Chapter 183: 183
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Song Yixiao said calmly, “Mother, think about this. If Cui Jianlian claims that she has been fallen for Lu Guanlun since her childhood and that she never wants to be a concubine of the Crown Prince, what consequence does the Cui Family will face?”
It was a sin of deceiving the Noble Consort and coaxing the Crown Prince!
Particularly, it was the Empress Dowager’s imperial decree to let Cui Jianlian enter the Eastern Palace. Actually, the decree was requested by Noble Consort Cui to the Empress Dowager in order to earn respect for her niece. However, her niece just had no interest in the Crown Prince!
By then, even the Noble Consort would have to apologize to the Empress Dowager for the failure to know her niece well and to disrespect for the crown prince!
After all, although she was the birth mother of the Crown Prince, the Empress Dowager and Emperor Xianjia were still alive. Hence, it was not the time for her to put on airs!
Moreover, “I heard that the Crown Prince has been titled since childhood, who has accompanied His Majesty all the time and seldom gone back to the imperial harem! In this way, although the Noble Consort is the birth mother of the Crown Prince, they must spend little time together. I don’t dare to say that the Crown Prince is not close to the Noble Consort, but I believe that once Cui Jianlian confesses that she doesn’t love the Crown Prince, the Noble Consort will be worried about bearing grudge against the Crown Prince!”
“Cui Jianlian is only a side concubine in the Eastern Palace, above whom there is the Crown Princess! The Crown Princess, made to marry the Crown Prince by His Majesty, has given birth to Commandery Prince Zhongling who is extremely favored by His Majesty and the Empress Dowager!”
Under the circumstance, “As long as someone slightly stirs things up, the Noble Consort will be suspected of having known that Cui Jianlian loves someone else. However, as Cui Jianlian is beautiful and the only suitable one to enter the imperial palace in the Cui Family, for the sake of the Cui Family’s constant wealth, she deliberately concealed it and ordered her to serve the Crown Prince!”
“The Empress Dowager and Daiguo won’t let go of this opportunity to arouse His Majesty’s doubt about Noble Consort Cui! Especially Daiguo will spare no effort to propagate the ambition of the Cui Family!” The Grand Princess nodded and said, “In this way, even if His Majesty still wants the Crown Prince to ascend the throne, His Majesty will surely take precautions about the Cui Family and the Noble Consort!”
However, “Why does it have anything to do with the Liu Family? How does it help to bridge the gap between the Noble Consort, the Crown Prince, and the Duke of Yan? I’m afraid that the Noble Consort will hate you more! Even the Crown Prince will believe that you are the one who discloses the affair of Cui Jianlian and thus brings shame on him.”
Song Yixiao said, “Mother, whether the Noble Consort actually knows that Cui Jianlian doesn’t love the Crown Prince, she can’t admit it after it is disclosed, can she? Therefore, the Noble Consort can only make trouble for the Cui Family. On the other hand, as the Cui Family don’t want to be censured by the Noble Consort, and even the Empress Dowager, His Majesty, and the Crown Prince, they have no other choice but to absolve themselves from responsibility!”
And the scapegoat, prepared by Song Yixiao for them, would be the Liu Family!
Can she just let bygones be bygones only because she lived a good life now?
It was inappropriate for her to punish her father and grandmother considering filial duty. However, as to Liu Zhiyin, who slandered her for seducing due to his failure to sexually harass her in the previous life, and Liu Zhenxi, who persuaded Song Yuan into disabling her and making her marry his son this life, she had long wished to kill them!
Actually, Liu Zhiyin hadn’t done anything to her this life… The case of You Hong suggested that the Liu Family wouldn’t let go of her even if Song Yixiao didn’t make trouble for them!
In this case, what was wrong with her revenge?
“Firstly, the Dowager Consort will never admit that Cui Jianlian loves Lu Guanlun unless absolutely compelled! Moreover, the Dowager Consort has confidence about it. Seven years ago, after Cui Jianlian was taken back home for hurting me, intervened by my mother, she couldn’t get to meet Lu Guanlun from then on!”
At that time, Cui Jianlian was only ten years old. It was rarely practical that she had fallen for Lu Guanlun ever since although she couldn’t meet with him.
The people of Prince of Hengshan’s mansion could refuse to admit even unto death!
“Besides, if the Cui Family don’t want their whole family to come to a bad end, they will never admit that they have known about the secret sweetheart of Cui Jianlian! They even can’t admit that Cui Jianlian has secret communication with an outsider behind her family! Because the former one is an act of offense to the emperor and the latter one is misconduct of family education!”
“The only choice for them is to insist that Cui Jianlian has been coerced!”
“But Lu Guanlun is obviously not suitable to be the person coercing Cui Jianlian. He has too good a reputation to be slandered. His position is not low enough to deal with easily. Most importantly, Prince of Hengshan’s mansion is a centrist party! The Noble Consort and the Crown Prince also don’t want to bear grudge against him!”
The problem was that the Cui Family must ensure no one could find fault with their family education while looking for the scapegoat!
Otherwise, Prince of Wei and Prince of Zhao would rake up this point and attack Noble Consort Cui and thus threaten the Crown Prince. In this case, the Noble Consort and the Crown Prince still wouldn’t let go of the Cui Family!
Therefore, their choices were rather limited. After all, how many outsiders could a decent noble miss reach apart from her family?
