The Battle of the Noble Ladies (Book 2)

Chapter 34 - Appearance

As the wind grew stronger, the doors and windows were tightly shut, yet the howling wind outside continued to make noise, reminding everyone that winter was well and truly upon them.

Song Chuyi's thoughts began to drift. She pondered that this Noble Consort Song was hardly impulsive or timid. How could she be so foolish as to hand over leverage to Empress Dowager Rongxian simply because Noble Consort Xian and Consort Liang had provoked her with a few words?

Even if she hadn't initially recognized Song Chuyi's importance, her true aim was certainly not to ward off disaster, nor was it to rely more securely on Empress Dowager Rongxian.

Now that Empress Dowager Rongxian had fallen from grace, the Fengzao Palace was still as it had been before.

Perhaps she had long realized the intentions of Noble Consort Xian and Consort Liang and had played along—after all, no one from the Song family had come to see her for quite some time due to Empress Dowager Rongxian's interference. The news of her potential pregnancy had also been unable to be conveyed, and with the Eleventh Princess needing care, she was clearly using Empress Dowager Rongxian's downfall to remind the Song family that there was a formidable tiger lurking in the palace.

As for what happened next, hadn't she successfully retreated unscathed from such a precarious situation? Even with the significant news of her pregnancy, it hadn't stirred much of a storm in the harem. After all, the misfortunes of Empress Dowager Rongxian and Princess Shijia were causing such an uproar that her own situation, as a consort with a pregnancy, seemed less remarkable amidst such a tempest.

"Elder sister," she snapped back to reality, looking at Noble Consort Song's dignified features. With a sigh, she smiled and said, "Did you call me in this time just to share this news with me?"

To let her know that she had no choice but to push her away due to the child? No wonder she had just been putting on such an act; she was truly a clever person.

Noble Consort Song had not expected her to be this perceptive, and for a moment, she was at a loss for words. After a while, she looked at Old Lady Song and said, "Grandmother, you really amaze me. I can only wonder how formidable little Sixth will be when she reaches my age."

Old Lady Song patted Song Chuyi's hand and gently smiled at Noble Consort Song, "Your Highness, this younger sister of yours is truly not an ordinary smart person. This time, Your Highness... was too reckless. If you had really pushed Chuyi out, our family, along with you, might have been completely wiped out."

Noble Consort Song nodded, her heart still racing, "This was indeed a bit too risky of me, but what you did afterward really scared me into a cold sweat... Speaking of which, I must thank Chuyi. If she hadn't discovered the clues before entering the palace and traced them back to the Yun family, Grandfather might not have been able to make such a decisive move to cut through the chaos."

As she spoke, she lowered her head and sighed, "Actually, when Noble Consort Xian and Consort Liang urged me on, I already knew what they were up to. For so many years, while I respected Changning Palace, my relationship with Qingning Palace wasn't bad either... They were clearly plotting against me, along with that person from Changning Palace. And that month, I just happened to have no clean clothes to change into... I was really left with no choice. They had a lot of spies in my palace, and I simply couldn't afford to take risks, so I had to send someone out to put on that act to make them truly think our family was in a panic..."

Peeling away the mask of impulsiveness and irritation easily provoked, Noble Consort Song revealed her true nature beneath.

Upon hearing this, First Lady Song recalled her own actions at that time and felt her cheeks flush. She lowered her head, twisted her handkerchief, and sighed deeply, not daring to speak in reply.

Old Lady Song nodded, "You can't be blamed for this. Right now, in the palace..."

"With such a commotion, all the spies they had planted in my palace have been taken away by the Empress," Noble Consort Song said with a bright smile. "Not a single drop of blood has fallen from my  hands, let alone raise the suspicions of Noble Consort Xian and Consort Liang."

So overall, it was still a great thing. After all, Noble Consort Song and the Song family had been hoping for her pregnancy for so many years, and now they had finally achieved their wish.

Old Lady Song furrowed her brows and thought for a moment before turning back to Song Chuyi, "At that time... do you know the reason behind it?"

This truly put Song Chuyi in a difficult position. In her previous life, when Noble Consort Song had suddenly passed away, she had merely been a little girl crying behind Shen Qingrang, so how could she possibly know these secrets?

After some contemplation, she finally caught a glimpse of insight, and with a serious expression, she looked directly at Noble Consort Song. "Elder sister, besides being wary of Noble Consort Xian and Consort Liang, it would be better to avoid a few princesses as well... especially the Ninth Princess..."

Even though Noble Consort Song was usually calm, she couldn't help but feel a chill run down her spine.

Suddenly, she recalled Noble Consort Shu from two years ago—who had been bumped into by the Ninth Princess, causing her to fall into the lake and subsequently have a miscarriage...

Old Lady Song called out solemnly, "Your Highness!"

This snapped Noble Consort Song back to her senses, and she earnestly reminded her, "Since Chuyi has said so, Your Highness should be more cautious. Don't you often say that the Eleventh Princess likes to follow the Ninth Princess around? After all, the Ninth Princess grew up with the Empress... If we dig deeper into this matter, it really could be complicated, so it's better to avoid it."

Noble Consort Song regained her composure and responded affirmatively, though she seemed to feel a bit wistful, "In the past, I didn't understand why Grandfather and Grandmother valued her so much. Today, I finally get it."

After laughing for a while, she asked Song Chuyi, "What do you think about the Eighth Miss?"

Previously, she had been unsure how to alleviate Song Chuyi's grievances against her, and now that she had interacted with Song Chuyi, this intention became even more urgent.

"I'm not afraid of anything else," Song Chuyi said honestly, looking at Consort Song. "I'm just afraid she doesn't know her limits and holds a grudge against us; I worry she might do something foolish."

Noble Consort Song seemed unconcerned. She was unaware of Song Chuning's abnormalities and thought that, since Song Chuning was born of the Li family, there would inevitably be conflicts with Song Chuyi. She simply wanted to extend a favor. Hearing Song Chuyi mention "foolish acts," she couldn't help but laugh, "She's just a little girl not yet seven years old..."

First Lady Song quickly shook her head and waved her hand at her, "Your Highness, you don't know; one can know a person's face but not their heart. This little girl, barely seven years old, is genuinely someone to be feared..."

Lowering her voice, she recounted how Song Chuning had set fire to Song Yan and how she later dealt with Nanny Yu. Finally, she sighed, "Such cunning tactics are probably not inferior to those of adults. How can you still think of her as just a little girl?"

The second branch of the Song family was so blessed that they had two such scary girls at once?! Noble Consort Song felt her jaw creak and shook her head blankly.