked ahead. Song Nanxin was holding Song Yihuan's arm and smiling as she said,
"Lady Jiang doesn't often give gifts to younger generations. Yihuan, you must take good care of this bracelet. Don't let down the old lady's kindness."
She looked like a loving sister, and one couldn't tell at all that the two had had a small argument about the hairpin before they left home.
Ji Lingchuan felt relieved. He turned and followed Duke Jiang away. His figure quickly disappeared in the banquet hall.
More and more guests came to the banquet hall to offer gifts and birthday greetings to Lady Jiang. Before long, they had no time to pay attention to the sisters Song Nanxin and Song Yihuan.
When Song Nanxin found that Ji Lingchuan was no longer there, she pulled Song Yihuan to a corner and whispered angrily, "When did you prepare the birthday gift? Why didn't you tell me in advance?"
Song Yihuan looked innocent. "Although I came here with you and brother-in-law this time, I'm not really part of the Prince Ning's mansion after all. It wouldn't be appropriate for me to come empty-handed, so I also prepared this birthday gift for Lady Jiang."
Song Nanxin said sourly, "So you had already decided to give Lady Jiang this gift. You just watched me busy myself with the birthday gift? If you had such a good thing, why didn't you show it to me first?"
Song Yihuan looked surprised. "But, that long brocade... isn't valuable. Didn't you ask me for advice before and say the more valuable the better?"
Song Nanxin was speechless for a moment. After a while, she gritted her teeth and asked, "Did grandmother really say those things to Concubine Rou? Did she mention Lady Jiang on her deathbed?"
Song Yihuan nodded slightly. "My mother once told me about it. When I knew that you were going to take me to the banquet, I remembered this and the long brocade my mother had mentioned. I thought such an ordinary gift wouldn't be liked by the old lady, but I didn't expect her to be so satisfied."
Song Nanxin was so angry that she almost gritted her back teeth. But she didn't know what to say.
If Song Yihuan had taken out this long brocade with pictures of pine trees, cranes, and a hundred Chinese characters for "longevity" before, Song Nanxin would definitely have looked down on it. She didn't expect that it would backfire and let this stinky girl show off in front of the old lady.
Humph, does this little bitch really think that by pleasing Lady Jiang, she can get in touch with the Duke's mansion and find a good husband in the future to get out of her control?
She wouldn't give this little bitch a chance.
With a cold snort in her heart, Song Nanxin said seriously,
"You must discuss with me before doing anything in the future. This time you were lucky to please Lady Jiang with this gift. But if the old lady didn't like the birthday gift, wouldn't it have embarrassed our Marquis Ding'an's mansion?"
Song Yihuan nodded obediently. "I know."
Squinting slightly, Song Nanxin said, "By the way, what's going on with that Scholar Gu? Didn't you say you had made it clear to him and he wouldn't pester you anymore?"
Song Yihuan also looked confused. "I don't know either. I clearly told him that I'm suffering from an incurable disease and may not live long."
Unexpectedly, this Scholar Gu was such a lovesick fool. He still refused to give up on Song Yihuan even after hearing that.
However... thinking of something, Song Nanxin smiled again. She held Song Yihuan's arm and whispered in her ear,
"If that Scholar Gu can wait, after you give birth to the child, I can also be the one to arrange your wedding. What do you think?"
Song Yihuan suppressed the coldness in her eyes. She hesitated and said, "But, the lord hasn't summoned me to his bedroom in the Zhulan Courtyard for a long time. Sister, will your plan really work?"
Now it was Song Nanxin's turn to feel uncomfortable.
Thinking of Ji Lingchuan's coldness towards her recently, Song Nanxin bit her lower lip and said, "You don't need to worry about this. You just need to be a well-behaved Fourth Miss of Marquis Ding'an's mansion."
As the sun gradually moved, most of the guests who came to the Duke's mansion to offer birthday greetings had arrived. Before long, Lady Jiang got up with the support of maids and old women. She invited all the noble ladies and young ladies in the banquet hall to move to the garden where the banquet was set.
The Duke Jiang's mansion was hosting a flowing feast today to entertain all the guests who came to offer birthday greetings. The men's and women's tables were separated. As the Princess Consort of Prince Ning, Song Nanxin followed Lady Jiang, the main character of the occasion, into the garden.
And Ji Lingchuan appeared with Duke Jiang and was directly invited to the main seat of the men's table by Duke Jiang.
Just as the Princess of Prince Ning had expected, although the two didn't sit together, as soon as they appeared, the guests in the garden were all talking about them.
"The eldest daughter of Marquis Ding'an's mansion is really lucky. She married the heir of Prince Ning and became the princess consort. Her status immediately rose far above other young ladies. Marquis Ding'an's mansion has also risen in status because of her."
"So, getting married is like having a second chance at life. If you can marry well, your mother's family will also benefit."
"Maybe in our lifetime, we can see the title of Marquis Ding'an's mansion rise even higher."
Hearing the praises from all around, Song Nanxin felt extremely proud.
Song Yihuan's gorgeous hibiscus dress and charming appearance also attracted the attention of other guests as soon as she appeared. However, different from what she had expected, most of the guests at the banquet changed their expressions when they saw her.
"Why is she here at the Duke Jiang's mansion?"
"I can't believe I have to sit here and eat with her. It's really bad luck."
"This concubine-born young lady from the marquis's mansion is really charming. She must be a restless person."
"Her aunt did such a shameless thing. The princess consort still brought her to the banquet. She's really kind to her younger sister. If I were her, I wouldn't care about that little bitch's life or death!"
The venue of the flowing feast was extremely spacious. These discussions about Song Yihuan were originally carried out secretly, but there were so many people talking that those extremely unpleasant words soon reached Song Yihuan's ears.
Hearing clearly what they were talking about, Song Yihuan tightly pinched her palm to keep from showing her anger on the spot.
What was going on? How did the matter of her mother spread outside the mansion? How did these people know so clearly?
Song Yihuan looked up at the guests in the venue, trying to find out who was talking about her mother's matter behind her back. Unexpectedly, she met a pair of despairing eyes.
It was Gu Yunzheng who had stopped her when she entered the Duke's mansion.