Chapter 70

The county princess led the way, followed by the troops of General Xuanwei, as they made their way from the town towards the village of Beihugou in the north.

Song Xingyi and Li shi sat with Song Dingxiang in a carriage, wearing formal court attire and not daring to move, afraid of ruining their clothes.

"Grandpa, grandma, don't be so nervous," Song Dingxiang chuckled and adjusted the hairpin on Li shi's head, "When we get home later, sitting so tensely all the way, your legs might go numb."

"How can I not be nervous?" Li shi tugged at her sleeve and said, "I've never worn such beautiful clothes before... Ni'er, look at me, is my hair messy?"

Song Dingxiang laughed, "Not messy at all. This is the headpiece that the princess's maid gave you, it looks as good as it can be. How could it be messy?"

After she tidied everyone up, the servants from the general's mansion felt relieved. Song Dingxiang selected a few diligent-looking ones and transferred them to serve Song Xingyi and Li shi in their own courtyard, also helping to look after the children and prepare meals.

Today, their hair had been styled by the senior maid who had stayed behind. This maid was called Zhenzhu, and she had a younger sister in the mansion named Manao.

Both were good-looking, hardworking, and usually kept to themselves. They never approached Zhou Yinuo.

Not just Zhou Yinuo, but any male household member was actively avoided by the maids to prevent Song Dingxiang from getting upset.

After getting to know them for a few days, Song Dingxiang found these two maids to be the most trustworthy and placed Zhenzhu by her side, promoting Manao to be a second rank maid, in charge of various clothing and personal items for herself and Zhou Yinuo.

Zhenzhu sat at the door of the carriage and smiled, "Madam, you don't need to worry. When we're about to get off, I'll help you tidy up, so you can relax."

Li shi touched her earrings and chuckled softly.

Because someone had already gone to inform in advance, the village chief and his men were waiting at the village entrance. In addition to the village chief of Beihugou Village, the chiefs of several neighboring villages had also come.

Even the village chief of the Xu family stood at the edge, eagerly waiting, hoping that the county princess would show them favor for not causing trouble because of Song Yulan and her son affairs, and maybe even take some of the children as servants, which would be a great honor to them.

After all, no one could have anticipated that the girl who had caused a scandal by attempting suicide after Xu Qiang broke off the engagement would transform into the most prominent official in the vicinity.

She was a second-rank county princess, bestowed by the Emperor himself with a title.

"Servant Wang Dasheng respectfully welcomes the county princess!!"

As the procession reached the village entrance, the village chief and his people knelt down in unison.

"Please rise." Song Dingxiang's voice came from the carriage.

The village chief quickly got up and cleared a path.

Amidst the crowd and carriages, Zhou Yinuo rode on a tall horse and could see Zhou Laosan's family from afar. The plump lady was stretching her neck to look over and when she saw Zhou Yinuo looking her way, she quickly put on a smile.

Zhou Yinuo averted his gaze as though he hadn't seen her.

The plump lady regretted deeply in her heart as she watched the crowd move towards the Song family, "If only we had known he was the son of a prince, we wouldn't have treated him like that, right? We let him live lavishly while we barely scraped by. Look at them now, the Song family is beaming with pride."

Zhou Laosan also felt extreme regret and muttered, "We shouldn't have listened to you back then. If we hadn't, we would have been greatly favored by the prince. Just a fraction of his favor would have lasted us for generations."

"What do you mean? You didn't oppose it back then." The plump lady glared at him and once again turned to watch the procession.

Unfortunately, the prince's men had warned them earlier. They were granted forgiveness for raising the eldest young master, but it was hoped that they would behave themselves in the future, as angering the prince could mean risking their lives.

The man also mentioned that if anyone else had treated the eldest young master in such a manner, they would have been executed along with their entire family. It was only because the princess was kind-hearted and didn't want to dwell on petty matters.

If it were someone else, the Zhou Laosan family would have faced beheading.

This scared Zhou Laosan and his family to the core. Now, all they could do was watch from a distance and fantasize about treating Zhou Yinuo better earlier on so they could have been close to the general and enjoyed wealth and prosperity.

But in this world, there was no remedy for regret. No matter how much they regretted, they could only return home with a heavy heart, looking at their bright on the outside but shabby house in the inside while feeling endlessly despondent.

Song Dingxiang was helped down from the carriage by the maid Zhenzhu and smiled at the village chief and others, "Today, our family rarely comes back, and now we just want to catch up with our relatives. All the fellow villagers, please go back for now, and in a few days, I will invite you all to come over for a meal."

