The Fifth Lady, Wang Shi, stood in Old Lady Song's room with a rebellious expression, showing not a trace of guilt.

  Old Lady Song hurled the bracelet at her face and sneered coldly, "Wang Jinshi, a person needs to have a conscience! You know very well how we've treated you all these years. Despite all your wrongdoings, everyone gave you some leeway, but to harbor such a venomous heart... you are unworthy of being human!"

  The Fifth Lady's head tilted from the blow, and a red mark quickly appeared on her fair face. She calmly touched her cheek, then slowly picked up the bracelet and put it on, looking at Song Chuyi, who stood behind Old Lady Song, with a smirk. "This bracelet? Isn't it beautiful? The craftsmanship is first-rate, and the tortoiseshell inid in it is hard to come by these days. Why, does Little Sixth not fancy it?"

  Her indifferent demeanor, like a dead pig unafraid of boiling water, made Old Lady Song's anger fre.

  Song Chuyi, however, knew that the Fifth Lady had a cold and heartless nature. She didn't even show a shred of motherly love to her own children, let alone to the Song family. No amount of scolding would affect her in the slightest.

  Holding Old Lady Song's hand, Song Chuyi leaned in and whispered softly, "Let it go, Grandmother. It's pointless to reason with someone like her."

  How could you reason with someone who has no conscience?

  Old Lady Song closed her eyes briefly, then turned her gaze to the two maidservants standing beside Wang Jinshi—Tangyuan and Yuanbao.

  "From now on, your Lady will stay here under my watch, and I will assign people to serve her. As for the two of you, the First Lady will reassign you to serve elsewhere."

  Tangyuan and Yuanbao were filled with unease, but they dared not speak and, suppressing their fear, kowtowed before leaving.

  Suddenly, the Fifth Lady exploded in anger, taking several steps forward and pointing at Old Lady Song. "The people serving me were personally chosen by the Empress Dowager. I've grown used to them. I won't allow them to be repced!"

  Old Lady Song gave her a sidelong gnce, and Ziwei stepped forward, brushing off the Fifth Lady's hand with a mocking smile. "Oh dear, Fifth Lady, be careful. The Old Lady's health isn't great. With those fierce looks, you might just scare her."

  Old Lady Song, too, gazed at her, seemingly puzzled. "I remember when you knelt before the Empress Dowager and swore that from then on, you would regard the Song family as your world. How long has it been, and you've already forgotten?"

  The Fifth Lady's face flushed pale with fury as she bit her lip and finally erupted. "Don't bring up the past! The past?!" She flung her wide sleeves, her once-dylike demeanor gone. "How dare you mention the past?! If it weren't for your arrogance, accepting that imperial marriage decree..." She choked on her words, her voice breaking.

  If the Song family hadn't accepted the imperial decree, the Duke of Ying's family would have.

  The Duke of Ying's family had long been close with the Duke of Cheng's family, visiting each other like retives. She and Shen Xiaohai had grown up together as childhood sweethearts, and their futures had been tacitly approved by both their parents...

  But then the Song family accepted the imperial marriage decree. She had pleaded with the Empress Dowager for half a month, refusing food and even trying to starve herself, but to no avail.

  Thinking back to those dark days, a fierce hatred burned in the Fifth Lady's eyes. "You ruined my life! And now you still expect me to regard the Song family as my world? You're dreaming!"

  Old Lady Song coughed violently from rage but, after a moment, let out a bitter ugh. "So that's what you've been thinking all this time... No wonder you've turned our household upside down. I once thought you had a bit of the Duke of Cheng's family's blood in you, but now I see you're nothing like the Wang family. The Wang family never produced someone so shameless and ungrateful."

  Seeing that the Fifth Lady still wanted to argue, Old Lady Song could no longer tolerate it and waved to Nanny Huang, "Bind this fool for me!"

  Nanny Huang promptly followed her orders, grabbing the Fifth Lady while directing Nanny Wu and others to tie her up.

  "A small favor turns into a grudge when it grows. Our family must have been blind." Old Lady Song coldly watched the Fifth Lady continue to struggle, her voice unusually frosty. "Did you know that, back then, your brother first sought a marriage alliance with the Duke of Ying's family? Did you know that it was the Duke of Ying's family who reported your father to the emperor? And did you know that, out of all the noble families in the capital, only our Song family didn't go crying to the Empress to reject you, you cursed woman?!"

  Wang Jinshi struggled fiercely, trying to lunge at Old Lady Song, but Nanny Huang held her back with all her strength.

  Her eyes were wide as if she wanted to devour someone, and from her mouth came growls more akin to a wild beast's than a human's, filled with overwhelming rage.

