Song Wenping, the fifth master of the Song family, was born to You Shi, a concubine of Master Song.
Song Wenping has just come of age this year. As the youngest son and the only son of the You family, he has been spoiled rotten since childhood.
Before the person even entered the main hall, that rough voice had already started shouting.
Before even seeing the person, Madam Xie already had a headache from being shouted at. Once the person entered the house, she slammed her hand on the table and yelled, “If you keep shouting like that, I’ll tie you up and make you kneel in the ancestral hall!”
Song Wenping then calmed down.
Before Xie could even begin questioning, another commotion broke out outside.
The maid who ran in first to report the news said, “It’s the Fifth Madam. She said that if the Fifth Master doesn’t clear her name today, she’s going to beat the Dengwen Drum and accuse the Fifth Master of favoring his concubine over his wife.”
Both sides used almost the same rhetoric as in their previous lives. Although their manner of introduction had changed, the course of events remained the same.
Rong Shu got up from the chair, pretending to pour tea for Xie Shi, but actually shrank into the corner.
She would never, ever get close to him again in this lifetime!
After entering the room, Fifth Madam Shen Ying knelt down before Madam Xie and cried, “Mother, you must stand up for me! Fifth Master favors his concubine over his wife, and he actually wants to beat me for that slut!”
Upon hearing this, Song Wenping flew into a rage, pointing at Shen Ying and cursing, “You shrew! Not only did you harm my offspring, but you also have the audacity to claim you’re innocent! I’m divorcing you today!”
Upon hearing that she was going to be divorced, Shen Ying was so provoked that she immediately got up from the ground and pointed at Song Wenping’s nose to curse him.
“Song Wenping! You were the one who formally betrothed me and married me. You said such sweet things when you married me, but after I entered the house, you let those two bitches trample on my head.”
“Let me tell you today, it’s not you who’s divorcing me, it’s me, Shen Ying, who’s determined to divorce you! You illegitimate son, you’re neither here nor there, do you think you’re some kind of hot commodity!”
This was the first time Song Wenping had been verbally abused so harshly.
And she was his wife who had always acted gentle and considerate in front of him.
The contrast stunned him for a moment, as if he were seeing his wife for the first time.
But then anger welled up inside him, and he said that his threat to divorce his wife was just to scare the woman.
She actually dared to be so disrespectful to him, rubbing his face in the dirt!
Song Wenping raised his hand to strike.
Madam Xie shouted at the people next to her, “Quickly, restrain this wretched child!”
Several strong old women separated the couple by grabbing them around the waist.
Seeing that they were about to argue again, Xie immediately smashed the teacup and said, “If they cause any more trouble, they will be punished according to the family rules!”
The two then quieted down.
But the silence didn’t last long before someone else came in from outside.
Rong Shu looked outside and saw that the person was Lanxiang, the maidservant of Aunt Huo. She had seen her once or twice before.
However, this person did not come to the main courtyard in his previous life.
Rong Shu stood in the corner, watching Lan Xiang bow and then wipe away her tears as she spoke.
“Our aunt sent me here as soon as she woke up, asking me to persuade Fifth Master not to let this matter damage his relationship with Madam.”
Lanxiang paused as she spoke, as if she were dissatisfied on behalf of her mistress, “The concubine also said that she slipped and fell on her own, and it had nothing to do with the madam. If this causes the madam and the fifth master to quarrel, she would rather go to the family temple right now to beg for forgiveness!”
Upon hearing this, Song Wenping felt even more that the concubine was more magnanimous and virtuous than the principal wife, and that she herself had just suffered a miscarriage and was already thinking about someone else.
Shen Ying was so angry she could hardly speak. Her face turned pale as she pointed at Lanxiang and said, “This slut always knows how to play the victim. She’s from a brothel, yet she dares to climb all over me and act wildly.”
Seeing that the two groups were about to start arguing again, Rong Shu looked at her mother-in-law.
She blinked, making sure she wasn’t seeing things.
My mother-in-law rolled her eyes so hard!
Then the mother-in-law coldly smiled and said, “Since Huo also knows that she will hurt the harmony between the mistress and the master, then I will grant her wish.”
As soon as he finished speaking, everyone was stunned.
Especially Song Wenping and Lanxiang.
Madam Xie glanced at Shen Ying, who couldn’t contain her joy, and continued, “As for the ancestral temple, she, a mere concubine, is not worthy to go before the ancestors and embarrass them. Let her go to the estate; we’ll send her away today.”
Rong Shu blinked; this was completely different from her previous life.
The fifth branch of the family came directly to cause trouble in the previous life. At that time, the mother-in-law was in a bad mood and scolded them all.
Even so, Song Wenping and Shen Ying had a huge fight, which escalated into a physical altercation, resulting in her breaking her head.
As for Aunt Huo, it seems she wasn’t punished in the end.
Looking at her mother-in-law, who resembled an old matriarch, Rong Shu suddenly wondered if it was because she listened to her mother-in-law last night that her mother-in-law wasn’t angered by her and thus dealt with the matter so quickly?
Before she could figure it out, Song Wenping started making a scene again.
“Mother, you’re so foolish! You don’t hold this shrew accountable for harming her children, but why are you punishing Ru’er? She just lost her child today!”
Before Xie could speak, Shen Ying jumped out and continued to confront Song Wenping.
“Because you’re blind! You can’t see through that little bitch’s tricks. Your mother, with her sharp ears and eyes, can naturally see who’s right and who’s wrong.”
Song Wenping was furious and retorted, “You shrew, even if Ru’er is sent away, I, Song Wenping, will never set foot in your room again!”
These words were undeniably excessive. Enraged, Shen Ying grabbed the bowl and chopsticks from the table and threw them at Song Wenping.
Song Wenping dodged for a moment, then grabbed a bowl and chopsticks and started smashing them.
Seeing that these two dared to lay a hand on her, Xie slammed her hand on the table and ordered them to be tied up.
Shen Ying dodged the old woman who came to stop her, picked up the still steaming soup bowl on the table, and threw it at Song Wenping.
Although Song Wenping was a reckless and unruly man, he had practiced martial arts for a few years. With a flick of his sleeve, he swept the soup bowl away.
With the crisp sound of porcelain hitting the ground and a muffled groan, the two men were finally held down firmly by the old women.
The old woman Zeng, who was standing next to Madam Xie, exclaimed in surprise, “Third Madam, are you alright?!”
Rong Shu had already retreated to a corner after seeing the two of them smashing things, but unexpectedly, Song Wenping swept the soup bowl at her with a wave of his hand.
She raised her hand to block it; her face was fine, but the soup was still hot, and the force of the fall landed directly on her shoulder.
A sudden burning and painful sensation came from my shoulder.
Rong Shu never expected that even after retreating to this extent, she still couldn’t escape being caught in the crossfire.
But she could no longer remain silent as she had in her previous life.
Granny Zeng came over to help her up and saw that half of her sleeve was soaked with soup. She quickly asked her where she had been burned.
Rong Shu bit her lower lip until it turned white, looking as if she was in unbearable pain.
“Granny, it hurts so much.”
Madam Xie rushed over and saw that her own daughter-in-law had been slandered by these two wretched children. Enraged, she waved her hand and made the two of them kneel down on the spot.
“Quickly, have someone fetch the doctor!”
When Song Wenping saw that it was his third sister-in-law who had been hit, he felt both nervous and relieved.
Fortunately, it was his third sister-in-law, who was quiet and reserved. If it had been one of his other sisters-in-law, things certainly wouldn’t have turned out so easily.
But he didn’t know that this time, Rong Shu wouldn’t let him be as submissive as before.