Chapter Twenty-One: Mother's Thorough Preparations
Song Yiqiu sneered inwardly:
If the divination sticks were fair, she would have no complaints. But alas... yes, it's truly bad luck to have such parents.
She closed her eyes, too lazy to look at that hypocritical face any longer.
"If Mother wishes to discuss fate with Yiqiu today, please leave. Yiqiu has never believed in fate, only in the power of human effort."
Bai Mei immediately stepped forward, making a 'please' gesture, her attitude firm.
Only then did Madam Song become truly anxious, finally revealing her true intentions for this trip:
"Yiqiu, to be honest, your mother has come this time... to ask you for a favor. It's about what we talked about last time, about your elder brother's official position..."
Song Yiqiu still didn't look at her, her tone flat and emotionless:
"It's all planned out."
Upon hearing this, Madam Song breathed a sigh of relief and a genuine smile appeared on her face.
In her anger today, she almost forgot that her son's future was still in Song Yiqiu's hands. Fortunately, the girl didn't seem to hold a grudge... She quickly pressed her advantage:
"By the way! Mother has been thinking that you have been home for some time now. After all, you are the eldest daughter of the Song family, and it won't do for you to stay away from us all the time."
"Mother has decided to hold a flower appreciation tea party in your name. I have already sent out the invitations in seven days."
“Look at your health… If it’s inconvenient, you can skip the day. Sang Yu will take care of things for you.”
Song Yiqiu sneered inwardly:
They've come, just as I expected. Holding a tea party in her name, yet they don't need her to attend?
In her previous life, she was imprisoned for 'adultery,' and Song Sangyu took her place.
This time, she was first beaten so badly that she couldn't get out of bed—it was the same old routine.
She nodded, her tone compliant:
"It's all up to Mother to decide."
Song Shen was all smiles, her goal achieved:
"Oh, that's right! Yiqiu, it would have been so much better if you had been this sensible earlier!"
Song Yiqiu then abruptly changed the subject, her eyes sharpening:
"However, such an important occasion is attended by prominent ladies and young women from the capital. If Yiqiu, as the main character, does not attend, it would be impolite and people would say that our Song family has lost its manners. Therefore, Yiqiu will definitely attend on time that day."
Song Shenshi's smile instantly froze on her face:
"But your injury..."
Song Yiqiu spoke in a relaxed tone:
"It's alright, I can handle it."
Helpless, Madam Song could not stop the invitations from being sent out, so she could only remind them with disdain:
"In the past, the noble ladies attending tea parties were required to showcase their talents. You've been on the frontier for many years, and I'm afraid you've become rusty in the arts of music, chess, calligraphy, and painting. If you were to embarrass the Song family then..."
Song Yiqiu smiled slightly, her tone sincere:
"Mother is overthinking it. Isn't there still my younger sister Sangyu? Yiqiu is a rough man and has no fear of losing face. If it can perfectly highlight my sister's outstanding talent and understanding, then my 'good intentions' as her older sister will not have been in vain."
These words were exactly what Lady Shen of Song wanted to hear.
She immediately went from worried to happy, as if she could already see Song Sangyu shining brightly at the tea party, while Song Yiqiu made a fool of herself in comparison. Her mood was excellent.
"Alright! Alright! Come if you want! It's getting late, so I'll head back now."
"Respectfully seeing off Mother."
Satisfied, Madam Song left, leaving only the three of them in the room.
As soon as the door closed, Bai Mei stomped her foot in anger:
"What?! She hit you so hard when she needed something from you! I think she did it on purpose! She deliberately injured you so you wouldn't be able to attend the tea party!"
Song Yiqiu smiled when she saw Bai Mei's sullen face:
"Oh, so you're suddenly getting smarter now?"
Bai Mei was even angrier:
"Isn't their interest solely in your upcoming succession to the title? Otherwise, who would want to attend a tea party hosted by the wife of a sixth-rank official?"
Through the bed curtains, Qingzhu's worried voice came:
"Miss, this is clearly a trap, why do you still want to go?"
Song Yiqiu's eyes were deep as she held the bottle of wound medicine.
"When faced with problems, simply running away is useless. You have to stir up the waters... only then can you see clearly what kind of demons and monsters are lurking beneath."
...
Bai Mei walked to the table and sat down heavily. Staring at the two bowls of crystal-clear bird's nest, her eyes lit up, and she couldn't help but smack her lips:
"Wow! This is the legendary blood bird's nest? It's a rare delicacy that you can't even find in the border regions. But I heard it's made from the saliva of swiftlets? Tsk tsk, I really don't understand why these nobles in the capital like to drink the saliva of this bird?"
Song Yiqiu lay on the couch, her back still burning with pain. She showed no interest in the bird's nest and said indifferently:
"If you like it, then drink it. I have no appetite for this."
Upon hearing this, Bai Mei immediately picked up a bowl with a smile:
"Hey, I don't usually crave ordinary things, but I really have to try this 'bird saliva' to see what it tastes like!"
She leaned closer to the bowl, took a deep breath, and made as if to drink.
"Sister Bai Mei! Wait! Don't drink it!"
Qingzhu, who had been lying on the couch in the inner room, suddenly spoke up to stop her. Despite the pain in her hips and legs, she walked over quickly and unsteadily, and nervously took the bowl of bird's nest from Baimei's hands.
"What's wrong? You want some too? Just say so, there's another bowl here."
Bai Mei was puzzled.
Qingzhu ignored it, instead bringing the bowl close to her nose and taking a sniff. Her expression then changed slightly.
She quickly pulled out an ordinary silver hairpin from her hair, carefully inserted it into the thick bird's nest, and slowly stirred it.
The silver hairpin was taken out; it was as smooth as new, without any sign of turning black.
Seeing this, Bai Mei breathed a sigh of relief and smiled again:
"See! I told you, Qingzhu, weren't you being too nervous? Even if Madam is... she wouldn't poison the food she sent in broad daylight, would she? That's too obvious!"
As she spoke, she reached for the bowl again.
Don't touch it!
Qingzhu suddenly raised her hand and shoved Bai Mei's hand away before it touched the bowl, causing the bird's nest to fall to the ground and spill everywhere.
"you!"
Bai Mei looked at the "bird saliva" spilled all over the ground, feeling both distressed and annoyed.
"If you don't want to drink it, then don't. I heard this stuff costs a thousand or two gold coins. You don't need to smash it! What a waste!"
Qingzhu's face was grim; she pointed to the mess on the ground:
"This...this is poisonous!"
Upon hearing this, Song Yiqiu, who had been watching quietly, suddenly narrowed her eyes. She sat up, took the silver hairpin from Qingzhu's hand, and examined it carefully. Indeed, there was no change.
"The silver hairpin hasn't changed, Qingzhu, are you sure?"
Qingzhu nodded heavily, her tone absolutely certain:
"Miss, this isn't ordinary arsenic or a similar deadly poison. It's a... insidious drug that slowly erodes a person's mind, causing hallucinations!"
"The dosage is extremely small, and it cannot be detected in a short period of time. After taking it, the initial symptoms are only insomnia and anxiety. Over time, it will lead to mental instability, loss of emotional control, and eventually... complete collapse, resembling madness!"
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