Jie teaches the Immortal Sweeping Heaven’s Cultivation of All Heavens

The imperial edict was delivered to the Duke of Song's residence not long afterward.

Liu Dong sat in the study of the Duke of Song's mansion, next to his nominal uncle, the head of the Duke of Song's mansion, and the Duke of Song of this generation.

There were also many members of the Song family nearby.

Duke Song first stated his family's position: "Your Highness, the Song family will not side with the Crown Prince because of a woman."

Liu Tong smiled and said, "Of course I have no doubts about the Song family."

Duke Song looked at Liu Dong and said, "Xue Lan has an older sister. If she wants to get married, she has to be ranked after her sister."

Liu Dong understood what the Duke of Song meant and nodded, saying, "Uncle, please make the arrangements."

The next day, Lady Song, the Duchess of Song, went to the palace to see the Imperial Concubine and discuss the marriage between the Fourth Prince and Song Xuemei.

On the other hand, the emperor also thought that before the fifth prince, there were still the crown prince and the fourth prince who had not yet married.

The older brother hasn't even gotten married yet, so how can it be the younger brother's turn?
Emperor Qianming has been selecting a crown princess for his son.

The Empress was even more proactive than Emperor Qianming, and had already prepared a shortlist of candidates for the Crown Princess.

But the emperor was not satisfied.

The Empress selected people for the Crown Prince from families with immense power.

Emperor Qianming had no intention of giving the Crown Prince any more support and would absolutely not grant him a powerful wife's family.

Of course, he wouldn't choose a crown princess who wasn't of high birth.

Most of the women chosen by the empress were rejected by the emperor.

The emperor spent a long time carefully selecting and finally chose the daughter of the Duke of Cen.

The Cen family are descendants of founding heroes, but in the last two generations, no one has stood out.

The Duke of Cen in this generation was an old playboy. His younger brother, the Second Master, was granted a position in the Ministry of Works by imperial decree. He served as a fifth-rank assistant minister for more than ten years without any promotion, which shows how incompetent he was.

Their son was also incompetent.

Duke Cen had two sons, one legitimate and one illegitimate.

His eldest son was just like him, a spoiled brat who knew neither literature nor martial arts.

The illegitimate son is still young and is not valued in the household. He does not receive a good education and will surely amount to nothing in the future.

The second master also had two sons, one legitimate and one illegitimate.

The eldest son, though born out of wedlock, was a good student and had already achieved the rank of Juren (a successful candidate in the imperial examinations), but he was in poor health.

Whether I can live past thirty is unknown.

The eldest son was in good health, so good that he was already taking his maid to bed when he was only eleven or twelve years old, and he also didn't like studying.

Although this family holds a high position, their future is clearly doomed.

Aside from the connections left by the previous Duke Cen, their family offered little help to the Crown Prince.

This marriage is all show and no substance.

The Empress and the Crown Prince nearly ground their teeth to powder because of this.

Before the Crown Princess even entered the family, she was already disliked by her husband and mother-in-law.

The emperor did not choose a crown princess for Liu Tong, knowing the tacit understanding between the Song family and Liu Tong, and he would not interfere.

When Madam Song returned from the palace, she went to see Duke Song: "I have already spoken with the Imperial Concubine, and she will ask the Emperor for the imperial decree to grant us the marriage."

After saying that, Madam Song sighed.

This sister-in-law is too stubborn. More than ten years have passed, and she still refuses to accept the Fourth Prince as her adopted son.

The Imperial Concubine never considered the Song family's situation; she only blamed her husband for so easily siding with the Fourth Prince.

She didn't even consider that if she could give birth to another prince, the Duke of Song's mansion wouldn't have chosen the fourth prince.

Duke Song also sighed.

A maidservant came in to report: "The young lady wishes to go to the temple to offer incense."

Madam Song frowned; this girl was just too much trouble.

Duke Song, thinking that Song Xuemei would soon be married into the prince's household and would have many responsibilities, no longer enjoying the carefree life of a young lady, agreed. He decided to let the child have a little more time to relax.

The next day, Song Xuemei went out.

She brought her own personal maid, two maids, and a coachman.

The group left the city, but instead of going to the temple, they entered a village.

Few people know that the estate belonged to the crown prince.

Liu Tong knew, and he knew even more that his fiancée was currently at that estate.

Liu Dong witnessed the actions of Song Xuelan and Song Xuemei regarding Miss Li's matter.

Liu Dong saw the disgust and jealousy in Song Xuemei's eyes towards Miss Li.

Before investigating Song Xuelan and the Fifth Prince, Liu Tong had Xiao Luzi investigate Song Xuemei, who discovered the connection between Song Xuemei and the Crown Prince.

It turns out that they had met when they were children.

The crown prince, who was still a child at the time, couldn't stand the empress's strict control over him, so he ran to the imperial garden to hide and get some fresh air.

Song Xuemei went to the palace to visit the Imperial Concubine and to "cultivate feelings" with the Third Prince.

Song Xuemei was bullied by the arrogant third prince and hid away to cry, where she encountered the crown prince.

The two children hid from the palace servants and played all afternoon.

Song Xuemei knew that her friend was the Crown Prince, but the Crown Prince did not know Song Xuemei's name.

From then on, Song Xuemei had the Crown Prince in her heart and wanted to become his wife.

The crown prince also had feelings for that lovely little girl, but he didn't know who she was.

Many years passed, and he never saw the little girl again, so he forgot about her.

Liu Tong: What a truly devoted girl! I'll help you out.

Liu Tong had someone steal Song Xuemei's most beloved jade pendant, which belonged to the Crown Prince.

The man dropped the jade pendant on the prince's usual route, then led Song Xuemei to find it, causing the prince and Song Xuemei to meet.

The Crown Prince did not recognize the jade pendant at first, but Song Xuemei thought he did, so she immediately told the Crown Prince that she was his former playmate.

The Crown Prince was astonished; it turned out that the girl he liked was actually the eldest daughter of the Duke of Song's mansion!
The crown prince was pleased with himself.

Fourth Brother's fiancée doesn't like him; she likes me, the Crown Prince!
This prince is more charming than my fourth brother.

The prince embraced Song Xuemei, and Song Xuemei reluctantly gave him her first time.

The Crown Prince never considered marrying Song Xuemei. He knew that the Song family was a powerful force given to the Fourth Prince by the Emperor, and it was impossible for him to marry a girl from the Song family.

But if he could possess the fourth prince's future wife, that would be his victory.

The fourth prince could only pick up the old shoes he had worn.

Song Xuemei also understood that she could not marry the Crown Prince. Moreover, she had made an agreement with the Crown Prince that she would marry the Fourth Prince and help the Crown Prince find out information about the Fourth Prince.

After the Crown Prince ascends the throne and kills the Fourth Prince, Song Xuemei will change her identity and enter the harem to become the Crown Prince's concubine.

Plans can't keep up with changes; Song Xuemei is pregnant, and she's already a month along.

She couldn't blame the child on the fourth prince.

Because the fourth prince never touched her.

Song Xuelan was always present whenever she met the Fourth Prince, making it impossible for the two to do anything too intimate.

Moreover, her wedding date with the fourth prince was set for six months later.

By then, her belly was already quite big.

If we let her get into the bridal sedan chair while she's heavily pregnant, the Fourth Prince and the others will surely know that she's not behaving virtuously.

At that point, she will only have one way out: death.

The Song family will not forgive her, nor will the Fourth Prince, the Emperor, and the Imperial Concubine. (End of Chapter)