She had clearly come to inquire about news of the Grand Prince upon hearing he had arrived, yet could speak so pleasantly. It seemed this Miss Chen was no pushover either.

If Chen Jinxin had even half her cunning and schemes, she wouldn’t have ended up in such a state.

Song Chuyi sighed inwardly, though her face showed nothing. She put on a look of sudden realization. “That’s right, I’ve made sister waste a trip for nothing. Sister probably doesn’t know yet—His Highness the Grand Prince has arrived, so both the Prince Consort and my uncle have gone to receive him.”

“Oh?” Miss Chen smiled slightly, seeming not particularly enthusiastic. Her peripheral vision shifted as she laughed. “So His Highness the Grand Prince has come. No wonder I couldn’t find Uncle. But given the current situation, with His Highness the Grand Prince here, who knows if it’s a blessing or a curse?”

Second Grand Secretary Chen Dong had always been part of the Crown Prince’s faction and had once served as the Crown Prince’s Grand Mentor.

Miss Chen’s eagerness toward the Grand Prince and what intentions she harbored were probably as obvious as Sima Zhao’s ambitions—known to all passers-by.

Song Chuyi smiled without speaking. After taking a sip of hot tea, she suddenly asked with a seemingly puzzled expression, “I wonder if sister knows why those raiders headed straight for your family’s villa? I heard that none of the other estates nearby came to harm—only your residence suffered devastating losses.”

At the mention of this topic, Miss Chen, who had maintained a relaxed smile, finally showed some lingering fear on her face. She stiffened and shook her head before sighing. “Speaking of it, I also find it strange. There are many villas near mine that are even larger. In terms of conspicuousness, there’s no reason they should have picked us. I just don’t know why they singled out my family in particular.”

“I did hear Young Master mention a rumor.” Song Chuyi looked at Miss Chen. “But I don’t know if he was joking or just passing on hearsay. Sister can take it as a joke if you like.”

Miss Chen nodded amenably.

“Young Master originally followed his uncle guarding Zijing Pass. I don’t know when it started, but illustrated storybooks suddenly became popular along the border.” Song Chuyi’s face showed puzzlement. “The storybooks went to great lengths to depict Tongzhou’s wealth. I heard they even specifically marked the wealthy households, with exact locations noted, and even detailed drawings of the houses’ shapes. I heard your residence was specially highlighted in the drawings.”

Miss Chen’s face finally showed alarm. Having been raised by her grandfather and grandmother, she understood very well what these matters indicated. She looked up at Song Chuyi with a probing gaze, but seeing only puzzlement and incomprehension on her face without any other expression, she relaxed slightly in her heart. Still, she maintained a degree of vigilance. After several moments of consideration, she asked, “It must be a false rumor. Tongzhou has estates and land belonging to capital families everywhere. My family is utterly obscure among them. Why would they specifically highlight my family? If I may speak frankly without offending you, even your residence would be more qualified to appear in such a register.”

If the Tartar raiders’ attack on their villa was truly related to this register, then whoever drew it and had it printed and widely circulated was utterly despicable!

Clearly they had come directly for the Chen family.

Song Chuyi nodded along, seeming to find Miss Chen’s words exceptionally reasonable. She even smiled with a somewhat complaining air. “Exactly! Not to mention our family—near us there’s also Scholar Chen’s three-story villa and Duke Yingguo’s manor with hot springs, yet they’re nowhere to be found in that register. Don’t you find it strange, sister?! What’s more, those people seemed afraid the Tartars wouldn’t understand and specifically used the Tartar language.”

Miss Chen could finally no longer maintain her calm facade. She suddenly asked, “Does sister have the original register? I’d like to see what this register actually looks like, and also see who the author is and why they singled out my family. Could it be because the persimmon tree in my family’s back courtyard is particularly pleasing?”

“Young Master gave the register to the Prince Consort. I don’t have it here.” Song Chuyi smiled with a slightly embarrassed expression. “But I sneaked a peek, and I also heard Young Master say the person who wrote this register had ill intentions. It seems to be the idle work of the Supervising Censor at Zijing Pass.”

What fine idle work! This idle work had drawn Tartar raiders and caused how many casualties among Tongzhou’s common people? It had nearly cost her and her brother their lives!

Miss Chen firmly memorized the author, determined to mention this ungrateful wretch to her grandfather when she returned home.

The legitimate granddaughter and grandson of the dignified Second Grand Secretary who oversaw the Censorate had nearly lost their lives due to a register made by a censor under his jurisdiction—what an enormous joke!

Her original intention had been to come inquire with Song Chuyi about news of the Grand Prince. At this moment, she no longer had the mind to stay any longer. She quickly rose to take her leave of Song Chuyi. “Sister, it’s getting late. I won’t disturb you further. I’ll come visit you again tomorrow.”

Song Chuyi also rose with a smile to see her off.

Qing Tao was somewhat puzzled and nervously supported Song Chuyi. “Miss, when did Second Master Ye ever tell you about any illustrated register? Telling Miss Chen like this—won’t something go wrong? She’ll certainly tell Elder Chen about it.”

Elder Chen was such a shrewd person. When he asked and discovered there was no such thing, wouldn’t Miss suffer for it then?

Miss Chen wouldn’t rise early without profit. If not for His Highness the Grand Prince, she wouldn’t have come to give thanks and request a meeting. Song Chuyi was the same. If not for Miss Chen’s grandfather being the one in the Cabinet who oversaw the Censorate and potentially useful in the future, Song Chuyi couldn’t be bothered to waste so much breath on this Miss Chen.

Hong Yu had already made Song Chuyi’s bed. Seeing that Miss Chen had left, she quickly came over to ask Song Chuyi to rest. “If we stay up too late, it’ll be even harder to sleep. There are many things to do tomorrow morning.”

These past two days, Nanny Xu always waited until she had fallen asleep before going out. At this moment, she also nodded in agreement.

But the very next morning, just after getting up, she heard that Miss Chen had come again.

Qing Tao, holding tooth powder and standing together with Hong Yu, finally expressed her dissatisfaction for the first time upon hearing this. “Why has this Miss Chen come again so early in the morning? She doesn’t even leave time for people to eat a meal.”

After Song Chuyi finished dressing, she had someone invite Miss Chen in.

Nanny Xu happened to be bringing people over to deliver breakfast. Song Chuyi invited Miss Chen to eat together.

Miss Chen only hesitated briefly before readily agreeing. “In that case, I’ll impose upon sister once more. To be honest with you, sister, I wanted to visit Uncle today. My family must already know that something happened in Tongzhou. My grandfather and grandmother are both advanced in years and can’t withstand such shocks. I want to ask Uncle to send a message back for me.”

She looked at Song Chuyi, her eyes somewhat evasive.

Song Chuyi didn’t look at her letter. Pretending not to notice the momentary discomfort that flashed across her face, she nodded. “This is perfectly natural—how could it be considered troublesome? In that case, after we finish eating, I’ll accompany sister there.”

Miss Chen breathed a sigh of relief and lowered her head to carefully drink the porridge in her bowl.