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

In the capital, prominent families held roadside memorial services, and funeral processions passed through the city.

Above the white procession, a kite followed, with faint traces of blood visible on it, its bright red color jarring.

As the procession passed the Duke of Meng's residence, another kite took to the sky and followed them all the way.

As they passed the Prince of Huai's residence, another kite joined the procession. Meng Yushu and Song Qingning stopped when the funeral procession left the city gate.

The two broke the kite string, letting it fly far away and eventually disappear from sight.

On the city wall, Song Qingning watched the funeral procession depart.

Meng Yushu, standing beside her, remained calm, but he gripped Song Qingning's hand tightly, as if he were suppressing his emotions.

Since returning to the city from the western suburbs that day, Meng Yushu has never cried again.

He, who used to be lively, rarely spoke.

As the white-clad group gradually disappeared from sight, he finally couldn't hold back any longer and called out in a trembling voice, "Sixth Brother, Sixth Brother..."

Meng Yushu cried out towards the procession, her tears flowing freely.

Song Qingning held his hand and let him cry until his cries faded away. Only then did Song Qingning support him and let him lean against her.

"Fourth Sister-in-law, I will never see Sixth Brother again." Meng Yushu's voice was hoarse, and her eyes were filled with self-blame and sadness.

That day, Sixth Brother didn't dodge those horses because of him.

"Fourth Sister-in-law, I wish I had been the one who died that day. Fourth Sister-in-law, it was I who caused Sixth Brother's death." Meng Yushu's self-blame grew stronger and stronger.

Song Qingning crouched down, looked directly into his eyes, and gently comforted him, "It's not your fault. Someone else harmed your sixth brother, that person..."

The image of Prince Yu flashed in Song Qingning's mind, a murderous glint appeared in her eyes, and she vanished without a trace.

Seeing Meng Yushu's remorse and relentless efforts to leave, Song Qingning finally couldn't bear it. "Yushu," she said, "a person dies three times before they truly die."

"The first time is when his body dies, the day he breathes his last; the second time is today when we send him off; the third time is when the last person in this world forgets him, and then he will completely disappear."

"So as long as we keep remembering him, he is still alive."

Song Qingning spoke softly.

Meng Yushu seemed to understand, but gradually he seemed to grasp the meaning of those words, and a faint glimmer of light appeared in the gloom in his eyes.

Finally, that light transformed into unwavering resolve.

Meng Yushu wiped away her tears, met Song Qingning's gaze firmly, and spoke each word as if she wanted to engrave the vow in her heart.

"Fourth Sister-in-law, I will remember Sixth Brother, and I will never forget him for the rest of my life, until the day I die."

Song Qingning patted his head, the words of the Sixth Prince that day echoing in her ears: "No one in the world cares about me. Even if I die, I will not leave a trace in anyone's heart."

Song Qingning looked up in the direction where the funeral procession had disappeared.

Sixth brother, you are not unnoticed in this world.

Besides Consort Hui, there was Meng Yushu, and there was her; they would all remember him.

Three days later, Princess Rou'an left the capital, and Song Qingning went to see her off.

It's still at this city gate.

Beside the carriage, Xie Rouan held Song Qingning's hand.

"Fourth Sister-in-law, I don't want to see this Wu family young master, but my brother said that only in this way can I leave the capital."

"I don't know why, but my brother insists that I leave the capital. My mother has also been acting strangely lately, as if they are hiding something from me."

Xie Rouan frowned, vaguely sensing the recent unusual behavior of her brother and mother, but every time she inquired and questioned them, everything seemed normal again.

It was as if the strangeness she felt was all an illusion.

Song Qingning naturally knew why Xie Yunli wanted her to leave the capital.

But Rouan must not know those things.

Looking into Xie Yunli's pure and innocent eyes, Song Qingning understood what he was thinking.

Innocence is rare in this world.

He wanted to protect Rouan's innocence.

