CHAPTER 374: CHAPTER 342: SETTING A TRAP FOR YOU (PART 2)

After this little incident, Song Erlang and his wife had to leave early with Song Duobao and Er Ya.

Song Jiao followed them to see them off, hesitated for a long time, and finally spoke up, "Mother, how about this, I’ll live with you, and let Er Ya have Tingsong Pavilion. What do you think?"

Just as Second Lang’s wife was about to speak, Er Ya, whose eyes were red from crying, sneered, "You were shrinking back in front of so many people earlier, and now you’re acting like a good person? I don’t need your charity!"

"Er Ya, how can you speak to your sister like that?" Second Lang’s wife was angry.

"She’s not my sister!"

After shouting, Er Ya took a step to run forward, but someone grabbed her wrist.

She turned around and saw it was Song Jiao, and immediately grew furious, "What are you doing? Let go of me!"

Song Jiao’s eyes were filled with an anger suppressed by calmness; since yesterday, she had been called a wretch so many times, she had endured it.

But she didn’t expect that her endurance would result in the other party’s further escalation.

Ignoring that her parents were still beside her, Song Jiao dragged Er Ya by the wrist over to a large water vat under the courtyard wall, then pressed her by the back of the neck downward, "Take a good look at this face of yours, see clearly whether you’re upset because I left you alone back then to come to the Capital, or if you’re just jealous that I’m now living a better life than you?"

Er Ya was forced half over the water vat, and her face was clearly reflected in the water, turning red and purple from lack of breath.

Second Lang’s wife was frightened, handing the child to her husband, hurried over, "Da Ya, let her go, child, don’t do something foolish and ruin your bright future."

Song Jiao didn’t turn back, her voice calm, "Mother, don’t interfere with this matter, if I don’t make her see her own weight clearly, she’ll keep causing trouble for others. This is Song Mansion, Third Uncle’s residence, not our old home in Ningzhou, we can’t let her do as she pleases here."

Then she threatened Second Lang’s wife, "Mother, back away, don’t try to persuade me, otherwise I can’t guarantee I won’t do something irreversible if my hand slips."

Second Lang’s wife, frightened by Song Jiao, afraid her daughter might really do something foolish, didn’t dare to act rashly and backed away a few steps.

Song Jiao intensified the pressure on Er Ya’s head, forcing her face into the water, "Jealous that I’ve achieved what you’ve always wanted, thinking the whole world owes you, right? Now that you have such a good life in front of you, why don’t you strive for it? Why act like a clown in front of so many people?"

Then she jerked her head up.

It was early spring, even with the sun out, the water in the vat was still icy cold, and when Er Ya was suddenly submerged, countless icy needles seemed to prick her face simultaneously, causing her to shiver and gasp for air, unable to speak at all.

Second Lang’s wife’s face changed, "Da Ya..."

Song Jiao ignored her, her grip strong, keeping Er Ya from moving at all, "You call me cheap, but at least I know what I want, at least I know how to fight for it. But what about you? A little village girl from the countryside, you pretend to be high-minded, where do you get the nerve to make everyone revolve around you? Unwilling to bow to your Third Aunt, yet wanting benefits from their family, wanting both face and wealth, you think you’re not cheap?"

With that, she mercilessly dunked her back into the water.

The suffocating feeling of near-death engulfed her, filling Er Ya with fear; she wanted to cry but couldn’t, could only struggle and thrash about.

Song Jiao didn’t actually intend to kill her and soon released her.

Er Ya, exhausted, slumped to the ground, sliding down from the water vat, her hair mostly wet. She clutched her chest, coughing, with water droplets trickling down her neck from her chin.

The sound of her coughs made it clear she was in discomfort.

Song Jiao looked down at her, "Reflect on yourself. If you dare insult your Third Uncle and Aunt again, don’t blame me for being unkind!"

Er Ya gritted her teeth tightly.

After Song Jiao left, she coldly refused Second Lang’s wife’s assistance, pushed her mother away, and ran towards the front door.

——

After Song Erlang’s family left Rong’an Hall, Wen Wan talked to her mother-in-law about Second Sister-in-law’s intention for the family to reunite.

Granny Song asked her what she thought.

Seeing Wen Wan hesitate, Granny Song continued, "Third Son’s wife, speak your mind, don’t hold back. Song Mansion is your home, if you want to reunite, then reunite; if not, I don’t mind."

Wen Wan glanced at her son playing on the kang bed, and shared her thoughts, "Originally, with such a big incident in the second household, taking them in was the right thing to do, I shouldn’t have so many concerns. But after thinking it over, in the past, we weren’t happy living separately, and now under the same roof for long, there are bound to be conflicts. So, I think we should let them stay for a while, and once they’ve recovered from the disaster, we can arrange another place for them to live."

