That night Song Chuyi slept very soundly. Since her rebirth, she had finally completed the first task she needed to accomplish—successfully clearing out the annoying flies around her, leaving everything clean.
When she woke the next morning, both inside and outside the room were filled with cheerful atmosphere. After Luyi attended to her dressing, she smiled and pushed open the window, unable to contain her delight. “Miss, come look! It’s snowing outside again!”
Song Chuyi looked out through the wide-open window and indeed saw everything outside wrapped in silver. After Qing Tao finished making the bed, she saw Luyi leaning on the windowsill reaching for tree leaves outside that had already frozen with a layer of ice. She couldn’t help but speak out, “Be careful not to catch cold—” But as soon as the words left her mouth, she silently cursed herself for being meddlesome. She had only just pledged loyalty to Song Chuyi, and Luyi and Hong Yu must still be full of wariness toward her. Though she meant well at this moment, Luyi might misunderstand and think she had ulterior motives.
Luyi, however, hadn’t thought that much. She smiled broadly and dismissed the concern. “What’s there to fear? I’m in excellent health. I used to go out with Hong Yu for snowball fights.”
Nanny Xu came in carrying two large red lanterns. Her eyes, which usually held some sorrow, couldn’t help but brim with smiles. As soon as she entered, she laughed. “I went to the storehouse early this morning to collect these things, and snow as big as goose feathers was still falling! But Third Young Master and Fourth Young Master aren’t afraid of the cold at all—they’re by the lake building a snowman, and from what I saw, it’s taking quite decent shape.”
Hearing that Song Yan and Song Jie were by the lake building a snowman, the smile on Song Chuyi’s face deepened even more. She let out a heartfelt breath and directed Luyi to fetch her cloak. “I’ll go see what kind of shape they’ve built it into.”
She hadn’t had much contact with Song Yan since his return. Now that the informants in her room were dealt with, it was time to deal with the thorns planted around Song Yan.
Nanny Xu quickly waved her hands with a smile. “You absolutely cannot go. I just came back from the Old Madam’s side. The Old Madam told me to make absolutely sure to watch you and not let you go to the lakeside to foolishly mess around with the young masters. She also said for you to come to the main courtyard after drinking your soup.”
Hong Yu was already smiling as she brought a jade bowl before Song Chuyi, coughing a few times before bursting into laughter. “Today it’s pork liver soup.”
Song Chuyi feared drinking this most of all. Hearing this, her face wrinkled like a bitter melon, provoking Nanny Xu and the several maids to laugh uproariously.
After drinking the soup, she went to see Old Madam Song. The Old Madam pulled her hand to feel its temperature, deliberately putting on a stern face. “Did you finish the soup? Don’t tell me you sneakily poured it out again.”
That was something Song Chuyi would only do before her rebirth. Hearing this, she couldn’t help but blush slightly, nodding her head like a chicken pecking rice. “I drank it, I drank it.” After hesitating a moment, she said, “In the future, can I not drink pork liver soup? I’d rather drink red date soup instead.”
Nanny Huang couldn’t help but laugh. “That won’t do. For young ladies, drinking this replenishes qi and blood—there are many benefits in the future.”
Old Madam Song also echoed Nanny Huang’s words, then reached out to take a thin sheet of letter paper from the gold-traced box beside her and handed it to Song Chuyi. “Take a look at this.”
Song Chuyi took it and her expression couldn’t help but change.
“This is Old Madam Su’s handwriting?” She was stunned for a long while, seeming to find it somewhat unbelievable.
Old Madam Song also sighed, saying with emotion, “It is her handwriting. I always said that as the mistress of the household, she was far too weak. Who knew she had such courage as a warrior severing his own arm? I had underestimated her before.”
The letter stated that charges such as Su Yi colluding with external enemies and bullying people by relying on his power—all were accusations she had submitted to the Censorate.
Not only that, the letter also specifically stated that after the Lantern Festival, she would submit another memorial to accuse Su Yi of great filial impiety and have him removed from the Su Family registry.
“Grandmother, I’m afraid Old Madam Su’s action isn’t that of a warrior severing his own arm.” Song Chuyi looked up at Old Madam Song, considering for a moment before saying, “Old Madam Su is sacrificing a rook to save the king—she’s preserving the Su Family.”
The room fell silent for a moment. Song Chengru suddenly emerged from behind the screen with hearty laughter, his eyes filled with appreciation as he looked at Song Chuyi.
“Why are you coming out from behind the gauze cabinet?” Old Madam Song was also startled and scolded, “Didn’t you say you had to allocate New Year gifts to the officials today?”
Song Chengru removed his crane cloak himself and hung it on the rack, waving his hand with a smile. “Don’t mention it. I had Assistant Director Wu Yuanyi of the Storage Department handle that task. The Imperial Guard raided the Su Family, but the things they turned over don’t match what’s on the list. This is another troublesome matter. There will be plenty to keep busy with after the New Year.”
Ever since Chen Xiang became Commander of the Imperial Guard, they frequently had the problem of embezzling people’s property. No matter whose house they raided, they would manipulate things. At first, they would still exercise some restraint, but later they were too lazy to even maintain surface appearances. Their power grew increasingly greater, and no one dared provoke them.
After saying this, Song Chengru looked at Song Chuyi with a smile. “Xiaoyi, you just said that Old Madam Su is sacrificing a rook to save the king. What do you mean by that?”
“When I went to the Su Family, I heard Old Madam Su crying to Grandmother, saying that even the ancestral sacrificial fields had been squandered. This shows that the Su Family’s people have been acting without discipline for more than just a day or two. Yet Old Madam Su hadn’t shown even a hint of dissatisfaction before this. But precisely when the Su Family still looked fine from the outside, she went to the Censorate to submit a memorial accusing her own biological son. The strangeness in this cannot help but make one think deeply.” The corners of Song Chuyi’s mouth lifted slightly. “Old Madam Su went to great lengths to preserve even one granddaughter. I don’t believe she would truly watch her other grandchildren lose their heads. She must have discovered something else. For example, that First Master Su has some connection with a certain prince and wants to enter the factional struggles.”
Old Madam Song was shocked speechless for a long while.
Song Chengru, however, thought deeply for a moment and nodded in agreement. “It’s not impossible.”
He said this because he had discovered that the military provisions that were supposed to be transferred to the Northwest military camp had nearly been robbed at Shizui Mountain. If the soldiers escorting these provisions hadn’t all been trusted subordinates under Zhang Tianhe, who knows whose hands these provisions might have ended up in. And in the letter Zhang Tianhe sent, he clearly emphasized that those who tried to rob the silver—every single one without exception spoke the Fujian-Guangdong dialect.
After thinking about it, he briefly told Old Madam Song and Song Chuyi about this matter.
Old Madam Song and Song Chuyi exchanged glances and exclaimed in unison, “What a coincidence!”
Song Chengru looked at her with some confusion.
Old Madam Song then told Old Master Song about what Song Chuyi had overheard at the Su Manor. In the end, she couldn’t help but feel resentment toward the Su Family. “I never imagined the Su Family’s schemes were so ambitious. Su Yi’s ambitions are far too excessive.”
Song Chengru frowned, inevitably thinking of another matter. He asked Old Madam Song, “Why did you suddenly think of going to visit the Su Family?”
He remembered that Old Madam Song had rarely gone out to visit in recent years. Even if her relationship with Old Madam Su was good, she wouldn’t necessarily go herself—at most, she would just send the First Madam, and that would suffice.