Song Xiaoqi was drenched to the bone, water droplets dripping down his body.
It was winter, and I had been doused with cold water. When the wind blew, it was bone-chillingly cold.
Song Xiaoqi was instantly enraged and stopped pretending, revealing his true colors.
"How dare you! I am your father! How dare you throw water on me! You disobedient, arrogant, and immoral unfilial daughter! Today, I will act on behalf of Heaven!" Song Xiaoqi said, raising his hand to strike Song He'er.
Zhang Xiue reacted quickly, pulling the petite woman behind her. The next instant, a hard slap landed on Zhang Xiue.
Song Xiaoyu stared at him in disbelief, walked over, pushed Song Xiaoqi aside, glared at him with wide eyes, and said angrily, "Big brother! How could you hit someone!"
"This unfilial daughter, I'll beat her if I say so!"
"But you're hitting my wife right now!"
Song Xiaoqi sneered, seemingly unconcerned about his actions.
"Third brother, I think you've really made yourself too pedantic from all those books. If a woman is too fierce and doesn't follow the three obediences and four virtues, then she should be taught a lesson from time to time. Otherwise, she'll think she's above everyone else and not know her place. As the eldest brother, it's only right that I teach your wife a lesson. After all, she really embarrassed me a few days ago!"
Song Xiaoyu was a good-tempered person, but unexpectedly, he completely disregarded the concept of 'respecting teachers and valuing the way' and raised his fist to punch Song Xiaoqi.
He was originally a civil official, and in theory, he should not be able to defeat Song Xiaoqi, who was a military officer and had risen to the rank of general. However, this general had completely lost his martial arts skills. If it weren't for the protection of his cronies, he would probably be dead on the road.
Therefore, Song Xiaoyu could easily defeat Song Xiaoqi now.
"You bastard! I used to respect you only because you were my elder brother! But today, I've finally seen your true colors. You selfish and heartless scoundrel, how could you be so cruel? How could you bear to use a child still in swaddling clothes? That's your bloodline, even if it's not your legitimate son, it's still a living, breathing life. You..."
Song Xiaoqi stood up, wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, turned his head, and looked at Qin Xiaoniang. "This is your only chance. If it weren't for our past relationship... I might not have come to you. For your son's future, think about it..."
Qin Xiaoniang's eyes were bloodshot. She wished she could tear the greedy and disgusting face of the person in front of her to shreds. After a long while, she replied, word by word, "Even if I have to eat chaff and wild vegetables, even if I freeze to death or starve to death here, I will not hand Huan Ge'er over to you, much less let him become your puppet for power and profit. Go to hell!"
After saying that, Qin Xiaoniang, as if she had gone mad, picked up a hoe from the ground and slashed at Song Xiaoqi.
Song Xiaoqi certainly deserves to die, but he has committed many evils and will naturally be punished by heaven. There is no need to get tainted by the dirty blood of such a person.
Thinking this, Song Xiaoyu quickly pulled the out-of-control Qin Xiaoniang back to her senses.
"Calm down, there's no need to kill anyone. Besides, he's communicating with people outside. Once he dies, they'll definitely find out and then they'll probably come looking for trouble!"
Song He'er simply couldn't understand how Song Xiaoqi could be so shameless.
She regretted that she had splashed out excrement instead of water, and should have splashed out water instead of excrement to correct his bad habits!
"Mother, go in first and see if Huan-ge'er has woken up!" Song He'er hugged her from behind and pulled her into the tent.
It wasn't until it was completely quiet outside that Song Xiaoqi realized he was injured and freezing cold, and he had to go back to change his clothes.
Just as he was about to turn back in despair, Zhang Xiue suddenly picked up the bag of rice on the ground and threw it at him: "Take your things. From now on, we'd rather starve than ask you for anything."
After saying that, he threw out the wooden basin he had borrowed that day as well.
"Take them all!"
Exhausted, Song Xiaoqi had no energy left to argue with the woman, so he remained silent and walked away step by step...
When he returned to his residence, his only surviving confidant was cooking.
When I saw him, I was really startled by his appearance.
Ye Shan asked in surprise, "Master, what happened? Who hit you?"
Song Xiaoqi was shivering from the cold; all he wanted to do was snuggle up to a heater and get a good night's sleep...
"Who else could it be? It's those shrewish women, they're so difficult to deal with. Sending the child away is a dead end, it's not going to work..."
"Master, in my opinion, whether or not this young master can be sent away is not that important. Fortunately, we have something on Lord Li of Tongzhou, so he wouldn't dare to mistreat us."
As Song Xiaoqi changed his clothes, he closed his eyes and pondered deeply.
"Ultimately, it's not about future power. Huan-ge'er is, after all, my only son, and naturally I want the best for him..."
As soon as he finished speaking, Ye Shan behind him suddenly raised his head and looked at Song Xiaoqi's expression.
After a long silence, he spoke tentatively, "Master, a messenger has arrived today..."
"What is it?"
"It's about Madam's matter."
The person who had kept their eyes closed opened them again, their gaze sharp, as if they had spotted some prey.
However, this concern doesn't resemble the concern a normal husband has for his wife. Instead, it's more like employers who have discovered a new business opportunity due to mutual interests, and it's full of calculations.
No wonder Song He'er always suspected why this hypocritical man liked the old lady who had a bad temper and was not good-looking. It turns out he had ulterior motives.
"Did the letter say anything?"
Ye Shan hesitated, as if there was something he dared not say.
"Just say what you have to say. You know my temper."
"They're from the eldest lady's family. They came all the way from the estate, bringing with them ten thousand taels of silver. After smoothing things over with the officials and soldiers outside, they gave it to me, thinking I should bring it in for the eldest lady's emergency. But then I thought, perhaps they don't know that the eldest lady and her entourage haven't arrived in Xinzhou yet, so they sent the money here..."
"I dared not tell anyone about this, so I lied and said that the lady was safe and sound. That's why I accepted this banknote. Please take a look, sir."
As he spoke, Ye Shan took out the silver note hidden in his sleeve and presented it to Song Xiaoqi.
In an instant, Song Xiaoqi's face turned extremely gloomy...
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