The Battle of the Noble Ladies

Chapter 46 - New Year Greetings

On the first day of the New Year, the entire Changning Marquis Residence was renewed. The maids and old women wore new festive clothes, their faces beaming with joy.

Old Lady Song and the First Lady went to the palace to pay respects to the Empress Dowager and the Empress. When they returned, the men would open the ancestral hall to pay respects, followed by the ladies going to the temple to pray for the family's safety.

The servants received generous red envelopes today, bringing them great joy.

Song Chuyi, dressed in clothes sent by the First Lady, stood in the snow like a porcelain doll, her delicate features and eyes shining like glass.

Soon, the sound of firecrackers began to ring out one after another. Song Chuyi listened and knew that the noblewomen had returned from their audience, and each family started setting off firecrackers.

Yushu came over early and pulled Song Chuyi to the side of the steps, smiling, "They're going to set off firecrackers, Sixth Miss, be careful."

Song Chuyi nodded with a smile, watching the firecrackers crackle and explode, smelling the dense gunpowder in the air, and genuinely smiling.

The ancestral hall ceremony went smoothly. Old Lady Song had the fruits placed in front of the ancestors' tablets packed and distributed to the younger generation, while also stopping Song Chuyan from stuffing a walnut into his mouth.

The First Lady went back to her room to change clothes and then came to ask Old Lady Song, "The firecrackers, candles, and incense money for Qingliang Temple are ready, but this year we have added a Guanyin Temple. How should we prepare the incense money?"

Old Lady Song pondered for a moment and said, "Add thirty taels, for the sake of our married granddaughters, praying for the Bodhisattva to bless them with children soon."

The First Lady agreed with a smile and was about to make preparations when Nanny Qiu and Nanny Huang came in hurriedly to report, "Second Miss has returned!"

Song Chuxuan returned at this time?! The First Lady was shocked and couldn't help but stand up straight, ready to rush out.

According to the rules of the capital, married daughters usually return to their maternal home on the second day of the New Year. Why did Song Chuxuan come back now?!

The previously lively Ningde Courtyard instantly quieted down, even the children sensed something was wrong.

Before the First Lady could go out, Song Chuxuan rushed in like a gust of wind, crying as she fell into Old Lady Song's arms, calling out "Grandmother" with infinite grief and resentment, and then burst into tears.

Old Lady Song, who was about to scold her, couldn't say a word. She looked at the shocking bruises on Song Chuxuan's face and asked in a trembling voice, "What happened?! Who did this?!"

Returning to her maternal home on the first day of the New Year with tears was extremely inauspicious. The First Lady initially wanted to scold her daughter harshly, but upon hearing Old Lady Song's words, she was stunned. Seeing the bruises on Song Chuxuan's face, even covered with powder, her anger dissipated, leaving only heartache and anger, "How did this happen?!"

She pulled Song Chuxuan up, gently touched her face, and asked with a grim expression, "What happened?!"

Song Chuyi also saw the bruises covering Song Chuxuan's face and gasped.

She then remembered that this second sister had never been liked by her mother-in-law in her previous life, gradually becoming estranged from her husband, and had a hard life.

But in Song Chuyi's memory, she always brought new gifts and spoke softly whenever she returned to the residence.

Seeing her family, Song Chuxuan's accumulated grievances burst out, crying so hard she couldn't speak a complete sentence.

The First Lady, furious, shook her arm, "Are you trying to worry us to death? What happened, say something!"

Song Chuxuan winced in pain.

The First Lady sensed something was wrong, rolled up her wide sleeves, and exposed the bruises on her fair, delicate skin.

Old Lady Song's eyes turned red, she pulled Song Chuxuan over, called for Nanny Huang to bring the Purple Gold Blood Activating Pills, and asked Yulan to fetch the bruise ointment.

The First Lady, trembling with anger, felt as if her body wasn't her own, looking at the bruises on Song Chuxuan's other arm, she finally couldn't help but shout, "Nanny Qiu, bring in the people who came back with Second Miss today!"

Nanny Qiu hurriedly complied.

Soon, Xuezhu and Ruizhu were brought in. The First Lady, rarely showing anger, pointed at Song Chuxuan and demanded, "Who will tell me what happened to Second Miss?!"

Old Lady Song also looked at the two maids with a blank expression.

Ruizhu's eyes darted around, not daring to meet anyone's gaze. Xuezhu, more honest, shrank and shook her head timidly.

Old Lady Song laughed in anger, "You are the maids who went with her as dowry, and you don't know why your mistress is like this?! I didn't know we raised such maids in our residence!"

Song Chuxuan, crying on Old Lady Song's lap, raised her head and pointed at Ruizhu, "Grandmother, she's not a maid anymore... she's now Concubine Rui..."

The First Lady's eyes widened in anger, glaring coldly at Ruizhu, almost bursting with rage.

Ruizhu, feeling a bit scared, thought that she was now the concubine of the second young master of the Xiao family, and gained some courage, lowering her head and daringly said, "The young master wanted to take me in..."

Old Lady Song decisively stopped her, to avoid dirtying the ears of the girls in the room. She coldly ordered, "Jieyi, have some maids tie her up. Send her to the manor tonight and have the steward marry her off immediately!"

Ruizhu's eyes widened in disbelief, then she started wailing, "Old Lady, you can't sell me... I'm already part of the Xiao family..."

"Your contract has always been with our residence, what Xiao family?!" The First Lady sneered, "The Xiao family can't control how we deal with our servants! You thought you could step on the Second Miss with the Xiao family, you miscalculated!"

Nanny Huang quickly led some rough maids to tie Ruizhu's hands behind her back, stuffed a rag in her mouth, and silently dragged her out.

Old Lady Song then looked at the terrified Xuezhu and asked, "What about you? Have you also become a concubine of the Xiao family?"