Song Zhiyuan prided himself on being well-read, but at this moment, after listening to Song Ci’s words, he inexplicably felt that hearing her once was better than reading ten years’ worth of books.
And this realization came from his uneducated, inexperienced old mother.
Song Zhiyuan: "Listening to mother today, I feel as if a veil has been lifted from my eyes. You truly are a wise person, mother."
Song Ci chuckled dryly and said, "You’re flattering me to the point of absurdity. Your old mother never studied, and you taught me to read. Where would I get this so-called wisdom?"
"Though you haven’t studied, you see things clearly."
Song Ci became alert and said, "You can’t see the full picture when you’re in it. I’m an outsider, after all. Besides, there’s a saying, isn’t there, ’When three walk together, there will be a teacher.’ Even a child might occasionally say something that offers a new perspective!"
Song Zhiyuan chuckled lightly, "Indeed, that’s true."
Song Ci: "Well, actually, I’m just speaking nonsense. It’s not reliable. You should think carefully about whether what I say is right or not. You know me, your old mother is crude and can’t articulate things well."
"The highest refinement is found in simplicity. Mother, you needn’t belittle yourself." Song Zhiyuan took her hand, noticing the wrinkles, and said, "Everyone says you are coarse, but I feel you were my first teacher. The words you taught me when I was a child seemed crude, but they were full of life’s great truths. Mother, my achievements today are all thanks to your careful guidance."
He never thought of his mother as coarse and unknowledgeable; if anything, today he felt she was a sage in disguise, just humble about it.
Song Ci felt like an arrow had hit her heart.
Ah, my goodness, the elegant Prime Minister speaking such heartfelt words, it’s truly overwhelming, warming, yet bittersweet.
Song Ci: "Don’t flatter your old mother so much. Neither your father nor I have accomplished much. What you have achieved today is all because of your own hard work. Remember this, Dalang, each of us has to complete ourselves."
Reminded me of the lines from Farewell My Concubine.
Suddenly being so eloquent, would my clever son think I’ve become a monster?
Song Zhiyuan nodded. Being a scholar and high-ranking official, he never thought his old mother had been replaced or anything odd like that. Philosophers don’t talk about strange phenomena, how could he think in such a direction?
"According to mother, if the Emperor truly has such intentions, you wouldn’t care?" Song Zhiyuan brought the topic back to Fourth Son’s marriage.
Song Ci replied with a smile, "It’s not our place to care or not. The Song Family can’t defy an imperial decree, right?"
Song Zhiyuan reminded her, "You must know, the Prince Dingbei’s Mansion has only one Commandery Princess. If Fourth Son becomes the husband, it’s equivalent to becoming a son-in-law, and the children born later would likely take the surname Niu."
"Whatever the child’s surname is, they are still his children."
It’s fortunate that the current old lady is the time-traveled Song Ci; if it were the original, she might have been depressed.
Upon hearing this, Song Zhiyuan sighed, "It seems you truly like Commandery Princess Dongyang."
"Pan’er is a good girl. To be honest, it would be Fourth Son’s blessing to marry her." Song Ci smiled, "But it’s still too early to talk about this, no imperial decree has been issued, it’s all just our own speculation."
"Indeed. Mother, you should just act as if you haven’t heard anything of the sort. As for Fourth Son, there’s no need to mention it to him; just tell him there’s a change in the marriage plans."
Though having some connection to the Emperor is indeed true, it’s not their place to randomly speculate on the Emperor’s intentions. No matter how well they get along with the Emperor, he wouldn’t want a minister to intuit his thoughts with precision.
Song Ci, of course, understood. After Song Zhiyuan left, she called her younger son over and informed him that his engagement with Fu Qing was off, citing incompatible birthdates as the reason!
Song Zhiyu was stunned. What incompatible birthdates? It was all a lie. The truth was—
He, Song Yulang, had been jilted!