Mrs. Shao had also seen General Liang's tall and imposing figure. She simply couldn't associate him with the gentle and frail Concubine Bai, who used to live in the mansion and rarely left the courtyard. If it weren't for her own daughter telling her these things, she would have thought that others were just gossiping and linking these two completely unrelated people together.
Frowning in confusion, she asked, "How did you find out about this? This won't do our Xue family any good in terms of reputation. Is it spreading widely outside?"
Xue Yuxin shrugged helplessly. "General Liang is a capable general under my husband's second uncle. Before, since it was a private matter, no one knew about it, and no one bothered to interfere. But since this matter involves the second branch, with Xue Yujiao's personality, how could she let it go? She's just dying to see Yuhan and Yuxi ruined just like her!"
Hearing this, Mrs. Shao couldn't help rolling her eyes. As long as Yujiao was around, good news never spread far, while bad news traveled fast. Spreading unfounded rumors might only seem like a case of a concubine's indiscretion, but it was the young ladies and young masters in the mansion who would suffer. What good would it do Xue Yujiao to have the family's reputation of being lax in family discipline?
Seeing Mrs. Shao's reaction, Xue Yuxin quickly comforted her. "Mother, don't worry. The matters of the second branch have nothing to do with us. My husband's second uncle took some measures to suppress the rumors. For the time being, they won't spread."
Only then did Mrs. Shao feel a bit relieved. "Now that you and Yuning are both on duty in the court, I'm really afraid that any rumors might implicate you."
Shen Yuning, sitting on the side, felt a twinge of sadness in her heart. That timid concubine, who always wore a flattering smile, if only she had been a bit braver, she wouldn't have been bullied like this.
As for the matters of the second branch...
Shen Yuning frowned. She couldn't take the initiative to interfere. But there was always a nagging worry in her heart. Although the matter was temporarily suppressed, what about in the future?
Xue Yuxuan didn't have the courage to deal with Xue Yujiao. Mrs. Xiao was muddle - headed and always listened to others' instigations. Concubine Bai was weak and incompetent, relying on Yuhan like a floating duckweed.
It was truly difficult.
However, the difficult days wouldn't last long.
Perhaps because she saw her two granddaughters get married smoothly and had no more hopes, the old Lady Xue fell ill again in the late autumn.
Xue Yuxin and Shen Yuning immediately moved back to the Marquis Mansion. As soon as they returned, they served the old lady by her bedside.
The old lady was quite open - minded. Leaning on the bed while Xue Yuxin fed her medicine, she smiled with wrinkles all over her face. "With so many descendants, I've had a fulfilling life."
Xue Yuxin pouted and said coquettishly, "Grandma, don't talk nonsense. The doctor said that it's a common problem for old people. Just take good care of yourself and you'll be fine. If you talk nonsense again, I won't forgive you."
The old lady laughed heartily. "Okay, I won't talk nonsense. I won't talk nonsense. Now that I have a great - grandchild, I'm still looking forward to holding a great - grand - nephew or niece."
Since the old lady's condition had improved a bit, the room was filled with joy. No one mentioned the matters of the second branch, as if the old lady only had the Marquis of Qiyang as her son.
After the old lady fell asleep, Xue Yuxin and Shen Yuning held hands and went to the yard to get some fresh air.
As soon as they stepped out, Xue Yuxin leaned against a pillar, covering her chest. It took her a while to regain her composure.
Shen Yuning was startled and quickly asked, "Big sister, what's wrong? Are you feeling unwell? I'll go and tell mother."
Xue Yuxin grabbed her. "Maybe I've been staying in grandma's room for too long these days. It's a bit stuffy in there, and I can't bear it. Don't tell mother. Sister - in - law is pregnant these days, and mother has to handle all the affairs in the mansion. She's already very busy."
Shen Yuning's eyes widened. "Sister - in - law is pregnant?"
Xue Yuxin was taken aback. "Don't you know? She's almost four months pregnant."
Shen Yuning then remembered that not long ago, she seemed to have met someone from the Sun family, who had congratulated her. At that time, she had wondered why they were congratulating her since it had only been a month since her wedding. It turned out that they were congratulating the Xue family on the upcoming addition to the family.
No wonder the usually filial sister - in - law hadn't been seen serving the old lady in the past few days.
Xue Yuxin muttered, "I don't know what mother is thinking. Such good news as sister - in - law's pregnancy, why didn't she tell you?"
This was understandable. Shen Yuning lived in the palace, and it was inconvenient for the family to send her messages. Moreover, Shen Yuning served in the court with her father and elder brother and could meet them at court meetings. Maybe mother thought they would tell her, but her father was careless, and her elder brother probably felt embarrassed.
As a result, such good news hadn't reached her ears.
Seeing that her sister didn't seem particularly weak, Shen Yuning didn't insist on calling a doctor. She just helped her sister to the room to rest.
Xue Yuxin leaned on the reclining chair but didn't let Shen Yuning leave. She pulled her and started gossiping about the families again.
Shen Yuning rubbed her forehead. When they were young, they liked to study strange cases and looked down on the gossip of the ladies and young misses. Now that they had grown up, she had become the kind of person she used to look down on.
