Song Chuyi realized she might have underestimated Yuan Hui's malicious cunning. This "great monk" not only sought to eliminate the Song and Cui families, whom he saw as obstacles to his ambitions of becoming the most trusted advisor to Prince of Commandery, but he also schemed to kill two birds with one stone. By using remnants of the Prince Duan faction to assassinate her, he could bme the act on Noble Consort Xian. In one move, he would rid himself of an eyesore and help Prince of Commandery and the Fan family remove a thorn from their side, thereby earning even more trust from them.

  Every word Yuan Hui spoke seemed light and insignificant, yet each one concealed traps and follow-up schemes. Song Chuyi took a deep breath, covering her face with her hands, and let out a cold ugh.

  "I originally pnned to deal with the Chen family first. Yuan Hui, with his deep roots and the royal temple shielding him, was someone I thought I could set aside for ter..." Song Chuyi exhaled sharply. Her elbows and knees throbbed with sharp pain, but compared to the humiliation and terror she'd just endured, it seemed trivial—at least she had survived and could still stand here.

  Since she was still alive, those who wanted her dead would have to pay the price.

  Ma Changjiang and Ma Wangkun, along with several others, approached. The assassins were highly skilled and ruthless, leaving the group injured. Especially Ma San, who had been guarding the courtyard; he and Sun Ergou had suffered serious wounds from the surprise attack.

  "Send for Doctor Yan immediately," Song Chuyi said, turning to Qingying. "Tell him to bring a few apprentices with him. Several of us are injured."

  Doctor Yan was a traveling physician whom Nanny Xu had brought to the estate. Two winters ago, he had nearly frozen to death at their doorstep. Out of pity, Nanny Xu had taken him in, and he ended up staying at the Song family's countryside estate in Tongzhou. He treated minor ailments for the people there and eventually moved to the estate to care for injuries sustained by Ma Changjiang and his men. With no reliable doctor in her immediate circle, Song Chuyi decided to keep him close.

  Qingying quickly left to find Doctor Yan. Song Chuyi cast a cold gnce at the bodies strewn on the ground and asked Ye Jingchuan and Zhou Weizhao, "What should we do with these people?"

  This estate had been purchased after the incident at Wong Tai Shin Temple. It was supposed to be a secret, yet Yuan Hui not only discovered its location but also learned her movements. Clearly, he had spent considerable effort on her.

  A master schemer like him, capable of reading fate and calcuting destiny, had been so ruthless toward a mere twelve-year-old girl. Could it truly be as Yuan Hui cimed—that her rebirth had disrupted the trajectory of events and even muddied her fate?

  She thought back to the pace, when Noble Consort Xian had Yuan Hui procim that she was suited to be a concubine. Celestial Master Zhang had given her a meaningful look... But she quickly shook her head. If fate truly existed, then the heavens had granted her this second chance at life for a reason. Even if it meant defying destiny and being consigned to eternal damnation, she would fight back.

  "Report it to the authorities and wait for the Shuntian Prefecture officials to arrive," Zhou Weizhao said calmly, scanning the corpses. "Although Yuan Hui pyed a rger role than Noble Consort Xian in this, it’s not sustainable for her to keep targeting you like this. With Prince Duan dead, the Ninth Princess married off, and Prince Lu content to keep a low profile, perhaps giving her a lesson now would be beneficial."

  Ye Jingchuan gred at him, armed. "Are you insane?! People already cim her fate brings disaster. If they find out Yuan Hui mentioned her destiny and she was then attacked, it would confirm his words!"

  The hunting incident had already partially validated his cim. If it happened again, Song Chuyi’s reputation would be irreparably damaged. Even the Empress and Ye Jingchuan’s own mother, who had been skeptical, might become wary of her.

  Zhou Weizhao, hands csped behind his back, maintained his usual mild smile as if nothing in the world could anger him. Gncing at Song Chuyi, he said, "Naturally, we can't let anyone know this is her residence. An unmarried girl maintaining such a rge estate, frequently visited by men—how do you think that would appear? Yuan Hui banked on the Song family not daring to make this public, which is why he chose this pce to strike. We'll have to pin this incident on you."

  Ye Jingchuan pointed to himself, his chin raised slightly and his mouth slightly open. “Me?”

  “Yes, you,” he confirmed with a nod. “You’ve always had a id-back attitude, and back in the Northwest, you had grudges with Prince Duan’s people. Just say those people wanted revenge and tried to kill you. With your father and brother exerting pressure, the Shuntian Prefecture officials won’t dare not to investigate…”

  “No, no, no.” He paused, shaking his head as if recalling something, and then quickly dismissed the idea. After thinking for a moment, he added, “Your aunt recently had some friction with Noble Consort Xian over the Ninth Princess, and tely, Noble Consort Xian’s attitude towards her has been nothing but passive-aggressive... Let’s just cim this estate belongs to her.”

  Framing the incident as an assassination attempt on Ye Jingchuan and Princess Rongcheng would immediately escate its gravity. Not only would the Shuntian Prefecture be forced to investigate thoroughly, but even the Jinyiwei would get involved.

  Zhou Weizhao suggested subtly feeding information to the Shuntian Prefecture and the Jinyiwei, ensuring they take down all of Prince Duan’s remaining loyalists in one fell swoop. Those assassins, he reasoned, would either remain silent or, at most, implicate Noble Consort Xian, but they wouldn’t dare drag Yuan Hui into it.

  This pn would also deal with Noble Consort Xian, who constantly acted as a ticking time bomb, creating trouble from the shadows. However, Princess Rongcheng might not be willing to lie or cover up such a significant matter.

  Song Chuyi hesitated. “But as for Her Highness, the Princess…”

  “I’ll speak to her,” Zhou Weizhao replied, turning to look at her. “Aunt will agree.”

  He wasn’t wrong. In her previous life, Princess Rongcheng’s death had rgely been due to her devastation over hearing of Zhou Weizhao’s demise. With nothing left to live for, her health had rapidly declined until her death.

  Noble Consort Xian certainly deserved to die. The reason she tolerated Consort Fan's antics was that Consort Fan had previously focused her efforts on roping in the Cui and Song families, without going too far against the Changning Marquisate. But for someone like Consort Fan, once adored by the Crown Prince for so many years, to suddenly be treated like a pgue or flood, her downfall was inevitable. Even if she managed to clear her name in the future, in the Crown Prince's eyes, she would never regain her former status. Even in her son’s eyes, she would always carry the stain of a woman who had failed to meet the standards of virtuous conduct.

  Living cautiously, constantly on edge, and under the shadow of her past for the rest of her life—that was the greatest punishment for someone like her.

  But Noble Consort Xian, such a troublemaker, never stopped causing issues as long as she was alive. Now, with no children to hold her back, she had become utterly reckless. Even Prince Lu couldn’t compel her to rein herself in.