The Country Maiden: Fields and Leisure
Chapter 662 - 661: Guilt

Chapter 662: Chapter 661: Guilt

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His nature was originally frivolous, yet he happened to encounter the daughter of Duke Qiguo, who kept a tight grip on him, lashing out with a whip at the slightest disagreement.

The beatings rendered Song Yin, a weak scholar, dizzy with fear whenever he saw his wife.

After he later became a Scholar, he had hoped to be assigned elsewhere, thinking that his wife would certainly be unwilling to leave the Capital City with him, and thus he would be freed.

As expected, the petite daughter of Duke Qiguo, believing everywhere outside the Capital City to be the countryside, was unwilling to accompany Song Yin to any remote areas.

Song Yin finally escaped the devil’s claws and was sent to an external post.

When he returned to fulfill his official duties in the Capital City after more than a year, he found that not only had his wife dismissed all the chambermaids he had left at home, but she had also sold off his own concubine right in front of him.

Song Yin did think of divorcing his wife, but he couldn’t withstand the powerful influence of Duke Qiguo and had to meekly accept the situation, returning to his position after completing his official duties.

From then on, Song Yin avoided trouble whenever he could, and, to keep from stirring it up, he took in some local women when outside, making sure never to bring them back to the Capital City.

Song Chunhua was also sent to him by a subordinate; with her simple honesty and a touch of rustic naivety, she charmed Song Yin enough that he allowed her to become pregnant.

Ever since marrying the daughter of Duke Qiguo, Song Yin had not wanted to touch his wife, Lady Wang, and she in turn would not permit him to touch other women. Now nearing the age of thirty, his knees were still devoid of children.

When Song Yin learned that Song Chunhua was pregnant, he genuinely wanted to keep the child, but fearing Lady Wang might harm Song Chunhua, he sent her back to the countryside.

He planned to bring her back after the birth of the child, to at least have his own bloodline! Otherwise, how would he not be cut off from posterity by his vicious wife who could not bear children herself and wouldn’t let others bear them?

Little did he expect that he had bungled a matter, which his superiors were to investigate, and he might lose his official hat if things went wrong.

He had no choice but to swallow his pride and shamelessly beg Lady Wang. To cheer her up, he stayed in her chamber every day, and only after half a month did Lady Wang plead with Duke Qiguo on his behalf.

While he may not have lost his position, the slip-up had occurred, and Duke Qiguo orchestrated things so that he remained in the Capital City to keep company with Lady Wang daily.

How could he then remember a country girl like Song Chunhua? Moreover, the subordinate who had originally sent Song Chunhua to Song Yin later got into trouble and died in prison, leaving Song Yin even more oblivious to Song Chunhua’s situation.

After verifying Song Chunhua’s background, and considering that she had at least some affiliation with the Song Family, it seemed better to leave the child with her to raise than with anyone else.

Song Hong made up his mind, leaving a trusted confidant behind to secretly watch over Song Chunhua while he, with the others, rushed back to the Capital City, covered in dust.

In the Capital City, the atmosphere was extremely tense; everyone was on edge.

Duke Weiguo had been reprimanded several times by the late emperor in court, and, feigning illness, lay at home; the Duke’s Mansion shut its doors and acted with extreme caution, fearing that even the slightest misstep could lead to the annihilation of their entire clan.

It was only when Song Hong returned that the Duke Weiguo Residence regained its backbone.

Day by day, Song Hong worried about how Duke Weiguo could reverse the precarious situation at hand, hardly sparing a thought for his son.

It seemed the Song Family was lucky after all, as following Song Hong’s return, his wife, Lady Gao, also became pregnant. They went to plead with County Monarch Rongyi and managed to barely hold on.

Later, after the Emperor passed away, the accession of the current ruler also faced several twists and turns.

Song Hong seized this opportunity, supporting the new Emperor wholeheartedly and establishing considerable merit.

Following the coronation, the new Emperor bestowed generous rewards, and the Duke Weiguo Residence was among those honored; at last, the Song Family’s fortunes were reversed.

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But Lady Gao had a miscarriage during those tumultuous times, losing a fully-formed male fetus, and her body was also harmed. Even as the Song Family flourished like flowers embroidered on brocade, with everyone delighting in joy, Lady Gao’s courtyard remained eerily silent.

Song Hong was not heartless. He knew that the Song Family’s prosperity today owed much to Lady Gao’s family’s contributions. Without the assistance of County Monarch Rongyi during the late emperor’s final moments, the Song Family might not have escaped disaster, let alone enjoy their current glory.

Seeing that Lady Gao was unhappy, and with the frontier becoming restless due to the new emperor’s ascension to the throne, he volunteered to take command of the border defenses, intending to take Lady Gao out to relax her mind and not remain in the Capital City, where it would invoke her grief.

The emperor, naturally overjoyed, praised Song Hong as a loyal and considerate official, always ready to relieve his worries!

He agreed immediately.

So, Song Hong took Lady Gao with him to the frontier. There were no major conflicts there, but minor disturbances were ceaseless.

Not to mention the difficulty of securing a foothold when arriving in a new place.

Song Hong had almost forgotten about Song Chongjin, and on the rare occasions he remembered, he assumed that with trusted people looking after him, nothing could go wrong.

He ended up spending seven or eight years in the frontier, and only when peace was restored, did he return to the Capital City he had long been away from, willingly surrendering his military power.

The emperor cherished such a tactful and competent younger brother, promptly assigning him the responsibility of safeguarding the Capital City, a position only for those he deeply trusted.

Now, who didn’t know that Duke Weiguo was one of the most trusted officials of the emperor?

During those seven or eight years, Lady Gao had become pregnant again, but, alas, the child was stillborn and her body was further weakened.

Song Hong, having spent so many years on the frontier, naturally received countless beautiful women as offers.

Some he had to accept due to the situation, to integrate into the frontier society quickly, others he took in out of care for the families of his deceased comrades, and still, others were gifts from people.

Now, he had five concubines in his household and seven or eight children.

However, he had always treated Lady Gao with great respect and did not allow anyone to go against her wishes, so the inner household remained relatively peaceful.

It was only when he returned to the Capital City and occasionally heard Lady Gao sighing about what could have been if their first child had survived that he remembered he had his own flesh and blood in Jing County—that child was his true son.

Thinking of this son and attempting to contact his confidants, he found them unreachable.

Upon investigating, he discovered that his confidant, who had been tasked with looking after Song Chongjin, had died of an illness two years after he was left behind.

When he inquired about Song Chongjin’s situation, he learned of the hardships the boy had endured over the years.

Recalling his children from the Duke’s Mansion, who had grown up in luxury since birth, he realized none of them had experienced such suffering.

Moreover, this child was born to the woman he loved most!

Song Hong felt a complex mix of emotions but, holding a position of power, he couldn’t stay in Jing County for long. He left people to look after the situation and, upon returning to the Capital City, he selected someone to educate Song Chongjin.

Thinking of the over a decade of neglect, he hoped that the education would at least allow Song Chongjin to recognize a few characters, and if the boy showed promise, he would find an opportunity to bring him home.

If his talents were mediocre, he would let him be a wealthy landowner in the countryside, providing him with ample assets and leaving him something substantial, thus fulfilling his obligations.

Still harboring guilt, once back, Song Hong carefully chose someone to indirectly send over to him.