Song Chaoyu also felt that Ti Le was not a bad person.
Moreover, keeping her here was actually a source of endless trouble.
But the First Madam still felt it was difficult: "Even so, it's their territory after all. Are we going to sneak her away? If the Song family in Jiangzhou finds out, how will we resolve it? It would be a loss of face, wouldn't it?"
"Hmph! Cowardly!"
Seeing that the First Madam still didn't understand the crux of the matter, the Old Madam couldn't help but scold: "Do you think by keeping her here, we can completely absolve ourselves of responsibility? This matter is Song Chaozong's fault, and we are also a branch of the Song family! If things come to light later, will the Song family not come to us for help?"
The Old Madam, with her sharp eyes, saw everything clearly: "At that time, setting aside whether we help or not, do we want the entire capital to know that the Song family has committed such a shameful act? If we know about it and still conceal it, and later the Emperor punishes us, and the Southern Kingdom is angered, can our Song family bear that responsibility?!"
The First Madam finally understood that this matter was not as simple as it seemed!
She slapped her thigh, her brows furrowed tightly: "Oh dear, Song Chaozong, how could he do such a foolish thing?! Isn't this going to ruin us too? What a scoundrel!"
The Old Madam also sighed: "So, it's better for us to admit our mistake now. Even if things come to light later, we can just push all the blame onto Song Chaozong! What does it have to do with our Song family in the capital? We'll send the person back, not asking the Southern Kingdom to be grateful to us, but only hoping not to be implicated in the future. That's what we should do!"
The Old Madam was also a straightforward person and did not avoid Ti Le when speaking.
Ti Le quickly nodded: "This Old Madam speaks the truth! No matter what happens in the future, you are my saviors, and I will never blame you!"
As if she had also figured things out, she immediately kowtowed to the Old Madam: "If this Old Madam can take me to see my sister Ti Ya or His Highness Prince Chang, I will be eternally grateful! I will repay your kindness with my life, even if it means being a beast of burden!"
The Old Madam quickly helped her up. The First Madam muttered again: "Alright, let's take her away. But how do we take her? I really can't figure it out."
The Old Madam sighed: "You two go and prepare some hot water and new clothes for her, and let her wash up properly. Then get her something to eat. I'll go find Song Chaozong myself later!"
She also glanced at Song Chaoyu: "Fourth girl, you'll accompany me. Now that you are officially the future Princess Chang, Ti Le needs to return to the capital to see Prince Chang and Princess Ti Ya, so it's only right that she accompanies you."
Song Chaoyu nodded, and Ti Le was also stunned for a moment, then she looked at Song Chaoyu seriously: "Prince Chang... has returned to the Great Yue Dynasty? He is truly fortunate to marry such a beautiful and sensible woman as you."
Despite living alone for so long, Ti Le spoke naturally when saying these words.
It could be seen that even though her life wasn't smooth in the Southern Kingdom before, she was actually very good at dealing with people and matters.
The Old Madam had the First Madam take Ti Le down to wash and eat, then with a somber gaze, she took Song Chaoyu to the First Branch.
Since they hadn't eaten breakfast together that day, Song Chaozong was having breakfast with Ning Shi in the courtyard of the First Branch.
Seeing the Old Madam and the others arrive, Song Chaozong was surprised and stood up to greet them: "Second Aunt, why have you come so early? Have you had breakfast?"
"Slap—"
However, as soon as the Old Madam saw Song Chaozong, she unhesitatingly slapped him across the face: "You scoundrel! If we hadn't come, were you planning to hide this sordid affair for a lifetime?!"
Song Chaozong was stunned by the slap. Ning Shi also dropped her chopsticks and rushed forward: "What... what's going on? Why is Second Aunt so angry? Even if you're angry, you shouldn't hit our master!"
"Hmph!"
The Old Madam ignored everything else, walked forward, and sat down at their breakfast table. Then, with a wave of her hand, she smashed the bowl of congee on the table onto the ground.
With a "bang—", the congee hit the ground, scattering everywhere.
Ning Shi gasped, and a flicker of heartache flashed in her eyes: "Second Aunt, what happened? Why are you so furious?"
The Old Madam sneered: "The woman in the well in the courtyard where we are staying, what's going on?!"
As soon as she said this, Song Chaozong and Ning Shi's faces changed dramatically.
They looked at each other. Song Chaozong lowered his head first, and Ning Shi's eyes darted around before she said: "Second Aunt... how did you know? Did you see the corpse in the well? Oh dear, it's all my fault, I forgot there was a dry well there. I'm afraid I scared you, right? Don't worry, it's nothing!"
She crouched down and began to pick up the broken porcelain shards on the ground, continuing: "That was a few years ago, a servant who was not observant stole something and injured someone in the household. In a fit of anger, I ordered her to be beaten to death. I thought it was such a small matter that it shouldn't be reported to the yamen, so I had someone throw the body in. Second Aunt, you also know that in families like ours, beating a few maids to death every year is a common occurrence!"
"Common occurrence?"
The Old Madam looked at them more and more displeased: "What about the maids? Although maids are of slave status, even in prominent families in the capital, no one would dare to say that beating a maid to death is a common occurrence. Are you being too presumptuous? No wonder the Song family in Jiangzhou is declining day by day. With such a loss of family dignity, how can you still establish yourselves in Jiangzhou?"
"Moreover—"
She changed the subject, her eyes becoming sharper: "Are you sure the person at the bottom of that well was a maid?!"
Song Chaozong trembled at these words. Ning Shi decided to brazen it out and deny it: "Second Aunt, what are you saying? If she wasn't a maid, we wouldn't dare to be so bold as to just throw someone into the well, would we?"
"Bang!"
The Old Madam picked up another teacup and this time, she hurled it fiercely at Ning Shi, the "culprit."
Ning Shi was already crouching on the ground and had no time to dodge. The cup hit her directly. Tea water and leaves splashed all over her, and her face was completely covered in tea.
She looked up, a hint of anger in her eyes.
The Old Madam sneered: "Let me tell you, don't look at me like that! The person you threw down, she's not dead at all! You two foolish people, she lived in your Song family for these past few years, and you didn't know anything about it? I'm afraid you thought that the courtyard was haunted by something unclean and didn't pay attention to it?!"