The Valued Lady is Truly Dominant

Lin Guangxiong hummed a tune as he returned to the main room, only to see Song Zi leaning against a large pillow and wiping her tears, which made him freeze in place.

”Weren’t you supposed to go back to the Prime Minister’s Mansion? Now that you’re back, why are you shedding golden tears?” Lin Guangxiong walked over, sat beside her, and carefully asked, ”Did you suffer grievances at the Prime Minister’s Mansion? Did the sisters-in-law give you attitude?”

Song Zi shook her head and said, ”Do you not know who I am? How could the sisters-in-law give me attitude?”

She prided herself on being sufficiently humble and courteous, especially towards that sister-in-law and her mother.

”Then why is this?”

Song Zi snorted with laughter, ”It wasn’t the sisters-in-law who gave me attitude and grievances; it was my own brother who made me feel aggrieved.”

”Third brother?” Lin Guangxiong was a bit confused. What did Song Zhiqing do to her?

Song Zi took a handkerchief to dab at the corner of her eye, then sipped her tea and sighed, ”As my third brother gets older, he becomes less sensible, increasingly vain, and eager to exploit connections.”

Lin Guangxiong was silent; he knew quite well about his dear brother-in-law’s fondness for exploiting connections and sycophancy.

”He wasn’t like this before, otherwise, how could he have been sent away steadily in those previous years?” Song Zi said disappointedly, ”But ever since he returned to the capital, what task has he done appropriately? Not to mention the matters inside the mansion, but outside, I haven’t heard of any achievements. My husband, could it be that once he returned to the capital, he got blinded by its glamour and vanity?”

”Nonsense!” Lin Guangxiong snapped, ”Look at us, are we blinded?”

”Exactly!”

”However, the capital is indeed different from local places and is truly prosperous. Not to mention anything else, just speaking of officials, look around, the capital is filled with dignitaries, especially around the Inner City, East City, and Imperial City area. These Fifth Rank officials like us are commonplace.”

”What do you want to say? Speak straightforwardly, stop beating around the bush.” Song Zi spat at him.

Lin Guangxiong said, ”What I mean is, it’s human nature to be vain, wanting better when seeing good, and perhaps third brother is just like that. Why bother yourself over it and bring unnecessary discomfort?”

Song Zi said, ”I know it’s difficult to satisfy people’s hearts, but I’m just afraid he strays from the right path, and it’ll be hard for him to return once he diverges.”

She took a deep breath and said, ”In the entire Song Family, among our generation, he’s the only concubine-born, but a Fifth Rank official from such a background is still better than many others, isn’t it? Second brother has served as an official briefly, but that position was a special honor, and now he has resigned, effectively a commoner, yet look at second brother, isn’t he doing well? As for fourth brother, he’s a commoner too, but he aligns with the Prince Dingbei’s Mansion and rests on the Prime Minister’s Mansion, who doesn’t envy that commoner’s position?”

”The eldest brother needs not be mentioned, he holds sway over the court. Considering all this, among our generation, besides me, the girl, the brothers, they are all legitimate sons, and the next generation is promising, everything seems perfect. But third brother, discontent with his status, if he goes astray and loses his official position, tell me, how could he, a concubine-born, stand firm in the Song Family? If the family divides, how could he stand firm in the capital?”

Lin Guangxiong replied, ”Aren’t you overthinking it? He hasn’t done anything, and it’s unlikely he’d lose his position, right?”

Song Zi sneered, ”Why wouldn’t it be? He’s more fickle than a fence-sitter. He wanted to leverage our family’s Zhihui to cling to Prince Xiao before, and do you know what he wants now? He wants Zhilan to cling to the Crown Prince, telling us to keep Zhilan well nurtured and prepared for the concubine selection.”

Lin Guangxiong’s heart skipped a beat, aiming to cling to the Crown Prince’s high branch?