"Not daring, not daring, Princess, please go back and rest quickly." The village chief quickly bowed and with flattery, dispersed the crowd.

The Li Sheng's family had been waiting at the door early on, and upon seeing the Song family, they were overjoyed, "Old Mister and Old Madam, oh, you have finally returned. Come, come inside and rest, have some hot water and food to fill your stomachs."

As they walked toward the house, Song Dingxiang asked, "Have things been going well at home while we were away?"

Li Sheng replied, "Everything has been fine. The weather has been good this year, and the harvest has been bountiful. In another month, we will also be able to harvest the corn and soybeans. Everything is going well. But have you heard about what happened at the Old Master Third Song's house? Someone came to cause trouble, but we stopped them from entering. That Xu Dashan also came, talking nonsense, but we sent him away."

The house was just as it usually was, but everything was neat and clean, as if they had only been gone for a day or two and had returned to the same state.

The whole family entered the house, with the children going to the west room and the adults staying in the east room. The families of Fifth Grandaunt and Sixth Grandaunt had also come back with them.

Song Dingxiang said to them, "Today, I have to trouble Grandaunts to boil some hot water for those outside. Later, I will ask Li Sheng to send firewood, rice, and noodles to you both and make some food. I'm afraid I won't be able to handle it all by myself."

Fifth Grandaunt smiled and said, "It's no big deal, just making a big pot of food. You go rest, for such a small matter, there's no need for you to worry. We know what to do." With that, she smiled and gestured for her son and daughter-in-law, linking her arm with her daughter-in-law's, and they walked out.

Because of the presence of the ceremonial guard and soldiers outside the door, no one dared to approach. Zhenzhu, knowing some things, called a few soldiers to escort the two grandaunts back home and see if there was anything the families needed help with that she could assist them with.

She had long since noticed that this family was actually very simple and honest, they just liked to work hard and be down-to-earth. As long as you were diligent, had work in your eyes, were grounded, and didn't look down on others, then there would be no taboos with the main family.

"It's still comfortable in our own kang bed." When Li shi entered the room, the first thing she did was to kick off her shoes and climb onto the heated kang bed, leaning against the bed cabinet and letting out a long breath of relief. "Dingxiang, can I take this outfit off now?"

"Grandma, don't rush to undress, someone from Third Granduncle's or Eldest Granduncle's family might come later. We only said we wouldn't entertain neighbors today, but we didn't say we wouldn't entertain relatives." Song Dingxiang took out a pillow from the kang cabinet to support Li shi's waist, so she could lean comfortably.

Fang Shi and Zhang Shi also said, "Let's go back to the room and rest for a while. Sitting in the carriage all the way made our backs ache, and no matter how big the carriage, it's not as comfortable as the kang bed."

Today, neither Hutou nor Song Yulan had come back with them. Hutou was feeling sorry for losing a few taels of silver for a day's work, and Song Yulan thought of herself as a divorced woman, it was already a great honor for her to enter the capital once, and it was not appropriate to take advantage of her sister.

Despite Song Dingxiang's persuasion, Song Yulan adamantly refused, and because she couldn't bear to lose the income from the restaurant, she had to give up.

Song Xingyi couldn't sit still and took his two sons to the backyard to look at the vegetable garden, chickens, and pigs. He also asked Li Sheng to take them to the lotus pond.

Some people had originally wanted to come over and save face, but after seeing the few young generals following them at a distance, they all gave up.

"Swords don't have eyes, and if those young generals are not careful and end up injuring themselves, it would be a pointless fight, not worth the effort."

"This year the fruit harvest wasn't much, most of it was taken by Third Young Lady family to make preserves. The leftovers, we may not be able to finish, so my daughter-in-law made some jam and the rest has been dried." Li Sheng chattered on, "But before, officials came to ask whether this land was under Second Young Lady's name or Third Young Lady's name, saying that if it was under the latter, the land could be tax-exempt, saving a considerable amount of money and grain each year."

Song Xingyi said, "I don't understand this matter, and I don't care. Go and ask Dingxiang. Oh, when you're at our house, don't call us Master and Madam, I don't even know who you're referring to."

Li Sheng chuckled and asked, "Then, how should I address you?"

"Just call us by our names, there are no outsiders here, no need to put on a show. We are all common folks, we don't indulge in unnecessary complications." Song Xingyi took out his pipe, lit it, and asked, "Are the tenants doing well?"

