Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Song Zeqian was slightly startled, but he quickly straightened his expression and said solemnly, “Since Lady Li committed a crime, she naturally deserves to be punished. I believe in Imperial Father’s impartiality.”

I clicked my tongue in mock admiration. “You and Imperial Father truly are father and son. He disregards his wife, and you disregard your mother. You both use the same hypocritical excuses.”

I patted his cheek, turned, and strode away. As I walked, I instructed my palace maids:

“Relay the Eldest Prince’s words exactly as they were spoken to the commoner Li Wan’er in the Cold Palace. Let her know that raising this son was a waste of effort. Even crows know to feed their parents in return, and lambs kneel to suckle, yet some people live worse than beasts.”

Song Zeqian’s face darkened.

He turned to see Imperial Father, his steps carrying a hint of agitation.

Later, I heard from others that as soon as he entered, he filed a complaint against me, repeating my treasonous words to Imperial Father. Instead of finding sympathy, he was met with a brutal scolding and nearly got hit by a tea lid.

Imperial Father’s hand went crooked, and he missed, letting Song Zeqian escape by sheer luck.

Imperial Father roared, “Is what she said not true? Your mother has been locked in the Cold Palace for all these years. Have you ever once pleaded for her? You ungrateful thing! Your mother can’t count on you, and I certainly can’t count on you!”

Those words were harsh.

If they got out, they would cut off Song Zeqian’s road to glory.

He hurriedly admitted fault and pleaded on Li Wan’er’s behalf.

Imperial Father froze. His gaze sank as he stared at Song Zeqian, then he let out a strange smile.

“You’re pleading for her now?”

“Yes… Your son misses Mother day and night. I just… I just didn’t dare to say it.”

“Get out! Idiot, get out of here!!!”

Song Zeqian all but crawled out of the Imperial Study. Bewildered, he asked the people beside him, “What is going on? Why is it that no matter what I say, it’s wrong? Could it be that Imperial Father actually doesn’t like my mother at all…?”

It would probably take him a long time to understand: whether a prince has feelings or not is beside the point. What matters is having a firm will, not being a fence-sitter who changes course the moment someone says a couple of words.

Imperial Father did not issue another decree to make Su Qianyu a consort.

She became a Lady-in-Waiting at my Princess Manor instead, helping me manage the enormous estate, and doing business on the side.

In the story, she was a genius in commerce. Together with Gu Qinglan, she amassed a vast fortune, stockpiling enough money and grain for the rebellion that came later.

Now, doing business under the name of my Princess Manor, she was even more in her element.

The manager of the Treasure Pavilion was convicted of false accusation and had to compensate Su Qianyu three thousand taels of silver.

She took the money and invested it into the shops as well. Life brimmed with hope, and everything from before felt like a single long dream.

The Marquis of Changxing and his wife came to the Princess Manor, hoping to take Su Qianyu back.

The Marquis had been reprimanded by Imperial Father and stripped of his post. He no longer dared submit memorials asking to name Su Yunwei heir. All he wanted was Su Qianyu’s forgiveness so the Su family could finally catch its breath.

I ordered them thrown out.

Su Qianyu, in her Lady-in-Waiting uniform, stood at the gates of the Princess Manor and said coldly, “Father, Mother, please return. Elder Brother said I’m a calamity who stirs up the household and keeps the family from knowing peace. Now that I’m not at home, you should be living much better.”

The Marquis and his wife had nothing to say, because they had once used those very words to press Su Qianyu down.

They wanted her quiet, obedient, and sensible. If something happened, they wanted her not to put it in front of them. Out of sight, out of mind. Then they could tell themselves the household was harmonious and everything would prosper.

But the moment she dared to fight, to compete, to drag everything into the open, it became a slap in their faces. They would regret bringing her back in the first place, blaming everything on her. They had been perfectly fine when she wasn’t there, they’d say. The instant she returned, the inner quarters were in turmoil.

That mindset became habit: wrong one person to fulfill the whole family. Everyone got to be happy, and only Su Qianyu was left bleeding.

But now Su Qianyu had flipped the table and made the matter known to all. They felt humiliated, and wanted her to go back and hush up the gossip.

How could the world offer something so cheap?

The Marquis of Changxing and his wife returned home in defeat.

And waiting for them was another piece of disastrous news: Su Yunwei intended to marry Su Mengyao.

Su Yunwei’s excuse was that she wasn’t his real sister anyway. Besides, he’d have a hard time marrying in the future, and she’d have a hard time finding a husband. They might as well pair up and spare their parents the trouble.

The Marquis of Changxing was so furious he spat blood. The Marchioness held up a little better and slapped Su Mengyao across the face.

“I’ve treated you even better than my own daughter, and this is what you do? You want to seduce your brother and ruin his name? How did our family raise something worse than a beast?”

Su Yunwei hurried to shield Su Mengyao.

“If you hadn’t insisted on bringing that wench back-”

Slap!

This time, the Marquis slapped Su Yunwei.

“The ‘wench’ you keep talking about is your own blood sister, the sister you share a mother with! She will never come back. She was in this house less than three months and suffered all that torment. Do you think she’d still be willing to acknowledge us? In the future she’ll soar to the skies, and you’ll rot in the mud!”

The Marquis of Changxing swallowed the pain and sent Su Yunwei into the military camp.

As for the Marchioness, she was sent to a nunnery.

I deliberately told Su Qianyu about it.

She froze for a moment and said softly, “So it can be this easy? Before, I was already prepared to be suppressed by Su Mengyao for my whole life.”

I said blandly, “That’s because you’re an official of my Princess Manor. Think about it. If you’d attached yourself to the Eldest Prince, or any other powerful figure, would it have turned out like this?”

Su Qianyu fell into deep thought.

I didn’t press her for an answer. I let her think it through slowly. Once she understood, she’d know what should matter most to her from now on.