The Country Maiden: Fields and Leisure
Chapter 665 - 664: Like a Fishbone in the Throat

Chapter 665: Chapter 664: Like a Fishbone in the Throat

"As a man, it’s completely normal to have three wives and four concubines. In the future, you’ll have a proper lady as your wife to manage your household, and you won’t have to worry about social interactions outside. As for the Wang Family Young Lady you fancy, just dote on her a bit. If it weren’t for you, could a country girl like her ever receive such fortune? Even if she could make money, with our kind of family status, why would we need to make money ourselves? That would only downgrade our status!"

Chongjin had been very stable emotionally before the mention of Wang Yongzhu, but upon hearing Song Hong casually dictate another person’s life as if everything was taken for granted, a suppressed rage burst forth from his heart.

"Thanks to Lord Duke for your kindness, but unfortunately, I do not have such fortune. Yongzhu and I have already taken our wedding vows before the heavens and our parents, and in this lifetime, I, Song Chongjin, will only have her as my wife! We country folk don’t have so many cunning schemes, nor so many ambitions and excuses!"

"Moreover, as a human being, especially a man, you must have a conscience! Back when I was nearly suffocated by the filial ties used by the Song Family and Song Chunhua, when I was forced to take poison by the person you sent to take care of me and even went blind, She did not abandon me. I swore then and there that I would not wrong her in this lifetime!"

"Of course, such feelings are incomprehensible to Lord Duke, otherwise how could you have made my mother your mistress and kept her on the outside? If you truly cared about my mother, you would have either sent her to the Qi family’s place of exile or simply made her an official servant, cared for by the Eldest Lady, and found her a proper status in the future, rather than having her die inexplicably in a foreign land, leaving behind me, an illegitimate child without clarity."

"Now that I think about it, my mother decisively left the Duke back when she was pregnant with me; perhaps she had seen through it all," Chongjin said with a sarcastic laugh.

He strode out of the courtyard with his head held high.

Song Hong’s personal soldiers watched as Chongjin left and then turned back to look at Song Hong.

Song Hong felt as if his face had been stripped off and trampled on the ground by this defiant son. If not for the last shred of reason reminding him that this child wasn’t like the others at home, that he owed him, he would have picked up a whip and struck him!

Even so, it took him a long while to catch his breath. Seeing the worried look in his personal soldiers’ eyes, he waved them off weakly, signaling for them to leave.

Once there was no one else in the room, Song Hong took out a jade pendant from his chest, small and smooth like creamy jade, obviously often touched.

Song Hong’s gaze was unfocused as he clenched the jade pendant, staring out the window. After a long while, he swallowed hard, and a tear fell onto the jade pendant...

※※※

As for Chongjin, he left the inn feeling unspeakably stifled and nauseous.

He headed home, with his head bowed.

Wang Yongzhu and Old Granny Zhang were discussing in the house that continuing like this was not an option, and perhaps they should send a message home first to avoid worry.

They then saw Chongjin enter with a darkened face, barely managing a smile at Old Granny Zhang. After greeting her as "Mother," he slumped into a chair.

Seeing his pallor different from usual, Yongzhu couldn’t help but worry and handed him a cup of hot tea, "What’s wrong? Did things not go well?"

Chongjin warmed his hands with the tea, steam rising, and seeing the concerned eyes of Yongzhu and his mother-in-law, he slowly let out his breath and shook his head.

Old Granny Zhang now looked upon Song Chongjin as more precious than her own son, and when she saw him enter with a certain look on his face, she was convinced he had something on his mind, probably out of fear that the family would worry.

"Chongjin, whatever it is, just speak up! We’re all family here; what can’t we talk about? Is someone bullying you? Or is there something else? Speak up, and we can figure something out, can’t we?" she urged.

Song Chongjin’s heart, like hands holding a cup of hot tea, gradually warmed, and after a moment’s contemplation, he laid out everything about his visit to Song Hong that day.

This wasn’t something he could hide, and he did not want to keep it from Yongzhu and his mother-in-law.

Although he had been an orphan of unknown parentage, his background was innocent. Now, having suddenly gained a father who was a Lord Duke, he found himself categorized as an illegitimate child.

Thinking about this, he felt as if he had a fishbone stuck in his throat, the frustration was unbearable.

Wang Yongzhu and Old Granny Zhang were stunned upon hearing Song Chongjin’s story, speechless for a moment.

It took a while for Old Granny Zhang to speak up: "You’re saying you’re the son of that Lord what’s-his-name Duke? That Lord must be quite the high-ranking official, right?"

Song Chongjin hadn’t expected Old Granny Zhang to focus on this point but nodded, "Yes, a very high-ranking official."

He couldn’t help but wonder: could his mother-in-law be advising him to acknowledge his father just because he was the son of a Lord Duke?

This was all too normal a reaction. For any average person who learns their son-in-law is the child of a high-ranking official, wouldn’t they urge him to recognize his relations?

As he thought, a hint of scorn appeared involuntarily on Song Chongjin’s face.

Then he heard Old Granny Zhang slap her thigh, "Is the Emperor senile? To allow such a heartless man to become an official? Tsk! That’s completely out of line! Chongjin, you must not be fooled by that unscrupulous scoundrel of a father. He didn’t take you in for over twenty years, and all of a sudden, he wants to bring you back—how do we know there aren’t ulterior motives?"

"Besides, listen to what he says—does that sound humane to you? My daughter is your wife, married to you in broad daylight. If you dare to follow in your father’s heartless footsteps and abandon my Zhuzhu to marry some high-born young lady, let me tell you! Don’t blame me for not being polite!"

The more Old Granny Zhang thought about it, the angrier she became, and the more she looked at Song Chongjin, the less friendly her gaze grew. Despite previously thinking well of Chongjin, if he were to be dazzled by external wealth and status and leave her precious daughter, she wouldn’t hesitate to turn her back on him with ruthlessness, perhaps even breaking his legs first!

Any trace of irony in Song Chongjin’s heart vanished into thin air. Hearing Old Granny Zhang scold Song Hong brought him immense satisfaction, and he wished she would curse him a few more times for good measure.

Realizing Old Granny Zhang’s suspicions about him, he quickly affirmed, "Mother, don’t worry! In life, I belong to Yongzhu, and in death, I will be Yongzhu’s ghost. I will only ever have Yongzhu in this lifetime. I won’t go back with him; I’ll listen to you, Mother. Who knows why he never cared for me for over twenty years, and suddenly he wants to take me back. There must be a catch!"

These words pleased Old Granny Zhang so much she beamed with joy, indeed her son-in-law was a clever one.

After thinking it through, she still gave a couple of words of caution, "Chongjin, don’t blame me for being nosy. I’ve lived longer and been through more than you all, and I see things clearer than you young people. Let’s put aside whether that man is your biological father. Even if he really grew up with your mother as his betrothed, and they were about to marry, if something befell your maternal family, how could he truly love your mother and then let her go from being his fiancée to a nameless woman kept on the side?"

"And then to promptly marry another woman? Your mother had a hard life, pregnant with you, she resolved to escape, preferring to live in hardship rather than go back. She passed away early, and you, think about your mother, can’t fall into the same trap as your father, can you?"