Chapter 29 Corpses Containing Grievances
Song Que’s daughter⎯⎯Song Yuerong was almost one year old and was originally put under Madam Qian’s care. After all, Song Que’s wife has passed away and Madam Qian was the only female family member in the mansion. And now, apart from the two adults, there was only a group of young kids in the Song Mansion.
Song Yuerong was accompanied by a maid and a nanny. They were a little flustered when they saw Song Que. Song Que said to them, “Pack up and carry the young lady to my yard.”
The two people were startled.
Cheng Zhu said: “Why are you in a daze? Pack your things quickly.”
Cheng Zhu turned around and said to Song Que: “Does the young master want to keep the young lady by your side?”
Don’t look at Cheng Zhu’s childish face, she was someone who has been serving the eldest young master, and she has a way of reprimanding someone. When Cheng Zhu said that, the two people immediately started to move.
Song Que nodded and said: “I can’t leave Rong’er alone in this yard. You and Cheng Bi find a suitable room in my yard and clean it up.”
Cheng Zhu saw that his movements were unfamiliar but he carefully moved the young lady
Holding the baby in his arms, his eyes showed a tenderness that he had never shown to the servants like them. For some reason, Cheng Zhu paused in her steps and did not leave immediately.
It was the first time for Song Que to hold a baby. He pretended to be calm on the surface, but he was cursing the system to death in his heart.
Song Que felt miserable. In the previous life, it was hard enough for him even though he didn’t have to raise the twins by himself. He was worried from time to time that he would raise them crookedly. In this life, it just threw three children at him. What kind of system is it? It must be a system for bringing up children, right?
Song Que cursed the system in his mind for a while. When he turned around, he found that Cheng Zhu was still there, and was a little surprised: “Why don’t you go?”
Cheng Zhu seemed to wake up suddenly and then went out.
Song Que looked down at his daughter, and after looking at her for a long time, he actually felt that she looked pretty.
Although Master Song was still alive, but he was sick and couldn’t get out of bed, and there was not much difference between his presence and absence. Madam Qian was imprisoned and would be executed in a few days, Song Que had become the person in charge of the mansion.
He usually studied and practiced calligraphy in the mansion. He had always greeted Master Song in the evening and morning. He also urged the people around his two younger siblings to teach them the etiquette of greeting.
[晨昏定省 (chén hūn dìng xǐng) attend upon one’s parents personally by seeing them to bed and upon waking up. Refers to the daily etiquette of children serving their parents from the Book of Rites]
Song Que’s younger brother⎯⎯Song Yi, was the little guy who kicked Song Que last time. He was so pampered by Master Song that he had no eldest brother in his sight. He had spared his time in the morning and evening these days. When he saw Master Song turning his back and mercilessly staring at him with scary eyes, the little guy became a little restrained. He reluctantly called “elder brother”. As for the younger sister⎯⎯Song Shu, although she was young, she was gentle and refined. Song Que actually likes her a little.
On the third day, a guest came to the door.
When Song Que saw the familiar young man, a smile appeared on his face.
After entering the house, Ji Qiong felt a little embarrassed. He pulled on his white cuffs, but the clothes were already too short. No matter how hard he pulled them, they couldn’t cover his craggy wrists.
Song Que asked him to sit down and asked, “Are you hungry?”
Ji Qiong was stunned, licked his lips, and shook his head.
Song Que said, “I’m a little hungry but it’s not mealtime. Why don’t you accompany me to eat some pastries?”
Ji Qiong felt a little sour in his heart. He nodded and lowered his eyes, not daring to look at Song Que.
Cheng Bi, who was standing beside them had already understood this and quietly exited the study room and went to the kitchen to bring some food.
Ji Qiong said: “Brother Song, I’m here to thank you. County Magistrate Gao told me that if you hadn’t greeted him specifically, he wouldn’t have been able to get to my case in a short time. I didn’t know how much hardship I have to endure in prison.”
Song Que did not expect that Magistrate Gao would not only help but also gave a special favor. He waved his hand and said: “It’s fate that we met in that situation. What’s more, you are an innocent person. I just give you a hand. Why were you framed?”
Ji Qiong said: “The bookstore owner’s son was jealous of me and happened to break a book. He dared not admit it, so he framed it on me. But I don’t understand, he has both parents and the family has enough food. Why should he be jealous of me, a poor boy with no family? “
Ji Qiong’s face was full of confusion. He couldn’t accept this result.
Song Que also inquired about Ji Qiong’s situation in these past few days. His father was one of the few successful candidates in the imperial examinations. He was only thirty years old when he passed the exam. The Ji family can be considered a prominent family for a short period. Maybe because he had been studying so hard. Not long after he passed the exam, his father passed away. A happy event turned into a funeral, and amidst the ups and downs, his mother also fell ill. She passed away after suffering for several years. Ji Qiong was tall, Song Que originally thought he was a teenager. After asking, Song Que found out that he was just ten years old. In these short ten years, Ji Qiong was considered to have experienced the warmth and coldness of human relationships and acted with a sense of propriety, which made Song Que mistake his age.
Song Que said, “Maybe he was jealous of your appearance and talent.”
