Chapter Fifty-Nine: Aunt Yun Rescues Her

At this moment, Song Sangyu also caught up, panting, her hair disheveled from running.

She hurriedly tidied herself up, and before anyone could react, she pointed at Ying'er kneeling on the ground and scolded her sharply:

"Father! It's this slut! She stole the birthday gift I prepared for you, and almost made me look bad just now. Arrest her immediately!"

Ying'er cried even more miserably after being pointed at, almost fainting, and shook her head repeatedly:

"I didn't...I didn't steal anything..."

Seeing Song Sangyu's aggressive manner, Third Brother immediately stood protectively in front of Ying'er, clearly displeased.

"Song Sangyu! What are you yelling about? Can't you speak properly? She's pregnant with your nephew, so she's practically your sister-in-law! Can't you just ask her nicely?!"

"sister in law?"

Song Sang's voice trembled.

"She's a lowly servant girl who steals things, does she even deserve to be my sister-in-law? Why don't you ask her what good deeds she's done?"

Third Brother was taken aback by the retort and subconsciously looked at Ying'er:

"Ying'er, you...you really took Sangyu's things?"

Ying'er raised her tear-filled face, shook her head desperately, and sobbed as she said:

"Haochu, I didn't take anything from the Second Miss... I... what I took wasn't the birthday gift the Second Miss was preparing to give to the Master at all!"

Everyone was stunned when she said that.

Ying'er seemed to have mustered up her courage and spoke very quickly:

"The white jade Guanyin that the Second Miss prepared is fake; it was made with inferior jade to pass it off as the real thing!"

"I... I once advised the Second Miss that the Master's birthday banquet is such a grand occasion. If such a counterfeit were presented and any knowledgeable dignitary present could spot it, the Song family would lose all face!"

"But...but the second young lady is stubborn and won't listen to my advice at all!"

She lifted the cloth bag in her arms, opened it with trembling hands, and sure enough, a white jade Guanyin was revealed. However, the jade was cloudy and the carving was rough. Anyone with a discerning eye could tell that it was by no means a treasure.

"I really have no other choice. I can't just stand by and watch the Song family become a laughing stock, and I can't bear to see Haochu and his unborn child disgraced because of this!"

"I had no choice but to resort to this desperate measure: to secretly take away the fake Guanyin statue and hide it while the Second Miss wasn't looking, intending to dispose of it quietly after the birthday banquet..."

"I meant well! I never expected that the Second Miss... she would actually try to kill me to silence me because of this!"

Ying'er cried until she was hoarse, and her words were a jumble of lies, yet they sounded so sincere and logical... that at first glance they seemed to make sense.

She spoke too fast and conveyed too much information. By the time everyone realized what she meant, it was too late for Song Shenshi to stop her!

At this moment, Madam Song's face was ashen, and her chest was heaving violently. The thing she regretted most in her life was that she hadn't listened to Song Yiqiu in the ancestral hall and had instead strangled this scourge with a white silk ribbon!

Ruan Tianxin, standing to the side, stared in disbelief and couldn't help but whisper her amazement to Song Yiqiu:

"Wow... Sister Yiqiu, the drama in your family... is really one after another, even more exciting than our Feizhi Pavilion's year-end accounting!"

Song Yiqiu picked up a piece of pumpkin cake that was still relatively intact from the table and stuffed it into Ruan Tianxin's mouth:

"This is still edible, but it won't taste good when it gets cold."

The guests at the table could no longer contain themselves and began to whisper among themselves:

"My God... they actually used counterfeit goods as a birthday gift? This is just too much..."

"Although it was far away, the Guanyin statue looked like it was of poor quality and was definitely not a rare item."

"I never imagined that the seemingly glamorous second young lady would do such a thing..."

"Is it to save money? Or do they simply not care about Lord Song's birthday?"

"It seems that the dishes and wine from before... might not have been entirely the servants' fault after all..."

Hearing these comments, Madam Song felt utterly humiliated. Suppressing the urge to strangle Ying'er, she coldly ordered:

"Guards! Drag this filthy servant girl, who's spouting nonsense and disrupting the birthday banquet, away!"

"Let's see who dares to touch her today!"

Third Brother suddenly stood up and stood in front of Ying'er, openly confronting his stepmother in front of all the guests.

Song Shen was so angry that her vision blurred and she almost fainted.

In the end, it was the second brother and a few other clansmen who were still relatively clear-headed who saw that things were not going well. They quickly stepped forward and, with much persuasion and half-pulling and half-persuasion, forcibly dragged the emotionally agitated third brother and the sobbing Ying'er away.

Song Sangyu wanted to say something in her defense, but was interrupted by her father's loud shout:

"Enough! Aren't you ashamed enough? Get back to your Lianqing Garden! Don't come out without my permission!"

This was the first time Song Sangyu had ever seen her father so angry. She trembled with fear, all the words stuck in her throat, and tears welled up in her eyes. She covered her face and ran out in a disheveled state.

A perfectly good birthday banquet has turned into this mess, a complete loss of face, and the atmosphere has plummeted to rock bottom.

Just then, Song Yiqiu stepped forward at the opportune moment.

Her face remained calm, as if the farce that had just occurred had nothing to do with her.

She bowed gracefully to her father, who sat in the main seat, her voice clear and melodious:

"Father, please calm down. Although there were some setbacks today, the children's filial piety should not be buried. Aunt Yun, my sisters, and my brother Ziyu have also carefully prepared a birthday gift for you. Although it is not priceless, it is a sincere gift. Why don't you ask them to present it to you? It would be a small comfort."

At that moment, Song's father was worried about not being able to find anything to save face. Upon hearing Song Yiqiu's words, he nodded in agreement almost without hesitation.

Aunt Yun, who had been waiting nearby, presented Song Sanchun, Song Ruoling, and the young Song Ziyu with a huge embroidery they had all completed together. The embroidery featured a hundred different calligraphic styles of the character for longevity and was inscribed with a birthday poem. Song Ziyu also presented a copy of the Classic of Filial Piety that he had personally copied.

The gift wasn't expensive, but the stitching was meticulous, the handwriting neat, and the sentiment heartfelt, a stark contrast to the fake jade Guanyin and the absurd farce from before.

This action indeed won the favor of many people present.

"I never expected that Lord Song's household would have such a sensible and well-mannered concubine and children."

"The embroidery skills are superb! The handwriting is also neat! It's clear that they put their heart into it."

"Yes, a small gift with a big meaning is much better than those flashy but impractical ones."

"It seems that Lord Song is fair in managing his family and has not been biased in his treatment of legitimate and illegitimate children."

Mr. Song's expression finally softened a bit, and he managed a forced smile, cooperating with the performance of this act of family harmony.

However, the birthday banquet ultimately turned out to be bland and tasteless, and ended hastily.

Seeing that the play had ended, Song Yiqiu excused herself, saying that she was feeling tipsy and needed to get some fresh air, and quietly left her seat.

As I stepped onto the veranda, a cool night breeze blew, and behind me came a teasing voice:

"General Song, you have truly mastered the art of strategy and tactics. You appeared to remain detached and observe from the sidelines, but in reality, you were meticulously planning each step, luring the enemy out of their hole, and ultimately managing to escape unscathed, even gaining plenty of sympathy. I have truly witnessed a magnificent spectacle today."