How could I possibly be confined in a cage?

There were people from the Qiao family and the Zheng family over there.

Huang Qian's sudden fainting left everyone at a loss as to what to do. Fortunately, seeing that something was wrong, Master Qiao got out of the car and came over to check on the situation himself.

When the servants of the Qiao family saw Master Qiao coming, they all made way for him.

"What happened?" Master Qiao had already bent down to carefully observe Huang Qian's condition. Seeing that the man was still breathing, he was slightly relieved.

The Qiao family servant, who had just been pulled back by Huang Qian, immediately knelt down in fear and recounted what he had just witnessed: "Master, I don't know what happened either. I came over when I heard a noise here. Young Master Huang and his driver were struggling, seemingly arguing about who killed the female companion that Young Master Guo brought."

Old Master Qiao's sharp gaze pierced over, filled with surprise and anger, frightening the man into not daring to move.

Zheng, the comprador, rushed over upon hearing the news. Seeing that Huang Qian was merely unconscious on the ground, he was slightly relieved. "What are you all standing there for? Quickly take Young Master Huang to the hospital." Only then did the Zheng family servants carry Huang Qian away.

Seeing Zheng, the comprador, making arrangements, Master Qiao pondered and said, "I just arrived and don't know what happened, but Huang Qian keeps saying that his driver killed Young Master Guo's female companion... Now both of them are in the river. You can get some guidelines."

Zheng, the comprador, was also quite surprised. What was supposed to be a lively dance party had turned into such a mishap at the last minute. He could only hope that the Guo family would not blame him.

Seeing that her daughter seemed to have a good impression of Guo Zixing, she still hoped that nothing unexpected would happen.

Therefore, he ordered, "Get the person out of the water first, and send someone to the Marshal's Mansion to explain the situation to Young Master Guo."

Guo Zixing was unaware that his momentary oversight had caused such a huge mess. Because he had been drinking, he was feeling dizzy and lightheaded and just wanted to go back and rest. He was still unaware that Qingru had gotten into trouble.

If they had paid even a little attention to Qingru or the Lü family's affairs, things wouldn't have come to this...

They spent half the night searching the river for the missing person, but they couldn't find a trace of them. Neither Qingru nor the Huang family's driver had been seen.

The Zheng family sent someone to inform the Marshal's Mansion, but they happened to take the wrong turn with Guo Zixing, who was heading to a villa in the suburbs.

Song family.

Yan Ru had just become a concubine after getting her hair done when she caught a chill and fainted. The people in the small building gave her a good scolding. If it weren't for the fear that Yan Ru wouldn't be used to it when she woke up, Master Song probably would have replaced everyone.

That night, Master Song sent Song Ren to deliver a message saying that he was going out to a banquet and would not be visiting that night.

Upon receiving the news, the little creature immediately ran upstairs and told Yan Ru. Yan Ru, who had been in a daze for several days, slowly woke up and drank water from the little creature's hand.

After trying to hold back, the little thing couldn't help but blurt out, "Are you faking it? You seemed perfectly fine when Master wasn't around, but as soon as he said he couldn't come, you woke up."

Yan Ru remained motionless, still feeling uneasy. She wanted to use Master Song to escape this predicament, but she was also reluctant. In addition, deep down, she still felt somewhat ashamed of such methods.

Not wanting the little thing to see through her thoughts, Yan Ru simply said, "It was just a coincidence. I've been feeling unwell for a long time now. Ever since I fell into the water, I've had chest tightness and shortness of breath. It's not your fault that day. I went out for some fresh air myself. Whether I'm locked up indoors or exposed to water, I'm bound to get sick."

In fact, Yan Ru was grateful for this illness, otherwise she really didn't know how to face the relationship that had become unrecognizable. Master Song had taken a liking to her and was willing to use any means to get her. It was a pity that she herself was the one who was forced to go along with it after he only used one trick.

This is not what she wanted. Even if she were to become a concubine for a powerful person, she would only do so if she had a firm grip on the situation. Unlike now, she has no matchmaker, no betrothal, no title, and no status.

If the little girl hadn't told her that besides five concubines and three "young ladies from the boudoir" in the Song family, she wouldn't have known that Master Song had so many women. Among them, the servants all called the three "sixth concubines," but they were distinguished by which "sixth concubine" was from this building and which was from that building, just waiting for one of them to become pregnant so that the title of "sixth concubine" could be confirmed.

Yan Ru only learned of these things now, and she was so angry that she pounded the wall. She was so furious that she almost fainted. She pinched her slender fingers hard, breaking her nails with the force. She didn't even notice the bright red blood flowing out. She said angrily, "Useless, useless, so worthless!" Her tone was so fierce that even the usually shrewish little thing trembled.

Had she known Master Song had so many women, would she have ever given herself to him? He's so obsessed with lust; she was just one of them. Once the novelty wore off, Master Song would have new concubines, but she would never be able to have another. Trapped in this small building of the Song family, under this mere four-cornered sky, how could she possibly save her father?

Yan Ru's heart was pounding. If Master Song were in front of her right now, she would probably have slit his throat on the spot.