After his mother’s death, Ji Qiong has been working and never read a book again. Song Que’s words made him shake his head unconfidently.
Cheng Bi came back with a plate of snacks and a pot of hot tea.
Song Que waved his hand and told her to step back. Once only the two of them were left in the room, Ji Qiong obviously relaxed a little.
Song Que said: “The one on the left is white sugar cake, and the one on the right is kumquat cake. I like them both. Try them quickly.”
Song Que picked up a piece of pastry.
When Ji Qiong saw this, he reached out and took a piece.
Song Que found that Ji Qiong only dared to take one after he took one piece. Although he only had little interest in these slightly sweet pastries, in order to let Ji Qiong eat more, Song Que also shared half of the plate until his stomach was seventy percent full.
After finishing all the pastries, Ji Qiong realized that he had eaten too much. He secretly observed Song Que’s expression and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that he didn’t care. He felt full for the first time after a long time.
Song Que gave him a cup of hot tea and asked, “A-Qiong, are you willing to stay in my house?”
Ji Qiong was stunned, and then asked in surprise: “Brother Song, do you want me to work in your house?”
Song Que was a little dumbfounded, but when he saw the surprise on his face as if this was a great gift, his heart suddenly softened, and the words came to his lips: “Yes, you pack your things and move into the house.”
After Ji Qong’s matter here was settled, Song Que was sure that Magistrate Gao had a good impression of him, so he planned to take Song Yi and Song Shu to visit the prison.
No matter what, Madam Qian was still their mother. Maybe this was the last time they saw each other.
Song Que had already made preparations, and it was just a normal visit, so he didn’t suffer much embarrassment. But because of the two little ones beside him, he received a lot of attention and courtesy along the way. No matter what, Song Yi and Song Shu were still the masters of the Song Mansion. Song Que specifically asked the servants to wait outside, he just didn’t want them to see the scene of them with Madam Qian, who was guilty of many crimes. Because there was no one else to rely on, Song Yi, who was originally stubborn, was frightened by the people in the prison and unconsciously grabbed Song Que’s hand.
Song Que looked at his little white jade face and didn’t say anything. Anyway, he was holding Song Shu’s hand, so he wasn’t the only one.
The officer took them all the way to the end. Madam Qian was locked up in the innermost room. Gao Fenglin was not a person who liked to give punishment indiscriminately. Although he had a lot of resentment towards Madam Qian, she confessed her crime very readily, and Gao Fenglin did not deliberately ask anyone to torture her. Although Madam Qian was a bit dirty and smelly, unlike Song Que who was covered in injuries before, it wasn’t too bad.
Madam Qian was leaning against the wall, her eyes empty. Hearing the sound of the guard talking to someone, she glanced over and immediately rushed up and shook the door. The guard was startled and subconsciously wanted to kick her in the chest, but Song Que quickly pulled him away. He didn’t like Madam Qian, but he couldn’t let her two children witness this scene.
Song Yi and Song Shu looked at the dirty man, a little afraid to recognize her. Song Que pushed the two of them gently and said, “Elder brother is waiting for you outside.”
After saying that, he went out with the guard.
Song Que couldn’t hear a thing, but he was not in a hurry. He just waited patiently. When Song Yi and Song Shu came out, their faces were red and full of tears, obviously, they had cried hard.
Song Shu pulled Song Que’s sleeve and said with a sob: “Elder brother, mother is calling you.”
Song Que raised his eyebrows and told the guard: “Sir, please take care of my younger siblings for me.”
Not knowing what Madam Qian was going to say, Song Que ran through several possibilities in his mind for a moment and walked calmly until he was in front of Madam Qian. There were also some tears on Madam Qian’s face, and her almond-shaped eyes were filled with tears. It was the first time after Song Que came to this world to see her surrender. Even when she was mad at her lover, most of the emotion she showed was cruelty.
Madam Qian raised her head to look at him, adjusted her posture, and kowtowed to him three times without saying a word. She knocked so hard that there was blood on her forehead.
After Madam Qian killed Zhang Li, she only cared about her two children. Seeing their plump cheeks and bright lips today, she knew they were not being ignored or treated harshly. Madam Qian asked a few questions in detail and smiled bitterly in her heart after hearing Master Song and Song Que’s attitude towards them.
Apart from the Song family, the only person she could rely on was a blind old nanny. The Zhang family has long been a formidable enemy because she killed her cousin. Not to mention helping her take care of the children, she was even afraid that they would cause trouble for her children.
Regardless of whether Song Qie was sincere or not. At this point, she could only entrust her children to this stepson who was almost convicted because of her frame-up.
Because of this, Madam Qian’s head was knocked particularly hard.
She said tremblingly: “I am sorry to you.”
After saying that, Madam Qian kowtowed three more times.
“Song Yi and Song Shu are still young, and they are your younger siblings… I just told them the truth, it was me who made a mistake, and I told them exactly what happened. You teach them well, they won’t hold any hatred towards you. I am begging you please…”
Song Que did not torture her too much.
“They are my siblings. No matter what happens to my father, I will fulfill my responsibility as their elder brother.”
After receiving his promise, Madam Qian fell to the side exhausted.
