The injury on Song Chuyi’s face made Song Chengru’s entire demeanor seem somewhat gloomy. It was as if Yuanhui had publicly slapped him hard across the face. This monk, relying on some influence and backing from the Eastern Palace’s Great Consort Fan and Prince Dongping, didn’t put the Marquis Changning’s household in his eyes at all. Unable to wait until leaving the capital, he dared lay such a vicious hand on his granddaughter—clearly not taking him seriously, not believing he would dare turn against the Eastern Palace for the sake of a young girl.
“He’s probably far too confident in the master he chose.” Song Chengru pressed his lips together and glanced at Zhou Weizhao. “Your Highness, forgive this subject’s presumption, but may I inquire—I heard that His Highness the Crown Prince’s health is ailing?”
This was hardly a secret anymore. The Crown Prince had fallen ill, and all the imperial physicians and attendants in the palace had been transferred to the Eastern Palace for round-the-clock consultations. Zhou Weizhao thought of the reason for the Crown Prince’s collapse and nodded with a half-smile.
Song Chengru immediately followed up with another question: “Your Highness should know the reason for His Highness the Crown Prince’s collapse. Even at this point, does Your Highness still intend to watch the fire from across the river? I fear Consort Fan Liangdi will absolutely never resign herself to falling out of favor from now on.”
This wasn’t a question of whether Great Consort Fan was willing or not. Men’s psychology was sometimes just that delicate. Once they became convinced of a certain fact, it was extremely difficult to change their minds. Even if they knew what they believed was false, even if you laid the truth bare before them, they would forever remain half-believing and half-doubting. And this bit of doubt, for a woman who relied on the Crown Prince’s favor, was essentially already fatal.
This point was actually something Song Chuyi had taught him. He suddenly very much wanted to see her expression at this moment. Turning his head, he happened to meet Song Chuyi’s gaze—she was also looking at him.
“Grandfather.” Song Chuyi cleared her throat. “The Crown Prince will wake soon. Once the Crown Prince wakes, both Consort Fan Liangdi and Prince Dongping will be very busy. When they get busy, Yuanhui will have to get busy along with them.”
This amount of time was already enough for her to set up a trap—a trap that would utterly ruin Yuanhui’s reputation.
Death, for someone like Yuanhui who claimed to have seen through life and death, was actually not painful at all. She wouldn’t let him die like that. She wanted him to watch with his own eyes as the good reputation he had painstakingly accumulated over half a lifetime crumbled bit by bit. She wanted all the people under heaven to curse and despise this supposedly enlightened high monk. Since he fancied himself as the god who would save all people under heaven, she would make it so he could never raise his head again before the people of the world. She wanted to see how he could be enshrined in temples and receive offerings of incense like in her previous life.
Song Jue was clever and understood Song Chuyi best. Hearing her speak this way, he raised his eyebrows: “You’ve already thought of a way?”
“No one is without weaknesses. No matter how capable Yuanhui is, he can only keep his mother and sister protected at the foot of the mountain. But he should also know that not everything will go as he wishes.” Song Chuyi’s eyes were red, and the scar on her cheek appeared even more shocking under the lamplight. She seemed oblivious to it, gently lowering her head. “I’ve already asked His Highness the Grand Heir to have Qing Zhuo and Han Feng follow my people. Tomorrow morning at first light, they’ll go abduct both his mother and sister.”
Old Master Song hesitated somewhat. Calamity should not extend to wives and children, and moreover, Yuanhui had already left the secular world—his mother and sister shouldn’t have been implicated. But when he met Song Chuyi’s eyes, clear and cold as glass, he suddenly couldn’t utter a single word of objection. When Yuanhui schemed against Song Chuyi, he equally well knew it would cause harm to the Song and Cui families, yet he still showed not the slightest mercy. Song Chuyi was doing the right thing. At this stage, there was no need to concern oneself with being a gentleman or not—the one who could win was the ultimate victor.
“And what about today’s incident?” Song Chengru keenly detected the deeper meaning in Song Chuyi’s words. “You already have a plan for today’s incident?”
Zhou Weizhao finally took up the thread of conversation: “The property deed for the residence she bought wasn’t in her own name to begin with. After our discussion, we decided to say this residence belongs to my aunt—”
It belonged to Princess Rongcheng. Song Chuyi, His Highness the Grand Heir, and Second Young Master Ye were visiting and playing at Princess Rongcheng’s residence when they were attacked—which meant this group of assassins should originally have been targeting Princess Rongcheng.
Song Chengru and Song Jue exchanged a glance and immediately understood what Zhou Weizhao and Song Chuyi meant.
Consort Xian truly should pay the price for her foolishness and relentless aggression. Losing a daughter and a son hadn’t made her any more clear-headed, so they could only use other methods to ensure she could no longer cause trouble or become a blade in others’ hands.
“This is also good, though it troubles Her Highness the Princess.” Song Chengru looked at Song Chuyi with some surprise. He had thought Song Chuyi wouldn’t ask Zhou Weizhao for help, since given how complicated the current situation was, not standing on Great Consort Fan’s side while still asking Zhou Weizhao for help was like declaring one’s position.
But this wasn’t the time to worry about such things. Song Chuyi had always been someone with a plan. Song Chengru simply asked her directly: “So what do you intend to do?”
Having Yuanhui blocking their path was always troublesome. This person harbored hostility toward both the Cui clan and the Song family, and now he had even extended his hand into the Song household. After spring began, they still needed to free up their hands to deal with Elder Chen. If Yuanhui remained until that time, there would be far too many uncertain factors. Better to deal with him now while they had the chance.
“Yuanhui won’t stand by and watch his mother and sister die.” The curve of Song Chuyi’s lips was somewhere between a smile and not. “He may have seen through his own life and death, but he can’t see through others’. With his mother and sister in my hands, he’ll either willingly accept being slandered, or watch helplessly as his relatives die one by one.”
Using hostages to threaten Yuanhui? Song Chengru felt Song Chuyi was being a bit too naive this time. He looked at her hesitantly: “Those who accomplish great things don’t concern themselves with trifles. In the past, the founding Emperor was able to throw his own children from his horse to save his own life—how do you know Yuanhui won’t be willing to abandon his mother and sister?” After all, compared to ordinary people who believed in the debt owed to parents for giving birth and raising them, Yuanhui was a monk who had renounced the world and believed all four elements were empty.
Song Jue was also somewhat worried: “Grandfather is right. When Yuanhui was killing Japanese pirates in Fujian, he didn’t even blink. Expecting him to give up the ambitions in his heart for the sake of his mother and sister probably won’t work.”
Only Zhou Weizhao remained composed and calm, not even asking a single additional question.
Old Master Song found this curious: “Does Your Highness also believe Yuanhui will allow himself to be controlled for the sake of his mother and sister?”
Zhou Weizhao looked toward Song Chuyi. Seeing her also raise her head to look at him, he slowly smiled: “Even if he wouldn’t go so far as to be controlled by others for the sake of his mother and sister, he’s still prone to falling into traps he sets for himself. He thinks far too highly of himself, always believing there’s nothing in this world he cannot solve.”
Clever people were always prone to overthinking simple matters, turning obviously simple things into something ten times more serious and complex than they originally were, making them most susceptible to falling into the most ordinary traps.