Qian Qiyue watched from afar as the Song family disappeared from sight, then turned and poked the pale, thin, and small Song Ru with her finger.
"You fool, why did you give money to Song Qin?!"
She jabbed Song Ru's forehead, causing the girl to nearly topple backward. Qian Qiyue quickly withdrew her hand but still glared at Tang Ning unhappily.
"You too, the Song family is full of rotten people. Ah Ru has been mistreated by Song Qin for years. Look at her skinny arms and legs—it's a miracle she survived."
"After all the Song family has done to Ah Ru, how is it worth four hundred taels of silver? And you actually agreed to let her give Song Qin money? Have you lost your mind?"
Tang Ning replied, "After all, he is Ah Ru's father."
"Pah!" Qian Qiyue rolled her eyes. "What kind of father is he?"
Song Ru's thin arms and legs, her malnourished appearance—even her own maid was better cared for. What kind of father treats his child like this?
Her own father would have beaten him to death!
Tang Ning couldn't help but laugh at Qian Qiyue's glare. "Alright, I know he's no good, but it's not that much money. Consider it buying the severance letter and freeing Ah Ru from that relationship. From now on, no one can say a word against Ah Ru."
Qian Qiyue still felt that giving money to the Song family was letting them off too easy. The Song family was cursed and deserved to live in misery.
Four hundred taels of silver—what couldn't you buy with that? Even if you bought rouge, you could paint their faces a thousand times over. Why give it to the Song family?
Qian Qiyue muttered incessantly, almost ready to grab Song Ru's ear and scold her.
Song Ru glanced helplessly at Tang Ning, who chuckled and quickly changed the subject by asking about the sutras she had copied, diverting Qian Qiyue's attention.
"Ah Yue, have you finished copying your sutras?"
"Don't bring up sore subjects, okay?" Qian Qiyue groaned. "If I hadn't begged my mother and pleaded with my father, I wouldn't have been able to come out today."
She slumped on the table, whining:
"I don't know why those monks have so much free time to write so many words. My hand is about to fall off."
Qian Qiyue pouted,
"And my second brother is so mean. I secretly asked someone to help me copy, but he snitched to my mother, and now I have to copy ten more times..."
Fifty copies were already killing her, and now ten more...
Wahhh.
I might as well die!
Qian Qiyue wasn't one to dwell on deep thoughts, and once her attention was diverted, she started complaining about the sutra-copying ordeal, along with her three brothers' "kicking her while she was down."
Tang Ning and Song Ru couldn't help but laugh at her antics. Occasionally, their eyes met, and they默契地 looked away, neither mentioning Song Qin again.
...
Qian Qiyue's sutra-copying mission was far from over, and she reluctantly returned home after a short while. Before leaving, she repeatedly reminded Tang Ning to "rescue" her from her misery and to visit her whenever she had time.
After seeing Qian Qiyue off, Tang Ning's smile lingered for a long time.
Song Ru said softly, "Ah Yue is such a good person."
Bold and unrestrained, like the warm sun in midsummer, even just being near her, one could feel enveloped by her vibrant and warm energy. It seemed that just listening to her laughter and talking to her could dispel the gloom around her, lifting one's spirits effortlessly.
Tang Ning smiled and nodded. "If you like her, spend more time with her in the future. She'd be thrilled to have someone to play with every day."
No one loved热闹 more than Qian Qiyue.
She then turned to Song Ru with a smile. "You're still not fully recovered. We should head back."
Song Ru obediently replied, "Alright."
As the two sisters left the private room, their spirits were still high. Tang Ning handed the folded severance letter to Song Ru and was about to speak when she noticed Song Ru's expression suddenly stiffen.
Frowning, Tang Ning looked up and saw Song Jinxiu standing not far away.
Tang Ning only glanced at him briefly before taking Song Ru's hand. "Let's go."
Song Ru murmured an "Mm" and followed Tang Ning, but their path was blocked by Song Jinxiu.
Hua Wu immediately stepped in front of them. "What do you want?!"
She glared at Song Jinxiu with full alertness, while Xi Chun quickly moved to shield Tang Ning and Song Ru, her expression filled with wariness.
Not long ago, that scoundrel surnamed Lu had hurt their lady. Was this dog surnamed Song here to cause trouble again?
Song Jinxiu, under the intense scrutiny of the two, had no choice but to stop. He looked past them at Tang Ning. "Tang Ning, I have something to say to you."
Tang Ning replied indifferently, "I have nothing to say to you."
Song Jinxiu's lips tightened. Even though he knew the girl no longer saw him as an elder brother, her cold demeanor still stung his heart.
"I just want to say a few words. I won't hurt you," he said, hoping she wouldn't be so guarded against him.
Tang Ning, however, remained cold. "Master Song has never been one to say anything good."
A dog's mouth can't spit ivory.
Song Jinxiu paled at her mockery. "I just want to ask, now that Third Uncle and the others have fallen to such a state and will never appear before you again, why must you still be so ruthless?"
Tang Ning's expression was icy. "I don't know what you're talking about. Master Song sent money, and I sent money. What ruthlessness? Don't falsely accuse me."
"Do you really not know? If you were just sending money, you could have done it privately. Why make such a show of putting the money in Third Uncle's hands? You clearly made him a target, stirring up greed in others. Those four hundred taels of silver will either end up in someone else's hands or cost Third Uncle his life..."
Yin Quan seemed to have left, but in reality, he had witnessed Xi Chun handing over the money. Song Jinxiu, hidden in the crowd, had also heard Xi Chun's words.
She was clearly hinting to the guards that the Song family had no one to protect them. In such a situation, Song Qin, carrying a "fortune," became a target.
Song Jinxiu knew Tang Ning was sharp and would never admit to it. He turned to Song Ru instead. "Ah Ru, Third Uncle is still your father. Why must you push him to his death?"
Song Ru's lips were pale. The timidity accumulated over years in the Song family's residence wasn't so easily shed.
Tang Ning, feeling Song Ru's cold palm, saw Song Jinxiu targeting the weaker one and immediately grew furious. Just as she was about to speak, the usually timid Song Ru suddenly spoke up.
"Elder Brother, do you know how old I am this year?"
Song Ru's face was pale, but she stood in front of Tang Ning. "Do you know my birthday, or where I lived in the residence?"
Her breathing was light, and her voice soft due to her frail health.
Seeing Song Jinxiu silently watching her, she whispered, "I've lived in the residence for fourteen years. The number of times I've spoken to you, Elder Brother, can be counted on one hand."
"Elder Brother always says you doted on Song Shulan because you didn't know her true identity, pitying her background and wanting to treat all the sisters equally. But if you truly treated everyone equally, why did you never ask about me in all those fourteen years?"
Song Ru's small face made her eyes seem even larger, her frail frame not resembling a fourteen-year-old girl at all.
"The money was given on my behalf, and those words were said on my behalf. Since you've never cared about me, why bother now with how I choose to act?"
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You can read ahead to chapterr 234 (100+ extra chapters) here
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