Only after boarding the carriage did Qing Ying dare breathe a sigh of relief. Patting her chest, she asked Song Chuyi: “Miss, how did you know that such an unremarkable-looking dog would actually be so formidable?” If not for winning the bet against Han Zhi with that dog, Han Zhi might not have been driven to such distraction by rage.
Song Yan was also very curious. Those seasoned veterans he’d previously invited to advise him had also accompanied him to the dog arena to look at dogs, and without exception they’d all chosen those tall, muscularly strong wolf-dogs. When those tore and bit, they were often more fierce and vicious. Yet Song Chuyi hadn’t even thought twice—the moment she saw this distinctive dog, she’d immediately decided to use it to compete against Han Zhi’s wolf-dog.
This was thanks to Han Zhi himself. In her previous life, Han Zhi had relied on this very dog to remain undefeated before those wealthy young wastrels. Give him a few more years and he would have discovered this dog’s merits himself. This time she was merely taking advantage of her previous life’s knowledge.
But while this matter benefited from her previous life’s insights, bringing Prince of Dongping here did not—for that, she had to thank Zhang Run and Wei Yanxi.
Thinking of this, she asked Qing Ying: “How did it go? Did you bring the person out?”
She’d previously had Ma Changjiang keep close watch on the movements at Han Zhi’s estate in Tongzhou. Sure enough, once news came, she’d asked Lai Chenglong for help. The people Lai Chenglong dispatched were all skilled hands, and with Ma Changjiang and the others’ assistance, she’d finally managed to find Zhang Run.
It was fortunate she’d found Zhang Run—only then did she learn that the relationship between Han Zhi and Grand Madam Fan’s faction had been somewhat delicate recently. Han Yue Heng’s matter had been orchestrated entirely by Grand Madam Fan. Though Han Zhi said nothing openly and had even gotten into a dispute with his birth mother Minor Madam Fan over the matter, he was deeply troubled by it in his heart. This type of person who was sensitive and gloomy to the extreme was always acutely attuned to others’ emotions. Grand Madam Fan had treated him so well in the past, but her sudden change of attitude was an enormous blow to Han Zhi.
What had seemed like an inseparable bond between the Han family and Consort Fan of the Eastern Palace wasn’t an unbreakable wall after all. Since Han Zhi wanted to dig a pit for her, naturally she couldn’t just sit and wait for death—she knew Prince of Dongping had been very vexed recently over Xu Liang and Jia Yingxin’s matter. If at this moment Han Zhi still disregarded the big picture by offending the Song family to cause him trouble, completely ignoring his predicament, then whether it was Grand Madam Fan who might already harbor dissatisfaction toward the Han family, or Zhou Weiqi, neither could possibly protect Han Zhi as before.
And the reason she’d been unable to deliver a killing blow to Han Zhi all along was that the implications were too great—she’d risk offending Grand Madam Fan and damaging relations with Zhou Weiqi.
Now Han Zhi had personally prepared his own coffin. She only needed to give it a gentle push to cut off his retreat. With Grand Madam Fan and Zhou Weiqi both distancing themselves from him, this was the best time to strike. That’s why she had to enrage Han Zhi, had to make him want to kill her and Song Yan regardless of consequences, exposing Han Zhi’s intentions for Prince of Dongping to see, making Prince of Dongping completely give up on Han Zhi.
Now it was time for Zhang Run to be put to use. Striking at this moment, Grand Madam Fan would definitely stand by and watch.
Qing Ying hurriedly nodded: “He was mixed in with Eldest Young Master and Second Young Master Ye’s convoy leaving the city and came out together. He should be at our Tongzhou estate by now.”
Ye Jingchuan had long been as anxious as an ant on a hot pan. Seeing that it was almost time to hang the lanterns with still no movement, he couldn’t help but urge Song Jue repeatedly: “Otherwise, shouldn’t we still go take a look? I don’t believe that even if we went to forcibly snatch people back, Han Zhi could really do anything to us!”
What he could do was naturally limited, but all the previous planning would have been wasted effort. Song Jue suppressed that thread of unease in his heart and firmly shook his head: “If circumstances had changed, there would definitely be movement from Xiao Yi’s side. Since no news has come, that is the best news.”
His words had barely fallen when Uncle Zhang, who had been waiting at the entrance, cried out in joy: “Sixth Miss and Fourth Young Master’s carriage has arrived!”
Song Jue and Ye Jingchuan exchanged glances and hurried out to greet them.
Song Chuyi and Song Yan both looked fine, without the slightest hint of distress. It seemed matters had progressed fairly smoothly. Song Jue breathed a sigh of relief, then first glared coldly at Song Yan.
If not for Song Yan, today’s trouble wouldn’t have occurred.
But now wasn’t the time for recriminations. While welcoming Song Chuyi and walking together toward the house, he lowered his voice to tell her: “Magistrate He should have already set out to investigate that illegal gambling den. I heard two people died there just today.”
Actually, deaths were practically a daily occurrence there, but previously no one had investigated. Now that someone was investigating, circumstances would immediately become very different.
Ye Jingchuan also interjected: “Although they’d long since found scapegoats, now that Landlord Zhang’s life, property, wife and children are all in others’ hands, with a bit of instigation, he confessed.”
This was why one should deal with intelligent people. Someone like Grand Madam Fan—once she decided to deal with someone, she would personally arrange all the escape routes smoothly and securely, without leaving a single gap.
When the time came, all the crimes of truly operating these illegal gambling dens, loansharking, and killing people would fall entirely on Han Zhi, with no connection to the Eastern Palace.
In recent years, quite a few nobles had engaged in these black market businesses. Some had been caught—fortunately these matters usually weren’t enough to warrant confiscation of family property and clan extermination. At most it was exile, and in more severe cases, those without money for bribes would be sentenced to execution after autumn.
This suited Song Chuyi’s purposes perfectly. In any case, on the surface this matter couldn’t be connected to her or the Song family in the slightest. It was all Han Zhi’s own illegal gambling den that got into trouble. Only because Grand Madam Fan stood by and watched would Han Zhi end up in such a state.
Even if Han Zhengqing and Minor Madam Fan wanted to hate someone, they should hate Grand Madam Fan and Zhou Weiqi, who did business together and took the lion’s share when dividing profits, but pushed others forward when trouble came.
“Where is Zhang Run?” Song Chuyi had walked very quickly. Upon entering the main hall, she saw Zhang Run sitting properly and waiting there.
He immediately stood up. Though his complexion was somewhat pale, his spirits seemed decent. He asked Song Chuyi: “How did it go, Sixth Miss? Did Prince of Dongping go as agreed?”
If Prince of Dongping hadn’t witnessed that performance, he wouldn’t resolve to abandon Han Zhi, this important chess piece. Then all the intelligence he’d gathered would be useless, and this time Han Zhi would again slip lightly through disaster.
Han Zhi had long since discovered his dealings with Song Chuyi, yet said nothing about it, toying with him like a cat with a mouse, occasionally tossing him some scraps, making him think he’d discovered some momentous intelligence to report trip after trip to Sixth Miss Song.
Later, he’d simply planned to have him and Wei Yanxi killed to silence them. If not for Song Chuyi’s people acting swiftly with early preparation, he’d already be bound and thrown in a carriage heading to Suzhou by now, and Wei Yanxi would already be dead.
He wanted to die, wanted to go down and see his father, mother, and younger sister, but he didn’t want to die uselessly having accomplished nothing. No matter what, he had to drag Han Zhi down with him—only then would he have the face to meet his parents and relatives below.