However, she had lived a long life. Old Madam Yu only said, “Back then, Yao Yao did leave the room. She fell until her head bled and she fainted. After that, she had a high fever. When she woke up, she was so shocked that she forgot what had happened before she fainted. The monks in the temple also kept quiet about the fugitive and pretended they didn’t know about this.”
She only mentioned that her granddaughter had fallen outside and bled. She neither admitted nor denied it.
Her words were flawless. Indeed, the older the wiser. Song Mingzhao lowered his eyes and said, “Grandmother Yu, don’t misunderstand. I specially mentioned this today with no other intention. If it was really Miss Yao who saved my life back then, then Miss Yao has already saved me twice. I should repay such kindness no matter what.”
Old Madam Yu’s words were vague, and the meaning of her words was unclear. However, even though he had specially looked for Old Madam Yu, he deliberately mentioned this not to make her admit what had happened back then.
Instead!
Old Madam Yu prayed to Buddha and believed in fate and karma.
Yu Youyao had saved his life twice. This was not a coincidence, but fate. It was said that a drop of water should be repaid with a spring. Then what about the favor of saving his life?
With the huge favor of saving her life, Old Madam Yu would probably have more thoughts.
“I’ve been wearing this bracelet for many years. The few pieces of broken jade on it were left behind by my benefactor back then. I’ve always carried them with me.” Song Mingzhao untied the longevity knot on his wrist and removed the pieces of broken jade one by one, piecing them together.
Old Madam Yu had indeed seen Song Mingzhao wear this bracelet for many years. It seemed that he had never taken it off or she had never looked at it carefully. Now, she narrowed her eyes—
The few pieces of broken jade that had been pieced together actually looked like a yellow embroidered fish.
Old Madam Yu confirmed that the other half of the longevity lock that Yao Yao had broken back then was in Song Mingzhao’s hands.
It was indeed Yao Yao who had accidentally saved Song Mingzhao.
Even though she had a guess, Old Madam Yu was still a little surprised. She only smiled and said, “Yao Yao has a longevity lock with two fish on it, one red and one yellow. Her mother made it for her. Unfortunately, half of it was broken six years ago, and the other half was missing. It’s a little similar to the piece of fish on Heir Song’s hand.”
However, she couldn’t help but feel conflicted. She didn’t know what fate had formed between Yao Yao and Song Mingzhao in their previous lives, but this life-saving grace couldn’t be forgotten.
Old Madam Yu was vague. Clearly, she did not want to mention what had happened back then.
Song Mingzhao had achieved his goal and did not mention it anymore. He changed the topic. “Grandmother Song, there’s one more thing. I don’t know if I should say it or not.”
Seeing his serious expression, Old Madam Yu had a bad feeling. “Go ahead.”
Song Mingzhao nodded and said, “On the sixth day of the new year, on my way to the Precious Peace Temple, I happened to pass by a rice shop under Miss Yao’s name. At that time, the rice shop was giving out porridge, and there were many people eating porridge outside. As it blocked the street, the carriage went to the roadside to wait. However, I happened to see Third Prince bringing his companions into Miss Yao’s rice shop.”
With that, he lowered his eyes and tried his best to swallow the cough in his throat. He had painstakingly created a situation where his body was fine. He couldn’t let Old Madam Yu notice anything amiss.
In the prison, before he fainted, he saw the girl in his nightmare clearly. He had been in a daze for a long time and it had even made him sick— It was Yu Youyao!
At that time, he had just been whipped and was already a little dizzy. He did not know if it was an illusion.
However, that was no longer important.
He had never been afraid of the sudden prison sentence. When he was tortured, he was not thinking about his future.
Instead!
He had originally thought that after the five exams, he would be confident enough to ask his grandmother to personally go to the Yu Residence to propose marriage.
However, all of this was ruined by this sudden prison sentence.
Now, he was only 20 to 30% confident.
Grandmother Yu doted on Yu Youyao. The first thing she had to consider was his health.
Therefore, he ignored his grandmother’s obstruction and insisted on going to the Precious Peace Temple to recuperate.
It was because he had long known that on the day of the Buddhist Festival,
Grandmother Yu would bring Yu Youyao to the Precious Peace Temple. As long as he saw Grandmother Yu, she would naturally think that his illness was not as serious as she had imagined.
This way, he was 30 to 40% confident.
This was the first step of his plan.
He had deliberately mentioned that Yu Youyao had saved him at the Precious Peace Temple back then. Old Madam Yu was a Buddhist and believed in fate and karma.
At the very least, it could increase his chances of success.
Old Madam Yu had painstakingly planned for Yu Youyao. After the two life saving encounters, it was impossible for her not to think about him. At the very least, he could increase her confidence in him.
Later on, when the matter of the Third Prince was mentioned, he could increase his confidence by 20%.
This way, he could almost succeed in what he wanted.
Indeed!
When Old Madam Yu heard this, even though she had lived for most of her life and was used to storms, her expression couldn’t help but change. Her wrinkled hand trembled, and the cup slid to the ground with a bang. It shattered with a clang, and the tea in the cup spilled on her dress, turning a dark color.
Nanny Liu was shocked and quickly stepped forward. “Matriarch, are you alright?”
The crisp sound in her ears woke Old Madam Yu up. She tightened her grip on the armrest of the chair and said calmly, “It’s fine. Just clean it up.”
Nanny Liu quickly went to clean it up.
Old Madam Yu pinched her handkerchief and wiped the tea stains on her hand. Then, she said, “Thank you for telling me about this, Heir Song.”
The emperor had yet to establish a heir, so it was inevitable that there would be a struggle for the position. The marriage of a prince would also become a very powerful bargaining chip in their hands.
The main concubine had to be the young miss of a noble family with military power or a high position.
A secondary concubine had to be someone with an outstanding family background and a good reputation.
The Assistant Minister of Official Personnel Affairs was a third-grade official position, and the Ministry of Official Personnel Affairs was the head of the six ministries. Just this point alone was very eye-catching.
Eldest Son wasn’t born in Hanlin. If he wasn’t from Hanlin, he wouldn’t be able to enter the central country of power. It was such an average family background that made things difficult.
For a family like the Zhenguo Marquis Residence, as long as the person who targeted Third Miss Song was not the current emperor, it would depend on whether the Zhenguo Marquis Residence was willing.
Not to mention that Yao Yao’s maternal family, the Xie Residence, controlled nearly 30% of the country’s trade routes. They had money and channels. Anyone would covet them. In addition, Yao Yao had been praised by the Empress Dowager.
This young miss’s status was still a little low even though she was wealthy, beautiful, and had a well-connected family. However, a prince could marry two other secondary concubines in addition to the first concubine. Although the secondary concubines were also married in glory, they were fundamentally different from the lower-ranking concubines.
However, in terms of status, she was still a concubine..