This concubine is no easy match!
She is the illegitimate sister of the deputy commander of the capital's garrison, a woman skilled in both literature and martial arts. Her name is Wu Lingru.
In her previous life, Song Chaoyu did not know how Wu Lingru met Mu Hansu.
She only knew that not long after Mu Hansu's wedding, he took Wu Lingru as a concubine.
In fact, Wu Lingru was not considered beautiful, but she possessed a rare heroic spirit for a woman.
She rarely socialized with the noble ladies of the capital, so Song Chaoyu had never met Wu Lingru at any banquets.
After becoming Mu Hansu's concubine, she took control of the actual power within the Ning Prince's manor.
She was extremely strict with her servants, often resorting to whipping them.
She was even more domineering and arrogant towards other noble consorts or maids in the manor.
Even when Song Chaoyu was confined to a small courtyard in her previous life, she had heard of Wu Lingru's formidable reputation.
Once, without a word, she had beaten to death a favored consort of Mu Hansu, which had caused Mu Hansu to fly into a rage.
However, by some means, she managed to appease Mu Hansu's anger within three to five days!
Moreover, Song Chaoyu knew that despite Wu Lingru's ruthlessness, she was genuinely devoted to Mu Hansu, seemingly respecting and loving him, and having sacrificed much for him.
Song Chaoyu was curious to meet such a woman.
She wondered what would happen if, in this life, Wu Lingru were to meet Song Yanjiao early on.
With this thought, she said to Tiaohong, "There is someone I want you to inquire about for me. Her name is Wu Lingru, do you know her?"
Tiaohong shook her head, looking troubled. "My lady, as you know, when it comes to gathering information, I am truly not as capable as Xunlü. I don't know many people or matters in the capital. I am willing to learn, but I fear—"
Song Chaoyu understood and smiled gently at Tiaohong. "It's alright. Everyone has their strengths. Just do your best. I do indeed lack someone to gather information for me, so we'll take it slowly. We must not let the First Madam's people take advantage of the situation."
—
The Song family had been extremely busy these past few days.
The first to be married was Song Xiuxiu and Lin Muyang.
The dowry prepared by the First Madam for Song Xiuxiu could only be described as "meager"!
Let alone for their prestigious Prime Minister's manor, even a minor official's household in the capital would not prepare such a small amount of items.
Even with the additions from the Song family in Jiangzhou, it was still insufficient.
The Old Madam could not bear to see it and added two shops to Song Xiuxiu's dowry.
The Old Madam also set aside a day to specifically summon all the concubines to present gifts to Song Xiuxiu.
However, the Second Concubine, sitting in the Old Madam's room, before the Old Madam could even speak, was the first to complain, "Old Madam, it is not that this concubine is unwilling to add to Miss Tang's dowry, but I truly have nothing! As you can see, the Third Girl is also about to be married. Although the person she is marrying is not of high status, I am merely a concubine. How could I have any surplus funds? Everything I had was given to our Third Miss, and even that was not enough!"
The Old Madam glared at her.
There was no Third Concubine in the manor, so next was the Fourth Concubine.
Normally, the Fourth Concubine did not speak much and disliked drawing attention to herself.
At this moment, she merely took out a rather unremarkable jade bracelet from her sleeve. "This concubine will add a jade bracelet for Miss Tang! Old Madam knows that this concubine was sold to the Song manor by my father to settle a debt. I truly have no surplus, so I ask for your understanding, Old Madam."
Clearly, this single jade bracelet did not catch the Old Madam's eye.
But the Old Madam did not say much and looked towards Concubine Liu.
Song Chaoyu did not know what Concubine Liu had prepared.
So when Concubine Liu produced a pigeon's egg-sized emerald bead, everyone was astonished!
Even Song Chaoyu looked at Concubine Liu in surprise.
The Second Concubine's eyes widened in disbelief. "How do you have such a fine item? Where did you get it?"
The Fourth Concubine also sighed, "Fifth Sister, this pigeon's egg emerald is no ordinary object! A single one like this is priceless, and it is rare even in the palace. You are going to give it to Miss Tang?"
Concubine Liu smiled and then unhesitatingly placed the pigeon's egg emerald into Song Xiuxiu's dowry chest.
She then turned to the Old Madam and said, "This concubine has two such pigeon's egg emeralds. They were previously inlaid on this concubine's opera costumes. They were my most valuable possessions. I had originally intended to give the entire set of opera costumes as dowry for Fourth Girl when she married. But later, I thought that for the prestige of the Song family, having opera costumes, which are worn by those of lower status, in a daughter's dowry would be too unsightly."
She continued, "This concubine had people remove the two pigeon's egg emeralds from them. The larger one, this concubine kept for Fourth Girl. Now, the smaller one is placed in Miss Tang's dowry chest. I also thank Miss Tang for the care she has shown this concubine and Fourth Girl during her time in the manor."
Her open and generous admission of her favoritism instead earned the Old Madam's admiration.
The Old Madam sneered at the other two concubines, "Look, how perceptive Concubine Liu is! She is not as well-off as you, and she has been living on the estate all these years, yet she can still bear to part with good things. And you? With the Sixth Concubine about to enter the Song family soon, do you intend to be so stingy with your husband?"
These words struck the hearts of the concubines!
The Second Concubine sighed and muttered, "She has such good things, yet she doesn't keep them for her own daughter, but gives them to others. Isn't she afraid Fourth Girl will be angry?"
"I am not angry!"
Song Chaoyu's smile was bright and cheerful. "Cousin is also a sister of the Song family, and the Lin family is a noble family. If the Song family's dowry is too shabby, I fear everyone will lose face in the future. Didn't my concubine also leave me a larger pigeon's egg emerald? Why should I be angry?"
These sensible words made the Old Madam nod with satisfaction.
The Fourth Concubine, unlike the insensible Second Concubine, awkwardly smoothed her hair. "I just remembered, I have a set of shops. Although they are not large, and not in the capital, I will add them to Miss Tang's dowry!"
Song Chaoyu became even more vigilant. The Fourth Concubine, who usually appeared thrifty and modest, secretly possessed shops?
In her previous life, she had suspected that the miscarriage of Concubine Liu's child was related to others in the manor.
The Fourth Concubine had always been close to Concubine Liu but had kept herself safe after Concubine Liu's incident.
Now, with another newcomer about to arrive, Song Chaoyu felt that for Concubine Liu, who was due to give birth soon, the situation was fraught with danger.