The Battle of the Noble Ladies (Book 1)

Chapter 179 - A Point of No Return

Song Jue, however, guessed the reason why his grandfather appeared so calm. The Prime Minister, Chang Yuan'an, was an old fox; every word he spoke had to be carefully considered and reconsidered.

Since he took the initiative to tell Grandfather that Lord Zhang had gone too far, it was a signal—who didn't know that Lord Zhang had managed to enter the cabinet thanks to the backing of Xing'an, the chief eunuch of the Board of Rites? The recent conflicts with Lord Chen in the cabinet had nearly escalated into violence, and now that Prime Minister Chang had mentioned Lord  Zhang, wasn't he indirectly expressing his dissatisfaction with Xingfu's actions?

"Grandfather, are you suggesting that Prime Minister Chang will take decisive action in front of the emperor?" He pondered his words and cautiously added, "If Prime Minister Chang is willing to speak up, then Xingfu will naturally be one step closer to his demise. After all, the Prime Minister is the emperor's mentor; their bond is profound."

Song Chengru stroked his beard, chuckling without speaking.

Song Jue was indeed the successor he had trained, someone who understood to observe everything and listen attentively. However, he was still young, lacking experience, and his perspective was ultimately limited.

If this matter were to be analyzed by Song Chuyi, the conclusion would certainly be completely different from Song Jue's.

Every situation has its pros and cons. The relationship between Prime Minister Chang and the emperor was certainly an advantage, but it was also a double-edged sword. Over the years, Prime Minister Chang had likely become accustomed to his role as the emperor's mentor, appearing overly stern rather than respectful in many situations.

But he seemed to have forgotten that the emperor was no longer the downtrodden prince stuck in the Eastern Palace, but the ruler of the entire nation.

As for Xingfu, he excelled at understanding the emperor's thoughts and would definitely exploit this incident to his advantage to extricate himself.

Old Lady Song evidently had the same thought—this was why the little censor, Shi Tongzhou, found it particularly difficult to meet with the emperor, for he was dealing with someone as cunning as Xingfu.

She was about to say something when she suddenly heard the voice of Nanny Huang from outside. Nanny Huang had always been her confidante, and since she had come at this moment, it was surely for something significant. She glanced at Old Master Song, who nodded and called her in.

Nanny Huang first greeted everyone before quickly stepping forward to whisper a few words in Old Lady Song's ear.

Old Lady Song was so shocked that her expression changed, and her voice quivered slightly as she exclaimed, "What?!"

Before Old Master Song and Song Jue could ask for clarification, she turned her head away with a sigh: "It seems that what we released back then was not an exaggeration at all; indeed, it was a tiger that could bite."

Song Chengru immediately realized who Old Lady Song was referring to, furrowing his brows and pondering: "It's been a while since we sent someone out without any news; I found that quite strange... Now it seems they've all fallen into her hands?"

"Not just fallen into her hands," Old Lady Song said, gripping the armrest tightly, her face turning cold as a chilling smile emerged from the corner of her lips. "The five households that Second Son took with him are all gone, not a single one left."

What did 'gone' mean? Initially, Song Jue hadn't thought of Song Chuning, but upon hearing Old Lady Song mention Second Master Song, he incredulously asked, "Gone? Does she even dare to kill?"

After asking, he couldn't help but feel a bit foolish; this eighth sister of his had killed before and committed inhumane acts. Now, she was far away in Changsha, without anyone to discipline her, and his second uncle was entirely obedient to her...

Mentioning Song Chuning, the atmosphere in the room suddenly chilled. The three of them felt horrified by her ruthlessness and terrified by her brutality—after all, that was more than ten lives, and she had easily sent them to the underworld.

"It's only been a short three months, and she has already eliminated all those people." Old Lady Song looked at Old Master Song with a bitter smile. "This level of cunning truly gives me the chills."

Old Master Song nodded gravely: "Indeed, it's troubling. She's naturally more vigilant than others. After this disturbance, her sense of caution will only grow stronger. Her resentment towards us will also deepen."

If only they could have stopped them earlier, they wouldn't have to worry about internal troubles while facing external threats. Song Jue let out a sigh, feeling somewhat guilty: "This won't do; allowing her to stay in Changsha for years is dangerous. We don't know what might happen. Now that a major mistake has been made, while she hasn't yet reached her full potential, we must bring her back."

Song Chengru understood the implications in his words and shook his head disapprovingly: "You can't go."

Since she could act against Song Yan, she could certainly do the same to Song Jue. After all, she possessed wisdom equivalent to two lifetimes; a person like her was akin to a powder keg that could explode at any moment. Sending the future heir of the Song family to her was absolutely impossible.

"There's no rush regarding her matters," Old Lady Song echoed. "Moreover, your second uncle is your elder; if he insists on not allowing you to take the eighth girl away, it wouldn't matter even if you went."

Her thoughts were similar to Song Chengru's; Song Jue was the heir that the Song family was cultivating, and he could not take that risk. Song Chuning was clever, even more so than Song Chuyi, and she was ruthless enough to do anything to achieve her goals.

Song Jue wanted to say more but was interrupted by a wave of Song Chengru's hand.

"In the time we've spent talking, the situation outside has probably changed." Song Chengru sighed and urged Song Jue to go outside: "Go take a look; both sides are unwilling to back down, and the commotion is so great that the Imperial Guards are bound to have work to do. You've been out for a while, and it won't look good to be late."

Though Song Jue was still somewhat reluctant, he knew that some matters had to be prioritized. He agreed and turned to leave.

As soon as Song Jue turned to leave, Old Lady Song rubbed her temples in distress: "Just when one wave settles, another rises. These days, our marquis family is truly overwhelmed... When will this kind of life come to an end?"

There are so many noble families and officials in the capital, yet why do Prince Duan and Xingfu have to focus on their family? Why is it that their family has raised such a troublesome granddaughter?

Song Chengru patted the back of her hand and comforted her softly: "Once Xingfu's incident is over, everything will be fine. You can have a good rest then."