According to what happened to me seven years ago and the information provided by my stepmother, it is true that Madam Jin connected the Jin Family and the Liu Family as a go-between; besides, it is also true that Cui Jianlian has communication with the Jin Family and the Liu Family!”
Therefore, the Cui Family’s choice would still be to scapegoat Madam Jin!
Madam Jin was the legitimate cousin-in-law of Cui Jianlian. It stood to reason that Cui Jianlian had communications with her and exchanged gifts, which wouldn’t be treated as misconduct.
“Thus, once Cui Jianlian’s being coerced is attributed to Madam Jin’s scheming, Cui Jianlian and the Cui Family will be less responsible! After all, it is fair enough that the Cui Family don’t watch out for the nephew’s wife and that Cui Jianlian doesn’t watch out for her cousin-in-law!”
Although Madam Jin also had brothers and nephews who were known for dissoluteness, Song Yixiao believed that if the Cui Family were not too stupid, they wouldn’t make the men of the Jin Family the scapegoat!
The reason was very simple. “Jin Suke, with a high position, hasn’t declared where he stood, who is a great helping force. Therefore, it is inappropriate to publicize his problem. Otherwise, if he is thoroughly discredited, why does he have to work for the Crown Prince? On the contrary, the Liu Family have taken the side of Uncle Qiu and served under Prince of Zhao!”
Of course this opportunity of blowing a political opponent in a right and proper way couldn’t be let go!
Moreover, Liu Zhenxi, the Vice Minister in the Ministry of Punishments, was no match for Jin Suke in terms of official position, prestige, qualifications, foundations, and connections…
In one word, Liu Zhenxi was not as valuable as Jin Suke but he was easier to deal with!
Therefore, if the Cui Family decided to frame the Liu Family and conform to the Crown Prince’s interests, it would be easier to gain the trust of the Noble Consort and the Crown Prince!
The above was an analysis from the big picture perspective. In terms of personal grudge, “If Cui Jianlian confesses that she doesn’t love the Crown Prince, the truth that she deliberately hurt me will be publicized for sure! However, as to the grudge between me and the Jin Family, at most we have come to a conflict. On the surface, it is Madam Jin who keeps bullying me! This grudge to the degree cannot be used to explain why the person coercing Cui Jianlian asked her to frame me.”
If it was out of political reason and the Jin Family turned to Prince of Zhao in secret through the Liu Family, “Now that the fight over the throne just begins and Cui Jianlian is deeply loved by the Crown Prince with twin babies, it will be a waste to use her to drive a wedge between Duke of Yan and the Crown Prince!”
After all, even if Cui Jianlian’s conspiration went well, Song Yixiao couldn’t defend for herself. How long was she married to Jian Xubai? How many years did Jian Xubai spend with the Crown Prince? Actually, Jinguo Grand Prince drove her son away and questioned her daughter-in-law alone out of the similar intention. Once there was no turning back for the matter, she would directly sacrifice Song Yixiao for the sake of Jian Xubai’s prospect!
Although people always said that Jian Xubai loved his wife, for the officers, love couldn’t be compared to the state affairs. The fight over the throne was a kind of such affairs.
By then, apart from making Jian Xubai marry someone else, the Crown Prince wouldn’t suffer any physical damage!
In particular, Song Yixiao had no maiden family to rely on. It was even a joke to cast in a bone between Jian Xubai and the Yue Family in this way!
“It’s better to keep Cui Jianlian and make her a spy, or ask her to directly harm the Crown Prince through pillow talk!” Song Yixiao smiled. “Therefore, it doesn’t stand to reason that the Cui Family claim that the Jin Family is the ringleader who coerces Cui Jianlian! As to the Liu Family, the matter that Madam Liu planned to sell me caused a sensation in the city. It has been gradually forgotten these years but once it is mentioned, a lot of people can still recall it!”
Thus, the Liu Family had enough reason to set against Song Yixiao!
Besides, “If the Cui Family makes use of the grudge between the Liu Family and me to accuse the Liu Family of coercing Cui Jianlian in secret through Madam Jin, it can explain why Cui Jianlian confesses that she loves Lu Guanlun—because Prince of Hengshan’s mansion helped bring me up! Since the Liu Family regards me as a thorn in their eyes, it is justifiable that they hate the Prince and thus ask Cui Jianlian to drag Prince of Hengshan’s mansion into trouble if needed!”
In this way, the Cui Family would be like lending a favor to Prince of Hengshan’s mansion. Naturally, Prince of Hengshan’s mansion must return the favor and help the Cui Family to consolidate the conviction of Madam Jin.
That was to say, according to Song Yixiao’s previous plan, there would be only two results of the scheme at the Lantern Festival feast. Either Cui Jianlian chose to protect Lu Guanlun or she chose to abandon him!
Either way, Madam Jin had no way out and the Jin Family would become a huge help to the Crown Prince!
As to Cui Jianlian, if she chose to protect Lu Guanlun, she had to bear the responsibility of mistakenly believing others’ words, and driving a wedge between the Crown Prince and his subordinates even if the Noble Consort and the Crown Prince didn’t blame her for keeping contact with the Liu Family in private.
The situation was different from a few years ago, when the Crown Prince’s position was steady, and Daiguo Grand Princess and the Su Family could only scheme in private!
Nowadays Prince of Zhao gained Emperor Xianjia’s permission to engage in the court affairs and Daiguo Grand Princess was trying all means to earn the same benefit for Prince of Wei. If the Crown Prince still chose to pamper Cui Jianlian, those who supported him might turn their back on him. After all, if an heir was so immersed into love affairs, how could they bet all their families on the Crown Prince?
