Chapter 20
Brother

“A Wan?”

“Mother.”

Song Wan returned to her senses and realized she had returned to the Song residence. She had been lost in shame and regret, not even noticing that Madam Song was sitting in front of her.

Madam Song smiled warmly, “Why do you look so absent-minded? Are you feeling unwell?”

“Perhaps it’s a bit hot today, and the sun made me a little dizzy.”

Hearing this, Madam Song quickly asked the maid beside her to bring some ice cream. Song Wan took a bite and placed it by her side.

“I was supposed to visit the Marquis’s residence these past few days, but I was busy preparing your dowry and got delayed. I didn’t expect you and Xingjian to return today. Your father hasn’t seen him for a long time and will probably want to talk for a while. If you’re really not feeling well, go back to your room and rest. No one has touched your things in your room.”

Song Wan smiled shyly, “I’m not that delicate. Mother, don’t worry.”

“That’s good.”

Madam Song was Song Wan’s aunt. After Song Wan’s biological mother passed away, her father married a concubine from the Su family to strengthen the marriage alliance between the Song and Su families and to better take care of her and her brother.

However, when Madam Song married into the family, Song Fu was already past the age of inner chamber education while she was taken to her aunt’s courtyard. Therefore, over the years, her relationship with Madam Song had been neither close nor distant.

After a moment of silence, Madam Song said, “I’ll have the steward bring your dowry list so you can check if anything is missing.”

Soon, the stewardess of the Song residence came in with a wooden box. Madam Song opened it and handed it to Song Wan for inspection.

Song Wan glanced at it and found no issues. Not only was her mother’s dowry intact, but the residence also added several well-located shops, two estates in the capital’s suburbs, and two hundred acres of fertile land. Even in the capital, this dowry was quite impressive.

“Thank you for your hard work these past few days, Mother.”

“Don’t mention it. It’s my duty.”

After the two finished speaking, there was no more conversation. If it were any other day, Song Wan would not have been so inattentive, but now her mind was in turmoil, and her scattered thoughts left her uninterested in small talk.

When the stewardess of the residence came to find Madam Song, she asked Song Wan to return to her courtyard to rest, and only then did they both feel more at ease.

As she walked out of the courtyard, Song Wan saw a man standing under the veranda, seemingly waiting for her.

The man had long eyebrows that extended to his temples, and his eyes were cold and proud. Standing there alone, he exuded an air of arrogance. Song Wan looked at him for a moment and recognized him as her brother, Song Fu.

Song Fu turned his head and saw her staring at him blankly, and he couldn’t help but show a gentle smile.

“A Wan, come here.” The man beckoned, and Song Wan quickened her steps to approach him.

“Greetings, Brother.” Seeing Song Fu, she suddenly felt a bit aggrieved, and her voice carried a hint of a sob that was barely noticeable.

Song Fu carefully examined her face and remained silent for a while. In his memory, she was still a little girl who loved to eat sugar cakes. If he ever came home from the academy without bringing her some sweets, she would look at him with a pitiful expression. It was somewhat similar to today, yet not entirely the same. In the past, if she felt wronged, she would immediately tell him, but now she just lowered her head, afraid that he would notice.

Frowning, Song Fu said, “Xingjian has returned. Your life in the Marquis’s residence is different from before. Remember to be gentle and considerate in your actions, respect your elders, and avoid conflicts with your sisters-in-law…”

He had just said a few words when he saw Song Wan’s eyes redden, and he hurriedly stopped.

Song Wan smiled lightly with red eyes, “Brother, where did you hear that from? You sound like an old nanny from the inner courtyard.”

Song Fu paused for a moment, feeling a bit embarrassed.

He was worried that Song Wan, without her mother’s guidance, had no one to teach her about the matters of the inner courtyard. So he racked his brains to come up with a few reminders, not expecting his sister to react this way.

“I don’t understand the matters of the inner courtyard…”

“I know.”

The words “I don’t understand” made Song Wan’s eyes heat up, almost bringing her to tears.

Seeing this, Song Fu realized that she was not happy in the Marquis’s residence, but as her brother, he couldn’t interfere in her marital affairs.

After thinking for a long time, Song Fu said, “There is a vacancy in the Ministry of Personnel. If nothing unexpected happens, I will be appointed there this year.”

Last year, he served as a supervisor at the Imperial Academy. According to his father, he could enter the Secretariat if he stayed there for a few years. With his father’s support, he could rise smoothly. However, this would mean he would have to keep a low profile for many years, not showing his talents.

Song Fu looked at Song Wan’s slightly red eyes and frowned slightly.

Entering the Secretariat was too slow. He could wait for ten years, but Song Wan couldn’t.

The Song family had two sons and three daughters. Although Song Wan was the eldest daughter, she was not her father’s only daughter and the marriage alliance with the Chengyang Marquis’s residence was not stable. Although the turmoil had not yet surfaced, he could see the undercurrents beneath the calm. If factions were to fight in the future, the Song residence might not fully protect her.

In a few moments, Song Fu overturned several years of preparation by Song Lan’an.

“The Ministry of Personnel is the head of the six ministries. Where did the vacancy come from? Brother, are you trying to fool Wan’er, who has been a widow for six years and doesn’t know the world?”

“And how would Father let you go to the Ministry of Personnel?”

Song Wan softly said, “Brother, don’t overthink it. Wan’er is doing well in the Marquis’s residence. The old madam and the madam treat me like their own daughter. My husband… my husband is gentle and considerate. We grew up together, and our feelings are very deep.”

“It’s just that I haven’t seen you for many years, and I miss you very much, Brother.”

She didn’t know how her father had arranged things for her brother, but she was sure he wouldn’t let him go to the Ministry of Personnel. The Ministry of Personnel indeed had real power, but it wasn’t easy to get into. He said this probably because he saw her and thought she wasn’t doing well, so he hurried to the Ministry of Personnel to support her.

But how could she be so selfish?

“Brother, listen to Father’s arrangements, don’t…”

“Don’t meddle in men’s affairs.” Song Fu lightly tapped Song Wan’s head with his half-bent finger. Seeing her cover her head, he smiled and took out a small wooden box from his pocket.

“Brother added to your dowry.”

Song Wan opened it and found it filled with silver notes of various denominations, including thousand-tael and hundred-tael notes and even two fifty-tael notes. Her nose tingled, and she mumbled, “The household only gives two taels of silver a month, but there are three or four thousand taels here, right? How long did it take you to save up this box?”

Song Fu frowned, “Why ask such things? Just take whatever I gave you.”

“It must be what you saved up since childhood.”

Song Fu glanced at her, “Aunt used to say all the time that a girl without a dowry would be looked down upon in her husband’s family.”

Song Wan clutched the wooden box, pressing her lips tightly together, afraid that tears would fall from her eyes if she wasn’t careful.

Song Fu reached out and patted her head, sighing softly, “I’m a man. If I want money, I have my way. It’s not something an inner courtyard woman like you can compare to.”

“I don’t ask for anything else; I just hope you are well…”

As the siblings were reminiscing warmly, Jiang Xingjian coughed lightly from a distance. Seeing this, Song Fu withdrew his hand.