Although going to the palace for banquets was an ordinary event for the Shen Family, it was not like the wedding banquets of their friends or colleagues. It was troublesome that they had to wear complicated clothes and accessories, not to mention that they had to be cautious about their behavior towards the noble people in the palace. This was why Madam Su wanted to ask for a dispensation, allowing Wei Changying not to have to go to the palace.

Madam Su and her entourage returned home that evening. Almost everyone was exhausted and fell asleep after a simple clean-up, so Wei Changying didn't go to them.

The next day, Wei Changying had someone hold her and walked slowly to the main room to pay respects. After a night of rest, Madam Su, who still looked a bit haggard, scolded her upon seeing her, "Didn't I tell you to stay in the courtyard? Why did you come out again?"

Wei Changying smiled, saying, "Miracle Doctor Ji said that I can walk around. I haven't come to pay my respects to you for a few days, and I miss you, mother."

"I'm fine!" Madam Su said seriously, "Even if I need to be served, there are still your sisters-in-law, not to mention Granny Tao and the others. You should listen to me. Go back to the Jintong Courtyard and rest peacefully for your baby."

No wonder Madam Su was so concerned. Two days ago, having tolerated Ji Qubing's sarcastic remarks, she had invited this bad-tempered doctor to the main room and served him with good tea and meals. Her efforts were not wasted, as she finally heard from him that Wei Changying's child would be a boy. He would be Shen Cangfeng's lineal eldest son! Since Shen Cangfeng was far away at the frontier, how could Madam Su not take good care of her for her son?

In the lineal branch of Mingpei Hall, there was only one lineal grandson, Shen Shuming. So, no matter from which branch, if there would be a newborn grandson, the elders would naturally be so pleased.

So, seeing Wei Changying come to pay her respects this early, Madam Su was truly worried, "Miracle Doctor Ji said you can walk around now, so just take a walk in the courtyard. Won't that be enough? The Jintong Courtyard is so far from the main room. If you get tired and thirsty on the way, what can you do?"

Her mother-in-law was very concerned, so her sisters-in-law must show their concern, too. Mrs. Liu and Mrs. Duanmu both asked Wei Changying to go back to the Jintong Courtyard immediately to relax and not to worry about Madam Su or any other affairs, as they were always around.

All of them told Wei Changying not to go out of the courtyard if there was no special reason. If she needed anything, she should send someone over here to tell them and the family would do whatever they could. The whole family regarded her as a glass doll, so Wei Changying had to leave shrouded in embarrassment.

Having returned to the Jintong Courtyard, as she had only Mrs. Huang and other close maidservants around her, she couldn't help but want to speak out honestly, "It's really boring to stay in the courtyard all day."

"Young madam, please bear with it. It's only ten months." Mrs. Huang and Mrs. He tried to persuade her, "Is it not nice to just relax in our courtyard? You want to go out now, but after the little young master is born, you can go anywhere you want when you have recovered."

Mrs. Huang added, "When Miss Song was leaving last time, she said she would visit you again when she was free."

"So did the two Misses from the First Madam." Mrs. He also added.

Wei Changying pursed her lips, saying, "Since the New Year is approaching, they have a lot to do, so how can they have the time to visit me? I can't ask them to leave their own things and come to entertain me just because I am bored."

As they were talking, Han'ge came to report, "The First Madam and the two Misses are here."

"..." In the room, the three of them looked at each other, thinking this was funny, saying, "Speak of the devil."

Having invited Wei Shengxian and her daughters to sit, Wei Changying thanked her eldest aunt for visiting her. However, Wei Shengxian looked so preoccupied that it didn't seem like she was just here to visit. Having greeted Wei Changying reluctantly, she wanted to say something but stopped, looking around.

Wei Changying wondered whether people from the Song Family had bullied her again. So, she told her servants to leave.

She had failed to predict what Wei Shengxian thought. And this time she failed, either. When the servants left and there were only four people left, Wei Shengxian sighed and said, "I really shouldn't bother you now, but it's about Xiyue's marriage. There is no one I can trust in the capital. When I asked your second aunt, she couldn't really tell me anything and only said you might be able to help."

Wei Changying asked curiously, "My eldest aunt, please tell me. So, Xiyue?"

