A hesitant expression appeared on Madam Fang’s originally resolute face. She glanced at Song Chuning, rubbing her head as she felt somewhat troubled. “Surely it won’t come to that. The Grand Prince isn’t really a Taoist priest—could he truly be so fond of helping others and acting as a knight-errant?”

“Why couldn’t it be the same as Prince Duan, harboring the intention to hoard valuable commodities?” Song Chuning struck while the iron was hot, immediately seizing the opportunity to interject. “What if the Grand Prince also, like Prince Duan, has taken a fancy to the great fortune that Song Chuyi possesses? Don’t forget what I told you—Song Chuyi very likely also possesses the ability to predict the future. Why couldn’t she use this to make a deal with the Grand Prince?”

This was indeed a real possibility. Which person in power didn’t value so-called auspicious omens and fortune? Moreover, even if they didn’t care about Song Chuyi’s fortune, her ability to predict the future alone would be enough to make anyone treasure her like a precious jewel.

Madam Fang let out a heavy sigh and looked at Song Chuning, saying, “I’ll speak bluntly first—I can help you ask, but whether the Prince agrees or not is his own business.”

“That’s only natural.” Song Chuning answered quickly with a smile, lifting her eyelids to look at Madam Fang with a half-smile. “Besides, I’m not just doing this for myself. If something happens on that end, you can’t imagine what kind of chaos the Song family will fall into.”

The Song family had always regarded Song Jue as precious as their own eyeball. If something happened to Song Jue…

Recalling how in her dream Song Chuyi’s misfortune began with Song Jue’s death, her desire for Song Jue to die became even stronger, her excitement causing her voice to tremble slightly in the end.

Madam Fang couldn’t understand how a six-year-old child’s face could display so many strange and varied expressions, each one distorted enough to frighten even her, a woman nearing forty. She even less understood where Song Chuning’s deep hatred toward the Song family came from—if it was purely just because the Song family sent people to drag her back to the capital, then her vengeful psychology was truly too terrifying.

“I do know some reasons for why you hate your Sixth Sister,” Madam Fang said, looking at her in astonishment, frowning somewhat uncomprehendingly. “But after all, your surname is Song. You should understand the principle that when the nest is overturned, no egg remains intact. If the Song family meets with misfortune, you may not have any good outcome either. Even if you could persuade your father and have the ability to make him leave the clan, you still couldn’t block the criticism of the world. Why would you inflict such mutual destruction—hurting the enemy a thousand while damaging yourself eight hundred?”

Song Chuning found it somewhat laughable that Madam Fang, who couldn’t wait for the Song family to die, was actually coming to remind her.

“Aren’t you afraid that after you explain all these principles to me clearly, I’ll stop opposing the Song family and run back to report you all?” Song Chuning couldn’t help but actually laugh out loud. “Isn’t it because through the scheme to frame the Song family and cause the Crown Prince to be poisoned, you’ve already seen how deep my hatred toward the Song family truly runs?”

She paused, the smile on her face instantly vanishing, replaced by a thick, undilutable indifference. “Anyway, I just want them to die. I just want none of them to have peace.”

This hatred didn’t even have much to do with Li Shi. She didn’t care whether Li Shi died or not—after all, even if Li Shi didn’t die, she would just have a slightly better reputation, that’s all. Li Shi had never fulfilled the responsibilities of a loving mother anyway.

What she hated were probably all the people standing by Song Chuyi’s side—clearly she was stronger than Song Chuyi, superior to Song Chuyi in every way, yet they were so blind that they insisted on opposing her for Song Chuyi’s sake…

Madam Fang felt her arms covered with dense goosebumps, momentarily at a loss for words. Song Chuning, this wolf in sheep’s clothing, once she shed that gentle and lovely skin, underneath were green glowing eyes that seemed ready to devour people and a gaping bloody maw—it was truly impossible not to be frightened.

How did the Song family produce such strange young ladies? She grumbled internally, though her face showed nothing. Sighing, she said, “But it’s still the same thing—after the Crown Prince incident, I’m afraid your grandfather’s wariness of us will be even greater. If something happens to Song Jue again, he definitely won’t even need to guess before deciding that the Prince did it…”

“What’s there to fear?” Song Chuning sneered coldly. “I’ve already found the scapegoat.”

Madam Fang watched as she took out a roll of cloth from a box, somewhat curiously pointing at the red dots on it and asking, “What are these?”

“The names of people who have offended me and deserve to die,” Song Chuning said matter-of-factly, pointing at the black dots opposite the red ones to tell Madam Fang. “These… are those who deserve a fate worse than death.”

Madam Fang felt she had probably truly encountered a once-in-a-century madwoman, and one whose clear-headedness was frighteningly lucid.

“Who is the scapegoat you’ve found?” Madam Fang forced herself to steady her mind.

“Miasma,” Song Chuning said with a smile. “The Shu region is full of miasma—isn’t this something everyone knows? If he loses his way and enters some mountain and doesn’t come out, gets knocked unconscious by miasma and is torn apart by wild dogs and wolves, who could be blamed?”

Madam Fang felt somewhat relieved again—though she was a young lady with strange and vicious thoughts, she was still lacking in experience after all. She twitched the corners of her mouth and asked, “He is the Heir Grandson of Marquis Changning’s household. He would have at least twenty guards with him. Would such a group all be carried off by wild dogs and wolves? Only a fool would believe that. People as suspicious as your grandfather and Sixth Sister probably wouldn’t even need to think before immediately stamping this case closed, determining that the Prince was behind it.”

“So what?” Song Chuning sat down and looked at Madam Fang with perfect composure. “Do they have evidence? Besides, they’ve made it clear they absolutely won’t stand on your side. Xingfu and this incident—aren’t they the best proof?”

Her delicate earlobes were pink and adorable in the light, the pale green pearls on them making her entire person even more pleasing to the eye.

“Listen to me.” Song Chuning coaxed persuasively, like a well-informed elder patiently advising a junior, her tone gentle yet carrying unrefusable determination. “If Song Jue dies, the entire Song family from top to bottom will descend into chaos. Never mind anything else—Wei Yanzhao’s matter, you can’t always rely on Song Jue’s soft-heartedness, can you? What if one day Song Jue is no longer soft-hearted?”

Madam Fang abruptly stood up, both hands clenched into fists as she glared at Song Chuning, as if she could tear her apart and swallow her whole at any moment.

Outside, the door was knocked upon, and the steady voice of the steward nanny from Song Chuning’s household rang out. “Miss, Master is in the study and asks that you come over.”

“See, what did I just say? Those without long-term considerations will have immediate worries.” Song Chuning leaned forward to set aside the chess jar that Madam Fang had picked up, bracing herself against the chess board as she stood up.

Lüyu and Cuiguo had already brought out her crane cloak and waited silently to the side.