Song Ci didn't even lift her eyelids, her voice light: "You're overstepping your bounds."
Song Qianqian almost choked.
The fake smile on her face almost couldn't hold, and her eyes instantly turned red.
"I was only caring about you, elder sister, afraid you might offend the General's Wife and bring unforeseen disaster to the Marquis's Mansion."
Song Ci rolled her eyes. Really knew how to think—why didn't Song Qianqian just want to reach the sky?
Bang!
The Old Madam's teacup slammed heavily onto the table, making a crisp sound.
The atmosphere suddenly stiffened.
"Qianqian is right. Your status is lowly. Don't offend the General's Wife and bring trouble to the Marquis's Mansion. This is the foundation your grandfather struggled so hard to build."
Song Ci thought to herself, this old woman is sick!
Always throwing cups.
Who speaks for the cup?
She remained neither humble nor arrogant.
"Grandmother, the higher the noble family, the more reasonable they are. Only families with insufficient foundation would break the rules and snatch others' things."
A double entendre.
It choked the Old Madam so much she couldn't speak. Was this girl implying something about her?
Just as she was about to scold Song Ci, her gaze swept over Song Qianqian, catching the mocking smile at the corner of her mouth, and suddenly changed her mind.
The more fiercely the two sisters fought, the better.
If the Eldest Branch fell into chaos, her sons could benefit.
The Old Madam waved her hand.
"I'm tired. All of you, withdraw."
Song Ci didn't say more, got up and left.
She returned to the Listening Bamboo Pavilion and went straight to the study, starting to draft the plan for the second issue of the newspaper.
Must strike while the iron is hot.
The first issue exploded; to maintain the heat, not a single word could be careless.
Topic selection, layout, printing, distribution—every link had to have standards.
Song Ci thought and wrote at the same time.
She must make the Jinghua Times a necessity for people in the Capital City.
If they didn't read it for a day, they'd feel uncomfortable all over.
Shen Huaizhou soon sent over the screened information. Song Ci went through it, picked out the promising ones, and prepared to go to the General's Mansion in the afternoon to discuss with her mom.
Especially the headline—it had to be even more explosive than the first issue.
From outside the door came Amber's reminder.
"Eldest Miss, Madam has arrived..."
Song Ci's pen paused slightly.
Why was Madam Fang here?
She had been sick for a month and didn't have time to come. What wind blew her here today?
As soon as Madam Fang entered, her gaze fell on Song Ci.
Song Ci was at that moment leaning crookedly by the window reading a book. A light green long dress made her expression somewhat cold, and when those dark eyes looked over, they seemed to see through a person's heart.
Madam Fang was stunned.
Ci'er was completely different from before—like two different people.
"I heard that the General's Wife invited you to her mansion for a visit. Your younger sister was afraid your clothes were too plain and would make you lose face, so she specially asked me to bring you some clothes. They are all newly made, top-quality fabric and style. Try them."
Song Ci looked at those bright red and green clothes and directly rejected them with disgust.
Was this deliberately trying to disgust her?
"No need."
"You really are willful. Fine! Mother won't force you. Take Qianqian with you to the General's Mansion to see the world. She has no playmates inside the mansion; she's too lonely."
"Mother, the General's Wife only invited me. Bringing an outsider rashly would be too rude."
Song Ci was almost amused into laughter; she had no such obligation.
Madam Fang's breath caught; she hadn't expected Song Ci to refuse.
"Ci'er, Qianqian is your younger sister. How can she be an outsider?"
Song Ci didn't speak.
Seeing she was silent, Madam Fang's voice involuntarily became more severe.
"Qianqian has been sincere with you, even gave you clothes. With all your excuses, you truly disappoint me."
Song Ci continued her silent resistance to the end.
Bang!
Madam Fang slapped her palm on the table.
She scowled and scolded.
"You've always been sensible. Why are you so disobedient today?"
Madam Fang's expression was bad. Ci'er had always been sensible. What was wrong with her today?
Deliberately putting on airs to get her attention?
She had neglected her this period, but she was also stretched thin.
"Ci'er, can't you be more sensible? Take care of your younger sister for Mother?"
No.
Song Ci had the look of a dead pig not afraid of scalding water.
Madam Fang was completely out of tricks.
"Forget it. You're on your own!"
She flicked her sleeves and left.
The door curtain clattered noisily.
Cui Zhu said fearfully: "Miss, Madam is truly angry."
Song Ci didn't care at all: "I'm fine. Mother has always been magnanimous and won't hold a grudge against me. All of you, withdraw. I want to be quiet."
The maids and old women filed out, leaving only Song Ci in the room.
Amber came in and said softly.
"Miss, just as you predicted, Emerald went to Fanghua Courtyard."
Emerald?
Song Ci had four senior maidservants—Amber, Cui Zhu, Emerald, and Ling Luo—each with their own duties and they didn't bother each other usually.
But she had always suspected that someone had planted an informant in her courtyard.
In her previous life, the original body was constrained everywhere; whatever she did, Song Qianqian knew about it in advance. Someone must have been tipping her off.
Today, Madam Fang came to make a scene, so she decided to play along with the plan and had Amber keep watch on the courtyard.
She didn't expect the fish to bite the hook so quickly.
Seeing Song Ci silent, Amber asked in a low voice.
"Miss, what do we do next?"
"Stay put and wait for her to show her hand, then put the blame on Song Qianqian."
"Good idea. But... you offended Madam today. If Emerald deliberately stirs up trouble..."
"Not important."
Song Ci was not the original body; she held no hope for these relatives of the Marquis's Mansion.
Madam Fang could forget about using family ties to blackmail her.
She had her mom, her eldest brother, and her own family.
That was enough.
In the afternoon, Song Ci went to the General's Mansion with Amber. When Madam Fang found out, she was so angry she smashed a teacup.
Song Qianqian was even angrier, stamping her feet.
How infuriating!
At that moment, Song Ci was discussing the newspaper with her mom.
But after picking through, there was no suitable headline.
Song Ci was a little worried.
Cai Tingshu decisively changed the subject and asked about her situation in the Marquis's Mansion.
Song Ci didn't hide anything and recounted today's conflict with Madam Fang.
Cai Tingshu's face immediately turned cold.
"Madam Fang dares to bully you like this, just because she sees you as an orphan girl and wants to suppress you. Tomorrow, I'll adopt you as my daughter and see if she still dares to dictate to you."
"Mom, it's fine. They're just harmless words; they can't hurt me."
Song Ci didn't want to cause trouble for her mom; the General's Mansion was already a mess.
"Oh you, you're too sensible. I can't swallow this. When your eldest brother comes, let him find a skilled girl—whoever you don't like, slap her. If anything happens, I'll take responsibility."
"Alright."
Song Ci smiled.
When she was little, a classmate locked her in the bathroom and she cried. When her mom found out, she didn't go to the school to make a scene—she bribed the top student to lock that person in the bathroom too.
They didn't let him out until midnight.
After that, that person would take a detour whenever he saw her.
Mom said: "The best way to deal with bullying is to make them taste the same feeling."
"Madam, it's bad! Young Master Shen probably won't be able to come..."
An old woman ran in flustered.
Cai Tingshu frowned: "What happened?"
The old woman couldn't even speak clearly.
"Someone is kneeling... kneeling at the gate of the Duke's Mansion, holding a token, claiming to be the flesh and blood of Duke Zhenguo, wanting to... return to the clan!"
Song Ci's heart jumped—a headline?
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