Moreover, Jian Xubai was not an ordinary supporter of the Crown Prince. The Empress Dowager behind his back didn’t like Cui Jianlian. Before the Lantern Festival Feast started, she even warned Cui Jianlian under the guise of showing concern for the Crown Princess. If she learnt that Cui Jianlian “wronged” Jian Xubai’s legitimate wife, how could she let go of Cui Jianlian?
Therefore, even if Cui Jianlian succeeded in giving birth to the twins, she would definitely be cold-shouldered!
Worse still, for the sake of her twins’ prospect, maybe even Noble Consort Cui wouldn’t agree to let her raise her own babies. The consequence seemed much better than Madam Jin who had to be made the scapegoat, but the Crown Princess in the Eastern Palace couldn’t be neglected!
At the feast for celebrating the pregnancy of Cui Jianlian, Wei Yinlian tried to draw her and Sikong Yiluo over to the Crown Princess’s side in public!
However, Wei Yinlian could hardly absolve herself from the blame for the accidental death of Sikong Yiluo so she remained within doors and didn’t continue acting as the go-between.
But Song Yixiao believed that the Crown Princess could never feel at ease if Cui Jianlian was not eradicated!
It was not only due to the conflict of striving for the Crown Prince’s favor but also the fight for the future position of the empress dowager!
After all, Cui Jianlian was the favorite niece of Noble Consort Cui and the favored concubine of the Crown Prince. When the Sikong Family went to the Eastern Palace to reason about Sikong Yiluo’s death, Song Yixiao saw clearly how the Crown Prince screened Cui Jianlian’s faults!
At that time, the Crown Princess didn’t show any disgruntlement on the surface but deep in her heart, she must have crisis awareness.
Once Cui Jianlian fell into disfavor, the Crown Princess would definitely catch the opportunity to end the future trouble!
On the contrary, if Cui Jianlian chose not to protect Lu Guanlun, due to the reason of her being coerced by the Liu Family, the Cui Family might gain a slim chance of survival but she couldn’t!
As to Song Yixiao’s plan B for self-protection, if Cui Jianlian decided to protect Lu Guanlun, her plan was approved by the Grand Princess.
If Cui Jianlian didn’t protect Lu Guanlun, “As I am so considerate for the Cui Family, isn’t it a matter of course that they pay me back a bit?”
It was like Dowager Consort of Hengshan’s mansion actually resented Song Yixiao, but in order to protect Lu Guanlun, she had to guarantee to Noble Consort Cui that Song Yixiao never held any grudge against Cui Jianlian!
Even if the Cui Family knew everything was Song Yixiao’s scheme, they had to strive to side with Song Yixiao!
Otherwise, if Song Yixiao was driven into a corner and thus disclosed the fact that they had known that Cui Jianlian loved someone else but they still forced her to be the concubine of the Crown Prince behind the imperial family, what should they do then?
After all, they were the maiden family of the Noble Consort and the relatives of the Crown Prince.
They couldn’t be of any help in terms of power but they could work well in terms of affection!
After all, judging from Noble Consort Cui’s favor for Cui Jianlian, the Noble Consort still attached high importance to her maiden family.
“But if Cui Jianlian chooses to admit she doesn’t love the Crown Prince and even claims to be coerced, the Crown Prince will be insulted for becoming the gossiping topic in private!” The Grand Princess was not satisfied with her daughter-in-law’s plan B. “You are too young. You don’t know what kind of insult it is for a man, which is not so easy to let go!”
However, “Whether the Plan B you prepare is perfect or not, after Lady Nuan intervenes, the situation doesn’t go as you expect. Now what are you going to do?”
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Song Yixiao said calmly, “Mother, think about this. If Cui Jianlian claims that she has been fallen for Lu Guanlun since her childhood and that she never wants to be a concubine of the Crown Prince, what consequence does the Cui Family will face?”
It was a sin of deceiving the Noble Consort and coaxing the Crown Prince!
Particularly, it was the Empress Dowager’s imperial decree to let Cui Jianlian enter the Eastern Palace. Actually, the decree was requested by Noble Consort Cui to the Empress Dowager in order to earn respect for her niece. However, her niece just had no interest in the Crown Prince!
By then, even the Noble Consort would have to apologize to the Empress Dowager for the failure to know her niece well and to disrespect for the crown prince!
After all, although she was the birth mother of the Crown Prince, the Empress Dowager and Emperor Xianjia were still alive. Hence, it was not the time for her to put on airs!
Moreover, “I heard that the Crown Prince has been titled since childhood, who has accompanied His Majesty all the time and seldom gone back to the imperial harem! In this way, although the Noble Consort is the birth mother of the Crown Prince, they must spend little time together. I don’t dare to say that the Crown Prince is not close to the Noble Consort, but I believe that once Cui Jianlian confesses that she doesn’t love the Crown Prince, the Noble Consort will be worried about bearing grudge against the Crown Prince!”
“Cui Jianlian is only a side concubine in the Eastern Palace, above whom there is the Crown Princess! The Crown Princess, made to marry the Crown Prince by His Majesty, has given birth to Commandery Prince Zhongling who is extremely favored by His Majesty and the Empress Dowager!”
