Zhang Run had been out for too long, having only managed to leave by concocting an excuse about needing to find a good burial site for his father. To make it convincing, he had even staged a suicide attempt, which finally persuaded Han Zhi to let him go. But if he raised any suspicions this time, it would be even harder to meet Song Chuyi again in the future. Sensing the time was running short, he got up to take his leave. "He's a cautious and suspicious man. I won't be able to leave again for a while. Once I've arranged a pce, I'll find a way to inform you, Sixth Miss Song."

  Song Chuyi nodded and watched through the window as he was escorted into an unmarked carriage, suddenly feeling that things might be far more complicated than she had anticipated.

  To take down Han Zhi would mean inevitably confronting the Marquis of Jinxiang's household, Consort Fan, and even the entire Fan cn of Xingyang. Song Chuyi had heard secrets from her grandmother about the Fan sisters: it was said that during a musical performance behind a screen, the one who stunned the entire room was not the now-beloved Consort Fan, but the Marquis of Jinxiang's wife, the younger Lady Fan. The Crown Prince had specifically asked to meet the one who pyed the music, but it was Consort Fan who appeared and went on to become the favored concubine of the Eastern Pace, even overshadowing the Crown Princess. And the younger Lady Fan and the Fan family never uttered a word about the swap. Such an ambitious and skilled woman, deliberately pced by the Fan family at the Crown Prince's side, clearly served their agenda.

  Now was hardly the time to move against Han Zhi. Mishandling things could bring disaster instead. The Song family had finally broken free from Prince Duan's shadow, and Song Chengru would certainly not want to get entangled in the politics of the Eastern Pace. But if they did nothing, she'd need to constantly guard against Han Zhi's potential attacks...

  Lost in thought, she barely noticed Qingtao knocking as she entered, visibly fuming as she bit her lip. "This is too much!"

  Song Chuyi and Qingying were both taken aback by her outburst. The young maid, normally so composed thanks to Ziyun's guidance, had rarely acted so impulsively. But now she looked like a furious hedgehog, prickly with rage.

  "What happened?" Qingying peered outside, recalling Song Chuyi's instructions to investigate Song Chumi's activities. "Did something happen with Fourth Miss?"

  Indeed, Fourth Miss was always a source of trouble. Just yesterday, she'd been saying and doing odd things at home, and today she was here, parading around the tea house. Being a newly married woman currently staying with her family, her behavior was clearly improper.

  Qingtao's face reddened as she gnced at Qingying, then stepped closer to Song Chuyi, still fuming with anger. "Fourth Miss... she's here to meet with Miss Chen and Miss Shen, and they were discussing... discussing your situation from the hunting grounds."

  Song Chuyi raised an eyebrow, her curiosity piqued as she watched the steam rise from the spout of the teapot, dispersing in the wind. "The incident has already spread; what's there to get angry about? It's true that Master Yuanhui did say I had a 'lone star' fate."

  Reflecting further, she wondered why the Marquis's household would still be pursuing this, given her ominous fate, one that noble families found particurly unsettling. Surely the Marquis of Jinxiang's household wouldn't risk mockery by ignoring such superstitions for the sake of wealth? Perhaps she could use this to her advantage, spinning it out until Consort Fan and Zhou Weiqi abandoned Han Zhi as a pawn altogether.

  Qingtao, more restrained than Luyi, refrained from using harsh words, but she spat on the floor before continuing, "If they were only gossiping behind your back, it would be one thing. But they... Fourth Miss actually teamed up with outsiders to harm you! They're pnning to visit you once she returns to her husband's house, under the pretense of having tea with you, then ce it with some drug to make you act erratically... after which Fourth Miss would go to Old Lady and First Lady, suggesting a master to perform an exorcism!"

  If that were to happen, Song Chuyi's reputation as a bearer of the ominous "lone star" fate would spread even further.

  Chen Mingyu's motives were understandable; she was prone to overthinking and had grown hostile since observing Zhou Weizhao's closeness to Song Chuyi at the hunting grounds. No doubt this was her attempt to tarnish Song Chuyi's reputation and eliminate any perceived threat to her.

  But what could Song Chumi possibly gain from this?

  Until recently, Song Chuyi had felt a sense of guilt towards Song Chumi. Despite never having harmed her, she had exploited her once to uncover the Zhang family's dealings with the Yun family, which eventually led to Song Chumi being sent to the countryside for three years by their grandparents. Yet now, Song Chuyi realized her sympathy might have been mispced. While she had always sought to make amends, Song Chumi had seemingly attributed every misfortune in her life to Song Chuyi.

  To think that Song Chumi would go so far as to conspire with outsiders to bring her down... her ill will was clear.

  It seems that Song Chumi had this pn all along. She simply couldn't stand seeing her, and felt that she should pay the price for what happened back then.

  Although Song Chuyi dismissed this fate talk as nonsense, that was only to evade nuisances like Han Zhi and Shen Qingrang, and as a temporary strategy to draw out Chen Xiang and Prince Duan's schemes at the hunting ground. She couldn't actually carry the burden of such a fate her whole life—if her elder sister's fate was already poor, how good could her younger brother's fate be?

  Qingying took a moment to snap out of it, frustrated: "Fourth Miss is really..."

  She truly brought this on herself. Just yesterday, she had drawn Old Lady Song's displeasure by brazenly pleading for someone's official position in front of her. Old Lady Song simply hadn't had time to deal with her yet, and now she's targeting Song Chuyi.

  Song Chuyi smirked slightly, showing no sign of anger on her face. After a moment, she said, "Let's return to the estate."

  Some people's views are so warped that a few lectures can't change them. Song Chumi, for instance—Third Lady has tried to reason with her until her mouth is dry, but she's determined to be stubborn, and no one can stop her.