Song Sangyu hadn't expected this at all. She dropped to her knees with a thud, tears streaming down her face as she scrambled to shift the blame.
"Father, Mother, please see the truth. It is Sangyu who failed to manage her servant properly. I had no idea this wretched maid harbored such malicious intent."
"It was her! She did all of it! It has nothing to do with me! I beg Father and Mother to punish this wretched maid severely and give Elder Sister justice!"
Hongxiu looked up, her face a mask of disbelief. Under Song Sangyu's warning gaze, she gritted her teeth and spoke.
"Master, Madam, it was I who was blinded by greed. The Second Miss knew nothing of this matter."
Watching Song Sangyu frantically shift the blame, Song Yiqiu said deliberately, "For such a wicked servant to appear in our household and attempt to murder her master, we should naturally report it to the authorities! Let the officials investigate whether Hongxiu acted alone or if she had accomplices!"
Her father's expression was extremely grim. He berated her in a low voice, "Nonsense! Report it to whom! Today is your homecoming banquet, with so many guests present! Do you think our Song family hasn't lost enough face? This matter concerns the reputations of you and your sister. How can it be brought to a public court!"
Her mother quickly chimed in, "Yiqiu, I know you've been wronged, but we can't air our dirty laundry in public!"
Even if her elder brother was slow, he could see the situation. He frowned and added his support, "Song Yiqiu, where you can forgive, you should. Now that the culprit has been caught and your younger sister knows her mistake, why must you blow this up?"
Her second elder brother also spoke up, "Exactly. If word gets out, it won't do your reputation any good either."
Song Yiqiu sneered inwardly. Her gaze swept over her parents and brothers, knowing they were single-mindedly protecting Song Sangyu. She feigned hesitation, then stated her terms.
"Fine! Since Father, Mother, and my brothers all say so, for the sake of the family's dignity, I can refrain from reporting this to the authorities for now."
Her father breathed a sigh of relief. "That's for the best."
But then her tone shifted. "However, I suffered a great shock today and nearly lost my life. I need to recuperate. This main courtyard, which was originally mine, I want to move back in."
"Furthermore, I have been wronged and suffered mental distress. My clothes and jewelry were also ruined. I require a compensation of one thousand taels of gold to calm my nerves. If you won't even grant me this, then I'll cast my reputation aside and beat the drum before the Chief of the Capital Prefecture to demand justice!"
One… one thousand taels…
This Song Yiqiu was truly asking for the moon.
Forced into a corner, her father, Song Qingming, exchanged a look with Song Shenshi and gritted his teeth. "…Fine! As you wish. Move back to the main courtyard immediately. Tomorrow, I will have your mother allocate three thousand taels to you to calm your nerves."
Song Sangyu was incredulous, her heart filled with jealousy and hatred. "Father! Mother! The main courtyard is my room, how can you…"
Her father immediately cut her off. "Shut up! For your failure to manage your subordinates, you will be confined to your room to reflect on your actions!"
He then turned and took Song Yiqiu's hand. "Yiqiu, rest assured. Father will always stand up for you."
Song Yiqiu feigned being moved, her eyes misting over, but her heart was a sheet of ice.
His words were merely a way to absolve Song Sangyu of blame.
As Song Sangyu was led away by the servants, she didn't forget to shoot Song Yiqiu a vicious glare.
Song Yiqiu deliberately raised an eyebrow. Song Sangyu understood at once and screamed, "It was Song Yiqiu! She did it! She was trying to harm me…"
Before she could finish, she was dragged away.
At the back of the crowd, Xiao Yongjing watched Song Yiqiu's tear-filled eyes and lightly licked the corner of his lips.
"Heh… So she's a wolf. A fierce and clever… wild wolf."
Late at night.
In the main courtyard that Song Yiqiu had moved back into, the candlelight flickered.
Song Yiqiu leaned against the window, gazing at the full moon outside, her mind a whirlwind of the tragic scenes from her past life and the false affections of her present one.
"You still don't know, do you… how Grandmother really died."
The smug face of Song Sangyu from her previous life surfaced in her mind, her sinister words echoing in her ears.
Song Sangyu had used those words to lure her to the woodshed, where she was met with the brutal slaughter of her entire family, while Song Sangyu herself beautifully took her place and inherited the title.
