Peach Blossom.

Wang Jing and Wang Ao both changed into mourning clothes and followed Wang Dun to the mourning hall. From afar they saw the Empress Dowager Meng standing in the mourning hall in plain clothes with a solemn demeanor, and the maids following her were all in mourning.

Although the three brothers were unhappy, they still kowtowed to Meng according to national etiquette.

Meng hurriedly asked him to stand up.

Then, Mrs. Meng called Si Yao again: "Yao'er, why don't you kowtow to your mother-in-law and admit your mistake?"

Princess Si Yao wore the same mourning clothes as Zhou Yunniang, but she kept hiding behind Meng, seeming a little timid.

When Wang Ao saw Si Yao also in mourning, he felt it was really an irony.

Meng once again urged Si Yao, her tone even more severe than before: "I asked you to kowtow, didn't you hear me?"

Si Yao then moved his feet, walking very slowly, kneeling in front of the coffin, and called out tremblingly: "Mother... I..."

Before he could finish his words, Si Yao burst into tears, crying sadly and unable to stop.

The Wang family members were all watching nearby, and the tears were not fake, but they did not look like they were coming from sadness, but rather fear.

"Mother... I... I didn't mean it... I was just impulsive. I thought you would get better after taking medicine every time you had an attack. I just wanted to scare him... I didn't expect..." Si Yao cried and complained to Xiao Rui's body, and kowtowed deeply to apologize: "I'm sorry... I know I was wrong..."

Si Yao cried so hard that his nose was running.

Wang Dun thought that since the Empress Dowager had come forward in person, one of his own family members had to go and "persuade" the princess before the matter could be resolved and he could then make plans for the next step.

So he gave Zhou Yunniang a wink.

Zhou Yunniang understood and reluctantly walked over to help Si Yao: "Princess, please get up quickly. It was an unintentional mistake on your part. How could mother not know about it? Besides, mother was born with the disease. She endured for so many years. Now she is gone. It is not all your fault. You have been crying all the time, and it makes mother feel uneasy."

Si Yao listened to Zhou Yunniang's reasonable words, so he dared to stand up slowly, wiped his tears with a handkerchief, and said, "Thank you, sister-in-law."

Zhou Yunniang took Si Yao's hand and walked in front of Wang Jing. She deliberately acted like an elder sister who was like a mother to Wang Jing and began to accuse Wang Jing: "To be honest, this is still the fault of my second brother. The princess treated you sincerely, but you didn't know what was good for you and just fooled around outside. You fooled around for four years, and the princess finally waited for you to come back, but you actually started a fight with the princess as soon as you met. How could the princess not be angry?"

Wang Jing said nothing. He knew that Zhou Yunniang must have discussed this with Wang Dun in advance, and it was just to pave the way for Meng and the princess.

As expected, Mrs. Meng was very pleased with Zhou Yunniang's accusation, so she continued, "What the eldest lady said is absolutely right. During the past few years when the prince consort disappeared, Yao'er missed him day and night, and only hoped that the couple would live in harmony. However, this child has been spoiled by me since she was young, and she loses her sense of propriety when she gets angry. It's all my fault that I, as a mother, didn't teach her well."

At this point, Meng solemnly warned Si Yao: "You should admit your mistakes not only to your mother-in-law, but also to your husband and brothers."

Si Yao knelt slightly and bowed to the three Wang brothers: "Big brother, husband, third brother, I'm... I'm sorry..."

Mrs. Meng smiled and said to the three brothers, "Yao'er really knows her mistake this time. I have already severely punished her. Please give her a chance to mend her ways. If she dares to disrespect her elders and fail to fulfill her duties again, I will never forgive her."

Wang Jing smiled faintly and turned his gaze to Meng: "Since the Empress Dowager said so, I do have something I would like to ask the Empress Dowager to decide. It is something that the princess did before."

Meng said hurriedly, "Please speak, Prince Consort."

Wang Jing said, "The princess has already arranged a marriage for my daughter. I have no objection to the marriage. Prince Yongchang is also happy to see the marriage. However, royal marriages should be solemn. Besides, I am destined to have no sons, only a daughter. How can I rush into it? Now that Yu'er has reached the age, I hope that her husband's family will come to pick her up in a proper manner so that I can marry her off in style."

Meng felt that this request was reasonable, and since it was made on such an occasion, she could not refute it. However, allowing the son of Prince Yongchang to come to the capital to marry... Welcoming the bride was a small matter, while coming to the capital was a big matter, so she had to weigh it carefully.

In this case, Meng could only agree first, but she had to delay: "Your Majesty, what you said makes sense. Yu'er is my niece, and it is naturally a big deal for her to marry. However, we still have to wait until your mother is buried before we can make long-term plans."

Wang Jing nodded. He knew that it was impossible for Meng to agree right away.

