Song Chuyi remained silent for a long moment before asking: “What happened afterward?”

“Afterward?” Old Madam Song gave a cold laugh for a while: “Afterward, your aunt’s husband gained several new beauties, and by now already has three illegitimate sons. As for your aunt, her health declines with each passing day… Even so, she still refuses to agree to return to her maternal home and stubbornly remains in Qingzhou.”

Song Chuyi gripped her handkerchief tightly without speaking.

So a heart truly could go from burning hot to cold and hard as a blade. So disregarding dignity and face not only couldn’t win back a husband’s heart, but instead pushed him even further away.

“Little Yi, if you hadn’t had this dream, if you hadn’t said those things to me, I would never tell you these words.” Old Madam Song looked at her, as if seeing that wantonly bright Song Linlang of years past. Her gaze also gradually turned cold: “I want you to remember this point forever—mere appearance may cause a moment’s attraction, but there’s an enormous difference between that and true affection. Rather than thinking about impractical romantic love, it’s better to steadfastly choose an honest person to live with. There is originally no man in this world worth abandoning everything to follow. If there is, he won’t make you abandon everything. Do you understand?”

Nanny Xu was somewhat puzzled—how could such a small child understand such profound words?

“I understand.” Song Chuyi raised her face, her eyes bright: “Just like Seventh Young Master Shen—he was originally not worth breaking your heart and Father’s over. What should be mine will be mine. What isn’t mine, forcing it is useless.”

Old Madam Song felt comforted in her heart and praised: “You’re right. Yesterday you told me you forced me and your father to agree to your marriage with Seventh Young Master Shen. Since Seventh Young Master Shen treated you that way afterward, it shows he was originally dissatisfied with this marriage. Since he was originally dissatisfied, it was inevitable you two would become a resentful couple. The Seventh Young Master Shen in your dream is certainly unforgivable, but you also must bear some responsibility. This is also why I asked if you wished Seventh Young Master Shen would die early.”

“Fortunately you didn’t place all the blame on Seventh Young Master Shen.” Old Madam Song pulled her to stand up, speaking earnestly: “Little Yi, I hope everything in the dream won’t happen. If it does happen, I also hope you won’t be as obsessive as you were in the dream. No matter what you encounter in the future, first think about what you have—don’t only stare at what you don’t have.”

Song Chuyi understood Old Madam’s meaning and respectfully agreed on the surface.

But in her heart she naturally understood things weren’t this simple. Some things couldn’t be told to Old Madam Song. Just like the “dream” she told Old Madam Song—from beginning to end she never mentioned what Li Shi and her daughter had done to her, nor had she mentioned Song Yan.

The tree wants to be still, but the wind won’t stop.

Whether to hate or not, whether to take revenge or not—these things were never something she could control by her own will.

When Li Shi returned to her room, Song Chuning was playing in the covered corridor, teasing birds with a jade stick. When she smiled, her eyes curved, her face displaying an appearance of innocent naivety.

Her heart couldn’t help softening somewhat. The cold feeling that had lingered from those alarming words last night dissipated by more than half. She beckoned and called her forward.

Who knew Song Chuning would open her mouth and ask: “Mother, I wonder if you heard yesterday—the First Branch called for an imperial physician.”

The First Branch calling an imperial physician was a very normal thing, wasn’t it? Li Shi was somewhat puzzled and casually asked: “Who’s ill?”

Song Chuning curved her lips in a smile, her features clearly carrying three parts cunning and seven parts languid. She pulled Li Shi into the inner room, dismissed everyone, and only then looked up smiling: “No illness—it’s a happy occasion.”

Li Shi frowned and thought for a moment, then smiled broadly: “Could it be your eldest sister-in-law is with child?” Her tone was joyful—she was genuinely happy for Li Qingzi.

Although she’d had some unpleasantness with the First Madam some days ago, her relationship with the eldest young mistress, Li Shi, was extremely good. Hearing this, she couldn’t help feeling somewhat happy.

The corner of Song Chuning’s mouth held a peculiar smile: “Mother shouldn’t be too happy too soon. The First Branch having happy news can’t resolve your current predicament. You should know that Sixth Sister being taken to Old Madam’s to raise has almost become a foregone conclusion. Old Madam today must have used the matter of heirs to pressure you, right?”

Li Shi’s smile froze on her face as she looked at Song Chuning without speaking.

She felt as if she didn’t recognize her own daughter, or rather, she had never understood her own daughter?

Seeing she didn’t answer, Song Chuning continued on her own: “In the future, if Mother wants to reach Sixth Sister, it will be difficult.”

Li Shi rubbed her brow somewhat wearily and raised her hand to stop her nonsense: “What do you want to say?”

Usually she would hold Song Chuning in her embrace, but at this moment she suddenly couldn’t do so. Song Chuning always made her think of the lofty Old Madam Song, as if seeing through all the world’s conditions.

A five-year-old child was so unsuited to such a description, yet Song Chuning’s mental capacity was clearly truly more than five years old. She felt somewhat of a headache.

Song Chuning toyed with the agate and pearl-inlaid bracelet on her hand, almost without the slightest hesitation, saying matter-of-factly: “Right now the happy news probably isn’t completely confirmed yet. Old Madam and First Madam haven’t had time to intervene. If Yan’er or Sixth Sister accidentally got into a dispute with eldest sister-in-law and caused her to miscarry, wouldn’t that solve everything once and for all?”

Li Shi almost gasped for cold air, feeling as if her heart had been doused with a basin of cold water, cold from head to toe.

When she came to her senses, she immediately stood up and harshly slapped Song Chuning across the face: “Do you even know what you’re saying?!”

Song Chuning was small and weak, and was immediately knocked back several steps by Li Shi’s slap. Her elbow hit the red lacquered wooden table, knocking off the glazed cup holding grapes on top.

“That’s your eldest sister-in-law!” Li Shi was so angry her eyes turned somewhat red, pointing at Song Chuning with a trembling hand: “Back then when you had a high fever, she cared for you for over half a month!”

Song Chuning only felt her elbow both numb and painful, unable to lift her arm for quite a while. Only after a good long time did she recover somewhat. Holding a cold smile, she looked at Li Shi: “Since Mother still remembers, then I must ask—where were you at that time?”

Li Shi froze, unable to speak for a long time.

Song Chuning rolled up her sleeve right in front of her. Seeing the scraped skin, she wasn’t alarmed, casually took a handkerchief to cover it, and looked straight at Li Shi: “At that time you were at Qingliang Temple seeking safety talismans for Sixth Sister. You didn’t even know I had been feverish for three days. Fortunately, eldest sister-in-law discovered something was wrong, otherwise my little life would have been gone long ago. Since you could go to such lengths to eliminate the children left behind by the late wife, what are you being soft-hearted about now?”

Li Shi looked at the blood on her pale lotus-root arm and couldn’t help feeling distressed. She was about to step forward to embrace and comfort her when she heard her drop this string of words, and couldn’t help freezing in place, speechless.