Volume One, Chapter Six: Song Qinghuan Should Have Taken His Own Life Upon Arriving Among the Rongdi

Song Qinghuan lay in her room for most of the day.

Before long, Mr. and Mrs. Song returned home.

As soon as Madam Chen arrived, she grasped Song Mingzhu’s hand tightly, holding a brocade box in the other. “Mingzhu, come quickly and see if you like what’s inside this box.”

Song Mingzhu stepped forward.

Inside the box was a butterfly and begonia hairpin. The begonia flowers and butterfly were intricately woven with gold thread, accented with pearls and precious stones, exuding unparalleled luxury.

Mingzhu smiled. “Thank you, Mother.”

Looking up, her reddened eyes immediately caught Madam Chen’s attention.

“Mingzhu, why are you crying? Tell your mother quickly—who has bullied my dear daughter?” Madam Chen’s face was tense with anger. For a fleeting moment, Mingzhu felt a twinge of pride but showed none of it, merely shaking her head lightly. “No one has bullied me…”

“Mother hasn’t told you yet, but Sister Qinghuan has come home.”

“Mother should go see Sister Qinghuan first. Mingzhu must leave now; otherwise, it will be too late to return to Cangzhou today.”

Mingzhu was born to a secondary branch of the Song family and had lived at the old family home in Cangzhou until now.

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Hearing suddenly that Mingzhu intended to leave, Madam Chen was momentarily stunned but quickly recovered. “Mingzhu, why do you want to go? I have long wanted to register you in the main family genealogy. From today onward, you are my true daughter, the younger sister of Heng’er, Yan’er, and Che’er!”

“Are you leaving because someone has bullied you?”

Madam Chen’s anxious questioning was met with silence.

Immediately, she realized the truth.

It must be that wretched Song Qinghuan who returned and tormented her daughter!

That damned woman—why should she be allowed to live and come back? If she were in her place, she would have ended her own life upon arriving in the barbarian lands, rather than suffer there for ten years, bringing shame upon the family!

Madam Chen’s face darkened as she gripped Mingzhu’s hand tightly. She instructed the attendant beside her, “Since she’s back, why hasn’t she come to pay respects to her mother? After all these years, has she forgotten all manners?”

“Madam, please don’t be anxious. I will go fetch Miss Qinghuan at once.”

“Miss Qinghuan? That’s nothing but a disgrace to the Song family!” Madam Chen interrupted sharply, her face hard and unyielding.

The attendant nodded reluctantly and braced herself to request Qinghuan’s presence at Luming Residence.

When Song Qinghuan arrived before Madam Chen, she had scarcely opened her mouth to speak when the teacup in Chen’s hand was flung at her head in impatience. “You wretched woman, why have you come back?”

Qinghuan instinctively dodged.

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The spilled tea dampened the hem of her garment and chilled her heart.

She smiled coldly and bowed. “Forgive me, Madam Song, for not fulfilling your wishes to die among the barbarians and bring you no joy.”

Her gaze was icy and clear. Though her attire was simple, her eyes shimmered with a light that made it hard to meet her gaze.

Madam Chen’s expression soured further as she recalled how Qinghuan had addressed her before.

What kind of Madam Song is this? Qinghuan was her daughter, yet she showed no respect, refusing even to call her mother, as if they owed her a debt.

The more Madam Chen thought about it, the more bitter she felt. She glared fiercely at Qinghuan and spat, “You’ve been outside for only a few years, yet you’ve become so sharp-tongued. There’s no trace of the gentle tenderness a daughter should have!”

But Qinghuan merely smiled.

Her gaze fixed on Madam Chen, radiating a cold light that made the latter shudder.

“If I weren’t sharp-tongued, I’d likely be dead by now. These means of survival are trivial in the eyes of a highborn lady like Madam Song. That I failed to live up to your expectations is my fault.”