Chapter 54 A fence-sitter should bend to both sides

Ying'er stiffened and looked at Song Sangyu for help. Song Sangyu gave her a barely perceptible look that said, "Take it easy."

Ying'er had no choice but to stay behind, feeling uneasy.

When only a few of them remained in the ancestral hall, Ying'er forced herself to remain calm and spoke first:

"Song Yiqiu! Don't even think about taking this opportunity to hurt me! Hao Chu is right outside. If you dare to lay a finger on me, he will definitely not let you get away with it!"

Song Yiqiu didn't speak, but simply moved her fingers.

Bai Mei immediately understood, stepped forward, and deftly pinned Ying'er's hands behind her back. With her other hand, she tightly covered Ying'er's mouth, making her only able to make muffled sounds.

Song Yiqiu then slowly walked up to her, looking down at her struggling figure:

"Ying'er, I thought you were somewhat clever, but I never expected you to be such a brainless fool."

"You think that by helping Song Sangyu and squeezing into the Song family, you can become the third young mistress? How naive and laughable. Ask yourself honestly, with your status, are you worthy? You don't even deserve a decent concubine."

"Do you know why I specifically asked Mother for your slave certificate? It's because with this piece of paper, you can forget about ever being a legitimate wife in this lifetime, and you won't even have a chance to be a registered concubine!"

"You will always be nothing more than a concubine who comes and goes at will. The children you bear will be registered under someone else's name, and it will be a favor if they call you 'aunt'."

Ying'er's face turned from white to green as she listened to these words. She helped Song Sangyu because she promised to persuade the madam to let her and Haochu get together.

Song Yiqiu continued:

"It was Song Sangyu who tipped you off, telling you that your third brother went to the poetry gathering and was with Wang Feiran, right?"

“Last time, you helped Song Sangyu try to harm my girl with the bracelet. I spared you that time because of your pitiful background and seemingly ignorant nature. Do you think I will spare you again this time?”

Ying'er's eyes widened in panic.

Song Yiqiu gestured for Bai Mei to loosen her grip slightly so that she could speak.

The oriole, panting, said in a trembling voice:

"What do you want to do? Even if I can only be a concubine... as long as Haochu loves me and cherishes me, I will always have a chance!"

"Chance?"

Song Yiqiu sneered.

"I really admire your ruthless and shameless ways."

"Here's what I'll do. I'll give you a real chance. If you can help me with something, I might be able to find a way to make you the rightful third young mistress."

Ying'er was stunned, her eyes filled with doubt:

"Why should I trust you? I've hurt you twice, why are you helping me?"

Song Yiqiu approached her like a venomous snake flicking its tongue:

"Because what I want is not the immediate pleasure of revenge, but the long-term... benefits."

"What Song Sangyu and your mother can give you is nothing more than using you and then throwing you away. But I can give you what you truly want. So, what do you say? Will you make this deal or not?"

Ying'er struggled internally, but in the end, her desire for the position of the principal wife overwhelmed everything.

She gritted her teeth and nodded emphatically:

"Okay! I'll help you!"

...

We left the ancestral hall.

While Bai Mei straightened Song Yiqiu's clothes, she was still indignant:

"Miss, I still don't understand why you would cooperate with someone like Ying'er? She's an ungrateful snake, completely untrustworthy, and might turn on you the moment she gets what she wants!"

Song Yiqiu smiled upon hearing this, but her eyes remained cold:

"To cooperate, you naturally need to find truly venomous snakes. Gentle and harmless ones are actually harder to work with and are very hard to find."

She paused, then changed the subject.

"How's Fourth Brother doing?"

Bai Mei quickly reported:

"The Fourth Young Master has been incredibly lucky these past two days, winning a huge sum of money, I heard it's almost ten thousand taels of silver! Miss, should we continue to lure him in? Our own accounts... are almost empty."

Her voice was filled with worry.

Song Yiqiu nodded, took out the gold coin that Ruan Tianxin had given her yesterday, and handed it to Bai Mei:

"Take this as a temporary measure. Tell the men below to make the bait smell even better, but to be even more discreet. It's not time to close the net yet; we need to make him feel more secure about his win."

Bai Mei accepted the heavy gold ingot and nodded vigorously:

"Yes! This servant understands!"

Qingzhu muttered a complaint from the side:

"Madam is so biased! She actually didn't let you, Miss, get involved in such an important matter as the Master's birthday banquet, and handed it all over to the Second Miss."

"But the second young lady is only concerned with socializing and having fun. How could she know anything about the practical work of managing a household? She just pushes everything to the servants and only cares about taking credit at the end."

Song Yiqiu gave a meaningful smile:

"I'm just worried that my good mother isn't praising her high enough. The higher she's lifted up, the more interesting it will be when she falls."

On the day of the birthday banquet.

The Song residence was indeed brightly decorated and lavishly furnished, displaying an impressive grandeur.

Song Sangyu was clearly dressed up carefully today, wearing a brand-new scarlet brocade from Longsha Pavilion and a red gold and ruby ​​headdress, sparkling with jewels. Her appearance immediately attracted the attention of all the guests.

She flitted around the room like a butterfly, enjoying the compliments from everyone.

In contrast, Song Yiqiu was dressed simply in an old, light blue dress with minimal makeup, as if she were just there to join in the fun.

He Jianren moved closer to Song Sangyu, offering a few seemingly warm compliments, before finally unable to resist complaining:

“Sister Sangyu, I don’t know what’s wrong with your second brother these days. He keeps inviting me to his house to admire the flowers and drink tea, but every time we’re halfway through, he disappears without a trace. It’s really strange.”

Hearing this, Ruan Jiawen covered her mouth with her fan and laughed:

"Sister Ren is so lucky to have won the favor of Young Master Song. Unlike me, I'm still unmarried and stay at home all day. I really hope that Sister Sangyu will introduce me to more talented young men in the future."

Surrounded by a group of noble ladies, Song Sangyu raised her chin smugly upon hearing this:

"Don't worry, Sister Jiawen, it's no problem at all!"

After saying that, he couldn't resist making a sarcastic remark about Song Yiqiu.

"Speaking of which, it is Sangyu who is very capable, managing this huge birthday banquet so well."

"Yes, yes, she really has the talent to manage a household. Unlike some people, who only know how to brandish knives and guns, she has lost some of her elegance."

"I heard that everything today was handled by Sister Sangyu. She must have worked very hard."

"This is the demeanor a legitimate daughter should have."

Song Yiqiu ignored these remarks and scanned the room before landing on Ruan Tianxin, who was sitting alone in the corner, staring blankly at a plate of chestnut cakes on the table.

She walked over, picked up a small, delicate chestnut cake, and held it to Ruan Tianxin's lips, her voice softening:

"Want to try it?"