When the two of them stepped into the old lady's Fu Luyuan, there were already several people sitting in the room.
Only Mrs. Liu Zang from the main room stood beside the old lady and took over the maid service.
When he saw Pei Yanzhou coming, he even called the prince in a flattering way.
"Our prince really feels sorry for the old lady, so he rushed over so quickly."
Pei Yanzhou did not raise his eyes to look at her, nor did he answer her words.
He just sat down at the head of the old lady and picked up the tea handed to him by the maid.
Mrs. Liu was not upset even though she was being bored. She still smiled and patted the old lady's shoulders.
Mrs. Qi, the second wife, saw Ms. Liu flabbergasted and glanced at the weak Song Jinyin who was following behind. She couldn't help but cover the corners of her lips with a handkerchief to hide the hint of ridicule.
"The eldest son was not brought up by our Lady Liu Zang. How come in the eyes of Mrs. Liu Zang, her biological daughter is like this and she can't even see her. She can only see our eldest son."
"That's what the second lady said."
Mrs. Liu glanced at her lightly, "Miss Jinyin won't call me mother now. Besides, the old lady and the prince are here, the second lady must not make fun of me."
"How dare I?"
Mrs. Qi flicked the handkerchief and looked at Song Jinyin who was looking back and said nothing.
"It's just that I tend to be soft-hearted. When I saw Miss Jin Yin's pitiful look, I remembered her father's early death and couldn't help but say one more thing. I didn't realize that now she has lost her mother."
"There are so many pitiable people in the world. My second lady is kind-hearted. Why don't you come with me next month to build a shed and give out porridge?"
Mrs. Liu was not annoyed at all, and replied to the second wife's wife in a leisurely manner. She did not stop tapping her hand lightly, nor did she turn her eyes to the pale girl.
"Tsk tsk tsk, he is the one who does great things after all."
When Mrs. Qi saw that the stab could not hurt Ms. Liu at all, her tone became sharper.
She couldn't believe that Mrs. Liu could really be so cruel, watching Song Jinyin die again and again.
After thinking about it, she simply abandoned Mrs. Liu and faced the girl who pursed her lips and said nothing.
"Speaking of which, Jin Yin also grew up under our noses. Although she had some bad luck against her parents, she has stayed in our prince's courtyard after all. If the prince gets tired of sending her away in the future, we still have to find a good one for her. It’s a place to go.”
As soon as Qi finished speaking, even the usually quiet third room next to him couldn't help but frown.
In this case, it cannot be said that it is not evil.
Once the rumors about her parents being suppressed were spread, no one would want this girl again, and the Liu family who was suppressed would be cursed to death for no reason.
But even so, Mrs. Liu standing next to the old lady still looked calm and calm.
There wasn't even a trace of distress in his eyes, leaving the lonely little girl underneath to bear the gossip like a sharp blade.
Pei Yanzhou was still drinking tea slowly, feeling uncertain about his mood and anger.
After a while, the woman who seemed to be isolated spoke.
She bent her knees, raised her palm-sized face slightly, and her originally lowered eyes met Qi's gaze.
In the eyes of everyone, she spoke slowly: "Second Madam, please be careful. Although I don't have a mother, my mother is still alive, and my father was not killed by me. He died under ambition, and he was bright and magnanimous."
There was silence in the room for a moment.
Even Mrs. Qi herself did not expect that this usually indifferent girl would suddenly stand up to refute her words.
But Song Jinyin is a maid after all.
Being humiliated by a maid, especially the daughter of the Liu family, made the Qi family even more intolerable.
She was a little annoyed. She stood up and was about to ask the old lady for a punishment when she heard the sound of Pei Yanzhou putting down the teacup.
The cup lid lightly hit the rim of the cup, making a crisp sound.
Everyone suddenly woke up.
Song Jinyin is indeed a maid, but she is a maid in the prince's courtyard.
Mrs. Qi's body trembled and her temper calmed down a little, but she knew that the prince hated Mrs. Liu and her daughter, so she was not too scared by this sudden appearance.
Seeing that Pei Yanzhou didn't speak for a long time, Mrs. Qi calmed down and looked back at the old lady above.
"Mother, the Duke's government has always distinguished rewards and punishments for superiors and inferiors. This slave has offended his master, so he should be taught a lesson."
The old lady stretched out her hand and rubbed her forehead.
How could she not know that the second wife was jealous of her for allowing Ms. Liu to help her manage the house, and wanted to find trouble for Ms. Liu in a roundabout way.
"How are you doing?"
"My daughter-in-law doesn't have an unforgiving temper. A small punishment but a big warning is enough, just throw her into the woodshed and lock her up for three days."
"Three days?"
The old lady frowned slightly.
In this weather, forcing Song Jinyin to stay in the firewood shed for three days would cost her half her life.
"You can't do it for three days. There's no girl in Yanzhou's courtyard to look after you. I'm worried."
"Can......"
Before Mrs. Qi could say anything, she saw a look of worry on the old lady's face.
She tightened the handkerchief in her hand, secretly hating that the old lady favored the big house, and that this lowly mother and daughter could be praised so highly, but at the same time she was afraid that she would really offend her.
He had no choice but to curl his lips and retract his words, "Then let her kowtow and admit her mistake. A slave is a slave, and she should know that no matter what the master says, she can only admit it."
In desperation, the old lady had no choice but to look at her grandson, who had not spoken for a long time.
"Yan Zhou, what do you think?"
"Just let her take the piss."
Without any hesitation in his cold tone, he made the decision for Song Jinyin directly.
Mrs. Qi raised her chin and glanced at Mrs. Liu arrogantly, trying to find a hint of defeat on her face.
But no.
In her eyes, Song Jinyin was not even as valuable as the cup of tea she carefully brought to the old lady.
The person walking in front of me moved a little slowly.
Perhaps because of the kneeling earlier, he was still a little stiff when walking.
Pei Yanzhou looked at her and suddenly remembered the fallen flowers in the courtyard in autumn.
From delicate and charming to lifeless.
The darkness in his eyes flashed past, so fast that even Pei Yanzhou himself did not notice the cruelty gradually brewing in his deep eyes.
Just as he couldn't help but want to pull her back, he saw that Song Jinyin was blessed again, as if she was risking her life, and said neither humble nor arrogantly: "Second Madam asked me to kneel down. I dare not resist, but my father is not being suppressed." Damn it, even if the second lady takes my life right now, I won’t admit it.”
The girl in front of her was so fragile that it seemed she could fall down with just a slight push, but at this moment, she insisted on saluting like a tall pine in the mountains, just waiting for the second lady in front of her to respond.
Her father was a county magistrate who loved the people like his own son, and a little parent official who gave up his family for everyone.
Even if this identity cannot be known to others, she will never allow others to belittle her father's life and death.
No one can.
