Free Web NovelChapter 46: Chapter 40: A Parasol Tree Attracts a Phoenix
Song Yexi shook her head.
Song Qinghan, of course, wasn’t going. She had to prepare for the selection. After being so utterly humiliated, Mrs. Cai was sparing no expense to prepare things for her, determined that she be chosen to stay in the palace and redeem herself.
Song Qinghan wasn’t going, but Old Mrs. Cai had invited *her*—Song Yunzhao. Song Yunzhao had no idea when she’d earned her maternal grandmother’s favor. After all, the last time, this was the very same grandmother who had agreed with her own daughter’s plan to confine Yunzhao to a temple for a "short stay."
Song Yexi reassured Song Yunzhao, "Don’t worry. My mother will look out for you. I’m just giving you a heads-up so you can prepare."
Song Yunzhao let out a soft laugh. "I suppose I was never meant to be close with my mother’s family."
Song Yexi knew this well. After all, back in Nanyu, their families had lived next door to each other. Although Third Aunt didn’t visit her maiden home every year, she would go back every few years. But every single time, Song Yunzhao and Song Jinxuan were the ones left behind.
Leaving Song Jinxuan behind was one thing, but Song Yunzhao was a legitimate daughter. Not only was she never taken to the Capital City for visits, but the Cai Family was never seen sending their granddaughter any gifts, either.
After all, every time Song Qinghan returned from the Capital City, she would be laden with gifts, showing off what a wonderful maternal family she had.
"Don’t you be sad about it. They’ll live to regret this one day," Song Yexi said through clenched teeth.
Song Yunzhao was amused. She was really starting to like Song Yexi; their relationship had grown much closer than before.
By afternoon, the First Madam still hadn’t returned, and another housekeeper arrived from the Cai Family. The message was that Old Mrs. Cai missed her granddaughter and wanted to have Song Yunzhao brought over for a small get-together.
Song Yunzhao hadn’t expected the Cai Family to be so shameless. This was clearly a ploy: keep the First Madam occupied at the Cai Mansion, then send someone to fetch her. They were obviously afraid the First Madam would interfere.
Mrs. Cai had already promised not to meddle in Song Yunzhao’s affairs, so she simply had the housekeeper sent directly to Song Yunzhao’s quarters, deliberately trying to spite her.
But Song Yunzhao was stubborn and refused to give Mrs. Cai the satisfaction. She didn’t even see the housekeeper, merely sending Qiancao out with a message: she was still recuperating and it wasn’t convenient for her to receive outside guests.
Those two words, "outside guests," perfectly encapsulated the complex, unspoken nature of her relationship with the Cai Mansion.
When Mrs. Cai found out, she was so furious she smashed a teacup. But this time, she truly didn’t dare to do anything more. ’I’ll just pretend this daughter of mine is already dead!’
The housekeeper from the Cai Mansion hadn’t expected the Third Miss to be so dismissive and had no choice but to return empty-handed. As for what the Cai Family would think, Song Yunzhao couldn’t care less. freeweɓnøvel.com
’They’re insignificant people. Let them think whatever they want.’
Song Jinxuan came over that evening to chat with Song Yunzhao, her face alight with schadenfreude. "You’ll never guess what happened! Not only is Song Bu Yue confined to his room and being forced to copy texts, but Father also took Bo Ming out to meet guests today."
A glint appeared in Song Yunzhao’s eyes as she met Song Jinxuan’s joyful smile. "That is good news indeed."
"Isn’t it? With the Madam watching him like a hawk before, when would Bo Ming ever get an opportunity like this?" Song Jinxuan was still resentful when she spoke of it. ’But what could be done? An illegitimate son could never compare to the legitimate one.’
’But now that Song Bu Yue has thrown away his own chance, he has no one to blame but himself.’
"It’s a rare opportunity. Tell Second Brother to seize it," Song Yunzhao said.
Song Jinxuan nodded. "Exactly. My mother was so happy she was humming tunes half the night. She even took out all her personal savings and gave them to Second Brother to spend, so he wouldn’t be constrained by a lack of funds and become a laughingstock."
Hearing this, Song Yunzhao frowned slightly. "Having too much silver isn’t necessarily a good thing. He could be led astray. His studies are what’s most important. I think it would be better to use this opportunity to ask Father to find a good tutor for Second Brother."
"A good tutor isn’t that easy to find. My mother mentioned it to Father, but it’s hard to say if anything will come of it." Song Jinxuan clasped her hands together. "I just hope the Bodhisattva will look upon us favorably and give Bo Ming a lucky break."
’Praying to a Bodhisattva for this sort of thing is useless,’ Song Yunzhao thought. After a moment, she said softly, "Instead of wasting time on that, why not try approaching First Aunt?"
Song Jinxuan froze. "First Aunt?"
Song Yunzhao said softly, "I heard First Aunt found an excellent tutor for Second Cousin. Why look far and wide for what’s right here? You could see if it’s possible to pay an additional tuition fee to have Second Brother study with him as well."
"Would that even work?" Song Jinxuan lacked the confidence for such a move.
"You’ll never know if you don’t try," Song Yunzhao said, offering Song Jinxuan a strategy. "First Aunt has always been kind to the illegitimate sons and daughters. She’s bound to take some pity on Second Brother."
At this, it dawned on Song Jinxuan. ’It’s true the First Madam treats the illegitimate children well, but that’s only to marry them off for a good price later. Just look at the names she gave the girls of the eldest branch. Still, if she could really find a reliable marriage alliance for an illegitimate daughter, that in itself could be a blessing.’
