The smile on Old Madam Song’s face froze. Though she knew this day would come sooner or later, the fact that it was arriving so quickly left her feeling melancholic and worried. Her concern wasn’t about whether the Crown Prince’s eldest son was reliable—rather, she worried that once Song Chuyi truly married him, her future circumstances would be precarious. The Crown Prince’s obvious favoritism toward Fan Liangdi and Prince Dongping was truly not a cause for joy.
She voiced these concerns directly to Song Chuyi: “In previous years, it didn’t seem too excessive, but these past two years—perhaps because the Crown Prince’s eldest son returned—both Prince Dongping and Fan Liangdi have been making frequent moves. Yet the Crown Prince still indulges them so.” Old Madam Song paused before continuing, “Setting other matters aside, just look at this assassination incident. For the sake of the Eastern Palace’s reputation and to preserve the Crown Prince’s prestige in court and among the people, the Crown Prince’s eldest son suppressed the Huangjue Temple affair himself, pushing all responsibility onto the deceased Prince Duan without implicating the Eastern Palace in the slightest. But this was an act of filial devotion from the Crown Prince’s eldest son. Even if only for this filial heart, if the Crown Prince were truly a sensible person, he should have dealt with Elder Fan Shi first to ease the hearts of the Crown Princess and the Crown Prince’s eldest son. Yet the Crown Prince has taken no action to this day.”
Even Old Madam Song saw it this way, which meant the Eastern Palace’s strategists and officials had surely all advised the Crown Prince about this as well. Even Ye Jingchuan said his father, Prince Zhennan, had remarked that the Crown Prince was truly a cold-hearted person.
Well, this cold-heartedness was only directed at Zhou Weizhao and the Crown Princess. Song Chuyi gave a faint smile: “As the Crown Prince’s eldest son himself said, perhaps he simply lacks that karmic connection with the Crown Prince.”
However, this didn’t really matter. Having a good father was certainly a blessing—like Ye Jingchuan, whose Prince Zhennan cared for him attentively and paved the way for him, which was naturally wonderful. But not having one didn’t mean lacking anything. Whatever Zhou Weizhao wanted, he would fight for himself. Moreover, in the future he would have her by his side. She would accompany him together, and whatever should be theirs, they wouldn’t let others take even a bit of it.
Old Madam Song fell silent—Song Chuyi similarly lacked much karmic connection with Song Yi, and their father-daughter bond was quite ordinary. When she brought up this matter, Song Chuyi was probably feeling a kinship with Zhou Weizhao’s situation.
She squeezed Song Chuyi’s hand and, seeing Song Chuyi smile and shake her head at her, knew that she understood everything in her heart. Old Madam Song couldn’t help but sigh inwardly. This child had everything figured out, so she wouldn’t say more. Instead, she changed the subject to discuss Song Yan’s return date: “Originally it was all settled that he would return by the end of this month, but who knew the trip couldn’t proceed as planned.”
Her young grandson was alone in Jinling. Though he had accomplished such a magnificent feat that made his abilities known, as the saying goes, which parents don’t worry about their children? Each day Old Madam Song didn’t see him was another day her heart remained suspended.
Song Chuyi knew about this matter. When she mentioned her younger brother, even the corners of her eyes and brows softened. The upturned corners of her eyes lowered slightly, curving into crescents: “He’s waiting to return together with Master Qingfeng, so it will naturally take longer.”
Old Madam Song only learned last night, when she heard Song Chengru laughing loudly, that Song Yan had actually caught Master Qingfeng’s eye through the Chen family affair. This Master Qingfeng was indeed quite different from his senior fellow apprentice. His senior brother was an extremely proper and renowned contemporary great scholar, while he himself was unrestrained and unconventional. Though learned, his reputation for being unrestrained and carefree was just as famous as his scholarship. So many people had met defeat at his hands. He was even more particular than his senior brother—from beginning to end, he had only taken Cui Shaoting as a student. Previously, when Song Yan approached him, he repeatedly met with rejection. Master Qingfeng didn’t even give face to letters from his only disciple, acting as if he hadn’t seen them, going wherever he pleased as usual, truly not taking Song Yan seriously at all.
Song Chengru and Song Jue had discussed it and agreed with Song Chuyi that since the man was unwilling, there was no need to force the matter. They told Song Yan to pack his bags and prepare to return. Who knew that once the Chen family affair was resolved, Master Qingfeng would actually take the initiative to seek out Song Yan’s door, saying he wanted to return to the capital with him to see his disciple. His disciple was still far away in the northwest—what disciple was there to see? Clearly this was just an excuse to follow Song Yan.
Old Madam Song therefore felt proud as well, nodding with a smile: “Master Qingfeng is virtuous and highly respected. Since he’s willing to return together with Ah-Yan, however long we must wait is worth waiting. It’s just my selfish wish that Brother Yan would return more quickly.”
Song Yan was indeed eager to return home, though not for any other reason but for his sister. Though he was in Jinling, he knew that his sister’s marriage would likely see developments any day now. While there wasn’t much he could do to help with this matter, he felt uneasy not being there to watch over things.
However, he truly couldn’t leave just yet for the time being. First, Master Qingfeng still had many books and ancient texts he needed help organizing. Second, the paperwork for Cui Huaying’s transfer to the Jinling Ministry of Rites hadn’t come through yet. Third, there was another point—Eunuch Feng was clinging to him far too tightly.
Actually, Song Yan couldn’t say he had any great grievance against Eunuch Feng. Having spent so much time with his sister and brother, he deeply understood the principle that one must not offend eunuchs. Especially since Eunuch Feng had once competed with Eunuch An for the position of Chief Eunuch, he had no intention of offending the man.
But he couldn’t bear that Eunuch Feng had first sided with Old Master Chen and had even given Old Madam Chen a scheme—telling her to go make trouble at the Song residence to create chaos, so he could fish in troubled waters and cross the river in the confusion.
This point was truly intolerable. He couldn’t tolerate others scheming against his own family members. Though Eunuch Feng didn’t succeed and Old Madam Chen ultimately failed to spill blood in his home, the grudge had been formed. When Censor Shi submitted a memorial impeaching Eunuch Feng for colluding with Old Master Chen, Song Yan simply watched coldly.
In his desperate straits, Eunuch Feng had pulled many connections in the capital to plead with the Marquis Changning’s household. Privately, perhaps thinking Song Yan was young and easy to deceive, he actually came to him every day trying to get him to write home and put in a good word with his family.
He finally understood somewhat why Eunuch Feng had lost out to Eunuch An back then—the man’s thinking was truly quite different from ordinary people. In the midst of his busy schedule, Master Qingfeng took time out to point him in the right direction with great dissatisfaction: “Since he keeps coming to find you, it shows he currently has nothing pressing. Why not find him something to do? Anyway, Censor Shi in Jinling is quite busy right now. If you have the busy one confront the idle one, wouldn’t that be perfect?”
Song Yan therefore followed this excellent advice and leaked the information about Eunuch Feng’s attempts to pull connections in the capital to Censor Shi. After Censor Shi investigated and confirmed the matter, he didn’t hesitate to remember this fish that had slipped through the net, including Eunuch Feng in his next memorial.
Censor Shi’s combat effectiveness went without saying—those he impeached almost never escaped unscathed. As a result, Eunuch Feng became so busy he was overwhelmed, and finally had no time to come seeking connections through Song Yan, turning instead to search within the court.