Chapter 533 - 311: I Don’t Mind Father Divorcing His Wife and Remarrying

Chapter 533: Chapter 311: I Don’t Mind Father Divorcing His Wife and Remarrying

The Eldest Madam was clearly stunned. She hadn’t expected Mrs. Cai to say such a thing.

It was true that for the past two years, she had kept Mrs. Cai in check for Yun Zhao’s sake. But when Song Qinghan had been wronged at the Marquis Wuxin Mansion, she had been the one to intervene on her behalf. Otherwise, Song Qinghan’s life would have been far more difficult than it was now.

She wasn’t asking Mrs. Cai to be eternally grateful, but she shouldn’t be so quick to turn on her so heartlessly.

The Eldest Madam’s expression darkened. ’No wonder Yun Zhao refuses to bury the hatchet with Mrs. Cai.’

’A woman like Mrs. Cai isn’t worthy of it!’

"You needn’t trouble yourself with my affairs," the Eldest Madam said, her face cold. "My husband said it himself: the children are the priority. I am staying in the Capital City to better care for them."

’Does Mrs. Cai really think she can turn the tables just by becoming a Marchioness?’

’How ridiculous.’

Hearing the Eldest Madam’s tone, Song Yunzhao knew she was already fed up with Mrs. Cai. Mrs. Cai was supposed to be a shrewd woman, yet she’d dived headfirst into the pit Song Qinghan had dug for her, completely blinded.

"Speaking of which, it’s been quite some time since we came to the Capital City from Nanyu," Song Yunzhao began, speaking slowly and deliberately. "The ancestral home and hall need someone to look after them. I think you would be the perfect person for the job."

Mrs. Cai was stunned. "What do you mean by that? Are you trying to send me back to Nanyu? How dare you!"

"Insolence! How dare you be so disrespectful to Her Ladyship!" Xiangxue immediately snapped.

Xiangxue’s sharp retort startled Mrs. Cai. She was so used to ordering Yun Zhao around back home that she had subconsciously slipped back into her old ways.

She had forgotten that Yun Zhao was now one of the Emperor’s women—the newly-appointed Ming Fei.

But Mrs. Cai had always acted high and mighty around Song Yunzhao, and she refused to back down now. She simply stood there with a stony face, saying nothing.

Song Yunzhao looked at Mrs. Cai with utter disgust. ’It’s hard to believe. Most people change at least a little—even Song Qinghan has learned to hide her claws. But Mrs. Cai will bang her head against a brick wall and still refuse to turn back.’

’Her malice toward me hasn’t lessened one bit. In that regard, the plot of the novel is being followed to the letter.’

"You may be my birth mother, but for as long as I can remember, you’ve treated me like an enemy, as if you wished I’d never been born. I didn’t grow up safely because of your maternal kindness; I survived because I fought for it myself," Song Yunzhao said, looking at Mrs. Cai. "Don’t preach to me about filial piety being the highest virtue. If I subscribed to that, I wouldn’t have only allowed my aunt to visit me in the palace, denying you that honor."

Mrs. Cai’s heart lurched at these words, and her expression soured further. A sense of foreboding washed over her.

"Do you think becoming a Marchioness gives you some kind of authority? Daring to drive my aunt away right in front of me? Do you really believe you’ll be in charge of the Song Family from now on? I’m telling you, you can forget it!"

"If you insist on making trouble, I wouldn’t mind if Father were to divorce you and remarry."

The hall fell instantly silent, the air turning as cold as the dead of winter.

The Eldest Madam’s heart pounded in her chest. She never imagined Yun Zhao would say something so drastic just to stand up for her. The rims of her eyes reddened slightly, and she quickly lowered her head. All the years of thankless toil and hardship suddenly felt worth it.

"How can you say something so cruel and heartless? Even if I have my faults, I am still your mother."

