I dress up as a poor noblewoman, and I bring my whole family home with my literary talent.

Chapter 4 Breakfast Incident
At dawn, the Song Mansion begins a busy day
The crowded courtyard had no soundproofing, and the busy footsteps and voices outside made it difficult to fall asleep.

Song Lingyi pushed open the door and the morning sunlight shone on her body, making her feel very comfortable.

Cook Ah Zhu, who was carrying porridge and side dishes, passed by the backyard door and greeted, "Fifth Miss, it's time to eat."

"Coming"

Eating is the most important thing in the world. Song Lingyi happily lifted her skirt and walked towards the hall in the front yard.

"Yes, yes"

When Song Lingyi heard the voice, she turned around and found it was her third sister Song Changling.

Two days ago, my third sister went to Qing County to visit relatives with the second wife, Zhou Xiaoniang, so she didn't go to the birthday party at the Lin Mansion with them. I thought the second wife and her daughter would stay in Qing County for a while longer.

Zhou Xiaoniang is different from Zhao Xiaoniang. Zhou Xiaoniang is a noble concubine who grew up in the Song Mansion since childhood. She has a deep friendship with Master Song, which cannot be compared with the third wife.

Song Changling smiled, with contempt in his eyes: "You look so happy, maybe you learned a lot from attending the birthday party at the Lin Mansion."

"..." Song Lingyi frowned. What does her happiness or not have to do with going to the birthday party at the Lin Mansion?
She was puzzled, but then she thought: Second Sister's real intention is not to stay at the bar, so she asked her about the birthday party at the Lin Mansion in various ways.

She smiled sweetly, quite interested: "It's fun~ The Lin Mansion arranged a fireworks show. It's the first time I've seen such a gorgeous and dazzling scene. Old Mrs. Lin is also very easy to talk to. She praised my second and fourth sisters for being very well-behaved!"

Compared with the secret rivalry between the second and fourth sisters, the fight between the second and third sisters is much more obvious and intense.

Madam Song was reluctant to let Zhou Xiaoniang return to Qing County to visit her relatives, but she agreed before the birthday party. She was just taking the opportunity not to bring Song Changling to the birthday party.

All the officials and their wives in Chang'an knew that the birthday banquet of the Lin Mansion was for Master Lin to find a new bride. If Song Xianglan really won the favor of the Lin Mansion, Song Changling and her daughter would be so angry that they died.

Sure enough, upon hearing that her second sister Song Xianglan was praised by Old Lady Lin, the third sister's face instantly turned ugly. She twisted her handkerchief and muttered in a low voice: "I didn't expect that the old lady has lived to such an old age, but her vision of judging people is not very good."

Song Lingyi laughed secretly in her heart, this third sister's mind was really easy to grasp.

The hall is very quiet
Mrs. Song and Mrs. Zhou sat next to the main seat, one on the right and one on the left.
Mr. Song, who was supposed to sit in the main seat, was absent, and Mrs. Song had a solemn expression, as if she would get angry at any time.

After Song Lingyi entered, she quietly sat at the last seat, lowering her head to reduce her presence.

A few days ago, Master Song went out for a trip at the invitation of his friends, and he had not returned home until this morning. Considering Master Song's gambling and lustful nature, who knows where he might be indulging himself in some brothel.

Seeing that everyone except Mr. Song had arrived, Zhou Xiaoniang said, "Let's eat first, or the food will get cold if we wait any longer."

She picked up the chopsticks to pick up the side dish in front of her
Madam Song said in a deep voice: "What are you eating? The master hasn't arrived yet!"

The atmosphere in the hall was awkward, no one dared to pick up their chopsticks
Zhou Xiaoniang put away her chopsticks and said with a smile, "The master hasn't even returned home yet. If we keep waiting like this, the whole family will go hungry."

Mrs. Song gave Mrs. Zhou a glare.

It was already the fourth day. In the past, when Mr. Song went out to have fun, he would return home in two days, but this time he did not come back for a long time. Mrs. Song was worried about Mr. Song's personal safety, and she was also worried that he would lose money in gambling.

