Two days later, in the evening, Song Mingyue came to find Qi Zhenzhen. After a brief greeting to Yun Shi, she pulled Qi Zhenzhen into her room.
"Your face looks so bad, did you find anything while following?"
"My cousin has someone he likes, a girl from their village. That handkerchief was embroidered by that girl!" Song Mingyue's chest heaved violently, looking very indignant.
That shouldn't be the case. Qi Zhenzhen knew Song Mingyue well; if it were just this, why would she be so angry?
"Anything else?"
"That girl asked my Ge Yusheng if he could break off the engagement with me. Ge Yusheng said he couldn't. He said my aunt was too hardworking, and if he got engaged to me, my aunt would have a much easier time. What's even more infuriating is that he said I have a lot of money and am simple-minded, easy to control. He said he would use some tactics to ensure I wouldn't have children within three to five years, and then my aunt would step in to arrange for a secondary wife to be brought into the household..." Song Mingyue said through gritted teeth.
This scheme even shocked Qi Zhenzhen.
Setting aside Ge Yusheng for a moment, Da Yu Shi was Song Mingyue's own aunt. How could she be so cruel to her own niece? Yu Shi was incredibly devoted to Ge Yusheng, providing him with everything he needed, never mistreating him. She hadn't disliked the Ge family's social standing and had offered her own pampered daughter to him, only for the mother and son to harbor such intentions.
Truly, you can know a person's face but not their heart.
"Did you tell your mother about this?"
Song Mingyue shook her head. "My mother thinks my aunt has had a very hard life and treats her wholeheartedly. If she knew that her sister, whom she genuinely cared for, was plotting against her and me like this, my mother would be heartbroken."
"If you let yourself be schemed against like this, your mother will be even more heartbroken," Qi Zhenzhen said, rolling her eyes at Song Mingyue.
"I think we should find a foolproof method."
A foolproof method? That meant letting Yu Shi discover the true nature of the Ge family mother and son herself.
"There's still time anyway, let's take it slow. If he wants to play with two boats, he should be prepared for them to capsize," Song Mingyue's words carried a rare fierceness.
"Calm down. It's a good thing you found out now!" Qi Zhenzhen comforted Song Mingyue.
"I just feel wronged for my mother. What has she done to offend the Ge family that they would plot against her like this?" Song Mingyue mumbled.
"Then let their schemes fall through. Their mother and son have made great plans, thinking it was a sure thing. When it fails, it will be a huge blow to them," Qi Zhenzhen consoled her.
After cursing for a while, Song Mingyue's pent-up frustration finally subsided. She then pulled Qi Zhenzhen along to talk about Xun Wanniang.
"She's really strong. Yesterday, my grandmother went to the river to wash clothes, and she followed. When they came back, she carried that large basin of wet clothes. You know, in the past, when going to the river to wash clothes, they would either have my eldest aunt help carry it back, or my mother would, meaning it had to be carried back by two people, and they had to rest several times along the way. My grandmother said Xun Wanniang carried it back in one go." Song Mingyue said with emotion. "She followed them in and helped hang the clothes. My mother even brought her a bowl of hot water. You absolutely won't guess what she said!"
Qi Zhenzhen played along and asked, "What?"
"'This hot water is so delicious. I haven't had a sip of hot water in a long time,'" Song Mingyue recounted. "My grandmother and mother's eyes turned red after hearing that."
This was using her advantages to gain sympathy? She was truly clever.
"My grandmother told her to call out whenever she wanted hot water, and the family wouldn't be so heartless as to refuse a bowl of hot water. After drinking the hot water, she helped my mother turn over the vegetable patch in the yard. At first, she didn't know how to use a hoe, but after watching my mother for a while, she became proficient. That large vegetable patch in our yard, my mother said it usually took her and my eldest aunt a full day to turn over, but she finished it herself in half a day." Song Mingyue continued, "Anyway, I saw the way my grandmother and mother looked at Xun Wanniang had changed somewhat."
Elders liked capable people. This indirect approach was also a good move. Over time, the Song family's impression of her would improve, which would be a good boost for her to re-enter the Song family. These days, Xun Wanniang had also visibly lost a lot of weight. Her features, which were previously crowded together due to her plumpness, had straightened out. She wasn't a beauty, but at least she looked much more pleasant.
"She really has perseverance. For your cousin, she's really gone all out."
It couldn't be denied that, in any era, the power of love was great. Xun Wanniang was working so hard, and Qi Zhenzhen now genuinely hoped she could achieve her wish.
After they had talked enough, Song Mingyue stayed for dinner at the Qi family's before returning home.
That evening, when Qi Zhenzhen was talking with Yun Shi, she mentioned Xun Wanniang a few times. Yun Shi, who had always been soft-hearted, felt a bit of pity for Xun Wanniang. "I don't know when this will end..."
Qi Zhenzhen felt that Xun Wanniang's path was still very long, but unexpectedly, the path soon reached its end—
Song Mingze was beaten. The assailant was his classmate's older brother, a notoriously arrogant man in town. It was said that his family had relatives who were officials in the capital, so the Song family could only endure it. As the saying goes, the common people cannot fight against officials.
The Song family could endure it, but Xun Wanniang could not. How could the man she cherished so much be beaten for no reason? She was also bold. She went to town for several consecutive days, figured out the man's route, and under the cover of night, waited on the man's way home and ambushed him, beating him severely.
That family initially suspected the Song family, but after investigation, there was no evidence pointing to the Song family. Moreover, since the man had offended many people before, they considered themselves unlucky and assumed it was retaliation.
Xun Wanniang thought she had done this discreetly, but she didn't realize that Song Mingze had seen her coming and going.
After a few days of rest, Song Mingze heard about the incident at school and connected Xun Wanniang to it.
Historically, heroes saving beauties made for beautiful tales, but sometimes, it could be the other way around.
Song Mingze coaxed the truth out of Xun Wanniang, lectured her sternly, and then shut himself in a room with Song Lizheng for half a day. Afterward, Song Lizheng personally made a trip to the county town. Upon his return, he presented the marriage certificate to everyone in the Song family. At the same time, Xun Wanniang was also summoned into the house.
Chen Shi was illiterate, but looking at the marriage certificate and then at Xun Wanniang standing beside her son, what else could she understand? This foolish woman had become her daughter-in-law again.
Chen Shi was unwilling and cried and made a scene. Song Lizheng directly told her that if she was unwilling to stay in the Song family, he would have Song Zhishu send her back to her maiden home.
Song Mingze also made it clear that bringing Xun Wanniang into the family again was his decision. As for the grievances with the Xun family, they were to be settled. If Chen Shi did not recognize Xun Wanniang as her daughter-in-law, then he would take his family and move out.