“Tang Ning, what are you doing?” Song Qin exclaimed in shock, struggling to hide his fear as he looked at the figure on the bank. “Director Xiao, although our house has some grudges with Tang Ning and there have been some misunderstandings, you cannot bring people to barge into the Duke’s residence. My eldest brother is still on duty in the palace. If the Emperor learns of today’s events, he will definitely reprimand you for your recklessness…”
“How the Emperor feels, I have no knowledge of, but your eldest brother will soon come to accompany you,” Xiao Yan replied indifferently. “Song Hong, holding the position of Deputy Minister, does not think of the Emperor’s grace. He colluded with the former ministers of the mad Crown Prince Li to conspire against the throne and will have all the members of the Song family detained and brought back to the Ministry of Justice for trial.” Conspire against the throne?!
Song Qin’s eyes widened in shock, and even the old matriarch of the Song family’s face changed instantly.
The servants of the Song family, who were being escorted out, were equally terrified. How could the young master conspire against the throne?!
The old matriarch’s ears buzzed, and she suppressed her fear to angrily say to Xiao Yan, “Director Xiao, our Song family has stood in the court for many years. My husband died for the great Wei, and my son has always been loyal to the Emperor. The entire Song family has adhered to their duties and never dared to make a mistake. How can you wrongfully accuse us of conspiracy?!”
As she spoke, she glared at Song Tang Ning.
“Is it you, Song Tang Ning? Is it you who bears a grudge against the house, colluding with outsiders to frame your uncle? We are all your closest relatives, how dare you act so maliciously?!”
Song Tang Ning was almost amused to hear the old matriarch of the Song family accuse her first. Standing beside Xiao Yan, she looked at the old matriarch’s stern face and sneered, “Am I the one with a malicious heart, or is it Song Hong who is shameless and despicable?”
“You all stuffed Song Hong and Xu Zhen’s illegitimate child into the second house to act as my father’s bloodline, allowing her to insult me and tarnish my father’s name. Who in this world is more malicious than you?”
Song Qin’s face suddenly turned pale, and the old matriarch’s expression also changed dramatically.
When Song Shulan heard the name “Xu Zhen,” she felt as if she had fallen into an ice cellar, her body freezing to the bone. Looking at Song Tang Ning standing not far away, she couldn't help but tremble.
She knew…
She actually knew!
“Tang Ning,” Song Qin swallowed hard, holding on to a glimmer of hope and forcing a calm expression. “Did you misunderstand something, or did someone provoke you with slander? We have never known anyone named Xu Zhen, nor have we ever heard of her…”
“Is that so? When Third Uncle brought Song Shulan back from Su Yun Town, why did he have to conceal her identity and hide her mother’s surname Xu?” Song Qin’s face instantly panicked, not expecting Song Tang Ning to find out about this.
Just as he was about to argue, he saw Song Tang Ning take out a household registration certificate.
“Daughter of the Xu family, registered in Su Yun. Third Uncle, do you want to explain why you said her mother’s surname is Li and registered in Anzhou?”
“I…” Song Qin’s face twitched when he looked at the household registration stamped with the seal of the Jingzhao Prefecture. Fear flickered in his eyes.
Impossible!
Prince Cheng had clearly told them that the household registration had already been taken by him, and arrangements had been made on the Anzhou side. Even Song Shulan’s past had been erased.
How could Song Tang Ning know about these things?!
Tang Ning looked up at the flustered members of the Song family, her gaze landing on the pale-faced Song Shulan.
“Song Shulan’s biological mother was named Xu Zhen, the daughter of Xu Chunrong, an old minister beside the late Prince Li. She had a childhood friendship with Song Hong. After the conspiracy of the Prince of Li was uncovered, Xu Chunrong was executed by the late emperor, and the Xu family was also executed. However, Song Hong, out of old feelings, rescued Xu Zhen and kept her as a concubine, but when the incident occurred, he sent her out of the capital.”
“The old matriarch feared her son would be implicated by the Xu family and wanted to eradicate the root cause. Who would have thought that Xu Zhen escaped by luck? More than ten years later, her daughter came to find you with the token of the Song family. Song Hong, recalling old feelings, concealed it from Zou shi and colluded with you two to shelter her in the residence.”
“Old matriarch, Third Master Song, don’t tell me you didn’t know who Xu Zhen is.” Song Tang Ning’s gaze turned cold, her once gentle face now emanating frost. Each word she spoke was like a blade, draining the color from the faces of the Song family.
