“I wouldn’t say well acquainted, but I’ve seen him once or twice at the marquis manor. Why does elder brother suddenly ask about him?”

Song Fu furrowed his brow slightly and hesitated a moment before saying, “On the day of the Lantern Festival, Second Master Jiang and his friend saved Qianbai and me. Second Master Jiang… was gravely injured.”

“Such a thing happened?”

Song Wan was slightly surprised and hurriedly asked, “How is Second Master now? Is his life in danger?”

“He should still be with Old He…”

Fearing Song Wan would worry, Song Fu changed his tone. “Old He is skilled in medicine. With him there, no need to worry.”

Song Wan had also heard of the former Imperial Medical Bureau Director’s reputation. Hearing this, she felt somewhat reassured. Not knowing what came to mind, she suddenly said, “Second Master has an honest temperament and an open heart. He is sincere and upright in conduct—a most proper gentleman. That he would save elder brother is not surprising.”

In her heart, though Jiang Yan had suffered hardship in his youth, he possessed a modest and benevolent nature. Now it seemed he also had a chivalrous and righteous heart, which was truly admirable.

“Speaking of which, I’ve always felt that if the marquis manor were placed in Second Master’s hands, it would never have reached such a declining state.”

“That Jiang Xingjian has such a half-brother is truly his good fortune.”

Song Wan nodded. “To compare the two is also an insult to Second Master’s name.”

Song Fu looked at Song Wan. Some words he ultimately didn’t speak aloud.

“When elder brother mentioned the Crown Prince earlier, did you mean to align with the Eastern Palace?”

“Indeed I did. If the person behind shooting the First Prince truly is the Eastern Palace Crown Prince, it seems this person can endure what ordinary people cannot. I just don’t know his character and nature.”

“If his character and temperament are acceptable, pledging allegiance to the Eastern Palace would not be a bad path.”

“Certainly a hundred times better than supporting Shen Qianshu’s ascension.”

Hearing this, Song Wan’s expression took on a trace of heartache.

Aunt probably didn’t yet know of Father and the clan’s plans, did she? If she knew, who could say how angry she would be?

“Qianbai and Shen Qianshu haven’t recovered yet. Perhaps by then Shen Qianshu will also…”

Thinking that the other party was just a child, Song Wan swallowed her words.

“Shen Qianshu can afford to wait, but we cannot. You know those spineless fence-sitters in court are no better than anyone else. In just these few days, many have used Old Madam’s funeral at the marquis manor as an opportunity to display their loyalty.”

“Moreover, with no one currently understanding the Eastern Palace Crown Prince, who knows how long it will take to establish contact with this person?”

On the day of the Lantern Festival, too many people died in the capital. His Majesty issued an edict to carry on despite mourning to maintain normal court operations.

Now the entire court was in chaos. The two factions that previously fought bitterly over the rivalry between the Third and Fifth Princes were either observing or fence-sitting between both sides like wavering grass. This situation greatly vexed Song Fu.

After all, whether the Eastern Palace Crown Prince was man or ghost remained unknown, yet they had no choice in the matter.

“The Eastern Palace…”

“I previously had two encounters with a young eunuch from the Eastern Palace. I wonder if I could contact the Crown Prince through this person?”

After telling Song Fu about meeting Ji Rong, Song Fu said, “That this person endures such humiliation in the Eastern Palace without leaving suggests he either knows the Crown Prince’s condition or is originally the Crown Prince’s confidant.”

“In the palace, the lower a eunuch or palace maid’s status, the less attention they receive, making it much more convenient to act.”

Song Fu lightly pinched his fingertips and frowned. “I’ll have Aunt investigate this person.”

Song Wan shook her head. “Now is not the time. With Qianbai just injured and us rushing to pledge allegiance to the Crown Prince, how heartbroken would Aunt be? Better to wait a while longer. I know elder brother worries about Wan’er, but since Father didn’t make me return to Marquis Chengyang’s manor today, he likely won’t manage me for some time. Why don’t we wait a bit longer?”

