Chapter 441: Chapter 441: Fond of the New, Tired of the Old

Song Lianhe’s hangover was severe. She woke up with a splitting headache.

Shuang Ye scolded her from the side. "I told you to drink less, but you just wouldn’t listen! See? Now you have a headache. You were talking nonsense all night, too, saying all sorts of things we didn’t understand. Something about a ’book’ and a ’male lead’... Princess Consort, what did you mean by that?"

Song Lianhe popped two pills to clear her head from the alcohol. Hearing that, she suddenly looked up. "Did anyone else hear me?"

Shuang Ye said, "The Prince was here with you all night. When you were talking in your drunken stupor, he responded to every word you said."

Zhou Cangyan...

Then she thought of something and immediately asked, "Where is he now?"

"You don’t know, do you..." She leaned in and whispered, "There’s been an upheaval outside. The Prince left instructions for you to stay here in the temple and not to worry about a thing. He’ll come for you once he’s handled matters."

Song Lianhe vaguely remembered Zhou Cangyan returning last night. She felt like she’d said a lot to him, but after sleeping it off, she couldn’t recall a single thing. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

’I feel... like an irresponsible scumbag.’

For the next few days, Song Lianhe stayed at Dao Yuan Temple. In her free time, she would help the temple’s Daoists with the reconstruction work, or she would go to her third grand-uncle’s place to chat and drink tea.

Life was surprisingly pleasant.

After that drunken night, it seemed she had truly come to terms with things.

’It’s just an outcome. Good or bad, they’re the consequences I have to bear.’

Lately, Xuan Mei had been leaving Dao Yuan Temple frequently. Song Lianhe never asked where she was going, and Xuan Mei never brought it up.

As for Cao Ying, the chaos in the city had brought her complete freedom; she no longer had to marry anyone. She would often come to Dao Yuan Temple in her free time to tell Lianhe about the people at the Medical Clinic and the happenings on the streets.

Someone must have given her a heads-up, because she never mentioned a single word about what was happening in the Imperial Palace.

"Oh, right. Song Xilan and Zhou Junlin got a divorce."

"A divorce?"

Song Lianhe was genuinely shocked. It was difficult enough for an ordinary couple to get a mutual divorce, let alone a Prince and his Princess Consort.

"Hah! And the funny thing is, the gossips are all saying it was because of me!"

Cao Ying was furious just talking about it. "Do I have no self-respect? I chased after Zhou Junlin for so long, and he never gave me a second glance! Fine! I gave up. It’s not like there’s a shortage of good men in this world! But now, he’s got trouble in his own house, and they have the nerve to say I’m the one who started it! What did I ever do to anyone?"

Song Lianhe quickly poured her a cup of cooling tea. "That’s just because you were trying to marry him as a Concubine before. That’s why those rumors started."

Cao Ying knew how vicious gossip could be, so she decided to just ignore it.

"Whatever, let them say what they want! It’s no skin off my back!"

"That’s the spirit."

"It’s just..."

She looked at Song Lianhe with a worried expression. "Lianhe, are you... are you going to keep living here? Why don’t you go back to your residence and check on things? You’ve been away for so long. Aren’t you worried about the household?"

Song Lianhe stared at her, then suddenly said, "You know, Cao Ying? You wear your heart on your sleeve."

Cao Ying’s expression shifted, and she quickly covered her cheeks. "I don’t! What are you talking about? I don’t have anything on my mind."

Song Lianhe chuckled and peeled a longan for her. "Thank you for all your hard work helping me look after the Medical Clinic every day. Don’t worry too much about the rest. Just staying alive is what matters most."

Cao Ying ate the longan, looking at her in surprise. "Lianhe, you..."

Just as she was about to speak, Ah Jun cut in. "Sister! I finally found you!"

He rushed over to them like a gust of wind. "I’m furious! I can’t believe he’s the type to just toss aside the old for the new!"

Even though she had prepared herself for this, Song Lianhe’s heart still dropped.

She lowered her head and continued to peel a longan. "Ah Jun, do you want one?"

