Volume One, Chapter Four: The Cowardly Parents

Although Song Shuning did not think she was suited to palace intrigues, that did not mean she could not mock them.

Watching the girl before her, all coy and theatrical as she knelt in front of Song Shujun, claiming to beg forgiveness when in truth she was merely flaunting that Lin Shaoxuan’s heart belonged to her alone, Song Shuning felt a surge of disdain.

Song Shujun was nothing more than the woman his father had insisted on forcing upon him. How shameless.

It had to be said, Song Shuning’s few remarks struck straight at the hearts of the other noble ladies. Some were constrained by Jiang Qingya’s status and did not dare speak openly.

But those whose standing surpassed Jiang Qingya’s did not hold back.

“Second Miss Song is right. If you truly love one another, you should have informed your parents and let the matchmakers arrange the marriage. To do something like this now is simply brazen.”

“So Miss Jiang is supposed to be the foremost beauty and talent in the capital, and yet she has done such a shameless thing. You have truly made a laughingstock of us all.”

“I am innocent with Lord Lin,” Jiang Qingya said, seeing that the abuse which should have fallen on Song Shuning was now crashing down upon her. “My lord and I were framed!”

“Innocent? Then how did the two of you end up lying in the same bed?” Song Shuning curled her lip. “And didn’t you just say the two of you loved each other? Isn’t that a contradiction?”

Jiang Qingya turned toward Song Shuning, her eyes full of resentment. How had Song Shuning suddenly become so sharp-tongued?

Song Shuning lifted an eyebrow at her and pursed her lips.

What? You dare do it and not let people say it?

Jiang Qingya withdrew her gaze and looked to Lin Shaoxuan. Lin Shaoxuan hurried over and helped her up, then fixed his eyes on Song Shuning.

“I came to meet at Willow Garden because I received Second Miss Song’s invitation. Yet when I arrived at the courtyard, I did not see Second Miss Song. On my way out, I encountered Qingya and only exchanged a few words with her. Who could have guessed I would then be struck unconscious? When I woke, this was the scene before me. Whether you believe it or not, everything I have said is true!”

“Well then, that person is really rather kind,” Song Shuning said with a sneer. “Knocks you both out and puts you in the same bed so your lovers’ reunion can be completed for you?”

She gave a small huff. “And I never invited you. I was invited here by your sister. When did I turn around and invite you?”

“Yes, you wrote to me, asking me to meet you at Willow Garden today to discuss the matter between me and your sister.” As he spoke, Lin Shaoxuan produced a sheet of paper. “This is the letter you wrote me.”

Song Shuning pointed at herself. “A letter from me?”

Song Shujun reached out and took the paper. Seeing the neat, precise handwriting upon it, she gave a mocking laugh. “If Lord Lin wishes to slander my younger sister, he ought to learn a little more about her before writing such nonsense.”

Song Shuning craned her neck to take a look as well. Seeing the handwriting, she laughed.

In the memories of the original Song Shuning, her writing had been so ugly that her master always scolded her, saying a chicken’s scratch was prettier than hers. She had always argued that as a physician she ought to have her own distinctive style.

“Many thanks to you both for thinking so highly of this country girl,” Song Shuning said with a smile. “I never imagined I could write such beautiful characters in my lifetime.”

Lin Shaoxuan’s expression changed. He turned to look at Lin Shaoyan. Having carelessly had a maid write the note, Lin Shaoyan averted her eyes and refused to meet his gaze.

She had thought today’s plan would succeed. If Song Shuning had been left with no way to argue back, whether that note could be used or not would hardly have mattered. Who could have expected an accident?

Besides, Song Shuning had only just arrived in the capital. How could she have known what her handwriting looked like?

If Song Shujun had not been trained in martial arts and thus was not so easy to frame, they would never have turned their attention to Song Shuning, who had only recently come to the capital...

This could not be blamed on her. If anyone was to blame, it was that wild girl Song Shuning for running away!

Song Shujun had no desire to keep watching them perform. She said in a low voice, “It is late. Lord Lin, please hurry and gain your parents’ consent, then come to our home and annul this engagement.”

With that, Song Shujun took Song Shuning by the hand and strode out of the courtyard toward the gate of Willow Garden.

Song Shuning let herself be led along, recalling the plot of the novel as she walked.

