Marchioness Xuan Chang suddenly let out a cold laugh.
"National Guardian General, does this an you are determined to protect this bitch?"
Song Xingfeng said sternly and righteously, "Marchioness, please watch your words. She is my wife!"
Tears stread down Mrs. Liu’s face as she looked on, moved. "My lord..."
Marchioness Xuan Chang raised a hand, and Nanny Diao stepped forward to support her. "You disregarded the bonds of marriage with my daughter, conspired with your mistress to abuse Wenxin, and now you shield that mistress and make an enemy of our Marquis Mansion! If that’s the case, then it’s best we sever these ties entirely!"
She turned and ordered Nanny Diao, "Go and summon Old Master Song."
"I’ll go at once."
Song Xingfeng was taken aback. "Marchioness, what is the aning of this?"
"The aning?" Marchioness Xuan Chang sneered, then said sharply, "Wenxin does not need a cold-blooded, heartless father like you!"
She had expected a long wait, but surprisingly, the man arrived in the ti it takes to finish a cup of tea.
The visitor was a Daoist with white hair and a white beard, dressed in Daoist robes.
Song Xingfeng’s parents were no longer living, so he had been raised by his uncle. After he married Lin Shuniang, it was she who had personally traveled to the countryside to bring his uncle to Ling’an City to live out his golden years in comfort.
Because Old Master Song enjoyed studying the Dao, a residence was purchased for him next to Dao Yuan Temple, the largest temple in Ling’an City. Not long after Lin Shuniang passed away, the old master formally took refuge in the Dao, becoming a disciple of Venerable Ling Xi and receiving the Daoist na "Wuwei Wanderer."
Over the years, whenever Song Xingfeng and Mrs. Liu ca to visit, they were turned away at the door. The young Daoist boy would only ever say, "The Master is no longer a man of the mortal world and has severed all worldly ties. You two good people should please return."
Song Xingfeng hadn’t seen his uncle in many years. Overco with emotion at the sight of him, he stepped forward and knelt. "Uncle!"
How could Mrs. Liu possibly leave at such a critical mont?
Forcing herself, she knelt as well. "Uncle..."
Wuwei Wanderer was over sixty, tall and thin. The wide Daoist robes he wore gave him the distinct air of a celestial being.
He didn’t spare the pair a glance, walking straight to Marchioness Xuan Chang and greeting her with a cupped-fist salute. "Marchioness."
Marchioness Xuan Chang returned the gesture with equal respect. "Master."
Marchioness Xuan Chang said, "Master, I presu you are already aware of the matters at the Song Residence. If it were not for my poor child, I would never have dared to disturb you."
Wuwei Wanderer waved his hand and sighed. "I have long remained in my temple, detached from worldly affairs. I never imagined my family would produce such an unworthy descendant. He has brought sha upon , and I have failed both you and Shuniang."
"Uncle..."
Just as Song Xingfeng was about to speak, Wuwei Wanderer turned away without so much as a look at him, addressing only Marchioness Xuan Chang. "Marchioness, I understand your intentions. I will now settle this matter in my secular capacity, so that justice may be done for Shuniang and Wenxin."
Marchioness Xuan Chang smiled. "My thanks, Master."
"Uncle!"
"Bring a brush."
A young Daoist boy behind Master Wuwei imdiately presented a brush and ink. Right there on the stone table in the courtyard, he personally wrote out a severance letter and handed it to Marchioness Xuan Chang. "Marchioness, you may take this severance letter to the Ministry of Revenue to and the household registry and change her surna. I have also affixed my personal seal; they will surely not make things difficult for you."
"Uncle! You can’t! How can you make such a decision on your own? Lianhe is my daughter and a mber of the General’s Mansion! How can you let her change her household registration? This... This is a joke!"
No one was more delighted than Mrs. Liu. ’Who knew such a wonderful thing could happen?’
’If that Song Lianhe is removed from the Song Family, then my Xilan will be the one and only young miss of the General’s Mansion!’
