The news of Lord Lu going to find the Crown Prince quickly spread to the Earl of Changning’s manor. In the palace, Consort Song had always been wary of this young lady from the Lu family. After hearing some news, she took advantage of Lady Song’s visit to the palace on the first day of the month to mention the rumor that the Lu family’s young lady might become a secondary consort.
Lady Song returned home full of worry and naturally couldn’t help but bring up this matter with Old Madam Song. Unable to suppress her anxiety, she even forgot to send someone to urge about Xiang Mingzi’s wedding garments. Sighing, she said: “If this really happens, then life will be difficult in the future.”
They didn’t have any ideas about “one lifetime, one person, one pair”—to demand such things in the imperial family would be too naive. But now that the primary consort had been determined, they had designated a cousin with such close ties. This cousin’s background was no ordinary matter either, which truly couldn’t help but make people feel alarmed. Setting other things aside, even if Song Chuyi was favored by the Grand Prince, if Her Majesty the Empress and the Crown Princess favored their natal family member, what could Song Chuyi do? Over time, with the Grand Prince caught between the Crown Princess and Song Chuyi, caught between the Empress, Lu Chonghua, and Song Chuyi, there would always come a day when he couldn’t bear it anymore. Affection was something that could least withstand such wearing down.
Old Madam Song was more composed than Lady Song. After a moment of anger, she firmly shook her head: “His Highness the Grand Prince is not a muddle-headed person. Since Her Majesty the Empress and the Crown Princess have already settled on Xiao Yi and have already tested Xiao Yi’s views on sharing her husband with sister-wives, they absolutely wouldn’t destroy their own defensive wall. This is probably just the Lu family’s own wishful thinking and not worth fearing.”
Later, when Song Chuyi heard these words, she also nodded in agreement with Old Madam Song’s assessment and added: “I’ve met Miss Lu once. The very first thing she said to me was to tell me to rest assured—she would never steal what belongs to another. A person with such spirit, now that the primary consort position has been settled, how could she possibly be willing to become someone’s secondary wife?”
Lady Song was somewhat anxious, wanting to say that a secondary consort also held a fourth-rank imperial appointment, but she knew Song Chuyi’s judgments were always extremely accurate. Since Song Chuyi herself had said this, she could only nod along with Song Chuyi’s words: “Let’s hope so.”
Old Madam Song stroked Song Chuyi’s hair, her tone rather displeased: “What’s to be feared is that some people’s minds aren’t quite so clear.”
Old Madam Song was referring to Lord Lu, who had brought Lu Chonghua to the capital at this critical juncture. If he were truly clearheaded, he wouldn’t have brought his daughter to the capital at this time. Clearly, he had his own little schemes beforehand. Now that his schemes had fallen through, whether he might develop other thoughts was truly hard to say.
A bit later, Princess Duanhui came over. Upon hearing these words, she smiled faintly: “I came precisely about this matter. When I went to the palace today to pay respects to Her Majesty the Empress, I happened to hear that a Daoist priest who came down from Mount Longhu brought word from Zhang Tianshi, saying that His Highness the Grand Prince is nominally registered under the Celestial Master’s name, and for the next several years it would be inappropriate for him to take a secondary consort…”
Old Madam Song’s face broke into a smile as she glanced at Song Chuyi. Only now did she truly set her mind at ease. She also knew that Empress Lu and Crown Princess Lu shouldn’t really act foolishly, but their expressing their attitude this way still made those on the maternal family’s side feel much more secure and comfortable.
Song Chuyi was also somewhat surprised, not expecting that even the Daoists from Mount Longhu would be brought into this. Later, when Qing Zhuo came in to deliver news to her, she couldn’t help but ask: “Doesn’t the Celestial Master usually only send people down the mountain in September? This year with the triennial audience of the princes, he should send people down to enter the capital after September even more so…”
Qing Zhuo scratched his head, his face bearing a smile seeking credit: “Sixth Miss, you don’t know—wasn’t it because our Highness sent one letter every five days urging him? The Celestial Master, that venerable old man, was urged until he had no choice but to enter the capital ahead of schedule this year. In half a month, he’ll arrive in person.”
