Chapter 20
Early the next morning.
Qiu Liang was sleeping soundly when it was as if a little monk had started chanting scripture beside her ear, endlessly disturbing her sweet dreams.
“Qiu Liang, wake up…”
Before Qiu Liang even opened her eyes, she felt someone shaking her shoulder. She turned her head, opened her eyes, and saw Song Jianshuang standing by the bed.
Song Jianshuang, smiling brightly.
Seeing that she had woken up, Song Jianshuang said in a good mood, “Hurry and get ready. It’s time to set out.”
Qiu Liang was a little dazed. Only after getting up and putting on her clothes did she come back to herself. Set out where? She wasn’t going anywhere.
“I haven’t agreed to go to the capital with you.”
Song Jianshuang said nothing else and directly took out the contract they had signed just last night. “Read it yourself.”
Qiu Liang became even more confused. After reading the contents of the contract, she saw her own signature.
Those two flamboyant characters, written with startling force—was that not the signature she had painstakingly practiced since high school?
She had signed this. There was even her fingerprint…
She had thrown herself into a pit for three thousand taels? And if she went back on it, she had to pay double compensation?
The memories from after she drank last night gradually surged into her mind. Qiu Liang froze on the spot. This woman had actually taken advantage of her drunkenness and coaxed her into signing this damned contract!
Did she have any morals left? You couldn’t scam people like this!
“Have you read it clearly?” Song Jianshuang picked up the small bundle, the corners of her lips slightly raised.
The beauty’s smiling face was dazzling and brilliant, surpassing all the colors in the world.
Qiu Liang clenched the contract in her hand. She had no mood at all to admire beauty. She only felt her heart clog.
She took a deep breath and said dryly, “What if I eat this paper? Can you pretend nothing happened?”
Song Jianshuang’s face darkened, and the smile at the corner of her lips vanished. “Do you think that will work?”
Qiu Liang covered her face. She really wanted to swallow this stupid contract in one bite and just choke to death.
In truth, she had originally planned to go to the capital with Song Jianshuang anyway. Since she had transmigrated here, of course she wanted to see this ancient imperial city. Second, there was her useless golden finger.
She wanted to figure out why, after Song Jianshuang performed divination, skin contact with her allowed Qiu Liang to see images of the past or future.
Was Song Jianshuang the only one this worked with, or were there other possibilities?
After all, Qiu Liang currently had nothing else to rely on. But that did not mean she was willing to risk this trip for a mere three thousand taels of silver. At the very least, it should have been five thousand taels. Better yet, there should also have been extra conditions, such as making Song Jianshuang obey her every word.
Unfortunately, imagination was beautiful, but reality had been ruined by alcohol.
After that, the two only traveled along official roads. Before nightfall, they entered a city, and they arrived safely in the capital.
After entering the capital, Song Jianshuang had the coachman take them to Zhuque Street. She paid the coachman the silver for the journey, then took out a gauze hat that covered most of her face and put it on before bringing Qiu Liang into Loushanglou.
Qiu Liang did not understand. “You’re not going home?” Had the Song residence already been raided by government troops? There had been no such scene in the images.
Also, the moment this woman got off the carriage, she put on a hat to cover her face, looking cautious and careful. Was it because her beauty was too striking? Or was this style popular among noble young ladies in the capital?
For some reason, she seemed a little sneaky…
Song Jianshuang looked at the bustling street outside the window and said calmly, “Be patient. I have my own plans.”
After saying this, while the sky had not yet darkened, she put on the gauze hat and left the restaurant, leaving Qiu Liang alone in the private room to wait for her.
Song Jianshuang left quickly and returned quickly as well.
“This is the house deed. This is your commoner registration. The deed of sale is void as well.”
Qiu Liang could not react for a moment. What was going on? Had this woman’s conscience not been completely extinguished after all, and she no longer planned to drag Qiu Liang into the pit?
In the blink of an eye, she had become a person of the capital with a house and a proper identity!
