Song Chuyi had originally thought the Crown Princess wouldn’t mention Qing Zhuo’s matter again. She felt it was somewhat unexpected, yet also within reason—someone who could raise a child like Zhou Weizhao and was willing to leave Zhou Weizhao at Longhu Mountain for so many years was undoubtedly an extremely open-minded and magnanimous person. Such an embarrassing topic, she naturally wouldn’t bring up.
However, as the hour grew late and she was about to leave the palace, Crown Princess Lu took the initiative to mention the message Qing Zhuo had brought. Seeing Song Chuyi about to speak, she smiled and shook her head: “Weizhao told me that you originally wanted to do this matter yourself. That you have this intention is already quite rare. Your elder brother’s concerns were very valid. After all, to Her Majesty the Empress, you’re still an outsider. Last time when you spoke up about Fan Liangdi’s matter, that was already taking a risk. You shouldn’t take a second risk. Only I am most suitable to do this matter. After all, my aunt should most clearly understand what kind of life I’ve led these years and what kind of person the Crown Prince is.” She patted Song Chuyi’s hand to reassure her: “If this matter isn’t spoken of openly, I fear you’ll harbor guilt and worry in your heart. Actually, it’s nothing… Your elder brother conveyed that message very well. If we let the Crown Prince continue like this, everyone will suffer. After all, prolonged pain is worse than short pain, and besides, he brought it upon himself. Don’t take these matters to heart.” She paused, nodded to Nanny Liang beside her, and when Nanny Liang turned to go inside, she looked back at Song Chuyi: “Rest assured, my son is different from his father… Don’t be afraid. He will be a good husband and will know how to respect and cherish you. I don’t hope for anything else, only that you two can be well together.”
Song Chuyi finally understood why Zhou Weizhao could still be so magnanimous and bright despite his father’s selfishness. With such a mother and master, it was more than natural that he would grow into such a sunny disposition. She nodded emphatically to the Crown Princess: “I understand your meaning… His Highness is someone who can be relied upon. I will also strive to stand beside him and walk forward together with him.”
How many couples in this world were only superficially harmonious, how many couples flew separately when disaster struck? Being able to support each other until old age and understand each other was already quite rare. The Crown Princess smiled and nodded, taking the gold-lacquered box Nanny Liang handed over. She opened it in front of Song Chuyi and took out two jade bracelets of twisted silk phoenix pattern in pure emerald green, personally placing them on her hands: “As a mother, what I hope for is nothing more than my children’s wellbeing. In this life, I have only Weizhao as my son, and my only wish is for him to live well.”
She grasped Song Chuyi’s hand, bit her lip, and when she spoke again, her voice was already somewhat choked: “You’re a clever child. You should be able to guess my circumstances these years. When he was five, I thought he couldn’t hold on any longer and nearly hanged myself together with him from that old tree in the Imperial Garden… At that time, I truly thought life couldn’t go on…”
Song Chuyi could imagine how desperate a mother who wasn’t favored by the Crown Prince and had no one to turn to must have been then. Just like when she had watched helplessly as Ran’er’s body gradually grew cold and his eyes closed—her entire being had been in a daze. Her only thought was that if Ran’er couldn’t survive, she wouldn’t live either. Later, Ran’er still didn’t survive. No matter how hard she tried pressing his belly to make him spit out the water inside, he never opened his eyes again. In that instant, she even forgot to breathe, only feeling that even inhaling and exhaling was heart-wrenchingly painful. She lowered her head, feeling her eyes ache, and looked at the Crown Princess with sincere feeling: “I understand. Please rest assured. In the future, I will treat him well and together with him, properly honor you.”
The Crown Princess’s tears fell with a splat onto the back of her hand. She quickly raised her hand to wipe them away, nodded randomly, then smiled through her tears: “But no matter how difficult it was, fortunately it’s all passed now. There won’t be such times again in the future…”
She would never again let herself fall into such a wretched state as back then. She pressed her lips together and looked at Song Chuyi, the tears in her eyes gradually gathering into a bright light. She pulled the corners of her mouth in mockery: “Do you know how I persuaded Her Majesty the Empress?”
Song Chuyi nodded honestly: “I didn’t know at first, but later I guessed a bit, plus some hints from the Prince Consort and my maternal aunt, and I roughly guessed some things…” She spoke of the methods Old Master Chen used when framing Cui Shaoting: “Back then, Old Master Chen also wanted to use Yang Xuan’s testimony to slander my uncle, claiming he instructed him to privately traffic war horses. I learned from my aunt that the Prince Consort recently sent people to Xibei, then wrote to ask my uncle… I roughly guessed that His Highness the Crown Prince should also have been involved in Xibei affairs.”
Actually, it was truly the Crown Prince’s excessive greed that was to blame. In Yangzhou that time, Song Chuyi had heard Song Chengru lament that the Crown Prince only cared for wealth. If it was for wealth, then it was nothing more than maritime and salt transport in the south, and smuggling business in the north. Since the Crown Prince had interfered with one matter, there was no reason to pass up the other. Therefore, if the Crown Princess could persuade Empress Lu to resolve herself to act against the Crown Prince, then she guessed it was also because the Crown Prince had matters in Xibei—after all, Han Zhengqing had stayed in Xibei for so many years. To say there was no connection at all, Song Chuyi didn’t believe it.
Crown Princess Lu had always heard people say Song Chuyi was clever, and had heard her son mention her intelligence more than once, but only now did she truly believe it. She smiled and released her hand: “You really dare to guess. With just one matter, you can associate so many other things. But you happened to guess correctly. Speaking of coincidence, after Fan Liangdi died, someone from her side came to seek refuge with me and happened to sell me such intelligence. Actually, I’ve only managed to touch the tip of the iceberg, but it doesn’t matter—Her Majesty the Empress will continue to investigate…”
Empress Lu didn’t dare not investigate. If it was truly as Cui Shaoting’s letter said—that the Crown Prince interfered with Xibei affairs, provided an umbrella of protection for the Fan family, and let Han Zhengqing and the Fan family support Yang Xuan in privately trafficking war horses and colluding with the Tartars—then if this matter came out, it would be enough to depose the Crown Prince. No one could tolerate an heir apparent who colluded with the enemy and betrayed the country. Empress Lu even less could bear the consequences after this matter came to light. Song Chuyi was also somewhat shocked by the Crown Prince’s audacity. For some reason, her heart kept having a sense of unease. All the signs in this life made her feel that Zhou Weizhao’s encounter with the mountain flood in her previous life wasn’t that simple. But if things were truly as she suspected, it would be too terrifying.