Song Yan excitedly ran to the back to find Song Chuyi, wanting to settle this matter with her before heading home—their grandfather and grandmother at home both doted on him and would absolutely refuse to let him go take such risks. Even if he was going with his own uncle, the two elders would never agree. And once his grandfather and grandmother disagreed, his eldest brother would be even less likely to let him go. He wasn’t afraid of anyone—he even had ways to deal with Song Chuyi—but he was only afraid of his eldest brother Song Jue. The moment Song Jue showed displeasure, he became like a cat that had seen a mouse, incredibly obedient. But his eldest brother listened to their sister, so as long as he settled things with his sister first, Song Jue would surely have no objections.
Who knew that when he had just reached Princess Duanhui’s main hall, he saw his eldest cousin Cui Hualuan leading people out, having just withdrawn from inside. He couldn’t help but find it strange—looking at the situation, it seemed they hadn’t even entered before coming back out? What kind of conversation was there that even Cousin Hualuan couldn’t hear?
When Cui Hualuan saw him, she was quite affectionate. She beckoned him over to her side. Although she was a maternal cousin, the Song and Cui families were closely connected, and Cui Yingshu especially treated Song Chuyi and Song Yan as her own children. Cui Hualuan usually acted as their older sister without the usual reservations found in other families.
After calling him over and learning he had come from the front hall, she smiled and told him that Ye Jingchuan had come to borrow a sword, asking if he wanted to go to the martial training grounds to take a look.
Cui Yingshu was taking the civil official route and only knew how to hold a writing brush, yet he happened to possess an excellent sword. It was said to have been given to him years ago by Minister Cen’s father. Although Cui Yingshu didn’t know how to use it, he kept it well. Who knew that one day Minister Cen would let it slip, and Ye Jingchuan would frequently come to the Cui residence to borrow the sword.
Song Yan immediately understood that the conversation inside hadn’t finished. He obediently agreed and followed Changui and Changrong around to the martial training grounds to watch Ye Jingchuan practice with the sword for a while. Calculating that it was almost time for the meal, he was about to head to the back again.
However, Ye Jingchuan spotted him first, called out to him, and caught up in a few steps to ask: “Did your sister come with you as well?”
Although Song Yan hadn’t personally experienced what happened at Yangquan and Tianshui Town, he had heard from Qing Zhuo and others who had been there about how dangerous it was. Even Qing Zhuo said that Ye Jingchuan had truly risked his life, and without him on that waterway at Tianshui Town, Song Chuyi might not have gotten through so smoothly.
He had previously heard from his grandmother and eldest brother that they were very satisfied with Second Young Master Ye as his brother-in-law and had thoroughly assessed Ye Jingchuan alongside his brother. The two had developed a deep friendship, but his sister ultimately didn’t favor him. He had also heard that Second Young Master Ye would be going to Fujian at the latest after New Year’s. He had always been determined to join the military, and after this incident with Song Chuyi, he was even more resolute. Prince Zhennan’s manor had already sent a letter to Guo Huaiying asking him to look after Ye Jingchuan, and it was said that Ye Jingchuan was planning to prepare for the military examinations at the same time.
He scratched his head and responded with an acknowledgment, calling out “Second Brother Ye,” but couldn’t find anything to say for a moment.
It was Ye Jingchuan himself who responded openly and naturally, nodding to him and asking again: “Did your sister come with you?”
Song Yan belatedly nodded. After speaking, he regretted it, afraid that Ye Jingchuan might feel upset.
“Tell her for me that she can rest assured—I will absolutely not let my family cause trouble,” Ye Jingchuan said, reaching out to take the handkerchief Chang’an handed him, wiping the sweat from his forehead. He stood still and looked at Song Yan: “Also tell her that with the frequent Japanese pirate troubles along the coast, I’m going to Min region ahead of schedule. I wish her and His Highness the Crown Grandson a harmonious union for a hundred years.”
Setting Song Chuyi aside, Song Yan actually quite enjoyed associating with Ye Jingchuan. Even Song Jue had said that Ye Jingchuan was upright in conduct and had a passionate spirit—truly an excellent gentleman beyond compare.