Before she could be happy, she heard Song Jianshuang continue, “I’ll keep these for you first. Once the matter is done, I’ll return them to you. Tomorrow, you will enter the residence as someone from my ancestral home, Song Family Village, coming to seek shelter with me. I will arrange the rest.”
Qiu Liang sighed. Fine. She was still in the pit.
“What about you?”
“I’m going home now. See you at the residence tomorrow morning.” Song Jianshuang hurriedly tossed out these words, then turned and left again.
Qiu Liang absentmindedly gave an “Mm.”
Song Jianshuang had bought her a house, restored her commoner registration, and signed a three-thousand-tael contract. At this point, what else could she say? She could only go ahead. When the cart reached the mountain, there would surely be a road.
On the other side, because everything had been arranged in advance, Song Jianshuang returned to her own room through the back courtyard without obstruction.
As soon as Madam Song received the news, she rushed over.
“Shuang’er, you’re finally back! Aiyo, my child, you suffered terribly this time. Look at you, you’ve grown thinner. It’s all your father’s fault, that rotten old man. What capable person, what divine person—couldn’t he go find them himself? He insisted on making you take this trip. I was worried to death.”
Although Madam Song was over forty, she had been pampered since childhood and had never suffered hardship. She looked like a beautiful woman of around thirty, not old at all.
Song Jianshuang: “…” Father was in prison. Even if he wanted to go personally, he would have to be able to get out first.
Madam Song looked her daughter up and down, the distress in her eyes almost overflowing. “It’s good that you returned safely. I haven’t slept peacefully once these past few days. Are you hungry? Do you want to bathe and change clothes…”
A string of concern poured out, wordlessly displaying her deep love for her daughter.
“Mother, I’ve already eaten. Is everything all right in the residence?” What Song Jianshuang was most worried about was whether the family had managed to hide the fact that she had been claiming illness and refusing to see anyone all these days.
Father had said that success depended on secrecy. Aside from Mother, no one else could be told.
“Same as usual. The people in this residence are growing more and more restless, especially that mother and daughter pair in the side courtyard. They come probing for news every day. Fortunately, your mother has a plan and kept everything hidden tightly.”
When speaking of those two in the side courtyard, Madam Song’s face showed indignation. This matter was of great importance, so this time, even her son had been kept in the dark. It was not that she did not trust her own son; the main issue was that her daughter-in-law was no easy person to deal with.
In truth, the Song family’s household was fairly simple. Old Master Song and his wife had died early, leaving behind only their sole son, Director Song. Director Song had married one wife and taken one concubine.
After entering the household, the first wife, Madam Song, gave birth to a son and a daughter in succession. Her eldest son, Song Wanglei, had just married the legitimate daughter of the Chu family the year before last. Her daughter, Song Jianshuang, had not yet discussed marriage.
Living in the side courtyard was Concubine Jiang. Within a year of entering the residence, she gave birth to a concubine-born daughter, Song Tingmei, who was only one year younger than Song Jianshuang.
Yet even with only these few people, their combined schemes seemed to number eight hundred. They were not united at all.
Song Jianshuang knew her mother held resentment toward her father, so she hurriedly soothed her. “It is all thanks to Mother overseeing things at home. Otherwise, your daughter would not have been able to handle matters outside with peace of mind. Mother has worked hard.”
Her parents’ relationship had been cracked for many years. As their daughter, caught in the middle, she could not say much. But whether in her heart or on the surface, she stood on her mother’s side.
Madam Song reached out and poked Song Jianshuang on the forehead. “You’re just like your elder brother. You only know how to say nice things to coax me. If it weren’t for you siblings, I would have stopped living with that rotten old man long ago.”
Back then, Director Song had begged and pleaded in a thousand ways to marry her. He had promised never to take a concubine for the rest of his life. In the end, after Madam Song gave birth to their son and became pregnant with their daughter, his vow back then was fed to the dogs. He had even brought Concubine Jiang into the household while she was pregnant with Song Jianshuang. How could she not resent him?
As for Director Song’s claims about losing control after drinking, Madam Song had not believed a single word.
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