Chapter Twenty: A Slap and a Flea
The room in Song Yiqiu's master bedroom was filled with the strong smell of wound medicine.
Bai Mei carefully applied medicine to the wound on Song Yiqiu's back. Some of the wounds still had stray thorns hidden inside, making her feel increasingly uncomfortable. She couldn't help but mutter indignantly:
"That old hag was too vicious! She didn't even bother to ask what happened!"
"And that second young lady, all she does is spread rumors and sow discord. It's such a pity that she's not allowed to perform in operas."
"The most infuriating thing is that Song Sanchun. Miss, you kindly helped her out of a predicament and even bought her a painting to help her, but she just runs away faster than a rabbit the moment something happens! What an ingrate!"
She cursed while making extremely light movements with her hands.
"I just don't understand, Miss. You could have easily dodged that blow, so why did you insist on taking it? If it weren't for Qingzhu's quick thinking in blocking the second one for you, those two thorns would have taken your life and left you bedridden for three or four months!"
Song Yiqiu lay face down on the couch, her face pale.
She was carefully applying medicine to the wounds on Qingzhu's buttocks and legs, who was lying on the couch next to her.
Qingzhu was also seriously injured, but fortunately the injury was not in a vital area like her back.
Upon hearing Bai Mei's words, Song Yiqiu said calmly:
"Bai Mei, I have to endure this family punishment."
Bai Mei paused, her face full of confusion:
"Why? Why should we have to take a beating?"
Song Yiqiu's lips curled into a smile, but she didn't answer immediately. Instead, she turned to Qingzhu, her tone reproachful:
"Qingzhu, you were too impulsive today. I could have taken the second blow. With your small frame, it's fortunate that your mother hit you on the buttocks and legs. If it had hit your back like I did, it might have really hurt your internal organs."
Despite the pain, Qingzhu smiled weakly, but her eyes remained clear:
“Miss, in that situation, it was most appropriate for me to rush in like a madwoman. If Sister Bai Mei had made a move, it would have been insubordination, and the crime would have been even more serious.”
"Madam is furious. If I don't pretend to be dead and make a scene, making her afraid someone will actually die, how will she stop? Miss, you're really going to be beaten to death by her..."
After hearing this, Bai Mei felt both lingering fear and admiration, and the way she looked at Qingzhu changed:
"Qingzhu! You're impressive! I underestimated you. You truly showed the fighting spirit of our general's men in a crucial moment!"
She paused, then couldn't help but complain.
"But I still can't understand, Madam... is she really your biological mother? How can someone beat their own daughter to death like that?"
Song Yiqiu's eyes darkened. She had asked herself this question countless times, and a bitter smile appeared on her lips:
"Perhaps... there really are parents in this world who don't love their children."
She looked at the white plum blossoms, then at the green bamboo, and took their hands in hers.
"But it's okay, I have you all."
Just then, a soft knock sounded at the door, accompanied by Song Shenshi's insincere voice:
"Yiqiu~ Are you inside? Mother has come to see you."
Qingzhu was startled and instinctively tried to hide:
"Is it the madam?"
Bai Mei instantly flew into a rage:
"Hey! I have such a short temper! How dare she show her face? She beat someone up and then pretends to be kind?"
Song Yiqiu gestured for Qingzhu not to move, and whispered quickly:
"Qingzhu, lie still and don't make a sound. We're here outside."
As she had Bai Mei help her quickly put on a loose outer robe, deliberately exposing the gruesome wound on her back, she said to Bai Mei,
"Bai Mei, didn't you want to know why I got hit like that?"
She gave a cold laugh:
"The answer has come to us right here."
She feigned weakness and leaned back onto the chaise longue, saying to Bai Mei:
"Go open the door and invite Mother in."
Bai Mei suppressed her anger and opened the door with a stern face.
As expected, Madam Song outside the door adopted a kind and motherly demeanor, carrying a tray with two bowls of crystal-clear bird's nest on it. She entered, placed the bird's nest on a small table beside the couch, and spoke gently:
"Yiqiu~ Didn't you say you wanted to eat bird's nest last time? Mother specially had someone stew the top-grade blood bird's nest for you. Look, your sister doesn't have any. Mother gave you this batch first. You can eat as much as you want in the future."
Song Yiqiu didn't even lift her eyelids, her voice indifferent:
"What does Mother mean by this? Is it a slap followed by a sweet treat?"
Song Shen's smile froze for a moment, then returned to its usual cheerful expression. "You silly girl, are you still blaming your mother?" she scolded playfully.
He stepped forward to take Song Yiqiu's hand, but Song Yiqiu subtly avoided him.
She awkwardly withdrew her hand and sighed:
"Yiqiu, with so many people watching in the ancestral hall today, you dared to contradict me in front of the servants. If I don't stand up for myself, how will I maintain my authority in the Song family in the future?"
"I never expected you to be so stubborn. You were quite clever when you were little, how come you've grown up... and you don't even know how to hide? In the end..."
Song Yiqiu sneered inwardly:
Using his own daughter to establish his authority, and then blaming her for not dodging? What a clever argument.
Madam Song glanced at the unbandaged, still bleeding wound on Song Yiqiu's back, narrowed her eyes with unbearable pain, and deliberately spoke in a tone of concern:
"Yiqiu...your injury..."
Bai Mei, standing to the side, interjected coldly, her tone stiff:
"Thanks to Madam, the doctor said that Miss has injured her bones and muscles and will probably be bedridden for more than half a year. This scar... will definitely have to be left."
Madam Song immediately frowned and scolded:
"Where did this wild girl come from? How dare she talk to me like that!"
Song Yiqiu said calmly:
"Did Mother come here today specifically to discipline the servants? There's no need for that. I'll manage my own people."
Song Shen was momentarily speechless, but quickly put on a mask of kindness again, even snatching the gauze from Bai Mei's hand and pretending to bandage Song Yiqiu herself:
"Oh dear, Yiqiu~ Are you still angry with your mother? I'm only doing this for your own good... Come, let me apply some medicine for you..."
She was flustered and clumsy, and pretended to accidentally tug at Song Yiqiu's outer robe.
Wanting to see if the injury was really that serious, Song Yiqiu twisted her body in response to her movement.
His loose outer robe slipped down, revealing his entire back, which, apart from the fresh and gruesome wound, was covered with countless old scars of varying depths and crisscrossing patterns.
Those are the marks left by seven years of bloody fighting on the frontier.
Song Shenshi abruptly stopped, her eyes fixed on the scars, her expression instantly becoming incredibly complex, her lips trembling as she spoke:
“…this…these…”
Song Yiqiu turned her head and looked at her mother's shocked expression, as if she were seeing this for the first time, and felt nothing but irony and amusement:
"What's wrong, Mother? Isn't this the 'good life' your daughter was living on the frontier?"
Song Shenshi hastily averted her gaze, her eyes flickering, and her tone became somewhat unnatural:
“Yiqiu… I know you still resent me… but going to the frontier was decided by drawing lots back then. I can’t let your brothers bear your fate just because you’re a girl, can I?”
"In your mother's heart, all of you children are the same. If you have to blame someone, you can only blame your bad luck..."
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