Seeing the second concubine truly faint, Song Yuan showed no trace of pity in his eyes. Instead, he roared, "Drag her away! To raise such a disgraceful daughter, and she thinks she can just faint and be done with it?"
The maids and servants rushed forward in a flurry.
Song Yuan was, after all, the old madam's son. Seeing that he was already furious, the old madam finally stepped forward, "Enough. It has already happened; your anger is useless."
She sat beside Song Yuan, still holding Song Chaoyu's hand as if it could offer her some solace. "Let's resolve the current matter. After all, the daughters of the household are still awaiting marriage. This cannot be blown out of proportion, or our Song Manor will truly lose all face in the capital."
Song Yuan nodded, rubbing his forehead, then looked at the First Madam seated below. "What do you think about this matter?"
Song Yan Jiao had not yet arrived. With only the First Madam in the hall, she was somewhat flustered. "This is truly a shameful disgrace. But Master, rest assured, our household people dare not speak of it. I have made it clear to them that if anyone dares to speak carelessly outside, let alone that person, I will surely pull out the tongues of their entire family!"
If nothing else, the First Madam's approach in this regard was not problematic.
The old madam also glanced at the First Madam. "Where is Jiao'er? Let her come and witness this as well. Regardless of which family she becomes the mistress of in the future, she must learn to handle these messy affairs. The more prominent the family, the more messy affairs there will be."
In truth, Song Chaoyu knew that the old madam had not yet seen Song Yan Jiao's true nature. She would still dote on her嫡出 granddaughter and plan everything for her.
The First Madam lowered her head and whispered, "The Prince Ning's manor invited her over, saying there were good poems and verses for them to appreciate."
The old madam glared at the First Madam. "If you have settled on the Lin family now, then have Jiao'er reduce her interactions with the Prince Ning's manor! Can't you see what the Prince Ning has in mind?"
She pointed at Song Yan Rou, who was kneeling below. "With such an incident happening in the household, do you still wish for another one to occur?"
"Mother, please calm your anger!"
The First Madam hastily explained, "It wasn't just Jiao'er who was invited; many other young ladies from various families were also invited. If our Jiao'er doesn't go, wouldn't it seem too petty?"
"Forget it, forget it!"
The old madam waved her hand at the First Madam. "What needs to be dealt with now is not Jiao'er's matter."
She nodded at Granny Yin, who then handed Song Yuan all the correspondence between Song Yan Rou and Zhu Zi that had been found in Song Yan Rou's room. "These are the correspondence between the third young lady and that servant, Zhu Zi. There are quite a few indecent words within. Please, Master, take a look."
"No, this is impossible!"
Song Yan Rou looked at the familiar letters, her gaze filled with disbelief as she looked at Zhu Zi. "Didn't you say you had already dealt with the letters I wrote to you?! How could they have appeared in my room?"
How could Zhu Zi not recognize those letters?
He looked at Song Chaoyu in surprise, but only saw Song Chaoyu standing obediently beside the old madam.
In Zhu Zi's heart, it was as if something suddenly dawned on him.
But where would Zhu Zi have a chance to speak in this place?
They could only watch helplessly as the letters fell into Song Yuan's hands. Song Yuan read them one by one, the flames of anger in his eyes seeming as if they would burn to ashes all the letters he saw!
By the time he finished the last letter, the hand holding the letters began to tremble slightly.
Even though Song Yan Rou was his daughter, Song Yuan could no longer suppress his rage and exclaimed, "Bitch! You wretched woman, are you trying to disgrace our Song family?!"
He flung the letters towards Song Yan Rou. "I thought this servant had deceived you, bullied you! Now, seeing this, it seems you were the one eagerly trying to curry favor with this servant? Is this all you amount to? As a daughter of the Song family, you actually want to pledge eternal love with a mere servant? Bah!"
Song Yuan, a dignified Minister, had spoken such words, indicating that the content of the letters was mostly vulgar.
"Father, it's not... it's not me!"
With the second concubine also having fainted, Song Yan Rou was so frightened that she didn't know what to do.
She could only shake her head repeatedly at Song Yuan. "I... I am not as Father says."
"The third young lady and I, we are in love and wish to be together!"
It was Zhu Zi who interrupted Song Yan Rou.
He raised his eyes, a servant daring to meet Song Yuan's gaze. "My Lord, I know that no matter what, I am not worthy of a young lady from the Song manor. But my feelings for the third young lady are sincere and true. I implore you, my Lord, to grant us our wish!"
It had to be admitted that Zhu Zi was very clever.
Rather than remaining silent like a coward and waiting to be beaten to death by the Song family, it was better to try and gain some favor in front of Song Yuan.
As long as Song Yan Rou was willing to protect Zhu Zi, and with the "love poems" Song Yan Rou had given him in his possession, Song Yuan would likely not easily punish Zhu Zi before finding those "love poems."
In his previous life, Zhu Zi had successfully used this tactic in other manors.
In this life, it remained to be seen if Song Yuan could make a decisive judgment.
"Silence! Guards! Give him twenty strokes of the cane!"
At this moment, hearing Zhu Zi speak like this, Song Yuan was naturally not pleased.
He angrily called for the strong servants guarding outside to enter. Who knew Zhu Zi was also bold.
He even began to loudly recite the letters Song Yan Rou had written to him: "My love is like wine, my lady's affection is gentle. The third young lady is willing to be with me for a lifetime. I implore Master Song to grant our wish, I implore Master Song to grant our wish!"
"Muzzle his mouth!"
Song Yuan, enraged, stood up entirely and roared, "If he utters another word, you will all be punished with him!"
"Wuwuwu—"
Zhu Zi's mouth was immediately gagged, but Song Yan Rou also turned to look.
Seeing Zhu Zi bound tightly to a stool, she suddenly burst into tears and turned to beg Song Yuan, "Father, please don't hit him, please don't! Your daughter is already his person. If Father beats him to death, what will your daughter do in the future?"
Even now, she was saying such things?
Song Chaoyu could clearly see the veins on Song Yuan's forehead throb.
He glared at Song Yan Rou, "What did you say?! If he is beaten to death, this matter will be over! You can become a nun, or I can send you back to Jiangzhou to guard the ancestral graves. Your pure reputation cannot be preserved, but the strict family reputation of the Song family can still retain a sliver of leeway."
"No, Father, please don't!"
Song Yan Rou was terrified and, disregarding everything else, lowered her head and began kowtowing to Song Yuan. "I beg Father not to send your daughter away!"