Song Shouyang finally breathed a sigh of relief once they arrived here.
Taking advantage of Song Qinghuan being too young to remember things back then, he had frantically filled her head with lies, until he successfully erased her old memories and made her truly believe she was the biological daughter of this family.
Right after that, he began grooming Song Qinghuan to be the perfect wife for the Lu family.
And indeed, Song Shouyang’s judgment had not been wrong all those years ago.
Song Qinghuan was exceptionally bright and excelled in everything she learned. Even though he begrudged every penny spent on her, she had grown into an outstanding young woman entirely through her own efforts.
Even if she never married Lu Qiming, she could still fetch a good price—he would never lose out on this investment.
Song Shouyang and Zhao Yufang were fully satisfied with how things had turned out.
What they failed to realize was this: if Song Qinghuan was clever enough to claw her way out of the mire all on her own, she would never be fooled by their petty tricks forever.
She caught the odd glint in their eyes at once, and the mockery in her own gaze deepened.
Truth be told, she had known long ago that she was not their biological child.
Since their homes were not particularly close, Song Qinghuan had barely seen them after her marriage—they only ever looked for her when they needed money or favors.
This was why Song Shouyang and Zhao Yufang were so out of the loop; they had no idea about certain crucial events.
Shortly after her wedding in her past life, their real daughter had shown up at the Lu family’s doorstep.
Song Huilan had inherited her parents’ nature through and through—she was wild, sharp-tongued, and utterly unreasonable.
She had screamed and ranted that Song Qinghuan had stolen her place, taken her parents away from her for nearly twenty years, and made such a scene that the entire courtyard had heard every word.
Even the couple who had come with her—claiming to be Song Shouyang’s parents—had joined in the uproar.
They spread vicious lies about Song Qinghuan everywhere, painting her as a shameless hussy who had stolen someone else’s parents and position just to become a wealthy family’s daughter-in-law, dragging her name through the mud.
Song Qinghuan had tried to defend herself, but with no memory of where she had truly come from, all she got in return was cold stares and suspicion.
No matter how she explained herself, no one believed her.
Not even Lu Qiming, the man she shared a bed with—he had dismissed every word she said as nothing more than excuses.
Those had been the darkest days of her life.
She had been so consumed with proving her innocence that she had completely missed how strange Song Huilan’s behavior had been.
Only now, looking back, did she see how many things did not add up.
That so-called “grandmother and grandfather” were likely fakes—actors Song Huilan had hired!
She had never understood why Song Huilan would do such a thing, and had never gotten the chance to find out in her past life.
Now that she had been given a second chance, the future would surely unfold differently because of the choices she made.
She wondered if Song Huilan would show up again this time.
Would she try to pull the same stunt all over again?
But all of that was a problem for later.
Right now, the most important thing was to put an end to this marriage arrangement once and for all.
After exchanging polite pleasantries, the parents of both families finally sat down at the table to get down to business—discussing the terms and the bride price.
The Lu family maintained their usual haughty air, refusing to speak first.
Fortunately, the Song family had no such qualms about saving face. Afraid that if she hesitated even for a moment she would lose out on a fortune, Zhao Yufang spoke in a great rush:
“When we first agreed to this engagement, we already settled on the bride price—not a single cent less, or this marriage will not go ahead.”
“As for the dowry—rest assured, we have already prepared everything for Qinghuan, exactly according to custom.”
“I bought her a brand new quilt—nice and warm—and a few yards of fabric too. Once they’re married, if the young couple needs anything like pillowcases or a TV cover, Qinghuan can sew them herself.”
She had met shameless people before, but never anyone brazen enough to say such things out loud.
While dowries for ordinary families were not overly lavish in recent years, even the most basic household items—bed linens, simple covers for appliances—were always provided as a matter of course.
Li Qing’e had not expected the Song family to follow tradition and give eight new quilts, but this was simply taking things too far.
Buying fabric hardly cost anything—it was meant to be a labor of love, embroidered by hand with care.
Yet Zhao Yufang could not even be bothered to put in that small effort, and thought nothing of handing over a few scraps of cloth as a dowry.
She could not fathom how they had the nerve to speak of such a pitiful offering as if it were something generous.
Li Qing’e rolled her eyes inwardly, but for the sake of propriety, she spoke of the bride price in generous terms.
“Rest assured, we have more than enough to cover it. We will not skimp on what is rightfully yours—everything will follow proper custom.”
“On top of the new marital home, we will provide all four major household appliances: a refrigerator, a television, a washing machine, and a cassette recorder. We will also give an extra 888 yuan in cash for good luck.”
Even though everyone knew the Lu family was wealthy, no one had expected them to be this generous.
Song Shouyang and Zhao Yufang were absolutely delighted, grinning so widely their eyes had all but disappeared.
They could barely stop themselves from grabbing those “four major appliances” right then and there, to keep for their own son’s future wedding.
But they still had a shred of dignity left, so they could only daydream about it in silence.
Even without the appliances, 888 yuan was still a handsome sum.
And not a single cent of that money would ever leave this house with Song Qinghuan!
While the adults talked, Wang Siyu—who had gone unnoticed all this time—looked up and glanced quietly at Lu Qiming.
She already had a soft, innocent face, and that look of quiet heartbreak made her seem all the more vulnerable.
Lu Qiming said nothing, but his grip around his teacup tightened until his knuckles turned white, and a heavy ache settled deep in his chest.
If he could not marry the woman he loved, what was the point of giving a generous bride price or receiving a dowry?
Lost in his own misery, he found himself looking over toward Song Qinghuan almost instinctively.
He had assumed Song Qinghuan must be overjoyed—after all, this was what she had wanted all along.
But what he saw next took him completely by surprise.
Song Qinghuan sat there as if nothing concerned her, sipping her tea calmly, paying them no mind at all. She showed no sign of joining the conversation, or even of taking part in the gathering.
It was as if the entire arrangement being discussed had nothing whatsoever to do with her.
Lu Qiming frowned, and a strange, unsettling feeling began to creep into his heart.