Chapter 4
Grandmother had once doted on Song Huaiyu, her eldest granddaughter. My sister had destroyed that affection with her own hands.
Two years earlier, our grandfather, Song Fuhe, was still alive.
Everyone praised the deep love between our grandparents.
Grandfather had joined the army in his youth and once rescued Grandmother from bandits.
Because she had fallen into a bandits’ den, her chastity was questioned and her prospects for marriage ruined.
Grandfather was then in the prime of his life. After returning victorious and receiving the title of Grand General Who Pacifies the Realm, he asked the emperor for only one reward: an imperial marriage decree. Their splendid wedding preserved Grandmother’s honor and brought her both glory and an official noblewoman’s rank.
They spent fifty years together. In old age, wounds from Grandfather’s lifetime of war damaged his mind. Grandmother cared for him at his bedside while using her dowry to support the Song family, which had begun to decline amid the struggle for the throne.
On Grandfather’s final night, she pressed his hand to her cheek and could not bear to look away.
Only my sister, who had just recovered from a high fever, was with her.
Clinging to his last breath, Grandfather looked at his wife in pain and reluctance. Through tears she said, “I will guard this family for you, Fuhe. Go in peace.”
The Song household grieved that night. Amid all the weeping, my sister muttered with contempt,
“The man is dead, and she still rushes to guard his estate? A pampered wife only grows into an old pampered wife.”
Grandmother arranged every detail of the funeral. Watching money pour away like water, my sister sneered again.
“Think how many young male companions that money could buy to serve her day and night. The old pampered wife is certainly devoted.”
At the time, the imperial princes’ contest for succession was at its fiercest.
The Song family had always remained neutral, and in the end both factions squeezed those who chose neither side.
After Grandfather’s death, the family teetered on the brink. Grandmother’s dowry kept it afloat and gave Father time to recover.
My sister only scoffed. “So what if her dowry saved the entire family? She still offered herself up to support a man.
“Mud can never be propped into a wall. That wretched pampered wife cannot live unless she is sacrificing for some man. She deserves to be a widow!”
Later, Grandmother set aside a dowry for her. My sister’s eyes lit up, but she still complained.
“Grandmother, you should have woken up long ago. You spent a fortune on Grandfather’s funeral, didn’t you?
“Spending money on men never ends well, especially when the man is already dead. You should have added all that gold to my dowry instead. I am destined to marry into a great house and rise straight to the clouds!”
Grandmother’s heart had chilled then, but because my sister had only just recovered from illness, she let the matter pass.
Two years later, my sister insulted the empress inside the palace, caused a catastrophe, and nearly dragged the entire family to death.
Still she behaved as though the Song family owed her.
“If Second Brother were standing here today, you would have saved him already! The truth is, you favor men. You value sons and despise daughters!”
“Silence!”
Grandmother struck her shoulder with her cane and thundered,
“Since your grandfather died, you have insulted him time and again! You boast of being clear-eyed, yet forget that you can call yourself the eldest young lady of a general’s household only because he risked his life on the battlefield to win you peace and honor!
“I did not demand gratitude or filial devotion, but you could not even show him basic respect! You insulted Her Majesty, and when she declined to punish you, you challenged her again and again!
“Song Huaiyu, a creature as heartless and dishonorable as you deserves death!”
Grandmother slammed her cane into the ground.
“You are not even worthy to enter the Song household as a slave. Get out!”