Su Fangying subtly added a layer of slander to Qingyin's reputation.
“Yingying, you are so kind-hearted. That woman from the Song family looks down on everyone just because she comes from a high social class. She must be looking down on me because I come from a farming family. Humph.”
Looking at Su Fangying, who didn't criticize her like her son did, Madam Liu was even more satisfied.
Although she was of lower status, she was gentle and easy to control.
Old Madam Liu, with her own little scheme in mind, chuckled:
"Don't worry, when Zhi'er comes back, our Yingying is so good, the old lady will definitely help you two get together."
"Madam~" Su Fangying lowered her head shyly, so she didn't see that a beautiful maidservant beside Madam Liu was glaring at her fiercely.
This person was none other than Ping'er, who served by the side of Old Madam Liu and often slandered Qingyin.
Ah, one Song family member is gone, and another Su Fangying has arrived.
Ping'er instinctively felt that this woman was much more difficult to deal with than Song Shi. If she really married the Third Young Master, how would she ever beg the Old Madam to let her into the Third Young Master's harem?
Ping'er was a maid with good aspirations. Although she was of low status, she was confident in her beauty. In addition, the old lady Liu liked her, which encouraged her to marry the third young master and become his concubine.
Even if she couldn't become the principal wife, she was willing to fight for the status of a favored concubine.
Ping'er was having her own little schemes, and Su Fangying was no less ambitious.
Since the day she learned that the Emperor had decreed that Liu Zhi and Song Qingqing should divorce, Su Fangying was initially somewhat apprehensive. In her previous life, she never heard any news of Liu Zhi and Song Qingqing divorcing, but in this life, she didn't know why things had changed.
But after the initial shock, she realized that this was probably because Liu Zhi disliked that woman and had asked for the decree herself. Su Fangying blamed everything on Song Qingqing, and felt even more delighted.
Now that Song Qingqing is gone, the vacant position is left to her. If she finds an opportunity to marry Liu Zhi and become his legal wife, wouldn't she have a chance to ascend to that position, second only to the emperor... that position?
Thinking of this, Su Fangying became excited.
But for some reason, ever since Song Qingqing left, Liu Zhi's attitude towards her suddenly turned cold, even though she had sensed that Liu Zhi had feelings for her before.
Driven by this vague sense of unease, Su Fangying has made several trips to the Liu residence in the past few days to curry favor with the greedy and troublesome old lady, Madam Liu. She plans to make the old lady bow to her several times once she becomes Empress Liu Zhi.
Thinking about her excited thoughts, Su Fangying didn't show her emotions at all. Just as she was about to coax the old lady a few more words and ask her to say a few good words for her to Liu Zhi, Su Fangying looked up and caught a glimpse of Liu Zhi walking into the main courtyard.
"Young Master Liu," Su Fangying called out to Liu Zhi with tender affection, her voice as sweet as honey.
A familiar female voice reached her ears, and Liu Zhi subconsciously looked up and saw Su Fangying standing behind Old Madam Liu.
He frowned, not responding to Su Fangying. Thinking of Qingyin, a wicked thought suddenly arose in his heart, and he was very annoyed that this woman greeted him.
If it weren't for her, he would never have let anyone throw Qingyin into the water, and... that's how things turned out.
Liu Zhi's indifference froze Su Fangying's smile.
How could that be? Liu Zhi clearly has feelings for her.
Ping'er stayed by the old lady's side, and out of the corner of her eye, she saw Su Fangying's incredulous expression and almost burst out laughing.
Ha, I thought she had some high-level skills, but I didn't expect that she could be so shameless as to ignore the Third Young Master just because he called her "Third Young Master". It seems that the reason why this woman was rumored to have a very good relationship with the young master was because of her thick skin.
Ping'er concealed the schadenfreude in her eyes and followed the old lady as she inquired about Liu Zhi. Yingying also greeted, "Hello, Third Young Master."
Liu Zhi did not respond to Su Fangying, but he nodded in response to the old lady's words, as she had always been very kind to him, and then took his leave of the main courtyard under the pretext of being busy.
Ping'er was quite pleased to receive a perfunctory nod from Liu Zhi. At least, when Ping'er glanced at Su Fangying, who was still in shock, her happiness and sweetness grew even more.
＿
Rural estates on the outskirts of Beijing.
Back in the room that the servants had carefully prepared for them at the manor, Qingyin had her maid carry Niannian to play in the side courtyard while she stayed in the main hall with Song's mother and Song Yuebai to discuss their next move.
Qingyin slowly told Song Yuebai the reason for her hasty return.
“A precious little animal ran over from the neighboring village. I once read about it in a travelogue. It’s a panda, unique to Southwest China. It looks like it’s only a little over a month old. The little guy secretly dug a hole and ran over. Niannian was very happy when she found it, but after playing for a while… Suddenly, I heard a man’s exclamation and a commotion. I guessed that the master of that house came looking for the little guy. His veil was torn by the little guy, and he was afraid that his face would be seen by others, so he didn’t turn around and just had the maid carry Niannian back. The little animal was left behind.”
After listening to her sister recount what had happened, Song Yuebai frowned slightly.
"You did a great job, but you don't know if anyone has seen your face, right?"
Qingyin hesitated for a moment before nodding.
Song Yuebai said seriously, "Sister's actions are not always reliable."
Song's mother listened in a daze. When she heard that her daughter's veil was torn and she almost had her face seen, and that her eldest son said that Qingqing's actions were not safe, she couldn't help but frown and ask in confusion, "Yuebai, Qingqing's matter was just that she almost had her face seen by another man. It's not that serious. Maybe she was just a servant in that manor."
Song Yuebai shook her head and offered her speculation, "According to what you said, pandas are small animals unique to the Southwest region. Just based on that alone, the fact that they could send a panda from the Southwest to the capital and keep at least one means that this family is not simple."
"Moreover, that person was even planning to climb over the wall to find us, which is not something a servant would dare to do. Although our estate is not large, it does not look like an ordinary family's home. No servant would dare to offend us, so it can only be the master of that family."
"If that person saw my sister's face, and if he felt..."
Song Yuebai didn't say the rest, but Qingyin and Song's mother, who were listening, already understood what their son had to say.
Mother Song panicked. "I just wanted to take Qingqing out to clear her head. How could this have happened?"
Song Yuebai comforted her mother, "Mother, things aren't at their most urgent yet, and it might not be that bad. Maybe that person didn't see my sister's face. As long as we find out that someone hasn't been investigated, we can rest assured. But regardless of whether something has happened or not, we still need to be fully prepared to ensure my sister's safety."
"Then tell me quickly." Hearing that her son had a solution to the problem, Song's mother immediately asked expectantly.
...
Song Yuebai spoke casually, and influenced by him, Song's mother couldn't help but relax her attitude as well.
"That's one way to put it."
"It's just that I'm afraid I'll have to trouble you to return to the manor overnight."
Qingyin smiled and shook her head. "What's the big deal? I'm sitting in the carriage, so I'm not tired at all. It's just that Mother can take Niannian to have some fun at the manor."
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