Li Sheng replied, "The tenants are all doing fine, never delayed in paying the rent. However, there is a family surnamed Wang, whose elderly mother fell ill and they are short on funds. I allowed them to postpone the pay rent but also lent them some grain. They have signed an IOU and when his mother recovers, they will fully repay it. If they refuse to repay, we won't rent the land to them in the future."

Song Xingyi said, "Alright, handle it as you see fit. Hand over the account books to the old lady or Dingxiang, they usually handle these matters."

Song Zhiyuan suddenly said, "I noticed there are many unfamiliar faces in the village, how come?"

Li Sheng smiled, "You left early, but a lot of refugees have arrived afterwards. Their homes may have been destroyed and they have nowhere else to go. The officials have allocated a number of refugees to each village, as long as they are honest and willing to work, they can stay. I've hired some to do odd jobs, helping with the lotus pond and the barren lands."

"You hired them? What about the money..." Song Xingyi inquired.

Li Sheng replied, "We don't have many expenses normally, we have everything we need at home. The old lady had cleaned out many clothes for us to wear, so I used the monthly allowance to hire people. I've kept records of this and will show them to Second Young Lady later."

Song Xingyi laughed, "You're quite resourceful. We'll have Dingxiang return the money to you, and in the future, just directly ask her for any needs."

Li Sheng nodded in understanding.

As they were speaking, a carriage approached from the opposite direction.

"Grandpa! Dad, Second Uncle!" A head popped out of the carriage and called out to them.

"Third daughter? It's Zijin!" Song Zhicheng excitedly took a few steps forward, seeing his eldest daughter.

The carriage came to a halt in front of the crowd. Li Yunshen leaped out first, followed by Song Zijin, whom he assisted in disembarking. Song Zijin, heavily pregnant with a round, rosy face, appeared unscathed, a testament to Li Yunshen's gentle care.

"Dad..." Song Zijin's tears welled up as she spotted her family. "Waaah, you're back! I tried to visit you once before, but I was blocked and nearly startled the horse. Yunshen quickly brought me back, and I didn't dare go again."

"What happened?" Song Zhicheng exclaimed in shock.

Li Yunsheng said, "It was the people from Eldest Granduncle, Second Granduncle, and Third Granduncle's families who stopped the carriage, saying they wanted us to take them to the county town to seek justice or something. Zijin was so frightened that she had to stay in bed for several days before she recovered."

"Rubbish justice, what are they seeking justice for?" Song Xingyi's head throbbed with anger and he didn't want to continue the conversation. "Let's go home, I want to see what kind of justice they are looking for!"

Song Zijin insisted that they all get on the carriage. The coachman and Li Sheng sat on the carriage shaft, the big horse trotted briskly, and they soon arrived at the doorstep of their home.

"Your mother and aunt are resting, Erni'er is in the east room, you can go straight there." Song Zhichen looked worriedly at his daughter's pregnant belly, afraid she might fall by accident.

After Song Zijin entered her own home, her whole demeanor brightened up, her steps lightened, completely disregarding the worried looks of the two men behind her, she darted into the main room.

"Grandma, Second Sister!... Brother-in-law."

When Zhou Yinuo left, she was just a teenager. Now, six years later, that once thin and dark boy had turned into a calm general, surprising Song Zijin.

Zhou Yino chuckled, "Be careful."

Song Zijin stuck out her tongue and climbed onto the kang bed.

Li shi wasn't tired at all, she just lounged on the kang and chatted with Song Dingxiang and Li Sheng's wife about the village gossip. When Song Zijin, with her big belly, came bouncing in, it startled them and they quickly sat up.

"Oh, my dear granddaughter, be careful, help her...oh, let grandma have a look."

With Li Sheng's help, Song Zijin got onto the kang and threw herself into Li shi's arms. "Grandma, I missed you so much, really missed you."

"Oh, but you didn't miss your Second Sister?" Song Dingxiang teased from the side.

"I missed you so much!" Song Zijin was done with her coquettish act and sat up, holding her belly. "Hey, Second Sister, I'm pregnant. Your child will have to call mine either big sister or big brother in the future."

"Look at you, being all capable," Song Dingxiang pushed a handful of dates from the kang table towards her.

Song Zijin grabbed a date and stuffed it into her mouth, saying, "Sister, I made a lot of canned fruits this year. Today, I received a special letter and brought two jars over, one with peaches and the other with hawthorns, both very delicious."

"Wow, you're even making hawthorn now?" Song Dingxiang chuckled. "What else did you make besides hawthorn?"

