In her previous life, Song Xinlan had wanted to watch the koi fish in the lake and dragged her along as company. Then, while playing and roughhousing with Song Yu, during the pushing and shoving, Song Xinlan's body bumped into her. She happened to be standing by the lakeside and accidentally fell into the water.
The icy lake water pressed against her chest and poured into her mouth. She quickly lost consciousness. Fortunately, Nanzhi returned in time and rescued her, otherwise she would have already lost her life.
Thinking back now, Song Yu and Song Xinlan had already wanted her dead at this point.
Why would children so young be so malicious as to want their own mother dead?
She racked her brains but couldn't figure it out!
"Madam, the weather is so cold. If Miss Lan kneels outside, she might catch a chill," Mama Zhao came forward to plead.
Looking at Mama Zhao's kind and gentle expression, Shen Qingqing nearly burst into tears. In her previous life, Mama Zhao had been accused of stealing Old Madam's jewelry. With both witnesses and material evidence present, the Marquis Manor had driven her out. A few days later, news came that Mama Zhao had been hacked to death by bandits, her death gruesome.
Suppressing all her grief, she said coldly, "No one is allowed to plead for her! Go kneel outside!"
"I don't want to kneel! I want to find Father!" Song Xinlan cried as she ran out.
"Stop her! She will kneel whether she wants to or not!"
Two sturdy maids, seeing she was truly angry, grabbed Song Xinlan and pressed her to the ground.
"Let me go! Aunt, save me! Aunt!"
Hearing this, Shen Qingqing's expression turned extremely unpleasant.
"Gag her."
Mama Zhao was both anxious and heartbroken, but she didn't dare disobey her mistress. She just couldn't understand why mother and daughter had suddenly become like enemies.
Nanzhi shook her head at Mama Zhao, signaling her not to interfere. After all, Madam had nearly drowned—it was appropriate to teach Miss Lan a lesson.
In the end, Song Xinlan was tied up with a cloth stuffed in her mouth before she knelt quietly.
Two quarters of an hour later, Song Lingxiao, Marquis of Yong'an, hurried over, followed by his sister-in-law, Yang Wanqing.
They quickly untied Song Xinlan and wrapped her in a cloak.
"Father, Mother is so mean! She wants to freeze Lan'er to death!" Song Xinlan wailed loudly in Song Lingxiao's arms.
"Shen Qingqing, what is the meaning of this? It's so cold—aren't you afraid she'll freeze?" Song Lingxiao glared at her, his eyes filled with obvious blame and disgust.
Meeting such a gaze, Shen Qingqing shuddered, recalling the words she heard after her death:
"Shen Qingqing, thank you for sending the Song family to great heights!"
Had Song Lingxiao never truly cared for her? Was it only her status he valued? Granddaughter of the Grand Tutor, daughter of a Shangshu!
Nanzhi stepped forward to explain, "Marquis, Miss Lan caused Madam to fall into the water. Madam was only teaching her discipline."
"What?" Song Lingxiao looked at Song Xinlan in disbelief.
Song Xinlan immediately spoke up, "It wasn't on purpose, Father! Lan'er didn't mean to! I accidentally bumped into Mother." After speaking, she secretly glanced at Yang Wanqing standing nearby.
Yang Wanqing patted her head and intervened to defuse the situation, "Qingqing, Lan'er didn't mean it. Since you can't swim, you should be more careful and not stand by the lake. Now that everything's fine, don't frighten Lan'er."
Shen Qingqing smiled faintly at her, "Sister-in-law, children must be taught from a young age. The older they get, the harder it is to teach them. But since you have no children, you wouldn't understand."
Yang Wanqing was so angry she instinctively wanted to retort, but Song Lingxiao cut her off first.
"Qingqing, how dare you speak to Sister-in-law like that? Apologize to her immediately!"
"Did I say something wrong? I was just telling the truth," Shen Qingqing said indifferently.
Before dying, she had seen the figure hidden behind the door—none other than Yang Wanqing!
Suddenly, a thought exploded in her mind.
Could Song Lingxiao be having an affair with Yang Wanqing?
Yang Wanqing had married into the Marquis Manor less than half a year before the eldest son of the Song family, Song Lingyi, led troops into battle. A year later, news came of his death in combat, and the Marquis Manor permitted her to remarry. However, she refused and remained in the manor, taking great care of the three children. As a result, the children grew closer to Yang Wanqing than to their own mother.
