Since ancient times, nothing involving the imperial examinations has ever been a trivial matter. If Grand Secretary Chen were truly accused of leaking exam questions, his reputation would be ruined. He would become a ughingstock among schors across the nation, and his standing in the schorly community would be irreparably damaged.

  Song Chengru’s eyes lit up. He picked up a brush, jotted down a few names on a piece of paper, then tore it up and tapped his fingers on the table as he pondered. Finally, he smiled. “Alright, it’s worth a try. But this setup must be fwless, so that sly old fox doesn’t suspect a thing. I’ll discuss this further with your uncles.” He then instructed Song Jue, “Go and invite Mr. Cheng and Mr. Shan to the front study.”

  As Song Jue and Song Chuyi exited the study together, Song Jue turned to her and asked, “I hear the Empress has summoned you to the pace tomorrow?” He paused for a moment, then reached out to pat her head. “If it has anything to do with that bald monk Yuanhui, deny everything. Just say that our family doesn’t believe in such nonsense.”

  The phrase “doesn’t believe” implied that they would never use such superstitious notions to petition for the Heir Apparent or the Prince of Commandery to counterbance her fate. If they had no requests, then her so-called ill fate would remain her own business, unconnected to anyone else. Others would have no reason to intervene.

  Yet, as he spoke, Song Jue’s expression darkened. Yuanhui’s words had gone too far. The st time at the hunting ground was bad enough, but this time his cims were even more exaggerated and arming.

  As they passed through a covered walkway, Yun and Ziyun, who had been waiting outside, hurried up to her. “Quickly, quickly! The Princess and Lady Yu have arrived; they’re waiting for you.”

  “Yuanhui has never said anything good,” First Lady Cui was compining to Old Lady Song. “But this time, the Empress summoning Xiao Yi isn’t because of him—it’s because of Miss Tong.”

  “Tong Shao?” Old Lady Song’s expression immediately darkened as she recalled the inexplicable incident when the Marchioness of Wuning, stirred up by Shen Xiaohai, came to the Song household. They had already made it clear to Wuning’s household that the Song family had no ties to Duke Ying’s household, and the talk of any engagement was completely unfounded. Could it be that because Miss Tong was causing chaos in the Shen family and falling out of favor, they were bringing this matter up again?

  Song Chuyi was equally puzzled as to how this had anything to do with Tong Shao. She had assumed that either Yuanhui’s words had made the Empress view her as a troublemaker who needed to be hastily married off, or the Empress was looking to bring the Song family closer as allies. Never had she expected it to be connected to Tong Shao.

  First Lady Cui herself found it both ughable and infuriating as she expined, “Miss Tong cims that the reason Shen Qi dislikes her is because of a problem with her leg. And the reason her leg is injured is that she was implicated by Xiao Yi during the incident in Tongzhou.”

  Even First Lady Song couldn’t hold back her ughter. “Is she out of her mind? How could Xiao Yi possibly have implicated her in anything?”

  “Of course, it’s all because of this ‘heavenly lone star’ nonsense!” Lady Yu set down her teacup. “Miss Tong has always resented Xiao Yi. Now that Yuanhui has brought up these old matters again, she naturally doesn’t want to see Xiao Yi doing well. She’s gone so far as to escate the matter to the Empress, hoping to spread Xiao Yi’s bad reputation even further. She’d love nothing more than for Xiao Yi to be seen as a pgue that everyone fears.”

  It might not be entirely nonsensical after all, thought Song Chuyi, sitting silently in her chair.

  She had heard that Shen Qingrang had recently grown close to Wei Yansheng, the Prince of Commandery's study companion. The two were said to share simir interests and spent their days indulging in debauchery, cockfights, and te-night escapades, often not returning until dawn.

  If Yuanhui was indeed acting under the orders of Consort Fan or seeking to help her and the Prince of Commandery by thoroughly destroying her reputation to prevent her from becoming an asset to the Heir Apparent, then Tong Shao’s antics, though seemingly absurd and unreasonable, were merely adding fuel to the fire. It further reinforced the Empress’s belief that she was an unlucky presence.

  Song Chuyi had originally given up on dealing with Shen Qingrang, thinking that letting him live out his chaotic life with Tong Shao was punishment enough. Yet Shen Qingrang was proving to have one trait identical to his past self: no matter the circumstances, he remained inherently opportunistic and self-serving, just like Shen Xiaohai, always looking for shortcuts and leveraging connections.

  If he pnned to trample on her to climb the social dder and curry favor with Consort Fan, he’d better see if she allowed it. They likely didn’t even know why the Crown Prince fell ill or why the Prince of Commandery became sick shortly thereafter.

  Old Lady Song couldn’t help but ugh out of anger. She had never imagined there could be such an absurd person in the world. After ughing enough, she turned to Lady Cui. “What does Her Majesty think about this?”

  Ah, the pity of parental love. After spending seven or eight years on Mount Longhu recuperating, Zhou Weizhao had finally regained his health. Naturally, the Empress didn’t want him associated with any bad omens, let alone using his fate to counteract Song Chuyi’s.

  First Lady Cui bit her lip, hesitating for a moment before sighing and gesturing for Song Chuyi to leave the room. “Why don’t you go see your cousin? We’ll continue our conversation here.”

  In truth, First Lady Cui didn’t need to send Song Chuyi out deliberately. Song Chuyi could already guess Her Majesty’s stance. After all, Yuanhui’s previous prediction had come true: the hunting ground incident had indeed resulted in bloodshed and loss of life. Now, using that past statement as leverage, Yuanhui cimed another camity was imminent. No one could simply brush it aside.

  Consort Fan likely hoped this excuse would make Zhou Weizhao avoid any association with the Song family altogether, prompting the Empress to distance herself from them. If the Prince of Commandery decided to lend her a hand without holding grudges—perhaps not by marrying her but by arranging her marriage into a respectable noble family—the Song family would still owe him gratitude.

  With Old Lady Cui’s birthday celebration approaching, Yuanhui might also be targeting a match with one of the Cui family’s daughters.

  Before Song Chuyi could get up, Nanny Huang’s voice came from beyond the curtain: “A nanny from the King of Zhennan’s household has arrived outside…”

  Old Lady Song and the First Lady exchanged gnces, then looked at First Lady Cui and Lady Yu. They were all surprised and quickly ordered the guest to be invited in.

  First Lady Cui leaned closer and whispered to Old Lady Song, “The Empress heard that the second young master of the King of Zhennan’s household is quite close to Xiao Yi and noted that they’re of simir age. Yesterday, she hinted at this to Princess Rongcheng and me…”

  Was the King of Zhennan’s household sending someone to turn down the proposal after catching wind of the rumors?

  That bald monk Yuanhui had truly made a mess of things with a single comment. The Empress, not wanting to risk offending the Song family or impacting the Heir Apparent, seemed to have turned her attention to the King of Zhennan’s household, possibly considering them as a suitable match for Song Chuyi.