High-class maid

After Song Wenyang left, Song Yanjiang, furious, got up and went to Old Madam Song's courtyard.

"Master, the old lady is in the small Buddhist hall. Please wait a moment," said the old lady's head maid.

Ah, Song Yanjiang gave a bitter laugh. How ironic it all was. A murderer who had been a vegetarian and chanting Buddhist scriptures for years. Was he good at pretending, or was he forced into it?

"Quickly inform her, I have urgent business." Unlike before, Song Yanjiang did not wait for the old lady, but instead instructed the maid to go and call her.

"Yes." Seeing that the master was so restless, the maidservant figured it must be something urgent, so she hurriedly went to the small Buddhist hall to inform him.

After hearing the maid's report, the old lady in the small Buddhist hall opened her eyes, smiled slightly, and muttered to herself: "Finally, we've been discovered."

She slowly got up and walked out, showing no sign of urgency.

"You may all leave," the old lady instructed the maids.

"What's making you so flustered?" After the maids left, the old lady went straight to the chair and sat down.

“I saw Yang’er today. He is ill, with symptoms exactly the same as Jin’s back then. I wonder what Mother thinks?” Song Yanjiang said, word by word, without blinking, wanting to see how the old lady would respond.

"Really? How could it be such a coincidence? Could it be hereditary?" The old lady's prayer beads continued to spin as usual, seemingly unaffected.

“But Yang’er says he’s been bewitched and has already gone to the palace to meet His Majesty,” Song Yanjiang said, bowing towards the Emperor.

"What? Meet the Emperor? This child must be trying to seduce you. The Emperor is so busy with state affairs, how could he have time to meet with a mere brat like him?"

The old lady's prayer beads paused for a moment, then started spinning again, only much faster than before.

“But what if our son says that His Majesty already knows?” Song Yanjiang said, looking into his mother’s eyes.

"What do you mean?" the old lady asked, staring intently at him.

“Mother hasn’t seen Yang’er for many years, so she probably doesn’t know what he looks like now. I wonder if Mother has heard a saying from the countryside?” Song Yanjiang said, picking at his fingernails.

"What are you saying?" The old lady was in a passive position. She didn't like this feeling, but she knew nothing about what was happening outside and could only be led by the nose by her son.

"Like begets like. As for my son, I don't know anything else, but I do know that the Emperor is very fond of Yang'er."

"He knows everything?" The old lady was truly alarmed when the current emperor was mentioned.

Song Yanjiang didn't know who the old lady was referring to, but he couldn't hold back any longer and questioned her.

"Haven't you harmed Jin Shi alone enough? Why did you have to harm her child too? That's a prince! Even if you've raised a cat or dog for so many years, you should have developed feelings for it, right? Why are you so heartless?"

Seeing Song Yanjiang's out-of-control state, Old Madam Song flung her hand away and yelled at her, "I harmed her? She's pregnant with someone else before she's even married! This kind of woman brings shame to the family! What if she doesn't die and the truth comes out?"

“This was all my own choice. I know everything. I love her, I accept her. I even begged to get married. You can control me, why do you have to control others?” Song Yanjiang said painfully.

"I control you?" Old Mrs. Song scoffed as if she had heard something amusing. "If it weren't for me, how could you have become a scholar at such a young age? If it weren't for me, you would have died on that snowy night!"

"In short, whoever you had poisoned back then, now that he has cured Yang'er, I will still consider you my mother. Otherwise, I would rather give up my official position than let him die!"

This was the first time Song Yanjiang had spoken to Old Madam Song like this. She stood there stunned for a long while before replying.

"Fine, fine, so you're threatening me for someone else's son?! He's more important than your mother?"

“Mother! You didn’t just harm the woman I loved back then, now you want to harm her son too? He’s a prince! If you remove the curse from him, the Emperor might spare your life. But if you remain obstinate, our entire Song family will be buried with you!” Song Yanjiang said with a heavy heart.

Old Mrs. Song was truly terrified. It wouldn't matter if she died, but her beloved grandson Heng'er was still unmarried. Did she expect him to be buried with her at such a young age?

"You may leave now. Let me think about this some more." Old Mrs. Song slumped into her chair, lost in thought.

"You must remove Yang'er's curse before the Emperor, only then can you atone for your sins." After saying this, Song Yanjiang left without looking back.

At this moment, Song Wenyang was drunk in a tavern on the street, and the tavern owner felt extremely disgusted by the smell.

"I told you we'd open for business on the Lantern Festival, but you insisted on opening on the fifth day of the new year just for a few taels of silver. Now look what's happened! We've attracted a drunkard. We can't just leave him on the street!"

The tavern owner, seeing Song Wenyang passed out drunk on the table and the scattered wine jars, helplessly lashed out at his wife.

"I... I just wanted to earn a few more taels of silver, so why don't we let him sleep here tonight?" she retorted softly, her head lowered.

"You're so stupid! What if he dies in our tavern?" The tavern owner was furious at his wife's words and roared in exasperation.

At this moment, Shen Xing'er and her daughter also carried small packages and hurried home.

"Mother, can't we go home tomorrow? Why do we have to rush home tonight? It's so cold!" Shen Xing'er pulled her cloak tighter around herself and rubbed her reddened hands as she spoke.

"I don't want to go back tonight either, but your father said he received a letter from your grandmother that she will be arriving in the capital tomorrow, so we have to go back tonight to prepare a room for them." Because she didn't like her mother-in-law, Wang was not in a good mood.

"Grandma? Why is she coming? Is she alone or with her uncle's family?" Shen Xing'er had no recollection of her adoptive grandmother and had never heard her mother mention her.

"Who knows? She wouldn't come to the temple without a reason. Let's see what kind of trouble she's up to." Wang wasn't enthusiastic and didn't want to talk about her mother-in-law too much. Whenever she thought of her mother-in-law, she thought of the poor child in her belly.

"Huh, it's so late, why are there still taverns open? It sounds like they're arguing?"

As Shen Xing'er passed by the tavern, she saw that the lights were on inside. Out of curiosity, she quietly walked to the door and was surprised to see Song Wenyang!

"What's going on? Why is he here all by himself?" Shen Xing'er strode in, stood protectively in front of Song Wenyang, and glared angrily at the couple in the tavern.

"Who are you to him?" The woman looked at Shen Xing'er with surprise and delight, as if she had found a savior.

At this moment, Madam Wang also came in. When she saw Song Wenyang, who was slumped over the table, drunk and hungover, she asked anxiously, "Why is Young Master Song all alone here?"