Under the circumstance, “As long as someone slightly stirs things up, the Noble Consort will be suspected of having known that Cui Jianlian loves someone else. However, as Cui Jianlian is beautiful and the only suitable one to enter the imperial palace in the Cui Family, for the sake of the Cui Family’s constant wealth, she deliberately concealed it and ordered her to serve the Crown Prince!”
“The Empress Dowager and Daiguo won’t let go of this opportunity to arouse His Majesty’s doubt about Noble Consort Cui! Especially Daiguo will spare no effort to propagate the ambition of the Cui Family!” The Grand Princess nodded and said, “In this way, even if His Majesty still wants the Crown Prince to ascend the throne, His Majesty will surely take precautions about the Cui Family and the Noble Consort!”
However, “Why does it have anything to do with the Liu Family? How does it help to bridge the gap between the Noble Consort, the Crown Prince, and the Duke of Yan? I’m afraid that the Noble Consort will hate you more! Even the Crown Prince will believe that you are the one who discloses the affair of Cui Jianlian and thus brings shame on him.”
Song Yixiao said, “Mother, whether the Noble Consort actually knows that Cui Jianlian doesn’t love the Crown Prince, she can’t admit it after it is disclosed, can she? Therefore, the Noble Consort can only make trouble for the Cui Family. On the other hand, as the Cui Family don’t want to be censured by the Noble Consort, and even the Empress Dowager, His Majesty, and the Crown Prince, they have no other choice but to absolve themselves from responsibility!”
And the scapegoat, prepared by Song Yixiao for them, would be the Liu Family!
Can she just let bygones be bygones only because she lived a good life now?
It was inappropriate for her to punish her father and grandmother considering filial duty. However, as to Liu Zhiyin, who slandered her for seducing due to his failure to sexually harass her in the previous life, and Liu Zhenxi, who persuaded Song Yuan into disabling her and making her marry his son this life, she had long wished to kill them!
Actually, Liu Zhiyin hadn’t done anything to her this life… The case of You Hong suggested that the Liu Family wouldn’t let go of her even if Song Yixiao didn’t make trouble for them!
In this case, what was wrong with her revenge?
“Firstly, the Dowager Consort will never admit that Cui Jianlian loves Lu Guanlun unless absolutely compelled! Moreover, the Dowager Consort has confidence about it. Seven years ago, after Cui Jianlian was taken back home for hurting me, intervened by my mother, she couldn’t get to meet Lu Guanlun from then on!”
At that time, Cui Jianlian was only ten years old. It was rarely practical that she had fallen for Lu Guanlun ever since although she couldn’t meet with him.
The people of Prince of Hengshan’s mansion could refuse to admit even unto death!
“Besides, if the Cui Family don’t want their whole family to come to a bad end, they will never admit that they have known about the secret sweetheart of Cui Jianlian! They even can’t admit that Cui Jianlian has secret communication with an outsider behind her family! Because the former one is an act of offense to the emperor and the latter one is misconduct of family education!”
“The only choice for them is to insist that Cui Jianlian has been coerced!”
“But Lu Guanlun is obviously not suitable to be the person coercing Cui Jianlian. He has too good a reputation to be slandered. His position is not low enough to deal with easily. Most importantly, Prince of Hengshan’s mansion is a centrist party! The Noble Consort and the Crown Prince also don’t want to bear grudge against him!”
The problem was that the Cui Family must ensure no one could find fault with their family education while looking for the scapegoat!
Otherwise, Prince of Wei and Prince of Zhao would rake up this point and attack Noble Consort Cui and thus threaten the Crown Prince. In this case, the Noble Consort and the Crown Prince still wouldn’t let go of the Cui Family!
Therefore, their choices were rather limited. After all, how many outsiders could a decent noble miss reach apart from her family?
According to what happened to me seven years ago and the information provided by my stepmother, it is true that Madam Jin connected the Jin Family and the Liu Family as a go-between; besides, it is also true that Cui Jianlian has communication with the Jin Family and the Liu Family!”
Therefore, the Cui Family’s choice would still be to scapegoat Madam Jin!
Madam Jin was the legitimate cousin-in-law of Cui Jianlian. It stood to reason that Cui Jianlian had communications with her and exchanged gifts, which wouldn’t be treated as misconduct.
“Thus, once Cui Jianlian’s being coerced is attributed to Madam Jin’s scheming, Cui Jianlian and the Cui Family will be less responsible! After all, it is fair enough that the Cui Family don’t watch out for the nephew’s wife and that Cui Jianlian doesn’t watch out for her cousin-in-law!”
Although Madam Jin also had brothers and nephews who were known for dissoluteness, Song Yixiao believed that if the Cui Family were not too stupid, they wouldn’t make the men of the Jin Family the scapegoat!
The reason was very simple. “Jin Suke, with a high position, hasn’t declared where he stood, who is a great helping force. Therefore, it is inappropriate to publicize his problem. Otherwise, if he is thoroughly discredited, why does he have to work for the Crown Prince? On the contrary, the Liu Family have taken the side of Uncle Qiu and served under Prince of Zhao!”
Of course this opportunity of blowing a political opponent in a right and proper way couldn’t be let go!
Moreover, Liu Zhenxi, the Vice Minister in the Ministry of Punishments, was no match for Jin Suke in terms of official position, prestige, qualifications, foundations, and connections…
In one word, Liu Zhenxi was not as valuable as Jin Suke but he was easier to deal with!
