On the first day of the New Year, the entire Changning Bo Mansion was refreshed and renewed from top to bottom. The maidservants were all dressed in brand new festive clothes, with joyful smiles on their faces.

  Mrs. Song and the madam went to the palace to pay their respects to the empress dowager and the queen, when they returned, the masters would open the ancestral hall to worship the ancestors, then several ladies would make an appointment to go to the temple to pray for peace in the Bo Mansion.

  These servants received generous and surprising red envelopes as rewards today.

  Song Chuyi wore the clothes given by Da Furen, standing in the icy snow, like a porcelain doll, with clear eyebrows and eyes that shone like crystal, sparkling and shining.

  Before long, the firecrackers started going off one after another. Song Chuyi listened carefully and knew that the noblewomen had returned from their morning greetings, and each household began setting off firecrackers.

  Yu Shu came over and pulled Song Chuyi to the side of the steps, smiling: "Fireworks are about to be set off, Sixth Miss should be careful."

  Song Chuyi smiled and nodded, watching the firecrackers crackle and pop, smelling the thick smell of gunpowder in the air, and couldn't help but break into a smile.

  The worship at the ancestral hall went very smoothly, and Song Old Lady had someone pack the fruits placed in front of the ancestors' seats and distribute them to the younger generation to eat. At the same time, she laughed and held back Song Chuyan who was trying to stuff a walnut into his mouth.

  The lady returned to her room, changed her clothes, and came to ask the old lady: "The firecrackers, candles, and incense money for the Qingliang Temple are all ready, but this year we have added a Guanyin Temple, I don't know how to prepare the incense money?"

  Old Lady Song hesitated for a moment, then said: "Add thirty taels more, it's for the sake of our family's married daughters, praying to Buddha to bless them with an early birth of a son."

  Madam smiled and was about to make preparations when she saw Old Lady Qiu, slightly flustered, enter the door with Nanny Huang to report: "Second Young Mistress has returned!"

  Song Chuxuan actually came back at this time?! The madam was shocked and uncertain, couldn't help but stand up straight and rush out.

  It's a rule in the capital that daughters who have married out always return to their maternal home on the second day of the Lunar New Year to pay respects to their mother. Now, what is Song Chuyuan doing by coming back at this time?!

  The originally lively and noisy Ningde Courtyard suddenly fell silent, even the children sensed that something was off.

  Before the madam could leave, Song Chuyan had already rushed in like a gust of wind, bursting into tears as soon as she entered and throwing herself into Old Lady Song's arms. With infinite sadness, resentment, and grievance, she cried out "Grandma" before becoming speechless with sobs.

  Mrs. Song was about to scold, but the words got stuck in her throat as she stared at the two purple bruises on Song Chuyan's face, and asked with a trembling voice: "What happened?! Who did this?!"

  It's extremely unlucky to run back to your mother's home on the first day of the New Year, especially when you're crying. The madam was about to scold her daughter severely, but upon hearing what Old Lady Song said, she was stunned for a moment. When she saw the bruise on Song Chuyan's face that even makeup couldn't cover up, her anger dissipated and only concern and indignation remained: "How did this happen?!"

  She pulled up Song Chuxuan and gently stroked her face with her hand, looking extremely ugly: "What's going on?!"

  Song Chuyi also saw that Song Chuxuan's face was almost entirely covered in bruises, and she couldn't help but take a sharp breath.

  She only then remembered that this second sister-in-law was never liked by her mother-in-law in the previous life, and later gradually became estranged from her husband, and her days were very difficult.

  But she remained in Song Chuyi's memory as the new and curious gifts that followed each return to the mansion, accompanied by soft whispers.

  Song Chuxuan saw her relatives and the grievances that had been accumulating in her heart burst out, crying so hard that she couldn't catch her breath, unable to say a complete sentence.

  The old lady was furious, grabbing her arm and shaking it several times: "Are you going to scare us to death? What's wrong with you, can't you say a word?"

  Song Chuxuan was silently gasping for air in pain.

  The madam felt something was wrong, stretched out her hand to roll up her wide sleeves, and the scars lingering on that delicate skin were exposed in the air.

  Old Lady Song's eyes turned red as she pulled Song Chuyuan over, first turning her head to call for Huang to bring the Zi Jin Huo Xue Dan, and then calling for Yulan to fetch the San Yu Gao.

  The old lady was furious, her whole body trembling as if she had lost control of herself. Looking at Song Chuyan's arm, which was also covered in scars, she finally couldn't bear it and shouted: "Qiu Mama, go bring the people who followed the second young mistress back today to me!"

  Qiu's mother was busy responding.

  Snow Bamboo Rui Zhu was soon brought in, and the big lady, rarely with a hint of anger, pointed at Song Chu Xuan with her hand and said: "Who can tell me what's going on with all these injuries on Second Madam?!"

  Mrs. Song also raised her head and looked at the two maids with a expressionless face.

  Rui Zhu's eyes wandered around, but she didn't dare to look directly into people's eyes. Xue Zhu was a bit more honest, shrinking his body and shaking his head timidly.

  Old Lady Song was furious and laughed: "You are the accompanying maids who followed us to our mansion, yet you don't even know why your master has become like this?! I am shocked, when did our mansion raise such big maids like you?!"

  Song Chuxuan was lying on Grandma Song's lap, sobbing, and only looked up when she heard Grandma Song say that. Wiping away her tears, she pointed at Rui Zhu: "Grandma, she isn't a maid... She is now Madame Rui..."

  Mrs. Song's eyes were about to split apart, and she coldly stared at Rui Zhu, so angry that one Buddha was born and another Buddha became enlightened.

  Rui Zhu felt a little scared in her heart, but then she thought that she was now the aunt of Xiao Er Gongzi, and plucked up some courage, hanging her head and speaking boldly: "Young Master wants to take me in..."

  Mrs. Song abruptly stopped her, lest she sully the ears of the young ladies in the house. Coldly smiling, she said: "Jieyi, call a few women to tie her up. Send her to the farm tonight and have the farm owner arrange for her to be married immediately!"

  Rui Zhu's eyes widened in shock, as if she couldn't believe it. She immediately let out a loud wail: "Old lady, you can't sell me... I'm already a member of the Xiao family..."

  "Your body has been in our Bo Mansion from head to toe, what are you talking about the Xiao family?! The great lady sneered: "No matter how capable the Xiao family is, can they manage the servants of our own household?! Thinking that relying on the Xiao family can step on the second young lady's head, you've got the wrong idea!"

  Huang's movements were swift, and she had already led several rough maidservants up, who quickly pinioned Rui Zhu's hands behind her back, stuffed a wad of torn cloth into her mouth, and silently dragged her out.

  Mrs. Song finally turned to Xue Zhu, who had been stunned on the other side, and raised her chin to ask: "And you? Have you also become a concubine of the Xiao family?"