The southern winter was even more unbearable than the north. Song Chuning walked on the somewhat slippery stone-paved path, and before long felt her toes frozen together.

But she was no longer as vexed and distressed as before—being led by the nose was very difficult to endure. She had already let Madam Fang have her fill of the thrill of control; now it was time to turn the tables and become the host instead.

Otherwise, if things continued this way, Madam Fang would truly think she was a puppet that could be controlled and exploited, summoned at will and dismissed at whim. The corners of her mouth curved up in a slight arc, her heart surging with pride and excitement at having everything under control, her steps becoming much faster than before.

Madam Fang stood beneath the eaves watching her walk farther and farther away with cold eyes, her facial expression inscrutable.

The little maid holding the tiered box stood behind her for a while. Seeing that she hadn’t spoken for a long time, she asked with some concern, “Madam, this Eighth Miss Song doesn’t seem as easy to control as we imagined… Even the Young Master’s matter, she seems to know crystal clear…”

Wei Yanzhao was Madam Fang’s biological son. If his identity were exposed, from then on he would never be able to gain a foothold in the Wei family—the Wei family might not even spare him! If Wei Yanzhao wasn’t their Wei family’s legitimate son, what qualification would he have to enter the Yulin Guard relying on their ancestral privileges?

But this secret had always been well hidden, yet somehow Song Jue had learned of it—Song Chuning possessed the ability to predict the future, and the things she foresaw were always accurate. Since she said Song Jue already knew Wei Yanzhao’s identity, then he knew.

The expression on Madam Fang’s face transformed from initial indifference to fierceness. Though this fierceness was only momentary, it still left the little maid at her side trembling with fear.

“Madam, should we…” She made a throat-slitting gesture, looking toward Madam Fang. “This Eighth Miss Song has an unpredictable temperament and is full of schemes. If one day we truly don’t do as she says, I’m afraid the Young Master’s matter will be difficult to resolve peacefully. But now that she knows about the Young Master’s matter, it’s a permanent handle—it’s hard to imagine what else she might force us to do with this…”

Yes, this Song Chuning was very strange and difficult. Madam Fang had taught her for most of this year, believing she had her completely figured out and transparent, that she had everything about her under control. But only now did she suddenly realize it was this Eighth Miss Song who had turned the tables and had her completely in her grasp, holding her greatest weakness yet remaining silent, enduring until now before laying out her cards…

Such a clever person who also possessed great fortune—what she currently lacked were just the words “opportunity” and “experience.” Once she matured and became more seasoned, that destructive power and lethal force would truly be impossible to predict.

But right now she absolutely couldn’t risk making a move against her. Even if she wanted to kill her to silence her, this definitely wasn’t the right moment. She closed her eyes, and when she opened them she had already recovered her usual calm and self-possession, lightly shaking her head at the maid. “No, not yet.”

The little maid lowered her head and said nothing more, instead asking, “Then are we truly going to do as she says and help her eliminate Young Master Song?”

Did Song Chuning give her any other option? Bringing up that Song Jue already knew about Wei Yanzhao’s identity—wasn’t that adding weight to force her to make a move and kill Song Jue for her?

“I’ll write a letter to discuss this matter with the Prince myself.” She looked back at Song Chuning’s courtyard, pausing before instructing the little maid, “You all be more vigilant from now on, pay more attention to her affairs. Isn’t she supposed to be adding two senior maids? It would be best if our people were selected by her.”

The little maid nodded in understanding, lowering her voice to ask, “Shall I have that servant from the study go to you later?”

Madam Fang nodded with a smile. After the maid brought her cloak, she crossed the long corridor and went out through the moon gate.

Song Yi in the study showed a loving smile when he saw Song Chuning. Seeing she was dressed fairly warmly, he nodded with satisfaction, then instructed Cuiguo and Lüyu at her side, “In a few days someone will come to tailor clothes for the young miss. You all be careful and have the maids in the room avoid people.”

This was the difference between being outside and in the capital. The Earl’s household had specialized needlework staff. Working as an external official outside, they didn’t have the spare money to specifically employ tailors.

Song Chuning waited until Lüyu and Cuiguo acknowledged and went out, then turned to stare at Song Yi, her eyes bright and sparkling as she asked him, “What did Father summon me for?”

She had helped Song Yi resolve the bandit troubles that had plagued Changsha for many years, and had also managed the back courtyard affairs in an orderly fashion, arranging everything to Song Yi’s complete satisfaction. Therefore, their relationship had improved by leaps and bounds, better than it had been in the capital by who knows how much.

Seeing her ask this, Song Yi smiled and made his voice even more gentle. “The capital has replied—your grandfather and grandmother aren’t forcing you to return anymore.”

Song Chuning sneered inwardly with disdain, but her face showed a grateful and moved expression. Her little bun-like face reddened, her eyes containing a pool of tears that threatened to fall yet didn’t.

After this past half year of getting along, Song Yi doted on Song Chuning even more, and even less believed that such an understanding and gentle, lovely daughter would do something like setting fires as Old Master Song and Old Madam Song had claimed.

It was probably because of Li Shi’s matter, combined with pressure from the Cui family, that his parents had vented their anger on this six-year-old little girl.

Song Yi’s heart felt even more pained. After a long while, he sighed. “You’ve suffered grievances this past half year. It’s all Father’s fault for causing you mother and daughter to endure such hardship…”

A tear the size of a bean slid down Song Chuning’s cheek along her eyelashes. Both hands clutching her handkerchief, she shook her head vigorously. “No, it’s not Father’s fault. It’s Mother who did something wrong… that made Grandfather and Grandmother angry with her. It’s also daughter’s fault for causing Father to develop a rift with Sixth Sister and Fourth Brother…”

Speaking of this, Song Yi also felt somewhat uncomfortable.

He was far away in Changsha. In the past half year, he had received quite a few letters from home, but not a single one was written by Song Chuyi and Song Yan, the two siblings—he also knew that what he did at the time might not have been good enough. He hadn’t even thought to ask how Song Yan’s injuries were before quietly leaving with Song Chuning. But the body, hair, and skin were received from one’s parents. He was still Song Chuyi and Song Yan’s biological father after all. Just because of this, did they hate their own father?

Or perhaps, they had actually already begun to hate him after that matter with Li Shi? They certainly must think that he and Li Shi were both murderers who drove their mother to her death…