The wind howled outside. After Old Madam Song exchanged a few more quiet words with Song Chuyi, Yushu came in with a smile to report that Princess Duanhui and Yu Shi had also arrived. Old Madam Song set aside these complicated thoughts and smiled as she instructed them to be shown in.
When Princess Duanhui and Yu Shi entered, their expressions were extremely grim. Even the usually cheerful Cui Huaying looked quite unhappy. As soon as they came in and paid their respects to Old Madam Song, they immediately went forward to check on Song Chuyi. Only after seeing she was unharmed did they breathe a sigh of relief.
“How terribly worrying,” Cui Huaying said, her mood rather low. Lu Chonghua’s disappearance had truly made her unable to eat, and she had already lost considerable weight recently. She had been extremely worried ever since hearing Song Chuyi being called some kind of demonic consort. Today, on the way here, when she heard about the incident on Vermillion Bird Street, she was even more at a loss.
Yu Shi’s appearance was somewhat haggard. Even carefully applied cosmetics couldn’t hide the exhaustion on her face. Hearing Cui Huaying’s words, she looked toward Song Chuyi. “Indeed, it’s such a tumultuous time—who knows when it will end.”
Yu Shi was somewhat frightened. She understood why the people of the capital harbored such deep resentment toward the Song family and Song Chuyi. In essence, they felt that Cui Shaoting, who was fighting on the frontlines, was incompetent. They felt uneasy hearing battle reports of the Tatar forces sweeping southward like a tidal wave, so they vented all their anger and hatred on Song Chuyi.
She grasped Song Chuyi’s hand, unable to say anything more. In truth, her anxiety had reached an extreme. Cui Shaoting’s letters home had stopped half a year ago, and the news sent back to the court was limited. The Northwest now seemed to have been severed from Great Zhou territory—whatever news there was could barely get through. She didn’t know how Cui Shaoting was doing now. This anxiety tormented her to the point of nearly going mad. A few days ago, she had seen the wife of Marquis Dingyuan and the Princess Consort of Prince Zhennan—both of them were equally worried.
Old Madam Song stopped Yu Shi from drinking tea with great concern. “Look at yourself—you should drink less tea.” She ordered someone to bring Yu Shi red date and longan soup instead, then sighed. “You must take care of your health. There’s nothing so terrible.” Seeing Yu Shi’s eyes redden, she waved her hand. “Commander Cui is no simple man. How many Japanese pirates did he kill in Fujian? He’ll be fine. Don’t frighten yourself.”
Yu Shi knew her husband was formidable, but the vicious rumors spreading through the capital now were truly devastating. She couldn’t help but be afraid. She lowered her eyes and stared blankly for a moment before nodding with a deathly pale face. “Yes, he’ll be fine.”
Princess Duanhui understood her worry and squeezed her hand in comfort. There was no need to say anything more—if they continued, no one would be able to eat. She smiled and began talking about Cui Huayi and Cui Hualuan’s marriage prospects.
“It’s extremely difficult to make decisions,” she said with a laugh. “Mother is busy at home every day receiving people who come to propose matches. She’s overwhelmed with choices, and we’re all anxious too.”
At such a chaotic time when people’s hearts were in turmoil, talk of happy events always lifted spirits. Old Madam Song indeed smiled. “What are you worried about? With your mother-in-law’s discerning eye, how could she fail to choose excellent sons-in-law? Besides, Twelfth Lady, you’re a princess—who would dare wrong Hualuan?”
She laughed again. “No wonder Hualuan and Huayi didn’t come with you today—so they’re shy about this.”
Princess Duanhui clapped her hands with a laugh. “But the Prince Consort and Mother don’t want to wrong the girls. They don’t want them to have blind marriages. Hualuan and Huayi have observed quite a few prospects from behind screens, but haven’t liked any of them. How can this not cause worry?”
This time even Yu Shi couldn’t help but interject. “Sister-in-law is quite right. This girl Huayi…” She pressed her temples with some frustration and cast Song Chuyi a reproachful glance. “She’s learned this all from Xiaoyi, saying she must take her time looking. Take her time, take her time—from when Mother came over until now, it’s already been four months, and she hasn’t approved of a single one.”
Huaying’s situation already made her deeply regretful, so she was extremely careful in selecting sons-in-law herself. But Cui Huayi was being overly cautious—this one wasn’t good, that one wasn’t good. It was truly maddening. While she certainly felt they should be prudent, they couldn’t overcorrect either, could they? Did they really want to drag this out until she became an old maid?
The conversation finally opened up. Everyone chatted and laughed for a while until mealtime arrived, when First Madam Song came in smiling to invite everyone to take their seats in the back.
Because of the previous topics, the meal wasn’t affected by the gossip and slander from outside. Yu Shi rarely managed to eat a full bowl of rice. Nothing more was said during the meal, but after the banquet ended, she couldn’t help tugging at Song Chuyi’s sleeve. “Xiaoyi, your uncle…” She looked at Song Chuyi, hesitating for a moment before continuing, “Do you truly have no news of your uncle at all?”
She was far too worried—worried to the point of being unable to eat or sleep. This was the first complete meal she had managed to eat recently.
This aunt was different from Princess Duanhui. Though not her birth aunt, Yu Shi treated her no differently than Princess Duanhui did. Even in the most dangerous times, Yu Shi had never felt that she was dragging down her uncle and everyone else. Song Chuyi knew she was very worried. After thinking for a moment, she truthfully told her about the message that Marquis Dingyuan had previously sent to Ye Jingkuan, then added, “But that was already over a month ago. I’m not very clear about what the current situation is now.”
What Song Chuyi knew about Cui Shaoting’s situation was actually the same as what everyone else knew—only that Cui Shaoting was now in Suzhou. Seeing Yu Shi’s face full of worry, she thought for a moment before saying, “Since both Marquis Dingyuan and Prince Zhennan are safe, things aren’t without hope of turning around. If things can go according to Marquis Dingyuan’s plan, Prince Zhennan and Marquis Dingyuan can first rescue Jinzhong and save Second Uncle, Third Uncle, and our maternal family. When Jinland falls into chaos, the Northwest will naturally be affected too, and Uncle’s pressure will be greatly reduced.”
She paused here before continuing, “Uncle weathered many ups and downs in Fujian and never encountered any disasters. Back then, Elder Chen and Zhang Tianhe’s plan was flawless, yet Uncle’s instincts were still sharp. I don’t believe he truly doesn’t know about Yequ also cha being unable to control his younger brother leading troops to attack Purple Bramble Pass. Since he still acted as he did, he must have his reasons. Aunt, Uncle is so capable—please don’t worry.”
Yu Shi’s heavy anxiety was considerably lightened by these words. Song Chuyi had this ability—to make people feel at ease. She smiled and tugged at the corner of her mouth. “Though I know this isn’t something that will happen just because you say so, hearing you speak puts my mind much more at ease…”
She hadn’t finished her sentence when Qing Ying hurried over and whispered something in Song Chuyi’s ear. Song Chuyi immediately stood up.