Her display of weakness and coquettishness momentarily disarmed Song Yanjiao.
However, Song Yanjiao had come today to deliver people to Song Chaoyu, so how could she take them back?
Song Yanjiao also understood the principle of "not hitting a smiling face" and could only force a smile. She said to Song Chaoyu, "I've come to give my sister a gift. How can I take people away from my sister? If this gets out, won't people laugh at our Ning Prince's manor for being impolite?"
"Ah—"
Song Chaoyu sighed, her eyes reddening slightly. "Second Sister, it's truly not that I want to be this way. Look at how messy my manor is! With so few people, I'm afraid it will take me some time to sort things out! If the people Second Sister sends also stay close by, I'll truly be overwhelmed! If I then mistreat the people Second Sister sends, you are my sister, and naturally, you won't hold it against me."
"That's for sure!"
Song Yanjiao quickly explained, "I am your sister. What's there to be calculated between sisters? Just accept them with peace of mind. They are here to serve!"
Song Chaoyu still shook her head. "But if this is the case, how will others view our Chang Prince's manor? If the three younger sisters are wronged, others might think that our Prince and the Ning Prince are not on good terms and are deliberately making things difficult! No, no, I cannot let our Prince and the Ning Prince bear the reputation of 'brotherly discord.' This is not good for our Chang Prince's manor, nor is it good for the Ning Prince's manor!"
Song Chaoyu intended to exaggerate the matter to have any chance of completely rejecting Song Yanjiao's "kindness."
So she sighed and continued, "Currently, in this manor, even the people sent by the palace, I wish to send them away. If Sister truly cares for me, perhaps you could come back later. Or let the Ning Prince take in these three sisters first. I am truly grateful to Sister!"
Song Yanjiao naturally knew that these were just Song Chaoyu's excuses.
But for a moment, she couldn't think of any way to continue pushing people towards Song Chaoyu!
She felt stifled and didn't know what to say.
Instead, Song Chaoyu took advantage of her silence, clapped her hands, and signaled for Tiaohong to bring out two maids she had no use for. "Second Sister, why don't you help me and take these two maids with you? I truly don't have the ability to train them. It's Second Sister who has higher capabilities and greater skill, managing the vast Ning Prince's manor so perfectly. In the future, I will have to learn from Second Sister!"
Without waiting for Song Yanjiao to object, she signaled for the two maids to stand behind Song Yanjiao.
Just as Song Yanjiao was about to refuse, she heard Song Chaoyu say, "Second Sister, don't be so polite with me! We are both daughters of the Song family. If I don't have Sister's help, what will I do? Doesn't Grandmother always teach us to help each other when we are outside?"
Since Song Chaoyu had even brought up their grandmother, what could Song Yanjiao do?
She could only maintain her strained smile, cast a glance at the two maids behind her, and reluctantly accept them.
Seeing her aggrieved expression, Song Chaoyu was genuinely delighted. "Thank you, Second Sister! I still have..."
"That, Fourth Sister!"
Seeing that Song Chaoyu was about to say more, Song Yanjiao quickly stood up and forced a smile. "I suddenly remembered that there are some matters in our Ning Prince's manor that I need to attend to. I won't stay here any longer. If you need anything in the future, just come and tell me! I'll visit you when I have time! You go ahead and busy yourself; you don't need to accompany me!"
With that, she left in a hurry with the three maids she hadn't managed to give away, plus the two Song Chaoyu had given her, a total of five maids.
"Second Sister, farewell. Second Sister, please visit often!"
Song Chaoyu, enjoying the spectacle, shouted after her.
Watching Song Yanjiao's "embarrassed escape," even Tiaohong couldn't help but cover her mouth and smile. "Princess Consort, I didn't expect Second Young Lady to give in so quickly? I thought she would argue with you here for a while!"
Song Chaoyu sneered, stared in the direction Song Yanjiao had left, and shook her head. "She's not the same as when she was a young lady. I'm afraid she's exhausted from the concubines, mistresses, and maids in the Ning Prince's manor. Even so, she still came to bother our Chang Prince's manor. How much does she hate me?"
Actually, the last sentence was just Song Chaoyu's sigh.
Unexpectedly, Tiaohong also sighed and echoed her words, "I think Second Young Lady doesn't hate you, Princess Consort. She's jealous and unwilling. How could the former Princess Consort compare to her status as the legitimate daughter of the Song family? She didn't hesitate to make things difficult for you. Now that the Princess Consort has become like her, how can she be happy? She'll definitely look for trouble, but she didn't expect to find more trouble for herself."
Song Chaoyu turned back, looking at Tiaohong with some surprise. "You girl, you see things clearly! But don't sigh. This is only the first day of marriage! There will be many more such things in the future. Are we going to have nothing but sighs in our lives?"
Hearing this, Tiaohong immediately perked up. "Princess Consort is right. I won't sigh anymore!"
The mistress and servant chatted and laughed as they returned to the back courtyard.
After the events of today, at least openly, no one in the vast Chang Prince's manor dared to provoke Song Chaoyu.
—
It wasn't until after noon that Mu Changxi returned from outside.
He had had some wine and seemed to have been brought back drunk.
But as soon as others left, he immediately, with full energy, had Xiao Ruizhi push him towards Song Chaoyu. "Oh, you've reorganized this manor? Indeed, the front hall looks much more comfortable now. Before, I always felt it was dazzling when I entered."
The tone of his voice... made Song Chaoyu pause, feeling as if Han Xi were before her.
Relaxed and cheerful.
She also smiled and said, "If you felt it was inappropriate, why did you let them continue like that?"
Actually, Mu Changxi was not an impulsive person.
Mu Changxi shrugged. "If I were too concerned about those things, I'm afraid they would come to me, and I wouldn't be able to say anything. You're different. You are now the main consort, and you've brought a new atmosphere to the manor. Changing some things and reorganizing them is only natural, and others wouldn't have much to say."
In the capital, had they reached a point where even changing the furnishings in their own manor would be criticized?