Binding Spring Love

"A-Wan?"

"Mother."

Song Wan barely came to her senses before realizing she was back at the Song residence.

She was so immersed in shame and remorse that she didn't even notice Madam Song sitting right in front of her.

Madam Song smiled warmly and said, "Why do you look so absent-minded? Are you feeling unwell?"

"Perhaps it's a bit hot today, and the child is feeling a little dizzy from the sun."

Upon hearing this, Madam Song immediately instructed her maid to bring her some ice cream. Song Wan took a bite and then placed it beside her.

"I should have visited you at the Marquis's residence these past few days, but I was busy preparing your dowry and got delayed. I didn't expect that your companion Jian would be returning home today. The master hasn't seen him for a long time, so he'll probably want to talk for a while. If you're really not feeling well, go back to your room and rest. No one has touched anything in your room."

Song Wan smiled shyly: "I'm not that delicate, Mother, you don't need to worry."

That's good.

Madam Song was Song Wan's maternal aunt. After Song Wan's birth mother passed away, her father married a concubine's daughter from the Su family. This was partly to solidify the marriage relationship between the Song and Su families, and partly to better take care of her and her brother.

However, when Madam Song married into the family, Song Fu had already passed the age of being raised as a woman in the inner quarters. She was also taken to her own courtyard by her aunt. Therefore, her relationship with Madam Song over the years has been lukewarm, and she can't be said to be very close.

There was a moment of silence before Madam Song finally spoke up: "I'll have the steward bring you your dowry list so you can check if anything is missing."

A short while later, the head housekeeper of the Song family came in carrying a rosewood box. Madam Song opened it and handed it to Song Wan for inspection.

Song Wan glanced at it and saw no problem. Not only was her mother's dowry completely placed inside, but the manor also provided several shops in excellent locations, two estates in the suburbs of the capital, and two hundred acres of fertile land.

In the capital, this dowry was also extremely eye-catching.

"Thank you for your hard work these past few days, Mother."

"No, it's all what I should do."

After they finished speaking, they fell silent again. In the past, Song Wan would never have been so inconsiderate, but now her mind was in turmoil, and her swirling thoughts made her in no mood for pleasantries.

It wasn't until the head housekeeper came looking for Madam Song that she told Song Wan to go back to her own courtyard to rest, and the two of them felt much more relaxed.

As Song Wan stepped out of the courtyard, she saw a man standing under the veranda, as if he were waiting for her.

The man had long eyebrows that reached his temples, and his eyes were cold and arrogant. He stood there alone, yet he exuded an air of pride. Song Wan looked at him for a moment before recognizing him as her elder brother, Song Fu.

Song Fu turned his head and saw her staring blankly at him, so he couldn't help but smile gently.

"Awan, come here."

The man beckoned, and Song Wan quickened her pace and walked over.

"Greetings, elder brother."

Upon seeing Song Fu, she suddenly felt a pang of grievance, and her voice trembled slightly with a barely perceptible sob.

Song Fu stared intently at her face, remaining silent for a long time.

In his memory, she was still a little girl who loved to eat sweet cakes. If he returned home from the academy one day without bringing her any sweets, she would look at him with a wronged expression.

It is somewhat similar to today, yet not entirely the same.

In the past, if she felt wronged, she would tell him immediately, but now she just lowers her head, afraid that he would notice.

Song Fu frowned and said, "Xingjian has returned. You are no longer the same person in the Marquis's residence. Remember to be kind and gentle in your dealings with others, be respectful to your elders, and avoid conflict with your sisters-in-law..."

After saying only a few words, Song Wan's eyes reddened, and Song Fu quickly stopped.

Song Wan chuckled softly, her eyes red: "Where did you hear that, brother? Your tone is like that of an old nanny in the inner quarters."

Song Fuwei paused for a moment, feeling somewhat embarrassed.

He was afraid that Song Wan would have no mother to guide her and no one to teach her these things about the inner quarters of the household, so he racked his brains to come up with a few words of advice, but he didn't expect her to react like this.

"Brother, you wouldn't understand matters concerning the inner quarters..."

"Wan'er knows."

The phrase "Brother doesn't understand" brought tears to Song Wan's eyes.

Seeing this, Song Fu knew that she was not happy in the Marquis's mansion, but as her elder brother, he could not interfere in his brother-in-law's affairs.

After thinking for a long time, Song Fucai said, "There is a vacancy in the Ministry of Personnel. If nothing unexpected happens, my brother will be appointed to the Ministry of Personnel this year."

He had already been appointed as the Vice Director of the Imperial Academy last year. If his father's words were true, he could remain in obscurity at the Imperial Academy for several years before entering the Secretariat. With his father's protection, he could rise rapidly through the ranks in the Secretariat. However, this meant that he would have to keep a low profile and not show his talents for the next ten years or so.

Song Fu frowned slightly when he saw Song Wan's slightly red eyes.

Going to the Secretariat is too slow; he can wait for more than ten years, but Song Wan cannot.

The Song family has two sons and three daughters. Although Song Wan is the eldest daughter, she is not her father's only daughter. Moreover, the marriage alliance with the Marquis of Chengyang's family is not very secure. Although the storm has not yet appeared, he can see the undercurrents beneath the calm.

If the two factions start fighting each other in the future, the Song family probably won't do everything in their power to protect her.

In the blink of an eye, Song Fu overturned Song Lan'an's years of preparations.

"The Ministry of Personnel is the head of the Six Ministries, where would a vacancy come from? Brother, are you perhaps fooling Wan'er, who has been a widow for six years, into being ignorant of the ways of the world?"

"And why would Father allow my elder brother to go to the Ministry of Personnel?"

Song Wanrou said softly, "Brother, don't overthink it. Wan'er is doing very well in the Marquis's mansion. The old lady and the madam treat Wan'er like their own daughter. My husband... my husband is gentle and considerate. We are childhood sweethearts, and our feelings for each other are very deep."

"It's just that I haven't seen my brother for many years, and I miss him terribly."

She didn't know how her father planned to arrange things for her brother, but she was certain he wouldn't send him to the Ministry of Personnel. The Ministry of Personnel did have real power, but it wasn't an easy place to get in. He probably thought she was having a hard time and was rushing to the Ministry of Personnel to support her.

But how could she be so selfish?

"Brother, listen carefully to Father's arrangements, don't..."

"Don't meddle in men's affairs."

Song Fu gently tapped Song Wan's head with a half-curled finger. Seeing her cover her head, he smiled and took out a small wooden box from his pocket.

"This is the dowry your brother gave you."

Song Wan opened it, and inside was a box full of silver notes, some worth a thousand taels, some a hundred taels, and even two fifty-tael notes. A lump formed in her throat, and she murmured, "The household only gives two taels of silver a month, there must be three or four thousand taels here! How long did my brother save up to fill this box?"

Song Fu frowned: "Why ask these questions? Your brother gave them to you, just keep them."

"It must have been saved up by my older brother since he was a child."

Song Fu glanced at her: "You're still in someone else's house, so you'll feel more at ease if you have some money on hand."

Song Wan gripped the wooden box tightly, her lips pressed together, as if afraid that tears might fall from her eyes at any moment.

Song Fu reached out and patted her head, sighing softly, "Your brother is a man; he has his own ways of earning money, unlike a woman confined to the inner quarters like you."

"Brother, I don't ask for anything else, I just hope you will be well..."

The brother and sister were catching up on old times when Jiang Xingjian coughed lightly from a distance. Upon seeing this, Song Fu withdrew her hand.