In the book, Song Shujun and Song Shuning had actually been very close sisters. Song Shujun knew martial arts and was also clever; Song Shuning had been frail as a child, but by good fortune she had been treated by a miraculous physician. Later, because she and that physician became well matched in temperament, she had followed the physician and learned medicine.

Had it not been for this misunderstanding, the two sisters might well have loved each other all their lives.

The Song family was newly risen from the ranks of military households and had only moved to the capital a year earlier. Song Shujun already had a maid of her own to attend her, while Song Shuning, having only just returned, had not yet bought one. After they left Willow Garden, Song Shujun’s maid and the coachman who had brought them came over with the carriage.

The maid helped Song Shujun and Song Shuning into the carriage. Song Shujun said they were going home, the coachman acknowledged, and the maid climbed onto the footboard. Then the coachman drove the carriage into the city.

The Song residence was a second-class courtyard granted by the court. The front area was a reception hall, and farther in lay the inner courtyard and the living quarters. The main rooms were where Song Shuning’s parents lived. She and Song Shujun occupied the east wing, while the west wing had been set aside for Song Shuning’s grandmother. The servants lived in the side rooms flanking the front hall.

When the two sisters returned home, Song Shujun took Song Shuning straight to their mother Madam Xiao’s room and brought up the matter of breaking the engagement.

Madam Xiao was a proper woman of the inner quarters; she had to consult her husband on everything and could not make decisions herself. Hearing Song Shujun’s account of what had happened today and the request to annul the betrothal, she hesitated and said, “Should we ask your father? Perhaps we should wait until he comes back and let him decide.”

Seeing Madam Xiao’s sallow face and vacant eyes, Song Shuning pressed her lips together. Her heart felt weary; it seemed her family could not be relied upon either.

She could only hope her heroine sister would stand up and take charge.

Song Shuning turned to Song Shujun. “Sister, where is Father?”

“Father is currently serving as a drill officer in the city defense camp, responsible for training the recruits,” Song Shujun said with a sigh. “He serves under the Marquis of Dingyuan.”

Song Shuning: “....”

When she had read that introduction before, she had skimmed over it in a glance.

“Are we just going to swallow this in silence?” Song Shuning frowned. “If the Lin family refuses to annul the marriage, are you really going to marry into that house?”

Upon hearing this, Madam Xiao sighed, took Song Shujun’s hand, and said apologetically, “Junyun, it is your father and I who are useless. We cannot decide for you.”

Looking at her mother, Song Shujun’s eyes flashed with helplessness. “Father and Mother have worked hard to support my studies and let me learn martial arts. That is already no easy thing. How could I blame you?”

“Song Shujun!”

A bright voice rang from the front courtyard. Then a handsome, upright man strode in from outside. His gaze was intense as it fixed on Song Shujun, and he said in a stern voice, “That Lin Shaoxuan has insulted you so badly, and you still want to force a smile and marry into his household? Do you want so badly to climb high and wed into a noble family?”

Seeing the newcomer, Song Shuning’s eye twitched.

The male lead of the novel, all sharp tongue and spite: Lu Shiyan, who would later become the youngest great general in the Kingdom of Qi.

No wonder there was a later lovers’ reconciliation from hell. Just listen to him. Were those even human words?

He did not know what had happened, did not ask whether Song Shujun was all right, and came in only to launch into a barrage of accusations.

He deserved every bit of that lovers’ reconciliation from hell.

Song Shujun had never expected Lu Shiyan to appear in the capital at this moment, let alone in her own home. She certainly had not expected him to think such things of her.

She walked toward him as he came into the courtyard and said in a low voice, “My affairs are none of your concern. Please leave.”

“Song Shujun! The matter of Lin Shaoxuan and Jiang Qingya has already spread throughout the capital. If you do not go personally to annul the engagement, do you mean to let them keep humiliating you?” Lu Shiyan’s face darkened, his tone icy. “Where did your backbone go? Once you came to the capital and got engaged to Lin Shaoxuan, did you lose even that?”

Hearing such deeply insulting words, Song Shuning could not help frowning. She looked at her mother, who seemed embarrassed and uncomfortable but still remained silent.

“Mother, are you not going to protect Sister?”

Madam Xiao looked at the two people in the courtyard with difficulty. “That is between your sister and Young Master Lu. It is not proper for me to speak...”

Song Shuning: “....”

With such weak parents, it was no wonder the original heroine had suffered so terribly in the book, and that even after death it was only her master who came to avenge her.