Song Chuyi wasn’t hard-pressed to imagine what kind of schemes Old Madam Chen, having received the news in the capital, would be hatching now. After failing to kill her again and again, they were probably becoming increasingly anxious and restless. Since Elder Chen even indulged Third Madam Chen, he naturally wouldn’t pay much attention to inner quarters affairs. Most likely, after hearing a few words from Old Madam Chen, he would just let it pass.
In her eyes, the Chen family was already like grasshoppers after autumn—doomed. Her heart wasn’t affected in the slightest. When the boat stopped at shore to replenish fruits and vegetables and such, she even had the interest to lift the curtain and reveal her eyes to look at the scenery on shore. Speaking of it, although she had lived a combined forty-some years, she had never traveled far from home, much less traveled by boat. Once she had such an opportunity, though she could be considered steady and mature, her heart still inevitably held a thread of curiosity.
Moreover, calculating the time, Song Jue should be sending her a letter soon. Letters were all sent to the postal station, and then the purchasing servants would retrieve them from the station in passing. The previous two stations hadn’t had Song Jue’s letter, so this time it should arrive no matter what.
Song Jue’s letter arrived together with Xiang Mingzi’s family letter. Before she left, she had made an agreement with Xiang Mingzi—one letter every ten days. Now they had only just been away for ten days, and Xiang Mingzi’s letter had arrived punctually in her hands.
Qing Ying lit the incense burner for her—the New Year had passed, and many households had begun burning wheat straw in the fields. What drifted in with the wind was no longer the fragrance of flowers, but thick smoke. Only by lighting incense could their noses suffer less.
She had just turned her head when she noticed Song Chuyi’s expression wasn’t right—she had been smiling cheerfully just moments ago, but now her eyes were completely red. Her heart skipped a beat. Before she could say anything, she saw Song Chuyi’s tears sliding down along her long eyelashes, one after another rolling down from her face.
“What’s wrong?” Now even Qing Ying was somewhat panicked. Song Chuyi rarely showed her emotions outwardly, and crying was something that could be counted on one hand. Now seeing Song Chuyi cry, she immediately thought of the last time Song Chuyi had cried—that had been for Song Yan. In Song Chuyi’s heart, how many people could be as important as Fourth Young Master to make her shed tears? She instinctively felt something had happened. Countless bad thoughts flashed through her mind. She half-knelt beside Song Chuyi, frantically shaking her arm in confusion: “Miss, don’t frighten me! What on earth happened? Why are you crying after reading the letter?” She glanced at the small table and saw that Song Jue’s letter hadn’t been opened yet, making her heart even more confused.
Old Madam Song was ill—she had fallen ill from worrying about her. Although Song Chuyi’s letters were sent back to the Earl of Changning’s manor on time, and she was accustomed to reporting only good news and not bad, she hadn’t mentioned the river bandits matter at all. But just because she didn’t mention it didn’t mean Fifth Master wouldn’t mention it. In his family letter home, Fifth Master had mentioned this matter.
Although Fifth Master had spent that entire night sleeping in the cabin at Song Yan’s insistence, accompanied by Qin Chuan and Lin Hai, knowing nothing, in the end it was still river bandits. After thinking it over, he still mentioned it briefly in his letter to his father, though he didn’t describe it in heart-stopping detail—just a few short lines.
As a result, when Old Madam Song saw it, she nearly fainted from anxiety on the spot. Although Song Jue and Old Master Song reassured her repeatedly that it was nothing serious, the elderly ultimately couldn’t withstand such shocks. That very night she developed a high fever.
When people weren’t by your side, even knowing they were safe didn’t bring peace of mind, let alone when they had encountered river bandits. Old Madam Song thought about how Song Chuyi’s letter back hadn’t mentioned a single word about river bandits. In her heart she knew her granddaughter could handle it, but she still couldn’t help worrying and being anxious. Even in her dreams she was frightened into cold sweats, saying she had dreamed Song Chuyi had fallen into the water…
In Xiang Mingzi’s letter, she said recently she had been sleeping with Old Madam Song, who simply couldn’t sleep peacefully alone and would always wake with a start from her dreams. At the end she also urged her to write another letter home to Old Madam Song to report that she was safe.
Song Chuyi held back her tears, frantically searching for paper and brush, but after much deliberation, even though her tears had blurred everything, she still couldn’t write a single word. They say when parents are alive, don’t travel far—she had been practically raised by Old Madam Song since childhood. Old Madam Song’s health was deteriorating day by day, yet she was still making the elderly woman worry until she fell ill. The guilt and sorrow flooded her heart overwhelmingly.
In the end she still picked up the brush and with extreme difficulty finished writing the letter to Old Madam Song, and additionally sent another letter to Xiang Mingzi, asking her to comfort Old Madam Song more.
It took her a long while to calm down before she had the heart to open Song Jue’s letter. Song Jue’s letter made her feel much better in comparison—it said that Lu Bingyuan had now become an honored guest in the Chen manor. Wherever Elder Chen was, there would surely be Lu Bingyuan.
This way, their plan would proceed even more smoothly.
Song Jue didn’t ask her about the river bandits matter. Before they departed, he already knew the journey wouldn’t be peaceful. Song Jue had called Qin Chuan to his side and given him repeated instructions for who knows how long, and had specifically and strictly supervised Qin Chuan’s selection of the escort agency. He also knew that Song Chengru had given Song Chuyi a list of several capable people, and knew Song Chuyi wouldn’t have any problems.
But at the end of the letter, Song Jue urged her to have a safe journey and to wait for him in the fifth month so they could go horseback riding together in Tongzhou. Song Chuyi’s eyes suddenly reddened again. In this lifetime, all the people she cared about were still living well. She really had nothing more to ask for.
When Song Yan came up to see her, he saw her eyes were red and immediately became somewhat anxious: “Are you feeling unwell? Do you have a fever again?”
The wind on the boat was strong, and Song Chuyi found the cabin stuffy so she always liked to keep the window open. She had fallen ill this way a few days ago. Now he didn’t seem like a younger brother, but more like an older brother.
Song Chuyi shook her head and grabbed him. After a moment of silence, she forced out a smile and said softly: “Let’s talk for a while. I’ll be fine after we talk for a while.”
Song Yan rarely saw his sister like this, but since sister had spoken up, he had no reason not to agree. He quietly nodded and sat beside Song Chuyi, tilting his head to glance at her and asking: “Sister, are you missing Grandmother?”
He himself hadn’t spent that much time with Old Madam Song—nowhere near as intimate as Song Chuyi and Old Madam Song were. But thinking of how much he had missed Song Chuyi during those days when he was alone studying in Sichuan, he could understand how much Song Chuyi couldn’t let go of Old Madam Song.
Song Chuyi nodded, reaching out to touch his head, unable to help but sigh deeply: “Grandmother is getting old…”
Song Yan grasped her hand and looked at her: “After we finish celebrating Grandmother’s birthday, we’ll go back. Don’t worry. Sister, you haven’t met Grandmother yet, but Grandmother is also old… When I left back then, I also couldn’t bear to leave Grandmother, just like how you can’t bear to leave Grandmother now…”