Therefore, if the Cui Family decided to frame the Liu Family and conform to the Crown Prince’s interests, it would be easier to gain the trust of the Noble Consort and the Crown Prince!
The above was an analysis from the big picture perspective. In terms of personal grudge, “If Cui Jianlian confesses that she doesn’t love the Crown Prince, the truth that she deliberately hurt me will be publicized for sure! However, as to the grudge between me and the Jin Family, at most we have come to a conflict. On the surface, it is Madam Jin who keeps bullying me! This grudge to the degree cannot be used to explain why the person coercing Cui Jianlian asked her to frame me.”
If it was out of political reason and the Jin Family turned to Prince of Zhao in secret through the Liu Family, “Now that the fight over the throne just begins and Cui Jianlian is deeply loved by the Crown Prince with twin babies, it will be a waste to use her to drive a wedge between Duke of Yan and the Crown Prince!”
After all, even if Cui Jianlian’s conspiration went well, Song Yixiao couldn’t defend for herself. How long was she married to Jian Xubai? How many years did Jian Xubai spend with the Crown Prince? Actually, Jinguo Grand Prince drove her son away and questioned her daughter-in-law alone out of the similar intention. Once there was no turning back for the matter, she would directly sacrifice Song Yixiao for the sake of Jian Xubai’s prospect!
Although people always said that Jian Xubai loved his wife, for the officers, love couldn’t be compared to the state affairs. The fight over the throne was a kind of such affairs.
By then, apart from making Jian Xubai marry someone else, the Crown Prince wouldn’t suffer any physical damage!
In particular, Song Yixiao had no maiden family to rely on. It was even a joke to cast in a bone between Jian Xubai and the Yue Family in this way!
“It’s better to keep Cui Jianlian and make her a spy, or ask her to directly harm the Crown Prince through pillow talk!” Song Yixiao smiled. “Therefore, it doesn’t stand to reason that the Cui Family claim that the Jin Family is the ringleader who coerces Cui Jianlian! As to the Liu Family, the matter that Madam Liu planned to sell me caused a sensation in the city. It has been gradually forgotten these years but once it is mentioned, a lot of people can still recall it!”
Thus, the Liu Family had enough reason to set against Song Yixiao!
Besides, “If the Cui Family makes use of the grudge between the Liu Family and me to accuse the Liu Family of coercing Cui Jianlian in secret through Madam Jin, it can explain why Cui Jianlian confesses that she loves Lu Guanlun—because Prince of Hengshan’s mansion helped bring me up! Since the Liu Family regards me as a thorn in their eyes, it is justifiable that they hate the Prince and thus ask Cui Jianlian to drag Prince of Hengshan’s mansion into trouble if needed!”
In this way, the Cui Family would be like lending a favor to Prince of Hengshan’s mansion. Naturally, Prince of Hengshan’s mansion must return the favor and help the Cui Family to consolidate the conviction of Madam Jin.
That was to say, according to Song Yixiao’s previous plan, there would be only two results of the scheme at the Lantern Festival feast. Either Cui Jianlian chose to protect Lu Guanlun or she chose to abandon him!
Either way, Madam Jin had no way out and the Jin Family would become a huge help to the Crown Prince!
As to Cui Jianlian, if she chose to protect Lu Guanlun, she had to bear the responsibility of mistakenly believing others’ words, and driving a wedge between the Crown Prince and his subordinates even if the Noble Consort and the Crown Prince didn’t blame her for keeping contact with the Liu Family in private.
The situation was different from a few years ago, when the Crown Prince’s position was steady, and Daiguo Grand Princess and the Su Family could only scheme in private!
Nowadays Prince of Zhao gained Emperor Xianjia’s permission to engage in the court affairs and Daiguo Grand Princess was trying all means to earn the same benefit for Prince of Wei. If the Crown Prince still chose to pamper Cui Jianlian, those who supported him might turn their back on him. After all, if an heir was so immersed into love affairs, how could they bet all their families on the Crown Prince?
Moreover, Jian Xubai was not an ordinary supporter of the Crown Prince. The Empress Dowager behind his back didn’t like Cui Jianlian. Before the Lantern Festival Feast started, she even warned Cui Jianlian under the guise of showing concern for the Crown Princess. If she learnt that Cui Jianlian “wronged” Jian Xubai’s legitimate wife, how could she let go of Cui Jianlian?
Therefore, even if Cui Jianlian succeeded in giving birth to the twins, she would definitely be cold-shouldered!
Worse still, for the sake of her twins’ prospect, maybe even Noble Consort Cui wouldn’t agree to let her raise her own babies. The consequence seemed much better than Madam Jin who had to be made the scapegoat, but the Crown Princess in the Eastern Palace couldn’t be neglected!
At the feast for celebrating the pregnancy of Cui Jianlian, Wei Yinlian tried to draw her and Sikong Yiluo over to the Crown Princess’s side in public!
However, Wei Yinlian could hardly absolve herself from the blame for the accidental death of Sikong Yiluo so she remained within doors and didn’t continue acting as the go-between.
But Song Yixiao believed that the Crown Princess could never feel at ease if Cui Jianlian was not eradicated!
It was not only due to the conflict of striving for the Crown Prince’s favor but also the fight for the future position of the empress dowager!
After all, Cui Jianlian was the favorite niece of Noble Consort Cui and the favored concubine of the Crown Prince. When the Sikong Family went to the Eastern Palace to reason about Sikong Yiluo’s death, Song Yixiao saw clearly how the Crown Prince screened Cui Jianlian’s faults!
