Song Jinxiu was momentarily taken aback by her relentless accusations, but he didn’t think he was in the wrong. As the eldest brother, Tangning and Shulan were both the same to him—they were both his younger sisters. He simply wanted harmony between them, for Tangning not to be so petty.
He convinced himself that Tangning misunderstood him, that she was still young and didn’t understand that he was looking out for her. Suppressing his chaotic thoughts, he tried to reason with her:
"Tangning, I know you don’t like Shulan, but she’s your own sister. You share the same blood; she’s your closest family. Why do you insist on making distinctions between you? Everything I do is for your own good. If you’re this petty now, how will you be accepted into the Lu family when you marry?"
"Tonight, I didn’t intend for Shulan to come. Yesterday’s incident wasn’t her fault. It’s just that when she heard you were injured, she was filled with regret and guilt, wishing she could take your place. Even Grandmother punished her, making her kneel for a long time. She only came here to apologize and ask you to come back. Why must you be so harsh?"
"Harsh? Isn’t it you all who are harsh to me?!" Song Tangning was utterly disgusted with the people before her, whether it was Song Jinxiu, Xie Yin, or the tearful, pitiful-looking Song Shulan, who stood as if she had been gravely wronged.
She spoke with all the sharpness of a thorn, without a trace of politeness:
"Song Jinxiu, from the moment you walked in, from your questioning to accusing me of being harsh, have you even once asked how my injuries are? Have you cared in the slightest whether I was scared or hurt?"
"You only know how to say I’m immature, accuse me of being intolerant. If I don’t like Song Shulan and don’t want to see her, it’s because I’m narrow-minded. If I don’t want to share my things with her, it’s because I’m selfish and jealous. If I don’t want to live with her, it’s because I’m lacking in tolerance, bullying an orphan without a mother."
"Do you remember that I’m also an orphan?!" Song Tangning’s words were especially cutting.
"As long as she sheds a tear, you choose to help her without hesitation. As long as she cries that she’s wronged, I must step aside for her. You don’t see her shamelessness when she keeps approaching me despite knowing I dislike her. You don’t see her greed when she eyes the things in my room. You didn’t see her arrogance when she smashed my mother’s eternal lamp. You only see what I’ve done wrong."
"You could leave me in the wilderness, turn a blind eye to my injuries, yet feel sorry for Song Shulan when she’s punished to kneel for a short while."
"Song Jinxiu, do you think that’s fair?" Tangning’s eyes reddened as she looked at him, her expression just as pale as Xie Yin’s, her long lashes seemingly misted. "You pride yourself on being just, always strict with me, but what have you actually done?"
"I heard that after returning to the city yesterday, you were worried she would be upset, so you took her, along with Xie Yin and Lu Zhiniang, to buy jewelry, to row on the lake. When you were pinning her hair, did you think of me crying in the mountains? When you were making her smile, did you ever consider whether I was dead or alive after you abandoned me?"
"How dare you accuse me of being harsh?!" Song Jinxiu looked as though he had been struck, his face paling as he stared at Song Tangning.
"I..." He wanted to explain, but faced with Tangning’s cold, sharp gaze, he couldn’t say a word.
He always believed he was fair and thought that being a bit kinder to Song Shulan was justified because of her pitiful background and difficult life. But Tangning’s words made a chill run down his spine.
There were things he had never reflected on because no one had brought them up. After returning to the city yesterday, his heart was filled with anger, convinced that Tangning was being unreasonable. He realized he hadn’t thought about whether she made it back to Lingyun Temple or not. Even when he briefly thought of her this morning before heading to the palace, it was only to wonder if she had learned her lesson.
Seeing Song Jinxiu's eyes fixated on Tangning’s bloodstained hands, Song Shulan panicked and rushed forward, kneeling with a thud before Tangning.
"It’s my fault. It’s all my fault. I shouldn’t have gone to Lingyun Temple, and I shouldn’t have argued with you."
"Brother was only trying to protect me, which is why he momentarily forgot about you. But he never wanted anything bad to happen to you. He was only thinking of your well-being, so please don’t misunderstand him..." She knelt on the ground, her frail figure looking pitiful as she kowtowed twice in front of Tangning, her forehead quickly bruising.
