A wicked mother swaps her son and sucks his blood? The true legitimate daughter is reborn and goes o

Upon seeing the palace maid nod, Consort Hui's expression suddenly turned serious.

"She only committed suicide by drowning herself in the lake after seeing the Princess Consort of Huai!" the palace maid said.

Consort Hui's face darkened further.

Song Qingning clearly promised her not to interfere in this matter. What did they say that led Xie Yuzhen to attempt suicide by drowning?

Xie Yuzhen is dead, and Liu'er's blood essence is gone too!

Consort Hui clenched her fists. Xie Yuzhen's death had ruined her plans. If Song Qingning had instigated this, she would definitely not let her off!

Xie Yuzhen's death did not cause much of a ripple.

When the news of his death reached Emperor Yuan's ears, he didn't even lift an eyelid, and the funeral was hastily arranged.

Song Qingning sent a letter to Youcheng.

Ye Shu and Chu Yin settled in Youcheng. Before the New Year, she received a letter from Youcheng with only the word "Peace" on it. Song Qingning knew that the letter was Chu Yin telling her that she was safe.

Xie Yuzhen is dead, Xie Yuqi has been stripped of his title of Prince Rui, and the Shen family is no longer a force to be reckoned with.

With the threat gone, Chu Yin and Ye Shu no longer needed to hide in fear as they had before.

After attending several spring banquets and completing all the paintings he had promised the ladies, Song Qingning sent them off one by one, and then received a document from the Ministry of War.

Emperor Yuan finally relented and allowed Song Qingning to resume his post as Left Commandant of the Capital City Office and concurrently serve as Vice Minister of the Ministry of War.

The position of Vice Minister of War was an important one, as it oversaw the selection, evaluation, and promotion of military officers and could also participate in the Ministry of War's decision-making.

Emperor Yuan was unwilling to let Song Qingning hold this position.

After several rounds of political maneuvering in the imperial court, Emperor Yuan finally compromised.

Song Qingning had become a thorn in the side of Emperor Yuan.

Song Qingning went to the Ministry of War and then to the Capital City Commandery.

Dressed in her military uniform, she entered the capital city gate with the same heroic bearing as always.

"May the Princess Consort of Huai be well."

The sound was deafening, a mix of male and female voices.

Led by Qin Zheng and Gu Ying, they lined up to welcome Song Qingning back.

Everyone's face was beaming with enthusiasm.

But this title...

"Haven't seen you for more than a few months? Have you already forgotten how you were addressed before?" Song Qingning corrected. "Wearing this outfit, I am simply Song Qingning, the Commandant of the Capital City Department, not some princess."

As soon as she finished speaking, the men, led by Qin Zheng, all looked dejected and instantly deflated.

The women, led by Gu Ying, cheered with joy.

"You've lost!"

"I told you, she should be called Lord Song, but you wouldn't believe me. You said that since Lord Song is married, her status is different, and she would prefer to be called Princess."

"We've followed the general for several years, and we know his temperament best."

"Even after marriage, a general is still a general! And an official is still an official!"

The women chatted and laughed merrily, one after another.

They were all soldiers in the former women's battalion.

After the battle of Youcheng, they returned to the capital with the general, and then went home separately.

They were either unloved daughters at home, abandoned by their husbands' families, or orphans with no relatives to rely on. After returning to the capital, they received some rewards, but the unloved daughters remained unloved.

Some people even had their rewards plundered by their so-called relatives, and were driven out of their homes, leading to a life of hardship.

Fortunately, the general was there.

The general instructed his deputy to send them silver and a message saying that anyone who wanted to return could do so.

They didn't know what the general had done after letting them into the capital city, but they understood one thing: the general was their protector, and she would be their general for life.

The women looked at Song Qingning with admiration and passion.

"We lost, and we accept it wholeheartedly. For the next month, we'll be on night shifts," Qin Zheng said loudly.

This is the bet they just made.

The women became even more excited, cheering that they wouldn't have to work night shifts for a month and wouldn't have to work so hard.

The men weren't disappointed or complaining; instead, they looked at them with smiles on their faces.

Although they had only been following Lord Song for a short time, they had a certain understanding of his temperament. How could they not know how Lord Song preferred to address them in the Capital Division?

He made the bet and deliberately lost.

As Song Qingning watched them cheer and laugh, she suddenly remembered a remark made by Lady Anguo.

She said that whenever she saw the girls in the girls' school go from feeling miserable and helpless to having light in their eyes, she felt that the light in their eyes was the meaning of her running the girls' school.

At that moment, their eyes also shone with light.

"Lord Song..."

A voice interrupted Song Qingning's thoughts.

Song Qingning looked up at the sound and saw Liang Xingjian.

Liang Xingjian strode towards her, stopping a distance away.

The two had not seen each other since the Spring Festival banquet at the Liang residence that day.

After everyone around dispersed, Liang Xingjian spoke again, "Lord Song, I thank you on behalf of my sister."

His tone was sincere, and his gaze towards Song Qingning lacked admiration, only showing appreciation and gratitude. It seemed that he had completely forgotten about proposing marriage to Song Qingning earlier.

This eased Song Qingning's embarrassment.

"My relationship with your sister is a collaboration, and I also have my own interests to gain. There's no need for either of us to thank the other," Song Qingning said frankly.

Liang Xingjian, however, did not think so.

"If Lord Song wanted to extricate himself from that matter, there were other ways. You could have completely ignored the life or death of Shuyi and the child in her womb, but you chose to help Shuyi put on this show."

In fact, the scene would have been more realistic if Shuyi had died along with her unborn child.

That day, Shuyi fell from the railing, but Song Qingning instinctively climbed over it.

She was worried that something unexpected might happen.

Song Qingning lowered her eyes, smiled faintly, and said nothing.

After a moment of silence, Liang Xingjian said again, "Lord Song, I am getting married. On my wedding day, please come and have a drink with me."

Song Qingning was not surprised.

The marriage came very suddenly, and Song Qingning could guess why.

The Liang family loves Liang Shuyi very much and is very united.

"Congratulations, Lord Liang! The Prince and I will definitely come to celebrate with you," said Song Qingning.

Just as news of the Liang family's marriage spread throughout the capital, a few days later, the Prince Yu's residence also announced joyous news.

The Prince Yu's mansion is about to marry off its daughter.

That day, Song Qingning and Xie Xuanjin had just finished their breakfast when they heard Uncle Qin's anxious voice coming from outside the courtyard, mixed with a woman's crying, as it drew closer and closer.

The woman entered the courtyard, and Song Qingning saw who it was.

"Rou'an?"

Xie Rouan cried until her eyes were blurred with tears. When she heard Song Qingning's voice, she couldn't hold back her grievances any longer and threw herself into Song Qingning's arms while crying.

"Fourth Sister-in-law, Fourth Sister-in-law."

Xie Rouan cried so hard she could barely breathe.

Song Qingning patted her back and soothed her gently, which finally calmed her down a bit, and Xie Rouan raised her head.

A clear five-finger mark on that face made Song Qingning's expression change drastically. "What happened? Who hit me?"

Just by looking at the fingerprints, you can tell that the slap was delivered with no mercy.

Xie Rouan thought about what had just happened at the Prince's mansion. "It was my father and fourth sister-in-law. My father arranged a marriage for me, but I don't want to get married, and I especially don't want to marry the person he chose for me."

"I refused, so he hit me."

"My father has never hit me. He has always doted on me since I was a child and would never say a harsh word to me. But this time he was very resolute."

"My father has declared that I have no choice but to marry him!"

"Fourth Sister-in-law, what should I do?"