“What nonsense are you talking about? Where did three hundred taels come from?”
“It’s clearly only two hundred taels!” Madam Song said, giving her son a meaningful look.
Song Shuzhou immediately understood what his mother meant.
In order to complete the Crown Prince’s assignment, the Song family had decided, after some discussion, to put together three hundred taels as the ransom.
Madam Song had wailed about how they had traveled all the way to the capital and spent every last bit of money they had.
They could not even afford the tuition fees for their two sons to attend school.
The eldest Song brother suggested borrowing money from the second branch of the family and from their mother.
In the end, Old Madam Song came up with one hundred and fifty taels.
The second Song brother contributed one hundred taels, while the eldest Song brother had to find a way to make up the remaining fifty.
Song Shuzhou had not expected his parents to have secretly pocketed one hundred taels.
Still, that money would eventually be spent on him and his elder brother.
Once Song Shuzhou understood the situation, he raised his chin with an arrogant little tilt.
“Mother, didn’t Father give it directly to the Crown Prince?”
“What if bringing her back to the Song residence brings misfortune upon the whole family?”
Just then, the eldest Song brother walked over.
“Why are you still standing here? It’s so hot outside. Aren’t you two uncomfortable?”
On the way there, the eldest Song brother had already discussed matters with Madam Song.
Although they did not understand why the Crown Prince had ordered them to ransom Duoduo, they still hoped that Duoduo might say a few good words for him in front of the Crown Prince later.
So, they needed to cultivate some affection between them first.
“And you—covered in injuries, yet you’re not resting in your room and have come out to make a spectacle of yourself?”
The eldest Song brother was worried that his second son might be resentful and say something he should not, causing his younger daughter to turn against them.
If that happened, all his efforts would be in vain.
Song Shuzhou was not afraid of his father in the slightest.
“Grandmother told me to come out!”
As he spoke, Song Shuzhou studied Lüdou, who had kept her head lowered behind Madam Song.
He felt that there was something familiar about her.
Song Shuzhou walked over, wanting to get a clearer look at Lüdou’s face.
Lüdou could not help taking a step back.
The doubt in Song Shuzhou’s heart deepened.
“Raise your head!”
He stepped in front of Lüdou.
Madam Song hurriedly stopped him. “Don’t frighten your sister!”
Song Shuzhou glanced at his parents. “Father, Mother, are you certain she’s your daughter?”
The eldest Song brother glared at his wife. He was deeply displeased by his younger son’s insolent remark.
“Go inside at once and stop keeping your mother waiting!”
Madam Song was afraid of her husband. She hurriedly pulled Lüdou into the room.
Full of suspicion, Song Shuzhou limped after them.
Why did this person look so much like the maid who had been beside that Jinx?
But how could his parents possibly mistake their own daughter?
Song Shuzhou could not help suspecting that he had identified the person correctly that day, but the Jinx had denied it.
Thinking this, Song Shuzhou’s dislike for his Jinx of a younger sister deepened.
He had gone to bring the Jinx home out of the goodness of his heart, only to be beaten up by those people.
He was still furious.
Fortunately, those people had not dared offend the powerful and had stopped in time.
Otherwise, he might very well have lost his life!
His career, his future—they would all have been ruined.
At the thought of this, Song Shuzhou’s eyes began to dart about.
No!
He had to get his revenge.
He absolutely could not let this grievance go unanswered!
While Song Shuzhou plotted nearby, Madam Song pulled Lüdou into the room.
“Quick, pay your respects to your grandmother.” Madam Song shoved Lüdou forward with a triumphant smile.
Lüdou did not move.
She was waiting for the perfect moment to strike and bring everything down in one blow.
Her heart was filled with boundless hatred for the Song family.
If the Song family had shown even the slightest bit of affection for the Princess back then, the Princess would never have been left to wander outside.
Now that they saw the Princess could be of use to them, they wanted to acknowledge her again.
How shameless!
Over the past six months, Lüdou had followed Duoduo and learned many things at the palace.
In particular, Nanny Li had trained Lüdou with exceptional strictness.
As the Princess’s senior personal maid, she needed more than loyalty—she also had to help the Princess resolve problems.
There were countless dirty tricks and hidden schemes in the inner residences of powerful households.
Nanny Li had explained every one of them to Lüdou in detail.
The more of the world Lüdou saw, the broader her horizons became.
She was no longer the insignificant little maid she had once been at the Song residence.
Lüdou’s attitude greatly displeased Old Madam Song.
She gave a cold snort.
“Still as ill-mannered as ever!”
“I suppose that’s to be expected. How could Princess Consort of Pingyang, who came from such a humble household, possibly know how to establish proper rules?”
“Enough. Take her away. Unless there’s something important, don’t bring her before me again.”
Whenever Old Madam Song looked at “Duoduo,” she felt uncomfortable all over.
She always felt that it was because the Jinx was bringing her bad luck.
The second branch of the Song family studied Lüdou with a broad smile.
“Come to think of it, I’ve never met my niece before!” the second Madam Song said. “Niece, raise your head and let me have a look at you.”
Madam Song was worried that her daughter would embarrass her in front of her sister-in-law.
She hurriedly nudged Lüdou.
“This is your second aunt. Hurry up and greet her!”
Lüdou raised her head and saw a long-faced woman studying her with undisguised curiosity.
The second Madam Song was startled when she saw Lüdou.
This child was much prettier than her elder niece.
Though, perhaps not entirely. If her elder niece lost some weight, she probably would not look bad either.
As she examined Lüdou, suspicion flashed through her eyes.
“Sister-in-law, you didn’t simply pick up some maid from somewhere and bring her back to fool us, did you?”
“She doesn’t look anything like our elder niece!”
Madam Song froze for a moment, then hurriedly defended herself.
“What nonsense are you talking about? She clearly looks just like Yu’er!”
“Besides, we personally went to the Prince of Pingyang’s residence and ransomed her.”
“If you don’t believe me, you can ask her!”
Madam Song sounded utterly certain.
She gave Lüdou another push. “Tell them. Didn’t we go to the Prince of Pingyang’s residence and ransom you?”
Lüdou nodded. “Yes.”
“They gave the prince two hundred taels.”
When Madam Song heard Lüdou say yes, a triumphant smile spread across her face.
But she had not expected Lüdou to add another sentence.
The smile on her face instantly stiffened.
The second Madam Song and Old Madam Song were also stunned.
“Two hundred taels?” The second Madam Song quickly recovered.
“Big brother, sister-in-law, where’s the remaining one hundred taels?”
Madam Song realized that the money she had almost gotten her hands on was about to slip away. She immediately looked toward her husband in panic.
The eldest Song brother had not expected matters to develop in this direction either.
He cleared his throat.
“Sister-in-law, only two hundred taels were paid as the ransom, but we also had to bribe the servants, and that cost us some money.”
“Besides, Shuzhou was injured when he went to bring his sister home. We had to spend money treating him as well.”
“The rules at the Prince of Pingyang’s residence are strict. The servants there never accept bribes.” Lüdou exposed him without mercy.