“You all knew clearly whose bloodline Song Shulan has. To protect Song Hong’s reputation, you forced her onto my father.”
“Song Hong imitated my father’s handwriting to leave behind the so-called letter, and Song Jin Xiu stole my father’s relics, using it as a token of love to deceive me. You colluded with Prince Cheng to threaten the governor of Anzhou to forge Song Shulan’s household registration to cover up the identity of the daughter of a rebel. You even attempted to use others to pressure me back to the residence. How despicable and shameless, how dare you accuse me of having a malicious heart?”
Song Qin’s face turned pale, and the old matriarch never expected that the matter of Xu Zhen, after so many years, would be exposed again. Clearly, those who knew of it back then had long since died, how could Song Tang Ning possibly know?!
At this moment, she had no trace of her earlier ferocity, forcing herself to maintain an angry facade. “Nonsense! What Xu Zhen, what old minister of the Prince Li, I have no idea what you’re talking about!” The old matriarch insisted, “Song Shulan’s mother indeed had the surname Xu, but she has no relation to the Prince Li at all. Her mother was just a lowly prostitute. She was so lowly and seduced my son, ruining his morals, almost tarnishing the Song family’s reputation. That’s why I didn’t allow her into the residence and drove her out of the capital. Who would have thought she would get pregnant, and over a decade later, come back to find us?”
“Your uncle is a deputy minister, a close official of the Emperor. He cannot have such a stain on his record. I was the one who had Song Shulan placed in the second house, but that was all for the future of the Duke’s residence, to protect the glory of the Song family, so that you could marry into the Lu family and have your maternal family to rely on.”
“How could it have anything to do with conspiracy?!” The old matriarch spoke faster and faster, as if Song Tang Ning was really just talking nonsense, and that they didn’t know Xu Zhen at all.
“Tang Ning, your grandmother knows you are angry, but your uncle and I are forced into this situation. Your father is gone, and the Duke’s residence can only rely on your uncle and your elder brother from now on. If people find out that he once had such a fleeting relationship, it would only bring harm to the Song family.”
“I had no choice but to place Song Shulan under your father’s care. You can be angry with me or hate me, but how can you slander us like this? Being involved with the late Crown Prince is a grave sin; if the Emperor finds out, it would mean the annihilation of the Song family, and no one would escape.”
She was reminding Song Tang Ning that she was also a member of the Song family. If the Song family fell into disgrace, she wouldn't be able to escape either.
“Tang Ning, don’t be reckless.”
Song Tang Ning looked at the old lady of the Song family, who had managed to weave an entire narrative in such a short time. She watched as she seamlessly crafted the identity of Song Shulan’s biological mother.
If it weren't for the irrefutable evidence and the investigations by Xiao Yan and Gu Helian, looking at her helpless and furious appearance, she might have believed her.
No wonder they were able to deceive her so thoroughly in her previous life. No wonder they managed to trick her into giving away her late mother’s belongings. They helped Song Shulan make a name for herself in the capital and took away those things that rightfully belonged to her, stepping over her corpse to send her into the Lu family.
Tang Ning's eyes flared with anger: “Old Lady Song, your words are truly remarkable, but too bad I’m not in the penal department. You might as well save these words for the prison.”
“Song Tang Ning, you are a member of the Song family!!”
Seeing that her words had no effect on her, the old lady of the Song family said sharply: “Do you think if the Song family is destroyed, you will gain anything good?!”
Song Tang Ning sneered: “Who says I am a member of the Song family?”
The old lady’s expression changed in an instant: “What do you mean?”
Song Tang Ning coldly laughed: “It means that I feel ashamed to be associated with shameless and heartless people like you.”
“Earlier, in the Cheng Wangfu, I already publicly expelled myself from the Song clan in front of Song Jinxiu and everyone else. From now on, I and my father will no longer be members of the Song family. Whether you live or die has nothing to do with me. You can accompany Song Hong to the prison to explain Xu Zhen’s identity and see if the harsh and cruel officers of the penal department will believe the words that come out of your mouth.”
“Wh0re…”
Hah!
She looked at Song Shulan with all her sarcasm: “You’ve gone to great lengths to return to the Song family, using all sorts of methods to snatch away what belongs to me. Now, I will give all of this to you.”
“Song Shulan, you win.”
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T/N: This is such a good chapter
You can read ahead to chapterr 132 here
~Look, here comes the consequence consequence consequence~
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