Regardless of the details, the fact was clear: the Marquis' carriage had merely been caught in an unexpected accident while passing through. The deputy commander's demand that Miss Song Chuyi be taken to the city patrol office was already unreasonable. Now that the Heir Apparent was present, it was even more unlikely that she would be forced to go.
The deputy commander's face darkened. He was about to speak further when the sound of horses echoed from afar. Everyone craned their necks to look, and it turned out to be a familiar figure.
Qin Chuan's face lit up with joy, his voice now excited as he reported to Song Chuyi, "Sixth Miss, our eldest young master is here!"
Song Jue!
Given the timing, it made sense. He was expected to return to the capital around these days and must have rushed here upon hearing the news. A genuine smile appeared on Song Chuyi's face.
With the Song family's arrival, any hope the deputy commander had of taking Song Chuyi away was now utterly dashed. Resigned, he stepped forward to greet Song Jue.
Song Jue first led his people in paying respects to the Heir Apparent, then slowly and steadily confirmed the situation with the deputy commander. With a stern expression, he said, "Our Marquis' carriage was hit by an unknown horse in the street. How can we be sure whether this was an accident or deliberate? The deputy commander's reasoning isn't without merit. However, my sister is the daughter of a Marquis and is still quite young. To take her to the city patrol office is indeed inappropriate. I've already sent someone ahead to the Shuntian Prefecture. The authorities should be here soon... I ask the deputy commander to stay as a witness."
Shuntian Prefecture?!
He had escalated the matter to the Shuntian Prefecture and framed it as a potential deliberate attack on the Marquis' carriage using a mad horse...
The deputy commander's face fell, stiffly nodding in response.
Song Jue, no longer concerned with the deputy commander, turned to thank the Heir Apparent. "My sister is young and easily frightened. If it weren't for Your Highness's intervention, this matter could have ended much more poorly. We are truly grateful."
The Song family was indeed well-mannered. Zhou Weizhao, deep in thought, lightly raised his hand in a modest gesture, a bright smile filling his elegant features. "No need to be so polite, Captain Song. It was only proper."
His gaze flickered to the nearly obliterated red-tassel canopy carriage, and his smile deepened even more.
This young lady from the Song family is quite interesting. If she had been riding in the luxurious, properly appointed carriage at the time of the incident, she wouldn't have been able to wait here intact for her brother to arrive.
Knowing that she hadn't fallen into the hands of Prince Duan, he understood the need to know when to retreat. After a moment of thought, he took his leave, saying, "The Emperor is still waiting for me on an important matter. Since someone from the Shuntian Prefecture is here, I'll take my leave now."
As Song Chuyi was a young lady from a noble family, there was no need for her to formally greet him.
Song Jue led his people in bowing deeply, seeing off the Heir Apparent before turning back to check the carriage.
Fortunately, Song Chuyi's coachman reacted quickly, and the carriage had not sustained any damage. He inquired about Qingtao and Song Chuyi's condition through the curtain before turning to instruct Lin Hai and Qin Chuan to stop and wait for news from the Shuntian Prefecture. He then led the group to escort the carriage back to the estate.
The patrol guards wanted to stop them but had no grounds to do so. They didn't dare to confront the Marquis' household directly and could only watch helplessly as the Song family members left swiftly.
Song Jue escorted her to the second gate. There was no time for conversation as he hurriedly led his people out again.
Song Chengru was already waiting in Ningde Courtyard. Upon seeing Song Chuyi, he didn't immediately ask her questions. He waited until Old Lady Song had thoroughly checked her over to ensure she was unharmed before he sighed in relief.
Old Lady Song, still feeling anxious, turned to blame Song Chengru, "Thank goodness she's clever; otherwise... I told you this was inappropriate! How could we let her do such a thing..."
Song Chuyi smiled and shook her head. "Grandmother, I'm fine. I wasn't hurt at all. The carriage was surrounded by thick blankets, and there was another carriage in front of ours to block the impact. I just got jostled a bit."
Song Chengru nodded, stroking his beard. "I've already sent Eldest Son to the Shuntian Prefecture. We need to find out where that horse came from. There was a mad horse in the street; the city patrol cannot escape blame for this. They even thought to take the victim back to the office, and the whole street saw everything clearly. The censors will have their work cut out for them."
The timing of the patrol's arrival was too convenient, and their intentions were too obvious, making it hard for people not to be suspicious.
Song Chuyi frowned as she briefly recounted how the Heir Apparent had intervened. She ended with some concern: "I can't shake the feeling that the timing and location of his appearance were too coincidental... He returned to the capital less than half a month ago. If he really has such a keen ear for news, that would be truly frightening..."
This matter is known only to Old Master Song, Old Lady Song, and herself. Even if the first wife and the others have guessed something, they would never speak of it. There were no signs at all when she went to the Zhiyuan Escort Agency, so how could the Heir Apparent get the news and coincidentally show up there?
Hearing this, Song Chengru fell silent. He naturally understood what it meant if the Heir Apparent's appearance was related to Prince Duan. Moreover, the Heir Apparent had helped resolve the situation—was this a test of loyalty or an attempt to draw them in?
"Regardless, let's resolve the immediate issue first," Song Chengru sighed, feeling a headache coming on. "Now that Qi Shengyuan is in our hands, they can't set a trap through Wang Jinsi. They might act desperately and try to take action against me."
Just like in the previous life, it could involve military funds or corruption; finding a loophole through a Minister of Revenue would indeed be the most likely approach at the moment.
Song Chuyi carefully organized her thoughts and suddenly asked, "Grandfather, have you already registered the assets seized from the Su family?"
During the raid on the Su family, their assets didn't match the account books, which had given Song Chengru a headache for a while.
Song Chengru, having a sudden flash of insight, guessed this was the best point to attack, nodding with a sly smile, resembling an old fox. "It's not in vain that I've spent sleepless nights for over a month. Now the accounts match with the seized assets, and there's even Chen Xiang's signature on top. If something were to happen to me, Chen Xiang would likely be implicated as well."
The Jinyiwei (Embroidered Uniform Guard) is not to be trifled with; they are always lurking, waiting to bite off a piece of you. Moreover, why would they allow anyone to act recklessly over them?
Even though Prince Duan is of noble blood, so what? The former Prince Tai and Prince You were also royal relatives, and they were both brought down by the Jinyiwei.
Old Lady Song sighed in relief. With the Jinyiwei backing them, Prince Duan might not try to forcefully take advantage of their family.
Yet, she still couldn't help but feel anxious. This time, they had narrowly escaped by luck, but what would they do if there wasn't such good fortune next time?
"I wonder how the Crown Prince is doing..." she said, shaking her head with worry. "With the Prince Duan acting so hastily, it seems a storm is brewing."
Song Chengru, however, remained much calmer than Old Lady Song. Some things cannot be avoided. Moreover, he wasn't the only one with such troubles. Just a few days ago, didn't the Minister of War's family also have issues?
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...