Song Yichun, who was joyfully welcoming the imperial decree, felt as if struck by lightning upon hearing its contents. He stood there, dazed, unable to comprehend the situation for a long while.

In his mind, Wang Ge had surely tested the waters with the Emperor, and the Emperor must have had some intention. Even if Song Han could not marry the Emperor’s beloved Princess Jingyi, he could at least wed the most beautiful Princess Jingfu. Yet now, the princess had turned into a village girl, and a village girl at that, one who seemed to have appeared out of nowhere… A tight knot formed in his chest, and had he not heard Song Mo quietly greeting the eunuch who had come to announce the decree, he might have struggled to catch his breath.

How could things have turned out this way? Who had meddled in this matter?

Song Yichun glanced at Song Han, who was stunned and at a loss for words before his gaze fell on Song Mo, who was chatting amiably with the eunuch.

As soon as the eunuch left, he jumped up and pointed an accusing finger at Song Mo. “Is it you? Otherwise, how could the Empress suddenly issue a decree to marry Tian’en? It must be that you saw Tian’en gaining the Emperor’s favor and, fearing that he would overshadow you, you intervened…”

Before he could finish, Song Mo let out a cold laugh. “Father, you think highly of me! Do you not know whether I am one of the Three Dukes or one of the Three Orphans? How could I possibly influence the Emperor’s thoughts?” He cast a disdainful glance at him. “Don’t blame me for not warning you, but you should be careful with your words. If this reaches the Emperor’s ears, he might think you are dissatisfied with his arrangements. If the Emperor becomes displeased, don’t say I had a hand in it. I can’t bear such ‘praise’ from you, Father!”

“You!” Song Yichun’s face flushed red with anger.

Song Mo turned and walked away.

Behind him, Song Han called out pitifully, “Brother!” He continued earnestly, “Father was just momentarily angry; he didn’t mean to blame you. This marriage decree came too suddenly. Could you inquire about what is going on while you are in the palace?”

His tone was sincere, but Song Mo seemed not to hear, striding out of the main hall without pausing.

“That ungrateful wretch! I’ve raised him for nothing!” Song Yichun trembled with rage, cursing at Song Mo’s retreating figure. “Had I known he would turn out this way, I should have suffocated him at birth to spare myself from this torment today!” After cursing his eldest son, he turned to berate his second son. “You useless lump, he has long since disregarded you as a brother! Yet you still call him ‘brother’! Do you have no shame? He is your brother, not your father! Can you not live without him?”

Song Han’s face turned red and pale, his head bowed like a frostbitten eggplant.

Seeing this, Song Yichun felt even more irritated. He kicked Zeng Wu, saying, “Why haven’t you gone to summon Mr. Tao? Why are both of you such dimwits? Can’t you move without being told?”

Zeng Wu scrambled out of the main hall to fetch Tao Qizhong.

Song Yichun instructed Tao Qizhong to investigate the Miao family from Wanping, while he headed to the Third Princess’s residence.

By now, it was late July, early August, the season when the osmanthus flowers were fragrant.

Shi Suilan was in the back courtyard with the Third Princess, picking osmanthus flowers.

Upon hearing that Song Yichun had arrived, he smiled, “He must have good news for us.”

The Third Princess giggled, “What have you done this time?”

As the saying goes, it is better to dismantle a temple than to ruin a marriage. Shi Suilan believed he had done a great deed and did not hide it from the Third Princess. He cheerfully informed her of Song Yichun’s intention to have Song Han marry a princess, adding, “I reckon the decree should arrive in a few days.”

The Third Princess frowned, scolding, “Why didn’t you tell me beforehand? Mother intends to marry Jingyi to the Duke of Xingguo, but the Duke’s sons have already married, and the Seventh Master is three years younger than Jingyi. That’s why Mother has delayed discussing Jingyi’s marriage. What business do you have meddling?”

Shi Suilan was taken aback. “Is Mother planning for the Third Master of the Duke of Xingguo to marry Jingyi?”

That sounded strange to him.

But before he could ponder further, the Third Princess urged him to see Song Yichun. “The sooner you go, the sooner you’ll return. We’ll go check on those green osmanthus trees afterward.”

Shi Suilan loved plum blossoms, so the Third Princess had gone to great lengths to plant various plum trees in her garden.

He nodded with a smile and headed to the study.

However, within the time it took to burn a stick of incense, Shi Suilan returned with a grave expression.

The Third Princess asked in surprise, “What happened? Is it that the marriage with the princess is not going smoothly?” She added, “You should stay out of this; be careful not to upset Mother!”

“Not just not smoothly!” Shi Suilan forced a bitter smile, intending to ask the Third Princess for help. He detailed Song Yichun’s intentions, “Mother has issued a decree to marry the sixth daughter of a Miao family from Wanping to Song Han. Who exactly is this Miao family? Are they connected to Mother, or are they descendants of some fallen noble? I’ve never heard of them before. Do you have any recollection?”

Although Miao Taifei had once been the most beautiful in the palace, that was over twenty years ago. Now, she was merely a forgotten woman, languishing in the cold palace under the Empress Dowager’s authority. Who still remembered her?

“Wanping Miao family?” The Third Princess furrowed her brow, pondering for a long time before hesitantly saying, “Could it be Miao Taifei’s family?”

Mentioning Miao Taifei jogged Shi Suilan’s memory.

