Chapter 431 — The Miao Family
Purple Streets of Chang'an · Page 1 of 4
Song Cen, who had been joyfully awaiting the imperial edict, felt as though a thunderbolt had struck him when he heard its contents; for a long moment he could not collect himself.
By his reckoning, Wang Ge had sounded out the Emperor on his behalf and the Emperor had shown himself amenable, so even if Song Han could not wed Princess Jingyi—the Empress Yi's own daughter—he could at least have the loveliest of them, Princess Jingfu. And now the princess had become a country wench, and one who had appeared out of nowhere besides. His breath caught in his chest, and had he not heard Song Yan greeting the eunuch who had come to proclaim the edict, he might never have recovered himself.
How had it come to this?
Who exactly had meddled in the affair?
Song Cen looked at Song Han, who stood dumbstruck and at a loss, and his gaze could not help drifting to Song Yan, who was chatting and laughing with the eunuch.
So the moment the eunuch had gone, he sprang to his feet, jabbed a finger at Song Yan's nose, and demanded, "Was it you? How else would Empress Yi suddenly issue an edict betrothing a wife to Tian'en? It must be you—you saw that Tian'en had won the Emperor's favor and feared he would one day overshadow you, so you schemed behind the scenes..."
But before he could finish, Song Yan gave a cold laugh and said, "Father thinks far too highly of us! Am I one of the Three Dukes or the Three Solitaries, that I could sway the Emperor's thinking?" He shot him a contemptuous glance. "Don't blame this son of yours for not warning you—mind what you say, lest it reach the Emperor's ears and he take it that you are displeased with the arrangements he has made. And when he is vexed, don't go saying again that I had a hand in it. I hardly deserve such praise from Father!"
"You!" Song Cen's face flushed crimson.
Song Yan strode off.
Behind him Song Han called out plaintively, "Brother," then added in a low voice, "Father spoke only in a moment of anger; he did not mean to blame you. This betrothal came too suddenly. You serve at court—could you ask around for me and find out what this is really about?"
His tone was earnest and sincere, yet Song Yan might not have heard a word of it; his steps never faltered as he left the main hall.
"That little beast—I might as well have raised a dog for all the good he's done me," Song Cen cursed, shaking with rage at Song Yan's retreating back. "Had I known he would turn out this way, I'd have strangled him in the blood basin the day he was born, and spared myself the torment of this wretch." Having cursed his eldest, he turned on his second son. "And you—you mud that won't hold to the wall! He stopped thinking of you as a brother long ago, and still you go on calling him 'brother.' Have you no shame? He's your brother, not your father. Can you not live without him?"
He cursed until Song Han's face went red and then white, his head bowed like an eggplant nipped by frost.
The sight only irritated Song Cen the more. He lashed out a kick at Zeng Wu and snapped, "Well, go fetch Mr. Tao! Why is it that every one of you is a dumb goose that won't move unless it's called?"
Zeng Wu scrambled out of the main hall on all fours to summon Tao Jun.
Song Cen instructed him to inquire into the background of the Miao family of Wanping, while he himself went to the Third Princess's estate.
It was now the turn of the seventh or eighth month, the season when autumn osmanthus scented the air.
Shi Chonglan was in the back garden gathering osmanthus blossoms with the Third Princess.
Hearing that Song Cen had come, he could not help smiling. "He must have good news for us."
The Third Princess laughed coyly. "What have you been up to now?"