Transmigrated into a seven-year-old child, my fate is in my own hands, not in the heavens.

Zhao Lian followed Song Wenjie through two alleys and arrived at a bustling street, where they stopped in front of a large mansion.

The house was grand and imposing, with the words "Tong Mansion" engraved on the lintel. Song Wenjie arrived at the vermilion gate and knocked on the door knocker.

Knock knock knock~

A moment later, light footsteps came from behind the door, followed by an old voice: "Coming, coming, who is it?"

Song Wenjie replied, "Uncle Wu, it's me!"

Just then, the door opened, and an elderly man with gray hair opened it. He looked very energetic. When he saw Song Wenjie, the old man's cloudy eyes lit up immediately: "Young Master, you're finally back! Madam was just talking about you!"

This confused Zhao Lian, who was standing to the side. The house was clearly marked as the Tong Mansion, so why was Uncle Wu calling Song Wenjie "Young Master"? And who was this "Madam" that Uncle Wu was talking about?

"Uncle Wu, where is the old lady?" Song Wenjie and Zhao Lian went inside, and Uncle Wu closed the door behind them.

Uncle Wu said respectfully, "The old lady is talking to the madam inside. I have to hurry and tell the old lady that she hasn't been eating or sleeping well lately and keeps talking about you."

Seeing Uncle Wu running inside with quick, shuffling steps, Zhao Lian was immediately stunned. She hadn't expected that Uncle Wu, who looked so old and frail, would be so agile.

Besides, Zhao Lian was even more curious about who this old lady was.

Song Wenjie walked in with ease, as if he knew the place very well. The house was quite large, with pavilions, towers, bridges, and streams in the garden, and even a lotus pond.

It was September, and the lotus pond was full of pink lotus flowers, which looked absolutely beautiful.

"Master~"

Maids would occasionally walk by, and upon seeing Song Wenjie, they would quickly bow respectfully.

Just then, an excited tenor voice rang out from afar: "Young Master~ You're finally back!"

Zhao Lian looked in the direction of the sound and saw a man dressed as a servant running over excitedly. This was Song Wenjie's servant, Afu.

"Afu~"

At this moment, Song Wenjie also noticed him and immediately teased, "Afu, it's been years since I last saw you. You still look the same, and you haven't grown much taller either. Did Madam not give you any food?"

Afu chuckled and scratched his head: "Young Master, Madam is so good to us, and I eat a lot, but I just can't grow taller."

Song Wenjie stood in front of Afu, a full head taller than him. Although they were said to be the same age, Afu looked much younger than him.

Song Wenjie looked him up and down, his face full of displeasure: "I told you to practice with me, but you refused. If you had practiced with me, you might have grown taller."

"Young Master, let's hurry up, the Old Madam is still waiting inside!" Before Afu could finish speaking, hurried footsteps sounded.

A woman ran out of the main room: "Wenjie~ Wenjie, is it really you? Uncle Wu just said you were back, but I didn't believe it!"

Zhao Lian's body trembled; why did that voice sound so familiar? She immediately looked towards the woman.

Unexpectedly, this woman was none other than Yang Mei, the wife of Prefect Song, and also Zhao Lian's godmother.

"Mother~"

Looking at his mother, who seemed older than she had been a few years ago, Song Wenjie felt a tightness in his throat.

"Godmother~"

Yang Mei was overjoyed when she suddenly heard these words and was immediately taken aback: "Godmother~"

At this moment, Yang Mei noticed that there was a boy next to Song Wenjie who looked somewhat familiar.

Zhao Lian raised an eyebrow: "Godmother, don't you remember me?"

Yang Mei looked Zhao Lian up and down, and finally seemed to recognize her, her eyes widening: "Zhao Lian~ You're Zhao Lian~"

"Mmm~" Zhao Lian nodded hurriedly.

"That's great!" Yang Mei exclaimed with delight, but then asked in surprise, "Zhao Lian, why are you dressed as a man? And when did you two meet?"

At this moment, a beautiful young woman walked out of the house. She had red lips and white teeth and a gentle demeanor.

"Mother, don't stand at the door, let's go inside and talk!"

The group entered the house, where a maid served tea, and Yang Mei and Zhao Lian exchanged pleasantries.

Seeing them chatting so enthusiastically, the beautiful woman smiled and asked, "Mother, who is this little girl? Aren't you going to introduce her?"

Yang Mei slapped her forehead: "Oh! Look at my memory! Ting'er, this is Zhao Lian, my goddaughter and your god-sister."

Then, Yang Mei introduced Zhao Lian: "Zhao Lian, this is my daughter, Song Ting, who is also your older sister."

Song Ting suddenly realized: "Oh~ so you are Zhao Lian. I've heard my mother mention you a lot lately."

Zhao Lian smiled and said in a clear voice, "You must be Sister Ting. You are so beautiful! I've always heard my godmother mention you, but I've never had the chance to meet you. I never thought I'd finally get to see you now."

Only then did Zhao Lian realize that this was Song Ting's home.

They say three women make a drama, and before long they were chatting away, leaving Song Wenjie feeling neglected.

Song Wenjie pouted and said, "Mom, you say you miss me, but you're chatting so enthusiastically with someone else. It seems my status in your heart has plummeted."

Yang Mei glared at him: "And you still dare to talk? You're over twenty and you still haven't brought me a wife. Our family is counting on you to have children."

Unexpectedly, his mother started pressuring him to get married soon after they met, which gave Song Wenjie a headache. He quickly changed the subject: "By the way, Mom, now that Dad has been reinstated, when are you going to go see him?"

"Not urgent!"

Yang Mei seemed to have made up her mind: "You're not getting any younger. Even if you're not in a hurry, I am. I need to keep looking for someone suitable for you during this time."

As she spoke, Yang Mei picked up a stack of portraits and stuffed them into Song Wenjie's hand: "Look, these are the portraits that Matchmaker Li just brought today. Many of them are daughters of wealthy families, and they are all very beautiful. Take a good look and see which one you like?"

Song Wenjie's face fell. It seemed he had come back at the wrong time. He didn't know what had gotten into his mother, but she kept trying to set him up with potential partners.

hee hee~

Seeing Song Wenjie's miserable face, Zhao Lian couldn't help but chuckle, looking at him pitifully as if to say, "You'd better pray for yourself."

Seeing Zhao Lian's gloating expression, Song Wenjie felt uneasy. So you just wanted to see me make a fool of myself? Fine, I'll let you laugh so happily.

Immediately afterward, Song Wenjie said mysteriously, "Mother, I spoke to the Emperor today and asked him to grant me a marriage!"

"What?"

Yang Mei and Song Ting asked in unison, "You asked the Emperor to bestow a marriage upon you? Who is that girl?"

Song Wenjie smiled enigmatically: "Far away, yet right before my eyes!"

"Summon Lotus!"

Yang Mei and Song Ting both looked at Zhao Lian at the same time.

Zhao Lian was drinking tea when she almost choked.

"Cough~cough~"

Zhao Lian patted her chest, her lips twitching slightly: "Godmother, don't listen to his nonsense. He's my brother, how could we possibly be together!"

Yang Mei was overjoyed; how could she not have thought of that! She clapped her hands immediately: "Sure, why not? You two aren't blood siblings. If you marry Wenjie, then we'll be even closer relatives!"