At that time, the Crown Princess didn’t show any disgruntlement on the surface but deep in her heart, she must have crisis awareness.
Once Cui Jianlian fell into disfavor, the Crown Princess would definitely catch the opportunity to end the future trouble!
On the contrary, if Cui Jianlian chose not to protect Lu Guanlun, due to the reason of her being coerced by the Liu Family, the Cui Family might gain a slim chance of survival but she couldn’t!
As to Song Yixiao’s plan B for self-protection, if Cui Jianlian decided to protect Lu Guanlun, her plan was approved by the Grand Princess.
If Cui Jianlian didn’t protect Lu Guanlun, “As I am so considerate for the Cui Family, isn’t it a matter of course that they pay me back a bit?”
It was like Dowager Consort of Hengshan’s mansion actually resented Song Yixiao, but in order to protect Lu Guanlun, she had to guarantee to Noble Consort Cui that Song Yixiao never held any grudge against Cui Jianlian!
Even if the Cui Family knew everything was Song Yixiao’s scheme, they had to strive to side with Song Yixiao!
Otherwise, if Song Yixiao was driven into a corner and thus disclosed the fact that they had known that Cui Jianlian loved someone else but they still forced her to be the concubine of the Crown Prince behind the imperial family, what should they do then?
After all, they were the maiden family of the Noble Consort and the relatives of the Crown Prince.
They couldn’t be of any help in terms of power but they could work well in terms of affection!
After all, judging from Noble Consort Cui’s favor for Cui Jianlian, the Noble Consort still attached high importance to her maiden family.
“But if Cui Jianlian chooses to admit she doesn’t love the Crown Prince and even claims to be coerced, the Crown Prince will be insulted for becoming the gossiping topic in private!” The Grand Princess was not satisfied with her daughter-in-law’s plan B. “You are too young. You don’t know what kind of insult it is for a man, which is not so easy to let go!”
However, “Whether the Plan B you prepare is perfect or not, after Lady Nuan intervenes, the situation doesn’t go as you expect. Now what are you going to do?”
Song Yixiao said calmly, Mother, think about this. If Cui Jianlian claims that she has been fallen for Lu Guanlun since her childhood and that she never wants to be a concubine of the Crown Prince, what consequence does the Cui Family will face?It was a sin of deceiving the Noble Consort and coaxing the Crown Prince!Particularly, it was the Empress Dowager's imperial decree to let Cui Jianlian enter the Eastern Palace. Actually, the decree was requested by Noble Consort Cui to the Empress Dowager in order to earn respect for her niece. However, her niece just had no interest in the Crown Prince!By then, even the Noble Consort would have to apologize to the Empress Dowager for the failure to know her niece well and to disrespect for the crown prince!After all, although she was the birth mother of the Crown Prince, the Empress Dowager and Emperor Xianjia were still alive. Hence, it was not the time for her to put on airs!Moreover, I heard that the Crown Prince has been titled since childhood, who has accompanied His Majesty all the time and seldom gone back to the imperial harem! In this way, although the Noble Consort is the birth mother of the Crown Prince, they must spend little time together. I don't dare to say that the Crown Prince is not close to the Noble Consort, but I believe that once Cui Jianlian confesses that she doesn't love the Crown Prince, the Noble Consort will be worried about bearing grudge against the Crown Prince!Cui Jianlian is only a side concubine in the Eastern Palace, above whom there is the Crown Princess! The Crown Princess, made to marry the Crown Prince by His Majesty, has given birth to Commandery Prince Zhongling who is extremely favored by His Majesty and the Empress Dowager!Under the circumstance, As long as someone slightly stirs things up, the Noble Consort will be suspected of having known that Cui Jianlian loves someone else. However, as Cui Jianlian is beautiful and the only suitable one to enter the imperial palace in the Cui Family, for the sake of the Cui Family's constant wealth, she deliberately concealed it and ordered her to serve the Crown Prince!The Empress Dowager and Daiguo won't let go of this opportunity to arouse His Majesty's doubt about Noble Consort Cui! Especially Daiguo will spare no effort to propagate the ambition of the Cui Family! The Grand Princess nodded and said, In this way, even if His Majesty still wants the Crown Prince to ascend the throne, His Majesty will surely take precautions about the Cui Family and the Noble Consort!However, Why does it have anything to do with the Liu Family? How does it help to bridge the gap between the Noble Consort, the Crown Prince, and the Duke of Yan? I'm afraid that the Noble Consort will hate you more! Even the Crown Prince will believe that you are the one who discloses the affair of Cui Jianlian and thus brings shame on him.Song Yixiao said, Mother, whether the Noble Consort actually knows that Cui Jianlian doesn't love the Crown Prince, she can't admit it after it is disclosed, can she? Therefore, the Noble Consort can only make trouble for the Cui Family. On the other hand, as the Cui Family don't want to be censured by the Noble Consort, and even the Empress Dowager, His Majesty, and the Crown Prince, they have no other choice but to absolve themselves from responsibility!And the scapegoat, prepared by Song Yixiao for them, would be the Liu Family!Can she just let bygones be bygones only because she lived a good life now?It was inappropriate for her to punish her father and grandmother considering filial duty. However, as to Liu Zhiyin, who slandered her for seducing due to his failure to sexually harass her in the previous life, and Liu Zhenxi, who persuaded Song Yuan into disabling her and making her marry his son this