The Battle of the Noble Ladies (Book 1)

Chapter 128 - A Matter of Life and Death

The young girl had lost quite a bit of weight compared to before, her small face accentuating her bright eyes even more. Standing under the exquisite lotus lantern, her smile was radiant, making her appear both endearing and unforgettable.

But Sanniang knew that this young girl was far from as pure and innocent as she appeared. She took a step back, lowered her head, and bowed respectfully, assuming the posture of a perfect servant, with a composed demeanor: "Looking for me? Sixth Miss, you must be joking. I..."

Having followed Old Lady Su for many years, her only skill was her keen observation. She had long noticed the unique nature of this Sixth Miss—there was not a trace of the usual arrogance and naivety typical of young ladies of her age. Instead, she possessed a maturity and wisdom beyond her years. She could somewhat guess the role Sixth Miss had played in her young lady's affairs.

Such a perceptive and astute person wouldn't just visit to catch up or to see the now listless young lady...

Thinking of Lady Su's visit the other day, her heart skipped a beat. She couldn't help but glance at Song Chuyi's face—could it be that this Sixth Miss had guessed something?

"When we promised Old Lady Su to take care of Miss Chen, it was from a sincere heart," Song Chuyi said, looking at Sanniang, who stood under the tree, her expression obscured by the play of light and shadow from the leaves. Her tone was calm: "Nowadays, in this world, how rare is true sincerity? I believe that after what happened with the Su family, both you and your young lady are well aware of this."

Sanniang still lowered her head, staring at the mottled shadows on the ground, swaying with the wind, feeling uneasy.

"I also hope..." Song Chuyi paused, a hint of melancholy in her voice, "that Miss Chen and you, Sanniang, will remember this sincerity and not betray it."

What a sharp tongue! What a clever Sixth Miss! Sanniang pondered the deep meaning in her words, feeling as if all her secrets had been laid bare. She couldn't help but lift her head in the moonlight and lamplight to meet Song Chuyi's gaze. Even though Song Chuyi was much shorter than her, it still felt like she was looking down on her from a great height...

Sanniang lowered her head again, her voice unconsciously dropping. "Both my young lady and I have always remembered the favor from the Marquis's residence."

"In that case," Song Chuyi's tone shifted abruptly, "can you tell me the real reason why your Lady Su is so fixated on Miss Chen?"

It was indeed Lady Su's firm stance that had aroused the Song family's suspicions! In her heart, Sanniang cursed Lady Su thousands of times, wishing she would die in prison like Su Yi. She remained silent for a moment until several maids rushed out to report that Miss Chen refused to eat without seeing her. Then she gave Song Chuyi a bitter smile.

"I know Sixth Miss is a smart person," she said, filled with sorrow and resentment. "If my young lady had even half your intelligence, she wouldn't have ended up in this situation. She wouldn't have become someone else's prey."

Seeing that Sanniang seemed willing to cooperate, Song Chuyi waved her hand to signal Luyi and Hongyu to help Miss Chen in her room, while she took Sanniang to a corner of the courtyard under some shaded flowers.

"Sanniang, you're a smart person, so I won't beat around the bush. Lady Su's timing and motives are too coincidental. If she wasn't connected to Chen Xiang, I might have believed she was just here for your young lady's dowry. You know who Chen Xiang is, don't you?"

Song Chuyi fiddled with the swing beside the shaded flowers. "It's not just Chen Xiang targeting you. Even the Princess of Zhennan and the wife of Duke Ying's heir are involved. With your unique status in the Marquis's residence, they can't find you, so they've targeted me, the person with the closest ties to you all..."

Song Chuyi left the rest unsaid, but Sanniang understood her meaning. Because they had been hiding something, the Marquis's residence had attracted attention. They dared not target Old Lady Song directly, so Sixth Miss Song, who was involved, had now become the primary focus.

"Sixth Miss..." Sanniang bit her lip, and sighed in difficulty, "It's our fault, we let you down."

"No need for apologies. I just want to know why they are here," Song Chuyi said, glancing at Chen Jinxin's room before looking back. "We can't be in the dark when everyone else is swarming in. When things go wrong, won't it be too unfair for me?"

After a moment of silence, Sanniang finally made up her mind. She looked at Song Chuyi, hesitated, and asked, "This is a serious matter. Should we inform Old Lady Song?"

Song Chuyi nodded, "Don't worry, I will report everything to my grandmother."

"Alright, then I won't hide it from you." Sanniang curtsied, "Back then, my family's eldest master was involved in factional collusion. You probably know about that. But actually, he also had connections with Commander Chen and Governor Xing. Governor Xing had correspondences and financial dealings with the Tatars outside the border, and my master handled these exchanges. Later, my old lady discovered this and knew it would bring about a family-destroying disaster, so she carefully collected the remaining secret letters and money from my master's side and mixed them into Miss Chen's dowry..."

So when Chen Xiang faced Old Lady Su's plea, he hesitated greatly and only agreed after thoroughly checking the inventory.

"My old lady reported my eldest master but hid these incriminating items," Sanniang's voice trembled. "She knew that if those letters were handed over, the entire Su family might not survive. Even Commander Chen and Governor Xing would not spare us. She thought hiding these items would serve as a protection charm..."

A protection charm, but sometimes also a death warrant! No wonder Chen Xiang had been eyeing the Marquis's residence so closely, and no wonder the wife of Duke Ying's heir and the Princess of Zhennan had been visiting frequently. The Imperial Censor of the Zijinguan Pass had pledged allegiance to the Crown Prince, likely leaking the matter of Governor Xing's letters. However, everyone found nothing incriminating in the Su family, and Chen Xiang's house search turned up nothing crucial. As a result, they turned their attention to the only person who left the Su family with anything—Chen Jinxin.