Song Guangyuan’s words had barely left his lips when Song Shiwen’s face changed. She said, “What did I do wrong?”
Song Guangyuan said, “You’re jealous of your younger sister, and you’ve been secretly scheming, haven’t you?”
Old Madam Song stood up in anger and said, “I’m the one who should be asking that! Did Third Girl Song slander her? She has the audacity to accuse Second Girl? She…”
Song Guangyuan ignored her ranting and continued to stare at Song Shiwen, saying, “She dares to confront me about every single thing she said. If you have the same confidence, I’ll call her in right now. I’m not afraid of losing face. I’ll find witnesses and get to the bottom of this. You know in your heart whether it’s true or not. Do you dare?”
Song Shiwen burst into tears, “Father, you’re biased!”
Song Guangyuan sighed and said, “I’m trying to reason with you. It’s not a matter of being biased or not. If you want something, I can give it to you. But you can’t do these underhanded things, especially to your younger sister. Second Girl, I don’t know what’s going on in your mind anymore.”
Song Shiwen said, “You only care about her! How many times have you even bothered with me in these ten years?”
Song Guangyuan said, “I know I owe you. If you’re unhappy, you should take it out on me. Why would you target your younger sister?”
Old Madam Song interjected, “You know in your heart whether Song Chuzhao is her younger sister or not!”
Song Guangyuan said sternly, “Mother, how can you say such things in front of the children?”
Old Madam Song said in disappointment, “Oh, so now you’re going to be rude to me?”
Song Guangyuan didn’t want to deal with her. He let out a breath and said, “Second Girl, if you think she’s better off at the border, I can take you there too. Do you want to go?”
Song Shiwen immediately shook her head. Old Madam Song became even more agitated. She said shrilly, “Go to the border? Then Shiwen will become a rough and uncouth woman! I’ve raised her so well, not to send her to the border! She’s a noble lady of the capital!”
Song Guangyuan glanced at Old Madam Song, then turned to Song Shiwen and asked, “What’s your opinion?”
Song Shiwen shook her head, “I don’t want to!”
Song Guangyuan said, “So, you don’t think she’s better off at the border. You just feel it’s unfair because she’s better than you. But Second Girl, no one can have it all. You can’t either. Third Girl is better than you because she learned it all through her own hard work. You rely on these underhanded tricks in the inner courtyard. What good are they? Will they earn you respect? Will they make you better? They only make you look ugly and despicable. Besides, why would you learn such things? You’ve even started believing in those shady practices. I’ve said it before, no one in the Song family can believe in ghosts and spirits! Who has been influencing you?”
As Song Guangyuan spoke, his voice took on the commanding tone of a general addressing his troops. His voice became stern, and Song Shiwen was frightened. She shrank back in fear.
Old Madam Song was furious and slapped him, “What are you doing! You’re scaring your own daughter!”
Song Guangyuan remained unmoved. He simply said, “From today onwards, you’ll stay at home and reflect on your actions. I’ll be watching you. I’ve already petitioned the Emperor for permission to stay in the capital for a while. Mother, it’s late. You should go back to your room. I’ll escort you.”
Song Guangyuan was truly afraid that Old Madam Song would continue to influence Song Shiwen. He watched Old Madam Song leave the room before following her out. As he left, he called for Song Shiwen’s personal maid and told her to go to his study for questioning.
He had to find out who had led Song Shiwen down this path and made her believe in ghosts and spirits.
Early the next morning, there was a lot of commotion at the Gu Mansion. They sent over a large amount of betrothal gifts. The rows of chests were piled up on the road leading to the Song Mansion, almost blocking the way.
Song Chuzhao was awakened by the voices of the servants. The Song family’s servants were completely overwhelmed by the spectacle. They couldn’t stop talking about it even while they worked.
When Song Chuzhao learned about it, she immediately got up and ran out to the courtyard to see the commotion.