"I tried making apple, but it turned into a mush when cooked, couldn't make it into canned fruit. I also made pear, which turned out pretty tasty. Tried making apricot too, but it turned into a pot of jam, took me days to finish." Song Zijin, after marriage, not only did not become as steady as other daughters-in-law, but added a hint of coquetry, indicating how Li Yunsheng doted on her in daily life.

At this moment, Li Yunsheng and the others entered the room, but before they could speak, they heard commotion outside.

"What? You don't recognize relatives after becoming a county princess? You're just a maid, I am the third grandaunt of the county princess!"

The head maid, Zhenshu, smiled and said, "Please don't be agitated, the county princess is resting, let me inform her."

"What resting? I just saw the Li family's carriage go in. Stand aside, or I'll beat you to death!" Gao shi stood at the door, shouting angrily.

Song Dingxiang's face darkened as she turned to Li shi and the others, saying, "Keep chatting, I'll go out and see what's happening." With that, she got off the kang.

Zhou Yinuo said, "Let me go, you can rest in the room."

Song Dingxiang replied, "No, I should go. When a woman throws a tantrum, you men may not be able to handle it."

Upon seeing Song Dingxiang, Gao shi immediately started patting her thigh and wailing, "Oh my, my Dingxiang, your Third Grandaunt missed you so much. After waiting for you day and night, you have finally returned. Dingxiang, you must help your sister."

Her crying attracted many neighbors who peeked over their courtyard walls to watch the commotion. Seeing the audience, Gao shi’s wails became even more lively, "Now that you are a county princess, a high-ranking official. What did we do wrong before? Just a word from you and we were dismissed. But your sister and brother-in-law are so wronged, you must help them."

Song Dingxiang walked over slowly and smiled, saying, "Third Grandaunt, what are you saying? My sister is doing well in the county town, as for my brother-in-law... I don't have one."

Gao shi continued to cry, "Song Taohong is also your sister. Now that she has entered the nunnery, she is suffering a lot. You must find a way to save her. And your brother-in-law’s family, we are all relatives, you must help them."

Song Dingxiang replied, "What nonsense are you talking, Third Grandaunt? Xu Qiang has already been imprisoned in the capital and will be executed after autumn. What business do I have with Xu's family? As for Song Taohong... the emperor pardoned your family because of the contributions of my husband. "

Gao shi protested, "But Taohong is innocent, she is still young, remarrying is not a problem. Besides, with the emperor far away, coming back here is like being a local ruler, what are you afraid of?"

Song Dingxiang's expression changed, and she angrily said, "Stop talking nonsense, how dare you?! "

A nearby guard stepped forward and, before Gao shi could react, raised his hand and slapped her twice.

Stunned, Gao shi covered her face and cried out in pain, rolling on the ground and throwing tantrums.

Song Dingxiang declared, “I am a Second-Rank County Princess bestowed by the emperor, representing his dignity. Acting out in front of me is disrespectful to the emperor! Someone, take her away!"

"I am your Third Grandaunt, I - I will report this to the authorities, accusing you of disrespecting your elders!" Gao shi waved her arms, her voice hoarse.

Song Dingxiang retorted, "You showed disrespect to the emperor first. I spare you today because you are my relative. Besides, we have already separated households. Calling you Third Grandaunt is out of respect, if you don't, bowing down is the only option when you see me!"

Those who came to watch the excitement were all frightened by Song Dingxiang's appearance, and couldn't help but shrink their necks.

Zhu shi ran over from the side, crying, and threw herself on Gao's body, crying out to Song Dingxiang, "Dingxiang, it was my fault, I was wrong. Please, for my sake, let your sister come back, okay? I went to see Tao Hong a few days ago, she has become so thin."

Song Dingxiang sneered, "Back then, Song Taohong pushed me into the river, Xu Qiang accused me of being impure and broke off the engagement with me, almost forcing me to death. I have endured it, not pursued them."

"Later, you stole the warming gloves I made for the soldiers of the Northern Territory, and secretly taught Song Taohong the knitting method, so that she could take the things to find Xu Qiang. Maybe you didn't know then, but Xu Qiang had long wanted to get rid of Song Taohong as a burden and had already sent letters to his family asking them to find a way to kill Song Taohong. Only then could he start a new family with wealth."

"Now Xu Qiang has caused trouble, Song Taohong's child was murdered by Xu Qiang, and even she was implicated. The Emperor has shown mercy and allowed her to practice nearby, and yet you are still not satisfied?"

Zhu shi cried out, "But, that's Xu Qiang's fault, what does it have to do with our family Taohong?"

