Song Yujin happened to walk past the two of them, and when she caught sight of the pouch from the corner of her eye, she froze completely.
“This is the one I lost,” she snatched the pouch and clutched it in her hand, asking Qu Lianxue through gritted teeth, “How did it end up in your possession?”
Qu Ling cut in, “She probably found it. She went to deliver Buddhist scriptures to the meditation room.”
“You went to the meditation room?” Song Yujin radiated coldness from head to toe.
“No, this pouch wasn’t found by me… No, I don’t know…” Qu Lianxue grew so flustered her words began to stumble.
“Eldest Sister gave it to me,” she quickly devised an excuse, shifting the blame onto Qu Ling. “Didn’t Miss Song see her returning from outside? She found the pouch and then gave it to me.”
Whether Song Yujin believed it or not, Qu Lianxue had no choice but to say this.
“Yujin, why are you still standing there? Hurry up,” Liu Shi turned back to urge her.
“Just you wait!” Song Yujin threw down this threat before leaving.
Old Madam Qu glanced at her two granddaughters. “Let’s go home first.”
Qu Ling followed as if nothing had happened, while Qu Lianxue bit her lip and trailed after them.
As soon as they boarded the carriage, Old Madam Qu asked, “What were you talking about with the Song Family’s young lady just now?”
“She suffered humiliation today and must be fuming inside. Don’t provoke her.”
No matter how much the Princess had trampled on the Song Family’s dignity, the Song Family remained one of the most powerful aristocratic families in the Xi Dynasty.
Qu Ling slapped Qu Lianxue across the face, sending her head snapping to the side.
“A-Ling, what are you doing?” The Old Madam was shocked.
“Does Grandmother know that our family nearly became the laughingstock?”
Qu Ling pulled a piece of paper from her bosom and threw it at Qu Lianxue. “Imitating my handwriting, you wrote this disgraceful thing and tucked it into my Buddhist scriptures, trying to humiliate me in public.”
“Such a clumsy scheme would not only harm me but also ruin yourself and even Lianjia!”
He Shi finally reacted, taking the paper and reading it before her heart leaped in terror. “You want our entire Hou Manor to become a joke!”
The poem written on that paper was no less scandalous than the one Song Yujin had written.
The signature was none other than Qu Ling’s name.
“This handwriting resembles mine from when I was ten. At that time, I was in Jiangzhou and sent letters home, which must have all fallen into your hands. This treacherous plot was orchestrated by you under her instructions, wasn’t it?”
The Old Madam’s face had already darkened like stormy waters.
It seemed Song Shi still refused to give up. The act she put on a few days ago was merely a ruse of inflicting injury on herself to gain sympathy.
“Is it as A-Ling said?” The Old Madam asked Qu Lianxue.
Qu Lianxue lifted her head, her face swollen and red, tears streaming down.
“Grandmother, I had no choice,” she knelt at the Old Madam’s feet. “How could I dare disobey Mother? If I had refused, I wouldn’t have survived for long.”
She wept bitterly.
The Old Madam’s expression visibly softened with pity.
But Qu Ling remained completely unmoved.
“So you decided I shouldn’t live long either?”
“If I die, do you think the Princess would let Hou Manor survive?”
The Old Madam’s trace of compassion vanished in an instant.
She had witnessed with her own eyes how the Princess protected Qu Ling.
“You nearly brought ruin upon Hou Manor,” the Old Madam looked at Qu Lianxue. “From now on, you are not to leave the house. Reflect carefully on your actions.”
The young ladies of Hou Manor were all precious, destined to play important roles in future marriage alliances.
Since no major disaster had occurred, the Old Madam had no intention of punishing Qu Lianxue severely.
In Qu Ling’s eyes, such a light punishment was utterly insufficient.
Song Shi’s single remark, “Lianxue is sensible,” made Qu Lianxue intensify her abuse of Qu Ling.
