If the ones making the move were Fan Liangdi and Prince Dongping, then what Master Yuanhui had done made sense again. He had said that Song Chuyi’s fate required an extremely noble person to suppress it. Among these extremely noble people, naturally there was no escaping the fact that they were dragon sons and phoenix grandsons.
But the Crown Prince already had close dealings with the Song family. To avoid suspicion, the Song family—having just made their intentions clear to His Majesty through the Yangzhou corruption case—naturally couldn’t rush forward to marry Song Chuyi to the Crown Prince. Otherwise, it would be equivalent to confirming all the current flying rumors—that all this talk of heavenly mandate, star-aligned destiny, and bloody disasters was deliberately contrived by the Song family as a means to attach themselves to the Crown Prince.
The Crown Prince would naturally also have to maintain a respectful distance from the Earl of Changning’s household and give them wide berth.
On the contrary, it was Prince Dongping’s side—with whom they had previously had no interaction or dealings. If at this moment he came to the Song family’s rescue and sought Song Chuyi’s hand in marriage, it would both resolve the Song family’s difficulties and win people’s hearts.
Old Master Song furrowed his brow, still unable to figure out some aspects, but one thing truly worried him—if it was truly as Song Chuyi said and Master Yuanhui was this wildly ambitious, then leaving him alive in this world was truly a great calamity.
Unfortunately, killing such an enlightened high monk really wasn’t the best strategy…
He still remembered how he had discussed it with Old Madam Song back then. He had promised that if possible, he would definitely let Song Chuyi live according to her own wishes, passing through life peacefully, safely, and smoothly.
This time Master Yuanhui’s rhetoric had undoubtedly roasted Song Chuyi over a fire—her fate was too inauspicious, only someone of extreme nobility could suppress it. Besides the imperial princes and imperial grandsons, who else would have the audacity to invite such a celestial calamity and lone star into their home?
His heart harbored hidden murderous intent toward Master Yuanhui. It now appeared that Master Yuanhui held at least deep wariness and hatred toward the Earl of Changning’s household. He neither wanted the Earl of Changning’s household to be used by others, nor did he want the Earl of Changning’s household to gain Prince Dongping’s favor, so the only option was to eliminate the Earl of Changning’s household.
After a while, Song Jue entered, and only then did he come back to his senses and ask Song Chuyi: “Did you see Madam Fang today?”
Song Chuyi nodded and spoke of how Madam Fang and Fang Xiaoru were determined to pledge their loyalty: “I told her to first lead Third Madam Chen into releasing some loan money. Once she accomplishes this task, we’ll discuss the future.”
Old Master Song closed the册 in his hands and lightly tapped his hand on the table: “The chief examiner for next year’s spring examinations in the Jiangnan region… has probably been decided. If nothing unexpected happens, it will be Elder Chen.”
Elder Chen wanted to get close to Zhou Weizhao and gain Zhou Weizhao’s trust. After the failed attempt to frame the Song family, he needed to demonstrate his usefulness in other ways.
Though the Chen family had contributed to the Yangzhou corruption case, in the end Elder Chen hadn’t been able to compete with Chief Minister Chang. The lucrative positions among the officials in Yangzhou all went to people determined by Chief Minister Chang, and Elder Chen hadn’t gained any advantage.
Song Jue was somewhat shocked: “If he’s next year’s Jiangnan chief examiner, won’t he become the examination teacher for southern scholars?”
This was therefore a plum assignment everyone wanted. As long as one passed through the spring examinations smoothly and safely, all the successful candidates who came out of Jiangnan in the future would have to pay their respects to him, gaining control over Jiangnan scholars overnight.
Since ancient times, the imperial examinations had selected many candidates from Jiangnan, so the Jiangnan chief examiner position had always been eagerly sought after. Elder Chen truly had ability—to actually be able to get his wish and assume next year’s chief examiner position at this time.
Song Chuyi fell silent for a moment, then asked Old Master Song: “Elder Chen must have expended considerable effort on Eunuch An, I presume?”
Ever since Xingfu’s death, Eunuch An and Eunuch Feng had risen to positions of power. Both had served at Emperor Jianzhang’s side since he was still Crown Prince. They had both affection and brains, and had kept themselves proper and safe all these years. Only after outlasting Xingfu to his death did they begin to show their talents. Eunuch Feng took the position of Secretary Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial, while Eunuch An became the Garrison Eunuch of Nanjing, commanding troops under his authority.
Elder Chen had always been very skilled at dealing with these eunuchs. The late Xingfu had an excellent relationship with their family, which was why no matter how much the Imperial Guard investigated, they couldn’t trace anything to the Chen family—the Chen family couldn’t escape connection to the Xibei affair, so back then when Chen Mingyu heard in Tongzhou that the Chen family estate was quite famous over on the Tatar side, she had been that frightened. Yet even so, neither the Imperial Guard nor Xingfu had troubled the Chen family.
Now that Xingfu was dead, Elder Chen focused his efforts on Eunuch An—Eunuch Feng was ultimately too close and too cautious a person, not easily bought.
Song Chengru didn’t deny it, essentially accepting Song Chuyi’s words as fact. After a while, looking at the brush stand on the table, he smiled: “This is an opportunity.”
Although everyone wanted to be chief examiner, it wasn’t a guaranteed money-making proposition. If one wasn’t careful and some error or omission occurred, one’s entire life’s reputation would be completely ruined.
Song Jue and Song Chuyi exchanged a glance, both understanding Old Master Song’s meaning. This was an excellent opportunity. If Elder Chen made a mistake in such a major matter, the Chen family would be pretty much finished.
However, while this was easy to say, actually carrying it out wasn’t so simple. Elder Chen was no fool. Since he would take on this task, he certainly had the ability to do it well. Finding a loophole to exploit truly wasn’t an easy matter.
But actually there weren’t entirely no methods. Song Chuyi straightened out the brush stand for Song Chengru, raised her eyes to glance at Song Jue, and said softly: “Grandfather means to make use of the Fang family?”
Song Jue’s eyes also brightened. The Fang family pledging their loyalty at this time—wasn’t it just perfect timing? After Madam Fang had helped with matters and done enough to confirm she was trustworthy, they could then discuss this matter with Fang Xiaoru.
Song Chengru stroked his beard and let out a hearty laugh. With both Song Jue and Song Chuyi able to draw inferences like this, talking with them was truly not tiring in the least.
“But how exactly to position this chess piece of the Fang family is still a difficult matter.” Song Jue reminded Old Master Song and Song Chuyi: “They are the key to opening up the Chen family—not a single error or omission can occur.”
So before this, they absolutely must first secure Madam Fang and make her wholeheartedly devoted to the Song family.
This wasn’t something that could be accomplished overnight. Old Master Song pondered for a while and shook his head: “The official documents haven’t come down yet. After the dust settles, it won’t be too late to discuss how to arrange things. As for today’s matter…”
As he spoke, he narrowed his eyes looking at Song Chuyi, his eyes unexpectedly revealing a trace of ruthlessness: “Fan Liangdi’s reach extends far too long.” She actually thought to use such methods to force the Song family to submit, and even set her sights on Xiang Mingzi, hoping for a two-pronged attack. Such ambition was no less than that of men.
Song Chuyi discerned Old Master Song’s intentions, knowing Old Master Song probably wanted to use the capital evaluation matter to cause trouble for those under Prince Dongping. She slowly shook her head, her eyes revealing a trace of cunning mirth: “Grandfather needn’t be anxious. Liangdi’s reach will soon cease to extend so far.”