After Wang Shi married into the family, she gave birth to Song Jie in her first year, followed by Fifth Miss Song Chubin, and then six years later bore Song Chuyou.

Though Wang Shi hadn’t neglected her duty in bearing children, she equally hadn’t neglected making life difficult for her husband and children.

Fifth Master Song Qian was actually quite good—in Song Chuyi’s view, he was an extremely, extremely good person. Though he didn’t like to talk much, his heart was exceedingly kind and soft. Even seeing beggars on the street would make him sigh deeply for ages.

What a pity that Wang Shi didn’t like him.

Thinking of this, the faint trace of mockery in Song Chuyi’s eyes transformed into profound hatred.

Who did Wang Shi like then?

What Wang Shi liked was the Heir Apparent of Duke Yingguo, Shen Xiaohai.

In her previous life, after she had fallen into ruin, she had seen Song Chuning escort Wang Shi to secret meetings with Duke Yingguo more than once.

Beneath the clusters of flowers and brocade lay nothing but chaos and filth.

Wang Shi had countless entanglements with Duke Yingguo’s estate, and was even more involved in the subsequent downfall of the Cui family.

Recalling how in her previous life Wang Shi had entered the palace to seek an audience with the then-Empress Dowager Shunhe and arranged Song Yan’s marriage, the hatred in Song Chuyi’s eyes transformed into intense killing intent.

Song Yan’s marriage had been arranged not long before her death. After she married into the Duke’s estate, she paid less and less attention to Song Yan, only knowing that things weren’t going well for him—he showed no promise in either civil or martial pursuits, and later gradually took on some family duties to manage.

Yet even in such circumstances, Song Yan still cared for her, occasionally asking people to send her money.

By then her heart was already dead as ashes. Ever since her son died, her only support and solace was her blood brother Song Yan. She harbored weak hope, hoping to make up for at least some of the mistakes she’d committed before, to at least survive until Song Yan’s marriage.

Until Wang Shi entered the palace.

Wang Shi entered the palace to arrange a marriage for Song Yan. The bride was a dead person—the Empress Dowager’s biological daughter who had been dead for over twenty years, Princess Shijia the Eldest.

They so easily arranged a ghost marriage for Song Yan, sending him to the underworld to accompany a dead person.

Song Chuyi had only been dazed for a moment when Fifth Madam’s hand was already slapping down toward her face without restraint: “Wretched girl! Who are you saying can’t spit ivory from a dog’s mouth?!”

Song Jie had been watching Wang Shi the whole time. Seeing her suddenly attack, he instinctively stepped forward and took the blow for Song Chuyi.

Wang Shi’s fingernails were extremely well-maintained, like carved scallion roots, sharp yet smooth. Now scratching across Song Jie’s face, his face immediately bloomed with marks, beading with drops of blood.

“Brother!” Song Chuyou finally cried out, sobbing as she tugged at Song Jie’s clothes. She looked weakly toward Fifth Madam, her face showing cautious flattery and grievance: “Mother… Mother, please stop hitting him…”

“Fifth Sister-in-law!” Just then First Madam arrived as well. Seeing this scene, she frowned, forcibly suppressing her inner fury: “What are you doing?!”

She led a group of maids and servants forward quickly, immediately spotting the shocking bloody marks on Song Jie’s tender white face. Her anger deepened several degrees: “How did it come to using your hands?!”

Can’t we have a few days of peace! There’s a disturbance every other day, and now she’s even hitting her own children.

First Madam shook her head in shock and anger, decisively instructing Nanny Qiu who was following beside her: “Nanny Qiu, quickly take Third Young Master along with Sixth Miss and Seventh Miss away!”

Fifth Madam wasn’t afraid of First Madam at all. Her narrow phoenix eyes narrowed slightly as she rudely cut off First Madam’s words: “I’m disciplining my own children—what business is it of yours? Even though you’re the Princess Consort, there’s no reason for you to interfere in your brother-in-law’s household affairs!”

She was too lazy to even address her as elder sister-in-law or First Madam.

First Madam trembled with rage. She was about to turn and leave with a flick of her sleeve, but seeing Song Chuyou who could only sob pitifully, her face flushed red, momentarily not knowing how to respond.

Fifth Madam laughed lazily, lifting her sharp chin arrogantly to look down at First Madam with a cold sneer: “What kind of fallen household are you from that you don’t know yourself? What airs are you putting on in front of me…”

“Nanny Qiu!”

Before she could finish, Song Chuyi had already called out loudly, forcibly interrupting her words.

Nanny Qiu was feeling aggrieved on behalf of First Madam. Caught off guard by this shout, she momentarily didn’t react. When she did, she hurriedly responded, looking at Song Chuyi in surprise, not knowing what she intended to do.

“I remember when the Old Master once said that anyone in the family who presumes to discuss First Mother’s background, no matter who they are, will be dealt with according to family law!”

Everyone’s expressions became strange and varied in an instant.

This rule had been established by the Old Master one month after First Madam entered the family, announced before all the clan elders. He said that since the principal wife had been determined, there was no reason to change it. From then on, whoever dared use First Madam’s background as a talking point would face family punishment.

But over all these years, the atmosphere in the inner quarters of Earl Changning’s estate had always been excellent, and this rule had gradually been forgotten.

No one expected that now this rule would be brought up again by a young girl.

The shock showed plainly on Nanny Qiu’s face, but in just an instant, she immediately composed her expression, lowering her hands respectfully in acknowledgment without any hesitation: “Yes! This old servant will fetch the family punishment instruments at once!”

Fifth Madam’s slanted eyebrows immediately rose sharply. She glared fiercely at Song Chuyi and angrily said: “You dare!”

“Why wouldn’t I dare?!” Song Chuyi felt First Madam’s hand holding hers tighten a few degrees. She stopped moving and stood her ground, raising her voice mockingly: “Who do you think you are? The legitimate eldest granddaughter of Duke Chengguo?! The adopted daughter of Empress Dowager Rongxian?! Do you think you’re like my eldest sister, still a member of the imperial family?!”

This series of questions drove Fifth Madam back step after step, her face full of shock. The more she heard, the worse her complexion became. By the end, she felt as if all her clothes had been stripped off and she’d been thrown into a crowd for everyone to gawk at. In her daze, she could barely stand.

“Fifth Sister, Third Brother, and Seventh Sister—they’re all members of the Song family, all surnamed Song! First Mother is the principal wife of the Song family. Teaching and nurturing Song family children is perfectly proper. Compared to you, this incompetent mother, she is far more qualified to care about Third Brother and the others. Fifth Madam, have you forgotten this point?”

Though the servants didn’t dare make noise, hearing Song Chuyi’s words, they ultimately couldn’t contain themselves and all drew in sharp breaths of cold air.

“I’ll tear that mouth of yours apart!” Fifth Madam could no longer maintain her aloof and lofty facade. Her voice and expression both fierce, she lunged at Song Chuyi.

Everyone rushed together in a heap, some pulling, some blocking. The East Garden had never been this lively before.

First Madam inadvertently caught sight of Song Chuyi’s expression and froze in astonishment on the spot.

Had she seen wrong? How could a young girl of only seven years old look at all this with such extremely cold eyes… That gaze so utterly indifferent it treated human life and death as nothing—she had never seen such eyes in such a young girl before.