  Old Lady Song no longer wanted to look at her and ordered her to be taken away.

  "What sin did we commit to bring such a camity into our family?" Old Lady Song colpsed onto the couch, letting out a heavy sigh of exhaustion.

  Song Chengru returned to the mansion te at night. Though his expression was calm, his eyes revealed a heavy concern.

  "His Highness the Crown Prince volunteered to go to the hunting grounds in the outskirts, taking 2,000 troops from the three military offices to clear the area in advance." Stroking his beard, he looked grim. "Today, the emperor also approved the 30,000 silver taels that Prince Duan requested to expand his personal guard... These two things together, something doesn't sit right with me."

  Old Lady Song's heart tightened. "Xiao Yi once said in her dream that after the northwest deserters accused you, there was a joint trial by the Three Judicial Offices, and the Crown Prince was attacked during his supervision..."

  "This time, Prince Duan will likely try to slip away unnoticed again, using deception to confuse everyone," Song Chengru voiced the words Old Lady Song hadn't dared to say. "The Crown Prince's departure from the capital this time is certainly not simple. If anything happens to him outside... the dirty water can still be spshed on us through the Fifth Lady. We cannot let anyone have the chance to take advantage of us."

  With the unpredictable Empress Dowager Rongxian still in the pace, the Song family couldn't afford to take this risk.

  "Check all of Wang Jinshi's correspondence thoroughly. Keep all suspicious ones," Song Chengru instructed, looking at Old Lady Song. "Her dowry and belongings were all documented back then. Organize everything according to the list, and destroy anything extra. Also, don't overlook the servants she usually relies on; they should all be interrogated first."

  After pondering for a moment, he suddenly said, "Let Xiao Yi handle this."

  Old Lady Song was taken aback and hesitated when she saw that Song Chengru had no intention of changing his mind. "But she is still so young..."

  "Her eyes are sharp," Song Chengru waved his hand dismissively. "She has her own way of assessing people; entrusting her with this will not be a mistake. You focus on sorting through Wang Jinshi's dowry carefully. Also, have the First Lady enter the pace on the first of the month and remind the Noble Consort to be cautious of Consort Xian."

  This was the downside of not aligning with a particur faction; the Crown Prince's faction remained elusive, and Prince Duan's faction, unable to win them over, would consider them enemies...

  Old Lady Song felt a chill run down her spine, but she nodded solemnly in agreement. She personally summoned Song Chuyi to rey the instructions, while she, along with Nanny Huang and the First Lady, went to sort through Wang Jinshi's dowry.

  However, when they saw that the person entering was actually Song Chuyi, who was not even half the height of the Fifth Lady, both of them involuntarily sighed in relief.

  ____

  The old master and old dy must have become confused with age, sending such a young girl to handle things. After a whole night of exhaustion, they finally felt a glimmer of hope, and their faces brightened with a hint of spirit.

  Little did they know, this young girl didn't spare them even a gnce. Instead, she quietly sat down and began drinking tea.

  She drank for half an hour, during which Tangyuan and Yuanbao watched in stunned silence as Song Chuyi's maid meticulously filtered the tea foam through yer after yer of processes. They began to feel that things might not be as simple as they initially thought.

  Both of them had previously been pace maids, so they were no strangers to this routine. Whenever the masters in the pace needed to interrogate the maids, they often started with a dispy of authority, forcing everyone to weigh whether they should speak the truth.

  The young girl before them had delicate features and a charming smile, sitting quietly in her seat without moving, yet somehow she increased the pressure on them.

  Time passed slowly, and the self-ringing clock in the room chimed. The sound startled the two, causing them to almost jump up, and all their previous restlessness surged to the surface.

  Finally, Song Chuyi put down her teacup and carefully scrutinized them for a moment. With a gentle smile, she revealed two dimples: "Are you going to confess on your own, or should I ask you?"

  Tangyuan was taken aback, her expression complicated as she lowered her head. The two hands hanging by her side clenched into tight fists.

  Yuanbao gnced at her, then looked back at Song Chuyi, gritting her teeth and deciding not to speak.

  "It seems I have to ask personally," Song Chuyi sighed softly, her smile fading: "Is your real names Linglong and Feicui?"

  The two looked at her in disbelief, finally stepping back in arm.

  After Song Chuyi reined in her smile, a strong air of ruthlessness emanated from her, making her seem far from an unmarried young girl. Instead, she resembled Song Chengru, who had accumuted authority in the officialdom over the years, a person not easily deceived.

