The entire Song family was shocked.
“!!!”
On the roof, Song Yihuan almost crushed the roof tiles beneath her.
That old fool!
He actually wants me to become an imperial consort? That’s just a concubine with a nicer title! Doesn’t he fear I’ll destroy his precious heir?
Yang Yuyao gripped her chopsticks so tightly that her fingers trembled.
Everyone knew the truth.
In the imperial harem, almost every woman who gave birth faced difficult labor.
It wasn’t an accident.
Someone wanted to send her Huan’er into the palace just to suffer.
Whoever dared to hurt her daughter…
She would make them repay it tenfold through their daughter.
Song Yannian quietly finished the wine in his cup.
Anyone who bullies my daughter… I’ll wipe out their entire clan!
Song Haiming suppressed his anger.
Whoever dares touch my sister… forget assassinating the Fifth Prince—even assassinating the Emperor would be worth it!
Song Hailan frowned as he thought.
Are there really surviving members of the former dynasty? Where are they?
The dining table became unusually quiet.
Everyone was afraid of missing even one word from Song Li’s thoughts.
Zhaodi also noticed the strange silence.
She became nervous.
What’s wrong?
Did I say something wrong?
She had wanted to order Song Li around to vent her frustration.
Now she didn’t dare.
Yang Yuyao, however, looked very concerned about her.
She kept asking the maids to put food into Zhaodi’s bowl, which made her feel much better.
By the end of the meal, she was completely full.
Yang Yuyao personally escorted her to Yilan Pavilion.
She held Zhaodi’s hand and chatted with her until Zhaodi was so sleepy that she could barely keep her eyes open.
Only then did Yang Yuyao let her rest.
Zhaodi: “…”
Being the daughter of a wealthy family isn’t as easy as I thought.
Her smile had become stiff.
Her eyes were swollen from crying.
Still…
She couldn’t stop thinking about the large box of gifts.
Instead of going to bed immediately, she eagerly opened it.
Inside were…
Wooden toys.
Several cloth dolls.
A set of clay figurines.
“Such a huge box…”
“…doesn’t contain even one valuable thing?”
“We’re both daughters, so why is the difference in treatment so huge?”
“It certainly shows your motherly love.”
“But I’m already eight years old! Who still plays with this junk?”
“Ridiculous!”
She angrily slammed the lid shut and threw herself onto the bed.
…
Meanwhile…
After Yang Yuyao returned to her courtyard, she found Song Li waiting outside.
“My Lady…”
“I’ve come to return this.”
Song Li respectfully held out the emerald jade bracelet with both hands.
[Even though I really want to keep the gift Mother gave me, I should return it if I want to leave a good impression on her.]
Yang Yuyao couldn’t help laughing.
She stepped forward and gently rubbed Song Li’s head.
“You honest little girl.”
“But I never take back gifts once I’ve given them.”
“Keep it.”
“Think of it as compensation for soaking your clothes with my tears.”
[Wow… Mother is so beautiful, so gentle, and so generous.]
[That’s both good and bad.]
[I wonder how much of her fortune Zhaodi will trick her out of.]
[In the original story, Yang Yuyao even left a will giving her entire dowry to Zhaodi.]
[Sigh… I’d better act as quickly as possible.]
“Thank you, My Lady. Then I’ll accept it.”
Yang Yuyao barely held back another laugh.
At the same time, she felt incredibly relieved.
Thankfully, Heaven had sent her real daughter to warn them.
Because of that, she had enough time to gather all the worthless junk and give it to the fake daughter instead.
“All right.”
“You’ve traveled all day. Go back and rest.”
“If you need anything, tell Hailan.”
“And if he doesn’t take care of it, come directly to me.”
Song Li was deeply moved.
Even though they hadn’t acknowledged each other as mother and daughter…
Her mother was still so kind to her.
She had already seen her room.
It was right beside Song Hailan’s bedroom.
It was spacious, bright, and filled with sunlight.
There was even a private bathroom.
The bed had luxurious silk bedding.
