It was already late autumn, and after experiencing such a fright, breaking out in cold sweat, and then being blown by the cold wind, Ye Yunxiu developed a high fever as soon as she returned home. The Princess Consort of Zhennan summoned a physician to treat her and couldn’t help but quietly complain to the Prince of Zhennan: “You couldn’t even give me a heads up… I was nearly scared to death.” Thinking of that terrifying scene, even now in the warm room she couldn’t help but shudder.
“It wasn’t good to tell you. The situation developed so urgently…” The Prince of Zhennan also kept his voice very low, sighing as he looked at his daughter sleeping unconscious on the bed: “I just feel sorry for Yunxiu and Yunyi. I’m afraid they were truly frightened badly. But fortunately, after all, we’ve been constantly instructing them since childhood, so they know what words can be said and what words cannot be said.”
“What exactly is going on?” The Princess Consort of Zhennan tucked in her daughter’s blanket: “What exactly have you father and son been secretly plotting? Jingkuan hasn’t been seen for four days now. Why does going out take so long?”
The Prince of Zhennan couldn’t help but smile bitterly: “Four days is considered long? This time, if it doesn’t take a month or two, I’m afraid he won’t be able to return. Telling you more about these matters serves no purpose. We men are handling affairs outside. You just manage the people at home properly. Tell them all to be careful recently. Pay even more attention to the people around Yunxiu and Yunyi, to prevent these two girls from accidentally saying something. Since His Majesty has ordered that today’s palace matters be sealed, our family absolutely cannot let even half a word leak out.”
The Princess Consort of Zhennan had no way to deal with the Prince of Zhennan. Knowing that asking more would yield nothing, she sighed blankly.
Old Madam Chen’s side was much more straightforward. She stared at Old Master Chen bluntly, her words tumbling out rapidly and urgently: “I can see something’s not right… Clearly at first, the one making the most fuss about investigating the culprit was the Empress Dowager, but in the end the one investigated was Princess Shijia…”
Old Master Chen finished writing the last character with his brush, and while searching through official documents, he glanced at Old Madam Chen: “So what? Since His Majesty has already made the determination, saying that Princess Shijia disrespected His Majesty and offended the Empress Dowager, you just listen and that’s that. As for other matters, don’t ask about things that aren’t your business to ask about.”
He opened one of the letters and looked at it, then smiled with relief and reached out to throw it into the brazier to burn.
Old Madam Chen had sharp eyes. She caught sight of what appeared to be the Grand Prince’s seal as the signature at the bottom. She was immediately dumbfounded, staring at her husband and crying out shrilly: “What exactly is going on?”
Wasn’t the Grand Prince supposed to have fallen into a coma from poisoning?! When did he write a letter to Old Master Chen?!
“I just said that if it’s not your business, don’t ask, and you’ve already forgotten in the blink of an eye.” Old Master Chen’s expression changed instantly: “If I could tell you, would I not tell you?”
Old Madam Chen’s surging momentum was instantly suppressed. Her hands anxiously twisted her handkerchief. After thinking repeatedly, she still couldn’t help but ask aloud: “Could it be… could it be that Princess Shijia was your doing…”
Halfway through her question, seeing Old Master Chen’s gaze looking straight at her, she couldn’t continue. In the end, she silently lowered her head.
“Control your own mouth, and also control Mingyu.” Only after Old Master Chen stared at her until she lowered her head did he coldly issue a warning: “Disaster comes from the mouth—you don’t need me to tell you this principle. Since His Majesty has issued a gag order, you should act as if you know nothing, and don’t say another word to me about what happened today. Let this matter rot in your stomach.”
The oppressive atmosphere in the room made it unbearable to stay. Old Madam Chen understood the deeper meaning in Old Master Chen’s words. Her face pale, she rose to leave.
“Wait.” Old Master Chen called her back.
She turned to look at Old Master Chen. Her throat moved, and her usually sharp tongue made several turns before only spitting out two words: “What?”
“If female relatives from the Zhang family come calling,” Old Master Chen instructed her with piercing eyes, “refuse to see any of them. Those with connections to the Zhang family—avoid them if you can. In this matter, they’re covered head to toe in shit. Don’t let them splash it on you.”
Old Madam Chen was shocked and moved. Her lips squirmed, and after a long while she finally squeezed out: “Understood.”
Though she had known before that her husband belonged to the Crown Prince’s faction, she had never felt it this profoundly—now it seemed the Chen family and the Crown Prince’s faction were grasshoppers tied to the same rope, utterly unable to separate. She suppressed her curiosity and swallowed all her questions back into her stomach.
Half a city away, the atmosphere at the Earl of Changning’s residence was obviously much better than at the Chen residence. Only upon seeing Old Master Song did Old Madam Song truly breathe a sigh of relief: “I was nearly scared to death—lost half my life!”
Song Chengru stroked his beard and laughed several times, personally pouring tea and handing it to her: “How has your courage gotten smaller and smaller? Back when our Earl residence nearly had its patent stripped, I didn’t see you like this…”
“How can that be compared?” Old Madam Song glared at him: “After all, this concerns our family’s survival and implicated how many people? I was truly terrified in the palace, afraid that in the end the people from the Bureau of Careful Punishment would search out something in Fengzao Palace.”
First Master Song hastily spoke to comfort her: “How could that be possible? Princess Duanhui had already informed Her Majesty the Empress. Her Majesty the Empress certainly wouldn’t allow such a mistake to occur…”
Fortunately they had connected with the Grand Prince’s line. Thinking of this, Old Madam Song turned her head to look at Song Chuyi, her gaze growing increasingly gentle. She touched her head and sighed: “Speaking of which, we really must thank Xiaoyi.”
If she hadn’t first discovered something wrong with Song Chumi, then followed the clues to deduce from minute details that the Zhang residence was preparing to throw dirt on the Song residence, what followed wouldn’t have gone so smoothly.
Old Master Song also nodded with a smile full of satisfaction: “After we managed to obtain that brocade pouch from the Yun family, I was certain that Xiaoyi’s guess was correct. Fortunately, our in-law is a sensible person. He immediately locked up Old Madam Yun and all related persons, and made them spit out the Zhang family’s people. The eldest also sent some street urchins to catch that Zhang family brat red-handed in the act of his debauchery in the courtyard, and got quite a bit of information out of his mouth…”
Thinking of this matter, First Master Song couldn’t help but feel anger in his heart: “I questioned him from behind a screen and didn’t let him see my face clearly. Otherwise, I couldn’t have stuffed him into Princess Shijia’s residence—I should have thrown him directly into the river to feed the fish.”
“What about Fourth Sister?” After First Master Song finished speaking, Song Chuyi hesitantly spoke up: “Although we’ve retrieved the so-called token and sealed the Yun family’s mouths, if the Zhang family people are pushed to a desperate situation…”
This was the cruelest point of Empress Dowager Rongxian, the Zhang family, and Prince Duan. No matter what, Song Chumi bore the Song surname—she was a Song family member. Since she had connections with the Zhang family, the Song family couldn’t wash themselves clean either.
Fortunately, all evidence had now been erased. Even if the Zhang family wanted to bite back, they had no way to do so.
But Song Chumi was ultimately still a problem.
Old Master Song steeled his heart, and inevitably a trace of murderous intent showed in his eyes. Regardless of whether Song Chumi was unintentional or not, she had ultimately nearly brought disaster upon the Song family.