The Battle of the Noble Ladies (Book 1)

Chapter 138 - Calculations

The Cui family—those words felt distant to Hongyu. Her parents were originally given to Cui Shi as part of her dowry, and later assigned to work on the estate and shops associated with the dowry. After Cui Shi's death, they were implicated and, along with a few remaining families, returned to Jinzhong with the Cui family. However, Hongyu, born under a lucky star and connected to Cui Shi, was assigned to Song Chuyi, growing up safely to the age of twelve.

Hongyu had no deep affection for the Cui family, but upon Song Chuyi's mention, she suddenly realized she wasn't truly part of the Marquis's Residence; her family's indenture contracts were held by the Cui family. She remembered seeing Cui Shi weeping while holding Song Chuyi in Tongzhou. The heavy feelings of sadness turned into resentment, and she looked at Song Chuyi defiantly, refusing to back down.

To her, she had only intended to do a good deed, to accumulate virtue for Song Chuyi. Song Chuning was just a little over six years old, how much of a threat could such a young child be? Yet, Song Chuyi treated her like a thief and made things difficult at every turn. And now, for such a minor matter, Song Chuyi wanted to send her back to the Cui family to be dealt with by Cui Shi. She felt both disappointed and angry, for the first time questioning if she had chosen to follow the right person.

After a long silence, seeing that Song Chuyi had no reaction, Hongyu knelt down and kowtowed twice, sarcastically laughing, "Since Miss has said so, how dare I disobey as a servant? I'll go pack my things now." She quickly walked out of the room, disappearing instantly.

Song Chuyi found Hongyu's behavior ridiculous yet was also alarmed by Song Chuning's schemes. She turned and instructed Ziyun, "Tell Qingtao and Luyi to watch her closely and not let her go out. Then send someone to the Princess's residence with a message; we'll send her over in the next couple of days."

When Ziyun acknowledged, Song Chuyi added, "Didn't you say you found out Su Zhi and Su Wen are currently detained in the back stables, guarded by some older maids? Bring them to me now, along with Cuijiao. If she's willing to talk, have her brought here as well."

Su Zhi and Su Wen, being Li Shi's main maids, likely knew a lot, perhaps even more than Cuijiao from Song Chuning's side. Since Song Chuning had started with people from her side, Song Chuyi couldn't just sit idly by and had to reciprocate.

Seeing the seriousness in Song Chuyi's expression, Ziyun didn't dare delay, and after a few words to the arriving Qingtao, hurried out.

Half an hour later, when she brought Su Zhi and Su Wen in, Song Chuyi almost didn't recognize these two haggard, bruised, and weary girls as the top maids who used to command respect in front of Li Shi.

However, Su Zhi and Su Wen recognized her at once, and without a moment's hesitation, they dropped to their knees before her, crying and pleading for her help, tears and snot streaming down their faces.

Now that Li Shi was dead and Nanny Yu had also passed away, those who were once close to Li Shi had naturally not fared well either. The earlier maids had long been sold off, and these two had been subjected to beatings and scoldings from the very women they had once looked down upon, bringing them to the brink of collapse. Now, upon seeing Song Chuyi, they looked as if they had found a savior.

Beside them, the trembling Cui Qiao saw them kneel and followed suit, dropping to the ground without a word, her face pale and not daring to speak.

Song Chuyi understood that Su Zhi and Su Wen had undoubtedly suffered greatly. After a moment's thought, she threw out a remark that left them dazed: "Sisters, please don't kneel. I know you two are different from Nanny Yu... When I go to Ningde Courtyard, I'll surely speak up for you in front of the Old Lady to avoid your ending up like those other sisters..."

The first part of her statement filled them with joy and excitement, almost making them giddy, but the latter half sent chills down their spines—it was a warning of the fate that awaited the previous group of maids.

The bait had already been thrown, and the threatening words had been understood; Song Chuyi smiled slightly and suddenly shifted the conversation to Song Chuning. "Sisters, having been by Lady Li's side for so many years, you must know quite a bit about the Eighth Miss, right?"

Seeing that Su Zhi and Su Wen looked confused, Song Chuyi wasn't in a hurry. She continued to broach the topic indirectly: "To be honest with you, this Eighth Sister has really been hard for me to handle... You might not know, but in just a few days, she managed to win over Hongyu to her side. Now, in Hongyu's eyes and heart, there's no longer a place for me, her mistress. She's completely devoted to your Eighth Miss. I just wanted to ask, is the Eighth Sister always this clever and kind?"

If they hadn't fully understood her earlier comments, upon hearing that Song Chuning had already won Hongyu over completely, Su Zhi and Su Wen immediately grasped the purpose of Song Chuyi calling them over.

After Li Shi's death, they had suffered greatly, falling from the status of respected secondary ladies to being worse off than rough servant women sweeping the streets. Recently, they had even been tossed into an abandoned stable. Given how much was at stake for their futures, they knew exactly what to do. They exchanged glances and eagerly began to bow their heads in reverence.

To curry favor with Song Chuyi and have her speak well of them to Old Lady Song, Su Zhi and Su Wen shared everything they knew about Song Chuning, down to the smallest detail. The more Song Chuyi heard, the heavier her heart grew. When she learned that it was Song Chuning who orchestrated the plot to hire assassins in Tongzhou, even personally urging Li Shi to the Li Residence, she was shaken.

At that time, the situation in Tongzhou had yet to escalate. Only a few, including the Old Lady, were aware of the details. How did Song Chuning know? Even if she knew, how could a six-year-old conceive of hiring assassins?

Could it be, as Song Chuyi feared, that Song Chuning had also lived another life? This would explain her knowledge of the Tatar invasion in Tongzhou and how she used the chaos to suggest such a murderous scheme to Li Shi.