Song Dingxiang said, "Guilt has a head and debt has a master. The reason why Song Taohong ended up in her current situation is entirely due to her greed and folly. You don't think about letting her repent and cleanse her sins through practice, you still want me to ignore the Emperor's decree and save her? I see through it, Third Grandaunt, Eighth Auntie, you want me dead, don't you?!"

Gao shi and the others were just women who grew up in the countryside, how could they think so much.

The reason they wanted to save Song Taohong was simply because they had a girl in the temple, which would sound bad if it got out. And Song Taohong was still young, she could remarry, at least she could earn some dowry money for the family.

Now their family is in chaos, their son and daughter-in-law just give them some coins every month for elderly care and no longer care about them, living a more difficult life than before, so they started thinking about Song Taohong.

As they were clamoring, people from Eldest Granduncle and Second Granduncle's house also arrived.

"Dingxiang, don't listen to these two old women fool you." The newcomers were Third Aunt and Fourth Aunt, the two aunts were strong, they went straight up and beat Zhu shi by pulling her hair, "I'll beat you to death, you shameless thing, the old is not decent, the young is not a plaything, how did our old Song family produce such a disaster like you."

The villagers may not have much education, but their cursing words were vulgar and crude. The maid Zhenzhu at the door blushed and froze in place.

The Li Sheng family hurriedly walked over to Song Dingxiang and said, "Madam, let's go inside quickly. The two families are at odds, and they beat anyone from their family they see. Normally, they don't dare to come out."

As the fight broke out, Song Zhishen and Song Zhiyang couldn't stay in the courtyard, so they hurried over, wanting to drag their mother and wife back. As they stepped out, men from the other two families also rushed out, and chaos ensued.

Song Dingxiang watched with interest and suddenly asked, "Hey, where is Fifth Aunt?"

The Li Sheng family answered, "She, she has become a target now and has moved to the ancestral hall. They say she has to grind wheat in the ancestral hall for five years before she can come out... It's really a calamity."

Song Dingxiang nodded and instructed the guards at the door, "Other than the people from Fifth and Sixth Grandaunt houses, I won't see anyone else."

The people around also heard this and thought that the Song family was completely divided. With County Princess supporting the Fifth and Sixth families, they could live comfortably in their later years.

However, the situation of the First, Second, and Third families was truly pitiful, making others unable to bear watching.

All of them were from the same Song family, descended from the same ancestor, so why was there such a stark difference?

The three younger Song families at were living well, while the three older Song families had caused chaos in their own households. However, when they thought about the incident that had caused trouble from a family in the neighboring village, they felt disdain towards the first three families of the Song household.

How could they extort dowry money like that, making their daughter's life miserable for the past few years?

Furthermore, Song Taohong was doing well in the temple, while Song Jiaoxing had been sold once, causing such a big stir. If Song Taohong came out, she might also be sold off, and who knew what trouble might arise.

They must not let Song Taohong come out, and they had to help keep an eye on her.

When the Third family of the Song family returned home, they were all beaten up, even the senior Gao shi was kicked a few times in the chaos, lying on the kang bed holding her ribs in pain and cursing a few words in between.

Song Xingren puffed on his cigarette, his brows furrowed in a knot. These days, he had been thinking it over and over, feeling that Song Taohong had married the wrong person.

If she had obediently married Zhou Tiezhu when she had the chance, their family would have been prosperous now. Zhou Tiezhu was the son of a prince, much more influential than any county magistrate, right?

Then there was Song Dingxiang, marrying Xu Qiang. Although she initially became the wife of a county magistrate, in the end, it was just a dangerous 'job'.

One wrong step led to another.

And then there was the incident with Song Jiaoxing. When she ran away, they had managed to keep the twenty taels of silver betrothal gift.

However, some of it had already been used by the grandson to catch the attention of potential brides. Making them pay up was more painful than a heartache.

And wasn't it also about upholding the reputation of the Song family's daughters?

If Song Jiaoxing hadn't done what she did, it would have been lucky not to be killed. Did she still think she could marry into a good family?

They fed her, housed her, even in times of drought, they didn't abandon or sell her. Although what she did was not admirable, it was a time of disaster.

Many sold their children and daughters-in-law during those times, so why was she so picky?

If she hadn't run away in the first place, she wouldn't have lost her good reputation. Those were all silver coins, bright and shiny silver coins!

She brought it on herself, so why should the consequences fall on their family?

The more Song Xingren thought about it, the more uncomfortable he felt. Suddenly feeling suffocated in his chest, he rolled his eyes and fainted amidst his wife's angry scolding.

——— Author's Note:

Working out really was inviting torture.

I really don't understand, why does eating delicious food always lead to gaining weight?!