"It's alright, my lord. Qingqing has just woken up and is still weak. You mustn't scold her," Yang Wanqing said magnanimously.
"But Qingqing, there are many ways to discipline children. How could you make a child kneel in this freezing snow? If they fall ill, won't you be the one who suffers?" she added with slight reproach.
Shen Qingqing curled her lips into a cold smile. "Lan'er seems closer to you. Why don't we have her call you mother instead?"
Everyone's expressions shifted, clearly taken aback by her words and her unusually aggressive demeanor today.
She turned to Song Xinlan, who was nestled in Yang Wanqing's arms. "Lan'er, would you like that?"
Song Xinlan instinctively wanted to nod but hesitated and looked up at Yang Wanqing.
"What nonsense are you spouting? Did the water damage your brain when you fell in?" Song Lingxiao snapped angrily, finding Shen Qingqing's behavior today utterly strange.
"Sister-in-law has no children, while we have three. What's wrong with letting one be adopted by her? Since elder brother has passed away, having a child to keep her company is a good thing. Did I do wrong?" She secretly pinched her own thigh, feigning a slightly aggrieved tone.
"Or do you think adopting a girl isn't good enough? Would you prefer to have Yu Ge'er adopted instead?"
"No!"
"Absolutely not!"
Song Lingxiao and Song Yu rejected the idea almost simultaneously.
Shen Qingqing didn't miss the expressions on their faces.
Yang Wanqing looked both shocked and hurt, while the father and son appeared agitated and angry.
Men—always so calculating!
"Sister-in-law, it's not that I don't care about you being alone—it's that they refuse," she emphasized the last four words deliberately and watched as Yang Wanqing's expression darkened, her eyes filled with resentment.
Yang Wanqing gritted her teeth, about to speak, but Song Lingxiao cut her off.
"You must truly be delirious from illness," he said sternly. "For now, focus on recovering. The household management duties will be temporarily handed over to sister-in-law."
Shen Qingqing was surprised—she hadn't expected Song Lingxiao to grant her the authority to manage the household.
"Very well, I'll rest and recuperate properly. Then I'll trouble you, sister-in-law," Shen Qingqing said gently.
Yang Wanqing was taken aback by how easily Shen Qingqing relinquished control. She had assumed Shen Qingqing would never agree, as whoever managed the household was effectively the lady of the house.
"I'm tired. All of you may go attend to your duties," Shen Qingqing lay down, refusing to look at them further.
"Let's go. Let your mother rest properly," Song Lingxiao called the two children to leave.
Only after they had exited did she open her eyes and watch their retreating figures. Song Xinlan clung closely to Yang Wanqing, while Song Yu maintained a slight distance.
Yet, they looked more like a family of four.
Could it be that these two children weren't hers? But she had carried them for ten months and given birth to the Dragon-Phoenix Twins. Lan Jie'er resembled her by sixty or seventy percent, and Yu Ge'er looked more like Song Lingxiao.
They were unmistakably her children.
It must be that the children had been deceived by Yang Wanqing since childhood, leading them astray.
"Madam, isn't your current approach pushing the two children further toward her?" Mama Zhao was both anxious and heartbroken. She knew how dearly Shen Qingqing loved these two children, having personally raised them all along, yet the children never grew close to their birth mother.
"What use are children who cannot be kept close?" Shen Qingqing said coldly.
"Miss Lan has done wrong, but you shouldn't take it out on Yu Ge'er. He is diligent and studious, and in the future, he could earn you an Imperial Mandate."
Shen Qingqing closed her eyes, her face filled with sorrow.
She had once thought the same way.
But instead of an Imperial Mandate, she had received a bowl of poison.
"Mama Zhao, let Madam rest for a while. She has just woken up and is still weak." Nanzhi pushed Mama Zhao out. "Please go check on preparing some light food for Madam. She will want to eat when she wakes up."
Nanzhi returned to the bedside to adjust Shen Qingqing's quilt.
"Nanzhi, do you also think I was wrong?"
"Madam must have your reasons for doing this. I just don't understand why you would hand over the authority to manage the household?"
Shen Qingqing curled her lips into a meaningful smile.