The Battle of the Noble Ladies (Book 1)

Chapter 191 - News

Once Song Chuyi had left, Nanny Huang managed to coax Song Chumi away. Old Lady Song leaned back against her cushion with a headache, sighing heavily.

She was truly feeling weary and couldn't help but feel a rising disgust toward Song Chumi. Couldn't a properly raised young lady show some sense of propriety? Who barges into their elders' quarters, speaking of 'mutual affection' so shamelessly? She also felt somewhat guilty; if it hadn't been for Song Chumi's own actions, she might never have known things had gone this far.

Luckily, First Lady had been tirelessly overseeing the selection process these past days, which drove Song Chumi to reveal herself in impatience. Otherwise, if something serious had happened, she would have lost face before the Song ancestors.

Old Master Song had already been unsettled by the Crown Prince's grave illness, and now his granddaughter's outrageous actions only added to his worries. Rising to his feet, he turned to leave, giving Old Lady Song a stern reminder. "Keep a close eye on her for the next few days... When her mother returns, she can talk some sense into her. If that doesn't work, send her to the family temple."

The Song family could never indulge such foolish, brazen demands from her; otherwise, it would place the entire family on a fiery pedestal.

Old Lady Song was startled, and instinctively thought to plead on Song Chumi's behalf, but quickly closed her mouth. If Song Chumi was truly willing to abandon her family and cast aside her kin for the sake of a man, it was indeed better to send her to the family temple for peace.

"Will you take your meal here or in the study?" Old Lady Song asked. "If here, I'll arrange it early. Since Xiao Yi and Yan'er are moving to a new courtyard, we should prepare a feast for them."

Although something like this happened with Song Chumi, on the fifteenth day after four days, they still had to enter the palace. Song Yan will also have to set off for Shuzhong in about a month. It makes no sense for the household servants to be left in confusion.

Song Chengru nodded slightly, stopped, and turned to look at Old Lady Song. 'Since it's like this, let's just have a gathering. Call all the children from the family, and don't let them be troubled here. Let's go to Chuzhou Pavilion; it's spacious and quiet, surrounded by water on three sides. I'm sure the children will like it. With what happened with the Fourth girl today, the other girls are probably feeling anxious... It's good to reassure them.'

He paused and continued, 'I'll go to the study for a bit. Later, I'll ask the eldest to send Jue'er to investigate the situation outside, to see which young master from the Zhang family is involved and what his intentions are. If it turns out to be nothing, that's fine, but if the Zhang family has ulterior motives, this matter won't be so easy to settle.'

Although their political views differed, he thought he and Lord Zhang had maintained a cordial distance. However, if the Zhang family truly had some hidden agenda targeting their family's inner sanctum, their household would not be easy prey.

Old Lady Song forced a smile and sighed, 'I thought we'd have some relief after Xingfu fell, but the winds won't settle. Look, trouble has come knocking again, hasn't it?'

Old Lady Song's anger surged instantly, but she remained silent and turned to walk outside.

After settling the wailing Song Chumi, Nanny Huang personally brought a bowl of loquat syrup to cool Old Lady Song's temper. After taking a sip, Old Lady Song heard that the First Lady had arrived.

The First Lady looked displeased as she sat down and brought up the matter with Old Lady Song. 'I've asked around. They have known each other since childhood. He's the seventh son of Lord Zhang, related through the maternal family of the Third Lady. They got to know each other through interactions. Back in April, wasn't it because of the Li family... Fourth girl stayed with the Third Lady's family for a while? It was probably around that time...'

He's actually a son of a concubine! Song Chumi's judgment of people has really become questionable.

Old Lady Song curled her lips in a cold smile, placing the loquat syrup on the table with a crisp sound, and then asked, 'What happened next? Since you all know, why hasn't anyone reported this?'"

The First Lady's expression was quite remarkable as she hesitated for a long time before replying to Old Lady Song, "I heard that Fourth girl was entangled with him. Naturally, the Third Lady wouldn't allow it, but she didn't dare to cause a scene to let you know... While she was advising the Fourth girl in the letter, she also instructed her family to scold those two maids and told them not to make this matter public."

So, the Third Lady, Yun Shi, had known all along?!

Old Lady Song was stunned into silence, and after a moment, she sighed, "No wonder Fourth girl was so composed; it turns out she was caught up in it first. Since her mother already knew, we'll wait for her to come back and discuss it then."

With Old Lady Song, the grandmother, saying this, the First Lady, as just an elder aunt, naturally had no objections.

"By the way, today Xiao Yi and Yan'er have moved to Chuzhou Pavilion and Guanju Courtyard. I think it would be nice for everyone to have a lively dinner to celebrate their housewarming. Don't worry about that troublesome matter; let's just focus on organizing a nice dinner."

This also meant to reassure Song Chubin and the other girls. The First Lady understood this and promptly agreed, then mentioned the eldest young mistress: "Her condition has become heavier since August, making it inconvenient for her to move. It's better for her not to join this hustle and bustle..."

Old Lady Song nodded in agreement, "That's the right thing; her health is the most important. Just let her take care of herself."

After discussing for a while, they had roughly drafted the guidelines. The First Lady then took the opportunity to bring up the matter of sending gifts to various princes' households and family connections during the Mid-Autumn Festival in August.

The princes were still quite young; the eldest son of Prince Duan was only a bit over four years old and did not reside in the capital. Thus, the royal households were only managed by the long-serving officials, and sending gifts had established protocols every year. There was no reason to break the rules this year. After listening for a while, Old Lady Song told the First Lady to make the decisions herself.

Just as they were talking about the gift lists for the King of Zhennan's Mansion and Duke Ying's Mansion, they heard Yulan come in and report that Cui Yingshu and First Lady Cui had arrived.

Both women were momentarily stunned—hadn't they received a notice? Why had they come so hurriedly?

"I'll go greet them!" The First Lady quickly stood up. "The master and Jue'er are outside, and Uncle must have gone to the front hall to pay respects to our Old Master. I'll go greet First Lady Cui and then instruct the kitchen to prepare the feast."

Old Lady Song came to her senses, nodded, and watched the First Lady leave. She instructed Yulan to fetch Song Chuyi and Song Yan.