Seeing this, Song Jinxiu, who had been in a daze, instantly felt a surge of sympathy and rushed to help her up. "Shulan, what are you doing?"
"Brother, it’s my fault. It’s my fault that Tangning misunderstood you. It’s my fault..." Shulan’s eyes were filled with tears. "Tangning, please don’t be angry with Brother. If you can forgive him and not misunderstand him and Brother Yin, I’ll do anything."
Xie Yin had been angry with Song Shulan for keeping her past a secret, and for embarrassing him at the Qian family’s banquet. But now, seeing her tear-streaked face, looking so fragile as if a gust of wind could knock her down, his heart softened again.
"Tangning, and you still say you’re not being harsh? Shulan is your sister; can’t you be more forgiving?"
Tangning snorted, "No."
"You!" Xie Yin was furious. He pulled Shulan up and shouted angrily, "Why are you kneeling to her? Look at her now, clinging to the high branch of Lord Xiao. She doesn’t care about her cousin or her brother anymore." He was annoyed at Tangning’s relentlessness and spoke without thinking.
"Tangning, you say we shouldn’t have left you on the mountain yesterday, but don’t you realize it was because you were being willful in the first place?"
"We’ve already apologized to you, and Shulan cried and knelt before you. What more do you want? You weren’t seriously hurt; it was just a minor injury. Or do you expect us to repay you with our lives?"
Slap—
Princess Cheng was in the kitchen, keeping an eye on the medicinal soup for Tang Ning. She was worried about the fright Tang Ning had experienced the day before, so she decided to personally prepare a restorative soup for her. But just as she turned her back, Xie Yin led the siblings from the Song family straight into Tang Ning’s courtyard.
Fearing that Tang Ning might suffer some injustice, she hurried over. As soon as she stepped into the courtyard, she overheard Xie Yin’s outrageous remarks. In a fit of rage, she hurled the bowl of hot soup at Xie Yin's feet, causing him to yelp and stumble backward from the scalding heat. Her face was livid as she marched forward.
“Who gave you permission to bring them in here?!”
“Mother…”
Before Xie Yin could say more, she slapped him hard, making him stagger. “I see you haven’t learned a thing.”
“Have you already forgotten what happened at the Qian residence today? Or did none of what I told you sink in? You know perfectly well that Tang Ning was nearly killed by this wretched woman, and yet you dare bring her here?”
“Aunt Rong…” Song Jinxiu was startled, beginning to speak, but Princess Cheng cut him off sharply.
“Song Dalang!” she spat, her voice dripping with icy anger. “This is Chengwang Manor, not the Song family’s backyard. When I discipline my foolish, toxic, brainless son, it’s not your place to interfere. Or has Song Dalang not had enough of his duties in the court, so much so that he now wishes to reprimand me, a princess of the Cheng lineage?”
Her tone was full of mockery and scorn, making Song Jinxiu’s face alternately flush and pale.
“And let me make one thing clear: I am Tang Ning’s aunt, not yours. No wonder the Song family raised an illegitimate daughter who shamelessly claims relations with others. It seems that all the courtesy and manners you’ve learned over the years have gone to the dogs.”
“Do I need to teach you how to properly greet a princess of the royal family?”
Song Jinxiu’s face first showed panic, then disbelief, and finally turned deathly pale with humiliation. Although there was no blood relation between Chengwang Manor and the Song family, the two families had been close due to Tang Ning’s mother from the second branch. Song Jinxiu had always been welcome at Chengwang Manor, and Princess Cheng had treated him warmly, even allowing him to address her as ‘Aunt’ just as Tang Ning did. But he had never expected that she would turn on him so suddenly.
Seeing the cold indifference in Princess Cheng’s eyes, he couldn’t help but glance at Tang Ning, hoping she would speak up on his behalf.
But before he could say anything, Xiao Yan swept his wide sleeves and shielded the teary-eyed girl behind him.
“Does Master Song not understand the words of Princess Cheng, or are you simply ignorant of proper etiquette?”
“Cang Lang, teach him.”
Cang Lang stepped forward with his sword, kicking Song Jinxiu hard in the leg.
“Officials bow to royalty with a grand gesture of respect. Master Song, you’d best remember this. Don’t forget it next time.”
=====
You can read ahead to chapterr 50 here
Yeeeeessssss get wrecked!
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