"Why?" she asked herself in a low voice, her palm cold. "We are both daughters of the Song family, and I am even of the direct bloodline, yet they are determined to give everything, even the title, to an adopted daughter?"
Were those words just a lie Song Sangyu had used to trick her, or was there truth to them?
She thought back to when she had returned home in her past life. Her father's concubine, Yun Yiniang, had quietly approached her, her warning hesitant.
"First Miss, now that you've returned home, you must be wary of the Second Miss…"
At the time, she had only found it abrupt. Thinking back now, there had been pity hidden in that gaze. It seemed she needed to find time to meet with her.
Knock! Knock! Knock!
A knock at the door interrupted her thoughts. Her mother Song Shenshi's deliberately softened voice came from outside. "Yiqiu, are you asleep yet?"
A cold sneer flashed in Song Yiqiu's eyes. So impatient already?
She quickly composed herself and returned to a state of calm. "Mother, please come in."
The door was pushed open, and Song Shenshi walked in carrying a bowl of steaming Tremella Soup.
She was dressed in a satin nightgown, her hair slightly loose in its bun, perfectly playing the part of a doting, concerned mother.
She sat down at the table on her own accord, her gaze sweeping casually over the room's luxurious furnishings—the place where Song Sangyu had lived for the past seven years.
"Yiqiu," Song Shenshi said, gently pushing the white porcelain bowl in front of Song Yiqiu, her tone soft. "Regarding today's events, Mother apologizes to you on Sangyu's behalf. She is young and simple-minded; it's possible she was deceived and used by those black-hearted servants. As the elder sister, don't stoop to her level, and don't hold a grudge in your heart. A harmonious family prospers in all things."
Song Yiqiu lowered her eyes, slowly stirring the tremella in the bowl with a silver spoon.
It was crystal clear and stewed until tender—a top-quality product.
But she remembered the nights on the snowy frontier, gnawing on cold buns as hard as rocks and drinking thin porridge that could reflect one's shadow.
And at the same time, Song Sangyu in the capital probably found even Tremella Soup too common, consuming Blood Bird's Nest daily.
She had shed blood for seven years in exchange for the family's stability, and upon her return, she had genuinely wanted to help her siblings.
But what was the result?
Her heart sank, bit by bit.
She raised her eyes, direct and to the point, her tone calm and flat. "Mother, if you have something to say, you might as well say it directly."
Song Shenshi was taken aback, a trace of discomfort flashing across her face before she chided, "You child, you've been away from home for so long, your temperament has become more and more direct. Fine, Mother won't beat around the bush with you."
She leaned forward slightly, lowering her voice. "Your elder brother has been studying for so many years, but he has never made much progress in his official career. I heard… you have quite a few connections in the army?"
"Now that you're back, we're family after all. You have to give your own brother a hand. It's just an idle post. For you, it's just a matter of a few words, right?"
As expected.
Song Yiqiu almost laughed out loud.
The scene from her past life was vivid in her memory:
She had swallowed her pride and begged an old subordinate of a general who held real power, securing an idle post as a Paymaster for her elder brother.
It should have been a great merit, but it became the beginning of her brother's hatred for her.
Her brother was ambitious but untalented, lazy and fond of leisure. After taking office, he made constant mistakes and ended up embezzling military funds, nearly implicating her in his crime.
She had run around pulling strings, exhausting all her favors just to get him out, only to be rewarded with his words: "If you hadn't meddled and found this post for me, how could I have been so humiliated!"
You can't prop up a wall of mud.
If you insisted on propping it up, he would only resent you for getting him dirty, hating you for showing him the height of the wall and his own incompetence.
Song Yiqiu slowly pushed the bowl of Tremella Soup, which she hadn't touched, back toward Song Shenshi. There was a mocking tone in her voice. "Mother, this Tremella Soup… after seven years on the frontier, I'm no longer used to it. If you wish to have a late-night talk next time, perhaps you could switch to bird's nest soup. I remember that Younger Sister Sangyu seems to love bird's nest soup the most."
The maternal love on Song Shenshi's face instantly froze. Enraged by the merciless retort, she blurted out, "Song Yiqiu! Don't be so shameless! You're lucky to even have Tremella Soup to eat. Do you really think you're still the precious and pampered First Miss?"
"During those seven years on the frontier, you probably couldn't even get a taste of wild vegetable paste! Now you're back and putting on airs?"