Old Madam Song was consumed with rage, unable to restrain herself from pounding the bed as she cursed vehemently: “Bastard! This unconscionable scoundrel who has lost all human decency!”
Old Master Song looked at Song Chuyi. She was pressing her lips together, her brow tightly furrowed, but there wasn’t a trace of panic in her eyes. He felt somewhat reassured, yet couldn’t help feeling heartache.
If those who protected her were strong enough, why would she need to cultivate such an ability to keep her emotions hidden, to be so strong?
Old Madam Song was filled with righteous indignation. Old Master Song took a sip of tea, and only after Old Madam Song had calmed down slightly did he speak in a low voice again: “Along with that stone monument that was dug up, there was also a jade pendant.”
A jade pendant. Old Madam Song’s eyes shot up sharply, as if sensing something. Her hands clenched tightly, and she drew in a breath—both angry and resentful. Having reached the extreme of her fury, she instead calmed down, looking at Old Master Song calmly before reaching out to grasp Song Chuyi’s hand: “It’s something belonging to Xiaoyi?”
Old Master Song nodded: “It’s Xiaoyi’s. It was bestowed by His Majesty back when she went hunting at the imperial hunting grounds.”
This was plotting to the utmost extreme. The hot spring villa had already seen over a dozen deaths previously, and with the commotion over Prince Gong’s abduction, there wasn’t a single person in the capital or its suburbs who didn’t know about it. Once the Ministry of Justice and Imperial Guard’s wanted notices were posted, it was equivalent to the entire realm knowing that the hot spring villa was an inauspicious place.
That inauspicious place had collapsed just days before the Crown Prince’s grandson was to marry Song Chuyi, and what was dug up was a monument inscribed with “Lone Star of Heavenly Calamity” along with a jade pendant. Old Madam Song could already imagine how the outside world was spreading rumors. She looked toward Old Master Song, then lowered her head to glance at Song Chuyi.
There was no need to wonder how the outside world was talking—even wiggling one’s toes could guess how the incited common people would view this Sixth Miss Song who was about to become the Crown Prince’s grandson’s consort. This was precisely the goal the mastermind behind the scenes wanted to achieve.
What mattered now was who had taken Song Chuyi’s personal jade pendant out, and who could have gotten their hands on it.
Song Chuyi clenched her fists. So Old Master Song had summoned her not merely for the tea mountain matter, nor merely to impart some principles to her. The reason he had requested leave recently yet couldn’t rest was actually because of this.
The room fell very quiet for a time. Only after a moment did Old Madam Song bite down hard on her teeth and say in a low voice: “Investigate!”
The Emperor, Empress, and Crown Princess naturally all knew about the suspicious circumstances at the hot spring villa, and they knew that Song Chuyi’s reputation as the Lone Star of Heavenly Calamity was unreliable. However, with her personal jade pendant appearing there, the severity of the matter had risen another level.
To put it mildly, the Earl of Changning’s household and Song Chuyi had failed to properly supervise their servants, allowing even a personal jade pendant to be taken out, obtained by someone, and used to create trouble. To put it more seriously, the Earl of Changning’s household’s actions were blackening the Imperial Family’s reputation!
Old Madam Song was so angry her vision darkened, her lips trembling uncontrollably: “We must investigate! We must see exactly who is so audacious as to do such a thing!”
With Old Madam losing such a terrible temper inside, even Yushu, who was keeping watch in the corridor, couldn’t help but feel a chill in her heart. The Old Madam hadn’t lost her temper this badly in years—the last time was when Second Madam Li Shi’s misdeeds were exposed. She felt increasingly unsettled, her lips pressed tightly together. When she saw Song Jue and Song Yan arriving together, she still hadn’t quite recovered.
Only when Song Yan called out to her did she resume her usual smiling demeanor, responding with a smile. Through the curtain, she respectfully reported inside: “Old Master, Old Madam, the Eldest Young Master and Fourth Young Master have arrived.”
The complexions of these two didn’t look particularly good either for some reason. Yushu imperceptibly glanced at them before lowering her head. Hearing permission granted from inside, she lifted the curtain to let them enter, gently shaking her head—the entire household had originally been overjoyed, but unless something tremendously serious had occurred, why would Old Madam fly into such a rage?
—
Song Jue, whose face was always cold as frost, now bore even more coldness. After entering the room and paying respects to Old Master Song and Old Madam Song, his gaze fell on Song Chuyi. Seeing Song Chuyi’s composed expression despite her furrowed brow, then looking at the appearances of Old Master Song and Old Madam Song, he knew they were all already aware of this matter.
“A personal jade pendant—someone who could access these things and knew this jade pendant’s extraordinary origins that any important personage would recognize at a glance must certainly be someone close to Xiaoyi.” Song Jue glanced at her: “While there’s still time, bind up everyone in her courtyard. We must investigate this thoroughly.”
Song Yan, seeing his grandfather hadn’t spoken, also nodded: “Right now it’s a jade pendant, but who knows what else might be done afterward? Just thinking that it’s someone serving close to Elder Sister makes me uneasy. Previously, Her Majesty the Empress had already issued an imperial decree reprimanding Madam Wei, and everyone in the capital knew about it. After that, no one spread those rumors anymore. Now they’re bringing this matter up again to make an issue of it—I’m afraid it’s not as simple as just ruining Elder Sister’s reputation.”
Old Master Song fixed his gaze on Song Chuyi. After a long while, he asked her: “Xiaoyi, these are people from your courtyard. What do you say?”
Given Song Chuyi’s capabilities, originally there shouldn’t have been such an incident—she had no reason to fail in managing even a few servants properly. However, it was hard to say. Wealth moves people’s hearts, and if someone was truly determined to plot against you, you couldn’t guard against it all. There were plenty of methods to make you fall into a trap.
Old Madam Song frowned: “Right now the palace nannies are still…”
If the palace nannies learned that she couldn’t even manage the people around her and had caused such a major incident just before her marriage, how would they explain it to the Empress and Crown Princess upon their return?
However, Song Chuyi had no such concerns. A cold smile played at the corners of her lips.
Among those under her command who could get close to her and handle these personal items, they could be counted on one hand.
Lüyi, Qing Tao, Qing Ying, and Ziyun—these four were utterly loyal.
Only Qing Luo and Han Yan, who had joined halfway and left halfway, and who might still harbor resentment and unwillingness toward her.
She raised her eyes to look at Old Master Song: “Those who could access my personal accessories number only six people in total. Ziyun is a household-born servant, Nanny Huang’s granddaughter—she would never do such a thing. Qing Tao’s entire family’s contracts of servitude are in my hands. Then there’s Lüyi, who is Nanny Xu’s daughter. Qing Ying needn’t even be mentioned—she was bestowed by Her Majesty the Empress to my aunt, who then gave her to me. None of them could possibly do such a thing.”
She had never relied solely on governing through virtue. The personal maids’ family lives, fates, and futures were all intimately connected with hers—sharing glory and loss alike with her. That was why she dared to use them with confidence.
“Only Qing Luo and Han Yan.” Song Chuyi smiled, though her gaze was very cold: “They know martial arts, and they happened to have left. It must be them without doubt.”