Consort Chu was dead!
The sky was falling for the Dingnan Bo Mansion!
His Majesty, overcome with grief, suspended court for three days.
The Dingnan Bo Mansion was deeply moved and decided to send another daughter into the palace. However, after searching high and low through the Chu Family, they found no women of a suitable age. So, they turned their attention to their in-laws.
Madam Ding Nanbo was Third Madam Song's biological elder sister. She immediately wrote a letter urging her younger sister to bring her nieces to the Capital City with all speed.
When Song Yunzhao heard the news, she spat out a mouthful of tea. She pinched herself hard, and the sharp pain instantly brought her back to reality.
'Fourteen years since I transmigrated, and the plot is finally starting?'
'Is it time for me, the villainess, to rush to my doom?'
She was... actually eager to get started.
Jiangxiang watched her young mistress cautiously. Seeing the shifting expressions on her face, she thought her mistress was upset again and carefully tried to console her. "Miss, you don't have to worry. This time, the Madam surely can't stop you from being considered for the selection. The Master wouldn't agree to it either."
Jiangxiang's heart ached for her mistress. Ever since the Third Miss was born, the Madam had never favored her. Even though she was a legitimate daughter, her life was only marginally better than that of the Second Miss, a concubine's daughter, and couldn't compare to the Eldest Miss at all.
It was enough to break the hearts of them, her maids, let alone the young mistress herself.
Song Yunzhao gave a faint smile and said gently to Jiangxiang, "I know you're worried about me, but don't say such things outside. We can't let anyone get a hold of something they can use against us."
Jiangxiang thought she was heartbroken, but she wasn't sad at all. Mrs. Cai had never treated her like a daughter, so she, in turn, never thought of Mrs. Cai as her mother. If it weren't for the crushing weight of filial piety in this ancient era forcing her into a passive role, she would have found a way to strike out on her own long ago.
After more than a decade of laying low and biding her time, she had finally gotten her chance—and a perfect one to escape, at that.
"Miss, what should we do now?" Although Jiangxiang had tried to comfort her mistress, she was inwardly frantic. 'What if the Madam insists on not taking you to the Dingnan Bo Mansion in the Capital City?'
'The golden opportunity to be considered for the palace selection will be lost!'
"What should we do?" Song Yunzhao chuckled. "Jiangxiang, I want you to quietly pass the news to Nanny Zhao, who serves the First Madam of the main branch."
Jiangxiang's eyes lit up. "Right! I'm so stupid, why didn't I think of that? I'll go right away."
The First Madam didn't tolerate any slights. She would definitely fight for such a good opportunity. As long as the First Madam made a move, even if it was just to compete with the four unmarried girls from the main branch, the Third Madam would surely have to bring their young mistress along.
Jiangxiang hurried away. Song Yunzhao's clever eyes shifted, and she let out a delighted laugh.
In the book, the original owner's mother, Third Madam Song, Mrs. Cai, had tried to get a head start by secretly taking her precious eldest daughter, Song Qinghan, to the Capital City, keeping the other two branches of the Song Family in the dark. She hadn't brought her third daughter—the original Song Yunzhao—at all. However, the First Madam's father was the Assistant Minister of Rites. Being in the Capital City, he was naturally well-informed. Before Mrs. Cai even reached the capital, the First Madam received a letter from the Jiang family and immediately took the four girls from the main branch, both legitimate and from concubines, to chase after them.
The result, of course, was a huge commotion. The First Madam, through sheer shamelessness, managed to force her way onto the Dingnan Bo Mansion's "ship." This time, Song Yunzhao was going to use this "eastern wind." She had to be part of this selection. This was the chance she had been waiting for for over a decade.
"Miss, Miss! Yin Zhu from the Madam's courtyard is here with a message. The Madam wants to see you," Qiancao said, rushing in as she lifted the door curtain.
Song Yunzhao rose unhurriedly. Her plain-colored jacket and skirt seemed rather drab, not at all fitting the opulent style of a legitimate daughter. She had no intention of changing and simply started walking out.
Halfway there, she heard someone call her name. Turning her head, she saw Song Jinxuan hurrying to catch up.
"Third Sister, are you also going to Mother's?"