As she said this, she secretly watched her mother-in-law’s expression, seeing no significant reaction, she continued, "Of course, this is just my own thought. Ultimately, how to handle it should be decided by mother-in-law and my husband."

Having lost their house, savings, and daughters, the blow to the second household was too great this time. Naturally, Granny Song hoped the two households could set aside past grievances and live well, but seeing Er Ya’s behavior, causing trouble, leaving her here might lead to problems involving Jinbao.

"Your concerns are not unfounded," Granny Song said, "with more people, conflicts are inevitable sooner or later, so let’s do it this way. Let them stay for now, in a couple of days take your Second Sister-in-law to see our previous alley courtyard and tidy it up, then let them move there."

The alley courtyard, being far from Song Mansion, was inconvenient for frequent visits, meaning interactions wouldn’t be too frequent.

Granny nodded, and this issue was considered resolved.

Wen Wan pulled Jinbao out of Rong’an Hall, and shortly after, saw Yun Cai hurrying towards her, telling her that the second young lady had run out alone.

"What’s going on?" Wen Wan asked her.

"I’m not too sure, I heard that it seemed to be a conflict with the eldest girl, and she left in anger." Fearing the lady would worry, Yun Cai added, "I’ve already sent the servants out to look for her."

Wen Wan nodded, her tone calm, "I know."

In such situations, she didn’t need to instruct; Wei Qian would definitely arrange someone to follow in secret, so Wen Wan wasn’t particularly worried.

After returning to her room, taking advantage of no one being around in the courtyard, she called out Wei Qian and asked him about Er Ya’s situation in Ningzhou. Wei Qian truthfully told her that during the time in Ningzhou, Er Ya had run away once, and it was for several days. If they hadn’t found her in time, she might have died.

"She almost lost her life, yet she hasn’t woken up to reality." Wen Wan shook her head in disappointment, then instructed Wei Qian that since she liked to run, they should set a trap waiting for her.

Wei Qian was a smart person, with Wen Wan’s casual hints, he knew what to do.

——

Er Ya never knew the Capital would be so cold in early spring. After leaving Song Mansion, she wandered aimlessly outside, her hands and feet numb from the cold.

The Capital was really too big, with many streets, taking a random turn and she couldn’t find her way back.

She was too hungry to move, but thinking of her biased parents and her ruthless sister, she felt hatred again.

With no money to buy food, she sat at the mouth of an alley.

Then, she was "kidnapped" unexpectedly.

...

When Er Ya woke up, it was pitch black all around, not a trace of light, completely unclear where she was.

She called out a few times, no response. She curled up, hugging her knees, somewhat afraid.

In the eerie silence, suddenly there was a roaring lion, followed by the sound of a beast tearing at a carcass.

The crisp sound of bones being bitten through made her scalp tingle.

Er Ya trembled all over with fright. She stood up, desperately trying to escape, but it was too dark around. It felt like the sky was covered by a giant black curtain; she couldn’t see her hand in front of her face, unable to find the direction. She had just taken a couple of steps when countless beast sounds arose, getting closer and closer.

When she heard a wolf howling from behind, Er Ya was scared out of her wits, her eyes rolled back, and she fainted.

In the completely sealed room, the Hidden Guards swiftly wrapped up their performance of ’wild beasts’ roaming,’ and took the unconscious girl back.

...

Upon reopening her eyes, Er Ya found herself lying in an unfamiliar room, with people next to the bed including her mother, elder sister, and Third Lang’s wife, Mrs. Wen.

With a hoarse voice, Er Ya asked, "Mother, am I dreaming?"

Second Lang’s wife looked at her, tightly clenching her back teeth, as if restraining the urge to slap her, "If it weren’t for your third aunt sending people timely, do you know you would already be in the belly of a tiger by now!"

It seemed that encounter was real; she had nearly been eaten alive by wild beasts.

Thinking of the fear at that time, Er Ya’s hot tears burst forth. She got out from under the brocade quilt, kneeling before Second Lang’s wife with a thud, "Mother, I was wrong, I dare not run around again."

She had brushed with death before, but only this time, being thrown into a place full of wild beasts, did she feel genuinely afraid to her core.

Wen Wan, without emotion, "Since there’s no major problem, then rest well. I have other matters to attend to, no time to accompany you, I’ll take my leave."

Er Ya sensed Wen Wan’s cold attitude, her previous enthusiasm and politeness seemed gone.

Ignoring that Song Jiao was still present, Er Ya knelt and shifted direction to face Wen Wan, "Third Aunt, it was my fault before. You’re the elder, I shouldn’t have been disrespectful to you. I hope you can overlook my mistakes. I will change, I promise I will change. Please forgive me this once, alright?"

Wen Wan stood at the doorway with her back to her, not turning back, "If every mistake could be forgiven, then what is the law for?"

"So you... won’t forgive me?"

Wen Wan said, "Since you were frightened, rest well, and when you regain your strength, move out with your parents."