"Father, back then, you all called me a jinx and a slut one after another. What's going on today?" Song Ruotang looked at Song Zhen and questioned him sharply.
Song Zhen was stunned for a moment and frowned impatiently. "If we didn't regard you as one of our own, we wouldn't have come to ask you for money today. It's your fortune that you can help us. It proves you're not completely useless."
Song Ruotang felt like laughing. "Lord Song, I made it clear when I entered the door just now that I don't manage the household finances. For such a large sum of money, you can go to my husband and see if he'll give it to you."
"He was willing to buy you jewelry, wasn't he? Hand over your jewelry to us. It's useless on you anyway. You might as well give it to us. We can pawn it for some money. At least the jewelry won't go to waste," Song Zhen said directly, looking completely justified.
Song Ruotang stared at him coldly. After a moment of silence, she smiled. "Father, you didn't prepare any dowry for me when I got married. Now I don't have any jewelry to give you." She spread her hands, indicating her helplessness.
In the end, Song Ruotang would never give them a single cent.
"Then return the money you got as compensation for the white jade bracelet last time. There was quite a sum," Nie Rong suddenly spoke up. Song Ruotang was shocked by her shameless words. "You broke the bracelet, and the compensation was judged by Lord Pei. Why should I return it to you?"
"We're all family. Why are you talking about compensation?" Song Zhen gave Song Ruotang a dissatisfied look. "It was just that A Ying thought it was nice. What's wrong with you giving it to her? You had to make such a scene."
He took a step forward, getting closer to Song Ruotang. "Now hand over the money for the jade bracelet, and we'll overlook what you've done before." Song Zhen stretched out his hand in front of Song Ruotang, his tone tough and demanding.
Song Ruotang took a step back. "The money is not with me. My husband is in charge. You can go and ask him for it."
Seeing that she was unmoved, Song Zhen got angry. He had been hungry and cold here just to ask for money, but now he got nothing. His anger flared up.
He noticed that Song Ruotang had two hairpins on her head, all adorned with pearls, and she was wearing pink pearl earrings and a pearl necklace. The pearls were clearly of the highest quality, with a shiny and soft luster, extremely beautiful.
Song Zhen swallowed hard. Suddenly, he reached out his hand to grab at Song Ruotang's head. "Since we can't get the other things, give us these on your head."
His eyes were full of the glow of the pearls. These pearls should be able to fetch a good price...
Song Ruotang knew he had evil intentions, but she didn't expect him to directly try to snatch. She instinctively fought back. Song Zhen grabbed her sleeve, but the fabric was satin and very slippery.
Moreover, Song Zhen hadn't eaten and was a bit weak. Song Ruotang had done hard labor in the manor for more than a decade, so she was stronger than an ordinary woman. She pushed him, and Song Zhen staggered back a few steps and almost fell.
"You little bastard, how dare you push me?" Song Zhen glared at her angrily, clenching his fists and about to hit Song Ruotang. Unexpectedly, he tripped over a chair when he rushed forward and fell uncontrollably towards the tea stove.
The crisp sound of breaking porcelain mixed with wails and screams. Song Zhen fell onto the tea stove. A large piece of skin was burned off his back, and he knocked over the tea on the stove, scalding himself all over. Even worse, the pieces of the teapot were stuck all over him.
Nie Rong rushed over crying and wailing. She shook Song Zhen vigorously. "My lord, what's wrong with you? My lord, don't scare me..."
Song Ruotang didn't expect things to turn out like this, but she couldn't feel pity for Song Zhen. The maids around even showed expressions of satisfaction, clearly having lost patience with the Song couple.
Song Zhen groaned in pain, but he still didn't forget to look at Song Ruotang's pearl necklace. He said weakly, "Pearls... jewelry..."
"Lord Song is seriously injured. It's better to go to the medical clinic for treatment as soon as possible," Pei Shu came late and stood in front of Song Ruotang. He said calmly to them.
Song Zhen wanted to say something else, but Pei Shu acted quickly. He arranged for people to carry Song Zhen and quickly sent him out of the mansion. Nie Rong had no choice but to follow behind crying.
When they walked out of the corridor, they happened to meet Xiaoxi coming over with a tray. Seeing this scene, Xiaoxi was a bit confused. "Madam, are you leaving? The maid just brought some pastries. They're freshly made."
Nie Rong glanced at the pastries, swallowed hard, and forced a smile. "We won't eat them for now. Another day..."
"Then madam, take care on your way," Xiaoxi moved the pastries to the side, shifting Nie Rong's gaze, and said casually.
Nie Rong then followed the injured Song Zhen away dejectedly.
Xiaoxi waited until they were out of sight and then quickly ran to Song Ruotang. Seeing that she wasn't injured, she let out a sigh of relief. "The maid thought they were bullying you again. They really deserve it!"
After she said that, she suddenly realized the relationship between Song Ruotang and the Song couple. She pursed her lips and looked at Song Ruotang warily.
"It's okay. It's their own fault for having evil intentions," Song Ruotang naturally wouldn't blame Xiaoxi. She had no feelings for the two of them at all. Moreover, what happened today was their own doing.
Seeing that she wasn't affected, Xiaoxi held the tray and smiled. "Madam, lunch is still warm in the kitchen. The maid will ask someone to serve it."
Song Ruotang's eyebrows twitched slightly, with a smile in her eyes. "You're holding pastries in your hand. Let me have a look."
"You can look," Xiaoxi said awkwardly. "But it's better not to eat them."
Song Ruotang looked down and saw a large pancake-like pastry on the plate. It was baked golden brown. It seemed that it should be shared, and it probably didn't taste good.
Xiaoxi understood her.
Song Ruotang couldn't help but smile. This was exactly the effect she wanted.
She originally wanted to see how Nie Rong and Song Zhen would divide this pastry, but due to the unexpected situation just now, they didn't get the chance.
Xiaoxi gave the pastry to other maids and then directed the servants to clean up the mess under the corridor. She also asked the people who were going to serve lunch to bring the food into the house.
After lunch, Song Ruotang remembered that she had wanted to check the wine she had brought in the morning, but she was interrupted by the Song couple. Now that it was quiet, it was time to continue what she hadn't finished in the morning.
Song Ruotang came to the southeast corner of the yard where they lived. There was a sweet-scented osmanthus tree there, but it had lost all its leaves, and only bare branches stood there.
She asked Xiaoxi to bring a shovel. They dug through the snow and started digging along the tree trunk. They dug out the wine jars she had buried there before.
Xiaoxi dug with her. When she saw the wine jars, her eyes sparkled. "Madam, this wine smells so good."
"The wine jars are sealed. How can you smell it?" Song Ruotang looked at her amusedly. Xiaoxi nodded. "I really can smell it. It has a sweet-scented osmanthus fragrance."