She then looked at Song Xiyue. Song Xiyue blushed, raised her sleeve to cover her face, and whispered, "Yesterday, it was the Crown Prince's wedding. Mother took us to the palace to congratulate him. During that, Honored Consort Deng called me to go to her and took a close look at me. Then she also asked about my age and also asked whether I'm engaged and so on. I wondered why. Then I excused myself from Honored Consort Deng and went back to my mother to tell her this. Mother went and asked the second aunt, and she guessed that it may be... the Honored Consort..."

She was, after all, an unmarried girl. Having said this, she was too shy to continue.

Wei Shengxian finished for her, saying, "Zhengyin guessed that the Honored Consort might have asked her for her nephew Deng Zongqi's sake. However, she doesn't know why he likes Xiyue."

"The young master of the Deng Family!" Wei Changying pondered for a moment, then suddenly remembered something, and asked Song Xiyue, "Xiyue, when it was Infanta Chengxian's wedding, did you meet anyone related to the Honored Consort in King Run's mansion?"

Song Xiyue and Song Ruxuan were surprised, saying, "The Honored Consort's niece Deng Wanwan. Cousin, before you came, she was already talking with us!"

"What about the wedding of the second cousin from the Su Family?" Wei Changying asked.

This time, the two sisters thought for a while before saying, "We met Deng Wanwan that day, but she was with her aunt, so we didn't say much before we got separated. Oh, we also met Granny Yao when we were seated at the table. She was the Honored Consort's granny, Granny Yao... She complimented us, but we think she was just trying to be polite. After all, there were many outstanding girls at the banquet. We were not special among them."

Wei Changying pursed her lips, smiling and saying, "You are too humble, my cousins!" Then she spoke to Wei Shengxian, "I think I know what happened. Maybe it was Deng Wanwan, the Miss of the Deng Family. She met you two in King Run's mansion. After the chat, she thought Xiyue would be a good match for her brother. Now her brother, Deng Zongqi, has gone to Western Liang. Their parents and siblings have passed away, but they don't get along well with other relatives in the Deng Family. They are close to the Honored Consort, so she talked about it with the Honored Consort!"

Surprised, Wei Shengxian said, "Did she? Usually, it is the older brothers who take the decisions over their younger sisters' marriages. How come the Miss of the Deng Family makes the decisions about the marriage of young master Deng?"

"That's why she told the Honored Consort and asked her to make the decision." Wei Changying said, "My eldest aunt and my cousins, do you still remember that the Honored Consort sent Granny Yao over there to give her congratulations on cousin Su's wedding day?"

Wei Shengxian was surprised, looking at her eldest daughter, asking, "It was for what?" Then she denied, "It couldn't be for her. It should be for Old Madam Deng."

"My eldest aunt, you don't know." Thankfully, Madam Su had misunderstood her daughter and called everyone to Old Madam Deng's, using the opportunity of being in this place to scold her daughter. Old Madam Deng had said something. Otherwise, she wouldn't be able to remember this. So, her supposition was probably correct. Wei Changying continued, "The Honored Consort only sent a maidservant from the palace over there to give them a gift, and Granny Yao was never there, so it's without saying that she didn't stay for the banquet! Because of this, the first aunt Qian became so proud, but the second aunt felt that was a shame!"

If Honored Consort Deng sent her close granny over to congratulate Su Yulee for the sake of Old Madam Deng, then Granny Yao must attend Su Yuli's wedding. After all, Su Yuli was the eldest Miss of this generation. If Honored Consort Deng had sent Granny Yao over to congratulate Su Yuli at her wedding but hadn't sent her over to Su Yulee's wedding, it would have made sense. However, it was the other way round, so there must be a reason.

Madam Qian believed it was because Honored Consort Deng valued the eldest branch of the family more. However, having known that Honored Consort Deng had paid attention to Song Xiyue at the Crown Prince's wedding, Wei Changying thought it was probably because Deng Wanwan wanted Song Xiyue to be her sister-in-law when she was in King Run's mansion. Deng Wanwan happened to live in the palace, accompanying Honored Consort Deng those days!

