Little Mrs. Wen stretched out her hand, and her sharp fingernails dug forcefully into the baby's tender cheek without hesitation.
The skin broke and blood oozed out.
"Wow!"
The baby, in pain, let out a heart - rending wail.
"Cry, cry! If you keep crying, I'll crush you to death!" Little Mrs. Wen threatened viciously.
The wet - nurse looked uneasy and didn't even dare to breathe loudly.
It was not until the baby was out of breath from crying and her little face was flushed red that Little Mrs. Wen stopped.
"Take the baby away!"
Hearing this, the wet - nurse timidly carried the baby out of the room.
...
Song Zhaoyang returned to her own courtyard and let out a long sigh of relief.
"Sure enough, there's no place like home, no matter how fancy other places are."
Magpie burst out laughing. Soon she put away her smile and asked seriously, "Madam, should we go to the Song Mansion to announce the good news?"
The Song family was a noble and respected family with a history of a hundred years.
Song Zhaoyang's grandfather, Song Chengbi, had once been the imperial tutor to three emperors and was now living in retirement in the south of the Yangtze River. Her father, Song Yibin, was the dean of the Hanlin Academy.
Back then, Song Zhaoyang had almost been betrothed by the late emperor to the current emperor when he was the crown prince. But as the Song family's daughters never became concubines or princesses, the Song family had arranged an early marriage for Song Zhaoyang with Xue Chucheng.
Song Zhaoyang nodded and said, "It's time to announce the good news. Brother Xiao and Brother Chen will be very happy to know they have a little sister."
Thinking of her two sons who were currently staying at her natal home, her smile softened.
...
In the afternoon, Song Zhaoyang's mother, the mistress of the Song family, Lady Luo, personally came to visit her daughter with gifts.
"Mother, mother, where's my little sister?"
The first one to rush in was the younger son, Xue Mingchen, closely followed by Xue Mingxiao.
Song Zhaoyang looked at her two sons, and her eyes welled up with tears.
In her previous life, after her eldest son's father, Xue Chucheng, was framed for treason, her eldest son was shot to death by a hail of arrows.
Her younger son was pushed off the second - floor of a restaurant and trampled to death by a stampede of horses, dying with unclosed eyes.
But before the tears could fall, seeing the two children rushing in in a sorry state, she stared at them with wide eyes.
Xue Mingchen was covered in mud, looking as dirty as a beggar on the street.
Even Xue Mingxiao, who always loved to be clean, had his shoes caked with mud.
"You... Have you been digging in the mud?"
"Brother Chen, don't come closer!"
Song Zhaoyang saw her younger son about to pounce on the bed and sharply stopped him.
Xue Mingchen stopped in his tracks. His little face, as delicate as a carved jade, fell, showing a wronged expression.
He pouted and said coquettishly, "Mother..."
Song Zhaoyang glared at him angrily and asked, "Why did you make yourselves so dirty?"
Xue Mingchen let out a few dry laughs and winked at Xue Mingxiao.
Xue Mingxiao had his hands behind his back. Although he was just a child, he looked very mature at the moment.
When Lady Luo entered the room, she saw her daughter and the two children staring at each other. She smiled and said, "Today the mansion was cleaning the lotus pond. Brother Chen and Brother Min were very excited and ran to watch. They said they wanted to pick lotus flowers."
"Brother Xiao went to stop them but was also pulled into the lotus pond by the two of them."
"Fortunately, there was no water in the pond. Otherwise, these three children would have been in big trouble."
"I was just about to clean them up when I heard the news that you gave premature birth to a daughter. These two children couldn't wait to come back to see you. I couldn't stop them."
Song Zhaoyang looked at her mother's half - angry, half - amused expression and then at the two children, especially when she saw her younger son grinning with his white teeth. She helplessly rubbed her forehead. It was really embarrassing.
She asked someone to take the two children away to wash up.
Lady Luo sat by the bed, gently stroking her daughter's head, and asked with concern, "What happened?"
Song Zhaoyang dismissed the servants in the room and told her mother the whole story.
When Lady Luo heard this, her face immediately darkened.
"I said back then that Mrs. Wen looked kind but was actually very vicious. I told you to be very careful after you got married, but you didn't believe me!"