The wardrobe was stocked with clothes for the season.
The dressing table held every kind of makeup and jewelry.
Even the daughters of wealthy noble families probably didn’t have anything better.
“Thank you, My Lady.”
She spoke sincerely.
According to the rules, she should have knelt and kowtowed.
But Yang Yuyao held her arm and firmly refused to let her kneel.
So Song Li gave up.
…
On the way back, Song Li couldn’t help remembering her previous life.
There were four children in her family.
Besides her, there were her three younger brothers, who had been born through IVF.
When she was only in middle school, her parents had already planned her future.
She would drop out of high school.
She would get a job.
She would support her three younger brothers.
On the day she left home to work at an electronics factory…
Her parents signed up for a TV home renovation program called Dream Home.
Their two-story house was remodeled into six bedrooms and two bathrooms.
Her parents and her three brothers each got a bedroom.
The remaining two rooms became a study room and a game room for the brothers.
The designer didn’t even know the family had a daughter.
When she came home for the weekend…
On the first night, she slept on the living room sofa.
But one of her brothers got up during the night, saw her there, and got frightened.
So her parents wouldn’t let her sleep in the living room anymore.
On the second night…
They made her sleep on the window seat in the master bedroom.
It was freezing beside the window.
She caught a cold.
Her parents worried she would lose pay if she took sick leave.
So they gave her double the normal amount of cold medicine…
Then drove her back to the electronics factory.
The first thing she did after returning…
Was reported at the factory for illegally hiring child workers.
The factory immediately fired her.
Her parents went to demand the week’s wages she had earned.
The factory manager simply had the security guards throw them out.
From then on…
She could no longer keep any job.
Every workplace she joined was eventually investigated.
Her parents became so annoyed with her that they had no choice but to send her back to high school.
She worked hard.
With excellent grades, she was accepted into a very good university.
But then…
Her parents wanted her to quit school again and go to work.
She argued with them logically.
She convinced them that college graduates earned higher salaries.
Four years of tuition would be a worthwhile investment.
Her parents were persuaded.
They agreed to let her attend university.
But…
She had to apply for student loans.
And repay every cent herself.
Song Li agreed.
Her parents had spent 300,000 yuan on IVF for her three brothers.
Another 400,000 yuan renovating the Dream Home.
They even set aside over one million yuan for their future education.
Yet…
They wouldn’t even give her a few hundred yuan for living expenses.
But she didn’t hate them.
Not at all.
Really.
She didn’t.
Four years later…
She graduated from college.
She had reached Level 8 in Sanda martial arts.
She had memorized The Art of War.
Her weight had reached 120 pounds.
Yet she didn’t look fat at all.
Because almost all of it was muscle.
She returned home.
She tore down her brothers’ study room and game room.
Knocked down the wall between them.
Turned them into a bedroom with a private bathroom.
Used the leftover student loan money to renovate it beautifully.
Then…
She began her wonderful life of living off her parents.
Working?
No way.
I’m never working again.
At home…
Someone cooked for her.
Someone paid the utility bills.
Someone even repaid her student loans.
Why would she work?
Wasn’t staying home and “filially accompanying” her parents much better?
…
Without realizing it, she had returned to Song Hailan’s residence, Natural Residence.
Song Hailan was still awake.
Only after Song Li entered her room did the light in his room go out.
Everything was different in this world.
In the original story…
The Song family sacrificed everything for the fake daughter.
Her mother gave away her entire dowry.
Her father cleared the path for her.
Her eldest brother killed anyone who stood in her way.
Her second brother spoiled her without limits.
Her elder sister even entered the palace in her place for the imperial selection.
They truly loved the child they had lost.
Even without knowing Song Li’s true identity…
They still treated her so kindly.
The numbness in her heart slowly melted away.
A tiny sprout of love quietly began to grow.
She slept peacefully through the night.
…
Early the next morning…
Song Hailan got up at dawn to practice martial arts.
His servant, Xiaobai, stood nearby with a towel and tea.
Song Li woke up a little later.
