The Battle of the Noble Ladies (Book 2)

Chapter 18 - The Dual Heirs

For a long time, there was no new sound from inside the room. The smoke from the incense burner rose in thin, curling wisps, lingering in the air, creating a misty haze that somehow brought a sense of peace.

Song Chuning had heard enough and had figured out a thing or two. She sat quietly for a while with her eyes lowered. When she looked at Lady Fang, her expression was completely devoid of emotion, like a well-polished piece of glass that seemed transparent yet concealed the thoughts hidden behind it.

"But you've already offended the Song family quite severely." She picked up the teacup that Lady Fang had just filled and suddenly splashed it in Lady Fang's face. "See, just like this. You might not care if I splash you once or twice, but as the saying goes, 'no matter the matter, it shouldn't happen three times'... Everyone's patience has its limits, especially since you've been so ruthless before. Even if you intend to ease up this time, based on my understanding of the two old foxes in the Song family, they would never surrender to Prince Duan again."

She watched Lady Fang, who looked shocked and flustered, and a slight sneer appeared at the corner of her mouth. "Does Prince Duan really trust a fierce tiger lying before his bed?"

Some of the still-hot tea splashed onto Lady Fang's face, instantly reddening her fair skin. She finally pulled out a handkerchief and wiped her face clean, glaring at Song Chuning in shock. "Are you crazy?!"

"You see, what you call acting is merely a sign that you haven't been thoroughly provoked yet," Song Chuning replied with a charming smile, looking quite adorable. "Everyone has their emotions and desires; don't you have them too?"

Lady Fang's face was as red as her garments at this moment. She stared at Song Chuning for a while, seemingly trying hard to control her emotions, and sneered, "But you're just a person who isn't favored by the elders and has lost her mother. As soon as we ease up a bit, you'll be sent back to the Song family. You know exactly what awaits you then. Since you know this, why do something so foolish that will only provoke me? It's a waste of the time I've spent educating you!"

Song Chuning was unfazed, and she retorted without hesitation, "But now that I've provoked you, will you abandon me?"

She encountered Lady Fang while going to Hongdu to congratulate the daughter of the Hongdu governor on her birthday. From the very beginning, Lady Fang had shown a keen interest in her and cleverly resolved the sudden trouble caused by the group of old servants from the Song family along the way. After that, she followed her to Changsha under the guise of being a gentleman, and for the past six months, she had been nearly inseparable from her.

Prince Duan and Lady Fang were not the types to be idly doing charity work for no reason. If she had no value to them, why would they cling to her like this?

Lady Fang was taken aback. The humidity in the South was heavy, and her damp hair clung to her cheeks, making her feel both itchy and cold, which slowed her response for a moment. "You're quite clever."

At first, she only knew that the Eighth Miss of the Song family had suddenly come to Changsha, and she had heard that she had even resolved the bandit problems in the city. Lady Fang intended to explore connections, but she soon realized that this Eighth Miss was quite extraordinary. Not only did she have the rare talent to foresee future events, but she also harbored deep resentment toward the Song family...

According to a famous master from Fujian, people like this are born with great fortune.

The concept of "great fortune" can be interpreted in various ways, depending on one's perspective. Even if she was just a six-year-old girl, the Prince wanted to grasp this great fortune in his own hands. That was why he had followed Song Chuning for over half a year. Strangely, this little girl was nothing like ordinary girls; every prediction she made was astonishingly accurate, and she often had clever schemes. This girl, barely over six years old, had even helped Song Yi resolve years of bandit issues in Changsha... They were more convinced than ever that Song Chuning was a treasure. As she mentioned, they could never give up on such a treasure.

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Song Chuyi sat by the window on a chaise, reading Song Jue's letter. He wrote that everything went smoothly. At the banquet hosted by the Tang family, almost all the notable figures from Shuzhong attended. Representing Song Yan, he presented the prepared gifts, earning high praise from Tang Mingzhao. However, due to the high humidity in Shuzhong, Song Yan developed some rashes on his neck and face. They've consulted a physician and started treatment, so there's no major concern. He assured everyone at home not to worry.

Qingtao quietly approached to replace her hot water bottle and checked her hand temperature. Gently, she advised, "It's normal to have some discomfort when you first arrive in a new place. The young master is here with you, so don't worry, Miss."

Song Chuyi nodded. It wasn't because she was worried, but after all, an elder sister is like a mother. Song Yan went thousands of miles away to study, and even though she knew that there were many people following him, she couldn't help but worry.

Nanny Xu pushed the door open and handed her a letter with a serious expression. She shook her head and said, "The old lady asked me to show it to you. We sent someone to Changsha to ask for her, but they still didn't get her. The second master said that he would bring the eighth lady back to apologize during the Chinese New Year."

As for how troublesome Song Chuning's matter was, Song Chuyi had long anticipated it—previously, Old Lady Song's plan to have several families in Changsha secretly abduct her had failed. Later, two or three more attempts had been made, almost all resulting in no returns.

She herself had once begged First Lady Cui to inquire about the situation and found out that Song Chuning was almost guarded like a fortress. It was practically impossible to abduct her without alerting Song Yi.

Not only that, but even if they wanted to kill her directly, it wouldn't be feasible; there were many skilled people protecting her.

She couldn't help but wonder if Song Chuning had sought outside help. However, at that time, she was busy countering each move and couldn't spare a thought for Song Chuning. Now that Old Master Song had personally sent people to Changsha to retrieve her, and still hadn't succeeded, she couldn't help but furrow her brow.

The letter was personally written by Song Yi, with every word exuding sincerity, and his concern for Song Chuning evident in every line. He expressed that he couldn't go against his parents' wishes and felt he was being unfilial. He even stated that if Old Master Song and Old Lady Song reported him to the Censorate for being unfilial and disrespectful, he would accept it. However, Song Chuning was still young, and he couldn't bear to see her ruin her life...

Song Chuyi couldn't describe her feelings at that moment and tossed the letter lightly onto the table after reading half of it.

When she had just been reborn, she often had nightmares, dreaming of Song Yi's anxious expression during her illness, and later, she would dream of Song Yi's coldness and distance. Now that she thought about it, although Song Yi had treated her with some affection, there was always a thin barrier between them. Despite her efforts to expose Li Shi's true nature in this life, it seemed it was too late...