Chapter 13: Returning to the Gate 3

When Song Qingci walked to the main entrance, she found Shan Li, dressed in new clothes, standing by the carriage waiting for her.

Early this morning, before it was fully light, he tidied up the couch and went to the study to practice martial arts.

Shan Li had developed a habit since childhood that he would do morning exercises every day if he had nothing else to do. When he was in the capital, he would practice in the martial arts training ground in the study, and if he was at the border, he would practice in the military camp.

And he himself didn't realize that he practiced harder today than before~

Today, Song Qingci was still wearing purple clothes, and her hairstyle was simple, with a jade hairpin across her hair. Apart from that, there were no other accessories. She looked like a lotus emerging from clear water, naturally without any decoration.

Shan Li frowned slightly, "Aren't you going to change your clothes? It's still early, there's still time." Song Qingci is undoubtedly good-looking in this outfit, and it's a very good-looking one, elegant and refined, like a fairy descending to the mortal world.

But today was the day she was going to return home. This was a little too plain. I was afraid that the people in the Shangshu Mansion would look down on her.

Most people in the world respect the clothes first and then the person. He selfishly didn't want her to be looked down upon.

Song Qingci looked down at her outfit and asked in confusion, "What's wrong with dressing like this? I think it looks good." Her aesthetics are always up to date. Not only is it up to date, but it's also at least a hundred years ahead of the people here.

She had to argue with Yinxing for a long time before she managed to dress like this.

The clothes and jewelry that Yinxing had originally chosen for her, apart from anything else, if she really put them on, she would weigh at least three or five kilograms more.

"It's very beautiful, but you are going to return home today. Isn't it too plain?"

"It's okay. That's it." After saying that, Song Qingci got into the carriage. She didn't want to compete with Shan Li, a straight man, for aesthetics.

Helplessly, Shan Li also followed him into the carriage.

Shan Li saw Song Qingci resting with her eyes closed all the way, but in fact she was seriously searching the original owner's memory. She was not familiar with the Song family at all.

Unfortunately, all I read were boring things. This Song Qingci was really a typical lady from a wealthy family. She basically never left the house. She studied etiquette, poetry, needlework, chess, calligraphy, painting, etc. every day.

Judging from the situation, it doesn't seem like he is raising a daughter, but more like he is raising a benchmark storefront.

Although Song Yuelin himself had a poor family background, he was quite smart. Not only did he study hard and pass the imperial examination, he also put a lot of thought into the upbringing of his children.

With Song Qingci as his front, his status as the Minister of Rites would be higher than other ministers. After all, you never know who will become his son-in-law. Such a daughter would definitely not marry into a small family.

To be frank, even entering the palace is not impossible.

I just don’t know if Song Yuelin has ever thought about this before.

Having said that, no matter what you thought before, it is now a foregone conclusion.

The carriage slowly stopped, Shan Li got off first, and then he reached out to take Song Qingci.

After Song Qingci stood still, he looked up and saw a gilded plaque hanging on the wide gate of the mansion, with two large characters "Song Mansion" written on it. It was magnificent and it was obviously the work of a famous artist.

At the door, Song Shaotang, who was wearing a dark blue robe, bowed respectfully with a little kid who looked only four or five years old. "Shaotang greets my sister and brother-in-law. My father asked me to take Shaoxuan here to wait for my sister to come back."

Shan Li returned the greeting without saying much, and followed the two brothers into the house. Song Qingci naturally just smiled and followed them into the house.

If you have something to say at the door, you should definitely go in first and say it.

The masters went in on their own, while the maids and servants behind them moved things from the carriage. Today, Song Qingci brought back a whole carriage of gifts.

Song Shaotang led them to the East Courtyard, which was the main courtyard of the Shangshu Mansion. Usually, Song Yuelin, the helmsman of the Song family, lived there.

"My sister is coming home today, and my father asked everyone to come to the east courtyard and wait. My grandmother also came out from the small Buddhist hall and waited for my sister together."

This Song Shaotang was the eldest son of the Shangshu Mansion. The legitimate son of the Shangshu Mansion was the four or five-year-old little boy Song Shaoxuan who was following Song Shaotang today.

As soon as she entered the main hall of the East Courtyard, everyone was sitting in a row waiting for her, including the people from the second branch of the Song family.

There are only two branches in the Song family, the two brothers Song Yuelin and Song Yueshan.

Song Yuelin was a top-ranked scholar in the imperial examination during the reign of the previous emperor, and was appointed as the third place in the imperial examination by the previous emperor. He first entered the Imperial Academy and then was transferred to the Ministry of Rites. Step by step, he rose to the position of Minister of Rites.

Song Yueshan, on the other hand, had been doing nothing all along, but thanks to his brother's connections, he managed to get a small official position in the capital. He was also happy and at ease.

Although the two families did not separate, the Shangshu Mansion was divided into two courtyards, east and west. The east courtyard was the main courtyard, where Song Yuelin lived, while the west courtyard was given to Song Yueshan.

The small Buddhist temple where the old lady usually worships Buddha is also in the west courtyard.

The children of the two rooms are ranked separately, unlike in other large families where children of the same generation are ranked together.

The two of them bowed to everyone according to the rules.

Then Shan Li bowed to Song Yuelin and said, "I would like to thank my father-in-law for giving birth to her. I will treat her well in the future and will not let my father-in-law worry about her any more."

Although Song Yuelin's official rank was higher than Shan Li's, he did not dare to be arrogant in front of his son-in-law. He could only say yes repeatedly and asked Shan Li and his wife to sit down next to him.

Song Qingci sat down and drank tea by herself. She didn't want to participate in those meaningless topics. She let Shan Li deal with it alone. Suddenly, she felt a bunch of unfriendly eyes. She turned her head and saw that it was her~

She didn't even know how to restrain her gaze, she was just staring at him straight ahead. This was too arrogant. She remembered that the original owner had no grudges against her second sister. She even remembered the experience of the original owner studying and doing needlework with her. What was going on?

"Second sister, do you have something to say?" "You can only scare the snake by beating the grass. How can she catch the snake if it doesn't move?" This is Song Qingci's style.

Although she is a beauty and looks a bit delicate, she was a charge in Lingxiao. Fei Qi always complained that she couldn't wait for the porridge to peel off. (Dialect, meaning to describe a person who is in a hurry to do things, and can't wait for the porridge to cool down.)

Song Qinghan was stunned, and could not take his eyes away for a moment, so he could only subconsciously reply, "I don't have it."

"My second sister kept staring at me, and I thought she wanted to say something but was too embarrassed to say it, so I asked her first." Song Qingci picked up the teacup and took a sip. He looked relaxed and indifferent.