Song Qingning smiled and gently comforted her, "What could they possibly be hiding from you? Princess Yu and Prince Yun are just concerned about your marriage. They love you and want you to marry someone you're willing to marry."

"Prince Yu has chosen the son of the Wu family. You might as well go and take a look; what if you like him?"

Xie Rouan was thinking about the young master of the Wu family and didn't take it seriously.

However, she didn't say anything more. Thinking about the scenery of Dajing along the way, a hint of anticipation and excitement appeared in her eyes.

"Fourth Sister-in-law, this time when I go to the Southern Border, I want to go to Youcheng to see the place that you once protected."

"I will also draw every place I have been to. I will draw the entire Dajing region in the future, starting with the southern border."

Xie Rouan was radiant.

In the past, she was confined to her chambers and knew nothing of love.

Now that we have passion, we know that passion can make our flesh and blood grow wildly.

Song Qingning only looked away after the carriage disappeared from sight.

Xie Xuanjin and Xie Yunli stood beside Song Qingning.

Before Xie Rouan left, the two of them had bright smiles on their faces, but now the smiles have faded, leaving only seriousness.

"Fourth Brother, Rou'an is gone. Our plan can begin now."

Xie Yunli met Xie Xuanjin's gaze, and the two exchanged a glance, their understanding already formed.

For the next month, everything in the capital returned to normal.

When Song Qingning went to the palace to pay her respects, she encountered Consort Hui once in the Imperial Garden.

Hearing that a concubine in the palace was pregnant, the concubine nearly fell but was saved by Consort Hui.

Because of her merit in protecting the imperial heir, Emperor Yuan did not send her back to the Cold Palace. Moreover, with Emperor Yuan's birthday approaching, it was Empress Meng who should have been in charge of the celebrations.

Empress Meng used the excuse of catching a cold to avoid the assignment.

After considering all the options, Emperor Yuan concluded that only Consort Hui was capable of organizing such a grand ceremony.

This task fell to Consort Hui.

For a time, Consort Hui was the most popular woman in the world.

Prince Yu was very pleased with her popularity.

The Longevity Festival is the birthday of Emperor Yuan.

But it is also the anniversary of King Su's death.

At the Prince of Huai's residence, on this day, Song Qingning was on her day off, and she and Xie Xuanjin were playing chess in the study.

Wan Zi reported from the side:

"The day before yesterday, Prince Yu went to the City God Temple again and stayed in the Hall of Bliss for one night. Yesterday, Shen Ao left the city and went to the Jing Shui Nunnery."

Upon hearing the words "Jing Shui Nunnery," Song Qingning paused slightly in her chess game.

Something is hidden in Jing Shui Nunnery.

She once thought that Jing Shui Nunnery belonged to the Shen family and Prince Rui.

However, it seems that the true rightful owner is Prince Yu, who is behind Shen Ao.

"It seems he can't hold back any longer," Xie Xuanjin said.

Song Qingning lowered her eyes.

Consort Hui was so eager to avenge the Sixth Prince that with her secretly pushing him, Prince Yu must have truly been unable to restrain himself any longer.

"On the anniversary of Prince Su's death, which also coincides with Emperor Yuan's birthday, few people could refuse such a revenge ritual."

But to truly convince Prince Yu to take this gamble, a spark is needed.

And this fire...

Song Qingning looked at Xie Xuanjin, but before she could ask, she heard Xie Xuanjin's voice slowly ring out:

"News of unrest in the North should arrive in the next few days."

With unrest in the north, the Shence Army must go there to quell the chaos.

Prince Yu would not miss such a good opportunity.

Ten days before the Emperor's birthday, news of unrest in the northern border arrived and reached the Prince Yu's residence.

Before Prince Yu could even get excited, Emperor Yuan summoned him to the palace to discuss countermeasures.

Also entering the palace were Meng Huaizhou, the Minister of War and Vice Minister of War, and Song Qingning, who concurrently served as a senior official in the Ministry of War.