Empress Lu knew that Song Chuyi was somewhat extraordinary as a young lady, quite different from other girls. But she didn’t know Song Chuyi was different to this degree. She furrowed her brow slightly, her eyes staring straight at Song Chuyi. The atmosphere in Qingning Hall almost instantly turned cold. She coughed once, pushed away the tea Imperial Etiquette Officer Xie offered her, and asked coldly, “You knew early on that this matter was related to Consort Fan and Dongping?”
She knew Song Chuyi and Zhou Weizhao had shared hardships together, but she didn’t know Song Chuyi actually also knew the mastermind behind it all was Consort Fan. She was truly getting old, she thought. Zhou Weizhao had told her more than once that Song Chuyi had helped him greatly in Jinzhong. He never lied—he said what was what, things were what they were. She should have realized earlier that since Zhou Weizhao said Song Chuyi had helped him much, she truly had helped him much.
Song Chuyi fearlessly met the Empress’s gaze and nodded. “I not only know these things, I also know His Highness the Crown Prince has no intention of punishing Consort Fan.” She lowered her head and laughed coldly. “Forgive this subject’s bluntness, but I don’t understand what’s in His Highness the Crown Prince’s mind.”
The Empress had never dared ask Zhou Weizhao whether he resented his father. She thought, people aren’t saints. Although they say there are no parents in the world who are wrong, the world truly has some parents who aren’t worthy of their children’s filial devotion. She didn’t know about others, but the Crown Prince—he truly was far too inadequate as a father. She leaned back somewhat wearily. When she spoke again, she felt her voice was somewhat hoarse. “Then according to your meaning, what do you think should be done?”
Song Chuyi smiled, the corners of her mouth lifting in an extremely subtle arc. She looked at Empress Lu and shook her head unhurriedly. “It’s not what I think should be done, but what Your Majesty thinks should be done. Consort Fan is so audacious and reckless. Today she dares to collude with the remnants of Prince Duan’s faction to deal with His Highness the Grand Heir. Tomorrow she may well dare to collude with others to harm us, or even anyone who blocks her path. Among these people, there may even be you. Human desire is endless. Consort Fan’s appetite is growing larger and larger, her ambition more and more terrifying. Keeping her not only makes the relationship between His Highness the Grand Heir and His Highness the Crown Prince worse and worse, but is also equivalent to burying a firecracker at your side, not knowing when it will explode and injure someone.”
Empress Lu wasn’t unwilling to kill Consort Fan, but the Crown Prince had issued harsh words last time. She rubbed her temples with some distress, looking at Song Chuyi, her gaze extremely complex as she spoke. “Now is not the time yet.”
Song Chuyi lowered her head and laughed. “Then when will be the time? Wait until she’s emboldened to grow bolder and bolder, wait until she becomes more and more formidable, wait until the Crown Prince can no longer control her?” She looked at the Empress and said without hesitation, “By that time, I’m afraid it will be too late, Your Majesty.”
Empress Lu listened with some alarm, her fingers unconsciously curling as she tapped on the table. “Speak more clearly.”
Imperial Etiquette Officer Xie kept her eyebrows lowered and eyes averted to the side, inwardly marveling at the formidability of this Sixth Miss Song—she wasn’t worried at all about the Lu family matter. After a few words of mutual probing with the Empress, she made her attitude clear, then went straight to the point about Consort Fan. She clearly valued the matter of Consort Fan more than this young lady from the Lu family. This one could see clearly. She silently praised this in her heart, then felt somewhat regretful. This young lady was still too young after all. She didn’t know that in this world, the bond between mother and child was natural. The Empress would not antagonize the Crown Prince too much over a Consort Fan. The Crown Prince had already become as distant from the Empress as could be over these years. If they went against his wishes again and killed the Consort Fan he valued, the relationship between mother and son would likely only worsen. Just as she was thinking this, she heard Song Chuyi’s clear and pleasant voice ring out.
“Very well, then I’ll speak more clearly.” Song Chuyi lowered her head, as if she couldn’t see the Empress’s scrutinizing gaze, or perhaps she saw it but wasn’t afraid. Her tone remained calm as usual. “You know Consort Fan has collusion with Huangjue Temple, right? Then do you know she’s now also connected with the Chen family?”
Imperial Etiquette Officer Xie looked up at Song Chuyi with some surprise, then glanced at the Empress, feeling somewhat bewildered. The Chen family? Was she talking about Elder Chen’s household, which had just been beheaded? The Chen family’s men had all been exiled, and the female relatives had all been sent back to their hometown.
“She made a deal with Old Madam Chen. Old Madam Chen would offer up all the family wealth the Chen family had accumulated over the years, and she would let Chen Mingyu become her niece-in-law by blood—marry the legitimate eldest son of the Fan family as the principal wife.” Song Chuyi smiled lightly, her tone containing a trace of mockery and a trace of disdain. “But perhaps they couldn’t come to terms with the Fan family, or perhaps she felt the price was too heavy and had second thoughts, so she sent people to intercept and kill Chen Mingyu on the road.”
Imperial Etiquette Officer Xie’s heart began pounding. Consort Fan’s ambition had actually reached this level? The Chen family’s wealth accumulated over many years? The total amount confiscated and entered into the Ministry of Finance wasn’t much silver—so all the silver had been hidden away by the Chen family beforehand? Consort Fan wanted to obtain such a large sum of silver?
The Empress’s voice had already taken on a few degrees of cold hardness. She glanced at Song Chuyi, indicating she should continue.
“Chen Mingyu didn’t die. My people rescued her. She’ll arrive in the capital in a few days. If Your Majesty doesn’t believe me, you can certainly meet her in person.”
“I know Your Majesty is mindful of the mother-son bond, which is why you turn a blind eye to the Crown Prince’s favoritism toward Consort Fan. But sometimes, indulgence can kill people. The question is whose life will be demanded. When Consort Fan had no silver, she could still reach so far. If she truly obtains such a large sum of silver, who will she still respect? By then, the things she does will only become more and more shocking, more and more excessive. His Highness may be able to suppress the Huangjue Temple matter once or twice, but can he suppress it every time? Even if he can suppress it, that requires Consort Fan to be willing to mercifully let him live.”
Song Chuyi laughed again, the laughter concealing extremely light mockery. “But how could Consort Fan possibly allow him to live?”
Empress Lu couldn’t help but feel a chill run down her spine, her gaze gradually turning cold.
Song Chuyi was right. Human desire has no bottom line. If Consort Fan escaped this time, she would reach out a second time, a third time in the future. Human affection also couldn’t withstand grinding down. No matter how filial and sensible Zhou Weizhao was, once and again, twice and thrice—his heart would grow cold. Last time, the Crown Prince had already quarreled with her over Consort Fan’s matter. This person couldn’t listen to others’ words. Rather than counting on him, it was better to count on herself.