“You…”

Song Yao tilted her head back, about to speak, but was stopped by a single glance from Song Fu.

Her maid Qiushui hastily pulled her young mistress back, lowering her voice to plead with Ming Xiang.

“Send Second Miss back to her room.”

Ming Xiang spoke, then had Nanny Song take Song Yao away.

Watching their retreating figures, Ming Xiang said, “Today Madam submitted a memorial to the palace. It seems His Majesty grew weary of it and finally issued the imperial decree.”

She had not expected that after all this time, with the engagement tokens already exchanged between the Qi and Song families and the wedding only awaiting the end of the mourning period, Song Yao still had not given up.

She did not know what Madam Song was thinking—failing to manage Song Yao’s marriage when she should have, yet now that she should not interfere, she pushed relentlessly from behind.

Ming Xiang’s brow carried faint irritation, and Song Fu also frowned deeply, clearly impatient.

Their father’s mourning period had not yet ended, yet Song Yao never ceased her troublemaking. Fortunately, she had always only made trouble within the family’s inner courtyards. If she caused a scene outside the mansion and ruined the Song clan’s reputation, he would not know how to face their father’s spirit in heaven.

“You are tired as well. Go inside and rest.”

The couple returned to the Song family’s main courtyard, no longer concerning themselves with Song Yao.

But Song Yao seemed stimulated by today’s imperial decree. As soon as she returned to her chambers, she began crying loudly. She knew that once the imperial decree was issued there could be no going back, yet she simply would not accept it, could not resign herself to it.

The Song family was at the height of its power. Even though her elder brother was observing mourning at home, people constantly came to visit. Everyone knew Song Fu’s future prospects were unlimited. Even the second and third branches’ Song Ni and Song Zhao had many good families they previously dared not imagine coming to propose marriage.

Even her sister, who had never received their mother’s affection, could marry into the Duke Yingguo’s household. So why should she, a legitimate daughter of the Song family, have to marry into a declining family?

Song Yao lay on the table wailing. Qiushui anxiously tried to comfort her but to no effect.

With no other choice, Qiushui could only close all the doors and windows tightly, then pulled Song Yao back to the canopy bed to let her cry there.

“Miss, please do not blame this servant for overstepping, but the imperial decree has been issued. If others learn Miss is behaving this way, they will surely consider it disrespectful to His Majesty, dissatisfied with His Majesty’s arranged marriage.”

“I am dissatisfied with this arranged marriage…”

Song Yao had just opened her mouth when Qiushui carefully covered it. “Miss, speak no such words. Do you not want your head anymore?”

Qiushui’s eyes reddened with tears, her heart filled with fear.

“Rather than marry into the Qi family, I would rather not have this head.”

Roughly pushing Qiushui away, Song Yao ran in a few steps to Madam Song’s courtyard.

“Mother, save your daughter. I do not want to marry Qi Sulun.”

Seeing her kneeling on the ground crying until she could barely breathe, Madam Song felt an intense headache.

She hurriedly got down and embraced her daughter, softly comforting her. “Though the Qi family has declined, they still have their noble title. Moreover, Qi Sulun is legitimately born. The Qi family will not mistreat you.”

“Does Mother still intend to deceive me with such empty words even now? Do you yourself not know what kind of family this Qi household is?”

Madam Song’s heart filled with bitterness. “But now the imperial decree has been issued. There is no possibility of reversal. Yao’er, you must accept your fate.”

“I will not accept it.”

Song Yao stood up crying and shouting, accusing Madam Song word by word of ignoring Song Lan’an’s advice back then and forcibly arranging her marriage to the Qi family.

“His Majesty treasures Elder Sister like a pearl. Perhaps for Elder Sister’s sake he will withdraw the decree. Mother, please help me once more.”

“These past days, people have come to propose marriage for Song Ni and Song Zhao. Their prospective families’ standing is far better than the Qi family. How can I marry lower than those two? That Qi household has absolutely nothing worth mentioning.”

“How would His Majesty withdraw an imperial decree? Yao’er, stop making trouble.”

Song Yao’s accusations were like sharp needles constantly stabbing into the most painful spot in Madam Song’s heart.

She had endured and compromised for a lifetime in the Song household, all for the sake of her children. Yet why in the end had she only gained a husband who guarded against her all his life, an eldest daughter who did not understand her painstaking efforts, and a younger daughter who now refused to see her at all?

The more Madam Song thought about it, the more her heart ached. She collapsed to the floor, constantly wiping away tears, allowing Song Yao to cry and make her scene.

Nian’er was right—it was her indulgence of Yao’er that had raised her into someone who did not know the weight of things.

Seeing that no matter how she pleaded, Madam Song remained unmoved, Song Yao knew she would no longer help her.

In utter despair, Song Yao rushed to the sewing basket on the table and snatched up the silver scissors inside, pointing them at her own throat.

“Your daughter truly does not want to marry into the Qi family. If there is no other way out, I would rather die.”

She had always been proud, never putting the mansion’s other sisters in her eyes.

Even with Song Wan, she only pitied her for becoming a widow at a young age, but in her heart had never truly looked up to this elder sister of hers.

Yet now, a former widow had become Empress, while she could only marry into a family with nothing but an empty facade. How could she accept this?

What made it even harder to bear was that even Song Zhao from the third branch had three or four families coming to propose marriage, including the Cui family that had not thought highly of her initially.

Song Yao bit her lip, but the hand pressing the scissors was unusually steady.

What was Song Zhao? Her father was a concubine-born son of the Song household, famous throughout the capital as a wastrel dandy who only knew how to frequent pleasure districts. Her maternal family did not even hold official positions, barely qualifying as a prominent clan.

And herself?

Her father was the Grand Councilor, her mother came from the noble Su family, her eldest sister was Empress, her brother was the Song clan’s patriarch. With such a background, how could she marry lower than Song Zhao?

The Cui family had abandoned her and chosen Song Zhao. How could she accept a family of lower standing than the Cui family?

She was a Song daughter. She had her own pride. She absolutely would not agree to this marriage.

A flash of determination crossed Song Yao’s eyes as she raised her hand to stab toward her own throat.

“Yao’er!”

Madam Song started in alarm and lunged forward to seize the silver scissors from Song Yao’s hand.

“What are you doing? His Majesty just issued the imperial decree, and you immediately want to harm yourself. Do you wish to defy the decree, to have His Majesty punish the Song household?”

“Do you want His Majesty to grow disgusted with the Song family, to turn your father’s lifetime of effort to ashes?”

Song Yao still clutched those scissors tightly, but Madam Song was truly enraged now. She bit down hard on her daughter’s hand.

Clang! The scissors fell to the floor. Madam Song picked them up crying, then furiously grabbed her own hair and cut it off handful by handful.

“You hate me, then hate me. I hate myself as well.”

Great swaths of dark hair were cut away as Madam Song pulled at her own hair like one possessed.

She did not know what she had done in this life. Her own husband was heartless toward her, and both daughters she had personally raised had become estranged from her. What pained her even more was that Song Yao kept blaming her, yet never considered her own suffering.

“Since you hate me, I will no longer appear before you. I will go to the Song family’s ancestral temple to keep company with the Buddha lamps. But no matter what, you must marry into the Qi family.”

She still had Lan’er. How could she let Song Yao destroy in one blow the Song clan’s future that Song Lan’an had traded her life to secure?

“When there is no one left in this household for you to depend on, I want to see how you continue making trouble.”

The daughter she had personally raised wanted her to defy an imperial decree for her own sake. This was clearly trying to force her to death. How could she accept this!