The Battle of the Noble Ladies (Book 2)

Chapter 108 - Background

A few days later, news arrived that Cen Biliang had scheduled the formal hearing for Song Yi's case.

Song Chuyi had already informed Old Lady Song about arranging for personnel from the Cui family, so she smoothly attributed the progress on Song Yi's case to them. "They're seasoned soldiers, accustomed to tough situations, and they have both the skills and smarts to dig up all of Huang Yuanwai's secrets. Barring any unexpected issues, once this trial concludes, things should be resolved."

Old Lady Song uttered a prayer and held Song Chuyi's hand, saying, "When your father is released, he must open his eyes and truly see who his real daughter is."

Song Chuyi didn't respond to this. Her reason for helping Song Yi was solely for her own and Song Yan's welfare and had nothing to do with Song Yi himself. She then mentioned her planned trip to the Huijue Temple. "Aunt mentioned wanting to go there to light an eternal lamp for my young nephew. Have you chosen an auspicious date?"

Having cleared one concern from her mind, Old Lady Song was now visibly more relaxed and even showed a hint of a smile. "I was just about to tell you—three days from now, the gongs will ring. Tradition holds that taking an unmarried girl to the temple is akin to marking her passing, so it need not be publicly announced. We'll inform the Li family when the time comes."

In the inner chambers, the "passing" of a young girl was not uncommon, and Song Chuning's illness had been rumored well in advance. With two months already passed, any news of her death would be accepted without question. Old Lady Song added, "We'll use her name and say we're going to Huijue Temple to ask the abbot to hold a ceremony."

Just then, First Lady Song entered with a warm smile, paid her respects to Old Lady Song, and brought up the matter of naming. "Qingxu Temple sent over several name options for us to choose from, all in line with the family's generation name and based on the Eight Characters. I think it best if we wait until Father returns to decide on the final name and then take him to Qingxu Temple for a proper blessing."

Old Lady Song looked over the list, seeing several auspicious names that followed the Song family's generational tradition. She smiled approvingly. "We were just discussing going to Huijue Temple to light the eternal lamp, so this fits nicely. Your father won't be back for another half month anyway, so we have plenty of time to go to Huijue Temple first."

First Lady Song nodded, visibly relieved. "Then I'll make the arrangements. Since we mentioned the 14th, let's keep it on that day. Everything we need for the journey is already prepared."

On the fourteenth, they would head up the mountain, and on the fifteenth, it would be just right for the monks to come down and conduct a memorial service. Relatives, friends, superiors, and subordinates would all come to pay their respects. After thinking it over, Old Lady Song nodded, "If that's the case, we should go ahead and strike the cloud drum tonight."

First Lady Song then brought up the situation with the Li family, "While you were away, the Li family came by several times... Now that they haven't seen her and she's gone... I'm afraid they might try to cause trouble."

Old Lady Song let out a cold laugh, remembering that sinister night in Song Chuning's room, filled with ill omens and curses scrawled on sheets of white paper bearing the names of Song family members. Anger simmered in her heart. "Trouble? I'd like to see what they can stir up..."

Noticing a lull in the conversation, Song Chuyi excused herself, letting out a sigh of relief as she left. The Li family wouldn't be able to stir up trouble even if they wanted to. With the Ministry of Justice's trial today, the Li family likely had their own people involved, so they'd hardly have time to create issues with the Marquis' residence. It was more likely they'd be begging forgiveness.

By midday, during lunch, news arrived of a broken dish at Ningde Courtyard.

Xiang Mingzi came to find her with a somewhat distressed look, sighing as she took Song Chuyi's arm, "Who would've thought the Li family could be so black-hearted? Instead of acknowledging Li Shi's wrongs back then, they've held onto a grudge against Second Uncle, even colluding with Lady Fang—who's harbored an old grudge against our family—to have Huang Yuanwai frame Second Uncle... But for now, they won't admit anything and are only pushing the blame onto a steward."

For someone as prideful as Song Chuning, losing out to her own family's influence was unthinkable. Since she'd already gotten close to Prince Duan, she would naturally hope for the Li family to gain more standing. Song Chuyi had long suspected that the Li family had a hand in these events, so she wasn't surprised. After consoling Xiang Mingzi with a few sighs, she saw her off and then turned to the hurriedly approaching Ziyun.

"Well? Any news?"

Having Ma San and Ma Yongfu investigate Song Yi's case was just a side task; it wasn't her true intention.

Catching her breath and sipping tea, Ziyun finally managed to respond, "No need to worry, Miss. The report just arrived. It seems that the young servant often seen around Young Master Han, by the name of Wei Yanjun, has a property out in the suburbs. Ma Wangkun's man befriended the old gatekeeper there, who shared that the house had been vacant until recently. Lately, the owner has been visiting frequently, and just recently, they even transported something there. They've hired a few maids from nearby homes and even brought in a physician from Yangzhou..."

Ma Wangkun was the most meticulous among their group. On the surface, he seemed ordinary, but he had a rare patience and steadiness in gathering information. From the beginning, Song Chuyi had assigned him to follow Wei Yanjun and Han Zhi, and only now did he send back news—but it was incredibly useful.

After listening, Song Chuyi didn't react outwardly but turned to ask Qingtao, "After that incident the other night, was it confirmed they took her away that same night?"

Old Lady Song and First Lady Song, not wanting any bad omens lingering and also wishing to cover things up, had ordered the body moved to a separate estate that very night. They planned to say it was due to contagious rashes and intended to burn everything during the ritual.

Qingtao put down her work. She'd always paid close attention to matters concerning Song Chuning, and that night's terrifying scene in Song Chuning's room was etched into her memory. She nodded, "Yes, they transported it out that night. Nanny Jin specially called on a few wives to wake their husbands in the back street, and they took it out of the city. I heard they moved it to some temple."

With four bodies to manage, they couldn't stay in the household; burning them would draw unwanted attention. Moving them to a temple was the best solution.

Song Chuyi considered for a moment, then instructed Qingtao, "Find out who helped transport them to the temple that night, and ask which temple they were taken to. Once you have that information, tell Ziyun, and then, Ziyun, you can send Ma Wangkun to check it out."