Song Chuzhao wanted to see what was inside the betrothal gifts, but the chests were all tightly sealed and couldn’t be opened. She tried to lift one, but it was very heavy. Given Madam Gu’s cautious nature, she would probably have kept the keys to the chests and given them to He Wan personally.
Song Chuzhao walked around for a while, but she found the chests boring. She went back inside.
As she walked near her own courtyard, she saw Song Shiwen standing behind a pillar in the pavilion, looking towards their courtyard.
Song Shiwen didn’t look particularly sneaky, but she was acting strangely. Song Chuzhao deliberately slowed her pace and cautiously approached her, tapping her on the shoulder.
Song Shiwen was caught off guard and jumped in fright. She turned around and saw it was Song Chuzhao. Her face turned pale.
Song Chuzhao sighed and said, “Second Girl Song, you don’t still think I’m a ghost, do you? You should wake up. The sorcerer you found doesn’t even believe in ghosts. You’ve been tricked.”
Song Shiwen remained silent.carpreads.pages.dev
Song Chuzhao saw that she was only staring at her without speaking, and she had no patience. She shook her head and ignored her. Unexpectedly, Song Shiwen suddenly blurted out, “Grandmother loves me the most, and I still have Grandmother to love me!”
Song Chuzhao stopped in her tracks, looking utterly bewildered. “I wasn’t trying to compete with you for grandmother’s affection.”
Song Shiwen said, “You… you clearly want to compete with me for everything.”
Song Chuzhao simply walked back and said, “Come on, tell me clearly, what have I taken from you? What is rightfully yours?”
Song Shiwen spoke very quickly, as if to herself, “All the affairs of the household, big and small, are managed by Grandmother. Don’t think that just because you are favored by the Gu family, you can be arrogant. Your dowry will still be arranged by Grandmother. She said she won’t give you anything good…”
Song Chuzhao rolled up her sleeves and laughed, “If you hadn’t said anything, I wouldn’t have wanted to compete with you. But since you brought it up, I’m going to fight for it. When my mother married into the Song family, she brought a lot of dowry. If Old Madam Song really did something as shameless as taking her daughter-in-law’s dowry for herself, I’d have to admire her!”
Song Shiwen was furious. “You—”
“Zhaozhao!”
Before Song Shiwen could utter any more harsh words, a warning voice cut in.
Song Chuzhao turned her head and saw Song Guangyuan and He Wan standing at the door, their faces both grim, having clearly overheard a good deal of the conversation.
Song Guangyuan’s gaze shifted between the two of them, his expression a mixture of helplessness and disappointment.
Song Shiwen wanted to run, but Song Guangyuan grabbed her shoulder.
He Wan said, “Zhaozhao, come with me.”
Seeing her expression, Song Chuzhao knew things were going to be bad. She argued, “Mother, you wouldn’t be so unfair before!”
“Come here!” He Wan softened her tone and said again, “I’m not going to punish you. Come to my room.”
Song Chuzhao was reluctant, but seeing that Song Guangyuan wasn’t stopping her, she could only follow He Wan resignedly.
Entering the room, Song Chuzhao closed the door behind her and lingered by the edge of the doorway, unwilling to go further. After a moment, she heard He Wan say, “I thought you had grown up, but it seems you’re still so immature.”
Song Chuzhao retorted angrily, “Even if I live another twenty years, I’ll still be immature! Old Madam Song doesn’t like me, Second Girl Song doesn’t like me, Father is always busy, and you’re the one I’m closest to. But even you don’t help me! I’m upset, and I haven’t done anything to her, just a little bit of backtalk. Is that wrong?”
He Wan looked at her intently, then said, “Do you really want to know?”
“I do!” Song Chuzhao said, “This Song Mansion is so strange. Since you came back, you’ve also become strange…”
He Wan said, “Because you are not truly a member of the Song family.”
Song Chuzhao’s words were completely choked off. She was so shocked that she couldn’t process it for a while.
He Wan simply looked at her calmly.
