The Lin family's fortunes were naturally not good.

Otherwise, Madam Lin wouldn't have come up with the idea of ​​sending her granddaughter to the Marquis of Kaiping's mansion to bring good fortune and secure a bright future for the Qiu family's sons.

However, it was easy for the Qiu family and Zhu Jiayu to say this, but not so easy for Qi Xiuyuan.

Seeing his troubled expression, Zhu Jiayu curved her lips into a smile and said, "It seems they're not doing too well. But I'm quite curious, they say poverty is ignored even in the bustling city. Given the Lin and Qiu families' circumstances, and your distinguished status, why are you still trying to curry favor with them? Or is there something else you've come here for...?"

She drew out the last syllable, and after seeing Qi Xiuyuan's expression gradually become anxious, she chuckled and said, "Never mind, I won't comment without knowing the whole story."

Qi Xiuyuan's heart, which had been pounding with anxiety, suddenly relaxed.

He thought she knew something.

...

An uninvited guest arrived at the Qiu family's residence, as did the Song family's.

"I thought my sister had given up the riches and honors of Yujing and traveled thousands of miles to Heling City to live a good life, but now it seems that it is nothing special."

In Song Jiangmei's courtyard, Song Qingzhang sat by a stone table, toying with a celadon teacup in his hand.

"This teacup is too coarse, and the pattern is not delicate enough. It's elegant but lacks refinement. If you ask me, sister, you should return to Yujing as soon as possible. Why suffer here?"

Yujing has been a prosperous and wealthy place since ancient times, and countless people have tried their best to get in. In the eyes of outsiders, even the moon in Yujing is rounder than the moon in other places.

Song Qingzhang had always resented his father for being useless; after decades of hard work, he was still just a local official. After his father died, he followed his mother to a merchant family in Yujing, and his resentment finally subsided somewhat. But he never expected that his own sister would give up the good life of a noble lady in Yujing to suffer in a remote place like Heling.

Besides wanting to block Wei Qinglou's path, another reason he came to Heling was to persuade his sister to return to Yujing with him.

Although her life in Yujing was not easy, the resources and connections she could accumulate there were incomparable to those in Heling.

Song Jiangmei looked at him coldly, but her smile was gentle: "Brother, have you forgotten your origins?"

Song Qingzhang still doesn't know his true identity. Although his mother and stepfather have agreed to change his surname to Shang when he comes of age and record his name as Shang in the Shang family genealogy, as long as that day hasn't come, Song Qingzhang will forever bear the surname Song and will forever be the son of a local minor official.

Song Jiangmei loathed him; she disliked him even more than Song Qingzhang did not want him to be a member of the Song family. But at the same time, she also knew how to say things that would hurt him the most.

“Our family’s situation wasn’t much better than my aunt’s back then. How come you could tolerate it then, but now you’re looking down on it? He’s just the stepson of a merchant. Do you really think that just because you’ve taken the surname Shang, you’ll be reborn as a member of the Shang family?”

She spoke softly, but Song Qingzhang's expression grew increasingly grim.

"It's been a long time. My sister's mouth has become much sharper." Song Qingzhang slammed down his teacup, his expression gloomy.

"Brother, you flatter me. I just think that people should always make some progress." Song Jiangmei slowly took a sip of tea, then called Fuyao to remove the tea set from the table. She looked at Song Qingzhang and said, "Since you don't like the teacups in my courtyard, I suppose you don't need a cup of tea from here."

Song Qingzhang was suspicious.

He knew that Song Jiangmei had always disliked his way of doing things, but she had always played the role of a docile and obedient person in front of him before, and had never been as tough as she was today.

What exactly caused this change in her? Or did she find something to rely on without his knowledge, something that allowed her to disregard even her own brother?

He was thinking with his head down, and thus missed the coldness in Song Jiang's eyes.

"If Mother finds out that my sister doesn't like me, she'll be heartbroken again." He pursed his lips, a faint smile in his eyes, but with more of a threatening undertone. "If you don't want to upset Mother, I advise you to be polite to me while I'm still in Heling, hmm?"

"My mother also asked me to pass on a message: the Vice Minister of Revenue sent someone to our residence a few days ago to propose marriage for his second son. Her intention is that you should go back as soon as possible. Regardless of whether this matter succeeds or not, you are of marriageable age and should start making plans for your own marriage."

Song Jiangmei smiled gently, "I'm afraid that second young master isn't a good person, is he? Otherwise, given Shang Yundie's personality, she would have already snatched this marriage away, and there wouldn't be any chance for me."

She pinched the bridge of her nose: "I'm a little tired after talking with my elder brother for so long, so I'll have to stay and not keep you company any longer."

She rose gracefully, giving Song Qingzhang no chance to say another word.

Song Qingzhang was too lazy to argue with her. He believed that Song Jiangmei was just blinded by greed and that one day she would calm down, understand his choice, and realize that the Shang family was far superior to the Song family.

What's the use of keeping a dead person by your side? Seizing the wealth and opportunities right in front of you is what matters.

It's normal for a woman like her not to understand these things. But as a man, he couldn't be ignorant of them.

But before leaving, he couldn't help but say a few more words: "Don't you think about it? If you were still the same Miss Song, would the second son of the Vice Minister of Revenue have come to propose marriage? You were jealous of Sister Yundie for always taking your things, so you went to Heling. But if it weren't for the merchants, would those things you wanted have ever ended up in your hands? Amei, you can't be too naive."

Song Jiangmei took a deep breath, calmly gazing at the swaying flower shadows on the courtyard wall ahead, and asked without a trace of emotion:

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