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  Old Lady Song was completely baffled by these words. She leaned against her soft pillow, a silver-grey squirrel-fur p bnket that Yun had just handed her spread over her knees. Hearing Lady He’s plea, she raised her brows in confusion, “Speak clearly, Lady He. You’ve really left this old woman muddled. What matter could possibly bring you begging to me?”

  Lady He was at a loss for words. Ever since that night when she overheard the conversation between her husband and son, she had been living in fear, pgued by nightmares night after night. She had always known her husband was an ambitious man. For the sake of that ambition, he had schemed endlessly—first clinging to Prince Duan, and when that failed, trying to tch onto the Changning Marquis Manor. But the Changning Marquis Manor looked down on him, completely disdainful of his petty tricks. Having offended them, he had no choice but to cling tightly to the Marquis of Wuning's household, all for the sake of their influence in the northwest. He had even forced Shen Qingrang to marry the granddaughter of the Marquis of Wuning, hoping to one day leverage that connection to curry favor with the Prince of Commandery.

  Later, he had finally achieved his wish and cozied up to Master Yuanhui, whom he had met years ago while doing errands for Prince Duan. Now that Master Yuanhui had switched allegiance to the Prince of Commandery, her husband had grown restless again, believing the Crown Prince’s position was secure and that the Crown Prince favored Consort Fan and the Prince of Commandery. After much deliberation, he once again followed Master Yuanhui’s lead.

  Because of this, he not only clung to Master Yuanhui but also tried to draw the Marquis of Wuning’s household into the mess. He had even allowed the unruly girl raised by the Wuning Marquis’ family to stir up chaos in Duke Ying’s household, leaving them no peace.

  That wasn’t even the worst of it—Master Yuanhui had set his sights on the Song family, and her husband had eagerly stepped forward, offering pns and strategies, even willingly acting as Master Yuanhui’s pawn, sending Shen Qingrang to join Prince Duan’s old loyalists in an attempt to assassinate Song Chuyi…

  Lady He had personally witnessed the means of this Sixth Miss of the Song family. Both Shen Xiaohai and Shen Qingrang had suffered losses at her hands multiple times, yet they had never learned their lesson. That night, when she overheard Shen Qingrang saying Song Chuyi might have recognized him, she hadn’t had a good night’s sleep since. She knew Master Yuanhui was powerful, but an inexplicable dread gnawed at her heart, as if her head could roll at any moment.

  And sure enough, her fears had been right. One camity after another came knocking. First, Tong Shao somehow found out about Shen Qingrang’s injury and kept pestering him about how he’d been hurt. The matter snowballed until even the old duchess was injured, the Empress issued a decree to reprimand the Marquis of Wuning’s household, Tong Shao attempted suicide, and the Wuning Marquis’ household completely broke ties with Duke Ying’s manor…

  If it had only been that, Lady He might not have connected it to Song Chuyi. But when even Master Yuanhui met with disaster, something in her suddenly clicked.

  Everything had happened too conveniently—all the people who had tried to harm Song Chuyi that night were now suffering misfortune…

  And now, Duke Ying’s household was in utter shambles. Recently, people had been coming every night waving debt notes, demanding repayment, ciming that Duke Ying’s heir, Shen Xiaohai, had borrowed money from loan sharks.

  It was true that Duke Ying’s household had been deteriorating year after year, always spending more than they earned. The costs of attempting to assassinate Song Chuyi had been enormous—Master Yuanhui hadn’t spent a single coin. All the bribes and arrangements had been covered by Shen Xiaohai, borrowing at exorbitant interest rates.

  Duke Ying’s household had been dealing with these people for years, usually with tacit understanding. But now they were showing up openly at their door.

  Unless someone was deliberately pushing things behind the scenes, how could this happen?

  Tears streamed down Lady He’s cheeks, sliding stickily into her colr, making her uncomfortable. But she couldn’t care less—she could only beg desperately: “We know we were wrong… We’ll never dare make trouble for Sixth Miss again…”

  Shen Xiaohai had been hiding outside the manor every day, refusing to come home. Shen Qingrang had also taken to sleeping in his study like his father. She, a mere woman, had no means left. Just a few days ago, she had even borrowed three thousand taels of silver from her eldest daughter—but that was a drop in the bucket…

  At st, Old Lady Song understood why Lady He was here to beg. She looked at her deeply and sighed heavily, her voice full of meaning:

  “So that’s what this is about. You think it’s our Xiao Yi who caused you to fall to this state?”

  The moment those words left Old Lady Song’s mouth, Lady He’s legs nearly gave out beneath her. The Changning Marquis Manor was flourishing like the midday sun—how could she dare to agree with what the old dy implied? She hastily shook her head, her voice panicked: “No, no, how could I possibly mean such a thing? It’s only that… that I’ve truly run out of options…”

  A voice came from the doorway just then, carried on a thread of cold wind: “Why has Lady He come begging my grandmother?”

  The curtain was lifted, and Song Chuyi stepped inside, her expression faintly puzzled as she turned her head toward Lady He. “According to what you just said, it’s because the Heir borrowed from loan sharks and is now being hounded by creditors. What, I wonder, does that have to do with our Song family? The two matters couldn’t be more unreted, yet here you are, pleading at our door.”

  At the sight of Song Chuyi, Lady He felt a guilty panic rise in her chest. She averted her gaze, unable to meet those calm eyes, her entire body stiff and at a loss for what to do.

  Song Chuyi walked slowly to Old Lady Song’s side and sat down. Only then did she truly notice how much thinner Lady He looked than before, her complexion haggard to the point of being pitiable.

  She let out a soft sigh as she gnced at Lady He’s helpless, speechless state, her voice tinged with something almost like pity: “Had you come to my grandmother before the people from the Marquis of Wuning’s household barged into our home, perhaps—out of old friendship between the two families—my grandmother might have been willing to lend a hand. But has Lady He forgotten? Back then, when Young Master Shen made a private engagement with Miss Tong, why was it that the Marchioness of Wuning came storming to our manor, causing such an uproar without reason?”

  Lady He’s lips quivered, but no words came out. Instead, her face crumpled, tears and snot streaming down uncontrolbly.

  “What use is there in speaking of these things now?” Song Chuyi lowered her gaze, staring at the gourd-shaped, beast-patterned hand warmer resting in her palms, her tone unreadable. “The dead cannot come back to life. It is only natural that the Marquis of Wuning’s household would be furious. I imagine they once did your family quite a few favors too, didn’t they? Yet now, after all that’s happened, to speak of such matters… it’s already too te.”

  Lady He clutched at the front of her robe, her breath ragged and uneven. It took her a long while to steady herself before she shook her head fiercely, almost frantically: “No, no… I beg you, Sixth Miss… They were just confused for a moment… Please, show mercy…”