When the news reached Song Chuyi’s ears, she was organizing Song Yan’s belongings—Song Yan was going to Jinling to escort the bride, and many things he had brought to the Cui family residence weren’t suitable to take along. Moreover, after he arrived in Jinzhong, various people had given him gifts, so he had accumulated quite a lot of items. She sorted through them all for him one by one, had them packed by category, and then began thinking about what unique and thoughtful gifts would be appropriate for when he returned to the capital and then went to Tang Mingzhao’s place in Shu.
She hadn’t been pondering long when the birds in the corridor began chirping one after another. Qing Ying followed these pleasant bird calls as she stepped inside, gently bowing and saying, “Miss, His Highness requests that you go see him.”
Earlier, when Song Chuyi hadn’t yet recovered her senses, she had been utterly moved by Zhou Weizhao’s words. But once she came to her senses and was alone, inevitably every sentence she recalled made her blush with embarrassment.
In her previous life, she had suffered enough from being too forward. She had always thought that in this lifetime, no matter what, regardless of whether she had someone she liked, if she was truly forced to marry, she would marry someone she could control. But facing Zhou Weizhao, she seemed to have no power to resist at all. If this prince’s deep affection was genuine, that would be fine, but if he was skilled at using displays of deep affection to win people over, that would be truly terrifying.
She hastily gathered the chess pieces before her back into the chess container, instructing Qing Ying to put away the chess board properly. This was a gift Second Uncle had given Song Yan after he came to Jinzhong, and he cherished it greatly.
Zhou Weizhao’s spirits had improved considerably. These past days, because he had been taking the Qi-Nourishing Pills, he no longer needed to remain bedridden constantly. However, the residual poison still coursed through his body. The Cui family had already secured Master Taibai’s services, and in a few days they would be able to visit Taixu Temple.
At a glance, he caught sight of Song Chuyi with her head lowered, and broke into a smile toward her, revealing a mouthful of white teeth and two dimples. “Last time you helped Commander Lai solve his doubts, with excellent results. Commander Lai owes me a favor, so do you want to hear about what’s happened in the capital?”
Song Jue’s letters traveled through the courier stations. He couldn’t always send people to deliver letters personally, so naturally they were a step slower than the Imperial Guard’s channels. Song Chuyi looked up at Zhou Weizhao, nearly dazzled by his smile. She silently lowered her head again, thought for a moment, then nodded. “By now, Third Master Chen has probably successfully split from the family?”
Zhou Weizhao recounted in detail all the scandals the Chen family had stirred up that shocked the capital. “Third Master Chen and Elder Chen accepted silver from the Zhou family—this is what Third Master Chen himself shouted out in the Ministry of Justice’s great hall. He said Elder Chen received two hundred thousand taels, and he received a total of seventy thousand taels. Because of this silver, and to save Elder Chen, the Chen family people even tried to kill him and the Shuntian Prefecture constable Litian to silence them. Fortunately, they ran quickly, and when Litian went, he also had the foresight to bring officers with him. The officers were lying in ambush nearby, so when they heard the commotion, they came out and arrested all the Chen family people who were preparing to commit murder.”
Though the telling was somewhat chaotic, Song Chuyi, as someone who had once participated in setting the trap, had more or less figured out the ins and outs. Minister Fang must have administered strong medicine. He and Song Jue must have deliberately let the Chen family people go after Third Master Chen and Litian, then tipped off Litian in advance, so that Litian prepared ahead of time and even brought people for an ambush. This way, Third Master Chen’s resentment toward the Chen family would definitely deepen another layer, wishing for the Chen family’s death. With his own life hanging by a thread and then receiving news of Third Madam Chen’s death, he definitely couldn’t hold back anymore. He would certainly take seriously those words he had heard before—the final straw that breaks the camel’s back—and then naturally, to take revenge on the Chen family, speak these words aloud.
Regardless of whether they could ultimately find this two hundred thousand taels of silver, and whether Zhou Chengfang and Lu Bingyuan would admit it or not, since Elder Chen’s own biological son had confessed, all under heaven would believe that Elder Chen had truly accepted the bribe.
This was a death trap, calculated based on the hearts of everyone in the Chen family. These Chen family people were like a plate of scattered sand—without needing much force, Minister Fang, who understood them well, had easily crushed them. Of course, the prerequisite was that fortunately they had first trapped Elder Chen, that old fox. Otherwise, the Chen family wouldn’t have fallen into such chaos.
“Then I suppose now Minister of Justice Meng Jiming and Supreme Court Justice Feng Yinglong need not remain ill any longer?” Song Chuyi’s tone was flat and emotionless. “Even if they continue being ill, it won’t serve any purpose.”
These words were rather pointed, yet couldn’t be more realistic. Indeed, if Meng Jiming and Feng Yinglong continued to claim illness now, not only would it be inappropriate, but it would clearly be opposing His Majesty and opposing all the examination candidates under heaven. Moreover, now that the evidence could be considered solid, if they continued to hold out, they would only be branded as Elder Chen’s faction and incur His Majesty’s wariness.
“You’re right. This time, without waiting for Imperial Grandfather to speak, their illnesses will be cured.” Zhou Weizhao smiled broadly. “This time, you’ve won beautifully. Third Master Chen himself accused his own father unto death. When a son says he received silver together with his biological father, there’s no one left who won’t believe it.”
Song Chuyi thought, this was truly thanks to Third Madam Chen. It was she who allowed Song Chuyi to glimpse the source of the Chen family’s misfortune—although the distinction between legitimate and illegitimate children was proper and should not be disordered, when this disparity became too obvious, and as the years passed and this resentment accumulated deeper and deeper, it became sufficient material for someone to exploit.
Less than three days after Zhou Weizhao told Song Chuyi this, Song Jue’s letter from the capital also arrived. The general content was the same as what Zhou Weizhao had said, with the only difference being that Song Jue described the trap they had set in more detail.
The key was that people from Shuntian Prefecture could enter the Chen family’s inner quarters. Fortunately, First Madam Chen was someone without much far-sightedness. Madam Fang had long seen through her, and the person who delivered the message was also First Madam Chen’s own person. She thought she was eliminating the Third Branch who competed for property, not knowing she was welcoming a death god through the door.
Song Chuyi closed the letter. The current emperor so detested corruption, and it was precisely when he was being cold toward the Crown Prince. As a member of the Crown Prince’s faction, Elder Chen happened to have this incident occur at this time. Even if His Majesty, considering his years of meritorious service, didn’t execute his entire family, he couldn’t possibly let him off lightly. When the Son of Heaven rages, his fury is like thunderbolts. At the very least in the short term, Elder Chen would never rise again—Song Chuyi was always accustomed to thinking about matters in the worst possible direction. Elder Chen had students throughout the land and had been managing his network for many years. He might not immediately be trampled into the ground by this junior unable to rise. She had made assumptions for every possibility, which made her look forward even more to the day of returning to the capital.
She had finally settled the Chen family matter before returning to the capital from Jinzhong. Perhaps by the day she returned to the capital, she could personally witness the Chen family’s downfall—although she could already guess the general situation, the speed at which court officials handled matters was truly slow. She had left them three months’ time, which she felt was already quite sufficient.