He thought for a moment, then added: “First, to prevent a second person wanting to be a secondary consort from setting their sights on His Highness. Second, to clear your name. His Highness said that although Yuan Hui is dead and Madam Wei has been reprimanded for spreading rumors, he fears there might be people unafraid of death who would pin another chamber pot on your head. What’s that saying? Others are stinking stones, but you’re gold inlaid with jade. Stones can’t be damaged by knocking, but our Highness fears you might get damaged in the collision. He’d rather resolve it once and for all. When the Celestial Master speaks with golden words and jade lips, if he clears your name, no one will dare say anything in the future.”
He spoke this string of words rapidly and urgently. It took Qing Ying and Qing Tao a while to react, and they couldn’t help but exchange smiles—His Highness the Grand Prince was truly considerate, thinking through everything thoroughly for Song Chuyi.
After Qing Zhuo left, Song Chuyi spaced out for a while before unfolding the letter Qing Zhuo had brought. The letter was sent by Lai Chenglong. She had entrusted Lai Chenglong to inquire about news of the Prince of Dongping. Several days had already passed, and given Lai Chenglong’s efficiency in handling matters, it was indeed time for a letter to arrive.
In the letter, Lai Chenglong said that the Wei family following the Prince of Dongping had some activity—their comings and goings from the city had been rather frequent recently. Madam Wei had been the chief culprit in spreading the rumors about Song Chuyi’s fate back then.
After the Yangquan incident, Lai Chenglong’s exchanges with Song Chuyi had become increasingly close, but his actions also became more traceless. His reminders were very subtle. She knew that nine times out of ten, this matter couldn’t be separated from the Prince of Dongping. Her eyes narrowed slightly.
Whether Chen Mingyu actually had something on her person, whether that thing had been obtained by the Prince of Dongping—it seemed they still needed to gather information from the Wei family. She turned and instructed Qing Ying: “Have Ma Wangkun and Ma Changjiang follow the Wei family.”
Having something still required using it. Such a large sum of silver—her mind stirred, and she instructed Qing Tao: “Tell Luo Gui to find Ma San and have Ma San go to the Chen family’s ancestral home in Xiangfan to inquire about any activity in the Chen clan.”
When Old Master Chen’s house was confiscated back then, nothing was found. The silver must naturally have been stored elsewhere. This person had always taken pride in his clan, so valuables like silver and money were probably all transported back to his ancestral home.
She hadn’t let Fan Liangdi get this sum of silver, so she even less could allow Zhou Weiqi to sweep this large sum of silver into his hands right under her nose. He might think that obtaining the seal meant he’d already secured the Chen family’s fortune—that was simply too naive.
Qing Tao carefully noted this down and asked Song Chuyi: “Miss, if the Prince of Dongping’s people truly go to Xiangfan to access this silver, what should we do? Just say the word so that Cousin can have a plan.”
The longer Qing Tao followed Song Chuyi and the more she experienced, the bolder she became. Now when bringing up such matters, she could maintain her composure, as if discussing trivial things not worth mentioning.
Song Chuyi pondered for a moment and made her decision without hesitation: “Tell Luo Gui to pass on to Ma San—no need to show mercy. Just make it clean and neat.”
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*[Author’s note: Came late, went home for New Year’s Eve dinner, then immediately returned to the hospital. Watching fireworks fill the sky from the hospital, my heart is breaking. I want to cry, I’m so frustrated. The last update will be delayed. I’m using every bit of my strength. Once my shift is over and I can go home, I’ll definitely keep my word and do a mass release. You all must not stop loving me. Love you all, kiss kiss. My dear ones who have accompanied me for more than half a year—may the new year bring you smooth sailing, success in all things, and happiness every day.]*