life, she had long wished to kill them!Actually, Liu Zhiyin hadn't done anything to her this life The case of You Hong suggested that the Liu Family wouldn't let go of her even if Song Yixiao didn't make trouble for them!In this case, what was wrong with her revenge?Firstly, the Dowager Consort will never admit that Cui Jianlian loves Lu Guanlun unless absolutely compelled! Moreover, the Dowager Consort has confidence about it. Seven years ago, after Cui Jianlian was taken back home for hurting me, intervened by my mother, she couldn't get to meet Lu Guanlun from then on!At that time, Cui Jianlian was only ten years old. It was rarely practical that she had fallen for Lu Guanlun ever since although she couldn't meet with him.The people of Prince of Hengshan's mansion could refuse to admit even unto death!Besides, if the Cui Family don't want their whole family to come to a bad end, they will never admit that they have known about the secret sweetheart of Cui Jianlian! They even can't admit that Cui Jianlian has secret communication with an outsider behind her family! Because the former one is an act of offense to the emperor and the latter one is misconduct of family education!The only choice for them is to insist that Cui Jianlian has been coerced!But Lu Guanlun is obviously not suitable to be the person coercing Cui Jianlian. He has too good a reputation to be slandered. His position is not low enough to deal with easily. Most importantly, Prince of Hengshan's mansion is a centrist party! The Noble Consort and the Crown Prince also don't want to bear grudge against him!The problem was that the Cui Family must ensure no one could find fault with their family education while looking for the scapegoat!Otherwise, Prince of Wei and Prince of Zhao would rake up this point and attack Noble Consort Cui and thus threaten the Crown Prince. In this case, the Noble Consort and the Crown Prince still wouldn't let go of the Cui Family!Therefore, their choices were rather limited. After all, how many outsiders could a decent noble miss reach apart from her family?According to what happened to me seven years ago and the information provided by my stepmother, it is true that Madam Jin connected the Jin Family and the Liu Family as a go-between; besides, it is also true that Cui Jianlian has communication with the Jin Family and the Liu Family!Therefore, the Cui Family's choice would still be to scapegoat Madam Jin!Madam Jin was the legitimate cousin-in-law of Cui Jianlian. It stood to reason that Cui Jianlian had communications with her and exchanged gifts, which wouldn't be treated as misconduct.Thus, once Cui Jianlian's being coerced is attributed to Madam Jin's scheming, Cui Jianlian and the Cui Family will be less responsible! After all, it is fair enough that the Cui Family don't watch out for the nephew's wife and that Cui Jianlian doesn't watch out for her cousin-in-law!Although Madam Jin also had brothers and nephews who were known for dissoluteness, Song Yixiao believed that if the Cui Family were not too stupid, they wouldn't make the men of the Jin Family the scapegoat!The reason was very simple. Jin Suke, with a high position, hasn't declared where he stood, who is a great helping force. Therefore, it is inappropriate to publicize his problem. Otherwise, if he is thoroughly discredited, why does he have to work for the Crown Prince? On the contrary, the Liu Family have taken the side of Uncle Qiu and served under Prince of Zhao!Of course this opportunity of blowing a political opponent in a right and proper way couldn't be let go!Moreover, Liu Zhenxi, the Vice Minister in the Ministry of Punishments, was no match for Jin Suke in terms of official position, prestige, qualifications, foundations, and connectionsIn one word, Liu Zhenxi was not as valuable as Jin Suke but he was easier to deal with!Therefore, if the Cui Family decided to frame the Liu Family and conform to the Crown Prince's interests, it would be easier to gain the trust of the Noble Consort and the Crown Prince!The above was an analysis from the big picture perspective. In terms of personal grudge, If Cui Jianlian confesses that she doesn't love the Crown Prince, the truth that she deliberately hurt me will be publicized for sure! However, as to the grudge between me and the Jin Family, at most we have come to a conflict. On the surface, it is Madam Jin who keeps bullying me! This grudge to the degree cannot be used to explain why the person coercing Cui Jianlian asked her to frame me.If it was out of political reason and the Jin Family turned to Prince of Zhao in secret through the Liu Family, Now that the fight over the throne just begins and Cui Jianlian is deeply loved by the Crown Prince with twin babies, it will be a waste to use her to drive a wedge between Duke of Yan and the Crown Prince!After all, even if Cui Jianlian's conspiration went well, Song Yixiao couldn't defend for herself. How long was she married to Jian Xubai? How many years did Jian Xubai spend with the Crown Prince? Actually, Jinguo Grand Prince drove her son away and questioned her daughter-in-law alone out of the similar intention. Once there was no turning back for the matter, she would directly sacrifice Song Yixiao for the sake of Jian Xubai's prospect!Although people always said that Jian Xubai loved his wife, for the officers, love couldn't be compared to the state affairs. The fight over the throne was a kind of such affairs.By then, apart from making Jian Xubai marry someone else, the Crown Prince wouldn't suffer any physical damage!In particular, Song Yixiao had no maiden family to rely on. It was even a joke to cast in a bone between Jian Xubai and the Yue Family in this way!It's better to keep Cui Jianlian and make her a spy, or ask her to directly harm the Crown Prince through pillow talk! Song Yixiao smiled. Therefore, it doesn't stand to reason that the Cui Family claim that the Jin Family is the ringleader