Lady Li became pregnant before Madam Jiang, which was likely the only humiliation the proud Jiang Huisun had ever experienced in her life.
Thinking of this, Song Yichun felt his blood boiling with excitement at the thought of seeing Lady Li. Even her despicable nature seemed pleasing. Especially when he imagined Lady Li with her swollen belly, sweetly begging him, “This is your flesh and blood, you can’t just let him be abandoned,” the plot of “Switching a Cat for a Crown Prince” immediately came to mind, growing more intense by the moment!
How would Madam Jiang react if she knew the child she had painstakingly raised was born to Lady Li?
Once this thought occurred, there was no stopping it.
He acted subservient and cautious in front of Madam Jiang, nervously arranging midwives and doctors. Not only did his father not suspect anything, but he was even pleased that Song Yichun had grown up and become thoughtful. For the first time, Song Yichun felt that some things might not be as difficult as he had imagined.
It was as if even heaven was on his side – Madam Jiang had a difficult labor, while Lady Li gave birth smoothly. Moreover, Madam Jiang had a daughter, while Lady Li had a son.
Without anyone knowing, he switched the two babies.
Perhaps due to a mother’s intuition, whenever Madam Jiang held Song Han, a hint of confusion would occasionally flicker across her brow.
Seeing this made Song Yichun nervous, so he took it upon himself to care for the child.
Madam Jiang settled down and devoted herself to caring for Song Han, even spending more energy on him than on Song Mo.
Whenever he saw this scene, Song Yichun felt a strange impulse. He longed for Song Han to grow up quickly, to be more obedient and sensible than Song Mo, more intelligent and understanding. He even hoped that the Jiang family would nurture Song Han wholeheartedly, just as they did Song Mo.
When the truth was finally revealed, it would surely be very entertaining.
He harbored these thoughts until Madam Jiang fell ill due to the incident with Jiang Meisun.
Then he secretly put arsenic in her medicine and told her the truth in her final days!
He thought he would never forget the shock on Madam Jiang’s face.
It was also the first time in his life he had seen Madam Jiang shocked.
He equally couldn’t forget the feeling of triumph when he saw her shocked expression.
But Madam Jiang, despite coughing up blood from anger, wouldn’t die.
He had no choice but to smother her face with a quilt.
Madam Jiang kicked the bedding forcefully.
Her strength was truly remarkable!
She even tore the bed sheet with her kicking.
She cursed him at that moment.
She said he would face retribution!
Thinking of this, Song Yichun’s previously numb throat began to burn with pain again.
It felt as if Song Han was still biting his throat.
Like the fangs of a venomous snake, firmly embedded in his flesh.
Song Han, that unworthy bastard, had indeed turned on him, just as Madam Jiang had predicted!
Song Yichun’s hands shook with anger. He wanted to shout “Beat Song Han to death!”, but he couldn’t make a sound. Instead, his chest tightened and he could barely breathe.
Seeing this, Song Maochun quickly said, “Don’t move rashly, you might tear open your wound. The doctor will be here soon.”
Song Yichun still wanted to look in the direction where Song Han had fallen, but he barely managed to lift his head before losing strength and collapsing back down.
Song Tongchun hurriedly pressed down on his wound.
A group of people rushed to Xiangxin Courtyard.
The main hall suddenly became quiet.
Lu Chen looked at the unconscious Song Han and asked, “What should we do?”
If they had simply wanted him dead, there were plenty of ways to accomplish that. Why keep him alive until today?
Song Mo said, “Take him to Xiangxin Courtyard too. Have the doctor treat him, and once he’s better, he can get out of here.”
Lu Shi nodded and said, “I was worried you might act rashly in anger and disregard Song Han – some things, once publicly settled, give you the upper hand. After this matter is over, there will be plenty of opportunities.”
Lu Chen smiled and said, “Yantang understands this better than you do, so you should say less!”
Lu Shi chuckled.
The atmosphere in the hall lightened.
Song Mo ordered Xia Lian to carry Song Han to Xiangxin Courtyard, then had a maid invite Dou Zhao out to greet the two uncles from the Lu family.
Lu Chen and Lu Shi repeatedly said they didn’t dare accept such courtesy.
Dou Zhao smiled at Song Mo and said, “Why don’t you ask the two uncles to leave their signatures in the family genealogy? It would save them from having to make another trip…”
The matter of removing Song Han from the family register was only half done, with the most important part – the formal contract – yet to be completed!
Lu Chen and Lu Shi finally realized this and both said, “Of course, that’s what we should do.”
They signed their names and pressed their fingerprints on the pre-written contract as witnesses.
Song Mo invited the two Lu elders to stay for a meal.
Both Lu elders felt it unnecessary: “With such an incident in the family, how could you have the mood to dine with us? It’s more important that you go to Xiangxin Courtyard. We can gather again when you have time in the future.”
Although Song Mo felt no sadness in his heart, it was indeed inappropriate at the moment. He didn’t insist and escorted the two uncles out with Dou Zhao.
Dou Zhao reminded Song Mo, “There’s still one witness – Uncle.”
“I know,” Song Mo said softly. “I’ll go to Xiangxin Courtyard. You send Madam Miao and Qixia away from the capital to avoid involving them in this.”
The divorce contract between Miao Ansu and Song Han had already been drawn up by both of their fathers. Miao Ansu was no longer a daughter-in-law of the Song family. If she didn’t leave now, when would she?
Dou Zhao conveyed Song Mo’s intentions to Miao Ansu.
Miao Ansu couldn’t believe she had divorced Song Han so easily. She kept asking Dou Zhao, “Is it true?”
