The Valued Lady is Truly Dominant

As the Earl of Qingcheng left with his grandson, Song Lingsu and Song Lingjie also received the news from their servant that there was no mention of any arranged marriage in the study.

”Is this matter going to be smoothed over just like that?” Song Lingsu was surprised.

Song Lingjie, however, didn’t seem to care and said, ”It wasn’t a big deal to begin with; how could Uncle let others manipulate him?”

There was complete trust and confidence in his tone.

Song Lingsu’s lips curled slightly: ”You have a lot of confidence in Father.”

”Naturally, after all, Uncle has been navigating the turbulent officialdom for over twenty years. If he couldn’t even handle this matter, wouldn’t that tarnish his reputation?” Song Lingjie glanced at him, ”Why, are you worried that if this doesn’t go well, you’ll actually be bound by this agreement? Do you like Guan Liu that much?”

Song Lingsu’s face flushed, and he punched his shoulder, saying, ”What are you talking about.”

Song Lingjie lightly sneered.

Song Lingsu continued, ”It’s not exactly that I like her a lot, just that if I must be engaged, I’d rather it be her than someone else. At least I’ve seen her, and she is quite agreeable to the eyes.”

”Then that means you like her.”

”I’m more worried that this issue will fall on you and Second Brother.”

Song Lingjie said, ”I thought about that too, but even if it falls on me, it’s no big deal.”

Song Lingsu looked at him, ”You are actually willing? Even if it’s just a trivial matter?”

”A verbal agreement is still an agreement. There are many blind marriages and dumb unions in this world. How many people knew nothing about their spouse before marriage, only lifting the veil on their wedding day to see what the other person looks like—that’s the mandate of parents.” Song Lingjie said, ”As long as the other person doesn’t have a bad reputation or some hidden illness, getting engaged is no harm.”

”You are quite open-minded.”

Song Lingjie laughed, ”A marriage, as you said, no matter to whom, is still a marriage. Isn’t it all just two eyes and one mouth? I don’t have high expectations for my future wife, my only requirement is that she must be sensible and reasonable. I will definitely step into the officialdom in the future and I don’t want to deal with the wily old foxes at court all day and then have to pacify a little spoiled wife at home—how tiring that would be.”

Song Lingsu laughed, ”You, you don’t understand romance. But you’re right; I told Father the same thing before. She must be clear-headed and broad-minded; I don’t want arguments in the backyard, which would not be good for family harmony either.”

The brothers exchanged a glance, a look of mutual understanding in their eyes.

As they passed a plum tree, Song Lingjie casually broke off a plum branch and after some thought said, ”Actually, the reason it doesn’t matter to me if this engagement is agreed upon is that even if an engagement is settled, it doesn’t necessarily mean a marriage will follow.”

Song Lingsu looked at him, waiting for more.

Song Lingjie said, ”Big Brother, in noble families, marriage alliances often involve family interests. If you feel that the other party hinders your own progress, you will stop at nothing to break off the engagement—haven’t you seen enough of this in aristocratic families?”

Song Lingsu was taken aback.

”For example, if this matter actually fell on us brothers, and the other party was truly unbearable or harmful to the Song Family, do you think there would still be a need for the engagement? Big Brother, forming an engagement is not easy, but breaking one off isn’t difficult either—there are so many ways to do it, it’s just a sacrifice of the other party.”

Song Lingsu got goosebumps, he understood the underlying message.

”Big Brother, do you think I’m ruthless?” Song Lingjie smiled at him, ”If you become the heir in the future, you can be kind, but you also need to have a ruthless side. For the Song Family to go far, relying solely on kindness will not suffice.”

The reality is harsh, but he had to remind this eldest brother, the legitimate heir, that the head of a family cannot be only benevolent.