Chapter 51: Song's Mother Still Unaware of Her Mistake

Madam Song looked at Song Shilan suspiciously. "You want me to find a match for you?"

"Are you joking?"

"Didn't you and Concubine Qin insist on finding matches for yourselves and stubbornly forbid me from helping?"

Before the family's downfall, the master had asked her to help Song Shilan look for a prospective husband.

She had originally agreed.

However, Concubine Qin and Song Shilan had violently opposed it, hinting and insinuating that she would tamper with Song Shilan's marriage.

To prevent her from interfering in Song Shilan's marital affairs, this mother and daughter duo had deliberately made a huge scene, making her lose face and rendering her unable to manage Song Shilan's marriage at all.

Song Shilan curled her lip inwardly, filled with utter disdain. It wasn't as if she genuinely wanted her mother to meddle in her marriage.

On the surface, however, she put on an attitude of profound remorse. "Mother, I was foolish before, but I am not foolish anymore."

She pinched her sleeve to wipe away the tears at the corners of her eyes, lowering her posture. "Now I am only thinking of asking Mother to help me look for a match, so that I can also help our family and Eldest Sister."

Madam Song dared not trust her.

Based on her understanding of Song Shilan, this woman was definitely plotting something once again; otherwise, she would never assume such an attitude.

She was well aware that Song Shilan had never regarded her as the mistress of the Song household or as her legal mother. Instead, Song Shilan wholeheartedly treated her biological mother as the true mistress and legal mother, and constantly harbored thoughts of harming her.

"I wouldn't dare make decisions regarding your marriage."

She sneered lightly, "If you were truly left in my hands and something wasn't to your liking, wouldn't I become the sinner?"

Song Shilan harbored deep resentment. This damned old hag—even after she had lowered her posture to this extent, the woman still dared to put on airs.

Had it not been for the need to use this old hag, she would never have done such a thing.

"Mother, I did many wrong things before, and I already know I was wrong."

She lowered her head slightly, striking a pose of sincere repentance. "Please give me a chance to turn over a new leaf, Mother."

Madam Song had no desire to speak with her, primarily because she lacked the energy.

These past few days, she had not ridden in the donkey cart even once, nor had she received any care, relying entirely on her own two legs to walk. She was simply exhausted.

With this spare time, she only wanted to rest as much as possible.

"Mother, please forgive me." Song Shilan knelt on the ground and kowtowed to her.

Alarm bells rang wildly in Madam Song's heart, and she simply moved further away.

Given how arrogant Song Shilan was, for her to take the initiative to kneel in public and admit her wrongdoing meant she was truly scheming something.

She had to keep her distance.

Song Shilan genuinely never expected Madam Song to react this way, and she was on the verge of dying of anger.

"Mother..."

She gazed at Madam Song with a wronged and pitiful expression, attempting to use the onlookers to pressure her.

However—

The surrounding people acted as though they saw nothing, continuing with whatever they were doing.

Instead, Song Mingting walked straight up to Song Shilan, grabbed her hair with one hand, and dragged her aside.

"Song Shilan, it seems you didn't take my warning to heart."

His face was shrouded in gloom. "Since that is the case, I shall let you experience firsthand just how severe the consequences of disobedience are."

"No!" Song Shilan screamed in panic. "Father, Father, save me! Second Brother is going to kill me!"

Her father turned a deaf ear, speaking softly to Song Shiwei instead.

Song Shiwei cast a cool glance at Song Shilan and said to Song Mingting with a hint of a smile, "Second Brother, hold back a little. I certainly don't want to drag a burden along the road."

Song Mingting smiled cheerfully. "Don't worry, Eldest Sister, I guarantee I'll keep it under control."

The look he directed at Song Shilan was laced with bone-deep hatred. "Song Shilan, we have plenty of time right now. Let's have a nice, slow chat."

He emphasized the word "chat."

Song Shilan let out a piercing scream, struggling desperately to escape. "Help... Ah!"

Song Mingting delivered a heavy kick to her chest, then backhanded her across the face. "Why are you screaming so loudly? You'll frighten my eldest sister."

With that, he rained slaps down upon Song Shilan's face—*pa, pa, pa*.

He struck her so hard that she could not even produce a miserable wail.

The entire resting place echoed with the crisp sounds of slaps, accompanied by intermittent sobbing.

Old Third Wang and the others swallowed hard, all of them gripped by fear. These members of the Song family were truly vicious, treating their own kin this way.

They decided they had better not provoke the Song family lightly, lest they meet a miserable end.

Song Shiwei glanced at the situation on Song Mingting's side for only a moment before ignoring it, concentrating instead on how they would settle down in Huicheng.

If their family wished to settle in Huicheng, the first prerequisite was acquiring a proper identity.

Without a suitable identity, they could not show their faces publicly, let alone accomplish what they intended to do.

But how could one obtain a legitimate identity?

"Father, do you have a way to acquire a proper identity?" she asked in a low voice.

Her father nodded to indicate that he did. "I once heard a colleague mention that there are people who specifically run this kind of business."

"As long as one has enough silver, there are people who will help arrange identities and travel passes."

Zhang Huai took over the conversation. "Such matters do exist. Those people have extensive connections, strong methods, and powerful backers."

"However, their prices are extremely high. Ordinary people cannot afford them."

Song Shiwei was unconcerned about this. Her spatial storage contained plenty of gold and silver, which she presumed would be sufficient to purchase some form of identification.

What she cared about was another issue.

"Are there any problems with these purchased identification documents?"

On this point, neither her father nor Zhang Huai was certain.

The two had only heard rumors of such things and had never actually made contact with them.

"Oh, right, I also heard that one must be brought in by a designated guide in order to find these people," Zhang Huai said. "If it's a new client, no matter how much silver they have, the other party will refuse to take the business."

Song Shiwei frowned slightly, feeling rather troubled. "That makes things difficult."

"Without someone to lead the way, even if we find these people, we won't be able to buy identification papers."

Her father pondered for a moment and said, "There's no need to rush. We can discuss this once we reach Huicheng."

"Perhaps by the time we arrive in Huicheng, an opportunity to handle this matter will present itself."

Song Shiwei understood that worrying now was useless. "Very well, we'll talk about it when we get to Huicheng."

If that was the case, she would need to pawn some jewelry along the way.

She could not pawn jewelry once they reached Huicheng.

Pawned jewelry in a single location like Huicheng would not only easily draw the attention of others, but it could also attract numerous troubles and dangers.

Given their family's current status, avoiding trouble was their utmost priority.

"Shiwei," Madam Song approached hesitantly at that moment.

Seeing this, Zhang Huai walked away to continue his patrol.

Song Shiwei said indifferently, "Does Mother have something to discuss with me?"

Madam Song glanced furtively at her husband before tentatively probing, "Shiwei, I just wanted to ask you—why have you treated me this way these past few days?"

"I only had your best interests at heart when I thought of arranging a match for you."

Song Shiwei paused, surprised that her mother would pose such a question.

"In Mother's eyes, am I the one in the wrong?"

Seeming afraid of angering her husband, Madam Song hesitated for a moment before answering, "Mm."