The Battle of the Noble Ladies (Book 2)

Chapter 11 - The Returnee

On the third day of November, Old Master Song and Eldest Master Song returned to the residence, arriving one after the other at Old Lady Song's Ningde Courtyard.

Old Lady Song waited for Old Master Song to go to the clean room to change clothes, then hurriedly asked the maid to bring hot water. She first asked Eldest Master Song to wash his hands, then served him hot tea to drink before anxiously asking, "Is there any news from Sichuan? What does it say?"

Song Yan, escorted by Qin Chuan, had set out for Sichuan on the first day of October and only sent word back home today, with Eldest Master Song going to meet him.

Eldest Master Song was all smiles and didn't dare beat around the bush with Old Lady Song: "Everything's fine! Someone from the Tang family was waiting on the official road, and they smoothly arrived at Tang Mingzhao's residence. Jue'er is accompanying him, saying they will return once Yan'er has settled in."

Ideally, there should have been an elder to see Song Yan off, but both Old Master Song and Eldest Master Song were busy with their official duties and couldn't leave. The second, third, and fifth masters were also away, so they had to send Song Jue along to accompany him. Fortunately, Song Jue was considerate, and with him accompanying Song Yan, everyone felt a bit more at ease.

When Old Master Song heard this after changing his clothes, he smiled and praised, "Jue'er is a good brother; he's a fine example."

Eldest Master Song's smile deepened, and just as he was about to speak, they heard Yu Lan call out for the Third Lady.

The atmosphere in the room suddenly turned a bit cold as the Third Lady, Yun Shi, entered. She greeted both Old Master Song and Old Lady Song, then saluted Eldest Master Song before hesitantly saying, "Every winter in previous years, the Fourth girl has suffered from coughing. This year, it's even colder than usual... I want to go see her..."

As she spoke, tears began to fall from her eyes. Though she felt miserable, she didn't blame Old Master Song and Old Lady Song for the situation—she had already heard the full story from her father and knew that it was still out of compassion from Old Master Song and Old Lady Song this time.

As she spoke, tears began to fall from her eyes. Though she felt miserable, she didn't blame Old Master Song and Old Lady Song for the situation—she had already heard the full story from her father and knew that it was still out of compassion from Old Master Song and Old Lady Song this time.

However, Song Chumi was still her flesh and blood. Others might criticize her for being foolish, but how could she, as a mother, possibly let her go?

In recent days, the entire capital had been engulfed in the affairs of Princess Shijia, and the Yun family had been keeping a low profile, fearing they would be implicated. She felt anxious day and night, and dared not bring up Song Chumi in front of Old Master Song and Old Lady Song. Now that the situation had settled, she gathered her courage to plead for her.

Old Lady Song hesitated for a moment, noticing Old Master Song's stern expression and silence. After thinking it over, she sighed, "At this time, she's probably still feeling unsettled. If you go now, she might just cry and make a scene."

The Third Lady's eyes grew warm, and the tears fell even more heavily, almost spilling over as she struggled to hold back her sobs.

"Wait a little longer. When it's close to New Year, you can go see her then." Old Lady Song rubbed her temples, feeling a bit fatigued. "For now, just accompany Little Fifth, Yue'er well. He's still young, and there are many things we say that he won't understand..."

Finally, Old Lady Song relaxed, and the Third Lady let out a gentle sigh of relief, quickly inclining her body to respond. Old Lady Song cautioned her again, "Don't forget that there are other girls in your family... As a mother, you must fulfill your responsibilities. Otherwise, if something happens later, you'll regret it, and it will be too late."

In the Third Lady's household, there was another daughter, a concubine's child, who was only two years older than Song Chuyan and just over four years old. She had always stayed in the Third Lady's quarters and rarely came to Old Lady Song's room.

Third Lady's face flushed, and she hesitated to argue but found herself involuntarily responding, "Yes, I understand."

Old Lady Song, who was not one to torment her daughter-in-law, noticed Third Lady's flustered and reddened face. Considering that Old Master Song was present, she decided not to say anything further and turned to discuss other matters with him: "The princess's residence sent us an invitation the day before yesterday for a banquet. I drafted a list of gifts but am unsure about a few things..."

Old Master Song raised his eyebrows in surprise, "What could be so important that you can't decide on a gift? We usually have precedents for these things..."

After thinking for a moment, Old Master Song exclaimed, "Could it be because of Shaoting?"

"Exactly," Old Lady Song nodded, looking at Old Master Song. "Shaoting has received orders to come to the capital, and he has a new son. In terms of etiquette, we didn't send anyone when the child had his third birthday... Although we did send gifts at the time, it was still not very proper. Now, I don't even know if he is staying at the Cui family's residence or at the princess's residence, so I don't know whether to send the gifts separately or all to the princess's residence..."

Shaoting had arrived in the capital the day before yesterday, and Old Master Song had already sent him an invitation to the manor for a welcome banquet yesterday. Therefore, he had heard some news and said hesitantly, "Since Shaoting has his family with him, he probably won't stay at the princess's residence. Most likely, he's staying at the Cui family's residence in the capital."

"If that's the case, it saves me the trouble of worrying about the gift list," Old Lady Song nodded. "The gifts from the eldest daughter-in-law's side follow the previous custom. We can just add another layer based on past years and send them to the Cui family residence once we clarify everything. As for the princess's portion, we can take it with us when we attend the banquet."

Old Lady Song usually handled these matters well, so Old Master Song accepted it and then asked about Song Chuyi: "Why hasn't she come yet? Usually, she would have arrived by this time."

Old Lady Song smiled, placing the list on a side table, and said cheerfully, "She set off for Tongzhou this morning."

Third Lady was somewhat shocked, her hands clenched into fists out of nervousness, and then she felt a sense of loss—she hadn't expected that this girl, who used to be disliked by everyone, would have such fortune. Now even Old Master Song held her in high regard, while her own daughter had fallen to this state...

Old Master Song patiently listened to Old Lady Song explain, "I heard that Lianyi had another daughter..."

Back in the day, several girls around the Cui family had promising futures, but the fates of the others were unknown, while only Lianyi, who had suffered so much, remained mute.

It was natural for Song Chuyi to value her.

"Well then," Old Master Song finally said, lowering his head, and asked Old Lady Song, "Are all the people accounted for? We don't want any issues to arise... No matter how smart she is, she is still a girl, and there are limits to what she can do..."

Eldest Master Song quickly added, "Qi'er is going with her, and enough guards are accompanying them, so there shouldn't be any problems."

Mentioning Song Qi made Old Master Song smile, and he instructed Eldest Master Song, "By next year, when he's done with his studies, we should arrange his marriage. What nonsense is this about establishing a career before starting a family? What if he doesn't succeed? Does that mean Miss Su will wait indefinitely?"

Old Lady Song chuckled at this remark: "That's right; as a father, you should have a good talk with him about this."