As soon as she arrived at the training ground, she hurried over to spar with Song Hailan.
Xiaobai stopped her.
He looked her up and down.
“What are you doing?”
“I know the Second Young Master favors you.”
“But you should know your place.”
“You need to understand what you should and shouldn’t do.”
“Don’t become arrogant just because you’re favored.”
Song Li answered honestly,
“The second Young Master told me to be his sparring partner.”
“Pfft!”
Xiaobai burst out laughing.
“What did you say? I couldn’t hear you.”
Without another word…
Song Li stepped forward.
In one smooth movement, she swept his legs out from under him, pinned him to the ground, leaned close to his ear, and repeated,
“Second Young Master told me to be his sparring partner.”
“Got it, cutie?”
“Oh?”
“Don’t think I won’t hit you just because you’re a girl!”
Xiaobai’s face turned bright red as he pushed her away.
In the Song family…
Strength was respected above all else.
Even the kitchen maid could defeat two strong men.
If he beat Song Li, the Second Young Master wouldn’t blame him.
If anyone was to blame…
It would be Song Li for being weaker—
“Ahhh!”
Before he even finished thinking…
He was thrown to the ground again.
Thin as she looked…
Song Li fought like a wild little beast.
Fast.
Fierce.
Sharp.
Xiaobai blinked.
Then quietly stepped aside.
“Please go in.”
“I was only trying to stop you because I was afraid the Second Young Master might accidentally hurt you.”
“If you want to go, go ahead.”
Song Li confidently walked inside.
Song Hailan had clearly witnessed the entire fight.
He was already waiting for her.
“Song Li.”
“Let’s spar.”
Song Li’s eyes lit up.
In the original story, Song Hailan was a famous young general with incredible martial arts.
Sparring with him would teach her a lot.
She charged forward without hesitation.
The first move she threw was a vicious strike aimed at his kidney.
Song Hailan sidestepped it.
His hand became like a blade as he chopped toward her shoulder.
Song Li flipped backward.
Her foot shot toward the point just below his nose.
Song Hailan split his legs in midair to dodge it.
The moment he landed, he swept at her legs.
…
The two exchanged attacks nonstop.
The fight was intense.
But Song Li knew…
Song Hailan was holding back.
He looked completely relaxed.
He hadn’t even broken a sweat.
Finally…
Song Li threw a handful of sand from her sleeve.
Having run out of tricks, she was caught by the shoulder.
But Song Hailan wasn’t much better off.
He ended up with a mouth full of dirt.
Clap! Clap! Clap!
Applause came from outside.
Song Yannian and Song Haiming walked in.
Zhaodi followed behind them…
Along with an unfamiliar young woman.
She was stunning.
Confidence.
Her eyes shone with fierce ambition.
Song Li immediately guessed who she was.
[This must be my older sister.]
[She truly lives up to her reputation.]
[This is what an amazing woman should be like!]
[Big Sister, go chase your dreams without worry. Your little sister will protect you!]
A trace of warmth flashed across Song Yihuan’s usually unruly eyes.
[When the time comes, let’s keep ten or eight handsome male companions together. Wouldn’t that be wonderful?]
There it was.
She was definitely her biological little sister.
Song Yihuan strode over and patted Song Li on the shoulder.
“Little Sis!”
“Your martial arts are pretty good.”
“Follow me from now on.”
“Big Sister will protect you.”
Song Hailan immediately interrupted.
“She’s still so young, and she’s already talking about keeping male companions. Ridiculous.”
“Song Li is my maid.”
“You’re too late.”
Song Yihuan rolled her wrists, about to argue.
Just then…
Zhaodi stepped forward.
“Song Li, you’ve really been hiding your abilities.”
“As your best friend, I never even knew you could fight.”
Although she tried to sound teasing…
She couldn’t hide the jealousy in her voice.
Only she knew how she had felt…
Watching everyone’s attention focused entirely on Song Li.
Why couldn’t Song Li think about my feelings for once?
Did she really have to steal the spotlight?