She was clearly so pretentious, clearly so frivolous and ambitious, with eyes filled with calculation whenever she looked at others. Yet, he actually believed this woman, full of jealousy and devoid of any gentleness, could be bullied by a girl from a noble family who had been pampered since childhood and was naive to the ways of the world.
He even thought it pitiful that Song Shulan lost her mother, forgetting that Tang Ning's parents had also died early and that she had no one to rely on.
In the past, Song Jinxiu always felt sorry for Song Shulan’s background, thinking that her loss made her situation difficult. However, he had never considered how, as the third uncle Song Qin, a court official, was out on secret business, Song Shulan could have conveniently found him.
He also never thought about how a girl who had never seen her paternal family and was raised by her widowed mother could dare to seek out the third master of the Song family, knowing full well that she would be treated as an outsider and a stain on the Song family. Was she not afraid of being silenced by the Song family?
Until that day when he learned of her identity, knowing that she was Song Hong's illegitimate daughter and that her mother was a traitor, he suddenly realized that with Song Hong’s concern for the Song family’s future and the old madam’s emphasis on its reputation, even if they valued the so-called “kinship” from back then, how could they dare to keep her in the residence so openly?
His father could be momentarily confused by love, but the grandmother who had chased Xu Zhen out of the capital and even wanted to eliminate her entirely could never agree to keep such a calamity in the house.
Unless...
Song Shulan had some sort of leverage on the Song family that forced the grandmother to relent.
Unless when she approached Song Qin that day, she had revealed something that made the third uncle unable to ignore her, compelling him to take the risk of bringing her back to the capital.
Song Jinxiu looked at the tears on Song Shulan's face, which were meant to evoke his sympathy, and his mind was clearer than it had ever been.
In the past, whenever she cried, he would unconditionally lean towards her, feeling that she had suffered injustice. He reprimanded Tang Ning for her and often scolded his sister, whom he had cherished since childhood, forgetting their years of sibling bond, as if he had lost his mind, thinking only about not letting her be bullied.
But now, looking back at those tear-filled eyes, he could only see calculations behind them.
This woman had turned her tears into a weapon, and he had foolishly believed her, making himself look ridiculous.
“Brother...” Song Shulan felt cold under his gaze, her face pale. She cautiously raised her eyes to look at him, revealing a pretty yet fragile profile. Her pale face and trembling eyelashes showed that she knew this look was the most beautiful and could soften hearts the most.
“Brother, please don’t look at me like that. I’m afraid...” Song Jinxiu stared at her for a long time before speaking: “If you call me brother, what is there to fear?” His tone was gentle as he reached out to cover her weak neck, the icy touch making Song Shulan shudder as if her throat had been grasped. She pressed her lips together, too afraid to speak.
“Lan’er, I am your brother, aren’t I?” Upon hearing this, Song Shulan didn’t relax; instead, her body trembled even more violently.
Song Jinxiu tilted his head slightly: “Are you afraid of me?” Song Shulan replied in a trembling voice, “N-No... Lan’er isn’t afraid of brother...” If not for her trembling body and her face as pale as death, her words would have sounded affectionate and pity-inducing.
Across from them, Lu Zhi Nian could not see Song Jinxiu’s expression clearly in the dim light of the prison. He could only see that Song Jinxiu, at this moment, still recognized Song Shulan as his sister and spoke gently to comfort her, which made him unable to help but scoff as he leaned against the prison door.
“Song Jinxiu, are you stupid? Even now, you still can’t see this woman’s true face?”
“She isn’t as weak and innocent as you think. She has never been bullied by Tang Ning. From the moment she appeared before the Song family, she was already playing the victim to drive a wedge between you and Tang Ning. It was she who ruined your Song family and harmed Tang Ning, yet you remain oblivious?”
Lu Zhi Nian seemed to want to vent the foolishness he had committed in his dreams onto others, speaking with resentment: “From the moment she approached your Song family, she was calculating to replace Tang Ning. All she wanted was the glory and wealth of the Song family, to climb up on your backs. To her, you are nothing more than a stepping stone to achieve her desires...”
“So what?” Song Jinxiu raised his eyes to look at Lu Zhi Nian: “I may be foolish, but she shares the same blood as I do. I cannot change that. Yet you, Lu San Lang, are not foolish. Why have you fallen into such a predicament?”
“You!!” Lu Zhi Nian was instantly furious.
Song Jinxiu sat behind the prison door, looking at his former friend across from him, and mocked in a hoarse voice: “Lu San Lang is insightful and exceptionally clever, yet he still lets himself be played around by others. You abandoned your former friends to protect yourself, yet in the end, you too were captured in disgrace and thrown into this prison.”
“I noticed you took quite a beating the other day, not much less than mine. I heard it was the Emperor himself who ordered you to be punished, scolding you for being shameless and despicable. What difference is there now between you and me, Lu San Lang?” Song Jinxiu's words were sharp: “In the past, Tang Ning never thought highly of you. Now, she is the County Princess of Yiyang, and you are nothing but a prisoner despised by the Emperor. In her eyes, you are nothing; you will never be able to share a cup of tea as a brother-in-law with her.”
“Brother-in-law? Ha!” Lu Zhi Nian laughed coldly with derision: “If you survive this time and are not exiled, when I marry Tang Ning, I will pour you a drink, so you can witness my happiness with Tang Ning.”
Song Jinxiu tilted his head, looking at the grimacing Lu Zhi Nian, observing how he had fallen into such a state yet still held on to his arrogance from the past.
His shirt was still stained with blood, and he had to hold onto the prison door to sit up, having been thrown into the imperial prison for several days without a single member of the Lu family coming to see him.
Yet he seemed to think that as long as he could get out, the Lu family would still be his, that he was still the proud and adored third master of the Lu family, and that Tang Ning would still turn back for him...
Song Jinxiu seemed to see his former self in Lu Zhi Nian, that fool who had long since severed ties yet still acted like an older brother, lecturing Tang Ning.
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You can read ahead to chapterr 234 here
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