Chapter 20: I Didn’t Like It, So I Hit Her

Seeing Liu Xiangyun’s silence, Song Yuntang snatched the feed and threw it aside, raising her voice.

“I’m asking you, did Lin Zhaozhao hit you?”

Liu Xiangyun glanced at the main room, seemingly afraid of being overheard, quickly waving her hand. “No, it wasn’t her.”

Song Yuntang raised an eyebrow. “Was it her maid?”

Liu Xiangyun pulled Song Yuntang’s hand. “Tang’er, let it go. I’m fine. We poor folk can’t fight them.”

Song Yuntang’s expression remained calm. She shook off Liu Xiangyun’s hand.

“I know you’re worried about the baby and don’t dare resist. If I hadn’t seen it, it would be fine.  But since I did, I won’t let you endure this silently.”

Then, she turned to the main room.

The atmosphere in the main room was pleasant. Lin Zhaozhao smiled innocently, chatting with Zhao Qiao’e.

Perhaps due to three years of comfortable living, her skin had become whiter, and her figure more shapely, though still not as fair as Song Yuntang’s.

Her features weren’t stunning but not ugly either.

Among the young ladies in Cile Town, she was barely in the upper-middle range.

Song Yuntang entered, but Lin Zhaozhao ignored her.

She harbored resentment.  She was supposed to be the Lin family’s young miss, enjoying a life of servants, parental love, and abundance, but Song Yuntang had taken that away for thirteen years.

She had worked hard to integrate into the Lin family and the circles of wealthy families in Cile Town.

The Lin family’s concubine had been sold off before she returned.

Her resentment was unburdened, and Song Yuntang, who had enjoyed thirteen years of her life, was the perfect target.

Song Yuntang ignored the chatting pair.

In the past three years, Lin Zhaozhao had returned every three or four months, and the whole family revolved around her. Song Yuntang was used to it and didn’t care.

She went straight to Lin Zhaozhao’s maid, grabbed her collar, and slapped her hard.

A crisp sound echoed.

“Ah!” Fenghong covered her face, feeling the burning pain.

She looked at Song Yuntang in disbelief, tears welling up in her eyes, looking pitiful.

“Miss Song, why did you hit me?”

Fenghong had been in the manor for six or seven years, when the original owner was still the young miss.

Even though she was no longer the young miss, she still had a sense of awe towards her.  So, Fenghong didn’t resist the slap.

This sudden incident shocked Zhao Qiao’e, Lin Zhaozhao, and Song Changbai at the door.

Lin Zhaozhao immediately went to Fenghong to check her injury.

Zhao Qiao’e frowned at Song Yuntang.

“Tang’er, what happened? Why did you hit Zhaozhao’s maid?”

Song Yuntang rubbed her numb palm. “No reason. I didn’t like it, so I hit her.”

Zhao Qiao’e frowned even tighter. “Hitting someone without reason is one thing, but why are you so nonchalant?”

Song Yuntang glanced at her, coldly curving her lips. “Does hitting someone require a specific attitude?  Do I need to tell her beforehand?”

“You!”

Zhao Qiao’e didn’t know about Liu Xiangyun’s situation. She thought Song Yuntang was jealous of Lin Zhaozhao, unable to hit her or scold her, not knowing what to do, she gasped, clutching her chest.

Song Changbai, standing by the door, straightened up.

“Song Yuntang, don’t be unreasonable. Zhaozhao is a guest. How can you be so rude? Look how angry you’ve made Auntie!”

Song Yuntang’s eyes narrowed.

“You’re an outsider. You have no right to tell me what to do.”

“I’m your cousin!” Song Changbai said angrily.

Song Yuntang remained calm. “Don’t think that because you share the Song surname, you have a relationship with me. In my eyes, you’re no different from an outsider!”

Then, she turned to leave.

Lin Zhaozhao, seeing this, jogged to block Song Yuntang’s path.

“Song Yuntang, although you stole thirteen years of my life, I have never done anything to you. Today, you publicly beat my maidservant; this is undoubtedly slapping my face. You must give me an explanation!”

Song Yuntang looked at her with a slight smile.

“What explanation do you want?  Fight back?”

Lin Zhaozhao was short, a half-head shorter than Song Yuntang. Although her clothes were more luxurious, the contrast between them was stark.

Clearly, she was the daughter of a wealthy family, yet her appearance, temperament, and demeanor were all inferior to Song Yuntang, the false daughter.

Looking up slightly at Song Yuntang, a feeling of inferiority welled up in Lin Zhaozhao’s heart.

She hated this feeling.

If she had been raised in the Lin family from the beginning, this situation would never have happened!

Perhaps, a country bumpkin like Song Yuntang would never have had the chance to interact with someone of her status.

“You must apologize to my maidservant.”

She felt this request was reasonable, but Song Yuntang was once the young miss of the wealthy family; asking her to apologize to someone who had once served her was probably difficult.

But it would also be a good way to annoy her.

Song Yuntang curled her lips, leaned closer, and whispered, “Don’t even think about it.”

Having said that, she brushed past Lin Zhaozhao and was about to leave when Song Jinbao, having learned of Lin Zhaozhao’s return, entered the courtyard with his two sons, their faces full of joy.

“昭昭 is back.”

Hearing the commotion, Lin Zhaozhao, using Song Yuntang’s push, feigned a stumble to the side.

Song Yuntang looked at Lin Zhaozhao’s performance with surprise and playful mockery in her eyes; this look further stung Lin Zhaozhao.

“昭昭, be careful!”

Song Changbai, who was closest, quickly stepped forward to support Lin Zhaozhao’s shoulder, preventing her from actually falling.

However, he was, after all, a man outside her family, and Lin Zhaozhao, like a startled rabbit, quickly left his arm after regaining her balance.

“Thank you, cousin.” Lin Zhaozhao said, lowering her eyes.

Song Changbai scratched his head, his voice gentle.

“昭昭, you don’t need to be so polite with me.”

Looking at his innocent and honest appearance, Lin Zhaozhao inexplicably felt a surge of contempt. In her opinion, someone like Song Changbai was a typical toad trying to eat swan meat.

The men who had just returned home didn’t know what had happened; they only saw Lin Zhaozhao almost fall after being shoved by Song Yuntang.

However, they didn’t immediately blame Song Yuntang without understanding the situation.

“What happened?”