The next day, when Song Chuyi went to the residence at the Huang Daxian Temple, she unexpectedly ran into Zhou Weizhao again. Song Chuyi knew he rarely came here. With the Crown Prince’s sudden whim to move against Prince Gong’s people, he was probably still busy dealing with the aftermath and couldn’t spare the time.
There was a faint dark shadow under his eyes, clearly showing he had not rested these past few days. Upon seeing Song Chuyi, he pushed the tea at hand forward: “This year’s newly delivered Junshan Silver Needle tea. Try it.”
Song Chuyi had never been particular about tea. Old Madam Song often laughed that this was one way she was unlike her. She picked it up and took a sip, speaking honestly: “I can’t taste any difference.”
Zhou Weizhao could not help but laugh, rarely revealing some cunning and relaxation: “To tell you the truth, I can’t taste any difference either. When I was young, my teacher always loved to ask me what the difference was between Qimen black tea and Duyun Maojian tea. I simply could not taste any difference at all. This shows we are both the same kind of common people.”
Having said this, he noticed Song Chuyi’s face, as fine and white as egg white, also faintly showed some dark circles. After thinking for a moment, he asked: “You know about Japan sending envoys to request a marriage alliance?”
Song Chuyi raised her eyebrows in surprise: “Did Your Highness specifically come here to wait for me about this matter?”
She had always trusted Zhou Weizhao—this trust was very rare for someone who had been betrayed by close associates in her previous life. Even her grandparents who treated her extremely well in this life had not fully gained this trust, yet Zhou Weizhao had obtained it.
Perhaps it was because even though Zhou Weizhao knew all her secrets, he had never used these vulnerabilities to threaten her—he was completely unlike those profit-seeking uncles of his.
Zhou Weizhao neither confirmed nor denied. He held the pot and poured more tea for himself, slowly sighing: “This time my father has thoroughly offended them all. That they would take advantage of Imperial Grandfather’s anger to bite back is truly perfectly normal.”
This morning, the Crown Prince had actually ordered Grand Madam Fan to prepare Spring Hunt gifts to bestow upon the Earl of Changning’s residence and Elder Chen’s place, as if afraid others would not know these two already belonged to his Eastern Palace faction.
Elder Chen was one thing—from the moment he became the Crown Prince’s Grand Tutor, there was no hope of extricating himself from the Crown Prince’s side. But Song Chengru had the capital to withdraw at any time. The Crown Prince’s action was truly unwise. First, it left an even worse impression with the Emperor. Second, Song Chengru would probably feel the Crown Prince was deliberately forcing him aboard his ship.
Song Chuyi lowered her head without speaking for a while. After a moment, she suddenly smiled: “How about I help Your Highness with a favor, and Your Highness also helps me with a favor?”
If she wanted to find allies, both Prince Duan and Prince Gong had to be excluded. That Crown Prince might have been ill too long and become muddled—relying on him was no different from relying on an iceberg. He was actually less reliable than Zhou Weizhao.
Zhou Weizhao raised his eyebrows to look at her, thinking she was very much like the cat he had raised for seven years on Longhu Mountain. No matter what mischief it was doing, those eyes could always show a pitiful innocence that made one unable to bear scolding it.
Then he laughed.
Song Chuyi felt somewhat guilty under his laughter. Her eyelashes fluttered up and down like feather fans for a while before revealing those excessively bright eyes again. She tried her best to reason with him without appearing so guilty: “Your Highness wouldn’t be at a disadvantage either. If you help us this time, wouldn’t it also be helping His Highness the Crown Prince? They say one cannot tolerate others sleeping peacefully beside one’s bed. Having a tiger constantly watching you sleep and nap nearby is not a good thing either, is it?”
The matters Zhou Weizhao had to worry about were actually far more numerous than her own. He had to manage everything, and everything was intimately connected to the Eastern Palace. If Prince Duan truly succeeded in instigating Emperor Jianzhang to send the Eleventh Princess to Japan for a marriage alliance, then when Japan attacked again later, Prince Duan could collude with the Japanese to frame the Song residence—that would be a small matter. Implicating the Crown Prince would be the serious issue.
So Song Chuyi was not wrong. If this matter failed, it would only have benefits and no drawbacks for the Eastern Palace.
However, Zhou Weizhao suddenly stopped picking up her thread of conversation and instead spoke of Ma Wangkun’s injuries: “I invited Imperial Physician Hu to examine him. He said if he can make it through this month, there should be no major problems. I noticed the prescription he wrote differs from those of several other physicians. It’s worth trying.”
After finishing this topic, he glanced at the frustrated Song Chuyi before composing his expression seriously to discuss business with her: “You are right. The path must be walked step by step. I will first move this large boulder blocking the road.”
He agreed? Song Chuyi reacted extremely quickly and nodded: “Grandfather has already sent a letter to my uncle. He was formerly the Governor-General of Fujian and had quite a bit of dealings with the Japanese. First, we’ll ask him about Japan’s current situation. But as for Guo Huaiying’s side, he’s somewhat slippery…”
Song Chuyi’s eyes sparkled brightly as she looked at him. Others did not know, but she knew that in her previous life, Guo Huaiying had been a die-hard member of the Emperor’s faction. Yet in this life, he had even sent his son Guo Yantang to serve as the Grand Prince’s companion. The relationship here was already self-evident.
Zhou Weizhao immediately understood her meaning and could not help but laugh: “You truly are something. You refuse to let go of anyone who could possibly be used in your calculations. Even Guo Huaiying’s connection, you want to exploit.”
Song Chuyi looked at him somewhat strangely. Because they had been dealing with each other more recently than all previous times combined, she was far less wary and distant toward him than before: “Logically speaking, this statement should be mine to say to Your Highness. If I had not previously mentioned this Lord Guo to Ye Jingchuan, presumably you would not have so smoothly gained such a fierce general, right? The role Guo Huaiying plays along the Fujian coast is quite extraordinary. Prince Duan is probably so envious his eyes have turned red…”
Seeing Zhou Weizhao indeed laugh as she had anticipated, she turned the conversation again: “Moreover, I’m not asking him to help for nothing. I can also help him with a favor.”
Guo Huaiying was fine in every way in Fujian except he could not afford to lose battles. As soon as he suffered one defeat, memorials impeaching him would float like snowflakes toward the Grand Secretariat and Emperor Jianzhang. Although he had people in court, he could not withstand being targeted like this. Added to the fact that the war supervision officials dispatched by the court watched him extremely closely, his recent days had not been easy.
Zhou Weizhao nodded without hesitation: “I will speak with him. You should also be more alert during this period. Han Zhi’s matter hasn’t been completely cleaned up yet, and now we’ve encountered the Japanese envoys coming to request a marriage alliance. With Noble Consort Xian and Prince Duan’s temperament, pushing you forward to serve as some kind of marriage accompaniment is certainly not impossible.”
When Prince Duan and Noble Consort Xian made their moves, they never left any room for others. They did not feel leaving room for enemies had any necessity, just like several years ago—without the slightest warning, if their attempt to win over the other side failed, they would directly try to destroy the Song residence, unwilling to show even a bit of hesitation or make any additional effort.