Xiangling and Peiyin stayed in the palace to watch over things, but Nanny Liang went to notify Song Chuyi—the Empress had fallen ill, and no matter what, as the Grand Princess Consort she should rush to attend to the illness at the first opportunity.
However, Song Chuyi was not in Yong’an Palace. She had long since requested leave from Crown Princess Lu and Empress Lu and left the palace. Nanny Xu thought for a moment, and seeing Nanny Liang furrow her brow, immediately had someone go to the front hall to find a young eunuch to leave the palace and request Song Chuyi to return to the palace from the Earl of Changning’s mansion.
At this moment, Song Chuyi had just emerged from the study of the Earl of Changning’s mansion and gone to Old Madam Song’s Ningde Courtyard.
The row of broad-leafed privet in front of Ningde Courtyard was still lush and green, truly adding some vitality to this cold winter. Old Madam Song, leading First Madam Song, Second Madam Song, and the others, hastily tried to bow to her, but she supported them up and gave separate instructions to First Madam Song and the others: “No need for formalities. Eldest Aunt and Mother, please rise.”
First Madam Song and Yin Yunduan chatted for a while, then knowingly excused themselves and left. Only then did Old Madam Song turn to Song Chuyi: “Lai Chenglong indeed sent those two girls over. Your elder brother has placed them in the Guanju Courtyard where you used to live.”
Speaking of those two girls Qing Luo and Han Yan made Old Madam Song’s stomach full of anger. Shortly before Song Chuyi’s marriage, they had stirred up that business with the stone tablet, nearly causing Song Chuyi’s reputation as a lone star of calamity to spread beyond the capital—truly repaying kindness with enmity in a way that made one’s teeth itch.
Vice Minister Wang had already revealed most of the crucial secrets. Having him spit out these two master-betraying traitors to seek the Grand Princess Consort’s forgiveness was also proper. Song Chuyi made a sound of acknowledgment, then heard Old Madam Song ask again: “Yan’er won’t be going to Hubei anymore, but a letter came from Scholar Tang in Shuzhong asking when he’ll go.”
With the chaos Hubei had become, Cui Yingshu had specifically written back to advise Song Yan that he could change his plans and go directly from the capital with Gentleman Qingfeng to Shuzhong. Old Madam Song had originally been uneasy about Song Yan going into danger. Now, having heard the inside story and knowing about Jiang Tianping and the others, she absolutely forbade Song Yan from going.
Gentleman Qingfeng had originally intended to search for his relatives. Cui Yingshu said that Hubei was currently very chaotic, and going there would probably be in vain. Better to wait for him to make private inquiries. Gentleman Qingfeng then let the matter drop.
Seeing that Gentleman Qingfeng no longer mentioned going to Hubei, Song Chuyi naturally wouldn’t bring it up either. She wanted Song Yan to gain experience, but in Hubei’s dangerous situation, even Cui Yingshu was dealing with extreme difficulty. For her to feel at ease letting Song Yan go was impossible. Hearing Old Madam Song ask this, after thinking she said: “I’ll go ask A’Yan’s thoughts.”
With New Year’s approaching, naturally it would be better to go after the year. Right now the northern lands had heavy snow, and traveling all the way to Shuzhong would be difficult. There was no need to rush these two months—waiting until spring opened would naturally be more convenient and secure.
Song Yan himself thought the same. Seeing his sister ask, he nodded: “Master fears the cold. I also said to wait until spring opens before going.” Having finished with this matter, he asked Song Chuyi: “Just now in the study, Grandfather said Han Zhengqing has rebelled. Next, Prince Gong will certainly follow by raising the banner of rebellion. What about our maternal family? Uncle is alone in Xibei. Although he’s the Supreme Commander of the Three Borders, the office of the Supreme Commander of the Three Borders is in Guyuan. Though he can control the governors of nine territories, among those nine governors, three or four are slippery as eels. If Han Zhengqing seizes their weak points, I’m afraid they may not be willing to be used by Uncle.”
Previously, with no one rising up to rebel, naturally it was good—they had no choice but to listen to Cui Shaoting. But now that Prince Gong and Han Zhengqing had both rebelled, they probably wouldn’t be willing to obediently follow Cui Shaoting’s orders.
Unfortunately, no letter had yet been received from Jinzhong. Song Chuyi was silent for a while, then said: “No need to worry. It’s only for this period.”
Han Zhengqing had already rebelled. With Uncle’s abilities and vigilance, he would certainly discover that the situation in Jin territory was wrong. He would find a way to contact the Cui family no matter what, and the Cui family would absolutely not sit and wait for death—Prince Zhennan was still stationed at the Cui family residence!
She patted Song Yan’s head. Seeing him somewhat uncomfortably making a sour face trying to dodge, she couldn’t help reaching out to rub harder, rubbing until Song Yan’s face was about to turn dark before she burst out laughing. She then discussed with Song Yan the gifts to bring to Scholar Tang and the senior disciples in Shuzhong. Seeing the time was about right, she headed toward Guanju Courtyard.
Qing Luo and Han Yan had been terrified for quite some time. They had originally been hidden in Vice Minister Wang’s villa, waiting for Vice Minister Wang to send them out of the city—they didn’t dare go back to Longhu Mountain anymore. Once the stone tablet incident broke out, Song Chuyi and Zhou Weizhao would certainly know they were the ones who did it. How could they still dare go to Longhu Mountain? But before Vice Minister Wang could make arrangements, Vice Minister Wang himself had an incident first.
When they heard the news, not even a fly in the villa had been spared—all had been caught in one sweep by the Imperial Guard. The two of them had seen Vice Minister Wang once in the Imperial Guard Prison, then were sent back to the Earl of Changning’s mansion.
When they had been stopped on the road leaving the city, they hadn’t been afraid. At that time, excitement exceeded fear—they had served Song Chuyi for so long and helped Song Chuyi with so many things, yet Song Chuyi was even stingy about giving them an opportunity to serve Zhou Weizhao. It truly made their efforts of over ten years go down the drain. They felt that causing her some trouble was only right. They never expected that Song Chuyi would still smoothly marry Zhou Weizhao, and they would be sent back to the Earl of Changning’s mansion.
Only then did they truly know fear. What’s more, the people at the Earl of Changning’s mansion somehow only kept them confined. Food and drink lacked for nothing, but no one ever entered Guanju Courtyard to look at them. They were both shocked and afraid. Though no one beat them or scolded them, they still withered at an alarming rate. Waiting without knowing the consequences was truly too difficult to endure.
When Song Chuyi saw them, they had completely become like startled birds—the longer they stayed, the more anxious they became. Song Chuyi and Zhou Weizhao’s earlier words constantly surfaced in their minds. Back then, Song Chuyi had said that once they followed her, they were her people, and if they later betrayed her…
At this moment, suddenly seeing Song Chuyi, they only felt their courage was about to shatter. They retreated several steps, inadvertently knocking over the fruit dish on the table with a clanging sound, and hurriedly knelt on the ground, their faces pale, even their hands trembling violently.
Qing Ying glanced at them with some disgust, served Song Chuyi as she sat in the seat of honor, then snorted coldly and said to them with a smile that didn’t reach her eyes: “Truly never expected that you two also know fear.”
Song Chuyi had no mood to listen to them explain why they betrayed her. She looked at them with extreme calmness, not a trace of anger visible on her face, and didn’t speak harshly to them. She only asked softly: “Who told you to go find Vice Minister Wang?”