Song Jinxuan was the Second Miss, born to the concubine Aunt Che. Aunt Che was favored in the household, and as a result, the son and daughter she bore also held a fair amount of status.
Song Yunzhao gave a cool nod, showing no intention of engaging with her.
Aunt Che and her daughter, Song Jinxuan, were a deeply calculating pair. Knowing that Mrs. Cai disliked Song Yunzhao, whenever Aunt Che wanted to challenge Mrs. Cai, she would use Song Yunzhao as a pawn. Song Jinxuan would play along perfectly with her mother. Three years ago, Song Yunzhao had struck back viciously, causing the mother and daughter to suffer a major humiliation. Only then did they stop targeting her so readily.
Song Jinxuan seemed not to notice Song Yunzhao's coldness and said with a smile, "I wonder what Mother has called us over for."
Song Yunzhao couldn't be bothered with her and just walked straight ahead without a single glance.
Seeing Song Yunzhao's attitude, Song Jinxuan's expression stiffened slightly. 'Who is she looking down on? She's just a child the Madam hates,' she thought, but didn't dare say it out loud. Gritting her teeth, she hurried to follow.
Upon entering Mrs. Cai's courtyard, they found it filled with blooming flowers and plants, all neatly tended. Under the eaves stood two young maids who had just come of age, and they quickly lifted the curtain as the girls approached.
Before she even stepped inside from the covered veranda, Song Yunzhao could hear her eldest sister Song Qinghan's happy laughter, along with the faint sound of Mrs. Cai's affectionate voice. She walked right in as if she hadn't heard a thing.
Song Jinxuan knew that Song Yunzhao had a strange personality—blunt and reckless. Although the Madam disliked her, if Song Yunzhao felt wronged, she would always find a way to complain to their father. After this happened a few times, the Madam, while still detesting her, became careful not to give her any obvious reason to complain.
The moment Song Yunzhao entered the room, the smile vanished from Mrs. Cai's face. Her legitimate elder sister, Song Qinghan, however, said with a grin, "Third Sister is here."
Song Yunzhao greeted Mrs. Cai, nodded to Song Qinghan, and then plopped right down into a seat.
Mrs. Cai felt a surge of irritation. This daughter of hers was clearly born to be her tormentor.
Song Jinxuan obediently followed Song Yunzhao in greeting them and sat down quietly, but her eyes flickered over Song Qinghan and Mrs. Cai before she lowered her head and said nothing.
Mrs. Cai looked at the two of them with a stern face and said, "Tomorrow, I am taking your Eldest Sister to the Capital City. You two are to stay here at the manor and not break any rules. If anyone invites you out, you are to refuse them all. Wait until I return to decide on anything."
Song Jinxuan froze. 'The Madam is taking Eldest Sister to the Capital City?'
'Why so suddenly?'
She instinctively looked at Song Yunzhao, only to see her not even bat an eye, looking completely indifferent. A sense of irritation began to bubble up inside her.
'The Madam and Song Qinghan were smiling so happily; something good must be happening. But clearly, the Madam has no intention of including me in this good fortune.'
'That's unacceptable!'
Song Jinxuan's eyes darted, and she immediately spoke up. "Mother, the journey to the Capital City is long and arduous. With only Eldest Sister to attend to you, I'm afraid she will be overworked. It would be better for me to come along. I could serve you and fulfill my filial duty, and also help lighten Eldest Sister's burden."
Song Jinxuan had never been to the Capital City in her life, but she knew that her legitimate mother's family lived there. Although her maternal grandfather was only a Sixth-rank Official, he was a Chief in the Military Selection Department, a position with real authority.
Song Qinghan lifted her eyes and said in a soft, gentle voice, "I appreciate your kind intentions, Second Sister, but I heard Aunt Che has fallen ill from the summer heat again. You should probably stay and look after her. Besides, we'll have maids and old servants with us on the road, so I won't be overworked. You don't need to worry."
Song Yunzhao remained seated, her face expressionless. Mrs. Cai looked at her daughter's sullen, stepmother-like face and felt utterly exasperated. The more she looked, the more she disliked her.
'Just who is the mother here?'
Just as she was about to scold her, a commotion could be heard from outside. She was about to speak when the voice of her eldest sister-in-law, Mrs. Jiang, drifted in, and she was instantly struck with a bad premonition.