The little thing looked at her frighteningly and stammered, "Don't panic. Although the master has many women, you are a college graduate, the top one in this mansion. You think you can't compare to those ignorant women? Humph, in my opinion, you're just so-so. You haven't even won the master's favor anywhere."

Yan Ru slowly raised her head to look at the little thing, "Both plump and slender have their own beauty. To gain favor for a time, she must have something special about her. But I don't want to hear about this anymore. Stop talking and tell the kitchen to make a bowl of fish soup. It'll be easier to digest."

The little thing pouted, but seeing that Yanru's expression was off, it still went down to prepare.

Yanru remained alone in the room. Seeing that Dujuan was still waiting for orders in the small hall, Yanru told her to leave. There was still a little bit of secret expectation in her heart. Guarding the empty room, Yanru began to feel uneasy again. She threw herself into the already cold bathtub, sank down, and held her breath tightly. She needed another life-or-death experience to bring her back to her senses.

She would come out to catch her breath after a while, and then sink back into the water again after a while. This went on and on, and Yanru forced herself to overcome her fear of falling into the water.

Perhaps it was the chill from the icy water that penetrated to her bones, but Yan Ru slowly calmed down.

The die is cast, so let it be. If we can't change the current situation, we should at least try to make our lives better from here.

Since Master Song still has some affection for me, I'll make good use of it. Once I've rescued Father Lü, I'll stop here, find my sister, and the whole family can leave Sifang City and go to a place without war or the Song and Guo families to live a good life.

As the banquet floated up again, the little one brought in fish soup.

Seeing Yanru soaking in cold water, she couldn't help but get angry. "What are you doing? You've made the master say we're not satisfied and want to do it again."

Yan Ru chuckled and splashed some water on it. "What are you talking about? I was just too tired of lying down and wanted to have some fun."

The little thing rolled its eyes. "I really don't know what kind of stimulation this is. Is it crazy? I'm not going to suffer like that."

With the help of the little one, Yanru got up, dried herself off, and washed up. After eating, she sent everyone downstairs, but Yanru still hadn't seen the man. However, she wasn't worried; her intuition told her that Song Yuanliang would come.

The night was cool as water, and Yan Ru had already put on a coat.

I took out all the clothes that Master Song had sent over the past few days. Among them were many valuable clothes and jewelry. I roughly estimated that they were worth about two or three thousand silver dollars.

She casually flipped open a wool coat; it was dark brown with a belt and reached her ankles, outlining her slender and graceful figure. Yan Ru couldn't help but take a few more glances at it, and then picked it up to examine it, only to find a small "Song" character embroidered on the inside of the coat.

Yan Ru snorted coldly. Luckily, she had taken a few more glances. If she had taken these items and sold them, the Song family's wealth would have made it easy to find traces. Looking at the jewelry pieces, although they didn't have the character "Song" on them, each piece had a barely perceptible "?", which was probably the Song family's mark.

He immediately lost interest and carelessly tossed the things aside.

Yanru picked up a book and started reading. It was a magazine that Master Song had specially ordered for her so that she wouldn't seem flustered. Magazines like "Liangyou" and "New Youth" were kept in the outer room for her to use at any time.

It was already very late at night. Knowing that Yanru had woken up, Master Song still sent someone over to inquire after her, but he didn't come over himself.

When the little thing found out, it was furious. "Really, you vixen, clinging to the master like that." It then looked at Yanru's room with a hint of resentment and disappointment.

Although they had only been in the small building for a few days, these people already knew Yanru's temperament. Seeing the dim light still in her room, they knew she was still reading. Unless she wanted to, no one could take her book away. Otherwise, she was not difficult to please, so everyone rested, and the light in the small building gradually dimmed.

Song Yuanliang had been in the outer study for several days, and he didn't know how to face Yan Ru. Resentment? No, but he was definitely blaming her. He had just said he wanted to be with her... and then she became his father's concubine. This made him feel that everything he had done was so ridiculous.

Does all his effort and companionship not count? Just because his father is the head of the family and he is just an ordinary person? Yes, everything he has comes from his father, so what can he give Yanru?

But he was filled with resentment, a feeling of anger churning inside him, and he didn't know where to vent it.

It's both strange and not strange. I clearly care a lot, but the drive I used to have is gone. I still want to see her, I really want to, but I don't want to.

Song Yuanliang was driven mad by his conflicted feelings, so he hid in his outer study every day, even refusing to attend banquets when his father asked him to. What was wrong with him? He used to be the most obedient to his father.

He also blamed his father; he had clearly confessed his feelings to him, so why… why did he have to…

The father thought he was unaware of the situation, but once Yanru became pregnant, moved out of the building, and had her own small courtyard where she could come and go freely, she would inevitably have to see him sooner or later. How would he explain that to her son then?

Perhaps he never even considered explaining. He's Lao Tzu, why should he explain himself?

But Song Yuanliang still hated them, hated them very much, yet he couldn't do anything about those two people. One was the woman he had been longing for, and the other was his father who had raised him for more than ten years. So Song Yuanliang could only suffer in silence.

When suffering cannot be relieved externally, it will rush back in double, and one cannot find balance until one's heart is riddled with holes.