"With a mother like you, it’s a good thing Song Bu Yue hasn’t succeeded in his examinations yet. Otherwise, his entire future would be ruined by you. Why do you think he left the Capital City to study in the south? Why did Song Jinxuan leave the city with her husband to study right after getting married? Both Song Bu Yue and Song Jinxuan would do anything to get away from you, even if it means leaving the prosperity of the Capital City, right under the Emperor’s nose."

"It’s no surprise to me that you feel no remorse even now. Someone like you, the first thing you do after becoming a Marchioness is try to drive my aunt out of the Capital City, with no gratitude for everything she’s done for you and your other daughter. In the future, when Song Bu Yue passes his exams, I’m sure the first thing you’ll do is demand he champion Song Qinghan’s cause. But even if he passes with high honors, he’ll have to start as a minor official. With you making trouble, he’ll have no hope of a successful career."

"Besides, you raised Song Bu Yue yourself. Don’t you think he might have thoroughly learned your selfishness and indifference? If Song Qinghan ever becomes an obstacle to his career, what do you think he’ll do? You, single-handedly, are turning your own children into enemies. The third branch of the Song Family will be ruined by you. Once Father understands this, do you really think he’ll let you continue to cause chaos?"

"If you’re smart, you’ll volunteer to return to Nanyu. You can live out the rest of your life in wealth and comfort with the title of Marchioness. But if you remain stubborn... I am now Ming Fei, appointed by the Emperor himself, and the Eldest Prince is my son. For the sake of my future and my son’s, who do you think Father will choose to protect? Anyone who stands in our way is my enemy—and an enemy of the entire Song Family!"

Mrs. Cai’s face went deathly pale. Her legs gave out, and she collapsed to the floor with a THUD.

The ecstasy she had felt upon becoming a Marchioness was instantly extinguished, like a bucket of ice water had been dumped over her head.

The Eldest Madam stared at Yun Zhao. ’To think Mrs. Cai could push her to this point, to say such ruthless things... And they are mother and daughter.’

She felt as if her chest were stuffed with cotton, unable to take a full breath. Finally, she steeled herself, looked at Mrs. Cai, and said, "After my parents-in-law passed away, as the wife of the eldest son, I took charge of the Song Family’s affairs. Though our households are now separate, the saying goes that an elder sister-in-law is like a mother. If you insist on being stubborn, I will personally return to Nanyu and ask the clan elders to step in and uphold justice. At that point, Third Sister-in-law, you won’t even have the option of requesting a divorce yourself."

All that would await her is a lifetime of confinement in Nanyu!

The Song Family would not let one woman like Mrs. Cai jeopardize the future of its descendants. The Imperial First Son was born to a daughter of the Song family; the boy’s future was now inextricably linked with theirs. How could they risk it all for a single Mrs. Cai?

’The Eldest Madam and I really are on the same wavelength,’ Song Yunzhao thought. They were threatening Mrs. Cai in the exact same way, except the Eldest Madam’s words, coming from her position as the Lady of the Family, were even more precise and devastating.

Mrs. Cai’s face was a pale, sickly green. She trembled with rage, her eyes filled with a new-found terror. She hadn’t been truly afraid when Yun Zhao threatened her; after all, she was her mother.

But the Eldest Madam’s words were different. As the Lady of the Family, her standing in the Song Family was far more important than her own. The clan elders would listen to her.

Yun Zhao glanced at Xiangxue, who stepped forward to help Mrs. Cai to a chair.

The veins on the back of Mrs. Cai’s hand stood out as she clutched her handkerchief. She pressed her lips together tightly, afraid she might lose control and start screaming curses.

"Today is a joyous day for me and the Eldest Prince. I trust you know what to do, Madam," Song Yunzhao said with a smile. "If you want to protect Song Qinghan, you’ll need to secure your position as Marchioness. At least then you’ll be on equal footing with Marchioness Wu Xin."

Mrs. Cai was speechless.

The day after the imperial edict had arrived, she had gone to the Marquis Wuxin Mansion to visit her daughter. The memory of the look on Marchioness Wu Xin’s face was, admittedly, a very pleasant one.