Song Chuning had never imagined that winter in the south could be so unbearable. That bone-chilling cold that couldn’t be blocked no matter how many layers one wore truly made one wish to chop off hands and feet.
Cuiguo had people bring in two more braziers. The doors and windows in the room were shut so tightly not even wind could penetrate, yet it was still useless—no amount of braziers could compare to the underfloor heating system in the capital.
Cuiguo exhaled white breath while spreading clothes over the fire basket to dry, her two ears frozen completely red.
Lüyu came in carrying fresh charcoal, followed by a young maid holding several bolts of fabric. She smiled as she reported to Song Chuning: “Master has ordered these made into several heavy coats for you to wear. These fabrics were all bought from the capital—Songjiang cloth. Each weighs several jin. Miss can have several new outfits made.”
Having shared hardships on the road together, Song Chuning had indeed treated Cuiguo and Lüyu quite well after arriving in Changsha. She had also urged Song Yi to bring their several relatives from the estate to Changsha as well. Over time, Lüyu and Cuiguo had developed some genuine affection for Song Chuning and were no longer as timid and cowering as before.
The materials were naturally good quality, and the patterns were much more fashionable than those in Changsha. Song Chuning glanced at them, found them somewhat uninteresting, and had Lüyu put them away.
Seeing her pale face and drowsy appearance, Lüyu was somewhat worried: “The weather in Changsha really can’t compare to our capital. The other day, Assistant Magistrate Nie’s household sent an invitation for you to go snow viewing, but looking at this ice and snow everywhere, walking even a few steps freezes one’s feet with pain—who would dare go? Won’t you be stifled staying cooped up?”
Yes, no matter how good Changsha was, it ultimately couldn’t compare to the familiar warmth of the capital. No amount of heavy cloaks and capes could block this piercing cold.
Song Chuning opened her somewhat swollen eyes and suddenly asked: “Has Teacher Fang gotten up yet?”
This Teacher Fang was a female teacher invited from Hongdu. She could teach reading and writing as well as needlework and embroidery. Song Yi had spent considerable effort to invite her, and she had always gotten along very well with Song Chuning.
Lüyu was scenting her clothes when she turned back with a smile: “When I first arrived, I already went to the side courtyard to ask. They said she had already risen. Estimating the time, she should be arriving any moment now.”
Winter in the south was severely damp and cold. Fearing Song Chuning’s body couldn’t withstand it, Song Yi had specially arranged for Teacher Fang to come to their residence to give Song Chuning lessons. Therefore, Teacher Fang could now move freely throughout the rear offices.
Before long, the curtain was lifted and Teacher Fang entered together with a gust of cold wind pouring into the room. Song Chuning instinctively pulled the blanket higher on her body.
“Though it’s colder here than the capital, surely there’s no need to be buried in quilts from morning to night?” Teacher Fang first broke into laughter upon seeing Song Chuning’s appearance. Watching servants set up the go board, she called Song Chuning to get up and wash her hands: “Today we’re still studying go. You’re progressing quickly—come play a game with me.”
Song Chuning sent Lüyu and Cuiguo to the adjacent room to scent clothes, then wrapped herself in a thick cloak and sat cross-legged by the brazier. Her facial expression was bland: “How is it only a little cold? Without even going outside, just walking a few steps in the room and the soles of one’s feet feel like they’re about to freeze through.”
As she spoke, she yawned again, her lips tinged blue-purple.
Teacher Fang made a gesture to the maid behind her and personally brought out from a gold-traced redwood tiered box a bowl still steaming with brown sugar egg drop: “Here, just freshly made. Drink it while it’s hot. Since you don’t like drinking ginger soup, brown sugar water with egg and some ginger added tastes much better.”
Song Chuning watched the young maid silently withdraw, then picked up the bowl and sipped it in small mouthfuls. Her large eyes fixed on Madam Fang as she asked: “Still no news from that side?”
“News has actually been sent from both sides, but unfortunately neither side brought good news.” Madam Fang smiled, as if incapable of anger. Even facing Song Chuning’s ice-like eyes, she remained completely unmoved and calmly placed the first stone: “It implicated Princess Shijia, who lost her life, and the Zhang family also lost their official positions. Fortunately, the Prince has always remained hidden in the background, acting only as a mastermind. Otherwise, this time he would likely have suffered calamity as well. Even worse is—”
Song Chuning’s jade-white, delicate fingers held a go stone. The coldness in her eyes intensified further, and the veins on her hands stood out clearly enough to count individually. She coldly raised her head to look at Teacher Fang, her tone finally showing some variation from before: “If every step followed the plan, why did it fail?!”
She didn’t care at all that the scapegoat they had pushed to the front had already died. It was inevitable that failure required paying a price. What she cared about was—why did it not succeed?!
According to her dream memories, she had specifically chosen the Yun family—Madam Yun wasn’t Old Madam Yun’s biological daughter. Old Madam Yun had always been at daggers drawn with her, and since her biological daughter had married into the Zhang family’s relatives, there was even more reason for her to cooperate.
And with the Yun family, who were related by marriage, standing out to testify that the Song family indeed hid poison, plus Song Chumi as the intermediary who couldn’t escape even if she tried, once the matter was exposed it should have been foolproof.
Where exactly had things gone wrong?!
“The message Consort Xian sent out said that absolutely nothing was found when Consort Song’s palace was searched. The informants originally planted in the Eastern Palace and Fengzao Palace had all been completely rooted out as well. On the day of the incident, the young eunuch from the Eastern Palace who was supposed to accuse Consort Song ended up identifying Princess Shijia instead. Zhang Tiande was also framed on Princess Shijia, along with that pouch containing poison, and they were discovered thoroughly by the Imperial Guard.” Teacher Fang stared intently at the go board yet could still laugh aloud: “We can only say our plan was seen through long ago.”
Song Chuning’s eyes stared unmoving at her face, her expression serious.
Teacher Fang finally deigned to raise her head to look at her: “Don’t look at me like that. Surely you don’t think I was the one who leaked the information? This matter just reminds me of the previous trip to Huangjue Temple.”
Song Chuning’s brow moved slightly as she raised her chin, indicating for her to continue.
“At that time, we also thought our plan was thorough with no loopholes, but in the end we still lost utterly and completely.” She stared at Song Chuning and asked with keen interest: “Can you tell me—why is this sixth sister of yours able to anticipate the enemy’s moves every single time?”
Song Chuning didn’t answer her. Instead, she lowered her head in contemplation for quite a while, then gave a scornful laugh before saying: “Why don’t you first tell me, Teacher, why you all seem very happy to see Empress Dowager Rongxian and the Zhang family suffer misfortune? Hasn’t Empress Dowager Rongxian always been Prince Duan’s backing?”
Teacher Fang seemed to have heard something incredible. She widened her eyes to look at her, then burst out laughing: “You see, you truly aren’t as perceptive as your older sister. These incidents that have occurred from last year to this year—every single one has been somewhat too coincidental, easily causing people to overthink. If things had succeeded this time and the Crown Prince had died, there would be no fear of others overthinking. But if it failed… the ultimate mastermind behind it all was Empress Dowager Rongxian, and the reason she could act with such impunity was because the Zhang family aided the tyrant in her tyranny. Isn’t such an outcome also quite good? Therefore, why be angry?”