The Mid-Autumn Festival, one of the three great festivals, had always been highly valued. Envoys from various vassal princes across the land had already gathered in the capital. Song Ren, as Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites, was so busy his feet barely touched the ground. When he returned home in the evening and changed his clothes, he hurried to the study. He happened to hear Old Madam Song tell Song Chuyi that the Earl of Changning’s manor was her backing. He didn’t find anything unusual about it—this niece’s capabilities had been fully displayed over these years. If he were the head of the Song family, he too would be willing to place his bets on such a clever person.

He drank a sip of tea to catch his breath, then informed Old Master Song, “The Ministry of Rites has already begun preparing the gold crown, gold seal, and jade genealogy for the Crown Prince’s consort. Presumably they intend to finalize the selection around the Mid-Autumn Festival.”

The room fell somewhat quiet for a moment. After a while, Old Master Song nodded. There wasn’t much to say about this—it was within expectations all along. Given the current circumstances, the most important thing was to maintain their spirits and take each step carefully.

The weather had cleared. A moon missing only one corner hung high in the sky, reflecting off the newly transplanted osmanthus flowers in the manor, already carrying something of the festive atmosphere of past Mid-Autumn celebrations.

Song Chuyi had just returned to Guanju Courtyard when Song Yan arrived right on her heels. He had been following Master Qingfeng through the streets and alleys of the capital every day recently, nearly exhausting his legs. Upon returning, he had first gone to Ningde Courtyard to pay respects to his grandmother, and now had come to Song Chuyi’s place.

Seeing that though he had tanned somewhat, his spirits were much better than usual, Song Chuyi couldn’t help but praise Master Qingfeng. “Having him take you running around everywhere every day—not only have you broadened your knowledge, but your body has also become stronger. Excellent, excellent.”

Song Yan gave a bitter smile, shook his head, and sat down next to Song Chuyi. He accepted the cooling tea that Qing Ying handed him and drank a mouthful, immediately feeling refreshed throughout his body. Only then did he look up at Song Chuyi. “Elder Sister, Fan Liangdi is dead?”

Song Yan wasn’t foolish. On the contrary, he had been a clever child to begin with. These past few years, following Song Jue and Song Chengru in and out of various affairs, he had learned both court matters and worldly knowledge, and had become quite proficient in unconventional tactics as well. Combined with Master Qingfeng’s extraordinary insight, he had become increasingly more accomplished than before. Regarding the incident when Old Master Chen in Jinling had schemed against him, he knew it was aimed at Song Chuyi, and luring Song Chuyi away was in turn aimed at the Crown Prince—there was no second choice besides Fan Liangdi. Now that Fan Liangdi was dead, Song Yan looked at his sister with some concern. “Prince Dongping will probably blame our family.”

Master Qingfeng’s words made great sense. Although on the surface there wasn’t a trace of the Song family or Song Chuyi in the act of killing Fan Liangdi, in the end, the variable had originated from the Song family. Moreover, since Prince Dongping currently lacked sufficient power—he could neither directly turn against the Empress nor cause trouble for Zhou Weizhao—venting his anger on Song Chuyi would be quite natural. He was somewhat worried.

Song Chuyi touched his head, feeling an indescribable sense of comfort in her heart. Her younger brother, whom she had once been wholeheartedly concerned about and solely worried over, had finally grown into his current form—clever and capable, yet never lacking in uprightness and kindness. He knew how to use tactics but would never resort to unscrupulous means. This was the best outcome possible. Their mother in heaven, seeing this, must also be happy.

“Even without Fan Liangdi’s matter, we and they were already like fire and water.” Song Chuyi laughed. “The only difference is that now we hold more advantages.”

Fan Liangdi had to die, the sooner the better. This woman’s destructive power was truly too great. After the Mid-Autumn Festival, the year would soon follow. This year was already the triennial occasion when vassal princes came to the capital for an audience. When Prince Gong, Prince Lu, and Prince Su entered the capital, who knew what incidents might arise? Leaving Fan Liangdi alive, Song Chuyi herself couldn’t feel at ease.

Song Yan nodded. He and Master Qingfeng had actually already discussed this issue and knew that if the Song family chose to side with the Crown Prince, this was an unavoidable enemy—so he didn’t take it too seriously. What he was more concerned about now was actually another matter, such as the legitimate eldest daughter who had emerged from the Lu family. “What about that Miss Lu from the Lu family? Her coming to the capital at this time—her purpose is probably impure, isn’t it?”

It was hard to say whether her purpose was pure or not. This cousin was not that cousin—Lu Chonghua was quite different from Cui Hualuan. She didn’t have the experience of encountering the Crown Prince on Longhu Mountain since childhood, so she couldn’t be said to feel any admiration for His Highness the Crown Prince at all.

She came to the capital simply because her parents and family wanted her to come—in her heart, she actually didn’t take it very seriously.

It was precisely because she took it so lightly that her wet nurse was nearly driven to distraction. Nanny Lu walked forward a few steps, looking at her young lady with some headache and some helplessness, imploring the gods and ancestors to get her to grow closer to the Crown Princess. Yet she didn’t dare speak too heavily, fearing this young mistress would become annoyed. “You and the Crown Princess are blood aunt and niece. Since ancient times, aunts and nieces have been close. Her Ladyship the Crown Princess has always had an extremely good relationship with your eldest sister-in-law. In years past, before Her Ladyship was married, it was your eldest sister-in-law who taught her household management. My young lady, ah, you’re about the right age now—you should learn about reading expressions and understanding human relations. Your father, he…”

As soon as Lu Chonghua heard her father’s title mentioned, she couldn’t help but frown. Since childhood, she had watched many operas and knew the imperial palace wasn’t a pleasant place to stay. Moreover, before her grandmother passed away, she had constantly lamented that her greatest regret was marrying her precious daughter into the imperial family, thereby ruining her precious daughter’s entire life.

Since Aunt, honored as Crown Princess, still lived unsatisfactorily, how much better could she, a Lu-surnamed Crown Prince’s consort, fare? Furthermore, she had just caught a glimpse of her cousin the Crown Prince in her great-aunt the Empress’s palace. He was indeed extraordinarily handsome and truly a dragon among men—but so what? He hadn’t even raised his eyes to look at this cousin of his properly. Wasn’t the implication already self-evident? Why should she rush forward to humiliate herself?

Moreover, if Aunt the Crown Princess and Great-Aunt the Empress truly intended for her to become the Crown Prince’s consort, they wouldn’t have praised that Sixth Miss Song at every turn during the flower banquet the other day.

Nanny Lu spoke of learning to read expressions—by her reckoning, Nanny Lu herself needed to learn to read expressions. And her father as well—he was truly too greedy. She closed the book in her hands, thought for a moment, let her mind wander, then suddenly smiled. “Setting aside other matters, there’s one thing Nanny said that piques my interest somewhat—I’d like to take a look at this Sixth Miss Song.”

Nanny Lu didn’t understand at first. When she did, she thought this young mistress had finally come around and wanted to compete with Sixth Miss Song, and immediately breathed a sigh of relief. “Young Lady possesses natural elegance and grace—you can compete with anyone. Why concern yourself with her?”