Chapter 45 Returning to the Capital
Song Luoning lowered her eyes, a hint of melancholy flashing in them. When she was in the manor, her brother and sister-in-law treated her very well. During this time apart, she often missed them.
Originally, she thought she would never see him again after leaving, but she didn't expect to return to the capital so soon. However, the opportunity to meet again made Song Luo Ning's gaze fall on Xiao Yu. She sighed slightly and thought that she should clear the name of the person in front of her first.
Song Luo suppressed the turmoil in her eyes and smiled gently: "Thank you, brother."
Song Yanqi laughed heartily, "Don't be so polite with your brother, let's go. I already know about my brother-in-law's situation. Don't worry, Father has already spoken to the Dali Temple, they will definitely treat it carefully and won't let my brother-in-law be wronged."
"Yes, thank you, brother." Song Luoning nodded.
Song Yanqi waved his hand.
"I see," Xiao Yu blinked, feeling a growing fondness for her brother-in-law. Before coming to the capital, she had worried that the officials of the Dali Temple would be like that corrupt official in Linyang County, convicting her without sufficient evidence. But now it seemed that such a thing would not happen, thanks to her father-in-law.
I felt much more at ease.
This place is the border between the capital and Qingzhou. Although he brought a lot of soldiers, Song Yanqi was still worried that the other side would resort to desperate measures. After exchanging a few words of small talk, he said, "Little sister, Young Master Xiao, it's getting late. Let's set off as soon as possible. We can talk about it when we get back."
With a gentle light in her eyes, Song Luoning responded with a "good".
The thought of seeing my family soon fills me with uncontrollable excitement.
Song Yanqi turned back to the army, mounted his horse, and the group set off again in a grand procession. When they stopped, they saw a three-courtyard house. The soldiers in the group held torches, and the bright yellow flames flickered. Chen Yu, who was driving the carriage, and the little maid got off the carriage first, followed by Jiang Wanrou, and finally Xiao Yu helped Song Luoning get off the carriage.
The mansion's main gate was wide open, and two rows of servants stood with their heads bowed and hands clasped over their stomachs, displaying a respectful demeanor.
Is this the place my father-in-law arranged for me to live?
Xiao Yu couldn't help but widen her eyes. The largest courtyard she had ever seen since transmigrating was the two-courtyard Xiao family's. This one in front of her was a three-courtyard courtyard with so many servants. She couldn't help but click her tongue in amazement. No wonder the young lady gave her a thousand taels of silver without even blinking when she came up.
The others who came with them were equally surprised, especially the little girl whose eyes were wide open. Chen Yu was holding Jiang Wanrou's arm and looked somewhat restrained. Only Liang Chengqiu seemed to be normal, with a cold and expressionless face.
"Come on, what are you standing there for? You'll be staying here for the rest of your lives. I originally wanted you to stay at the Prime Minister's residence, but I was worried about what people would say, so I had to make do with this," Song Yanqi said with a smile.
"I'm not wronged, I'm not wronged." Xiao Yu waved her hand. This was hardly a grievance; it was clearly a blessing. She held Song Luoning's hand and followed behind Song Yanqi, saying as she walked.
Song Yanqi continued, "You can settle in comfortably. Leave the rest to me. If you need anything, just tell the stewards. They are all veterans of the Prime Minister's residence and can be trusted."
Song Luoning's eyes curved into a smile: "Okay, thank you, brother. I wonder when we will be able to see father?"
“Father will be coming tomorrow. It’s too late today, and you’ve been traveling all day. Get some rest. By the way, how have you been feeling lately? You look much better than before, and I haven’t heard you cough at all,” Song Yanqi asked.
Speaking of her health, a hint of a smile appeared in Song Luoning's eyes, and her gaze unconsciously drifted towards Xiao Yu.
She was asking her a question, wondering what her brother-in-law was doing.
Song Yanqi was suspicious. What extraordinary qualities could a man possess that could capture his younger sister's heart? Although his sister was in poor health, her talent and beauty were among the best in the capital, surpassing even the sons of noble families. If she were a man, she would surely achieve great things. Unfortunately, she was a woman, and her health...
Song Yanqi felt a pang of regret and couldn't help but sigh. He looked at Xiao Yu, who was quite handsome and whose appearance was barely worthy of his younger sister. What was with that silly grin on his face?
Some of them are too painful to look at.
Song Yanqi looked away, disagreeing with his younger sister's judgment of people.
Song Luo Ning paused for a moment, then said, "Yes, Luo Ning is feeling much better. Thank you for your concern, brother. I am so glad that I recovered so quickly, thanks to my husband."
"Oh?" Song Yanqi was surprised. Could it be that his brother-in-law also knew medicine?
She couldn't help but re-examine Xiao Yu. If he could cure her younger sister's illness, her younger sister would not only find a good match, but it would also be a blessing in disguise. After pondering for a while, she said, "That's good. But I'll still have the family physician come and examine you tomorrow to put my mind at ease. Let's leave it at that for today. It's too late, and I should go back to report to my father so that he won't worry. You've traveled all day, so you should all get some rest."
After saying that, without waiting for Song Luoning's reply, he cupped his hands to Xiao Yu, turned around and stepped over the gate, with the steward following behind him as the two of them left the courtyard.
With no outsiders in the hall, Chen Yu grew bolder and exclaimed, "This place is really big! When I came in, I saw a lotus pond in the courtyard."
The little girl chimed in, her eyes shining as she looked around: "That's right! I didn't dare look just now. Are we really going to live here from now on?"
