90 The Wedding is Approaching
◎There are no eternal friends or eternal enemies in this world.◎
Looking at Shen Lingyu's dull eyes, Song Jinyi smiled. She tilted her head and said to Shen Lingyu, "Why does Auntie look so surprised? It seems that she feels from the bottom of her heart that I will not agree to this marriage for my father."
She lowered her head and said to Song Zhangye, "Since the master said that a happy event can cure my father's illness, how can I not agree?"
Shen Lingyu looked at the smile on her lips, and suddenly felt a chill in her heart.
Geng Niang beside her was also surprised at how readily Song Jinyi agreed, but seeing that her wife remained silent, she whispered, "Madam..."
Shen Lingyu came back to her senses and praised her a few times, “Sister Yi has grown up and become sensible. She will understand us as parents…”
Listening to Shen Lingyu's hypocritical words, Song Jinyi sneered in her heart. She replied with a few humble words with a fake smile, and then asked her, "I wonder what kind of ideal husband has my aunt found for me?"
Shen Lingyu paused and replied, "This is a child introduced by a cousin of mine. He's a good person, about your age. He passed the imperial examination last year and has a bright future. He also comes from a wealthy family. If you marry into his family, you'll have no worries about food and clothing and live a happy life."
After she finished speaking, she stared intently at Song Jinyi. Seeing that she showed no joy, she adopted an envious tone and said, "You didn't say a word when you broke off the engagement, but who knew that the child must be yours? You've been waiting for her for the past two years, what a fool you are."
Song Jinyi bit her back teeth hard and tried hard to hold back her laughter, otherwise she was afraid that she would not be able to hold it back and burst out laughing.
"My aunt, you must have taken great pains to find such a good man for me."
Seeing that the two of them were in rare harmony at the moment, Song Zhangye smiled with relief, and told Shen Lingyu to ask the kitchen to cook a few more dishes tonight so that the family could have dinner together today.
Shen Lingyu was worried about his body and said a few words.
Song Zhangye just said it was okay.
So, the three of them sat around the round table and had lunch with different thoughts in their minds.
******
Ever since Song Jinyi agreed to the marriage, under Shen Lingyu's instructions, her freedom has been restricted, like a rabbit caught in a trap. Someone is always watching her, afraid that she will run away.
Song Jinyi said she wanted to go out, but Shen Lingyu tied her up at home on the grounds that the wedding was approaching and she should prepare for it at home.
After doing this several times, Song Jinyi completely lost her patience. Of course, she would not escape by climbing over the wall like she did at the beginning - because there was no need.
She rushed directly to Lingyuxuan, pushed away the maid who tried to stop her, and strode into Shen Lingyu's room.
Shen Lingyu was embroidering peonies with her little daughter. When she saw her come in, she pinned the needle and thread on the embroidery cloth, asked someone to take her little daughter away, and turned to her and said, "What's the matter?"
Song Jinyi said, "It wasn't a big deal. I was just bored at home and wanted to go out for a walk, but the gatekeeper said my aunt wouldn't let me go out. I was puzzled for a long time, thinking, I just agreed to a marriage, so I shouldn't lose my freedom to go out, right?"
"The wedding is approaching, and you should be staying home to take care of the pre-wedding matters. Why are you thinking about running out all day?"
Song Jinyi said, "It's because the wedding is approaching that I want to go to the Treasure Pavilion to pick out some jewelry."
Shen Lingyu refused her request on the grounds that her family would make arrangements for her.
"Since Auntie said so, why don't you show me the jewelry account book at home and let me pick out two pieces I like."
When she heard about the account book, Shen Lingyu's face became a little unnatural. If Song Jinyi were to take a look at the account book, with her ability, she would definitely be able to find the problem.
Comparing the two, Chen Lingyu chose the lesser of two evils, so she went around in circles and diverted the conversation to another place. Finally, she agreed to Song Jinyi's request to go out. Knowing that she would not go back on her word, she let her go and sent someone else to accompany her.
Shen Lingyu looked at Song Jinyi's receding figure with an uncertain expression, "She suddenly mentioned the account book, did she know something?"
Geng Niang said, "Madam, you're worrying too much. She was a wooden stake in the past few years, never leaving the house. She ran away from her marriage and stayed there for two years. Her time at the Song family was very few. How could she have discovered anything?"
Seeing that Shen Lingyu was still in a bad mood, Geng Niang continued, "Madam, you don't have to worry about her. Pick a date that's close and marry her off. Then someone will naturally take care of her.
"That Master Xue is a notorious scoundrel in Huzhou, a scoundrel who indulges in drinking, whoring, gambling, and everything in between. He's been waiting in Yunzhou for so long that he's owed the gambling house a lot of money, and he's just waiting for the eldest daughter to marry him and help him out!
By then, Song Jinyi will be struggling to protect herself, so how can she have the time to go against you, Madam?"
Shen Lingyu heard her say this, her brows relaxed a little, and she drank some tea.
Seeing that Shen Lingyu was tired, Geng Niang waited for her to rest.
******
Song Jinyi stood at the door of the jewelry store and glanced at the maid following behind her. She said that she was afraid that she was lonely, but she was just there to monitor her.
