Old Madam Chen had truly gone to great lengths. Even at this point, with Old Master Chen’s life hanging by a thread, the Chen family scattered to the winds, and everything seemingly at its end, she still had the presence of mind to make plans for this granddaughter of hers. Song Chuyi didn’t know whether she should praise Old Madam Chen for being a kind and loving grandmother, or find it laughable how cold-hearted she was toward the other members of the Chen family.
Han Yan took a deep breath, composed herself, and then reported what she had found out: “I heard—and I expended considerable effort to hear this from Miss Chen’s maid—that when Miss Chen goes to Xingyang this time, it won’t be an ordinary case of seeking refuge with relatives.”
Of course it wouldn’t be an ordinary case of seeking refuge with relatives. Otherwise, given Great-Aunt Chen’s relationship with the Qin family, wouldn’t it be better to seek refuge with them? The second branch of the Qin family were all reasonable people. Although they were wary of Chen Mingyu’s status, Chen Mingyu was after all an orphaned girl. They would be quite willing to extend a helping hand to look after her, or even send her back to her ancestral home. Moreover, the Chen family clan members weren’t heartless—they had even sent people to fetch her. Since Old Madam Chen looked down on both these options, naturally she had chosen what she considered the best path for Chen Mingyu, and this path certainly wouldn’t be a poor one. Song Chuyi nodded patiently, signaling Han Yan to continue.
“Miss Chen is going to the Fan family, the maternal family of Liangdi Fan,” Han Yan’s voice gradually lowered. “I heard that she’s marrying the eldest legitimate son of Liangdi Fan’s elder brother. She’s going to become the principal wife of the clan.”
What a spineless family the Fan family must be, to allow a married daughter to arrange even the marriage of their eldest legitimate son, their future principal wife—and to arrange for him to marry the descendant of a criminal official! Song Chuyi was so shocked by this absurdity that she couldn’t recover for a long moment, and could only laugh bitterly when she finally did.
Even Nanny Xu was dumbstruck: “Although Miss Chen wasn’t sold into servitude and bears no criminal guilt herself, she’s still the descendant of a criminal official. Even ordinary families would still have some reservations about this, yet the Fan family is so brazenly bringing her into the family as their eldest legitimate daughter-in-law? Have they lost their minds? Such a thing is utterly unheard of!”
The ways of the world were declining, and people’s hearts were no longer what they once were. For the sake of profit, what wouldn’t people do? Song Chuyi understood this quite clearly. Mainly because she had seen far more absurd things in her previous life than in this one, so she was able to accept it rather quickly.
When the world bustles, it all bustles for profit; when the world jostles, it all jostles for gain. Since Liangdi Fan had agreed to Old Madam Chen’s request to marry Chen Mingyu as the eldest legitimate daughter-in-law, there must be a reason for it. She wasn’t running a charity hall, nor was she some pious believer. She couldn’t possibly be doing this out of pity for Chen Mingyu and Old Madam Chen. Old Madam Chen must have given her some extraordinary benefit.
She had heard her grandfather mention in passing that Zheng Sansi had complained, saying that Old Master Chen’s household had truly been cleaner than if swept by the wind—they had only searched out thirty to forty thousand taels of silver in total. But as far as she knew, Old Master Chen was not someone who had clean sleeves—there were no truly incorruptible officials in this era. Even Song Chengru here still regularly received gifts beyond the customary ice and coal stipends, occasionally accepting payments from unclear sources. Not to mention Old Master Chen—that Eastern Palace faction, to put it bluntly, had no one who wasn’t corrupt. They had all learned bad habits from the Crown Prince, with eyes only for money.
But if Old Master Chen had money that the Imperial Guard and the Ministry of Justice hadn’t found, where had that money gone? Song Chuyi pondered thoughtfully, then slowly curved her lips: “Have Ma Changjiang and Ma Wangkun follow Miss Chen, and have them report back to me as soon as they have news.”
She couldn’t let Chen Mingyu go. Never mind that Chen Mingyu was going to become the principal wife of the Fan family—even if Chen Mingyu were merely an orphaned girl, she would probably still have to be ruthless enough to kill her first to eliminate future troubles. This young lady was no easy mark, and she must hate herself to the bone by now. If she were truly allowed to go to Liangdi Fan’s maternal family and become the eldest legitimate daughter-in-law of the Fan family, it would be enormous trouble in the future.
And then there was Liangdi Fan. Since His Highness the Crown Prince refused to give the Grand Prince justice, then she would seek that justice herself.
When Zhou Weizhao heard about this matter the next day, he was somewhat stunned. These past few days he had been busy drafting the list of rewards for putting down the rebellion, and had truly been unable to attend to some matters. Hearing about Chen Mingyu’s situation, he couldn’t quite process it for a moment.
Song Chuyi glanced at him: “If Your Highness thinks I’m meddling too much, I’ll just call Ma Changjiang and Ma Wangkun back.”
Behind them, Qing Zhuo was so anxious he was practically tearing at his hair, praying to heaven and earth that his master wouldn’t be foolish enough to say something stupid at this moment, like “she’s just a woman” or “let go when you should let go.”
Fortunately, though Zhou Weizhao usually seemed obtuse, he truly wasn’t. Upon hearing this, he immediately smiled: “Why would I think you’re meddling? That you’re willing to be so thoughtful on my behalf makes me very happy.”
Song Chuyi was instantly choked speechless by this response, her earlobes beginning to redden traitorously again—what did he mean “on his behalf”! She was clearly worried about failing to uproot the problem completely and having it regrow in the spring breeze, all right?! Besides, she was only afraid that Zhou Weizhao would think her vicious for insisting on striking at a girl who already had no power to fight back. But who knew Zhou Weizhao would twist her words around like that!
Zhou Weizhao was quite good at reading Song Chuyi’s thoughts. Seeing a hint of indignation gradually appearing on her face, he knew she wasn’t far from exploding like a little cat, so he immediately steered the conversation back to business: “What you just said is very right. Liangdi Fan is not the soft-hearted type. Unless Old Madam Chen offered conditions that satisfied both her conscience and her interests, she would absolutely never agree to this marriage.”
Yes, unless Liangdi Fan had suffered some shock and gone mad, why would she do something without benefit? What’s more, she would be risking offending the Song family. The benefit Old Madam Chen gave her must have far exceeded her potential losses, which is why she would agree to this transaction.
Song Chuyi finally felt somewhat better and nodded: “Old Master Chen was an official for so many years. There’s no reason why what was confiscated from his household should be less than what was found at Xingfu’s house. Even if it were less, logically it shouldn’t be much less. I deduce that it’s precisely these things that moved Liangdi Fan.”
This made perfect sense. Zhou Weizhao fell silent for a moment, then looked at Song Chuyi and said softly: “Thank you for thinking of me so thoroughly.”
In the past, Song Chuyi had always felt that talking with Shen Qingrang was exhausting. She didn’t understand what Shen Qingrang wanted, and Shen Qingrang didn’t need her consideration either. When the two of them sat together, they would often have nothing to say after just a few sentences.
Only now did she realize that there truly was such a person in this world—someone who knew and understood everything you did and said. And… she looked at Zhou Weizhao’s eyes that were fixed on her with such focus, brilliant as stars yet filled with indulgence, and suddenly smiled.
Everything she did for him, just like everything he did for her, was originally done without expecting any reward. But when someone understood your good intentions and could cherish that goodness, it was ultimately something that made one happy.