Chapter 48: Returning Home

That implied the Princess was deliberately taking Song Xirui's side to help her out of the tight spot.

Upon hearing this, Princess Changning narrowed her eyes and said, "Are you questioning this Princess?"

Su Yun, standing nearby, hastily dropped to his knees before the Princess: "Your Highness, Yun'er spoke out of momentary anxiety. I beg Your Highness not to hold it against her!"

After all, Princess Changning was the Emperor's own niece and immensely favored; offending her would surely make his future days unbearable!

Fortunately, the Princess did not take it to heart. She merely said indifferently, "The Top Scholar had better keep his concubine in check. There is no place for her to speak here."

Su Yun nodded repeatedly, while Luo Yun'er nearby was practically bursting with fury.

Just then, Su Yun's eyes rolled as a thought struck him. He turned to Song Xirui with a helpless tone and said, "Xirui, this is also your fault. If you hadn't gone out all day without telling your husband, how could such a farce have ever happened?"

He was actually attempting to turn a major issue into a minor one, and a minor one into nothing at all!

Song Xirui sneered, "A moment ago, your cousin wanted to force me to my death, and now somehow it is still the concubine's fault? Must I hang myself with a three-foot white silk ribbon at your Su family's doorstep to prove my innocence? For a husband to act this way truly makes him despicable to men everywhere."

Now that the tables were turned, why should she show any further weakness?

Seeing her reaction, Su Yun turned pale with shock: "My wife, heaven and earth can bear witness to how I have treated you these past days. Do not misunderstand your husband!"

"Utter nonsense!"

Another angry roar echoed through the room.

Marquis Song was so furious his mustache was practically fluttering. His fists clenched so tightly the table before him nearly shattered: "Su Yun, you wretched boy! It's all my fault for misjudging you back then. Let me tell you, don't even dream of smoothing things over and brushing off today's events so easily! I am taking Xirui away! Let any of you dare try to stop me!"

With his overwhelming presence radiating through the hall, not a single person dared to utter a word.

Princess Changning sighed inwardly. To find a father who so fiercely protected his daughter, even looking across the entire capital, was as rare as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns.

Seeing this, Marquis Song said to Princess Changning, "I beg Your Highness's pardon. This old man will take his daughter back first to recuperate."

After Princess Changning nodded, he led Song Xirui away in a grand and imposing procession straight back to the Song estate.

The Su family could only watch as he took Song Xirui away, completely speechless.

Just like that, Song Xirui, along with all the servants from her courtyard, departed with Marquis Song.

The Begonia Courtyard was left entirely empty.

As the Princess was leaving, she dropped a warning to Su Yun: "If the Top Scholar still wishes for a smooth career, you had best not provoke the Marquis. Keep in mind the weight the Marquis's Estate holds in His Majesty's heart."

This left Su Yun deeply shaken with dread.

Inside the carriage,

Song Xirui gave a thumbs-up to her father, who was still fuming with leftover rage: "Father was truly heroic today, protecting your daughter so completely. Your daughter has seen it all, and she thanks you, Father!"

"Don't try to sweet-talk me into feeling better," Marquis Song sighed. "Let's hurry back. I snuck out behind your mother's back. If she finds out the Song family bullied you and I went to rescue you without bringing her along, heaven knows what she'll do to me!"

Song Xirui couldn't help but laugh, her eyes curving into crescent moons: "Your daughter will definitely put in a good word for Father!"

As the father and daughter conversed, the carriage arrived outside the Song mansion.

At that moment, Madam Song was storming out with a retinue of attendants.

Catching sight of Marquis Song's carriage, she immediately stepped forward and flung open the curtain: "You surnamed Song, what are you trying to do?"

Before the words had even faded, she spotted Song Xirui sitting inside.

Song Xirui instantly spoke up, "Mother, Father has brought your daughter back."