She went in and picked out three or four sets of complicated and expensive jewelry. When the shop owner saw that a big customer had come, he couldn't stop smiling. He personally took her to the second floor and asked the best comber in their store to make hairpins for her.
She said to the maid who followed her, "I'm thirsty. Go outside and buy me a bowl of perilla drink."
The maidservant thought about Madam Geng's instructions and did not dare to leave Song Jinyi.
Seeing that she didn't move, Song Jinyi's face darkened. "What? I can't order you around?"
The maid was frightened by her and hurried downstairs to buy it.
When Song Jinyi saw her go out, she immediately stopped the comber who was doing her hair. She tied her hair casually, asked the shopkeeper for the back door, and ran out in a flash - of course, she ordered the three sets of jewelry in the name of the Song family.
She left the jewelry store and went to the teahouse. When she entered, she saw that only Zhang Jinfei and another newly hired woman were busy in the store.
"Why haven't I seen Sister Ruolan?"
When Zhang Jinfei heard her mention Xu Ruolan, her expression became gloomy. She told Song Jinyi that a few days ago, a man who claimed to be Xu Ruolan's father came to look for Xu Ruolan.
Song Jinyi remembered that Xu Ruolan once mentioned her family and had some complaints about her father.
Then Zhang Jinfei said, "Sis Ruolan refused to acknowledge him, so his father started throwing a tantrum outside the store, saying Xu Ruolan was unfilial and using a lot of obscenities. This attracted the attention of everyone around him."
"He kept making such a fuss for three or four days, and the store couldn't do any business. Then one day, for some unknown reason, Sister Ruolan left with him, and we haven't heard from her since."
Zhang Jinfei finished speaking and asked her in a tense voice, "Shopkeeper Song, will Sister Ruolan come back?"
Song Jinyi did not answer immediately. She was in a daze for a moment. The store was full of guests and the decoration was the same as usual. There was milk tea she invented on each table. Everything was the same as before, except that there was a woman named Xu Ruolan missing.
Things are different from people——
She felt lonely in her heart, and turned her head to see Zhang Jinfei's expectant eyes. She opened her lips slightly and said softly, "She will come back, she will definitely come back." It was as if she was giving Zhang Jinfei an answer and also giving herself a reassurance.
She learned from Zhang Jinfei that Song Yunting was helping in the kitchen, and went to the kitchen alone.
Although Song Yunting was abused in the Song family before, he was never asked to do any work. He was a young master who had never done any housework. Now he was helping in the kitchen and seemed clumsy.
When Song Yunting failed to light a fire for the third time, she couldn't bear it anymore and went over to help and teach him - even though he wouldn't need it in the future.
After finishing the work in her hands, she sat down and told Song Yunting about the things in the Song family.
When Song Yunting heard that she had agreed to the marriage proposal, he stood up and asked, "Sister, you suffered a lot in order not to get married. Why did you agree now? Shen Lingyu looks kind but is cruel. How can the marriage she arranged be a good one? There must be something wrong!"
Each question was like a stone hitting her head, making it hurt.
"Of course I can see that Shen Lingyu has no good intentions, but the trap she set up is not very clever, you and I can both see it. If you refuse, who knows what tricks she will use later?"
"It's not appropriate to get involved in this situation yourself. Sister, have you thought of a way to break it?"
She asked Song Yunting, "The key to her downfall is her father. What do you think is more important to her father than Shen Lingyu?"
Song Yunting is different from her. He traveled through time and space and knew very little about Song Zhangye. He was raised in the Song Mansion since he was a child.
Song Yunting thought carefully and gave an answer.
Song Jinyi left the teahouse. It was getting dark and the noise of the crowd gradually died down. There was a rare quietness. She hurried to the jewelry store and happened to run into the maid at the street corner who was about to return to the Song family because she couldn't find her.
She waved her hand and called the maid over, "I know you are someone sent by Shen Lingyu. You lost me, so it's not easy to go back and tell your master, right? How about pretending that nothing happened?"
She stared into the other person's eyes and exerted pressure silently. If the other person disagreed, she had plenty of ways to expel her from the house.
The maidservant was caught between two sides, so she naturally chose to mind her own business and promised not to tell Ling Yuxuan about it.
When Song Jinyi returned home, she took a detour to the west of the city. She looked at the Zui Liu Xia sign across the street and remembered Song Yunting's words - "Zui Liu Xia has always had a bad relationship with you, sister, about tea. How could she help us?"
Song Jinyi murmured softly, "There are no eternal friends or eternal enemies in this world."
She walked forward for a while with her hands behind her back, and when she arrived near Liuxiangju, she saw that the door was closed and no visitors were welcome. Song Jinyi was a little surprised, and first asked the maid beside her what happened in Liuxiangju during the day she was away.
The maid shook her head and said she didn't know.
She found a tea stall nearby, ordered a pot of tea, and asked the stall owner.
Only then did I learn that the owner of Yunshang Tea had recently fallen ill. He had no children and only a niece who was the manager of Liuxiangju, so I had to close the shop and go back to take care of her.
Upon hearing this, Song Jinyi was filled with emotion. She had been to Yaowang Island and had come back to see so much change that Yunzhou began to feel unfamiliar to her.
Cheng Bushi, the owner of Yunshang Tea House, was very kind to her and had a close relationship with the original owner's mother. It was only right that she should go and visit him.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