But that wasn’t the point right now. Song Yan’s perceptiveness had been rapidly increasing lately. Upon hearing Ye Jingchuan’s words, he stopped in his tracks and looked at him: “Second Brother Ye, I don’t quite understand what you’re saying. What do you mean by your family causing trouble?”
Prince Zhennan’s manor had truly never caused any trouble for the Song family. Prince Zhennan was an exceptionally clever man—when he aligned with someone, he truly aligned with them. Previously, when he was close to the Eastern Palace, he relied on the Crown Grandson, and now that the Crown Prince had fallen, their relationship with the Crown Grandson had seemingly grown even closer. At this time, what trouble could the Ye family possibly cause for Song Chuyi?
After pondering briefly, his expression darkened somewhat—if the Ye family wanted to cause trouble for Song Chuyi… Seeing Ye Jingchuan hesitating and unwilling to speak plainly, he couldn’t help but say: “Prince Zhennan’s manor wouldn’t be thinking of targeting my brother-in-law, would they?”
Zhou Weizhao had been taking him along everywhere recently, even to the Ministry of Rites’ offices, having him follow in and out to learn things. Because of this, he had already started privately calling him brother-in-law—when he called him that, Zhou Weizhao would agree to almost any request he made. It was truly a profitable arrangement.
Ye Jingchuan’s face paled somewhat. He pressed his lips together, feeling a bit distressed inside. He was leaving for Fujian immediately after the Mid-Autumn Festival—wasn’t this partly to avoid Zhou Weizhao and Song Chuyi’s grand wedding? Now hearing Song Yan already calling him brother-in-law, despite having prepared himself mentally, he still couldn’t quite process it.
But he didn’t hide it either. Slowly, using the opportunity of wiping his sweat to regain his composure, he nodded at Song Yan: “You’re not wrong. Although our family has the relationship between my sister-in-law and His Highness the Crown Grandson being aunt and nephew by blood, we still want to bind this relationship more securely.”
Actually, this truly couldn’t be considered Prince Zhennan’s manor being short-sighted or wanting to oppose the Song family—in this era, having three palaces and six courtyards was perfectly normal. Prince Zhennan’s manor was already close to Zhou Weizhao, so wanting to take this opportunity to further strengthen and solidify their relationship was only human nature.
Song Yan frowned. Naturally he understood all the reasoning, but when the subject was his own sister, there was no room for reasoning. He let out an “oh” and asked Ye Jingchuan: “Can Second Brother Ye make this decision?”
Ye Jingchuan patted his shoulder without concealing anything: “I can convince my own family, but as for others scrambling upward, that’s beyond my ability.”
If he could, he too wanted to pave the entire road ahead for Song Chuyi, to let her live peacefully and smoothly her whole life without turmoil, to let her only need to live happily and freely. But this ultimately wasn’t something he could accomplish.
The close relationship between Prince Zhennan’s manor and His Highness the Crown Grandson need not be mentioned—Song Yan understood it all clearly. If they could resolve things without damaging harmony, that would naturally be best. As for others harboring various intentions, there was no need to be so considerate. He nodded toward Ye Jingchuan: “I understand. Thank you for the reminder, Second Brother Ye.”
Ye Jingchuan only smiled slightly, bid farewell to Song Yan, and headed out. Chang’an followed behind, scratching his head and sighing: “Young Master is too honest. He specifically waited here for Sixth Miss, yet still had to use the pretext of borrowing a sword.”
Changxing was more perceptive than him. He reached out and tugged at Chang’an’s sleeve, shaking his head at him. At this point, whether it was a pretext or not, what did it matter? Now that Sixth Miss Song and the Crown Grandson’s wedding date was set, surely it couldn’t be reversed? It was better to find an excuse so everyone’s faces remained clean, and Sixth Miss Song wouldn’t need to feel guilty either. He shook his head, deeply feeling that their young master was truly an exceptionally fine person. It was just unfortunate that Sixth Miss Song wasn’t the person destined for him—perhaps the timing simply wasn’t right.