If Song Chengru had still been hesitant and worried when first taking on this case, this time he had completely set his mind at ease. The focus of conflict had now shifted. Emperor Jianzhang’s attention was no longer on the Crown Prince disregarding brotherly affection to entrap his two brothers—all his focus had been drawn to Prince Duan.
To be able to operate in both black and white on both northern and southern fronts, to act tyrannically in Zhangzhou, with guard military expenses reported each year growing exponentially—what was he trying to do? What kind of intentions did he harbor? Previously, Emperor Jianzhang had always been overly cautious because he had suffered too much when he was still a prince and Crown Prince, trying to treat each son with equal fairness. But now that Prince Duan’s matter had come to light, it made him realize the cruel reality that imperial families have no familial affection. No matter how loving a father he might be, he absolutely could not tolerate his son already beginning to scheme for such things.
He packed his belongings, preparing to depart with Elder Chen and Elder Du the next day. After thinking it over, still feeling uneasy, he had Song Jue fetch Song Chuyi. After staring at her for a while, he asked, “Were you frightened? Why have you seemed so listless these past few days?”
Although this little granddaughter of his had always been bold, the matter ultimately concerned Emperor Jianzhang’s son, and now the commotion was growing larger and larger, with so many people adding fuel to the fire in the chaos. Being frightened would be normal.
Song Jue, sitting to the side, glanced at Song Chuyi and answered for her, “She’s not frightened. She even dared to strike the Ninth Princess—what could possibly frighten her? She feels guilty.”
This discovery brought him some comfort. He knew his younger sister was very capable, but at the same time, he had always harbored deep concerns—apart from family members, she viewed others far too indifferently, as if their lives and deaths meant nothing in her eyes. Now knowing she wasn’t completely unmoved by everyone’s deaths, he actually felt relieved first—after all, she was still a young woman. No matter how capable, she should still have some human warmth to live her own life well in the future. Having soft places in her heart meant she wouldn’t live so hopelessly. Otherwise, no matter how capable and formidable she was, what good would it do? Wouldn’t she just suffer herself?
Song Chengru was momentarily stunned before reacting, furrowing his brow as he asked them, “Is it because of the death toll reported from the pirate invasion of Fujian this time?”
Thinking this way, he felt somewhat relieved. No matter how bold his granddaughter was, facing situations where hundreds, thousands, or even tens of thousands could die at any moment, she probably couldn’t remain unmoved.
Song Chuyi nodded. The sight of Madam Yu and Madam Cui sighing at that time had been haunting her mind these past days. They were right—how many lives were those? Just because of one of her plans, just because of something she said, all those lives had been lost.
In her previous life, no matter how foolish she’d been, she had never done anything to harm others. That’s why Heaven gave her a chance to start over. In this life, her hands had already been stained with quite a few lives. She wondered if in her next life she would have to fall into the animal realm to repay her debts.
Song Chengru patted her head, “Don’t take this to heart. Don’t you know what kind of person Guo Huaiying is? Would he really let pirates kill so many people under his governance? Tongshan was massacred by pirates years ago, leaving only the old, weak, sick, and disabled who were relocated to the neighboring village. It’s just that Prince Duan kept suppressing the report. This time Guo Huaiying took the opportunity to bring it to light, that’s all. Don’t worry.”
Song Chuyi breathed a sigh of relief, while simultaneously feeling somewhat exasperated at Guo Huaiying—this man truly refused to suffer even the slightest loss. He must have negotiated the landing location with those pirates, deliberately choosing Tongshan, which had long been empty.
Seeing her complexion improve, Song Chengru couldn’t help but smile as well. After laughing, he warned them again, “His Majesty probably won’t return to the capital anytime soon. The spring hunt will still proceed as normal—it’s been three full years without a hunt. If something goes wrong again this year, it would be a bad omen. You must all be more cautious while staying here, especially you, Xiaoyi.” He pointed at Song Chuyi, earnestly instructing, “Openly, Consort Xian and the Ninth Princess can’t do anything to you, but they can still trip you up privately. You must be more careful.”
As for Han Zhi’s affairs, Song Chengru truly didn’t know his granddaughter had such a formidable rival, so he didn’t factor that in at all.
On the other side, Elder Chen also didn’t forget to warn Chen Mingyu to be cautious in words and deeds, “You went to the Ninth Princess’s place to talk about Fujian affairs for no good reason, simply wanting to take the opportunity to trample Consort Xian and the Ninth Princess completely. But this wasn’t originally something you should concern yourself with.”
Young ladies should prioritize being dignified and gracious. Learning these conspiracies and unorthodox methods for self-protection and standing firm was understandable, but this wasn’t yet the time to use such schemes. If the Crown Prince’s Heir and Zhou Weizhao detected it, they would probably unconsciously distance themselves from Chen Mingyu with respect. Chen Mingyu thought she was helping them, but which man in the world truly liked scheming girls?
Chen Mingyu twisted the handkerchief in her hands, quite unconvinced. She pressed her lips together but didn’t know how to refute, so she could only lower her head without saying a word. She could see that Song Liu was no easy lamp to tend. Whether in Tongzhou, with the Shen family, or in the recent incident with the Ninth Princess, she hadn’t hidden anything at all. Yet Zhou Weizhao still regarded her differently—she hadn’t seen him distance himself from her with respect. This showed that His Highness the Crown Prince’s Heir inherently liked people who could help him. She did these things only to prove to His Highness that Song Chuyi wasn’t the only one who could help him.
Elder Chen knew his granddaughter’s thoughts clearly. He sighed and shook his head, “I know what you’re thinking. Once this matter is settled, I’ll observe a bit more, then I’ll finalize things for you. In the meantime, be more prudent yourself. Stop doing those opportunistic things.”
The effort he had put in during the Yangzhou affair—the Crown Prince had seen it all, and naturally the Crown Prince’s Heir would see it too. With the Chen family being so loyal, the Crown Prince and Crown Prince’s Heir should naturally show sincerity to bind them even more devotedly.
Adding to this Prince Duan’s misfortune, once he returned to the capital and organized all these charges clearly to present them, the Crown Prince’s position would only become more secure. In his view, there was no need to create more complications by running to instigate Consort Xian and the Ninth Princess, lest it cause unforeseen troubles.
But Chen Mingyu didn’t think so. She slightly lowered her head before her grandfather and responded with agreement, but her thoughts hadn’t changed from beginning to end—even Old Madam Chen had only told her to wait for the right opportunity for a killing strike, to absolutely never act without certainty. She had never said one shouldn’t eliminate rivals.