CHAPTER 118: CHAPTER 116: FAILURE

Song Qizheng ignored Madam Rong and walked straight into the main house.

Madam Rong couldn’t care about anything else and quickly took a few steps to catch up: "Master, please say something?"

Madam Rong’s voice carried panic, which would usually soften Song Qizheng’s heart, but not today. He kept his face solemn, with anger that couldn’t be concealed in his eyes.

In her anxiety, Madam Rong didn’t notice this and continued to cling to him, grabbing Song Qizheng’s arm: "Master, you can’t abandon Min. Do you remember? When Yu and Min were captured by the Liao people years ago, you promised that as long as the two children could return, you wouldn’t let them suffer again. Have you forgotten that?"

Once again mentioning the Liao people, Song Qizheng’s temple twitched, and he swung Madam Rong off with a gesture.

Caught off guard, Madam Rong stumbled and fell to the ground.

"You still dare to mention the Liao people," Song Qizheng’s eyes were blood-red, "I didn’t forget, but it’s Song Min who forgot? He forgot how he and his brother were captured by the Liao people, and now he dares to associate secretly with them."

Madam Rong stared at Song Qizheng’s menacing face, momentarily dumbfounded, not knowing what to say to defend Song Min.

"I never expected him to do such a thing," Song Qizheng’s complexion turned ashen, "Just based on this crime alone, without sending him to the government office, I should personally execute him.

Many soldiers died at the hands of the Liao people, and if the crime of collaborating with the enemy is brought down, do you know how many will die? How am I supposed to explain to them?"

Madam Rong had never seen Song Qizheng like this, her whole body collapsed there, trembling.

"This is trouble he brought upon himself," Song Qizheng continued, "He can’t blame others; even if I could save him, I wouldn’t lift a finger."

Upon hearing this, thinking of the potential outcome for Song Min, Madam Rong suddenly summoned a surge of strength, regardless of anything, she crawled forward, grabbing his robes: "Master, you can’t do this, Min must not be associated with the Liao people, he must have been framed, I..."

Song Qizheng stared at Madam Rong: "Vice General Qiao’s men and Chang Shan have confessed. That merchant Wang Jian is a Liao spy. Vice General Qiao obtained warhorses and goods from the Liao people through Wang Jian, and even had the deputy general defending Qi State come to Zhenzhou to frame the people of Chen Family Village. Li You witnessed all this.

Tell me who framed him? Who could make him do this?"

Madam Rong had heard these things earlier, but now, coming from Song Qizheng’s mouth, everything seemed beyond redemption.

"If there’s someone who harmed him," Song Qizheng took a deep breath, his gaze sharpened, "it would be you."

Madam Rong’s lips trembled.

Song Qizheng said: "Don’t think that just because Song Min didn’t say anything, I wouldn’t know how he got hold of that Token for troop movement."

Madam Rong clutched Song Qizheng’s hand, trembling.

Song Qizheng said: "It was given by you. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have organized everything so early. If you had told me earlier rather than secretly give him the Token, he wouldn’t have ended up like this.

I want you to see firsthand Song Min’s current situation, for you to see clearly."

Tears streamed down Madam Rong’s face continuously. She started shaking her head, never expecting this was Song Qizheng’s intention.

Song Qizheng never allowed her involvement in military affairs; although he didn’t expose her at the government office now, the pain was akin to having her heart cut out.

Just as Song Qizheng finished speaking, panicked cries arose in the courtyard.

"Master, spare my life, Master, I know I was wrong, Master, spare my life."

Madam Rong looked outside frantically.

Song Qizheng said: "The Token for troop movement was in the study; that day the steward and household general guarding the study were flogged fifty times and sent to the government office. If such matters happen again, everyone involved will be sentenced to death."

Madam Rong’s hand clenched tightly, realizing that Song Qizheng was not intending to execute the servants but threaten her, letting her know if she dared do such a thing again, he wouldn’t show restraint.

Madam Rong recalled Mrs. Zhao’s words, should Song Qizheng find out the truth, it would spell her doom. Song Qizheng cares nothing for her and the children’s lives; all he cares about is his own official position. Anger erupted like a flame within Madam Rong, burning her to unbearable pain.

From now on, she could not hold any expectation towards Song Qizheng. If Min really was gone, she would hold Song Qizheng and Song Xian accountable for this; one day, she would make them pay with their lives.

"What are you still standing there for?" Song Qizheng asked, "Go change your clothes, I’ll take you to see Song Min."

With these words, Song Qizheng ignored Madam Rong on the floor, striding towards the inner room.

After turning his face away, the authority and solemnity disappeared from Song Qizheng’s visage, leaving behind fatigue, regret, disappointment, and a complexity even he couldn’t quite articulate.

He regretted indulging Madam Rong and Song Min, allowing matters to escalate to this point. If he didn’t strengthen control over the inner household, who knew what might happen in the future.

Only now did he realize neither Madam Rong nor Song Min was as he imagined.

Madam Rong didn’t wholeheartedly respect him, needing to consult him on every matter, never daring to act on her own, and Song Min wasn’t a dutiful, considerate son looking out for him.

Seeing this truth, it felt like admitting his own failure.

Song Qizheng sat on the chair, and suddenly before his eyes appeared the face of Song Xian’s biological mother, always looking at him with disdain, as if no matter what he did, it couldn’t please her.

She was stubborn, resolute, once she made a decision, nobody could alter it, even when bearing his child she thought of divorcing him.

Now Song Xian seemed to be proving on her behalf that he would never measure up to her.

...

Qi State.

Madam Su woke abruptly from a nightmare, glancing at the hourglass, she had only slept for a quarter of an hour.

Nanny Lv heard the noise and hurriedly entered to attend to her.

Madam Su asked: "Has my brother returned yet?"

Nanny Lv shook her head: "I just asked again, Master Uncle is busy at the government office, he probably won’t be back for the next couple of days."

A tumult surged within Madam Su, ever since hearing about the matter in Zhenzhou she had been on edge, her brother helped procure some processed herbs for a merchant convoy from her.

The price for the herbs was decent, and the convoy’s owner was acquainted with her brother, so she happily sold the herbs. But after the sale, she felt uneasy.

The convoy concealed themselves when transporting the herbs, and her brother repeatedly urged her not to mention it to anyone, not even the Su Family.

Afterward, with the incident involving Song Min, her brother advised her again: "Do not speak of it at all." He even had her alter the accounts to make those herbs "never exist" at the Su Family, or disaster could befall them.

Madam Su wanted to inquire further, but just then her brother left for the government office and hadn’t returned.

If the herbs weren’t sold to the convoy, where did her brother take them? Madam Su tried to persuade herself not to think too much, yet couldn’t help but ponder.

Nanny Lv understood Madam Su’s worries: "Mistress, don’t worry, nothing will happen."

Madam Su exhaled deeply, thinking to take a walk, but then the steward entered and said: "Mistress, a letter from the master, the messenger said the master would arrive soon."