Song Xilou had Nanny Wu keep the news of her recovery a secret, and spent the rest of her time studying the small green sprout in her palm. She noticed that the sprout grew a little bigger every day, its verdant green a delight to behold.
She poked its tender shoot. "What exactly are you?"
The little sprout let out a soft "Eeek…" Then its two tiny leaves wrapped around her finger, nuzzling against it affectionately.
Song Xilou rubbed her palm. If it hadn't suddenly grown warm last time, she would have fallen victim to the Song family's poison. In her past life, she had woken up too late to experience this, but she could be certain of who the poisoner was.
It was undoubtedly that smiling tiger, Master Song. He was always all smiles on the surface, but he was probably the one who most wanted her dead—afraid that she would stand in the way of his precious daughter who had taken her place.
"I couldn't care less." Song Xilou's eyes were full of contempt. That Niohuru family, scheming with all their might to send Niohuru Lianxin into the Fourth Prince's household for the sake of power and prestige.
The irony was that the Niohuru family had raised her for over a decade, yet once she gained favor, she only listened to the Fourth Prince. With all her heart devoted to him, how could she have any energy left to seek wealth and glory for the Niohuru family?
Wasn't Niohuru Lianxin's greatest concern the Fourth Prince? Then in this life, she would seduce the Fourth Prince until he never cast another glance at her.
Song Xilou touched her face. In her past life, even with her face covered in birthmarks, she had managed to win the Fourth Prince's affections. She knew better than anyone what kind of woman that man liked. This time, she would take back both the man and the child.
But the most important thing right now was to find a way to leave the Song estate. However, before she left, she intended to make the Song family bleed a little—after all, wasn't she still the Song family's young miss?
Should the Song family's silver be saved for the Niohuru family's young lady to use? Song Xilou gave a mocking smile. "After all, I'm the one with the surname Song now." Why would she leave silver behind as capital for Niohuru Lianxin to buy people's loyalty when she entered the Fourth Prince's household in the future?
The Song family had only become wealthy through commerce in recent years. Going further back, they had been nothing but mud-legged farmers tilling the fields. But ever since Master Song had latched onto the Niohuru family, their modest wealth had gradually grown into great fortune.
Master Song didn't want anyone to know about his past, so after moving to the capital, he placed great emphasis on appearances. Most of the family's silver was offered up to the Niohuru family, and the rest was spent on maintaining a grand facade. Even though the household didn't have many servants, the daily morning greetings were a rule that could not be omitted.
Where Madam Song had heard of this custom, no one knew, but she had adopted it upon her return.
As usual, the maids laid out the morning meal before Madam Song took her seat at the head of the table, with the other daughters-in-law and young misses of the Song family following cautiously behind, afraid of incurring her wrath.
When Song Xilou arrived, the morning meal had just begun. Madam Song was picking up a steamed bun, but upon seeing her, she immediately set down her chopsticks. "Why are you here?"
Song Xilou pretended not to see the slight anger on her face, smiling as she walked over and plopped herself down right next to Madam Song, wrapping her arms around the woman's elbow. "Mother, is there something wrong with your daughter coming to pay her respects?"
She spoke seriously with a furrowed brow, all while using her other hand to pick up a crystal bun from the plate in front of Madam Song. As a young miss of the Song family, such delicacies had never once appeared at her own breakfast table. Song Xilou lowered her eyes to hide the sarcasm in them.
"You're sitting in Father's seat." The bun had barely entered her mouth when another voice of displeasure sounded. She looked up to see Song Xizhen, another unmarried young miss of the Song family—her nominal elder sister.
Song Xizhen glared at her with fire in her eyes, and when she noticed Song Xilou looking back at her, her gaze was full of disgust. "You lowborn wretch." She turned her head away, as if even a single glance at Song Xilou was a waste.
Song Xizhen was actually the child of the previous Madam Song, who had died shortly after giving birth to her. Within two years, Master Song had met a leading courtesan at Yingge Pavilion, fallen deeply in love with her, and within a month had paid to buy out her contract and married her as his second wife.
That courtesan was the birth mother of the Niohuru family's young lady—the Madam Song now sitting beside Song Xilou.
After that "lowborn wretch" remark, Song Xilou immediately lowered her eyes, then asked in a trembling voice, "Elder Sister, why are you cursing my mother?"
Song Xizhen quickly glanced at Madam Song, and only after seeing that she wasn't angry did she retort, "I was cursing you, when did I ever curse Mother?"
Song Xilou hesitated, opening her mouth as if to speak, then said with confusion, "But I've seen you always cursing those girls at Yingge Pavilion for bewitching Young Master Qi's soul—"
"I… when did I ever curse Yingge Pavilion? Don't you spout nonsense!" Song Xizhen finally panicked, averting her eyes and not daring to look at Madam Song across from her.
She was betrothed to the young master of the Qi family, but that young master was quite the playboy, often frequenting Yingge Pavilion.
So in the courtyard, she had cursed:
"The girls at Yingge Court are all low-born wretches—wasn't that what you said?" Song Xilou turned her head in confusion, looking at Madam Song's ugly expression and saying, "Or did I mishear?"
