The Battle of the Noble Ladies (Book 1)

Chapter 69 - Informant

At least the immediate crisis was resolved. Once Old Lady Song relaxed after several tense days, she felt the fatigue wash over her.

It's common for the elderly to feel fatigued. She leaned back in her chair for a moment, then waved her hand to call Yu Shu over to massage her shoulders.

Song Chengru was going to the study to wait for news from Song Ren and Song Jue. Seeing this, he instructed Song Chuyi to go back to the back courtyard to rest.

"I'll be hosting a welcome dinner for your brother in the evening, so you should go back and recuperate."

After a whole day of upheaval, even an iron man would be tired. Old Lady Song urged her to return: "Your grandfather is right; you don't need to do anything here. You should go back and rest for a while."

Song Chuyi agreed and was just heading back when Luyi and Hongyu hurried over with worried expressions. They didn't know about the incident with Song Chuyi's carriage; they were just anxious since she had been out all day without bringing them along.

Song Chuyi smiled and took a sip of tea to moisten her throat, asking if anyone had come by while she was out.

Luyi's expression grew strange, and she awkwardly said, "Nanny Yu from the Second Lady's courtyard came by. She said that tomorrow is the first day of the month, and we should go to Huangjue Temple to pray. She asked you to go too."

They were now on high alert, and upon hearing it was Li Shi, they were frightened. In the end, it was the new Nanny Xu who inexplicably sent Nanny Yu away.

Song Chuyi vaguely remembered Old Lady Song mentioning this to the First Lady, saying that since the household had been having a lot of misfortunes lately, it would be good to pray at Huangjue Temple. The First Lady would also be going, and Li Shi didn't have the audacity to act against her in front of the First Lady.

Hongyu echoed, "If that's the case, let's just say you're not feeling well and won't go..."

Song Chuyi waved her hand. She still needed to find a time to meet Qingtao's parents to hear what news they had gathered. Going to Huangjue Temple tomorrow would be an opportunity.

Her chances to go out were few and far between, and she was only out today because she was doing a favor for Song Chengru. However, she couldn't openly discuss anything related to Li Shi with Song Chengru or Old Lady Song.

"Since everyone is going, it wouldn't be appropriate for me to stay behind." Song Chuyi shook her head. "Besides, with Auntie here, my older brother will probably escort us tomorrow. It should be fine."

Once she made a decision, it was not easily changed. Luyi and Hongyu didn't insist any longer, nodding and helping her wash up and change clothes.

Just as she finished washing her face, Ziyun came in to say that Baozhu had arrived, looking somewhat confused. "When I asked her what she wanted, she just bit her lip and didn't say a word."

At first, Song Chuyi couldn't remember who Baozhu was, but when Luyi reminded her, she recalled that she was the eldest maid by Song Yan's side, the granddaughter of Nanny Qiu.

The granddaughter of Nanny Qiu...

Song Chuyi's expression shifted. She handed the handkerchief in her hand to Luyi and said, "Then let her in."

Baozhu was even younger than Ziyun, looking to be around eleven or twelve years old. She wasn't particularly striking, with a long face and narrow eyes, standing in the hall with a distressed expression.

Logically speaking, anyone connected to Nanny Qiu should have been cleared out by the First Lady and Old Lady Song long ago. How had this Baozhu escaped being implicated?

It seemed she had seen through Song Chuyi's current thoughts. Baozhu forced a smile, slightly mocking, and said, "Sixth Miss must be curious why I wasn't caught... To be honest, it's thanks to the Third Young Master being compassionate and interceding for me. The First Lady also considered my usual loyalty and hard work, which is how I escaped this disaster."

Song Chuyi patiently listened to the end, finding Baozhu's words sharp and somewhat amusing. She chuckled in response, "So you've come here to show off your abilities?"

The rest of Baozhu's words got stuck in her throat, and she couldn't say anything more. She looked at Song Chuyi with an odd expression and said in a strange tone, "Who would dare? Sixth Miss is currently favored by the Old Master and Old Lady; who doesn't know that offending you is equivalent to offending them?"

"Since you know that, did you come here just to spout this nonsense?" Song Chuyi retorted with a cold smile. "Or do you intend to seek justice for your Nanny Qiu? To be honest, I'm rather busy and irritated right now. If you really came here to bother me with such trivial matters, I might just have someone take you to the First Lady."

Qingtao, also maintaining her composure beside Song Chuyi, immediately said, "Sister Baozhu, you should know that what my young lady says is different from what other young ladies say. Since you've come here, it naturally can't be just to say a few words that would upset our lady, right? If that's the case, why not just say what you want to say?"

With this support, Baozhu's expression improved slightly. After hesitating for a while, she finally knelt down and nervously looked at Song Chuyi. "To be honest, Sixth Miss, I was the one who handled the gifts when Third Young Master was picking them for you. The gift was a butterfly hairpin that the Third Young Master personally bought from the Xuanbao Pavilion. Later, Nanny Qiu said that the Fifth Lady thought the gift was too light and specifically took out a tortoiseshell bracelet inlaid with pearls..."

"The Fifth Lady has never interfered in Third Young Master's affairs, so I felt something was off at that time. But the master had given orders, and I had no choice..." Baozhu observed Song Chuyi's expression. "After the Third Young Master delivered the bracelet, I realized that something was indeed wrong with it. However, since I saw that you hadn't touched it, I thought things would gradually settle down. Who would have known that a few days ago, Nanny Qiu disappeared without a trace, the Fifth Lady moved to Ningde Courtyard, and nearly all her people disappeared completely? The Fifth Lady's people were all replaced as well. It was then that I understood something had happened with the bracelet..."

Song Chuyi pondered for a moment, realizing that Baozhu was indeed a clever person. With just a few words, she had shifted the blame onto Mama Qiu and the Fifth Lady, seemingly afraid of being held accountable later, so she came to find a way out. If she went to the First Lady, it would surely be a one-way trip, and she couldn't approach the Old Lady either, so she thought to seek a path through the least powerful party—herself, the one who had been wronged.

"What you've said now has little meaning," Song Chuyi replied with a smirk. "I thought you might have some fresh news to share with me."

Baozhu seemed to be waiting for this cue, almost rushing to her and clutching her leg, denying, "No, no, no, it's not just that. You probably don't know, our Madam has also left something with the Fourth Young Master!"

With the Fourth Young Master?!

Song Chuyi's expression changed dramatically; she barely managed to keep from kicking her away as she leaned down to stare at her and asked, "What did you say?!"

Baozhu let out a sigh of relief inwardly, realizing that the Sixth Miss did still care about her only biological brother. She was quite perceptive and knew this wasn't the moment for games. She hurriedly continued, "It's true. This matter was handled discreetly, and only Nanny Qiu and I know about it..."