The Battle of the Noble Ladies (Book 1)

Chapter 91 - Guidance

Clearly, Miss Chen had only come after hearing that the Crown Prince's son had arrived, hoping to gather some information, yet she managed to say everything so eloquently. It seemed that this Miss Chen was no easy character to deal with.

If Chen Jinxin had half her cunning and tactics, she wouldn't have ended up in such a miserable state.

Song Chuyi sighed inwardly but didn't show any of it on her face. Instead, she feigned sudden realization and said, "Ah, I see. I made you take this trip for nothing. Sister probably doesn't know yet, but the Heir Apparent has arrived, so both the Prince Consort and my eldest uncle went to greet him."

"Oh?" Miss Chen smiled faintly, not seeming particularly interested, then with a shift in her gaze, she said with a smile, "So the Heir Apparent has arrived. No wonder I couldn't find your uncle. But given the current situation, with the Heir Apparent here, who knows if it's a blessing or a curse..."

Assistant Minister Chen Dong had always been a staunch supporter of the Crown Prince and had once served as his Tutor.

Miss Chen's enthusiasm for the Heir Apparent made her intentions quite clear—obvious to anyone who looked closely, much like the infamous ambition of Sima Zhao.

Song Chuyi merely smiled without responding. After taking a sip of tea, she suddenly asked with a puzzled expression, "I wonder, Sister, do you know why those bandits directly targeted your family's villa? I heard that none of the nearby estates were affected—only your family suffered such heavy losses."

For the first time, Miss Chen's previously calm and leisurely expression shifted, showing a trace of fear. She stiffly shook her head and sighed. "I also find it strange. There are many larger villas near ours, much more conspicuous than ours. By all logic, they shouldn't have come for us. I don't understand why they singled out our family..."

"I heard a rumor from my elder brother," Song Chuyi said, watching Miss Chen closely. "But I'm not sure if he was joking or if it was just hearsay. Sister, take it as a joke, nothing more."

Miss Chen nodded, playing along.

"My elder brother has been stationed with his uncle at the Zijing Pass, and somewhere along the way, there has been a curious trend spreading at the border—picture books," Song Chuyi said with a perplexed expression. "These books go to great lengths to depict how wealthy Tongzhou is. I heard they even highlight certain wealthy households, noting their exact locations. There are even detailed illustrations of the houses, and I've heard that your family's villa was one of the key ones marked..."

Finally, Miss Chen's face revealed fear. Having been raised by her grandparents, she knew exactly what such things implied. She looked up at Song Chuyi with a probing gaze, but seeing only a look of confusion and innocence on her face, she relaxed a little, though she remained wary. After pondering for a moment, she asked again, "That must be a wild rumor. There are estates and land owned by noble families from the capital all over Tongzhou, and our family is hardly noteworthy among them. How could we be specially marked? If anything, forgive me for saying so, Sister, but your family is far more likely to be on such a list than ours."

If the attack on their villa was indeed related to this booklet, then whoever had drawn and widely circulated it had malicious intent! It was clearly aimed at the Chen family.

Song Chuyi nodded along as if finding Miss Chen's words quite reasonable, and she even let out a little laugh, tinged with frustration. "Who could say otherwise? Forget about our family—there's a three-story villa belonging to the Hanlin Academy's Chen family nearby, and the Duke of Ying's estate with its own hot springs, yet none of them appear in the booklet. Isn't that strange, Sister? And what's more, as if they were worried the Tatars wouldn't understand, they even wrote it in Tatar script..."

Miss Chen finally couldn't maintain her calm facade and suddenly asked, "Does Sister have a copy of the booklet? I'd love to take a look and see what it actually looks like, and also to find out who the author is. Why did they single out my family? Could it be because the persimmon tree in our backyard is particularly delightful?"

"The booklet was given to the Prince Consort by my elder brother, so I don't have it here," Song Chuyi smiled with slight embarrassment. "But I did sneak a peek, and my elder brother mentioned that the person who wrote it had ill intentions. It seems it was the idle work of a censor at Zijing Pass."

What a so-called idle work—this so-called idle work had attracted Tatar bandits, causing countless deaths and injuries in Tongzhou. Her family had nearly been devoured by the danger!

Miss Chen committed the author's name to memory, determined to bring up this backstabbing scoundrel with her grandfather.

The fact that the legitimate grandson and granddaughter of the Assistant Minister overseeing the Censorate had nearly lost their lives because of a censor under his authority was an enormous joke!

Originally, she had come to inquire about the Heir Apparent, but now she had no heart to stay longer. Hurriedly, she rose and bid Song Chuyi farewell, "It's getting late, so I won't disturb you any further. I'll come visit you again tomorrow."

Song Chuyi stood up with a smile to see her off.

Qingtao was puzzled, supporting Song Chuyi with some anxiety, "Miss, when did Second Young Master Ye ever mention anything about a picture booklet? You told Miss Chen all that—will it cause trouble? She's definitely going to tell Grand Secretary Chen!"

Grand Secretary Chen is such a shrewd person. Once he asks around and finds that there is no such booklet, wouldn't that spell trouble for the young lady?

Miss Chen was the type who only took action when there was something to gain. If it weren't for the Heir Apparent, she wouldn't have come to give thanks and request a meeting. Song Chuyi felt the same—if it hadn't been for Miss Chen's grandfather, who managed the Censorate and might be of use in the future, she wouldn't have bothered wasting so many words on her.

Hongyu had already made the bed for Song Chuyi, and seeing that Miss Chen had left, she quickly came over to invite her to rest. "If we delay any longer, it'll be harder to sleep. There's a lot to do early tomorrow."

For the past few days, Nanny Xu had always waited for Song Chuyi to fall asleep before heading out, and now she also nodded in agreement.

However, the next morning, as soon as Song Chuyi got up, she heard that Miss Chen had come again.

Qingtao, holding a jar of tooth powder and standing next to Hongyu, couldn't help but voice her dissatisfaction for the first time, "Why has this Miss Chen come again so early in the morning? She didn't even leave us time to eat!"

After finishing her dressing, Song Chuyi instructed someone to invite Miss Chen inside.

Nanny Xu happened to come over with breakfast, and Song Chuyi invited Miss Chen to join her.

Miss Chen was momentarily surprised but then readily agreed, "In that case, I'll trouble Sister once more. To be honest, I was planning to visit Uncle today... The situation in Tongzhou has likely already reached home, and with both my grandfather and grandmother being quite old, they can't handle much fright. I'd like to ask Uncle to send a message back for me."

She looked at Song Chuyi, her gaze somewhat uncertain.

Song Chuyi didn't look at her note, pretending not to notice the brief unease that flashed across her face, and nodded, "That's perfectly understandable, not troublesome at all. After we finish eating, I'll go with Sister to see Uncle."

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