Chapter Sixty-Six: Old Madam Song Arrives
His face fell.
"No... General Song, am I some kind of special tool? Why is it me again? You never come to me with anything good!"
Song Yiqiu immediately suppressed her smile, feigning grievance, and sighed softly, mimicking Zhang Heze's manner, displaying a rare vulnerability:
"Alas... there's nothing I can do. Lieutenant Zhang, you have extensive connections and great abilities; you have influence throughout the capital. I am but a weak and powerless woman; besides relying on Lieutenant Zhang, who else can I depend on?"
Zhang Heze knew she was faking it, but seeing that expression on that aloof face still inexplicably pleased him, so he could only resignedly wave his hand.
"Alright, alright, I guess I owe you! So, what's this 'simple' matter this time?"
Song Yiqiu laughed heartily, then lowered her voice:
"This is quite simple. Lieutenant Zhang just needs to do this and that..."
As dusk settled, it was twilight.
Madam Song sent a maid to deliver a message, saying that Old Madam Song had returned from the ancestral temple and that a family banquet would be held at Zhentian Pavilion tonight to welcome her back. She instructed Song Yiqiu to be sure to attend on time.
After the maid left, Qingzhu looked worried:
"Young Miss, are you really going? The old lady has never specifically invited you to these family banquets before..."
She hesitated, as if she wanted to say something but then stopped.
While helping Song Yiqiu choose clothes, Bai Mei wondered:
"Why not go if there's a free meal? The meals at Zhentian Pavilion aren't cheap!"
Qingzhu hesitated for a moment, but finally told him:
"The main problem is... that old lady has always disliked our young lady. Before you went to the frontier, she often found excuses to make things difficult for you and force you to kneel."
"Now she prefers the sweet-talking, flattering second young lady... I'm afraid that if you go, you'll inevitably be bullied and tormented by her again..."
Bai Mei immediately became furious upon hearing this:
"Hey! It's her! No wonder this family is so strange. They don't dote on their own granddaughter, but they all side with that adopted daughter. They've really lost their minds!"
Song Yiqiu looked at herself in the bronze mirror, her expression calm and serene. She picked up an elegant jade hairpin and handed it to Qingzhu:
"It's alright. Qingzhu, help me wash and change. I still need to attend this banquet."
As Qingzhu combed Song Yiqiu's hair, she remained worried:
"But Miss... that Old Madam Song... she has always..."
Bai Mei, quick to speak her mind, picked up the conversation indignantly:
"She's the master's biological mother! I know! But what kind of grandmother is she? She's been biased from childhood to adulthood!"
“Miss Mingming, you are the rightful granddaughter, but she lives in that impoverished family's house in the eldest branch all year round. When she finally comes back, all she can see is that sycophantic Song Sangyu!”
"She used to always find excuses to make you kneel in the ancestral hall, as if you weren't a member of her Song family. If you ask me, she just felt uncomfortable because your personality was so much like the late Marquis of Yongjia!"
Song Yiqiu glanced at Bai Mei through the mirror, her tone remaining calm:
“She is my father’s biological mother, that cannot be changed. Whom she favors is her prerogative. As for the punishment of kneeling…”
She stopped what she was doing. "That was then, and now is now."
Qingzhu sighed and said softly:
“This servant just feels aggrieved. When Madam Shen was alive, she was such a heroic figure, and she doted on you so much, Miss. But this Madam Song…”
"Alas, just because the master is the third child, she lives in the countryside with the eldest master. She is short-sighted and only thinks that a good child is one who is sweet-talking and obedient. She doesn't understand how good you are, Miss."
Bai Mei pouted:
"That's right. I heard that the eldest son's family is struggling financially and is relying entirely on the master's side for support!"
"That old lady is really something. She eats and drinks the food of the third branch of the family, but all she cares about is the eldest son's side. She even helps outsiders bully her own granddaughter! She's really senile!"
Song Yiqiu looked calmly into the bronze mirror, stood up, and let Qingzhu straighten her clothes:
"It's alright. Qingzhu, help me wash and change. I still need to attend this banquet. Well, that's enough of what I said here."
"When we get to Zhentian Pavilion, be careful with your words and actions. After all... I've already made arrangements for Lieutenant Zhang. I can't fall behind on my side. A good show always needs a good stage to begin."
The carriage swayed and rocked, and Song Yiqiu was lost in thought.
I have no deep impression of this so-called old lady Song in either of my lifetimes.
In my memory, apart from coming to the Song family a few times a year to beg for money and goods, this grandmother spent most of her time living at my eldest uncle's house and rarely showed her face.
The father, Song Qingming, was the third child in the Song family, with two older brothers. The grandmother had always lived with the eldest son, but she had always coveted the wealth of her third son's family.
In the past, perhaps because Song Yiqiu's renowned grandmother, Shen Ruyi, was still alive, she couldn't go too far.
Now I hear that he is trying to get close to the Song family every few days, probably dreaming of becoming a real old nobleman of the wealthy Song family.
Song Yiqiu has never been good at sweet talk and coaxing people since she was a child, so Grandma Song naturally doesn't like her and prefers her grandsons who are good at sweet talk.
The two met infrequently and had a distant relationship.
However, this grandmother was extremely vain and concerned with appearances. Every time she came, she was never satisfied with dining at the mansion and always insisted on going to the most expensive restaurant in the capital, Zhentian Pavilion.
The carriage stopped at the entrance of Zhentian Pavilion.
As soon as Song Yiqiu got out of the car, she found that the servants of the Song family were already waiting at the door, respectfully leading her to a private room on the second floor.
She was slightly taken aback when she pushed open the door to the private room.
Inside, not only were Old Mrs. Song, her parents, her siblings, but also members of the Ruan family!
Grandma Song was adorned with jewels, wearing numerous gold hairpins and jade bracelets, though all were old styles from over a decade ago. She was all smiles, her face crinkled with wrinkles, and she was warmly holding Ruan Jiawen's hand as they exchanged pleasantries.
Meanwhile, Ruan Tianxin, the true legitimate daughter of the Ruan family, was squeezed to the side, her eyes slightly red, making her seem out of place.
Sitting next to Ruan Jiawen was a woman dressed equally elegantly, who looked no more than thirty years old. Her features bore a resemblance to Ruan Jiawen's, and she was presumably the second wife, Ruan Liu, who had been promoted to the position of principal wife.
The middle-aged man beside her, whose eyes were somewhat shifty, must be Ruan Tianxin's father, Ruan Songxing.
Seeing Song Yiqiu push the door open and enter, Old Mrs. Song glanced at her, her tone ambiguous:
"Oh, isn't this General Song, the Marquis of Yongjia, who is about to inherit the title? What a magnificent sight!"
"It's been years since we last met, and you don't even know how to call me 'Grandma' anymore? Do you only remember your deceased maternal grandmother, but not your own biological grandmother?"
Song Yiqiu sneered inwardly:
Her own grandmother? Did she ever show her any warmth or affection from childhood to adulthood? Now she's acting all high and mighty as a grandmother.
Ruan Liu immediately covered her mouth with her handkerchief, chuckled softly, her voice sweet but with a hint of sarcasm:
"Grandma, please don't be upset. Miss Song has spent too much time in the frontier and is a bit wild. Unlike Miss Sang Yu, who grew up in the capital and is gentle, elegant, and well-educated."
"Miss Song, you need to soak in the feng shui of this capital city for a while longer to wash away that... fierce smell from your body."
Bai Mei, who was listening from the side, was grinding her teeth. If Qing Zhu hadn't been holding her back, she really wanted to go up and give those two weirdos a good punch each.
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