"I think even your husband has been manipulated by this woman. Now she wants to reach out to you. She's asking for death!"
Mrs. Wen was her husband Xue Chucheng's step - mother and his aunt...
After Xue Chucheng's biological mother passed away, his father remarried Mrs. Wen under the pretext of taking care of Xue Chucheng. A year later, Mrs. Wen gave birth to Xue Chucheng's half - brother, Xue Churui from the second branch.
In her previous life, before Song Zhaoyang married Xue Chucheng, Lady Luo had reminded her to be careful of Mrs. Wen.
After Song Zhaoyang married into the Xue family, she was deceived by Mrs. Wen's appearance and trusted her easily, which led to the harm of herself, her husband, and her children.
Song Zhaoyang felt regretful and thought that she was really stupid in her previous life.
She said remorsefully, "Mother, I regret it."
Lady Luo reached out and patted her on the back soothingly. There was a sharp glint in her eyes. "It's not too late to regret now. What are you going to do next?"
A cold smile slowly spread across Song Zhaoyang's lips.
Her tone was drawn out, as if she was a Shura climbing out of hell.
"Of course, an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth."
After she finished speaking, Lady Luo nodded in satisfaction.
She thought that her daughter had grown a lot after this great disaster.
It could be said that after a great disaster, there would be good fortune.
Lady Luo wanted to remind her to be careful, but before she could finish speaking, Xue Mingxiao and Xue Mingchen had already cleaned up and came into the room.
"Mother, where's my little sister?" Xue Mingchen was eager to see his soft and sweet little sister.
Song Zhaoyang looked at her two clean and cute sons and winked at Magpie.
The wet - nurse soon carried the baby over.
Xue Mingxiao and Xue Mingchen immediately surrounded her.
Xue Mingchen stared in disbelief.
"Little sister's face is all wrinkled. She looks like a monkey..."
As soon as he finished speaking, Xue Mingxiao slapped him on the forehead.
"Nonsense. Little sister is so cute. When you were just born, you looked even more like a monkey than little sister!"
Xue Mingchen retorted, "Nonsense. I'm so handsome and dashing now. How could I have been a monkey?"
When Song Zhaoyang heard what her younger son said, the corner of her mouth twitched.
This child was really narcissistic.
Lady Luo smiled softly, picked up the little sister, and said lovingly, "Brother Chen, little sister was just born. After a month, she'll grow to be very beautiful."
Saying this, she carefully examined the baby. The smile in her eyes deepened, and she looked at Song Zhaoyang.
"She looks exactly like you when you were born. She'll surely be a great beauty in the future."
Xue Mingchen still looked skeptical. Could this little sister, who looked so much like a monkey, really be beautiful in the future?
He wondered in his heart.
Xue Mingxiao looked at his little sister with all - encompassing love. He hooked his finger at his little sister's small hand, and his little sister grabbed it tightly.
This action made Xue Mingxiao extremely excited. He asked, "Mother, what's little sister's name?"
Song Zhaoyang looked at her excited eldest son and said with a smile, "I'll write a letter to your father and let him give her a formal name. But for the nickname, you can choose it yourselves."
"Call her Meimei!" Xue Mingchen shouted. "I hope little sister will become very beautiful."
The corner of Song Zhaoyang's mouth twitched.
Xue Mingxiao frowned. "It's so vulgar. How about Guanguan?"
Song Zhaoyang's face darkened. In her previous life, Xue Yunning's nickname was Guanguan. In this life, she would never let her daughter have this nickname.
"Choose another one. This one doesn't sound good."
Xue Mingxiao sensed his mother's dislike and continued to think.
"Yaoyao? 'The peach tree is so lush, its blossoms are so bright.' Mother, what do you think?"
"This is good!" Xue Mingchen clapped his chubby little hands.
Song Zhaoyang's frown relaxed, and she smiled in satisfaction. "It sounds nice."
Lady Luo lovingly looked at her granddaughter in her arms. "From now on, grandmother will call you Yaoyao, little Yaoyao."
The little girl in her arms seemed to understand and showed a toothless smile.
Just as the family was enjoying the happy moment in the room, Magpie walked in.
"Madam, Nanny Yu is here."