Her joy was so great that the pain in her body seed to lessen, but on the surface, she still had to feign regret, guilt, and helplessness. "Oh... what are we to do?"
Song Xingfeng tried to step forward and snatch the severance letter, but as soon as he moved, Marchioness Xuan Chang shot a look over her shoulder, and the people she had brought with her imdiately blocked his path.
Marchioness Xuan Chang turned back and accepted the letter respectfully. "On Wenxin’s behalf, I thank you, Master."
Master Wuwei said with a sigh, "It is our Song Family that has wronged Wenxin."
Just then, the young Daoist boy at Master Wuwei’s side said, "Master, the Grand Master is about to co out of seclusion. If he doesn’t see his Dragon Beard Candy, he’s sure to make a fuss again."
"Ah! Right, right!" As if facing a great enemy, Master Wuwei hurriedly bid farewell to Marchioness Xuan Chang and trotted off with his young disciple.
From beginning to end, he never once gave Song Xingfeng or Mrs. Liu a proper look.
"Alright, we’re returning to the mansion as well."
As Marchioness Xuan Chang was about to leave with her people, Song Xingfeng hurried forward. "Mother-in-law, please wait!"
"Mother-in-law?"
Marchioness Xuan Chang scoffed, "Who am I to deserve the honor of being the National Guardian General’s mother-in-law?"
"Mother-in-law, I acted rashly in this matter. I hope you can forgive . We are all family, is there anything we can’t discuss properly? We mustn’t beco a laughingstock for outsiders! Besides, Wenxin has now been granted a marriage by the Holy Emperor. Her wedding is imminent, and she must marry as the legitimate daughter of the General’s Mansion..."
"Who gives a damn about your ’young miss of the General’s Mansion’!" Marchioness Xuan Chang spat fiercely and rebuked, "Save that title for the illegitimate child born of your mistress! Even without your General’s Mansion, our Wenxin is still the legitimate daughter of the Marquis Mansion! With our entire Marquis Mansion as her dowry, who would dare laugh at her?!"
With another cold laugh, she turned and commanded, "Go burn down the courtyard where the young miss lived."
"Yes, ma’am!"
Nanny Diao responded with an imposing air and left with two coarse servant girls, torches in hand.
Song Xingfeng was about to send his n to stop them, but Marchioness Xuan Chang stepped in front of him, her gaze severe. "I heard that after the Lord Marquis and I left the city, you began to withhold things from our Wenxin. You didn’t send food to her courtyard. You didn’t give her new clothes. If she went to ask for what was hers, she was accused of making trouble, and all the servants of the General’s Mansion would co to watch and laugh! Then these vicious-tongued gossips would spread their exaggerated tales until the whole of Ling’an City knew only that our Wenxin was coarse, violent, and made life difficult for her stepmother!"
Her tone shifted as she turned to face Mrs. Liu. "Heh, Mrs. Liu, what brilliant sches you have!"
Terrified, Mrs. Liu shrank behind Nanny Tian. "No! I didn’t! My lord... My lord, you have to stand up for !"
Song Xingfeng’s face was grim, his hands clenched into fists. He said in a low voice, "Those are just street rumors, slander against my wife! All these years, my wife has treated Lianhe as her own. She would never do sothing so despicable."
"Mhm, mhm, mhm!" Mrs. Liu nodded emphatically.
"Bullshit!" Even a woman of Marchioness Xuan Chang’s noble status was angry enough to swear. "Song Anu! If you have any face left, take those damn lies with you to the underworld and say them to my daughter’s face! See if she doesn’t stab you until you look like a sieve!"
Seeing the flas from Xubai Small Building light up the sky, Marchioness Xuan Chang gave another cold laugh. She had Nanny Diao hand her a stack of silver notes and threw them directly in Mrs. Liu’s face. "Take this and have a morial tablet made for yourself!"
With that said, she turned and led her entourage out of the General’s Mansion in a great, sweeping exit.
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