Chen Mingyu’s gaze was unbearable to endure, and the eyes of those young ladies accompanying their mothers also clung to her in an elusive yet persistent way. Cui Huayi and Cui Huaying flanked Song Chuyi on either side, their expressions far from pleasant.
Once Master Yuanhui’s words had been spoken, these people looked at Song Chuyi with such direct scrutiny, as if Song Chuyi and the Earl of Changning’s household had done something utterly shameful.
Song Chuyi herself wasn’t particularly affected. Even knowing she had been schemed against, she still showed no abnormality and composedly boarded First Madam Song’s carriage.
After such an incident, with Xiang Mingzi having sprained her ankle, it was naturally impossible to join in the evening’s excitement of the Bodhisattva’s manifestation. But even descending the mountain proved extremely difficult—it was already afternoon, and many common people had come up the mountain at this time to wait and secure positions to watch the evening’s dharma assembly. The carriage simply couldn’t move through the crowd.
Fortunately, some young masters from the temple came down to hold back the crowd and clear the way, allowing the carriage to descend smoothly. Inside and outside the city, voices were booming and it was extraordinarily lively, yet everyone at the Earl of Changning’s household held their breath and kept silent. Third Madam waited at the second gate. After helping First Madam Song down from the carriage, she sighed: “Old Madam has been waiting for quite some time.”
First Madam Song nodded and ordered someone to first bring Old Madam’s sedan chair to carry the injured Xiang Mingzi back, before heading together with Song Chuyi toward Ningde Courtyard.
Old Madam Song was holding back a bellyful of anger. She had never imagined that what she had just worried about would immediately come true. Upon seeing Song Chuyi, she finally relaxed slightly, beckoning her to come forward, though her face was turned toward First Madam Song: “I heard Mingzi was injured?”
First Madam Song quickly nodded and told Old Madam Song in full detail about how Yuqing had been bribed, adding: “We’ve already sent Yuqing to Madam Wei, saying if she likes her, she can come directly to our household next time to ask for someone. We can still afford to give away a servant or two. Next time she wants to employ someone from our household, she need not send so many silver notes.”
Old Madam Song let out a cold laugh and instructed her: “Afterward, send Yuqing’s contract of servitude over. Since she likes her so much, we’ll simply give her to her completely.”
This was thoroughly tearing away the face of Madam Wei and those behind her. First Madam Song pondered briefly and understood that Old Madam Song’s action wasn’t an impulse born of rage, but rather clearly and plainly telling Madam Wei and Fan Liangdi that scheming against the Song family now was too early—the Song family wouldn’t take the bait. She nodded in agreement, and seeing that Old Madam Song had words to say to Song Chuyi, made an excuse about needing to invite another consecrated physician to examine Xiang Mingzi more carefully, and withdrew.
Old Madam Song grasped Song Chuyi’s hand and before asking anything else, first asked: “I heard that later Master Yuanhui still requested to see you, and you saw him. What did he say to you?”
Master Yuanhui indeed possessed some real ability. He had pointed at her head and told her that her fate had formerly been extremely inauspicious, but now her fate had already hidden within a mass of clouds and mist and could no longer be clearly seen.
He said that everything she had done since being reborn constituted defying heaven and altering fate. People who shouldn’t have died had died, people who shouldn’t be alive were still living, and she would receive retribution.
Thinking of this, Song Chuyi let out a stifled laugh.
The retribution Master Yuanhui spoke of meant that in the future she would inevitably fall into eternal reincarnation due to the changing of the imperial stars, and in the next life would even fall into the animal realm, unable to achieve transcendence.
But she wasn’t afraid of these things at all. If she had to live meekly and submissively through her previous life’s trajectory all over again, she would rather not have come back.
Master Yuanhui was a high monk with cultivation, but also someone with an extremely strong desire for power. He wasn’t content to merely propagate Buddhist teachings within Buddhist circles—he wanted to impose his ideology on even more people. For example, in her previous life, he had controlled Prince Duan in order to control the entire realm. He suppressed Taoism and promoted Buddhism, building temples everywhere, granting monks enormous rights and distributing vast lands to them. Eventually, the abbot of Huangjue Temple became even more honored than titled dukes, and all the land within seventy to eighty li of Huangjue Temple belonged to Huangjue Temple. The common people could only farm for Huangjue Temple, sending grain and silver to the temple every year.
In this life, Prince Duan was already dead, so he naturally planned to painstakingly align himself with a new candidate who needed him and could compete for the realm—Zhou Weizhao definitely wouldn’t do. He had grown up on Longhu Mountain from childhood and was naturally closer to Taoism.
And regardless of whom he wanted to align with, Master Yuanhui didn’t want her stirring things up anymore. So first, it might be because of Consort Xian’s entrustment, and second, he wanted to cut off her path to becoming an imperial prince’s consort, fearing she would become someone’s assistance.
“He spoke some nonsensical talk about retribution and reincarnation.” Song Chuyi embraced Old Madam Song’s arm and sighed softly: “I’ve brought trouble to the family again.”
Once Master Yuanhui’s words were out, the Earl of Changning’s household was now placed at the center of the storm. She feared that even the Emperor would suspect whether they were making trouble behind the scenes with ill intentions.
Old Madam Song stroked her head and smiled: “What trouble? That place is only so big. When people want to enter, the surplus naturally must be squeezed out. Power and influence are the real culprits. It’s just this time… I don’t know if it’s because Consort Xian is exerting force behind the scenes, or if the Chen family has stuck their oar in again.”
That evening when Song Chengru returned, he specifically called Song Chuyi to the study and asked her the same question: “Do you think this is Consort Xian deliberately directing Master Yuanhui to do this to teach you a lesson?”
“Master Yuanhui is an ambitious person.” Song Chuyi didn’t answer Old Master’s question, but instead told him about Master Yuanhui’s character: “In my dream, he assisted Prince Duan in ascending to the throne, and he himself also received an appointment, handling affairs at the yamen during the day and returning to the temple to chant sutras at night. He managed criminal justice, formulated new laws, promoted Buddhism and suppressed Taoism. Such a person is determined to become an imperial preceptor. Prince Duan is already dead, Prince Lu is ineffectual and not as favored as Prince Duan was… If he cannot let go of his ambitions, he will seek a new person he can support. This kind of person who neither covets nor seizes things yet abnormally craves power—Consort Xian can order him around once or twice, but cannot order him around a third or fourth time. This incident, I’m afraid he didn’t do it for Consort Xian. At least not entirely because of Consort Xian.”
Old Master Song’s expression was grave. He sat in his chair without speaking for a time, then after a while slowly uttered a few words: “The Eastern Palace? Fan Liangdi?”
Now the Crown Prince’s position was increasingly secure. As long as he didn’t make mistakes, that was the best thing. And the Crown Prince’s connection with Longhu Mountain meant Master Yuanhui couldn’t possibly choose him, so it could only be Prince Dongping, Zhou Weiqi.