Although Song Chuyi had said so, the people who needed to be dispatched still had to be sent out. Old Madam Song contemplated for a while, then sent someone to summon Old Master Song back to discuss the matter.
“I don’t know if Little Yi was traumatized by Madam Li and her daughter in the dream, or if it was Brother Yan’s incident…” Old Madam Song carefully considered her wording and sighed. “She’s become like a startled bird from Brother Yan’s incident, guarding against Little Eighth to such an extent. But fortunately her vigilance is so strong, otherwise if something truly happened to Brother Jue, it would truly be our sin.”
If it weren’t for their negligence, how could Song Chuning have followed Song Yi to a place as far away as Changsha, where the heavens are high and the emperor is distant? Now no one could control her—wasn’t she free to do whatever she wanted?
Old Master Song’s expression grew increasingly grave. He shook his head heavily.
“This little brat’s mind is so vicious, she truly cannot be kept.” He looked at Old Madam Song. “Since Consort Song has said so, let’s do as Her Ladyship says. That troublemaker Second Son—if he causes any more trouble, he doesn’t deserve to be our son.”
If it weren’t for that muddle-headed, weak fellow Song Yi, things wouldn’t have deteriorated to this extent.
“He’s far inferior to his elder brother, and he doesn’t handle matters much better than his younger brothers either.” Old Master Song made his conclusion. “Back then, if it weren’t for him, how could Madam Li have entered our family’s gates? In the end, the Cui family and Little Yi aren’t wrong to blame him—he’s the murderer who killed his wife. It’s just that we’ve always protected him out of some selfishness. This time if he dares to make trouble with me again, I’ll dare to open the ancestral hall and throw him out!”
He rarely spoke so harshly with such naked emotion. Even Old Madam Song was startled, somewhat unable to react. After a long while, she finally lowered her head apprehensively.
Opening the ancestral hall—since the Song family was stripped of their title due to the property dispute, there had never been anyone who warranted opening the ancestral hall to be cast out. If there truly were such a person, and moreover one from the direct line of the Song family’s legitimate branch, who knew how many eyes it would attract? Song Yi’s future prospects would be pretty much ruined from then on—the single character for filial piety pressing down on him would be enough to completely destroy his reputation.
Old Madam Song felt somewhat reluctant, but she also knew Old Master Song was considering the entire Song family. Song Yi truly needed to learn to improve. Otherwise, relying on the family’s protection to sail smoothly through his official career, yet turning around to throw tantrums at them…
Seeing Old Master Song frowning with a very irritated expression, Old Madam Song couldn’t help but ask, “Why does your complexion look so bad? Could it be that besides Brother Jue, there’s something else?”
“These past days have been tremendously vexing.” Old Master Song had always spoken frankly before Old Madam Song. “The northwest has been struck by snowstorms, but the disaster relief funds allocated by the Ministry of Finance have vanished like a clay ox entering the sea—not a sound to be heard. Now the situation is becoming serious.”
Old Madam Song had long heard Old Master Song mention the northwest snowstorm disaster, but hadn’t expected it to be this severe. After pausing, she asked Old Master Song, “This is also a matter the Ministry of Finance should worry about. You need not get too worked up over it.”
“But this fire has burned to my doorstep—how can I not get worked up?” Old Master Song gave a bitter laugh. “Because I previously served in the Ministry of Finance and know all about these matters, Fang Xiaoru has petitioned the Emperor to have me go to Jiangnan together to raise disaster relief funds.”
The money of those salt merchants in Jiangnan had always been the hardest to extract. Fang Xiaoru must have known the difficulty, which is why he dragged along this former Minister of Finance, fearing having to shoulder the responsibility alone.
Matters of money were the most troublesome to touch, especially disaster relief funds—there were countless intricacies involved. Old Madam Song inevitably grew worried as well. “That batch of salt merchants and wealthy traders in Jiangnan are each fatter than the next yet stingier than anyone. How difficult would it be to extract money from their hands? Behind them all are layers upon layers of networks. If you’re not careful, you might offend some figure in the background. If you can’t obtain the funds, you’ll inevitably be impeached by the censors for disregarding the common people and being utterly useless. Even if you truly do raise sufficient funds, you may not necessarily return safely. How did you get dragged into such murky waters for no good reason?”
“Isn’t that the truth?” Old Master Song laughed coldly and set down his teacup. “Does Fang Xiaoru think I don’t know what scheme he’s plotting? Running to Old Chen’s place every day, then coming up with this method. Old Chen truly thinks we’re easy to bully, actually wanting to let Fang Xiaoru climb up by stepping on me.”
The Old Chen he spoke of was Elder Chen. Old Madam Song felt nothing but a chill in her teeth. “He’s not unaware that we currently stand on the same side as him, yet he still sets his sights on us.”
“It’s true we stand on the same side, but didn’t Little Yi also say? Even between blood brothers, there are plenty who want to compete for superiority—what more us?” Seeing Old Madam Song somewhat distracted, Old Master Song turned instead to comfort her. “Just keep this matter to yourself, no need to worry excessively. I’ve weathered the storms in the Ministry of Finance for over twenty years—no one knows the intricacies better than I do. It’s merely somewhat troublesome.”
What other options were there? Could he possibly refuse?
Old Madam Song nodded blankly, then told Old Master Song again about dispatching people to Deyang to search for Song Jue. Afterward, she lowered her voice and reported to Old Master Song in complete detail everything discussed during today’s palace visit. Finally, with a somber expression, she said, “The Worthy Consort and Second Consort have obviously already colluded together. No matter how much we guard against open attacks, hidden arrows are hard to defend against. The advice Little Yi gave Her Ladyship was to have her lean more toward Qingning Palace. This was originally the proper course, but when we left the palace today, we heard that something had happened in the Eastern Palace again and imperial physicians were summoned.”
Old Master Song frowned with some confusion. “But His Highness the Crown Prince just visited the Imperial Observatory to discuss this year’s ancestral worship at the Imperial Ancestral Temple. His complexion seemed quite good.”
“The Eastern Palace in the future will be equivalent to the current imperial palace—there are many factions there as well. Just like you and Elder Chen…” Old Madam Song hinted obliquely to Old Master Song. “This time I suspect it’s not His Highness the Crown Imperial Grandson or His Highness himself who had an incident, but rather that other imperial offspring.” She reminded Old Master Song in a roundabout way. “He has genuinely enjoyed the favor of being at His Highness the Crown Prince’s and the Emperor’s knees for eleven years. His Highness the Crown Prince has always been extremely fond of him.”
Old Master Song understood Old Madam Song’s meaning. The Crown Prince had two sons. Back then when the Crown Imperial Grandson was sent to Longhu Mountain, it was because the Crown Princess personally went before the Emperor and Empress tearfully pleading. Although on the surface everything still seemed harmonious, everyone was more or less deeply secretive about that inexplicable serious illness the Crown Imperial Grandson had contracted.
Looking at it now, the Crown Princess and that Crown Prince Consort Fan were indeed very much at odds.
And if Zhou Weizhao and Zhou Weiqi were in discord, then the Eastern Palace would inevitably have some incidents.
The Song family was obviously closer to Zhou Weizhao, so they still needed to see which son the Crown Prince valued more—but the Crown Imperial Grandson had only recently returned, and the Crown Prince had been ill for so long. Exactly what the relationship between the Crown Prince and Crown Imperial Grandson was like, outsiders simply couldn’t fathom.