"I was scolding the other girls at Yingge Court. Besides, Mother hasn't been with Yingge Court for a long time now." The moment the words left her mouth, Song Xizhen knew she had misspoken. Even without looking, she knew Madam Song's face across from her had turned terribly sour.
"Get out." Before Song Xizhen could say anything, Madam Song flew into a rage, pointing at the door and ordering Song Xilou to leave. Song Xizhen across the way had just been wearing a frightened expression, but now she looked at Song Xilou with pure smugness.
"Mother, why?" Song Xilou remained seated in her chair without moving an inch. In the past, she would have already run off crying in sorrow, but now her lowered eyelids concealed the mockery on her face: How stupid had she been before, actually believing her family disliked her because she was ugly?
"Could it be that I'm not a member of the Song family?" Just as Madam Song was about to order her out again, Song Xilou lifted her chin and asked, "Mother, am I truly your daughter, or was I not born from you?"
The blood drained from Madam Song's face in an instant. What she feared most was Song Xilou discovering this secret. Her imposing manner collapsed at once, losing the ferocious intensity that had seemed ready to devour someone. Her lips trembled as she stammered, "How… how could that be? You were born from me, of course you're a child of the Song family."
She was afraid! She was afraid that once Song Xilou learned the truth, she would go to the Niohuru family and demand her own child back. Her daughter… her daughter was an official family's young lady who would one day marry into the imperial household.
How could she be obstructed by this low-born wretch? Inside her sleeve, her hand clenched into a tight fist. Song Xilou lowered her head slightly and caught sight of the hand trembling visibly within the sleeve.
So easily frightened. Song Xilou smiled disdainfully.
For a moment, the entire room fell quiet. It was Master Song who walked in beaming, showing not a trace of surprise at seeing Song Xilou, yet asking, "Xilou, what brings you here today?"
Clearly he had ordered her not to come—by Song Xizhen's reasoning, it was because seeing her would ruin their appetite—but with his question, it sounded as though Song Xilou herself had chosen not to visit.
Master Song hadn't changed. Still the same two-faced hypocrite.
"Father, Mother just ordered me to get out," Song Xilou said. She was sitting in Master Song's seat and didn't offer it to him when he arrived, only lifting her head to ask in confusion, "Mother treats Sister so well. All these years, I've only ever seen Sister getting new clothes and new shoes, while I get nothing."
"Could it be that I was adopted?" Song Xilou stared into Master Song's eyes. "Or that I'm not a child of the Song family? Otherwise… why is there such a vast difference between us?"
She spoke those last few words softly, but they made Master Song's heart skip a beat: The child had grown up and wasn't as easy to fool as when she was young. If they were too obvious about it, she would naturally grow suspicious.
With that thought, Master Song turned and shot Madam Song a glare. Someone not from a proper family would never know how to conduct themselves properly.
Madam Song felt aggrieved at being glared at. She had suffered hardship since childhood and had been sold into a brothel afterward. She had always resented those young ladies from great official families—they were all human, so why was the difference so vast?
Now her own daughter had become an official family's young lady, and the one that the great official family had discarded grew more and more irritating to her with each passing day. Naturally, she found ways to torment her.
"Child, don't talk nonsense. How could you not be a child of the Song family?" Master Song turned back around, his beaming face full of self-reproach. "It's all Father's fault. All these years, I haven't taken good care of you."
Madam Song began sobbing softly on the side as well. Song Xilou sat in her chair with an expressionless face, watching their performance. Before long, it was Madam Song who couldn't hold out any longer. She lowered her handkerchief and asked, "What exactly do you want?"
Master Song said nothing, but he shared the same sentiment: This child had always been easy to fool. She must want something today, and that was why she had come to make a fuss.
"I want pretty clothes." Song Xilou gave them what they expected, lowering her head and mumbling hesitantly, "Last time I saw Sister wearing that dress, it was very pretty. I haven't had new clothes in a long time."
"Nonsense! That dress came from Zhenyi Pavilion—it cost over ten taels of silver!" Before Madam Song could stop her, Song Xizhen had already blurted it out with smug satisfaction. Madam Song could only curse inwardly: "Idiot."
"And hairpins, jade pendants, bracelets…" Song Xilou lifted her head. "I don't have any of those." She had come today precisely to squeeze something out of the Song family, so she naturally wasn't about to let the opportunity pass, no matter how sour Master Song's expression had turned.
After a long silence, Master Song stood up. "I'll have someone bring you two hundred taels of silver later."
Two hundred taels would be a drop in the bucket for the Song family in the future, but now… Song Xilou said sweetly, "Thank you, Father. I'll go out tomorrow and have two new outfits made."
Master Song's body stiffened for a moment, but he still walked away.
Song Xilou turned around, looking at Madam Song's face full of jealousy and Song Xizhen's expression that looked ready to devour her, and felt greatly pleased. "Mother, Sister, I'm full now, so I'll be on my way."
As soon as she stepped out the door, she heard the sound of a bowl smashing behind her, yet Song Xilou was in excellent spirits: "Did you think two hundred taels of silver was everything?"
This was only the beginning.
Song Xilou's goal was never as simple as two hundred taels of silver; what she wanted was for the Song family to be utterly ruined from this point on.
Walking along the road, she looked outside and sighed: "Tomorrow is going to be a fine day indeed."