Chapter 4: Jiajia’s Past

It had to be said that the head of the Shen family, Shen Pingxiu, was only a fifth-grade director in the Ministry of Rites. On the other hand, the head of the Song family had already been a highly ranked general since the late emperor was in power.

The late emperor granted Song Li, the general’s only daughter, a marriage with Emperor Chong’an, who was still the crown prince at that time. He even granted the title of Bulwark Duke to the old duke.

These two families should never have crossed paths, let alone become in-laws.

When the original host’s mother, Madam Wang, was still alive, she went to Hidden Spirit Temple to offer incense and was trapped there because of the heavy rain.

Coincidentally, Duchess Li, who was pregnant at that time, also went to fulfill her wish. She was knocked down by someone and went into labor prematurely.

Even though she risked offending the Bulwark Duke Residence, Madam Wang stepped forward to help deliver the child. Thus, she saved the lives of both Duchess Li and her child.

From then on, the two of them interacted more. Later on, Madam Wang gave birth to a baby girl.

The Li family then said that they wanted to become in-laws. It was only when Madam Wang passed away from an illness that the two families slowly drifted apart.

In the beginning, Duchess Li would often send someone to bring the original host to their residence for a short stay. After the host went twice, she refused to go again, so they did not force her to visit.

Even so, the duchess would still still send someone to deliver something to little Yijia every year.

In doing so, she hoped that little Yijia would not live too miserably in the residence after losing her mother.

The duchess would also visit Shen Yijia when she had the time. However, ever since Madam Wang’s death, little Yijia seemed to have become a different person. She was very resistant to Duchess Li’s visits.

When the two of them were alone, the duchess asked little Yijia if she was being bullied in the residence, but the child said that she had not.

Duchess Li thought that little Yijia did not like her, so she visited her less often.

Despite the duchess sending Shen Yijia gifts and greetings every year, the original host never responded. Thus, she slowly stopped caring.

However,Duchess Li did not know that the things that she had sent over had never reached little Yijia. All of them were taken by the new mistress, Madam Chen, and given to her daughter, Shen Ruyun.

Although the host’s actions disappointed the duchess, she still remembered Madam Wang’s kindness back then. When Song Jingchen reached a marriageable age, she talked to him about this matter.

It was also because she wanted to respect her son’s wishes. Song Jingchen practiced martial arts every day and spent his free time playing with some of the rich and powerful children in the capital.

How could he be in the mood for love? Since marriage was inescapable, it made no difference who he married.

He did not want his mother to be troubled, so he asked her to raise the marriage proposal according to her wishes.

No one knew what Madam Chen said at that time. In any case, Shen Ruyun became his fiancée.

For this reason, Shen Ruyun showed off in front of the host on purpose, and made a name for herself in the capital city.

Song Jingchen was the ideal bachelor that half of the women in the capital dreamed of marrying.

He stood tall like a jade tree and smiled as bright as the moon.

Who wouldn’t be tempted by such a husband?

Even Imperial Concubine Liu’s daughter, Princess Linghui, admired him. Unfortunately, Princess Linghui’s brother was the Eldest Prince, and was thus destined to be enemies with the Crown Prince.

It was impossible for Concubine Liu to let her marry Song Jingchen. If that happened, no noble lady would dare to dream of marrying him.

However, in the end, he got engaged to the daughter of a mere fifth-grade official! Anyone would feel jealousy and hatred towards her.

Although Shen Ruyun was famous for her beauty and talent, she was nothing compared to Song Jingchen!

Madam Li had been doted on since she was young. After she got married, her husband did not have any concubines to make things difficult for her, so she knew very little about the dirty matters within a household.

Therefore, she did not know that little Yijia did not dare to get close to her because she was threatened by Madam Chen. She simply thought that Shen Yijia was unwilling to marry her son.

The submissive personality of the original host was indeed unsuitable for becoming the mistress of the household.

She even thought of arranging a suitable marriage for Shen Yijia in the future. As long as it was not a marriage with her eldest son or grandson, Shen Yijia wouldn’t need to lead the household, and she would be able to live well.

The original host was unaware of these matters.