However, as long as Meng had not objected when he first proposed it, this matter would have been inevitable; it was only a matter of sooner or later.

In the evening, Yu'er came to Wang Jing's door alone, pushed it open, but found that it was bolted inwards.

Inside the house, Wang Jing heard the door being pushed open: "Who?"

"Didn't father always sleep with the door open before? Why has he changed now?"

Wang Jing recognized Yu'er's voice and stood up and opened the door: "You've been keeping vigil for a whole day, why don't you rest earlier?"

"I want to see my father's feet."

Wang Jing was a little surprised because he had never let his daughter see her feet before.

Yu'er just pushed Wang Jing to sit down and took off his boots and socks. Seeing the scars and lumps of different sizes on the soles of his feet, she burst into tears and said, "I am not a competent daughter. I always think about my own sad things and I care too little about my father."

"You haven't even grown up to the best age for a girl, but your most precious face has been ruined. You are not wrong, it's my fault that I didn't take good care of you." Wang Jing stroked Yu'er's head with a gentle and helpless smile.

Yu'er was overwhelmed with emotions and suddenly threw herself into Wang Jing's arms and burst into tears.

After crying for a while, she slowly stopped crying and looked up at Wang Jing: "There is a question I have wanted to ask Dad for a long time. Do you really like Tao Ye, or are you looking for my mother's shadow in her?"

Wang Jing was stunned for a moment: "Is there any difference?"

"Of course there is... At least, I hope Dad is just looking for Mom's shadow. I can't accept that Dad has fallen in love with another woman..."

Wang Jing couldn't help but laugh, he thought his daughter was so naive.

"But... when I heard what my third uncle said, I felt so regretful. I have been thinking that if I had not treated Taoye so badly in Yongchang, she might not have left so early, and she would not have been kidnapped by the bastard princess, and my father would not have made such a fuss, and my grandmother would not have died..." Yu'er said, crying more and more sadly.

Wang Jing couldn't help but feel sad too, tears welling up in his eyes: "Actually, Tao Ye treats you very well, even more tolerant than your own mother. Why can't you just be nice to her for once?"

"I... I won't do that again... When she comes back to you next time, I will respect her..." Yu'er was like a tearful person, crying more and more as she spoke.

"No, she won't come back." Wang Jing looked up at the blurry moonlight outside the window, his face full of loss.

"How is it possible? She loves Daddy so much..."

"On the day she left Yongchang, she gave me a letter of divorce."

Yu'er widened her eyes, she was extremely surprised.

"You all think that her and I were saying goodbye temporarily. But in fact, it was a final farewell. Whether she was kidnapped by the princess or not, whether she was free or not, she would leave me. She was so persistent. I can imagine how disappointed she was with me when she wrote that letter of divorce?" Wang Jing closed his eyes, sighed, and looked sad.

Yu'er couldn't tell how upset she was; she could see that her father was very sad.

She hurriedly comforted her father: "We...we can find her back...as long as your love is still there, what does a "divorce letter" mean?"

"You ignored her when I was still able to do things; now that I am becoming more and more of a useless person, you want to win her back. Do you think this is appropriate?" Wang Jing chuckled and shook his head, his smile full of bitterness.

Yu'er knew it was inappropriate, but she always remembered what Wang Ao said, "If he could stay with the one he loved, he might be able to live two more years."

She hopes her father can live longer and be happier.

From that day on, Yu'er was determined to find Taoye.

She took out the money she had saved over the years and asked Xiuping to exchange it for cash. Then one day after she finished keeping vigil for her grandmother, she quietly slipped out of the house and bought accurate information from the girls in the flower shop - Tao Ye was bought for a large sum of money by someone who looked like a colleague.

From then on, Yu'er often kept it a secret from her family and went back and forth between brothels, music schools, theaters and other places with Xiuping. She did not dare to bother the bosses or those well-known prostitutes and actresses, but only asked for information from the inconspicuous girls in each place, which also cost her a lot of money.

After asking from house to house for several days after the funeral of her grandmother Xiao Rui, Yu'er finally found Meixiangxie.

That day, before she and Xiuping approached Meixiang Pavilion, they saw that Meixiang Pavilion was bustling with people coming and going, and melodious singing could be heard coming from inside.

Yu'er leaned in to listen. The lyrics sounded like the words from the "Ode to the Goddess of Luo River" written by Cao Zhi, a famous poet in the previous dynasty:

As graceful as a frightened bird, as graceful as a dragon swimming.

The autumn chrysanthemums are shining brightly, and the spring pines are blooming brightly.

It is as if the moon is covered by the light clouds, and it is like the snow covered by the flowing wind.

Looking at it from a distance, it is as bright as the sun rising;

If you look closely, it is as bright as a lotus emerging from the green water...

Yu'er listened carefully. She felt that the song sounded very familiar, as if she had heard it in Yongchang...