Imperial Noble Consort Song’s words left Song Chuyi’s heart bitter, somewhat panicked, and at a loss. Since her rebirth, she had rarely encountered situations that left her at a loss with no way to cope. The matter of her future marriage was precisely the one thing she found most difficult to handle. Imperial Noble Consort Song was right—people couldn’t be too greedy. Wealth, honor, stability, and peace, or throwing oneself like a moth to flame in pursuit of some good match—one couldn’t be too greedy, couldn’t fantasize about having both. One had to choose.

Comparatively speaking, the Zhennan Prince’s estate was indeed an excellent, excellent destination. Ye Jingchuan liked her. When he looked at her, his gaze held undisguisable care and brightness. When Song Chuyi saw him, it was like seeing herself from her previous life.

But what she feared precisely was that Ye Jingchuan liked her too much. Ye Jingchuan could give her wealth and honor, the Zhennan Prince’s estate could also protect her stability, but she couldn’t provide an equivalent response. Perhaps she could use her advantages to establish a firm foothold in the Zhennan Prince’s estate, but she truly had no way to reciprocate such pure affection from Ye Jingchuan. When one of two parties contributed too much, as time passed, the one who contributed more would gradually feel the imbalance.

Even when she herself had so deeply liked Shen Qingrang back then, she had also demanded tender affection from Shen Qingrang.

She rubbed her temples, braving the cold wind as she stepped down from the carriage. She saw Ziyun already waiting at the second gate, anxiously pacing back and forth. Upon seeing her, Ziyun ran over in a flash, saying hurriedly, “Miss, Luo Gui sent word saying that Ma Changjiang, Ma Wangkun, and the others—the ones you sent to capture Madam Huang and Miss Huang—have all disappeared.”

Song Chuyi’s gaze suddenly sharpened, the fatigue and weariness that had just appeared swept completely away. She stopped in her tracks and asked, “When did this news come in?”

“This morning as soon as you left, the message had already been delivered. But then you went to the palace…” Ziyun rubbed her hands together, breathing out visible puffs of air. “Luo Gui said he had originally arranged to meet Ma Changjiang and Ma Wangkun today to collect the profit silver from Third Madam Chen’s batch. But after waiting and waiting, no one came. When he went to check the residence near the Great Immortal Huang Temple, he discovered not a single person was there.”

Ma Changjiang and Ma Wangkun were both people who understood propriety. They wouldn’t disappear without reason. After all this time, such a situation where people temporarily couldn’t be found had never occurred before. Unless something had happened. But now Yuanhui was already dead in the Imperial Guard prison, and the Huangjue Temple should be in a state where everyone feared for themselves…

She was just about to instruct Qing Ying to go out and have Luo Gui and Sun Ergou inquire for information when she saw a woman peering furtively in their direction through the flowering gate, her behavior suspicious and sneaky.

Ziyun had sharp eyes and immediately spotted her as well. Already somewhat worried, her tone wasn’t very good. She beckoned the woman over and asked, “What are you sneaking around looking at?”

The woman bowed and scraped as she pulled out a letter from her sleeve, hesitantly handing it to Ziyun. “Someone hired me to deliver a letter to the young miss.” She had received two taels of silver from them—two whole taels! This was four months of her monthly wages. She would have to go without food or drink for four or five months to save that much. Therefore, even though she knew she wasn’t qualified to enter the inner courtyard, she had immediately taken on this task.

Thinking about how Ma Changjiang, Ma Wangkun, and the others had disappeared so suspiciously, Ziyun’s heart was truly unsettled. Seeing this woman’s appearance, she knew she must have privately accepted someone’s silver to deliver this anonymous thing. Instantly somewhat angry, she couldn’t help but arch her willow brows and scold her. “What kind of thing of unknown origin are you daring to deliver to the young miss! Just wait until I report this to Sister Lin and have you dismissed. You’ve all become increasingly bold these days—the household rules might as well not exist for all you care about them.”

Song Chuyi glanced at the woman, reached out to take the letter, unfolded it for a look, then closed it again. She instructed Ziyun, “Go find Elder Brother and have him come.”

The letter asked her to go to Maple Leaf Pavilion on Qifeng Mountain. The timing of the letter’s delivery was too coincidental—it definitely couldn’t be unrelated to Ma Changjiang and the others’ disappearance. Thinking it over, Song Chuyi felt this matter must still have some connection to Yuanhui. Aside from Yuanhui, others wouldn’t know that Ma Changjiang and Ma Wangkun were her people.

These subordinates were all given to her by Cui Shaoting. She found them very useful, and after all this time, Ma Changjiang and Ma Wangkun had helped her considerably. Moreover, they had developed genuine feelings by now. She would need them for many things in the future. To win them over, she had arranged for their relatives to work in the estates and shops Cui Shi had left her. They had gradually been cultivated by now—she couldn’t let all her previous efforts go to waste.

Song Jue thought the same. After pondering for a moment, he resolutely raised his head to look at Song Chuyi. “Tomorrow I’ll accompany you.”

If they didn’t keep the appointment, Ma Changjiang and Ma Wangkun would almost certainly never return. Regardless of whether what lay ahead was a dragon’s pool and tiger’s den, they still had to venture forth to find out.

Qifeng Mountain wasn’t high, but because of the heavy snow, the road was muddy and exceptionally difficult to traverse. By the time Song Jue and Song Chuyi struggled up to Maple Leaf Pavilion halfway up the mountain, the sun had just reached its zenith. Sunlight fell upon the pavilion’s roof, making the glazed tiles extraordinarily brilliant.

Unobstructed on all four sides, wind poured into the pavilion from all directions, blowing up all the fur on Song Chuyi’s hood. She had just turned her face when she saw a young monk in blue robes running barefoot from the south, quickly entering the pavilion and standing before her and Song Jue.

On such a cold day, this half-grown child was actually barefoot. Song Jue’s eyes slid to his feet and saw his heels were already frozen red with chilblains. Yet this child seemed completely oblivious, as if not feeling the cold at all, his expression unchanged. Song Jue couldn’t help but frown slightly.

But before he could speak, the young monk spoke first, looking straight at Song Chuyi and asking, “Does Sixth Miss want to save those people?”

As expected, it was about Ma Wangkun, Ma Changjiang, and the others! Song Chuyi and Song Jue exchanged glances. She asked him, “What if I want to save them? What if I don’t?”

The young monk smiled, his large eyes curving as he fingered a string of prayer beads, staring at Song Chuyi and Song Jue. But the words he spoke were completely at odds with his adorable appearance. “If you want to save them, there’s a cold pool over there. If Sixth Miss jumps down from there, those people will naturally live. If you don’t want to save them, Sixth Miss can leave.”

Song Jue’s brows furrowed tightly, his expression very displeased as he asked, “Where did you come from, little monk?”

Opening his mouth to demand someone jump into a cold pool—the Huangjue Temple’s audacity was truly too great. At this critical time when everyone was on edge, they actually dared to commit crimes against the wind?

The young monk smiled, as if prepared for this. “In any case, I’m not a monk from Huangjue Temple. All monks in this world worship the same Buddha. Sixth Miss has ruined an eminent monk of great virtue and treats human life like grass. She is a root of calamity and should not remain in this world.”