Madam Song shot a fierce glare at her husband for failing to bring her along, then said, "Hurry, hurry, get down from the carriage so Mother can have a good look at you."

Following a thorough explanation,

Madam Song ordered the kitchen to prepare all of Song Xirui's favorite dishes.

The family of three sat together in the parlor and chatted.

"Xirui, you will stay here in the Marquis's Estate from now on. Don't go back to that Su family; Mother will take care of you." Madam Song's eyes welled up with unshed tears.

Song Xirui choked out, "Mother..."

"Xirui, your mother is right. At our age, damn their reputations and damn their gossip! Your father fears nothing except seeing you bullied in that Su family, spending your days bathing in tears!" Marquis Song added.

Faced with such overwhelming affection from her parents,

A sharp ache pierced through Song Xirui's heart.

When all was said and done, had it not been for her dragging them down in her past life, how could her family have ever met such a tragic end?

After her death, Su Yun certainly would not have allowed her father to live in peace.

She sniffed and comforted her parents, "Father, Mother, please rest assured. That Su Yun cannot hurt me. Your daughter has long since made her plans. Causing such a massive scene was merely to let the world see through his true colors sooner. As for what comes next, your daughter knows what she is doing."

Marquis Song and Madam Song exchanged a glance, each guessing seven or eight parts of Song Xirui's intentions.

Yet Madam Song still couldn't help urging, "Xirui, Mother knows you are resourceful, but your father and I desire nothing in this life save for your safety and happiness. Never let resentment and anger cloud your judgment and bring harm upon yourself."

"Mother, your daughter understands."

Song Xirui's eyes gradually reddened. "I will never harm myself. Father and Mother, please rest assured."

---

That night.

Song Xirui prepared for sleep.

She told Hongdou not to keep vigil, to return to her own room and get a proper rest.

In the depths of her slumber, Song Xirui dreamed of a blood-curdling scene.

Her father and mother were actually shackled to a execution platform, about to be beheaded in broad daylight before the masses!

Her father's jet-black hair had turned completely white, and her mother looked as though she had lost her mind entirely!

The name they screamed out with their dying breaths was none other than hers.

Beneath the platform, the crowd buzzed with chaotic whispers.

"Never would I have imagined the Marquis's Estate was a nest of traitors!"

"Hmph, they deserve execution!"

"These high-ranking officials spend their days plundering the fat of the people; they deserve to die!"

No! How could her father be such a person?

They were spouting nonsense, utter nonsense!

Inside the bedchamber, a pair of dark eyes gazed down at the woman on the bed, drenched in cold sweat and breathing heavily. The intruder's brows furrowed deeply as he prepared to softly call her awake.

However, before he could speak,

Song Xirui bolted upright, startling him immensely!

In a flash, the intruder leaped into a shadowed corner of the room.

Song Xirui's eyes were fixed and glassy, her chest heaving as she fought for breath. Suddenly, a jolt of alarm struck her heart.

There was someone else in the room!

"Who goes there? Why sneak in under the cover of darkness?" Song Xirui's voice was not loud, yet it echoed with crystal clarity through the quiet chamber.

The intruder remained completely silent, not uttering a single word.

Song Xirui sneered, "If you refuse to speak, don't blame me for not holding back!"

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!"

Three paper talismans flew out from her sleeves, shooting with pinpoint accuracy straight toward the figure in the corner.

In a fraction of a second, a dagger pinned all three paper dolls together, nailing them firmly into the doorframe.

The paper figures struggled frantically, yet they could not budge so much as an inch!

Yet the figure had already melted back into the shadows.

Song Xirui held her breath, her right hand moving stealthily to pull out the hairpin concealed beneath her pillow. In an instant, she thrust it straight toward the intruder's throat.

Yet the very next second, a blade gently tapped against her right shoulder.

At that moment, the intruder's voice slowly drifted out from the pitch-darkness: "My lady truly possesses a few life-saving tricks up her sleeve. This general certainly underestimated you."