Jiang Wanrou, still quite rational, interrupted her: "What are you thinking? We're just staying here temporarily. We'll go back to our own home later."
Chen Yu sighed deeply: "Aunt is right. No matter how big or nice this place is, it's not our home. It's never as comfortable as living in our own home."
Jiang Wanrou smiled with relief that her child hadn't been blinded by wealth, and said to Song Luoning, "Luoning, we owe Ayu a great debt to our in-laws. If it weren't for their help, Ayu would probably be in jail by now." She paused, sighed slightly, glanced at Xiao Yu, and continued, "Once this is over, we should thank our in-laws in person. Besides..." She took out a few silver notes from her sleeve, "We should still make the necessary arrangements. Take these notes for now."
Song Luoning paused for a moment, her gaze falling on the silver note Jiang Wanrou handed over. She glanced at Xiao Yu, pursed her lips, and didn't take it: "Mother-in-law, please put it away first. This matter was not done by my husband. The Dali Temple will uphold justice and investigate the truth. If we rashly try to bribe them, wouldn't it make us seem guilty? If we make it clear that this matter is true, they won't be as diligent in investigating it later."
"That's right." Jiang Wanrou hesitated for a moment, then took back the silver note and held it in her hand. "It was my oversight. Alright then, if you need the money, just ask me for it." It wasn't that she hadn't thought things through; she knew perfectly well that her daughter-in-law didn't want her money.
The Prime Minister's family has already helped a lot, so she can't just take it for granted anymore. She should pay for what she owes. It seems she needs to find a chance to give the money to that unfortunate child.
Thinking of this, she couldn't help but sigh again. She really didn't know what kind of luck her unlucky son had to be able to marry such a sensible wife. Most importantly, she didn't even care about her being a woman and was willing to help her like this.
If that unlucky boy ever dares to betray that girl, he'll never get past me.
The steward brought Song Yanqi back, followed by six maids who stood behind him with their heads bowed and hands at their sides: "Miss, the rooms have been arranged. This old servant will have someone take you all to rest."
"Thank you for your trouble, Uncle Zhang." Song Luoning nodded and turned to Jiang Wanrou, saying, "Mother-in-law, please get some rest. We can talk about it tomorrow."
"Okay, sure," Jiang Wanrou replied.
Steward Zhang waved to the maids behind him, and the maids stepped forward, curtsied, and led them to their respective quarters.
"Miss." One of the maids looked up and said, "Miss, I am Cuizhu."
Song Luoning was stunned for a moment, her eyes welling up with tears. Cuizhu was her personal maid, who had been by her side since childhood. The bond between mistress and servant was very strong. If her father hadn't specifically instructed her to leave, she wouldn't have taken Cuizhu with her.
Thinking of how the maid cried as she said goodbye before leaving, Song Luoning felt a lump in her throat. After a long while, she curved her lips into a smile and said, "Yes, it was my elder brother who arranged for you to come."
"It was because the old lady was worried that others wouldn't be able to serve Miss well, so she specially sent me." Cuizhu's eyes reddened.
Song Luoning nodded: "Is Granny alright?"
"Yes, I've been thinking about Miss all along," Cuizhu said.
Granny Li was Song Luoning's mother's dowry maid, and she took care of Song Luoning after her mother passed away.
Song Luoning smiled and her gaze softened.
When she had a moment, Cuizhu's gaze fell on Xiao Yu, who was standing silently to the side, especially on the hand that was clasped together with her young mistress, her eyes scrutinizing her.
Xiao Yu met her gaze and smiled at her.
Is this the young lady's husband?
He doesn't seem very good either. He doesn't seem very shrewd. In her opinion, apart from his appearance being passable, he doesn't seem as good as the eldest son of the Minister's mansion. It's really a pity for Miss.
Xiao Yu, of course, had no idea what was going on in the maid's mind. She was completely open and let the maid scrutinize her. Song Luo Ning, however, saw through the maid's thoughts at a glance and cleared her throat, saying, "What are you standing there for? Take us back to our rooms to rest."
Cuizhu snapped out of her daze, looked away, and scratched her head sheepishly. There were only the three of them left in the hall, and her mistress had just returned. She felt she hadn't done her job properly as the head maid, and she couldn't keep her mistress waiting. Cuizhu hurriedly said, "This servant knows her mistake, Miss, please come with me, young master."
Cui Zhu carried a lantern and bowed to lead the way. After passing through the hall, they entered the backyard. The interior of the house was quite elegant, and the garden was arranged according to Song Luo Ning's preferences, but it was too dark to see clearly.
Soon, the two were led into a courtyard by a maid. The door was closed and the room was lit.
Cuizhu stepped forward and pushed open the door, smiling charmingly: "This is it. I saw it during the day. The furnishings here are exactly the same as Miss's original boudoir. It's clear that Master put a lot of thought into it."
"Hmm." Song Luoning followed him into the house, glancing at him indifferently: "Big brother is indeed very dedicated."
After a pause, Cuizhu continued, "After Miss left, Master would often come to Miss's courtyard to sit, sometimes for half a day. Everyone misses Miss very much." As she spoke, she raised her sleeve to wipe her eyes.
Song Luoning comforted her, "I'm back now, aren't I?"
"Yes, I should be happy, Miss is back." Cuizhu wiped away her tears and smiled, revealing her teeth.
"Alright, stop crying. Go prepare some hot water; I want to take a bath," Song Luoning instructed.
"Yes, this servant will go right away." Cuizhu sniffed, bowed, and left the room, closing the door behind her.
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