Qianbai was gravely injured and not yet recovered. Aunt caring for him alone in the palace—who knew how much pain she felt? If she learned that her brother and the clan had given up on him so quickly, she would surely be heartbroken.

She couldn’t let Aunt feel betrayed by all her closest relatives.

“Elder brother understands.”

Song Fu smiled faintly, though he had other considerations.

Wan’er was kindhearted but didn’t understand that circumstances were beyond one’s control.

If the Eastern Palace Crown Prince had truly endured hardship and carried heavy burdens for eight years under the noses of everyone in the rear palace, it showed this person’s character was resilient and his stratagems extremely deep. Such a person could only be befriended, not made an enemy. If Aunt knew the Eastern Palace had produced such a Crown Prince, she might extend an olive branch even earlier than they would.

Song Fu didn’t want Song Wan to worry about these matters. After saying a few more sentences, he turned to other topics.

After about half a shichen, Heng Wu came to report that the Song manor had sent two young maids. Song Fu had them brought in and turned to say, “Elder brother found these maids for you. They know some martial arts and can guard the residence for you.”

Heng Zhi led the two young maids in. Song Wan saw that both girls were only about fifteen or sixteen, one with a round face and one with a pointed face, both with spirited eyes and brows.

The round-faced girl spoke softly. “This servant is Jinshu. Greetings, Miss.”

“This servant is Luanjian. Greetings, Miss.”

Song Wan spoke a few intimate words with them, then had Heng Wu bring silver to reward them before letting them find their rooms.

Having settled Song Wan properly, Song Fu felt much more at ease. After simply instructing her to pay more attention to her safety, he departed.

After seeing Song Fu off, Song Wan informed Heng Zhi and Heng Wu about Jiang Yan’s injury. The three master and servants sighed together for a while.

“This servant will go worship the Buddha and pray that the Buddha will bless Second Master abundantly.”

Song Wan nodded, not knowing how she could repay Jiang Yan’s great kindness in the future.

Not only were the Song siblings worried about Jiang Yan—at Marquis Chengyang’s manor, Qingzhai and Sumian were also deeply concerned about him.

Jiang Yan hadn’t returned to the manor for many days, and Qingzhai had received no news about him.

After waiting many days, Qingzhai finally went expressionlessly to Jiang Yan’s study and retrieved a white jade box from the very bottom of his desk.

“What are you doing?”

Sumian looked at Qingzhai with reddened eyes, blocking the doorway to prevent her from leaving.

Holding the white jade box in her arms, Qingzhai said, “Move aside.”

“I won’t.”

Sumian said through tears, “You want to destroy Second Master’s most treasured possession, don’t you? Second Master hasn’t returned yet. Why are you touching his things? Put it back.”

Qingzhai lowered her eyes, concealing the moisture in them. “Second Master instructed that if anything unusual occurred in the manor or to him, this item should be disposed of. I’m only following orders now.”

“I don’t care. Without personally hearing Second Master’s command, no one can touch his things.”

With that, Sumian lunged forward to snatch the box from Qingzhai’s hands.

“Let go!”

Sumian gripped the box tightly and wouldn’t release it. The two struggled together for a moment, and the white jade box fell to the ground with their tussling movements.

The jade box shattered with a crash, revealing a small, carefully wrapped bundle inside.

The two had served Jiang Yan for over ten years. Though he concealed his thoughts very carefully, they ultimately couldn’t be hidden from those close to him.

Though they didn’t know what was inside, they could more or less guess it was related to Song Wan.

Qingzhai looked at the bundle lying on the ground, picked it up with reddened eyes, and directly threw it into the brazier that had been prepared outside.

Watching everything be consumed by flames and turn to black ash, only then did Qingzhai bite her teeth and let a tear fall.

Sumian climbed up from the ground in a daze, crying, “She must know where Second Master is. I’m going to ask her about Second Master’s whereabouts.”

“Even if Second Master’s whereabouts are truly unknown, we cannot let Second Master’s sincere heart from all these years turn to empty ash. All those things Second Master did for her—she… she should at least know about them.”