Song Chuzhao’s mind kept replaying those words, but suddenly she didn’t understand their meaning.
“Mother?”
As if to shatter her illusion, He Wan said word by word, “You are not truly a member of the Song family. Why bother arguing with them? Whether they like you or not, you don’t need to care.”
Song Chuzhao was suddenly at a loss for words, not knowing what to say.
Seeing her like this, He Wan felt a pang of sympathy. She sat on the edge of the bed and beckoned her daughter, saying, “Come here.”
Song Chuzhao didn’t move.
He Wan: “Come here.”
Song Chuzhao dragged her feet, approaching step by step.
He Wan gestured for her to sit beside her, took her hand, and asked, “Are you calmer now?”
Song Chuzhao kept her head down, silent, her eyes slowly becoming moist. Then a tear fell onto He Wan’s back of her hand.
He Wan reached out and pulled her into her arms, patting her back gently to comfort her.
“Then, who am I?” Song Chuzhao asked, “They said, Mother, you had a betrothal with Uncle Fu before, is that true?”
He Wan said, “False.”
Song Chuzhao: “Then…”
He Wan: “We were actually already married at that time.”
Song Chuzhao’s crying stopped, she almost jumped up on the spot.
He Wan pressed her down, continued to hold her, and said, “I wanted to tell you after you got married. There are only a few months left, after that, the Song family would have nothing to do with you, why bother making things so unpleasant with them?”
Song Chuzhao mumbled, “I want to know now.”
He Wan sighed, “Back then, the Fu family was almost completely wiped out, only leaving Big Brother Fu. Father was also recalled from the border by the late Emperor, and was placed under house arrest in the mansion. Father was worried about our safety, so he asked Big Brother Fu to take me away secretly. At that time, it was General Song who sent us out of the city.”
Song Chuzhao raised her head from her arms.
He Wan lowered her head, looked at her face, and said, “But later, His Highness at that time… now His Majesty, His Majesty was trapped in the palace, in danger, he was his only relative, I knew he couldn’t let go, so I persuaded Big Brother Fu to go back.”
She paused before continuing, “He went back, and he couldn’t get out.”
She and Fu Changjun were originally betrothed, and they disappeared for a while. The late Emperor was suspicious and seriously ill, not to mention that they were indeed involved, even if they weren’t, he would never let them go.
The late Emperor, following the advice of Fu Donglai, wanted to bring her into the palace to force Duke He to surrender his military power.
He Wan now spoke calmly, “General Song took the initiative to say that he had an affair with me. Father, then hurriedly arranged for me to marry him.”
As she recalled that time, she felt helpless.
Duke He was ruthless and resolute, showing her an unprecedented iron face. He said that people are always selfish, he couldn’t let so many people in the He family die with Fu Changjun. He asked her to choose.
She went to say goodbye to Fu Changjun, Fu Changjun also pretended to be indifferent, and had said to her, “Okay.” When she left, he said again, “I’m sorry.”
She knew all the reasons, but she still couldn’t be calm, she told Fu Changjun that she would never come back.
He Wan’s voice was very soft, Song Chuzhao had to lean against her to hear her voice mixed with her breath.
“The late Emperor still didn’t believe it, Father was afraid of any further changes, and hurriedly sent us out of the capital. We were mixed in with a merchant caravan, and Father’s trusted aides sent us to the border. After I left, I realized I was pregnant with you.”
He Wan looked at Song Chuzhao, stroking her face, “So your birthday is not actually in the fourth month, but in the first month. The fifteenth of the first month. When I gave birth to you, I was still on the road. The heavy snow blocked the mountain pass, and our team was trapped in a small town. Everyone around was celebrating with their families, beating drums and singing, while I held you in my arms. You cried all night, Mother could only cry with you.”
Song Chuzhao: “Mother…”
He Wan: “I wrote to Father, I wanted to go back so much, but he only told me, ‘Don’t come back. Don’t reply.’ At that time, I actually resented him. Even though I understood him in my heart, I still had so much resentment. I was impulsive at the time, and even thought that death was no different, but they forced me to choose a life worse than death.”
