After Yun repeated what Song Chuyi had said, First Lady Cui and Old Lady Song exchanged gnces, both at a loss for words. A young girl her age pcing so much importance on love and retionships wasn’t ideal, but not valuing it at all, treating it like something worthless, wasn’t good either.

  No wonder Song Chuyi was so opposed to marriage. In the past, they hadn’t noticed because they felt there was no rush and wanted to keep her at home for a few more years. Now that it was time to find her a match, they realized this young girl seemed to have grown up a bit “crooked.”

  Most young women would feel some excitement or anticipation about marriage—looking forward to the future, perhaps holding hopes for their future husband. But Song Chuyi had none of that.

  This was a serious issue. No matter how clever or capable a girl was, she would eventually have to marry. True, there were precedents of women who chose to remain single and independent, but they were hardly seen as good examples to follow.

  Old Lady Song sighed and brought up Duke Ying's household with obvious disdain in her tone: “It all started with that family. I used to think Lady He had some sense, but now it’s clear she just blindly obeys her husband, without a shred of independent thought. The family business Duke Ying worked so hard to build is about to be ruined in their hands.”

  When someone’s ambition outweighed their capability, such a downfall was inevitable. First Lady Cui didn’t even want to mention them, but since Old Lady Song brought it up, she sneered, “It won’t be long now. Duke Ying’s household might sound impressive because of their title, but in truth, they hold no real power. Shen Xiaohai wants to climb the ranks through scheming and opportunism, but he should take a good look at his own abilities first.”

  Even the Marquis of Wuning’s household alone was enough to give them a hard time.

  Sure enough, when the Changning Marquis’s residence was preparing for their evening banquet, news arrived. Nanny Huang came in, barely able to suppress her ughter, and reported to Old Lady Song with a strange expression: “Today, when delivering invitations to the Earl of Guang’en’s residence, I happened to witness the Marchioness of Wuning storm into Duke Ying’s residence with a group of people, looking furious. It seems Shen Qingrang beat Miss Tong…”

  Although Tong Shao had grown up in the Marquis of Wuning’s household and had some martial skills, she couldn’t compare to a man with actual training. Shen Qingrang, likely enraged by her persistence, lost his temper. Fearing that the incident would spread, he made an excuse, ciming his injuries came from a fight over a courtesan at a brothel, hoping to pcate Tong Shao.

  Who would have thought that this would ignite a hornet’s nest? Perhaps Miss Tong had been harboring grievances for a while. She suddenly erupted in fury, grabbed a whip, and shed Shen Qingrang until his face was covered in blood.

  According to the servants at Duke Ying’s residence, it wasn’t just for show—Miss Tong truly shed out with full force. The whip she used still had bloodstains on it.

  Shen Qingrang, having never suffered such humiliation before, endured for as long as he could, but when Tong Shao refused to relent, he finally snapped. He grabbed her hand and yanked her hair, smming her head against the bedpost.

  Tong Shao, already pin in appearance, ended up with a cut on her forehead, ruining her looks entirely. Dazed from the blow, she sat on the ground crying for a long time, but strangely, no one in the Shen household stepped in to console her.

  Tong Shao eventually stormed off to the Marquis of Wuning’s residence, skipping her own home entirely. She brought her grandparents, uncles, and aunts to demand justice.

  First Lady Song was dumbfounded as she listened, momentarily forgetting to instruct Jinhuan to add coconut milk, red date, and snow frog dessert to the banquet. With her mouth agape, she finally shook her head and said, “This is truly… a farce.”

  This wasn’t the first time Duke Ying’s household had made a spectacle of themselves in the past six months, but each incident was more ridiculous than the st. This time, with Shen Qingrang assaulting Tong Shao, there was no way the Marquis of Wuning’s household would let it slide. They were notorious for stirring trouble even when they were in the wrong. Now that Shen Qingrang had ruined Miss Tong’s appearance, it would be shocking if the Marquis of Wuning’s household didn’t turn Duke Ying’s residence upside down.

  Old Lady Song, looking calm but unable to suppress her amusement, gave the order to prepare the banquet in the covered pavilion. Then, she chuckled and said, “Xiao Yi is far too clever.”

  Although her actions didn’t injure the Shen family at their core or expose their deeper involvement in other matters, she had managed to humiliate them thoroughly while also offending the Marquis of Wuning’s household.

  Most importantly, she indirectly ruined Duke Ying’s chance to curry favor with the Prince of Commandery. Neither Consort Fan nor the Prince of Commandery, much less Yuan Hui, were fools. The Shen family was already cking in wealth and capable people. Now, having completely alienated the Marquis of Wuning’s household—one of their few useful connections—why would anyone want to associate with such a burdensome family?

  By now, Xiang Mingzi’s leg injury had mostly healed. Hearing the news, she reached out to pinch Song Chuyi’s cheek and said, “How did you even come up with this? Dealing with Shen Qingrang in this way is more painful for him than if he had simply died.”

  Miss Tong and the Marquis of Wuning’s household might not care about their reputation, but Duke Ying’s household and Shen Xiaohai and Shen Qingrang certainly do. With such a public scandal, how do they pn to manage anything in the future? And with the Marquis of Wuning relentlessly pressing the issue, those two father and son are probably running themselves ragged by now, likely on the verge of spitting blood.

  Song Chuyi lowered her gaze. The one who knows you best also knows exactly where to strike to hurt you the most. In her previous life, she had been thoroughly controlled by Shen Qingrang and had learned her lesson well. Now she knew exactly how to make every single member of the Shen family suffer.

  Shen Xiaohai was nothing more than a toothless tiger—his roaring and posturing were all bluster without any real strength. Shen Qingrang was even worse, a useless pyboy who might scare himself to death if the wind blew too hard. He hadn’t yet developed into the calcuting and malicious figure he was in her past life. For now, he was just a fish in someone else’s barrel.

  She wasn’t going to ruin the Shen family in one swift move. A single Tong Shao and the Marquis of Wuning’s household were enough to drag them into disgrace and ensure they lived every day in hell.

  Killing those who had repeatedly refused to give up on controlling her, who tried to pull her into their schemes or even kill her for their own gain, would be far too merciful. They deserved to live long enough to witness Duke Ying’s household fall into complete ruin, fading into obscurity among the masses.

  First Lady Cui grew even more worried. Song Chuyi had calcuted every single profit-and-loss retionship in their marriage alliances with such crity. While this level of rationality might seem like a strength, it would do her no good when it came to marrying and living as a wife in the future.

  Fortunately, the matter of Song Yi’s second wife being formally brought into the household was set for the nineteenth of the month. Once this was settled, she pnned to send Song Chuyi and Song Yan to Jinzhong immediately after the New Year, without any dey.

  First Lady Cui’s mother-in-w, Old Lady Cui, had seen much in her long life and had handled countless matters. Perhaps she could temper Song Chuyi’s personality. And even if she couldn’t, maybe getting away for a while and seeing more of the world would help Song Chuyi let go of some of her resentment and start to see things differently.