Qing Luo turned around and faced Song Chuyi openly, her expression blank and her tone flat and businesslike: “From the day we came down from the mountain, His Highness told us that we would be your people from then on. Since we are your maidservants, we should naturally only concern ourselves with you. As for matters concerning others, if you wish to tell us, you’ll tell us; if you don’t wish to tell us, we shouldn’t pry.”
Song Chuyi truly felt grateful for Zhou Weizhao’s thoughtfulness, yet at the same time, an indescribable fear rose in her heart—she didn’t understand why Zhou Weizhao treated her so well. In the past, she could still comfort herself that they were mutually beneficial to each other, but later on, it was clearly Zhou Weizhao helping her more, and moreover, he asked for nothing in return. It was precisely this asking for nothing in return that was most unsettling. Song Chuyi didn’t want to owe anyone favors, but Zhou Weizhao’s favor was truly difficult to repay. She propped her chin on her hand and tilted her head to gaze at the beautiful scenery outside the window, feeling her mind somewhat fuzzy.
Grandmother and Maternal Grandmother were right—if she didn’t want to wade through the murky waters of the imperial family, she should have kept her distance from the Crown Prince from the start.
She let out a low sigh and instructed Qing Luo to make arrangements for her: “Go out and tell Ma Changjiang to relay a message to Commander Lai, saying that I’ll wait for him at Peach Blossom Ferry.”
Her movements at the Cui family were relatively free. The customs in the Jin region were open, and women weren’t like those in the capital who never stepped out of the inner chambers. On the contrary, they often had opportunities to go out, and there were many festivals and celebrations. For instance, now that spring had arrived, the Shangsi Festival on the third day of the third month was approaching, and there were frequently activities like temple fairs. It was common for daughters of ordinary families to make a living in the marketplace. The Cui family daughters weren’t forbidden to leave the house either. Just yesterday, she had gone to a villa in the suburbs with Cui Huaqing and Cui Huayao to ride horses.
When Old Madam Cui heard that she wanted to go out alone, she hesitated for a moment. After all, this wasn’t the capital. However, in the few days since Song Chuyi had arrived, she had discerned what was extraordinary about her granddaughter. Just as Cui Yingshu and Madam Cui had said, Song Chuyi was truly an extremely, extremely clever child. What she should and shouldn’t do was clear as a mirror in her mind; she didn’t need reminders from others at all.
Since she wanted to go out, there must be good reason for it. Sure enough, when Yu Shi heard about this in the afternoon, she also advised her: “Xiao Yi always acts with propriety. Since she says she wants to go out, there must certainly be important business. You needn’t worry about this.”
She had come this time to discuss Cui Huaying’s marriage with Old Madam Cui: “The people to accompany the bride haven’t all been decided yet. By rights, we should send three or four men from our side, but while we have enough elders, we’re short on people of the same generation.” She looked at Old Madam Cui: “I was thinking, perhaps we should have Ayan make up the numbers. After all, he’s a cousin, and he’s visiting from the Song family, so it would be fine for him to go.”
But if this were the case, Song Yan would have to stay in Jinling for a while. Old Madam Cui was somewhat uneasy: “He came together with Xiao Yi. Xiao Yi might not be able to stay in Jinzhong until he returns, so he’ll inevitably have to return to the capital on his own.”
Yu Shi sat down beside her and said softly: “There’s still Sister Yi. She’ll need to return to the capital at that time as well. When Third Brother goes to the capital then, he can bring these two youngsters back together, which would be perfect. Moreover, didn’t his uncle say he wanted Yan’er to go to Jinling to find his teacher, to have his teacher send someone to stay by Yan’er’s side? This would be a good opportunity to take care of both matters at once.”
Since she put it that way, Old Madam Cui thought it over and nodded: “If that’s the case, I’ll ask Xiao Yi what she thinks when she returns.” Although it was a happy occasion, it was still better if everyone was willing. Bringing up Song Yan naturally led her to ask about him again: “Xiao Yi has gone out—where is Yan’er?”
The peach blossoms in Jinzhong were blooming vigorously. Peach Blossom Ferry had nearly a hundred peach trees planted there. When the wind blew, the peach blossoms fell like rain, fluttering everywhere. The emerald green water surface in the distance was instantly dyed pink, appearing from afar like a river of peach blossoms.
Song Chuyi had been sitting in the Peach Blossom Tower by Peach Blossom Ferry for less than a quarter hour when she saw Lai Chenglong enter.
After sitting down, Lai Chenglong first looked her over before smiling: “Haven’t seen you for some days, yet your complexion is even better. It seems you weren’t affected by those water bandits at all.”
“Speaking of which, I must thank Uncle Lai for the warning.” Song Chuyi smiled as she lifted the pot to pour him a cup of tea, asking him candidly: “Your visit to Jinzhong this time probably isn’t entirely for the Yangquan matter, is it?”
If it had truly been because of the Yangquan rebellion, his name should have been on the original list of travelers; there would have been no need to rush over afterward with such difficulty. From the looks of it, the Yangquan rebellion was clearly just a pretext.
But as for what he had actually come to do, Song Chuyi couldn’t immediately draw a conclusion. By rights, Emperor Jianzhang had no reason to both want to make important use of Zhou Weizhao while simultaneously sending Lai Chenglong to constrain him.
“Nothing can be hidden from you. I didn’t come solely for the Yangquan rebellion this time. Although His Majesty did intend for me to assist His Highness, he also assigned me another task.” Lai Chenglong took a sip of hot tea, his face wreathed in the rising steam, and looked at Song Chuyi as he spoke unhurriedly: “His Majesty sent me to investigate the matter of the Cui family and the copper mines.”
Copper mines? The Cui family? Song Chuyi instinctively sensed something wrong. She nearly forgot to breathe and asked him somewhat suspiciously: “What connection could there be between the Cui family and copper mines?”
Gold, silver, and copper mines had always been strictly forbidden to private exploitation. They were all nationalized, mined by local government offices and submitted to the Ministry of Finance annually. Anyone who dared to have designs on these metal resources would be courting death—confiscation of property and extermination of the clan would be getting off lightly.
“The Jin region has abundant mineral resources, as Sixth Miss knows. The Cui family was able to establish itself in Jinzhong for so long precisely because they made their fortune from copper and silver mines at the beginning. It was by relying on these resources that they helped the founding emperor. Later, the Cui family voluntarily returned all these mines to the court, and the founding emperor even specially bestowed upon the Cui family a piece of calligraphy for this. But perhaps too much time has passed, or perhaps for some other purpose, the Cui family seems to have set their sights on the copper mines again.”
Song Chuyi stood there stunned, somewhat incredulous. How could the Cui family possibly be so foolish as to become entangled with copper mines? Over these years, how many officials had been replaced and how many people had been executed in the Jin region because of mineral resources? The Cui family had two uncles who were both shrewd as foxes—they couldn’t possibly do something so disadvantageous as to arouse the court’s suspicion.
“Was there a secret report?” Song Chuyi struggled to maintain her composure as she looked at Lai Chenglong: “Do you know who sent the secret report?”
If it were merely unfounded rumors, Emperor Jianzhang wouldn’t have specifically dispatched Lai Chenglong. From the looks of it, they had truly discovered something.