Song Chuyi didn’t sleep well that night. Although the immediate crisis had been resolved, she had been on edge the entire previous day, maintaining high tension for far too long. When she went to bed at night, she kept tossing and turning restlessly, and woke up before dawn.

Nanny Xu gently lifted the bed curtain and helped her get up, looking at the dark circles under her eyes with heartache. “How is it you had another sleepless night? We really must call in Physician Yan to examine you today. If you keep sleeping so poorly, even someone made of iron couldn’t endure it.”

The prescription that Qing Luo had written had already been shown to Physician Yan. According to Physician Yan, if this prescription didn’t work, then no prescription would. This showed it wasn’t a matter of the prescription or of nourishing the body—it was purely her psychological ailment.

Old Madam Cui also rose early today. She got up early because she needed to clean up the mess Cui Shaoying had left behind. She had to carefully erase all traces of matters the Cui family had been involved in, one by one, to prevent anyone from settling scores later. Today, the family elders were all gathering to open the ancestral hall and discuss matters inside. When she saw Song Chuyi, she asked, “Would Xiaoyi like to come with me?”

Cui Hualuan’s eyebrows couldn’t help but twitch when she heard this nearby—it really wasn’t that she was making a fuss, but even she herself could only enter the Cui family’s ancestral hall during festivals and holidays. Yet now Old Madam Cui was casually asking Song Chuyi if she wanted to go.

Song Chuyi shook her head and told Old Madam Cui softly that she was going out. “Yesterday’s matter isn’t finished yet. I need to go tie up some loose ends.”

Old Madam Cui pressed her lips together and stroked Song Chuyi’s head, feeling that this child was truly perceptive, intelligent, and reassuring. She instructed Nanny Qian, “Have Cui Da personally accompany her.”

Ordinarily, only Second Uncle and Third Uncle’s outings required someone like Cui Da—the head steward whom even the younger generation had to address as Grandfather Cui. Yet now Old Madam Cui was having this head steward accompany Song Chuyi when she went out. The Cui family sisters all widened their eyes in shock.

Zhou Weizhao was quite surprised when he saw Song Chuyi. His usually impassive face showed some astonishment as he looked at Song Chuyi and spoke in amazement, “Didn’t I send you word last night? Why do you still look so shaken?”

Yesterday, when he received the message from the capital saying that the court hadn’t received any wind of matters concerning the Cui family, he immediately sent word to Song Chuyi, precisely because he was afraid she would worry herself sick. He hadn’t expected that when they met today, Song Chuyi would still look so haggard.

Song Chuyi watched as he produced another pill, dissolved it in water, and passed it to her. She took it and cupped her hands around the small bowl, took a sip, then sighed. “I was just frightened. If it hadn’t been for Cui Yu’s letter, when you suppress the rebellion and move against this batch of officials from the forbidden territory, by the time that scandal breaks, the Cui family would truly be finished.”

“Don’t waste your thoughts worrying about things that haven’t happened yet, because you can’t worry about everything anyway.” Zhou Weizhao rested his gaze on her. Seeing that today she wore a white standing-collar inner garment with a purple embroidered carved silk jacket over it, and a snow-white gauze pleated skirt below, he said, “Although it’s getting warmer, there’s still the spring cold snap to come. Your cold hasn’t completely recovered yet—you should wear something thicker.”

Song Chuyi had no patience to discuss clothing matters with him. After finishing the medicine, she set the bowl on the table, looked up at him and asked, “Has Your Highness decided what to do? Now that the Cui family has exposed this copper mine connection, it can implicate a whole string of people. Do you plan to move against all these officials in Jin territory? Or do you plan not to touch any of them?”

Everyone knew perfectly well that with Ma Yuantong’s motley crew’s capabilities, if it weren’t for these Jin territory officials covering for each other, they absolutely couldn’t have developed to their current state. And precisely because Ma Yuantong’s situation had already become uncontrollable, the Jin territory officials were even more desperate to suppress the matter completely. Otherwise, when the rebellion was eventually put down, that would be when their heads rolled.

“If I don’t move against them, suppressing the rebellion will be fraught with difficulties.” Zhou Weizhao’s answer was crisp and decisive. “The connection the Cui family has exposed is already enough for me to at least first secure control of central Jin. Once I have central Jin in hand, many other things will become much more convenient. Therefore, within the next day or two at most, Lu Anyu’s tenure as prefect will come to an end.”

He needed to use Lu Anyu’s head to intimidate this batch of people who were obstructing him.

Song Chuyi frowned and asked him, “Your Highness means to execute Lu Anyu?” She quickly continued, “But if you do this, I’m afraid the Jin territory officials will all feel endangered. This way, Your Highness may find yourself with no one to use.”

These officials were most skilled at buck-passing and shirking responsibility. In the end, they would all claim illness or play dead.

Zhou Weizhao told her frankly the plan he had discussed with Ye Jingkuan: “Imperial Grandfather bestowed upon me the Sword of Authority precisely so I could thoroughly quell the Shanxi rebellion. If anyone blocks my path, execute them first as a warning to everyone under heaven. First solve the problem of those dragging their feet, fill their positions with my own people temporarily, and as for what comes after—we’ll discuss that after the rebellion is suppressed.”

Song Chuyi knew Zhou Weizhao was right. He had come to suppress the rebellion—regardless of whether things were done elegantly or not, the objective must be achieved. Otherwise, in the eyes of everyone under heaven, he would be a failure.

It was just that Zhou Weizhao had always presented himself with a benevolent image. Song Chuyi furrowed her brow with some concern, then relaxed it again. Extraordinary times called for extraordinary measures. If he showed benevolence even in such major matters as suppressing a rebellion, the Eastern Palace advisors and those ministers loyal to the Crown Prince would probably hesitate and lose heart.

After pondering for a long while, she nodded. “Indeed, you should first use thunderous methods to suppress these officials. Use those who can be used, and replace all those who can’t. Strike decisively to first resolve the Yangquan rebellion, then consider how to conclude matters. Will Your Highness begin taking action in the next few days?”

“Once the Cui family finishes handling their current matter, I’ll take action.” Zhou Weizhao looked at Song Chuyi and smiled. “This way, it can be considered another favor I’ve done for you—the Cui family won’t be implicated.”

It truly was a very large favor—so large that Song Chuyi didn’t know how to repay it. Calculating it all, she already owed Zhou Weizhao many favors, and each one was bigger than the last. Even she herself felt a bit thick-skinned. She sighed and looked at Zhou Weizhao seriously. “Your Highness, when I return to the capital, I’ll discuss with Grandfather and think about how to repay your kindness.”

The Cui family was destined to be tied to the Eastern Palace and the Crown Prince’s faction. As for the Song family, she had originally intended to try hard to keep them clear of such entanglements with Song Chengru. But looking at the situation now, having incurred such enormous debts of gratitude…