He turned and walked out. “I’ll inform Song Yichun and have him send someone to investigate.”

The Third Princess shook her head at Shi Suilan’s retreating figure.

Song Yichun was left dumbfounded. “Miao Taifei’s family? The Empress Dowager didn’t have Miao Taifei executed, so how could the Empress bestow a marriage upon a daughter of the Miao family? What is going on? Am I to become in-laws with a commoner?”

Just thinking about it made him feel as if he had stepped in something foul.

Shi Suilan, however, began to see some clues.

Song Yichun’s luck was truly poor; the matter of Song Han marrying a princess had been delayed, and now it suddenly emerged at this moment, making him a scapegoat for the Empress Dowager, who might have acted on a whim or had long harbored this intention.

However, the Song family was of noble birth, and although Song Han was the second son, he was more than qualified to marry a Miao daughter. Logically, the Empress Dowager should not have treated Song Han so poorly. Was there some hidden agenda at play?

Shi Suilan began to deeply regret his involvement.

He should not have meddled in this matter.

If he ruined the Empress Dowager’s plans and incurred her wrath, even with the Emperor’s protection, he would still face severe consequences given the Empress Dowager’s temperament.

He felt a desire to withdraw and said tactfully, “Since there are leads to follow, we need not worry about uncovering the truth. I’ll help you inquire, but you should also send someone to investigate the Miao family’s background. That way, you’ll have a better understanding when the marriage proposal is made.”

The decree had already been issued; did Song Yichun truly dare to defy it?

Even if he was dissatisfied, he could only hold his nose and accept it, at most complaining privately to trusted individuals.

At this point, he had no good ideas left. He sighed awkwardly, recalling the three thousand taels of silver he had given to Wang Ge, and still asked Shi Suilan to help him uncover the details of this matter.

Shi Suilan, fearing he might inadvertently cause a disaster, also wanted to clarify things with Wang Ge, so he readily agreed.

Song Yichun returned to the Duke of Ying’s residence.

The Miao family had gained some prestige over the years due to a concubine from the late Emperor’s time, buying land and establishing themselves as a notable family in Wanping County. Tao Qizhong quickly gathered information about the Miao family.

He rubbed his forehead, unsure how to convey the news to Song Yichun.

Meanwhile, Song Mo had already received the news.

The Miao family had thrived for a few years thanks to Miao Taifei’s influence, but after the death of the late Emperor, their fortunes declined year by year. As the saying goes, it is easy to fall into extravagance from frugality, but hard to return to frugality from extravagance. The Miao family had tasted the sweetness of marrying off their daughters and, instead of focusing on how to maintain their household, the male members were solely concerned with finding a good son-in-law to support the family.

The sixth daughter of the Miao family was the most beautiful among her sisters and was clever and talented. Originally, the Miao family intended to send her to the inner court, investing considerable effort in teaching her music, chess, calligraphy, and painting. However, upon realizing that Miao Taifei had long lost her influence in the palace, they changed their minds and aimed to marry her into a powerful family to ensure future support for their own family.

Upon hearing that Empress Dowager had bestowed Miao An Su to the second son of the Duke of Ying as a wife, the Miao family immediately sent someone to inquire about Song Han’s background. They learned that Song Han had inherited less than five thousand taels of property left by Madam Jiang, that Song Mo was known for his violent and ruthless nature, yet the Emperor favored him greatly, and that Song Yichun was still in his prime. The Miao family’s expressions turned sour as the brothers gathered to discuss their options.

“The elder will take a new wife, and the younger is someone we cannot provoke. Besides his reputation, there’s no real benefit,” Miao An Su’s brother, Miao Anping, expressed his dissatisfaction. Before the elders could speak, he impatiently added, “It would be better to marry her to Lord Gu from the county—though he’s a widower, he has offered five thousand taels as a bride price, and once my sister marries him, she will manage the household. We could also get a share in Gu’s business…”

“Shut your mouth!” Miao An Su’s father glared at his son. “This is an imperial marriage; can we back out? Keep your mouth shut, or you’ll bring disaster upon us!”

Miao An Su’s uncle chimed in, “Can we ask for a higher bride price? We’ve raised Su An for so long; we should at least recoup the costs of her education!”

“That depends on whether the Song family agrees!” Miao An Su’s father replied gloomily. “The Duke of Ying’s son is a man who kills without blinking; he wouldn’t think twice about trampling us like ants!”

Everyone fell silent, feeling disheartened.

Suddenly, a commotion arose from the back courtyard.

Miao An Su’s father, already irritated, became furious upon hearing the noise.

Miao Anping quickly called a maid to ask what was happening.

The maid timidly glanced at Miao’s father before whispering, “It’s the sixth daughter… she says she doesn’t want to marry into the Song family… whoever wants to marry can do so…”

Miao’s father felt a headache coming on.

He had hoped to gain wealth and status through this daughter, showering her with affection. Over time, she had developed a spoiled temperament, lacking respect for him, and when she threw a tantrum, no one in the family could control her.

Miao An Su’s second uncle looked at Miao’s father with a hint of schadenfreude. “If she causes a scene and the neighbors hear about it, won’t all the effort we’ve put into building her reputation over the years be wasted? You should go check on her! It’s not as if she can just refuse to marry!”

Miao’s father, feeling flustered, got up and headed to the inner courtyard.