The opera performance in the backyard continued. Song Shuyu nestled in the old madam's arms, happily eating fruit.
Magistrate Song walked in with a grim face.
Seeing her husband, Madam Song went up to him. "My lord, have you seen the guest off?"
"Slap!"
A sudden slap from Magistrate Song sent Madam Song, caught completely off guard, tumbling to the floor.
"My lord, why did you hit me?" Madam Song covered her face, tears streaming down.
Old Madam Song and Song Shuyu were both stunned. Song Shuyu had never seen her father so furious.
"Why? Hitting you is getting off lightly. Today, I will divorce you! Someone! Prepare the brush and ink!"
Madam Song was terrified. She threw herself forward and clung to Magistrate Song's leg.
"My lord, what have I done wrong that you would divorce me?"
"Get out, all of you!"
At Old Madam Song's sharp rebuke, the maids and serving women in the room finally snapped to attention and hurriedly retreated.
"Eldest son, what are you doing? What kind of spectacle is this?"
"If your wife has done something wrong, point it out to her. Threatening to divorce her at the drop of a hat is utterly unbecoming!"
Having just been humiliated at the Prince of Pingyang's place, Magistrate Song naturally found his wife an eyesore.
"Mother, it's all because of her! She gave birth to that jinx, who not only brought misfortune to her maternal grandmother but now has nearly cost me my official post!"
"What?" Old Madam Song was shocked. Madam Song covered her face, not even daring to sob.
Only now did they notice that Magistrate Song's official hat was missing and his mouth was badly swollen.
"If we had known it would come to this, we should have drowned her in the chamber pot!" A vicious glint flashed in Old Madam Song's eyes.
"My lord, the child is also partly yours. You cannot blame me entirely!"
"Besides, I also gave birth to Yuer, our little lucky star!" Madam Song was heartbroken.
"Slap!"
Magistrate Song backhanded her another slap.
"I clearly said the Prince of Pingyang wanted to see Shuyu. Why was it that jinx who was sent to the main hall?"
"Did you do it on purpose? Do you want to ruin our Song family?"
"You vicious woman! What good would it do you if the Song family fell? Have you thought about Shuyuan, Shuzhou, and Shuyu!"
Song Shuyuan was Magistrate Song's eldest son, twelve years old. He had passed the county-level imperial examination three years ago and was preparing for the provincial-level examination this autumn.
Shuzhou was their second son, nine years old, also studying at the academy and preparing to take the county-level examination next month.
"My lord, I've been wronged! All of this... it was Mother's idea!"
"Ahem! Eldest son, today's matter was my decision. Don't blame your wife." Old Madam Song spoke up.
"Mother, why? Why would you do this?" Magistrate Song's face was full of confusion.
"Why? Don't you know? Your second brother is in Fengcheng, which is the Second Prince's fiefdom."
"Mother, Xianyang is the Prince of Pingyang's fiefdom! Have you thought about your son?"
"It is precisely because I am thinking of you that I arranged it this way."
"The Prince of Pingyang is just a toothless tiger. Why fear a crippled prince?"
"Moreover, the voices in the court advocating for the Second Prince to become Crown Prince are the loudest."
"Once the Second Prince ascends the throne in the future, our Song family will be pillars of the state and will surely soar to great heights!"
Magistrate Song's face changed color. His hand trembled as he pointed at Old Madam Song.
"Mother, you..."
Impatience flashed in Old Madam Song's eyes.
"Your second brother wrote, asking me to bring Shuyu to stay with them for a while."
"I have already agreed. Tomorrow, I will take Shuyu to Fengcheng."
Magistrate Song's face instantly turned deathly pale.
"Mother, are you openly seeking your son's death?"
Seeing Magistrate Song's wavering, on the verge of collapse, Old Madam Song's eyes flashed with even greater impatience.
"You are a proper magistrate, who earned your position on your own merit. Why fear a prince with no real power?"
"If he dares to kill you, your mother will personally go to the capital and lodge a complaint with the Emperor!"
"Enough! It's the child's birthday today. Don't spoil everyone's mood. Go attend to your duties!"
Old Madam Song dismissed him. Magistrate Song, enraged, flicked his sleeve and stormed out angrily.
Madam Song dazedly got up from the floor. "Mother-in-law, you're taking Shuyu to Fengcheng?"
"What? Do you object?" Old Madam Song was still very angry about her son's earlier attitude.
"Mother-in-law, perhaps you could take Shuyuan and Shuzhou to Fengcheng instead. Shuyu is still young and cannot be apart from me."
"Eldest daughter-in-law, don't you know the reason why I'm taking Shuyu?"
"Don't be so shortsighted. Shuyu is going to pave the way for her elder brothers!"
Madam Song looked at Song Shuyu with deep reluctance.
"But Shuyu has never been apart from me. Otherwise, let me go along."
Old Madam Song's face fell.
"You only think of Shuyu. Have you forgotten your husband and your two sons?"
"Do you want a concubine to take your place? If not for yourself, think carefully for my two grandsons."
If not for the sake of the children, Old Madam Song wouldn't have bothered saying this much to her daughter-in-law.
Unable to distinguish what's important, shortsighted—how could she compare to the capability of her second son's wife?
Thinking of the flirtatious women in the rear courtyard, Madam Song gritted her teeth and fell silent.
Song Shuyu affectionately tugged at the old madam's sleeve. "Grandmother, is Fengcheng fun?"
The old madam nodded. "Yes. Once you go there, as long as you are obedient, you will naturally enjoy endless wealth and honor. Not like that jinx, who simply has no fortune."
Song Shuyu nodded and gave the old madam a sweet smile. "Grandmother, I will be obedient."
At the Pingyang Prince's mansion, Duoduo stood in the middle of the room, utterly at a loss.
"Your Highness, is this the child?" The Princess Consort of Pingyang looked at the frail Duoduo.
The child looked only two or three years old, with a face the size of a palm and large, exceptionally clear and bright eyes.
The Prince of Pingyang stroked the jade thumb ring on his finger but did not answer.
The Princess Consort of Pingyang beckoned to Duoduo. "Your name is Duoduo? Come here, come to Mother."
The Princess Consort's gentle tone and smiling face made Duoduo walk over involuntarily.
The Princess Consort took Duoduo's small hand. A pang of heartache flashed in her eyes; the child's hand was like a little chicken's claw, and icy cold.
"Oh, it's bleeding? Baihe, bring the ointment!"
The Princess Consort saw that the skin on Duoduo's palm had been scraped raw.
Duoduo withdrew her hand, hiding it behind her back. This happened when her sister pushed her to the ground.
Baihe brought the ointment. The Princess Consort took Duoduo's small hand and personally applied the medicine for her.
Duoduo's tears welled up in her eyes.
Seeing this, the Princess Consort gently blew on the injured spot as she applied the ointment.
"Baihe, prepare several new sets of suitable clothes for the young miss. The ones prepared earlier seem too big."
Baihe acknowledged and went out.
"Good child, from now on, this will be your home. Are you willing?"
Duoduo pressed her lips together. Although young, she understood what had happened today. Her parents had abandoned her.
She knelt down before the Princess Consort of Pingyang and kowtowed with a heavy thud.
"I, your humble servant, am willing!"
The Princess Consort of Pingyang's eyes showed surprise. She looked towards the Prince of Pingyang at her side.
"Your Highness? What does this mean...?"