Dou Zhao said, “The Song family’s copy of the contract is with the Duke. The Duke has had an accident, so we don’t know where it’s been placed at the moment. Your copy is with your father. If you don’t believe it, you can ask your father to show it to you.” Thinking of the Miao family’s greed, and that all of Song Han’s property would now belong to Miao Ansu after the divorce, she added, “There’s also a copy filed at the Shunyi Prefecture. If you’d like, you can go there and ask them to write you another copy.”
Miao Ansu nodded repeatedly, her eyes reddening. After leaving Duke Ying’s mansion, she first went to the Shunyi Prefecture. Using the name of Duke Ying’s household, she had the clerks write her a new divorce certificate, which she tucked into her bosom. Then she went to hire some guards from the escort agency before returning to Si Tiao Hutong.
Qixia graciously accepted a set of silver jewelry that Dou Zhao gave her, respectfully kowtowed to Dou Zhao three times, and then left for Zhending under Chen Xiaofeng’s escort.
Dou Zhao couldn’t help but let out a long sigh and sent someone to inquire about the situation at Xiangxin Courtyard.
Ruozhu returned to tell her: “Two doctors from the Imperial Hospital came. They only dared to use chicken skin to cover the wound, then prescribed some external medicine for injuries. They said whether the Duke can pull through depends on tonight. As for the Second Young Master, he just has a large gash on his head. He lost a lot of blood, so they prescribed some tonics to replenish his qi and blood.” She paused briefly, then continued, “I heard that when the Second Young Master woke up, he started ranting wildly, even cursing at the Duke. The servants attending him were terrified and had to gag him with a handkerchief.”
It’s no wonder he’s ranting.
Being betrayed and abandoned by the father he saw as his support – for someone as arrogant as Song Han, this must be the most devastating blow, right?
However, Song Han truly has incredible luck.
But if he had died in the ancestral hall, that would have been too easy for him.
Dou Zhao sneered.
In the evening, Song Mo didn’t return, but he had someone deliver Song Han’s expulsion documents to her.
Dou Zhao looked at the names of Song Maochun and Song Fengchun on the document and secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Early the next morning, she sent someone to deliver it to the Shunyi Prefecture to formalize the contract.
The registry clerk at the Shunyi Prefecture was shocked when he saw the document. He looked up and saw the deputy magistrate beside Yan Chaoqing, immediately lowered his head, and hurriedly affixed the Shunyi Prefecture’s official seal. But as soon as the deputy magistrate left with Yan Chaoqing, he immediately ran to the clerks’ office and whispered to the people there: “Just now, an advisor from Duke Ying’s mansion, accompanied by the deputy magistrate, came to process expulsion papers for the Song family’s Second Young Master, Song Han. Do you know why?”
The people in the clerks’ office were hearing this news for the first time and excitedly said, “Quickly, tell us exactly what happened!”
By the time Yan Chaoqing came out after thanking Magistrate Huang, he saw a crowd of people gathered in the clerks’ office, discussing Song Han’s situation.
The deputy magistrate’s face turned bright red.
Song Han had committed a grave offense, how could people not know about it?
Yan Chaoqing smiled slightly, pretending not to have seen anything. He bid farewell to the deputy magistrate with a smile and returned to Duke Ying’s mansion.
Song Yichun, however, continued to have a high fever for several days, and his condition was very poor.
Song Mo saw that this was not good and submitted a memorial to the emperor requesting leave to care for his father.
The emperor had always been indifferent towards Song Yichun, but after hearing about Song Han’s “misdeeds” and thinking of his similar situation with Prince Liao, the emperor suddenly became much more affectionate towards Song Yichun. When he heard that Song Yichun was ill, assuming it was due to the distress caused by Song Han’s actions, he sent a minor eunuch to visit him.
Since the eunuch was representing the emperor, not only did he need to be led into the inner chambers to see Song Yichun, but Song Yichun’s used prescriptions and such also had to be shown to the eunuch.
The little eunuch was terrified and hurriedly asked a few questions before returning to the palace.
The emperor was furious, recalling his humiliation when he was held hostage by Prince Liao at Yuquan Mountain.
He couldn’t punish Prince Liao due to the Crown Prince’s promise, but couldn’t he punish a duke’s second son?
The emperor issued an edict to immediately throw Song Han outside the city gates, forbidding anyone to give him a sip of water, a grain of rice, or a thread of silk to wear, otherwise, it would be considered treason, punishable by execution of nine generations of the family.
The Imperial Guard currently had no commander-in-chief, so the superintendent of the Eastern Depot personally went to Duke Ying’s mansion to “invite” Song Han out and abandoned him outside Chaoyang Gate.
Song Han had only taken medicine for three days before it was stopped. He couldn’t even call for someone to pour him a cup of water, let alone food or tonics. He was dizzy with hunger when he was inexplicably grabbed by people from the Eastern Depot, put in a carriage, and then just as inexplicably pushed out of it.
He looked at the noisy, bustling road, feeling lost.
A group of young beggars crowded around him, calling him “brother.” Their foul smell and the dirt under their blackened fingernails made Song Han shudder.
“Get away!” he shouted at the young beggars.
The young beggars, however, were unfazed. They continued to smile as they pinned him to the ground and began stripping off his clothes with many hands.
Song Han was still very weak and couldn’t break free despite several attempts. He couldn’t help but cry out for help.
Passersby gathered to watch from a distance, whispering and pointing at him in small groups, but no one came forward to help him.
The young beggars only scattered after stripping Song Han down to his underwear.