So, having returned to the palace from King Run's mansion, Honored Consort Deng had heard from her niece about who might become her niece-in-law. The next day, she had sent Yao Tao to the mansion of the Su Family on the pretext of delivering congratulations. Taking the advantage of the occasion of Su Yulee's wedding and knowing that the Su Family had also invited Song Xiyue and her family, she had told Yao Tao to go and see Song Xiyue. Obviously, Yao Tao also liked her. Hence, this time at the Crown Prince's wedding, when Song Xiyue had gone into the palace with her mother to give congratulations, the Honored Consort had spoken to her personally.

Although Honored Consort Deng and Old Madam Deng were from the same family, there were many people in the Deng Family. When Empress Dowager Deng had been there, the Deng Family had been bathed in glory and the girls' fiances had always felt so honored that they could marry them, so the Honored Consort wouldn't pay attention to every relative she had. The eldest branch and the third branch were in discord now. Their relationship was very delicate, but in general, the third branch was winning presently!

Even if Honored Consort Deng wanted to show her favoritism, she should show it towards the third branch. Otherwise, she should just treat everybody the same.

Having listened to Wei Changying's analysis, anyone would know what to say next. Song Xiyue and Song Ruxuan both blushed and said they wanted to go out for a walk. Wei Shengxian said, "Go then but don't go too far. Just stay in your cousin's courtyard."

Wei Changying smiled, saying, "It's fine if you want to go out. I'll send the grannies outside to accompany you."

"We'll just see the fish in the pond." Song Xiyue and Song Ruxuan were both truly elegant daughters of an eminent family, unlike Shen Cangning who was so lively. Their cousin and mother were now discussing the marriage of Song Xiyue. Although it was so embarrassing that they wanted to avoid it, they couldn't help but speculate, so they had no appetite to visit the Shen Family's mansion. Therefore, they both said, "We'll be in this courtyard. We're not going anywhere else."

"There are books in the small study over there. If you are tired, you can go and take a look in there." Wei Changying suggested this as well, and the two sisters said yes and went out.

When her daughters left, Wei Shengxian started to speak openly, "Yesterday, I also wondered why the Honored Consort asked Xiyue if she was promised to someone. I guessed that she might want to find a suitor for her, so I especially asked Xiyue how the Honored Consort's attitude was towards her. She said the Honored Consort sounded very gentle. Zhengyin said she was not familiar with the Honored Consort and the Honored Consort didn't particularly like Yuli, so she told me to ask you. When the Honored Consort asked to see you, what was she like? If she treated you similarly, it would be... This is why I came to you today."

"My eldest aunt, you are being so polite." Wei Changying said, "I was just talking to my grannies here about you! I was just thinking that since there is nothing else to do now except to stay healthy, it would be nice if I could have the two cousins here more often. But then I thought the New Year is approaching. Everyone is busy, and my cousins must help you."

"They are free." Wei Shengxian said, "In terms of the things at home, I can do them on my own. They can't help much. If you are bored, you send someone over to tell us. I will tell them to come over." She added, "This is also a good chance for them to learn from you."

Wei Changying felt ashamed secretly but she continued to answer her, "The Honored Consort was very indifferent when she saw me. Only when the Empress mentioned me, did she tell me to be at her side, but she was just cold. How should I put it? The Honored Consort didn't embarrass me, but she was definitely not enthusiastic about me. Whether she spoke with me gently... Perhaps I'd say it was all right? She didn't ask me questions like when she spoke to Xiyue. Basically, she didn't want to talk with me."

Wei Shengxian was stunned, saying, "If the Honored Consort was like that, then..." According to Wei Changying, Honored Consort Deng was probably fond of Song Xiyue! Otherwise, in terms of the family background and their current status, Wei Changying was nobler than Song Xiyue. The Honored Consort wasn't that nice to Wei Changying. If she didn't have the intention of tying the knot, why had she been nicer to Song Xiyue than to Wei Changying? It also sounded as if she had been so much nicer to Song Xiyue!

"Actually, when you asked me to help, the first person that came into my mind was the young master of the Deng Family." Wei Changying had a good impression of Deng Zongqi and Deng Wanwan. Having recalled what Shen Cangfeng had said that Deng Zongqi was not suitable for them due to his awkward position, she decided to tell her aunt, "However, when I mentioned it to my husband, he had a thought. Let me tell you. Please consider it carefully, my eldest aunt..."