Song Chuyi didn’t sleep soundly again that evening. Although she already knew the outcome and knew that Zhou Weizhao had not only been fine on this trip but had even won a great victory—they hadn’t even needed to use the method of flooding the city that people from the Chancery had discussed—for some reason, she just felt uneasy and couldn’t settle down. As soon as she lay down, her heart pounded violently.
Qing Ying sat up on the footstool and asked her, “Miss, would you like a drink of water? Is it too stuffy inside the bed curtains? Should I open the window a crack to let in some fresh air?”
Just as the words left her mouth, someone knocked urgently on the door with loud banging sounds. Song Chuyi abruptly turned over and sat up. She had already felt unable to sleep peacefully before, and now at such a late hour someone was pounding on her door so loudly—could something really have happened?
As soon as Qing Ying opened the door, Qing Luo rushed in and knelt before Song Chuyi with a thud. “Miss, Miss, please let me go back! His Highness has been injured!”
Song Chuyi felt her right eyelid jump violently several times. She swept aside the curtain and spoke urgently, “What do you mean injured?! His Highness should have attendants with him at all times. Didn’t Attendant Hu come along?”
She spoke rapidly and urgently, her eyes fixed tightly on Qing Luo, both hands gripping the blanket tightly. Suddenly she felt a bit unable to catch her breath. Everything had been fine during the day, with no news of the Crown Prince being injured. How could it be that by evening he was injured?
“I’m not very clear on the details right now either. Qing Zhuo came looking for me overnight. Qing Zhuo himself was covered in blood, saying that His Highness was injured and shouldn’t be moved. He’s currently at the county office in Yangquan County. Attendant Hu is probably there too, but Attendant Hu specializes in treating bruises and injuries, not in things like detoxification. At least I know some medical skills…” As Qing Luo said this, she kowtowed to the ground again, her voice tinged with a crying tone. “Miss, please help. Let me and Qing Luo go over. At least we can be of some help.”
Song Chuyi immediately made her decision. “Go prepare the things you’ll need and make a list for Nanny Xu. I’ll go with you.” As she spoke, she had already gotten up and put on her shoes. Seeing that Qing Luo seemed unable to react, she urged, “Hurry up!”
Qing Luo knew this was somewhat improper. Although Yangquan County had already been taken and the Imperial Consort and Commander Zhou were there, the battle had just ended and things were still very chaotic. Moreover, Ma Yuantong’s whereabouts were still unknown. But right now she truly couldn’t think of a better solution. She scrambled up and rushed out to have Luyi fetch Nanny Xu and Nanny Xu.
Ziyun and Qing Tao had already gotten up from the side room long ago. Hearing Song Chuyi’s words, they knew she was planning to go to Yangquan County personally. One came over to help her dress while the other went to pack bundles. Song Chuyi took advantage of this moment to instruct Qing Ying, “Go notify Luo Gui. Have him bring Ma Changjiang and the others along with Physician Yan. In one hour, wait for us at the Cui residence main gate. We’re rushing to Yangquan!”
To leave late at night with neither Second Master nor Third Master at home—Xie Shi simply didn’t dare make such a decision and ended up alarming Old Madam Cui. After hearing the circumstances, Old Madam Cui didn’t dare stop her either. Although she also felt it improper for Song Chuyi to go along, there might truly be places where Song Chuyi could help. She could only nod in agreement and had someone rush overnight to the back alley to summon Cui Da.
Wrapped in a blanket, she held Song Chuyi’s hand and kept admonishing, “Be extremely careful on the road. When you get there and see His Highness the Crown Prince, don’t easily go out. They just finished fighting—everywhere will probably be very chaotic.”
Although Old Madam Cui was much younger than Old Madam Song, hearing such news nearly made her faint with shock. Her hands gripping Song Chuyi’s were damp with cold sweat. She wanted to not let her go but couldn’t prevent it. Letting her go, inevitably her heart felt weighted down with a heavy stone, pressing until her chest ached.
After Song Chuyi left, she couldn’t close her eyes again no matter what. She simply talked with Nanny Shi, who sat on the footstool. “Xiaoyi… Xiaoyi is different from her mother. This child is different from other children.”
She truly was different. Setting aside everything else, that incident with Lai Chenglong a few days ago—where would any young lady dare to do such things? Yet she dared, and moreover truly rooted out the traitor in the family. If they had allowed that festering wound to develop, who knows what state the Cui family would have reached. In just one day, through a combination of deception and cunning, she had thoroughly seen through the entire second branch, then as swift as lightning eliminated Cui Yu through the Imperial Guard’s hands and pushed out the second branch, protecting the other clan members.
Nanny Shi followed Old Madam Cui’s words. “Indeed there isn’t. There’s never been a young lady with such clever schemes. If our eldest miss had even half of the young cousin’s intelligence…” Seeing Old Madam Cui’s face show distress, she quickly changed direction. “But this is also due to experiencing many things. As they say, children of poor families manage the household early. The saying is crude, but that’s truly the principle. If our young cousin hadn’t encountered such a vicious stepmother, she might not have tempered herself into this. They say good things come with tribulations, and surviving great calamity brings future blessings. In my view, the young cousin’s blessings are still ahead of her.”
Blessings or no blessings—it was all too illusory and intangible. Old Madam Cui remembered the fate reading those monks in the capital had given Song Chuyi. At the time, everyone had only remembered the part about her being an inauspicious lonely star, forgetting there was another part saying she had an extremely noble fate.
An extremely noble fate. Old Madam Cui’s eyebrows twitched as if remembering something. She lowered her head and asked Nanny Shi, “Has an appointment been made with the True Person Taibai at Wuyang Temple? Find an opportunity—I’ll take Xiaoyi to see him. Although that Yuan Hui in the capital later got his comeuppance and retribution, what he said was spoken as if divinely inspired. Since Master Yuan Kong could also speak of it, we ourselves should still seek peace of mind.”
Although True Person Taibai wasn’t of the Orthodox Unity school, he was still a famous and highly respected old immortal with genuine cultivation. He was a truly accomplished Daoist master. It was just that he was accustomed to being a free-spirited wanderer and had always disliked going to places where the powerful and wealthy gathered. Emperor Jianzhang had summoned him several times, but he had declined each time on the excuse of poor health. In her letters, Old Madam Cui had also mentioned to Old Madam Song that she wanted to ask True Person Taibai to examine Song Chuyi.
Nanny Shi hurriedly nodded. “Second Master and Third Master personally went repeatedly to wait there for over a month before True Person Taibai relented. When the old gentleman refuses, he refuses, but when he agrees, it counts. You can rest assured.”
This was naturally best. Old Madam Cui leaned back against the soft pillow and exhaled heavily. Now she could only hope that His Highness the Crown Prince had heaven’s blessings and that Song Chuyi would return safely soon.