"After all, you have served the master for many years, but you never advise the master to stay away from those brothels and those filthy places!" said Madam Song.

"The legs are on the master's body. I'm just a concubine. How can I influence the master's thoughts?" said Zhou Xiaoniang.

This is where Zhou Xiaoniang's brilliance lies. She has lived under someone else's roof since she was young and is well versed in the ways of survival in the imperial harem. The best way to get along with your husband is not to be tough, but to learn to show weakness and obedience.

Mrs. Song has a strong personality. After marrying Mr. Song, she controls everything for him, even taking concubines. Little does she know that everything she does seems to be for Mr. Song's good, but in fact it will only make him despise her and give her a reputation for jealousy.

There only needs to be one "bad guy" in the Song Mansion. What Zhou Xiaoniang has to do is to obey Mr. Song's wishes and become his only sweetheart in the Song Mansion.

"Mother, whether Daddy will come back today is another matter. We can't let everyone wait with empty stomachs." Song Xianglan complained.

It's no wonder that Song Xianglan didn't unite with Madam Song at the critical moment. She knew her mother too well. Madam Song didn't want to wait for Master Song at all. It was obvious that she was upset and took it out on her family.

Mrs. Song's dignity was completely destroyed by her own daughter, and she was so angry that she wanted to pull her ears.

Unexpectedly, there was a noise at the door, causing everyone in the hall to look sideways.

I saw the pot-bellied Mr. Song staggering out from the screen wall, his face flushed and his eyes blurry. It was obvious that he was drunk.

He was in a very good mood when he returned home after winning the bet. He kept shouting things like "one more round" and "drink a thousand cups without getting drunk" and let the servant Azhu help him to his room.

Madam Song hurried out of the hall.

When she got closer and smelled the mixed scent of alcohol and flowers on him, she immediately howled heart-wrenchingly and started arguing with Master Song.

She called him by his name and cursed him: "Song An! Which brothel have you been hanging out in again?! Do you still look like the head of the family?"

After cursing, she began to cry and complain, "I am really miserable. I have to marry a good-for-nothing like you. When my parents-in-law were alive, even the Shangshu's wife had to bow down to me. Now I have to compromise for the sake of your daughters' marriages!"

Early in the morning, there was a lot of commotion

Azhu supported Mr. Song, not knowing whether to leave or not. In this dilemma, it was Zhou Xiaoniang who spoke up and asked him to quickly send the drunk Mr. Song back to his room.

Mrs. Song was so angry that she couldn't eat and turned back to her room.

The dinner table was silent

Song Lingyi has only been here for two months, but she has seen similar scenes countless times.

Instead of sympathizing with the nearly crazy Madam Song, she felt more sympathetic towards herself. Her father was addicted to gambling and lustful. Even if the Song family had a fortune, there would be a day when he would completely squander it all. When that day came, how miserable would her life be...

Zhou Xiaoniang returned to the dining table and invited everyone to eat as usual, as if everything that had just happened had never happened.

A breakfast that tasted bland
The atmosphere in the mansion was gloomy the whole day. Mr. Song and Mrs. Song had been husband and wife for half their lives, but in the end, they were filled with resentment.

A few days later, news came from the court: the Minister of Personnel was corrupt, and bent the law for personal gain, which made the emperor very angry, and he demanded a thorough investigation of the corruption in the court.

As soon as this news came out, all the dignitaries in Chang'an City were in panic.

The Lin family held a grand birthday party for Old Lady Lin's 80th birthday. The ministers who had participated in the party were all worried that the empress's remaining anger would affect them.

When the news reached the Song Mansion, the Song family was still gathering together for breakfast.

When Azhu went out to buy groceries, he happened to encounter soldiers raiding the house of Mr. Li, a doctor in the Ministry of Personnel, who lived across the street. After asking people around him about the whole story, he hurried back home to report.

(End of this chapter)