In her previous life, Guanqi had died at Qu Lianxue’s hands.
In the harsh winter, Guanqi went to fetch charcoal and happened to cross paths with Qu Lianxue, who accused her of being disrespectful.
She was punished by being forced to kneel in the snow.
Qu Ling rushed over, pulled Guanqi to her feet, and confronted Qu Lianxue, saying some harsh words.
Song Shi complained to Qu Cheng about it.
“Lianxue was knocked down by that maid, and her leg was bruised black and blue. She is the mistress, and the maid was at fault first. Kneeling as punishment was already lenient. Ah Ling’s actions were somewhat inappropriate.”
Qu Cheng couldn’t be bothered to investigate thoroughly and said, “Then make her continue kneeling.”
Guanqi was dragged from her bed and, on that snowy night, froze to death outside.
What did Qu Lianxue say at the time? “A lowly person has a lowly fate. Sister, even if you try to keep her, you can’t.”
Qu Ling’s temperament couldn’t tolerate such words. With reddened eyes, she went mad and pinned Qu Lianxue to the ground, beating her.
So many maids and elderly servants were unable to stop her.
Qu Lianxue had large clumps of her hair torn out, and her face was scratched until it bled.
Afterward, Qu Ling was punished by kneeling in the ancestral hall.
After returning from Jiangzhou in her previous life, kneeling in the ancestral hall had become as routine as eating meals for her.
She had long wanted to burn down the ancestral hall.
She had wanted to do it for a very long time.
Unfortunately, after killing someone, she hadn’t had time to set the fire.
Qu Ling suppressed her restless agitation.
There would be an opportunity to make up for that fire.
When she returned to the Hou Manor, it was already late.
Qu Ling went directly to Yun Song Hall to wait for dinner.
“Why isn’t Lianxue here?” Qu Cheng asked as he entered with his twin sons.
Although Song Shi had been released, she was still weakened and confined to bed to recuperate, with Qu Lianzhi keeping her company.
“It’s all your wife’s doing!” The Old Madam felt a surge of fear just thinking about it and recounted what had happened at Guoqing Temple.
“Fortunately, my Ah Ling is blessed, and even the Buddha protected her, so she wasn’t harmed.”
The Old Madam held Xu Zhaoyue’s dowry in her hands, along with the half that Song Shi had promised, which had also been delivered. Naturally, she was willing to dote on Qu Ling a little more.
“From now on, if anything happens to Ah Ling in this household, I will hold her responsible,” the Old Madam snorted. “Stirring up trouble, never a day of peace.”
The twins felt uncomfortable hearing this, but since it was a matter of the inner household, they felt it was inappropriate to interject and remained silent.
After dinner, Qu Ling chatted with the Old Madam for a while before returning to Nuanshan Residence.
“Miss, Second Miss and Madam have harmed you like this. Are we just going to let it go?” Sushang was unwilling to accept it.
Qu Ling smiled faintly. “In early April, it will be the Song Family’s Old Madam’s birthday. By then, someone will naturally help us get rid of her.”
Sushang thought of the pouch and understood.
“Useless trash.” When Song Shi learned that Qu Lianxue had been confined and Qu Ling had returned unharmed, she knew the plan had failed.
She refused to believe that Qu Ling could always be so lucky, evading harm every time.
“Mother, with the Princess and Grandmother protecting her like this, do we still have a chance?” A shadow of gloom flashed in Qu Lianzhi’s eyes.
Since Qu Ling’s return, she had not had a single day of peace.
Moving out of Nuanshan Residence was humiliating enough, and then being driven out of Linjian Courtyard.
Qu Lianzhi felt she had lost all status in the manor.
She wanted Qu Ling dead more than anyone else.
“No matter how well the Princess treats her, she is not the Princess’s own daughter,” Song Shi lowered her eyelids. “The Princess has her own daughters, after all.”
A sinister expression flickered across Song Shi’s face.