Song Chuyi knew that Song Yan was no longer the small child who used to stand beside her, tightly holding her hand and refusing to let go for even a moment. But she was his elder sister, and naturally felt a sense of responsibility toward this younger brother who had sacrificed his life for her in their past life. She always felt that no matter how strong he became, he was still a child who needed her protection. It wasn’t until the incident in Jinling, when he had managed to outwit even that old fox Elder Chen without her or Song Jue’s help, that she realized her younger brother was no longer the brother of the past. Yet even now, she couldn’t help but be shocked by Song Yan’s perceptiveness and decisiveness. After a long while, she finally came to her senses. “You want to use Qing Zhuo’s mouth to tell the Crown Princess, and then have the Crown Princess speak of this matter before Her Majesty the Empress?”

Song Yan spoke with complete justification. “What sense does it make for you to be caught in the middle of this, Sister? The Crown Princess is after all the Empress’s niece, the Grand Prince’s mother, and the Crown Prince’s wife. Only she is the most suitable person to broach this subject and act as this persuader.”

Song Jue nodded. “Ayan is right. Even if we need to remind Her Majesty the Empress, the most suitable person should be the Crown Princess as the Grand Prince’s mother—after all, the Crown Prince really doesn’t treat the Grand Prince like a father should. Looking at this trend, if we continue to indulge him in making trouble, I’m afraid the first one to suffer misfortune will be the Grand Prince, won’t it? As the Prince’s mother, the Crown Princess had to watch her son be forced to stay at Longhu Mountain for a full seven or eight years before coming down. Now must she also watch helplessly as the Crown Prince ruins his future? This doesn’t make sense. She can’t just do nothing and wait for you, someone of the younger generation, to shoulder everything, can she?”

Song Yan had another layer of consideration. By revealing this information to the Crown Princess, if she truly went to advise Empress Dowager Lu and could understand Song Chuyi’s difficulties, then this marriage would truly be a good match. Otherwise, if the Crown Princess turned a blind eye to the words Qing Zhuo passed in, and moreover wanted to push the matter onto Song Chuyi, making Song Chuyi go out and be this scapegoat, then no matter how good the Grand Prince was, she couldn’t marry him—the Crown Princess had been able to stand firm during all those years when Fan Liangdi monopolized all the Crown Prince’s favor, which was enough to show she wasn’t any simple character. Once such a person harbored resentment toward her daughter-in-law, she would have plenty of methods to torment people.

Song Chuyi naturally understood Song Yan’s concerns. What shocked her was Song Yan’s current level of thorough understanding of people’s hearts—it was truly astonishing. Even she herself admitted she couldn’t have thought things through so comprehensively, yet Song Yan had thought of it… Master Qingfeng was indeed a remarkable person. She felt somewhat gratified yet somewhat heartsore, stroking Song Yan’s head without speaking.

Song Jue didn’t receive Song Chuyi’s response. After thinking for a moment, he continued, “Moreover, Ayan went through Princess Duanhui’s mouth to tell Qing Zhuo. When the time comes, even if the Grand Prince and Crown Princess want to blame someone, they can’t pin it on you. Ayan has truly made progress.”

That he could employ such inner household tactics with such ease and apply them flexibly—even Song Jue couldn’t help but feel that Master Qingfeng was indeed an all-around talent.

It was rare for Song Yan to be praised once by his elder brother, but this time he couldn’t feel happy about it. Sitting in place, he grasped Song Chuyi’s hand. “Saying anything now is futile. We should just wait for news.”

There were many methods to deal with the Crown Prince, but the only method that wouldn’t hurt the foundation, could allow the Eastern Palace to continue standing firm without affecting the Grand Prince, and moreover wouldn’t affect Song Chuyi, was to have the Empress make up her mind to take action. For now, they could only watch the Crown Princess’s moves.

The next day, Princess Rongcheng entered the palace wanting to gauge the Empress’s intentions—though she also believed Song Chuyi would certainly be able to persuade the Empress, after all this was no small matter. To make Mother Empress take action against her own biological son, for whom she already harbored immense guilt, was truly too difficult. Sure enough, she had just entered the palace when she heard that Her Majesty the Empress had fallen ill.

She lowered her brows and eyes as she saw off Emperor Jianzhang, who had come to visit the illness. Sitting beside Her Majesty the Empress, she called out softly, “Mother Empress.”

Empress Dowager Lu was supported by Xie Siyi as she leaned against the soft pillows, her appearance haggard. After quite a while, she finally turned to scan the room once. Xie Siyi understood the cue and immediately led everyone out, leaving the room completely empty.

Empress Dowager Lu then said in a low voice, “Your elder brother won’t turn back until he hits the south wall. He’s determined to walk one path to the bitter end.”

Princess Rongcheng was startled by this abrupt statement. This tone of Empress Dowager Lu’s clearly indicated she had learned of something else the Crown Prince had done. What other matter could make Empress Dowager Lu angrier than the current affair with Yang Yunyong?

Empress Dowager Lu didn’t leave her puzzled for long. After coughing a few times, her tone carried mockery and derision. “He went to see your father emperor, saying he thought Chonghua would be very good and could serve as the Grand Prince’s secondary consort.”

Princess Rongcheng’s eyes widened. She simply didn’t know whether to be angry or find the Crown Prince laughable. She fell silent for a moment, then lowered her head. “Once he said that, Father Emperor must think the Lu family’s ambitions are enormous—with you and Cousin Caiwei already there, the Lu family still isn’t content and keeps sending people to Weizhao’s side. What is Father Emperor to think?”

Moreover, she didn’t even need to think—she could guess how the Crown Prince would put it. He would certainly use the incident of Uncle Lu seeking him out last time to say this was the Lu family begging him…

Empress Dowager Lu exhaled a stale breath listlessly, feeling oppressed in her heart and nearly nauseous. After restraining herself repeatedly, she finally suppressed the earth-shattering rage in her heart. “Your cousin is right. He’s just a spoiled child who thinks everyone in this world owes him something. But I’ve already been tormented by him to exhaustion. If this continues, everyone will have to die along with him. We can’t let him continue making trouble anymore.”

Princess Rongcheng thought she had misheard. She asked hesitantly, “Cousin… Cousin said this?”

Yesterday Ye Jingkuan had clearly said it was Sixth Miss Song’s idea, and that Sixth Miss Song would persuade the Empress. How had it now become the Crown Princess? Princess Rongcheng was somewhat unable to process this.

Empress Dowager Lu nodded. Recalling the words the Crown Princess Lu had spoken when she came, she again felt her mouth fill with bitterness. What the Crown Princess had said was that the Crown Prince had already ruined her entire life, and she had accepted it, but she couldn’t let the Crown Prince ruin her son. With the Crown Prince’s reckless and deranged behavior, without anyone else saying it, even Empress Dowager Lu herself was certain that once the Crown Prince truly ascended to the throne one day, he would unhesitatingly kick aside the obstructive Zhou Weizhao and Crown Princess Lu, and elevate Zhou Weiqi instead. This was simply unbearable—when she had insisted on marrying Lu Caiwei to the Crown Prince, it was so that the maternal clan could prosper and the Crown Prince could also gain support, not to let the Lu family become the Fan family’s stepping stone, much less to let the Crown Prince destroy in an instant everything she had painstakingly endured so many years to obtain.

She had already sacrificed one son for the Crown Prince. Must she offend everyone for the sake of this worthless wretch who couldn’t be helped?