However, it was really a pleasant thing to gossip about others when they finally had some free time.
Xue Yuxin said excitedly, "By the way, do you know Magistrate Tong of Wuyun Prefecture?"
Shen Yuning remembered that when she was in Xitian Town, Magistrate Tong had written her a letter personally, asking her to open a business in Wuyun. But at that time, she had considered too many things and had replied to decline. Naturally, she hadn't opened a shop in Wuyun.
Xue Yuxin continued, "Although Magistrate Tong is a magistrate, in fact, he is a military general. Since there was no one to manage Wuyun, he had to take on this position. But it's not him who manages the affairs in Wuyun. I heard that he had submitted several memorials before, but they were all suppressed by the Tang family. Now that Fourth Brother Chen has gone to Wuyun and has issued several new policies to rectify the situation there, Magistrate Tong can finally turn things around."
Shen Yuning thought silently that the letter from Magistrate Tong at that time had been full of eagerness. If she had noticed the clues earlier, could she have helped the people in Wuyun earlier?
"Fourth Brother Chen has always been capable. The emperor has given him the power, and he can do great things with peace of mind."
Xue Yuxin observed her carefully. Seeing that there was no trace of uneasiness on her face when she mentioned Fourth Brother Chen, she couldn't help rolling her eyes. "Yuning, we all know Fourth Brother Chen's feelings for you. Are you really... Don't be shy. There's no one else here. Tell sister."
Shen Yuning rolled her eyes. How did the topic of Wuyun Prefecture suddenly turn to her?
"Come on. If there was something between us, it would have happened long ago. I'm not the kind of person who values family background. Nor will I feel inferior because of my own birth..."
At this point, Shen Yuning stopped.
Didn't she feel inferior? But before, when she found out that Xuanzhi was the younger brother of the crown prince, became the King of Yu, and then the Regent, why was she so nervous? Why was she worried and angry about Xuanzhi's deliberate alienation before?
Moreover, when the emperor arranged a marriage between Xuanzhi and her, why did she care so much about the rumors? And why did she feel that her status was not worthy of Xuanzhi?
Xue Yuxin naturally didn't know that her younger sister's thoughts had wandered so far. She just went on talking, "Actually, the Zhu family and the Tang family weren't always at odds. The Zhu family was originally a military family, responsible for guarding the Great Zhou. But the Tang family wanted to dominate and regarded the Zhu family as a strong opponent, almost causing the extermination of the Zhu family."
When they mentioned the near - extinction of the Zhu family, both of them felt gloomy.
Xue Yuxin lowered her voice. "Later, it was Magistrate Tong who, regardless of the order from above, led the city - guarding soldiers to save my second uncle and my husband. Otherwise..."
Shen Yuning naturally didn't know about this. She only knew that after a fierce battle, most of the young men in the Zhu family had died, leaving only the Second Master Zhu and the Young Master Zhu. She had once sighed about how dangerous and terrifying that battle must have been. Now she realized that there were such hidden secrets.
The Tang family...
So now that the Tang family was gone and the faction of the Second Prince had fallen, the first thing the emperor and Xuanzhi did was to clean up the remaining party members.
Xue Yuxin didn't dwell on the bad past. She just smiled and said, "By the way, the Tong family has a rather close relationship with the Queen. Mrs. Tong is the cousin of the Queen's mother. Both of them are heroic and brave women. After the Queen's parents passed away, the Tong family intended to adopt the Queen, but the Duke liked the Queen and brought her back and gave her to his good friend, the King of Zhuang, to be his adopted daughter."
Shen Yuning didn't think about whether the Queen would have been happier if she hadn't been brought back but had stayed in Wuyun. She just nodded blankly. So, the Queen wasn't completely an orphan. The Tong family must have had some affection for her.
Xue Yuxin continued, "I heard from Zhu Bin that the emperor is going to reward the Tong family. He has already named the daughter of the Tong family a princess. That princess will come to the capital soon."
Perhaps because she had suffered from being away from home and feeling lonely, Shen Yuning didn't think such a reward was a good thing.
Hearing her words, Xue Yuxin reached out and scraped her face. "You silly girl. Do you think everyone is like you? It's definitely a good thing for that princess to come to the capital. The emperor will choose a husband for her from the prominent families in the capital. I heard that he will choose a husband for her with the same ceremony as for a princess. He will also build a princess mansion. In the future, it will be the princess's husband who will move into the mansion, not her getting married out."
This was indeed a good thing. Otherwise, a lonely girl coming to the capital without the protection of her maternal family would be in a difficult situation.
The two girls laughed and guessed what the upcoming princess would look like.
Just then, Xue Yuxin's maid rushed in, out of breath. She didn't even have time to salute. "Madam, Princess, the... the..."
Xue Yuxin glared at her impatiently. "Why are you so clumsy? What's the matter? Speak clearly."
The maid caught her breath and said, "The second young lady from the second branch is here."
Yuhan?
Xue Yuxin and Shen Yuning looked at each other. "Could she be here to visit grandma? She hasn't been out for so long. How did she find the time?"
The maid quickly shook her head. "As soon as the second young lady came, she knelt in front of the door and cried so hard that she almost fainted. Madam and the young mistress have already brought her in..."