Lady Li’s elder brother was already waiting at the gate. When he saw Song Yi, he approached with a smile and took his arm. After exchanging warm greetings, he personally lit the firecrackers Song Yi had brought, then laughingly had someone lead Lady Li and the others to the back hall.

The Li family had been upright scholars for generations. All the furnishings in their home prioritized refinement over luxury. In the garden stood a lush ginkgo tree, its branches and leaves spreading so extensively they seemed to cover half the rear courtyard—quite an elegant sight.

Song Yi was surrounded by Master Li and the others in the front hall to drink with the guests, while Lady Li led Song Chuyi and the others first to the back hall to pay respects to Old Madam Li.

Old Madam Li was much younger than Old Madam Song. She wore a stone-blue cross-collar jacket over a blue horse-face skirt, looking refreshing and neat. When she caught sight of Song Chuning, the smile on her face deepened considerably. She quickly reached out to beckon her forward, embracing her in her arms with a laugh. “How are you still like a little monkey that won’t grow up? You’re too light—your grandmother could lift you with one hand.”

In the past, because of Lady Li’s deliberate guidance, many things had been obscured like flowers in fog, unclear and indistinct. Only after living a second life did she discover how much had been her own wishful thinking.

She had loved and respected Lady Li as her proper mother, and had relied on Lady Li’s natal family as if they were her own maternal relatives. But in the end, all of this was like an iceberg—melting away completely at the first touch of sunlight.

Song Chuyi gripped Song Yan’s hand, seeming not to notice Old Madam Li’s deliberate neglect at all.

Lady Li glanced somewhat helplessly at her own mother, coughed twice into her hand, and said with a smile, “Though this girl has been ill, Mother, you’re still being too partial. Can’t you see that our Little Six has also been standing here for quite some time?”

Old Madam Li glanced at her, only then turning her head with an “Oh!” and beckoning Song Chuyi and her siblings forward as well. After asking warmly about their health for a moment, she squinted at Song Yan. “Brother Yan has indeed grown taller and sturdier. He must be living comfortably at his maternal grandmother’s.”

The expression with which she looked at Song Yan was clearly different from how she looked at Song Chuning.

Though Song Yan was small, he’d been taught by Lady Cui for over a year and keenly sensed Old Madam Li’s hostility. He pressed his lips together and said nothing.

But Old Madam Li wasn’t willing to stop there. She continued lightly, “You’re living happily at your maternal grandmother’s house, but don’t you know how lonely your sister has been in the manor? And your mother—how much infamy has she borne because of you? I truly don’t know what your maternal grandmother’s family is thinking, making your mother worry like this, and causing you siblings to be separated.”

Such blatant attempts to drive a wedge between the Cui family and Song Yan.

Yet seeing Song Yan look over with eyes full of unease and guilt, Song Chuyi couldn’t help but sigh deeply in her heart. She had indeed harbored resentment before. When the Cui family came to take Song Yan away while seemingly forgetting her and leaving her at the Song manor, she had just lost her mother, and her stepmother had quickly married in. Every day, living under Nanny Xu’s worried, distressed expression, she had felt insecure and inferior.

So every time Old Madam Li mentioned how the Cui family took Song Yan but left her behind, her heart would ache for a long while.

Song Chuyi gave a soft snort, her face showing the same lonely, dejected expression as before.

Old Madam Li’s expression softened considerably. She pulled Song Chuyi into her embrace as well, sighing, “Ah, my poor Little Six. After all, Brother Yan is a boy—it’s only natural that your maternal grandmother and grandfather would dote on him. But don’t be afraid—we’re here to love you.”

Song Chuning also came over to take her hand and place it in Old Madam Li’s palm, smiling with complete innocence. “That’s right, that’s right, Sister, don’t be sad. Grandmother loves you.”

Song Yan clutched at his clothes, somewhat anxious and uneasy. He was only a five-year-old child after all. Carrying guilt toward his sister in his heart, his small face looked so miserable it was heartbreaking.

Lady Li reached out to pull him close, bowing her head to coax him softly. “It’s all right, it’s all right. Your grandmother was just teasing you. How could she really blame you? You’re just a small child—whether you go to your maternal grandmother’s isn’t for you to decide. Even I, your mother, am happy for you. After all, that’s your birth grandmother—of course she’ll be good to you. How could we be unhappy about this? I wish you well more than anything.”

This entire Li family household truly performed their roles with consummate skill and penetrating depth.

The First Madam of the Li family came in saying that food and wine had been prepared, and asked them to go eat something.

Unlike Old Madam Li, the First Madam of the Li family didn’t display any particularly warm attitude toward Song Chuyi and Song Yan.

Old Madam Li glanced at her with some dissatisfaction, telling her coolly to first lead the children out, while she and her daughter remained in the room.

Seeing that everyone had left, Lady Li came forward to sit beside Old Madam Li, shaking her arm with some displeasure. “Mother, really! Why did you just now put on such a cold attitude? Children are all sensitive—what if she notices something?”

“If she can notice, that means you’re stupid.” Old Madam Li glared at her. “You’ve spent so many years, and you still can’t win over a seven or eight-year-old girl—doesn’t that just prove you’re useless?”

Lady Li somewhat helplessly massaged Old Madam Li’s shoulders. “A gentle stream can silently nourish all things—isn’t that what you taught me, Mother? How is it that in the end, you’re the one throwing childish tantrums?”

After all, a daughter was like a warm padded jacket. The pressure of her hands was just right. Old Madam Li straightened her back comfortably and chided, “Who’s throwing a tantrum? I heard from Nanny Yu that you’ve been suffering criticism from my in-law lately, so I was testing this girl’s mettle for you! And here you are being ungrateful.”

Bringing this up, Lady Li couldn’t help feeling somewhat dejected. “I shouldn’t have agreed to the Old Madam’s request to raise her in the first place. Now nothing goes smoothly. Look at today—when coming to pay New Year visits to our family, the Old Madam still sent someone close to her to accompany the girl.”

A shadow of gloom flashed across Old Madam Li’s face. “Ning’er is also her granddaughter, yet I don’t see her being so anxious about her. She’s getting more muddled with age. She can be muddled, but you can’t be. You must clearly distinguish who is your daughter. I heard you scolded Ning’er and even caused her hand to be injured. What kind of mother are you? Have you acted in a play so long that you’ve forgotten who your birth daughter actually is?!”

Speaking of this, Lady Li truly felt several degrees more worried. She no longer concealed anything from her mother, bringing up Song Chuning’s unusual behavior with deep concern. “She’s so young, yet her scheming is so deep—it truly startled me. It’s not that I fear her deep scheming, it’s just that I always feel… a girl her age should be more innocent.”

Old Madam Li’s thoughts differed from her daughter’s. She was somewhat dismissive. “I’ve heard about these matters from Nanny Yu as well. Though it’s rather rare, it also shows that Ning’er is clever.”