  "You may have stayed in the pace for too long, and after living a smooth life in the Song family for these past ten years, you've almost forgotten your pce as servants," Song Chuyi sneered. "Are you still hoping for the Fifth Lady to save you? I advise you to abandon that thought. She herself is like a cy bodhisattva crossing the river, unable to protect herself, let alone have time to help you."

  The Fifth Lady might be out of the picture, but there were still others behind them.

  Tangyuan and Yuanbao exchanged gnces and finally spoke up, "Sixth Miss doesn't need to worry; we have nothing to say."

  "Really nothing to say?" Song Chuyi scoffed as she casually took something from Yun and threw it in front of them. "Then I can just take this address and find your family. You really have nothing to say?"

  This was a pawn ticket from the Hu Tong Pawnshop, clearly showing the name and address of the person who had pawned it.

  Tangyuan gritted her teeth and pretended to be indifferent, but Yuanbao finally panicked, jumping up from the ground, visibly agitated. "Whatever it is, come at me. Don't go after my grandfather..."

  "You all know who handled your address and who is responsible for it," Song Chuyi replied, still expressionless as she gnced at the two of them, finally resting her gaze on Yuanbao. "Since I have this, it means she has already confessed. Sticking to your guns will do you no good. Now it's my turn to ask; if it ends up being your grandfather or grandmother ter, you know what the consequences will be. Don't think you can act recklessly just because you have someone backing you, even the Empress Dowager wouldn't be able to intervene."

  Yuanbao's face turned ashen as she stared bnkly for a moment, then she made up her mind, kneeling down with a thud and calling out, "Sixth Miss, I'll tell you..."

  Tangyuan, with a dark expression, abruptly pulled on Yuanbao's sleeve, nearly causing her to stumble. She then looked at Song Chuyi with an odd expression. "Sixth Miss is so young; how do we know you can make decisions?"

  Tangyuan was clearly more calcuting than Yuanbao. Song Chuyi studied her intently and, impatient with the back-and-forth, gave a cold smile and nodded. "If you want to know whether I can make decisions, just look at my maid, Yun, and you'll understand. I won't beat around the bush with you anymore. Tangyuan, your whole family of seven, and Yuanbao's grandfather and younger brother are already in our hands... If you confess, it's fine; if you don't, you know the consequences."

  At this point, even Tangyuan's face finally fell, as if all her energy had been drained away, colpsing onto the ground.

  Yuanbao could no longer pay attention to Tangyuan's threats. She stepped forward and grabbed Song Chuyi's skirt, pleading urgently, "Sixth Miss, I'll tell you everything. Please spare my brother and my grandfather..."

  "Alright." Song Chuyi stepped back and sat in her chair, calm and composed. "Then I will ask, and you will answer."

  Yuanbao nodded in a daze.

  "Who does the Fifth Lady usually use to send messages to the outside?"

  Her gaze was so clear that it felt almost impossible to escape. Yuanbao instinctively looked away, responding in a low voice, "It's Jiang Er from the gatehouse."

  "Where do they meet? What's the signal? How often do they meet?"

  Yuanbao was caught off guard by the questioning and shook her head to collect her thoughts, then turned to look at Tangyuan, feeling somewhat troubled. "These are all things Sister Tangyuan knows..."

  Song Chuyi then turned her gaze to the still Tangyuan, then lightly shifted her attention away, instead instructing Yun, "Yun, please go tell my grandmother that Tangyuan is too stubborn; I can't get anything out of her. No need to keep her whole family of seven anymore."

  Yun bowed and left without hesitation.

  Tangyuan watched as the situation finally began to shift. Seeing that Song Chuyi had no intention of stopping, her eyeshes fluttered as she loudly responded to Song Chuyi's question, "They meet at the Zhiyuan Escort Agency on Eight Lantern Alley, and the street signal is 'tomorrow after tomorrow'... They meet on the first, fifteenth, and thirtieth of each month."

  Song Chuyi smiled and waved to stop Yun, turning to Qingtao. "Did you remember that?"

  Qingtao nodded, and after a moment of silence, Song Chuyi instructed Yun to take them away and then turned to report to Song Chengru.

  After reading the information that Qingtao had noted down, Song Chengru asked Song Chuyi, "What are your thoughts?"

  "We can't fight a battle without certainty." Song Chuyi pondered for a moment, looking at Song Chengru. "We must first capture the person who meets with them; otherwise, once it blows up, it will become evidence."

  Song Chengru smiled at her. "Do you want to go out and scout around?"

  Song Chuyi was momentarily taken aback, looking at Song Chengru with an expression of disbelief. "Grandfather, do you mean for me to go?"

  "Why not?" Song Chengru nodded. "Aren't I entrusting this interrogation to you?"