Old Madam Song reclined on the soft couch, half her body sunk into the soft pillows, her eyes half-closed as if asleep.

Outside, the sky was so overcast it was nearly impossible to see things clearly. Occasionally the howling wind would rise, sweeping up fallen flowers from the courtyard and rolling through the corridor, forcing the kitchen maids carrying trays to raise their hands to shield their eyes.

Yet even so, they dared not make a single sound. Only after leaving the courtyard did they finally sigh: “Again, she hasn’t touched a thing. If this continues…”

If this continued, when First Master and First Madam found out, their kitchen staff would suffer again. Moreover, Old Madam was quite advanced in years after all—eating so little, her body could hardly withstand it.

Yulan stood at the windy spot to receive Song Chuyi, also shaking her head slightly. “Although Old Madam insists stubbornly with her words, saying she won’t concern herself with Young Madam, how can her heart truly let go? Just overnight, she’s become haggard beyond measure.”

The cold wind struck her face. Yulan didn’t dare let Song Chuyi stand long in the wind. In a few steps she led Song Chuyi up the stairs and lifted the door curtain, softly reminding her, “Old Madam is harboring anger. Sixth Miss, be cautious.”

Having lived in Ningde Courtyard for nearly a year now, she had grown quite close with several of the senior maids. Otherwise she wouldn’t have received such a warning. Song Chuyi smiled and nodded, then turned to look at Qing Tao and Luyi. “The wind is strong here. In a bit, go to Sister Yulan’s room to warm up—don’t stand foolishly waiting in the wind.”

Inside, the underfloor heating burned vigorously. The cold she had just picked up outside was instantly baked away clean by this warmth. Song Chuyi shivered, taking a moment to adjust before noticing Old Madam Song sitting in the seat of honor beckoning to her.

“Why are you running over at this hour?” Though Old Madam Song’s complexion was somewhat poor, her spirits were still good. She reached out to feel Song Chuyi’s cloak, then shook her head. “This still doesn’t block the wind. When the weather gets even colder in a while, it won’t be suitable to wear anymore.” She also instructed Yushu to fetch the fire fox cape that Consort Song had bestowed last year. “Go get that fire fox cape and give it to Little Yi to take back.”

Nanny Huang smiled and added from the side, “I heard this was bestowed by His Majesty when the Consort was first enfeoffed. Nowadays there’s nowhere to find such complete fire fox fur. How many years has it been without hearing of any fire foxes being caught in hunts? It’s extremely rare. See how much our Old Madam dotes on Sixth Miss.”

“Young people look good wearing such bright colors. What do we old folks with one foot in the grave need such flashy things for?” Old Madam Song tested Song Chuyi’s hand temperature, and only after finding it warm and dry did she stop. She also instructed Nanny Huang, “Tell the kitchen that the estate sent over a dozen dogs. Give two to Brother Jue’s wife, and stew two for Little Yi to drink the soup. Drinking this in winter warms the body—young ladies mustn’t catch cold.”

A few days ago, Song Jue’s classmate Wei Yanxi had even sent several wild mountain goats, saying he had hunted them in the mountains. Song Chuyi had been forced to eat quite a bit. Now hearing that she would have to eat dog meat, she couldn’t help but furrow her brow.

Seeing this, Old Madam Song laughed. “You’re still unwilling to eat it, but whether you’re willing or not, you must drink some. It warms the body—otherwise, when the time comes to travel thousands of miles to Jiangnan, how can your small frame withstand it?”

Nanny Huang also smiled in agreement. “Exactly. I hear in the south they’re quite fond of eating this in winter. If you don’t like it, drinking some soup is still good.”

Outside, Nanny Cai lifted the curtain and gave Nanny Huang a meaningful look. Nanny Huang went out for just a moment before returning, her expression somewhat more serious. “Old Madam, Yunshang has been brought here. She’s waiting outside.”

The smile on Old Madam Song’s face froze. Her grip on Song Chuyi’s hand unconsciously tightened. After a long while, she finally said, “Bring her in.”

When she had previously been disheartened to the extreme, she had truly considered simply playing deaf and blind, resolving never to listen to news from Qingzhou again. But now that news had truly come from Qingzhou, she simply couldn’t manage to turn a deaf ear. It was truly as if she owed Song Linlang in her previous life, so Linlang had come in this life to collect the debt.

Counting the time, it had already been over ten years. The little maid from back then had already put up her hair and married. Yunshang entered and without a word dropped to her knees with a thud, her voice choked with sobs and grievance as she paid respects to Old Madam Song.

Old Madam Song sat up straight in agitation, pressing her lips together for a long while without words. After a very long time, she finally sighed mournfully and waved for Yunshang to rise.

“If she hadn’t run out of options, she wouldn’t have thought to seek help from her natal family.” Old Madam Song looked at Yunshang. She tried to restrain herself but ultimately couldn’t hold back. “What exactly happened? What forced her to the point of having no recourse?”

With Song Linlang’s stubborn temperament, as long as she had even the slightest means, she absolutely would not be willing to show weakness before her natal family. That letter had also been written very vaguely, clearly trying to gloss over all the bad parts.

Yunshang’s tears immediately flowed down. Crying, she told Old Madam Song, “The eldest young master caught a cold and kept relapsing without improvement. The concubine invited a witch doctor to examine him. The witch doctor insisted that Eldest Miss had an inauspicious birth date and brought misfortune to the eldest young master. He also said Eldest Miss was a harbinger of disaster—whoever touched her would have bad luck, and in the future she would bring misfortune to her parents. The master actually believed this and, listening to that witch doctor’s words, locked Eldest Miss up…”

The scheming behind this—anyone with even a bit of sense could guess it with slight thought. Did Xiang Yunzhang truly take everyone else for fools?

Yushu listened with her brows knitted together. She glanced at Nanny Huang, her expression somewhat indignant.

Song Chuyi, watching Yunshang cry with snot and tears everywhere, asked her, “Did Aunt have no recourse?”

Old Madam Song also wanted to ask—could Song Linlang truly have no recourse? When she married, she was given so many household servants, so many people and so much money. Could she truly have absolutely no means, allowing Xiang Yunzhang to act as he pleased?

Or had she truly become so confused that even when her daughter was being called a disaster star, she remained unmoved, unwilling to break with Xiang Yunzhang?

“Madam snatched Eldest Miss back from the witch doctor and even smashed the witch doctor’s house to ruins.” Yunshang wiped her tears with the back of her hand, crying even harder. “But then all those witch doctors in Qingzhou stirred up trouble, saying that Madam had already been bewitched by Eldest Miss, this disaster star, and had shown disrespect to the witch doctors. The master flew into a terrible rage at Madam, personally came to Madam’s room to seize the person, saying he would open the ancestral hall to remove Miss from the Xiang family name, and even hand Miss over to the witch doctors to be burned to death. Fortunately Nanny Zheng and Nanny Wang fought with their lives to stop him…”

To send one’s own biological daughter to be burned to death—such a person was actually fit to be a father, fit to be a husband?

Old Madam Song felt her teeth go cold, and even more regretted being blind back then, actually thinking this person at least seemed not to have bad intentions.