who coerces Cui Jianlian! As to the Liu Family, the matter that Madam Liu planned to sell me caused a sensation in the city. It has been gradually forgotten these years but once it is mentioned, a lot of people can still recall it!Thus, the Liu Family had enough reason to set against Song Yixiao!Besides, If the Cui Family makes use of the grudge between the Liu Family and me to accuse the Liu Family of coercing Cui Jianlian in secret through Madam Jin, it can explain why Cui Jianlian confesses that she loves Lu Guanlunbecause Prince of Hengshan's mansion helped bring me up! Since the Liu Family regards me as a thorn in their eyes, it is justifiable that they hate the Prince and thus ask Cui Jianlian to drag Prince of Hengshan's mansion into trouble if needed!In this way, the Cui Family would be like lending a favor to Prince of Hengshan's mansion. Naturally, Prince of Hengshan's mansion must return the favor and help the Cui Family to consolidate the conviction of Madam Jin.That was to say, according to Song Yixiao's previous plan, there would be only two results of the scheme at the Lantern Festival feast. Either Cui Jianlian chose to protect Lu Guanlun or she chose to abandon him!Either way, Madam Jin had no way out and the Jin Family would become a huge help to the Crown Prince!As to Cui Jianlian, if she chose to protect Lu Guanlun, she had to bear the responsibility of mistakenly believing others' words, and driving a wedge between the Crown Prince and his subordinates even if the Noble Consort and the Crown Prince didn't blame her for keeping contact with the Liu Family in private.The situation was different from a few years ago, when the Crown Prince's position was steady, and Daiguo Grand Princess and the Su Family could only scheme in private!Nowadays Prince of Zhao gained Emperor Xianjia's permission to engage in the court affairs and Daiguo Grand Princess was trying all means to earn the same benefit for Prince of Wei. If the Crown Prince still chose to pamper Cui Jianlian, those who supported him might turn their back on him. After all, if an heir was so immersed into love affairs, how could they bet all their families on the Crown Prince?Moreover, Jian Xubai was not an ordinary supporter of the Crown Prince. The Empress Dowager behind his back didn't like Cui Jianlian. Before the Lantern Festival Feast started, she even warned Cui Jianlian under the guise of showing concern for the Crown Princess. If she learnt that Cui Jianlian wronged Jian Xubai's legitimate wife, how could she let go of Cui Jianlian?Therefore, even if Cui Jianlian succeeded in giving birth to the twins, she would definitely be cold-shouldered!Worse still, for the sake of her twins' prospect, maybe even Noble Consort Cui wouldn't agree to let her raise her own babies. The consequence seemed much better than Madam Jin who had to be made the scapegoat, but the Crown Princess in the Eastern Palace couldn't be neglected!At the feast for celebrating the pregnancy of Cui Jianlian, Wei Yinlian tried to draw her and Sikong Yiluo over to the Crown Princess's side in public!However, Wei Yinlian could hardly absolve herself from the blame for the accidental death of Sikong Yiluo so she remained within doors and didn't continue acting as the go-between.But Song Yixiao believed that the Crown Princess could never feel at ease if Cui Jianlian was not eradicated!It was not only due to the conflict of striving for the Crown Prince's favor but also the fight for the future position of the empress dowager!After all, Cui Jianlian was the favorite niece of Noble Consort Cui and the favored concubine of the Crown Prince. When the Sikong Family went to the Eastern Palace to reason about Sikong Yiluo's death, Song Yixiao saw clearly how the Crown Prince screened Cui Jianlian's faults!At that time, the Crown Princess didn't show any disgruntlement on the surface but deep in her heart, she must have crisis awareness.Once Cui Jianlian fell into disfavor, the Crown Princess would definitely catch the opportunity to end the future trouble!On the contrary, if Cui Jianlian chose not to protect Lu Guanlun, due to the reason of her being coerced by the Liu Family, the Cui Family might gain a slim chance of survival but she couldn't!As to Song Yixiao's plan B for self-protection, if Cui Jianlian decided to protect Lu Guanlun, her plan was approved by the Grand Princess.If Cui Jianlian didn't protect Lu Guanlun, As I am so considerate for the Cui Family, isn't it a matter of course that they pay me back a bit?It was like Dowager Consort of Hengshan's mansion actually resented Song Yixiao, but in order to protect Lu Guanlun, she had to guarantee to Noble Consort Cui that Song Yixiao never held any grudge against Cui Jianlian!Even if the Cui Family knew everything was Song Yixiao's scheme, they had to strive to side with Song Yixiao!Otherwise, if Song Yixiao was driven into a corner and thus disclosed the fact that they had known that Cui Jianlian loved someone else but they still forced her to be the concubine of the Crown Prince behind the imperial family, what should they do then?After all, they were the maiden family of the Noble Consort and the relatives of the Crown Prince.They couldn't be of any help in terms of power but they could work well in terms of affection!After all, judging from Noble Consort Cui's favor for Cui Jianlian, the Noble Consort still attached high importance to her maiden family.But if Cui Jianlian chooses to admit she doesn't love the Crown Prince and even claims to be coerced, the Crown Prince will be insulted for becoming the gossiping topic in private! The Grand Princess was not satisfied with her daughter-in-law's plan B. You are too young. You don't know what kind of insult it is for a man, which is not so easy to let go!However, Whether the Plan B you prepare is perfect or not, after Lady Nuan intervenes, the situation doesn't go as you expect. Now what are you going to do?
