These words left Chen’s father and mother momentarily speechless.
Under normal circumstances, not to mention repairing an ancestral hall or establishing a clan school, it was already unreasonable for the Song family to be expected to pay for it.
Even for a marriage, there was no precedent for the bride’s family to bear all expenses!
But the Chen family was willing to marry Song Yibai precisely because her family was one of the wealthiest households in Lingyang Prefecture.
If the Song family was unwilling to spend money for them, then what was the point of marrying a merchant’s daughter?
In the future, their son would become a high official. Once that happened, wouldn’t it be better to marry a noble lady who could help him rise further?
Of course, these thoughts could only remain buried in their hearts—they absolutely could not be spoken aloud.
Seeing that Chen’s father and mother were silent, Song Nianyun turned her gaze to Chen Yunli and spoke word by word, clear and sharp:
“Mr. Chen is the top scorer of the county examination and a future licentiate. With great ambition to repay his clan, this sense of responsibility is indeed moving.”
“However, should such repayment not come from the official position and salary he earns himself in the future?”
“Yet now, before the marriage has even taken place, you are already eager to use your future in-laws’ money to fill the Chen family’s financial gaps, to fulfill your reputation and filial piety…”
She leaned forward slightly, her gaze like a blade:
“If word of this spreads, how will others speak of Mr. Chen? Will they say you are deeply righteous and filial, or will they say you are…”
“…a man living off his wife’s family while still acting superior, scheming against your in-laws?”
These words struck like thunder, shaking the entire hall into silence.
Song’s father’s expression changed drastically. Fearing that his daughter’s sharp words would completely offend Chen Yunli and ruin the marriage alliance he had worked so hard to secure, he hurriedly scolded:
“Yibai! Mind your words! How can a young lady speak so vulgarly? Where are your manners!”
But Song Nianyun acted as if she had not heard.
Having absorbed the original host’s memories, she understood her father’s intentions all too clearly.
He was a merchant by birth but obsessed with power, desperate for someone in the family to enter officialdom and elevate their status.
For this, he spared no expense sending unpromising sons and nephews to the best academy in Lingyang Prefecture, hoping one of them would become a successful scholar.
But unlike the main branch of the Song family, which had deep foundations and produced talented individuals—her own elder brothers had become jinshi in their twenties, and even she had once served as a female official beside the emperor, renowned in the capital—this branch was utterly mediocre.
No matter how hard they tried, they could barely pass the lowest examinations, let alone become licentiates or higher.
With no hope from the sons, Song’s father shifted his ambitions onto his daughters instead.
Women who had only learned basic literacy in the clan school were seen as tools for political marriage alliances.
Her elder sister had already been sent last year to the prefectural governor’s residence as his eighteenth concubine.
Now, it was her turn.
A promising “county top scorer” was, in her father’s eyes, a valuable investment—how could he allow her to ruin it with “childish rebellion”?
Song Nianyun sneered inwardly but remained calm on the surface, turning her sharp gaze back to Chen Yunli.
She wanted to see how this so-called “gentleman” would respond to the label of “a man living off his wife’s family.”
The hall fell into dead silence.
Chen Yunli sat motionless, his fingers tightly gripping the teacup. His knuckles turned pale from the force.
After a long moment, he slowly raised his eyes. His gaze was as cold as a frozen lake.
“Miss Song…”
His voice was low, carrying a strained heaviness, “What a… piercing accusation.”
He stood up slowly. His moon-white robe rippled faintly with his movement.
Even after being publicly humiliated, he still maintained the composure of a scholar—clearly a man with some schemes of his own.
“I, Chen Yunli, have studied hard for more than ten years. All I seek is to serve the court with my abilities and bring honor to my family. Today I realize that in Miss Song’s eyes, I am nothing more than…”
“an unworthy person.”
His words were deliberately heavy, each syllable striking Song’s father like a blow.
Sweat broke out on Song’s father’s forehead. “Son-in-law, you misunderstand! My daughter is ignorant and speaks without thinking…”
But Chen Yunli raised a hand to stop him and walked straight toward Song Nianyun.
“Since Miss Song views me so poorly, I have no face to cling to the Song family. This engagement…”
He paused deliberately, satisfied as he saw Song’s father’s face turn pale.
“…let us end it here.”
Song Nianyun curved her lips slightly.
So this was his strategy—retreat to advance.
He was certain Song’s father would not dare let the engagement fall through, which was why he dared to threaten cancellation.
As expected, Song’s father panicked immediately.
“Son-in-law, this is just anger talking! Marriage is not child’s play!”
He turned sharply to Song Nianyun and barked, “Yibai! Apologize to Yunli immediately!”
The atmosphere in the hall grew tense.
Chen’s father and mother exchanged satisfied looks, clearly pleased with their son’s maneuver.
Song Nianyun looked at her father’s flattering, anxious expression and sneered inwardly.
Then her gaze shifted to Madam Jiang, who had remained silent.
In the original host’s memory, this was the only person in the household who truly loved the daughters—the traditional mother who believed in obedience to her husband, but still cared deeply for her children.
On the day her elder sister was sent to become a concubine, Madam Jiang had cried for a whole night holding the original host.
The sharpness in Song Nianyun’s eyes softened. Her expression turned fragile, her eyes shimmering with restrained tears.
She lowered her head slightly, long eyelashes trembling as her voice turned faint and choked:
“Mother…”
“Do you truly want your daughter to marry into such a family?”
She looked up, eyes moist and pleading, filled with fear and hope.
“Everything I said earlier may have been harsh, but every word was for my own sake—and for the Song family’s sake as well.”
Her voice echoed clearly in the silent hall.
“Before the marriage has even taken place, the Chen family is already asking for eight hundred taels to repair their ancestral hall and establish their clan school.”
“This behavior shows clearly that they see the Song family as nothing more than a money pouch to be used at will.”
She stepped forward and took Madam Jiang’s hand.
“Mother, think about it. If they dare ask for eight hundred taels today, tomorrow they will ask for one thousand, two thousand!”
“Once I marry into that household, can my dowry still be protected?”
“You know that a woman’s dowry is her only means of survival in her husband’s family. If they drain it under various excuses, then in the Chen household, I would be nothing more than a drifting duckweed without roots.”
“What kind of family are the Chen family really? You have seen it clearly now! Without money of my own, I would be at their mercy!”
Madam Jiang’s eyes filled with tears. Her lips trembled as she tightened her grip on her daughter’s hand.
But years of obedience to her husband made her unable to defy him outright. She could only hold her daughter’s hand tightly, unable to speak in her defense.
Song Nianyun understood immediately.
She needed to apply a little more pressure.