Whether she was truly seeking justice, Emperor Jianzhang kept his thoughts to himself. On his desk, the piles of evidence that Lai Chenglong had submitted—documenting all the years the Crown Prince had been taking bribes and abusing his position—were stacked so high they could barely fit. Beyond these, there was also proof of how he had indulged Fan Liangdi in harming the wife of Marquis Jinxiang. The evidence of his crimes was so abundant it was beyond counting. Using the phrase “too numerous to record even on all the bamboo in the land” to describe the Crown Prince would not be an exaggeration.

Song Chuyi had laid bare her attitude toward the Crown Prince so openly and without any concealment. To say she had ambitions would be rather far-fetched—anyone with even a modicum of intelligence who knew how to gauge the Emperor’s heart would understand that no matter how dissolute or greedy the Crown Prince was, he remained one of Emperor Jianzhang’s only four surviving sons. More importantly, he was the legitimate eldest son upon whom Emperor Jianzhang had expended the greatest effort. By showing no mercy in this way, she was clearly disregarding the feelings of Emperor Jianzhang and Empress Lu as parents, single-mindedly bent on revenge for every grievance and settling every score.

Having acted so ruthlessly, she obviously had no intention of compromising to gain advantages. To say she had no ambitions did seem quite credible. Yet Emperor Jianzhang inexplicably recalled the matter of Master Yuanhui’s prophecy about Song Chuyi—a fate of supreme nobility. Even if this young girl herself harbored no inappropriate ambitions, what about the Song family? The Cui family? And furthermore, the Lu family and Zhou Weizhao?

He raised his chin slightly toward Song Chuyi, then turned to inquire about Zhou Weizhao’s condition: “Didn’t Master Hu say it was merely a superficial wound? Why hasn’t he regained consciousness yet?”

It wasn’t that he hadn’t regained consciousness—he had awakened briefly on the second and third days. But illness strikes like a mountain collapsing. Perhaps he had been too exhausted all these years. Back then, despite such a perilous poison, Zhou Weizhao had managed to hold on throughout the entire journey without collapsing. This time, though it was merely a flesh wound, he seemed to grow thinner with each passing day. Song Chuyi remembered how Crown Princess Lu had sighed and said it was a sickness of the heart, so she spoke truthfully: “The external wounds have healed completely, but the internal injuries are difficult to treat.”

Emperor Jianzhang asked no further questions. He felt heartache for his two sons and was troubled on their behalf, but that didn’t mean he didn’t care about his grandson. Not to mention that this grandson was born with an immortal connection and had earned the favor of Zhang Tianshi—even setting that aside, there was genuine affection between them. Emperor Jianzhang still remembered when his grandson was five years old and fell seriously ill with a persistent high fever. The imperial physicians and masters filled an entire room, all kowtowing like pounding pestles, not daring to utter even empty reassurances. He had held his grandson and flown into a rage. The little grandson, burning with fever and barely conscious, still knew to burrow into his embrace seeking a comfortable position, calling out to him in his sweet baby voice—”Grandfather.” The Crown Prince’s health had always been extremely poor, and the times he had held him could be counted on one hand. Because he was the eldest grandson, and because some said one should hold the grandson but not the son, the number of times he had held his grandson far exceeded that of the Crown Prince, his own father.

That call of “Grandfather” was still etched in his heart to this day. Such wholehearted trust and dependence was something he had never received from anyone else. His grandson had been close to him since childhood—how could he not feel affection? After a moment of silence, he felt a slight sourness in his throat. After a long pause, he finally waved his hand heavily at Song Chuyi: “You may return home tomorrow. The Mid-Autumn Festival is approaching soon. Although you are the Grand Princess Consort, you are also about to become a newlywed. Prepare whatever needs to be prepared.”

Very well. Emperor Jianzhang lowered his eyes and made his decision. In any case, this young lady was devoted to his grandson, and his grandson was fond of her too. Let’s see how things unfold in the future.

