Chapter Sixty-Eight: Seeking Cooperation with Her
Her mention of it reminded Song Yiqiu of this person, and she feigned drunkenness as she spoke:
"Aunt Liu is wholeheartedly planning for Sister Jiawen's lifelong happiness, and her feelings are pitiful. But there is one thing I don't understand: if Sister Jiawen marries into the Song family, she will certainly be very successful."
"But Sister Tianxin is also the legitimate daughter of the Ruan family, and her age is similar to Sister Jiawen. I wonder what Aunt Liu and Uncle Ruan have in mind regarding her marriage?"
“It wouldn’t be right for the elder sister to have a grand wedding while the younger sister is ignored, would it? If word gets out, wouldn’t outsiders say that the Ruan family is mistreating the first wife’s daughter and is unfair? At that time, I’m afraid it will also affect Yu Jiawen’s reputation.”
Ruan Tianxin lowered her head at the opportune moment, her shoulders trembling, making her appear pitiful and helpless.
Caught off guard by the question, Ruan Liu's face turned pale, but she forced a smile and said:
"Tianxin is still young and mischievous, so there's no rush. We can wait until Jiawen's marriage is settled before slowly looking for a partner for her."
Song Yiqiu immediately seized on the opportunity and exclaimed in surprise:
"Oh? Sister Jiawen and Sister Tianxin are only about two years apart, right? How come Sister Jiawen is already of marriageable age, while Sister Tianxin is still too young?"
"Is Aunt Liu treating us differently because... she's planning to marry Jiawen into my Song family first, and then use the generous dowry left by Tianxin's mother as Jiawen's dowry, so that she can have both wealth and beauty?"
These words exposed the scheming in everyone's hearts, and Ruan Songxing lost face, coughing awkwardly.
"What...what nonsense are you spouting!"
Ruan Liu was so angry that she stood up.
"Remembering Autumn!"
Seeing that the situation was completely out of control, Madam Song quickly spoke up to reprimand them.
"Why are you taking this so seriously? Your grandmother was just having a casual chat with family behind closed doors, why are you taking it so seriously? Can't you learn from Sangyu and be a little more gentle and understanding? Is it appropriate to speak to your grandmother like that?"
Old Mrs. Song's face turned ashen. She was rendered speechless by Song Yiqiu's refutation and counterattack, and every point she made was reasonable.
She gave an awkward laugh, managing to squeeze out a sound through gritted teeth:
"It's alright, it's alright. The child is still young, it's good for him to have his own ideas... Let's eat, let's eat..."
That smile was stiff; his back teeth looked like they were about to grind to powder.
Song Yiqiu was too lazy to look at their hypocritical faces anymore, so she excused herself to get some fresh air and left the suffocating private room.
Ruan Tianxin immediately followed her out.
Once they reached a secluded spot under the eaves, Ruan Tianxin immediately expressed her gratitude:
"Thank you so much, Sister Yiqiu, for today's events. If it weren't for you, I don't know who else in this family would speak up for me..."
As she spoke, her eyes welled up with tears again.
Seeing her on the verge of tears, Song Yiqiu suddenly spoke:
"You wore this outfit on purpose today, didn't you?"
Ruan Tianxin was taken aback, clearly not expecting Song Yiqiu to be so blunt.
She immediately squeezed out two tears, her acting skills coming naturally, and said with a wronged expression:
"Sister Yiqiu...is this how you think of Tianxin? Tianxin truly considers you her older sister, but you don't believe me...In that case, Tianxin might as well go back..."
The author said he was about to leave.
Song Yiqiu rubbed her forehead and sighed:
“You don’t need to pretend in front of me. You are not as weak and easily bullied as you appear, having managed to protect the vast family fortune left by your mother in such a treacherous household.”
"When I was arguing with someone at the table just now, you seemed unintentional, but in fact you took every word to heart and even played along with my act. It's obvious that you were prepared in advance."
She looked at Ruan Tianxin, her expression unchanged:
“I don’t mind you using me, after all, I’ve also benefited from you. I just hope that we don’t have to say these high-sounding empty words anymore, and I also waste a lot of energy trying to distinguish between truth and falsehood.”
Ruan Tianxin was stunned by her blunt words, and the grievance on her face instantly disappeared.
Instead of showing any embarrassment, she laughed, stepped forward, and affectionately took Song Yiqiu's arm, saying slyly:
"As expected of Sister Yiqiu! So intelligent and quick-witted! I knew I hadn't misjudged her!"
Song Yiqiu frowned slightly and withdrew her arm:
"Just tell me, what do you want me to help you with?"
Ruan Tianxin blinked her big eyes, those usually tearful eyes now filled with shrewdness:
"Of course, I want to get back everything I've lost, with interest!"
Song Yiqiu chuckled softly, suddenly finding the petite girl in front of her, who looked like a rabbit, quite interesting:
"Oh? Why do you think I would help you?"
Ruan Tianxin leaned closer, her voice incredibly alluring:
"At that birthday banquet, I witnessed my sister's methods firsthand. She guided the entire process, killing without a trace, and utterly crushing her opponents with the slightest manipulation. This is exactly the kind of person I need!"
"Sister, you know me. I, Ruan Tianxin, have no shortage of money. And coincidentally, I know that what you need most right now is money. Sister, would you like to consider it?"
She tilted her head, revealing an innocent yet shrewd smile:
"Compared to Song Sangyu's stupid and vicious younger sister, isn't my sister Tianxin... more to my liking? After all, when I was four years old, you yourself said you wanted me to be your younger sister~"
Upon hearing this, Song Yiqiu finally couldn't help but burst out laughing.
"OK."
"It is Yiqiu's greatest honor to have such a...rich younger sister."
After seeing Ruan Tianxin off, Song Yiqiu wanted some peace and quiet, but her older brother, Song Tianhan, quietly crept over.
"Little sister Yiqiu! You're finally done with your work! I've missed you so much!"
He rubbed his hands together, his tone excited.
"On my way to the banquet, I heard that Dousheng Manor has recently received a new batch of exotic chickens from Siam. They are said to be incredibly fierce, with fighting power ten times that of the previous Western Region fighting chickens!"
"However... the quantity is extremely limited, and it will only be available through auction, with the highest bidder winning. For this batch of treasures, Dousheng Manor has even moved its annual auction forward to the day after tomorrow!"
Song Yiqiu pretended not to understand:
"What are you trying to say, brother? I was besieged by Grandmother and Aunt Liu at the banquet just now, and you didn't say a word in my defense. Since that's the case, why don't you ask your sister Sangyu for help? Isn't she Grandmother's favorite, and also gentle and sensible?"
Bai Mei chimed in, hands on her hips:
"Exactly! Doesn't she usually only treat the Second Miss as her younger sister? Why is she suddenly remembering our Miss now?"
Upon hearing this, Song Tianhan became anxious and quickly pledged his loyalty:
"Oh, my dear sister. What are you saying? You are my own sister, born of the same mother. We are bound by blood."
"What is Song Sangyu? She's just a wild girl we picked up from who-knows-where!"
"You're just using the title of my sister in name only. In reality, we're complete strangers. What I did just now, brother, wasn't it... wasn't it because I was afraid of angering Grandmother and then Father would punish me? You're so smart and understanding, sister, you must be able to understand my predicament, right, Yiqiu?"
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