A perfectly good banquet ended up attracting the Jinyiwei to raid the house, causing everyone to be understandably frightened. They exchanged a few forced pleasantries before dispersing.
Duke Ying's heir's wife, Lady He, also came to bid farewell to Old Lady Song with a pale face.
Old Lady Song had been both shocked and angry throughout the day, and as an elderly person, she found it hard to bear. She mustered her strength to say a few words to the Princess of Zhennan and Duke Ying's heir's wife before lowering the curtain of the carriage.
The carriage was spacious, with a thick, double-blessing patterned carpet. The old lady leaned against the cushion and finally relaxed a little.
The First Lady remained silent for a long time before finally sighing, "Such a prosperous place, and in an instant, it has become..." She had been married into the Song family for nearly thirty years and had seen many ups and downs, but this was the first time she had experienced a Jinyiwei raid. The incident had affected her emotions, making her feel weak and dizzy.
Old Lady Song said nothing, seemingly asleep with her eyes closed.
When getting off the carriage, Song Chubin's legs were so stiff that she couldn't straighten them, and her face was as pale as paper, clearly showing she had been greatly frightened.
Nanny Qiu, annoyed by her uselessness, couldn't help but grab the flesh on her thigh and twist it hard, impatiently half-pulling and half-dragging her off the carriage.
Song Chubin was in so much pain from Nanny Qiu's twist that tears welled up in her eyes. Coupled with the day's fright, she finally couldn't help but lower her head and sob.
Song Chuyi, who got out of the carriage behind her, saw the whole scene clearly and couldn't help but pause her gaze on Nanny Qiu for a moment.
Old Lady Song heard her crying and thought she was scared. Although she compared her unfavorably to Song Chuyi's calmness and steadiness, she remembered that Song Chubin was different from Song Chuyi. So, she kindly instructed the First Lady to personally take Song Chubin back and settle her down properly.
The First Lady was actually exhausted herself, but she understood Old Lady's intention—if Song Chubin went back alone, the Fifth Lady might cause trouble upon seeing her in such a state. So, she smiled and agreed, taking Song Chubin by the hand and personally escorting her back to the Fifth House.
After sending Song Chubin away, Old Lady Song sat in the warm room with Song Chuyi. Seeing no fear on her face, she couldn't help but smile, "Now I truly believe you've been the Duchess for over twenty years. Your demeanor and insight are indeed not something a young girl should have."
Song Chuyi smiled and snuggled up to Old Lady Song, jokingly flattering her, "I'm just a novice compared to you, Grandmother. You've been a noble lady for so many years, always calm and composed. Even the Commander has to show you respect."
Old Lady Song couldn't help but poke her forehead, "Little flatterer!"
But after laughing, both of them fell silent again.
Chen Xiang wasn't showing respect to Old Lady Song; he was clearly giving face to Song Chengru, the Minister of Revenue, and Noble Consort Song in the palace.
"Grandmother, I overheard someone discussing the Northwest Army's pay in the Su family's garden today." Seeing Old Lady Song listening intently, Song Chuyi briefly explained the situation and expressed her concern, "So I think the Su family might be involved in the Northwest Army's pay issue. I just don't know if this raid..."
She wondered if the raid was related to this matter.
After Song Chengru was reminded by Song Chuyi last time, he had already started paying attention to the movements regarding the Northwest Army's pay in the past few days.
Previously, Song Chengru had personally handled the Northwest Army's pay, but since the issues of minting new coins and revising the household register arose, he had handed the responsibility over to his protégé, Assistant Minister of Revenue Ji Mingde.
He had carefully checked the records at the yamen and confirmed that Ji Mingde had indeed allocated 200,000 taels of silver.
The Great Zhou only had military pay for the border troops, and the pay for these important military areas in the Northwest couldn't be delayed, or there would be trouble.
Those targeting the Song family wanted to use the Northwest Army's pay as a pretext, which was indeed a perfect opening.
Old Lady Song frowned and suddenly asked, "You just said that besides Young Master Su, there was another person with a Minnan accent?"
Song Chuyi nodded, "The nanny who was sent away by my mother last year was from Minnan. I often heard her speak, and the person I heard in the Su family today had the exact same accent, definitely Minnan. And..." She paused and added, "Grandmother, did you notice that Old Lady Su seemed a bit too calm?"
This was also something that had been bothering Old Lady Song. Even as a bystander, she couldn't help but feel uneasy, yet Old Lady Su seemed to have anticipated everything, calmly arranging her granddaughter's whereabouts and even managing to leave her dowry intact.
From her years of understanding Old Lady Su, she knew that Old Lady Su wasn't someone with quick wit or the ability to handle such situations unless she had foreseen it.
"Earlier, First Lady Su mentioned setting off fireworks, and Old Lady Su said, 'Why set off fireworks? To let people see the Su family celebrating a death?'..." Song Chuyi recalled and continued, "Moreover, the Princess of Zhennan has a good relationship with the Su family, and the Duchess of Ying, Lady He, is even closer to them. Grandmother, although you have a good relationship with Old Lady Su, you haven't been in close contact for many years. Why did she specifically choose you to help her? And she repeatedly mentioned Miss Chen's dowry..."
Chen Jinxin's dowry of twenty-three boxes!
Old Lady Su repeatedly instructed not to lose it, as it was the foundation for Chen Jinxin's livelihood.
Old Lady Song had a sudden realization and immediately instructed Nanny Xu: "Jieyan, quickly go and ask the First Lady when Miss Chen's dowry will be brought back and where it will be placed."
Nanny Xu, knowing the importance of the matter, hurriedly agreed and left.
Old Lady Song thought for a moment and then asked Song Chuyi, "Do you think this Miss Chen might also be a key figure?"
"Old Lady Su treats this Miss Chen so well, she might not want to drag her into the mud. She might not know anything. But there are always people around the old lady who are useful... Those people must know something." Song Chuyi smiled, revealing two dimples. "Moreover, Old Lady Su has already made it very clear to you, Grandmother, that the dowry is the most important thing. It is the foundation for Miss Chen's livelihood."
Old Lady Song increasingly liked her clever yet steady granddaughter and couldn't help but pinch her still-round little cheek, "You little rascal!"
She had kept Song Chuyi by her side for two reasons: one was because of the dream Song Chuyi had, and the other was because Song Chuyi was still young. With such a special experience, she was afraid Song Chuyi might overthink and get stuck in a rut.
Fortunately, it now seemed that this little granddaughter was a blessed person. She only remembered the good and didn't hold grudges, which is the mark of a blessed person.
YOU ARE READING
The Battle of the Noble Ladies (Book 1)
Historical FictionOther titles: Noble Family's Battle in the Boudoir Noble Family's Inner Struggles 名门闺战 Author: Qin Xi Translator: me (XiaoBai) Having lost all sense of face and shamelessly clinging to Duke Ying, Shen Qingrang, for a lifetime, Song Chuyi died. On th...