Upon hearing that she was being allowed to leave the palace, the heart that had been lodged in Crown Princess Lu’s throat finally settled back into her belly—with the Mid-Autumn Festival approaching, no matter how much matters were delayed, they couldn’t be delayed past the Mid-Autumn Festival. If Song Chuyi wasn’t allowed to go home even during the Mid-Autumn Festival, it would mean Emperor Jianzhang planned to use Song Chuyi as a sacrificial offering for his two sons. At least now…

Her heart had barely settled peacefully in her chest for a moment when word came from Empress Lu’s side with an imperial decree, summoning Song Chuyi to her presence. After careful consideration, Crown Princess Lu changed her clothes, intending to go with her.

Song Chuyi initially refused. She knew that Crown Princess Lu meant well and wanted to speak on her behalf before Empress Lu. But Empress Lu had now lost two sons in one blow and suffered a bitter setback. How could such resentment in her heart be dispelled by a few words of pleading from Crown Princess Lu? Since she understood this, Song Chuyi had naturally made full preparations. However, Crown Princess Lu insisted on accompanying her.

The Daoist teachings emphasized non-action. Her son had lived such an ascetic life for so many years, maintaining detachment from everything. Now that he finally had something he cherished, how could Crown Princess Lu bear to let his beloved suffer any grievances? She personally escorted Song Chuyi to Qingning Palace.

However, upon reaching Qingning Palace, Empress Lu had Xie Siyi block Crown Princess Lu from the main hall. Though Xie Siyi’s expression remained much the same as usual, her words were far more rigid than before: “Her Majesty only wishes to see Miss Song the Sixth. Why don’t you have some tea in the side hall for a while, Crown Princess? After Her Majesty has finished seeing Miss Song, you can see Her Majesty then—it will be the same.”

Now Crown Princess Lu couldn’t follow even if she wanted to. She could only watch helplessly as Song Chuyi followed Xie Siyi inside, her delicate brows drawing together as she sighed softly.

Empress Lu had always known that this young lady, Song Chuyi, was different from ordinary young ladies, but she had never imagined that Song Chuyi’s courage could be this audacious. She had been suppressing this resentment for quite some time, coldly watching as Emperor Jianzhang kept Song Chuyi confined in the palace—after so many years as husband and wife, how could she not know Emperor Jianzhang’s temperament? She knew that the Emperor’s detention of Song Chuyi meant he was considering whether or not to take this girl’s life.

She had originally thought that Song Chuyi would at least show some fear, or at the very least would ask her imperial noble consort sister to soften her stance on her behalf. But who would have expected that she would remain calmly and steadily in place for all these days, as if she knew nothing, and Emperor Jianzhang had actually relented and allowed her to go home?

Since he was letting her go home, it meant he was going to spare her. Empress Lu didn’t actually intend to take Song Chuyi’s life—after all, she was the person Zhou Weizhao had personally requested, intelligent and capable, truly an asset for the future. Moreover, now that both her sons seemed to be finished, this grandson of hers was extremely useful. But for Song Chuyi to escape so easily—her heart couldn’t quite accept it. At this moment, she covered her mouth and coughed once before lifting her eyes to look at Song Chuyi: “You’ve already left him bedridden. Couldn’t everyone just turn a blind eye and let the matter pass? Why did you have to push things to the extreme?”

Having suppressed this resentment for so long, Empress Lu’s eyes were somewhat reddened, with dark circles beneath them, making her look particularly haggard: “Now that things have come to this…”

She thought of how her younger son had “fallen ill” on the road, and who knew what state he would be in when he returned. The pain was like having her heart torn from her chest: “One of them is Weizhao’s father, the other is his uncle!”

Song Chuyi’s eyebrows didn’t even twitch. Her bright, crystalline eyes looked at Empress Lu directly without evasion or yielding, not giving an inch: “But they never treated His Highness as a son or nephew.”