Song Chuzhao didn’t know how to comfort her, she just hugged He Wan tightly.
He Wan said, “When the late Emperor died, you were already eight or nine years old. The court was in turmoil at that time, and the border couldn’t receive news from the court, I still didn’t dare to return to the capital, and I didn’t dare to let anyone know. The General treated you very well, I even felt that the border was better than the capital, there were not so many right and wrong and rumors. I guessed at that time, if you came back, with your impetuous personality, you might not be able to adapt to life in the capital.”
“Then, after a few more years, I received a letter from Father. He said I could come back.”
“I mentioned this to you before, and you were upset after hearing it, so you ran out. You came back and fell ill, and when you woke up, you forgot about that day. The doctor said you might not be willing to accept it, and told me not to stimulate you anymore. So I held back again.”
Song Chuzhao was in a daze, vaguely remembering that something like that had happened, which was why she had run out and encountered Gu Fengjian. However, she couldn’t remember the details clearly. It felt like a dream, so unreal that she doubted its truth and didn’t take it to heart.
But she was definitely was not disagreeing with He Wan. She simply got sick from the rain.
Just occasionally getting sick, and it could lead to so much trouble.
“I thought, you’re already so grown up, in a few years, you’ll probably be getting married. Anyway, I’ve waited so long, I don’t mind waiting a little longer. I’ve already spoken to the General.” He Wan held her and said, “Zhaozhao, don’t worry about your elder sister or your grandmother. The dowry is from the He Mansion to the Song family. If Old Madam Song really wants to keep it, you can let her have it. Mother will give you a better one. From now on, Mother will love you, and your maternal grandfather and grandmother will love you too. We are a family.”
Song Chuzhao mumbled, “I never cared about the dowry.”
Seeing that she truly accepted, He Wan finally breathed a sigh of relief. She cupped her face and said, “Mother knows you’re a good girl. Mother used to think that gossip was meaningless, but later I realized how terrible it can be. Mother doesn’t want you to be talked about. Once you’re married, all these things will be gone. Okay?”
Song Chuzhao’s thoughts were in turmoil, and her emotions were complex. She wanted to comfort He Wan, saying that she was fine, but her heart felt heavy and lifeless. She was afraid that if she spoke, she wouldn’t be able to control herself and would chill He Wan’s heart, so she simply held her mother.
Gu Fengjian received a letter from He Wan, saying that Song Chuzhao had gone out alone, probably in a bad mood. If he was free, he could go and check on her. Gu Fengjian took an umbrella and went out to find her.
He Wan was worried and sent someone to follow her. Fortunately, Song Chuzhao didn’t wander around, she just found a quiet place to sit by herself.
Gu Fengjian followed the directions given by the guards, walked around a small path, and saw Song Chuzhao sitting under the shade of an ancient tree, her head lowered, swinging her legs, lost in thought.
The ancient tree was old, with sparse branches and leaves. Yellow leaves were scattered on the branches.
Gu Fengjian stood beside her, watching her quietly.
After a while, Song Chuzhao raised her hand and wiped her eyes with her sleeve. The small figure looked pitiful.
Gu Fengjian slowed his pace and walked over, asking, “What are you doing here?”
Song Chuzhao was startled when she saw him, her watery eyes filled with confusion, wondering why he was there.
Gu Fengjian asked again.
Song Chuzhao said, “Just sitting.”
Gu Fengjian stepped forward and carefully brushed away the fallen leaves from her shoulders. Because it had been a while, some water droplets from the tree had fallen on her shoulders, soaking the fabric.
Song Chuzhao didn’t dodge, she sighed deeply at him.
A moment later, a pair of arms wrapped around her back, pulling her into his embrace.
Song Chuzhao exclaimed, “What are you doing?”
Gu Fengjian’s chest vibrated slightly as he said, “Just hugging you.”