Cao Ying could guess what Ah Jun was about to say and kept shooting him warning glances. But Ah Jun, blinded by rage, wasn’t paying any attention!

"I was just at the market, and I heard people saying... they said King Qing brought Princess Consort Ling back to his manor!"

DROP.

The peeled longan slipped from her fingers.

Song Lianhe froze. Looking at the fallen longan, she couldn’t help but remark, "What a shame."

"Sister, are you even listening to me?" Ah Jun was indignant on her behalf. "What did he promise you back then? And now? The moment he accomplishes something great, he’s already thinking about replacing his Princess Consort? Hmph! He’s not even on the throne yet. If he really becomes the Emperor, will there even be a place left for you?"

"Ah Jun!"

Song Lianhe cut him off.

Cao Ying, terrified, slapped his arm. "Good heavens, you can’t just say things like that!"

"But I’m not wrong! At your own wedding, he left you alone in the hall because of Song Xilan, humiliating you in front of all the guests! And now, while you’re away, he brings that same Song Xilan back! His intentions are as clear as day!"

As he spoke, Ah Jun grabbed Song Lianhe’s hand. "Sister, let’s not stay with him. If it comes to it, you can get a divorce, too! Let him and that Song Xilan go be a happy couple together! It has nothing to do with us!"

Song Lianhe’s mind was reacting sluggishly. All she could do was watch his mouth open and close.

Surprisingly, Cao Ying didn’t rebuke Ah Jun this time. Instead, she looked at Song Lianhe and hesitated before saying, "What Ah Jun said... isn’t entirely without reason."

Song Lianhe stared at her, dazed. "So... he really did bring Song Xilan back to the manor."

Cao Ying’s face was a picture of regret. "Oh, no! I promised my brother I wouldn’t say anything!"

"It’s true."

At some point, Xuan Mei had appeared.

She stood not far from them, her expression grave and her eyes cold.

Song Lianhe looked at her, her dazed eyes showing a hint of helplessness.

Xuan Mei stared back, and seeing Lianhe’s state, her hands tightened around the hilt of her shortsword.

"If you’re not happy about it, just say the word. I’ll go kill her for you."

"Don’t!"

Cao Ying immediately stood up and went to her side. "You’re my future sister-in-law! You can’t be going around fighting and killing anymore."

Xuan Mei was blunt. "I take responsibility for my own actions. I would never implicate the Cao Family."

"Oh, that’s not what I meant! If something happened to you, what would my brother do? How could he go on living? Sister Mei, I’m telling you, my brother has only ever loved you all these years. If it’s not you, the Cao Family line will end with him!"

Xuan Mei was taken aback. "He’s never said any of that to me."

"You know what my brother is like, don’t you? He shoulders everything himself. He would never, ever complain or say a single negative word in front of you!"

Song Lianhe slowly came back to her senses. She looked up at the two of them and let out a soft laugh. "What’s the big deal? He just brought Song Xilan back, that’s all. Maybe Zhou Junlin even asked him to do it. Besides, Song Xilan is technically still my older sister. Letting her wander the streets wouldn’t be good for my reputation."

The two of them looked at her, their eyes now filled with even more sympathy.

Cao Ying asked softly, "Lianhe, is that what you really think?"

Ah Jun slammed his fist on the table in anger. "How could you think that, Sister? You’d have to be a complete idiot to believe there’s nothing going on between them!"

Song Lianhe: "..."

’Well, that was blunt.’

"That’s enough," she said lightly. "I have this under control, so you don’t need to worry about me. In any case, he was the man I chose. For better or for worse, I’ll swallow whatever bitter consequences come my way."

Cao Ying frowned. "Lianhe, you don’t have to put on a brave face. If you want to go demand an explanation, rest assured, you just have to say the word! My mother told me when she visited that if you feel you’ve been wronged, our Scholar Mansion will absolutely back you up!"

Xuan Mei stepped forward. "And me."

Cao Ying smiled. "Then my brother will definitely stand with you, too."