Chapter 30

The countryside was silent at dawn, but many people were already busy in the streets and courtyards of each household. The sun was slowly rising on the horizon, and a chilly wind blew into people's sleeves. Yet, in this vast expanse of land, a woman dressed in a sky-blue linen dress walked among the crowd.

However, she was surrounded by a cold aura, and her eyes no longer held their usual playful smile, but instead were serious and solemn.

Outside another palace, a maidservant, head bowed and looking somewhat flustered, first peered inside before lowering her voice to ask, "Your Highness hasn't gotten up yet?"

"What's all the rush about?" Song Chaoyun's personal maid scolded.

The maidservant was about to explain when the person inside the gauze curtains sat up. In the room filled with fragrance, Song Chaoyun's voice rang out, "Let her in and talk."

Upon seeing Song Chaoyun, the young maidservant immediately knelt down, her voice trembling with tears, "Your Highness, please hurry and save the Second Prince! Miss Qingyun suddenly stormed into the palace this morning, brandishing a knife and forcing the Second Prince to surrender!"

Upon seeing that it was indeed her younger sister's maid, Song Chaoyun didn't even bother to change her clothes and hurriedly got off the bed, asking, "Do you know what this is about?"

"I don't know what they were talking about, but I heard a teacup breaking inside. When I went in to clean it up, I saw that the Second Prince had a knife held to his neck." After the maid finished telling what she had seen, she quickly added that the prince must save Song Chaohua.

Everyone knows that Qingyun is fearless; she even dared to provoke Lord Liu, so it's hard to guarantee that she won't do something.

Song Chaoyun frowned. "What's with all this crying? Stop crying." With that, she called her personal maid and walked with her to Song Chaohua's courtyard. Dressed in white, she moved across the ancient bridge and corridor. When she saw the two of them, Qingyun was slumped on the ground with a huge bloody hole in her arm.

Song Chaohua's nightgown was stained black with blood. Her hands, which had been holding a knife, hung limply at her sides. When she heard the noise and turned around, her fierce eyes lowered their guard. Then she went limp and fell straight to the ground.

Song Chaoyun caught her with lightning speed, her face full of disbelief. Seeing the cold sweat and pain on Qingyun's face, she finally couldn't help but ask, "What exactly happened?"

Let's rewind to last night. The man wanted Qingyun to steal Song Chaoyun's private seal and tell her the truth about the raid on the Qing family mansion and the secret of Qing's father's death in prison. All of this stemmed from Song Chaohua and Song Chaoyun.

Qingyun didn't believe this nonsense. Putting aside the fact that the Qin family was far away, how could their influence reach the capital? How could they possibly know about such a secret?

The man saw through Qingyun's thoughts, but just smiled and said that his family had only been forced to move to this frontier region in the last few years. There was a hint of hatred in his eyes as he spoke, and Qingyun realized that this was probably the reason why he wanted Song Chaoyun's private seal.

She wanted to ask why.

But the man was wary of her, and would never easily tell her such crucial information.

The man said that in exchange, he offered to help Qingyun kill the two sisters, and Qingyun would steal the seal for him.

Qingyun first smiled and asked him calmly why he was so sure that Song Chaoyun had a private seal.

“She used this personal seal to prove her identity in letters for important matters. I once saw a letter with this design in it, so I know it naturally.” The man turned to look at her. “And that letter was about your father.”

He then took it out to show Qingyun.

The Qing family mansion was raided because Qing's father formed cliques, engaged in corruption and bribery, and this letter contained the evidence that Song Chaoyun had ordered people to collect. The man asked, word by word, "Will you do it or not?"

"No." Qingyun replied calmly.

The man looked at her coldly upon hearing this, and simply asked, "You won't even avenge your father's death?"

Qingyun: "Did your father marry me so that he could better control me to steal this seal? Is it really that simple?"

The man put away the letter and frankly admitted, "Given your attitude now, we don't ask for anything else. All we want is this seal." His eyes seemed to burn with fire, and Qingyun saw the hatred he harbored for the Song Chaoyun sisters through them.

If they actually obtained this thing, the consequences would be immeasurable; perhaps both of them would die by the sword.

Qingyun was merely a soul transmigrated to another world. She had no feelings for the original owner's father and naturally wouldn't think about the hatred of killing her father. Moreover, as a modern person, she believed that Song Chaoyun was not wrong. Just because she transmigrated into the original owner's body doesn't mean that her father did nothing wrong. Corrupt officials are not tolerated in any era.

"Okay, I promise you."

Qingyun's voice rang out as she looked at the man's earnest reply.

“A wise man submits to circumstances, and Miss Qingyun is indeed generous.” He suddenly said to the air, “Take them all.”

It took Qingyun a while to understand what this inexplicable statement meant. So, if he hadn't agreed, he would have just attacked directly?

As for why she agreed, she naturally wanted to keep the person calm first and make a decision after a thorough investigation. Including the matter with Song Chaohua last time, Qingyun thought it was time to ask about everything.

That's why we have this situation now. She just didn't expect Song Chaohua to be so tight-lipped. She thought she was a pampered princess and that threatening her with a knife would make her reveal the truth, but in the end, she was the one who got hurt.

"Ouch...be gentle." Qingyun rubbed his arm, his whole face scrunched up.

The imperial physician standing nearby immediately softened his movements.

"So reckless! I think you don't even want your life anymore," Song Chaoyun said sternly from the side.

Assassinating a member of the royal family—this woman is truly extraordinary. If it were anyone else, they would probably have died under the guards' blades long ago, let alone received medical treatment. Thinking of this, the imperial physician applying the medicine wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and felt a renewed sense of awe towards the person before him.

Song Chaohua, on the other hand, nestled in her sister's arms, appearing completely terrified. But Qingyun knew perfectly well that this was all an act to gain sympathy. If Song Chaoyun had seen her sister's crazy antics just now, would she still think of her as a little lamb?

"Why did you send the maid to change my medicine?" After everyone had left, Qingyun got straight to the point and asked directly.

But after she finished speaking, Song Chaohua didn't answer for a moment. She just kept crying in her sister's arms. Song Chaoyun was puzzled and asked what had happened. Seeing this, she also patiently asked her, but Song Chaohua's mouth was as if it had been sewn shut. She didn't say a word.

"Song Chaohua, this matter is of utmost importance," Song Chaoyun continued, his voice emanating from his diaphragm, filled with authority and awe.

After a long while, the girl finally raised her head and hurriedly shook her head, saying that she didn't know anything, that she knew nothing about anything, and that there was no maid named Liuyue in the palace. She cried with tears streaming down her face, looking very pitiful, as if she had really been framed.

Seeing her like this, Qingyun couldn't help but wonder if someone was really impersonating her maid? Could it be that Qin family boy?

Song Chaoyun was skeptical. "Really?"

Song Chaohua nodded hurriedly, "Go ask the other maids and you'll find out."

Seeing this, Qingyun put the matter aside for the time being and asked Song Chaohua why he had asked Lin Wanjun to deliver a message to the supervisor. Was there any truth to this?

Upon hearing this, Song Chaohua glanced sideways at Qingyun, "How strange, do I need to report to you who I'm sending a message to?" Then, a hint of disdain flashed in her eyes, and she turned to Song Chaoyun, pouting, "Sister, you just let this dog of a servant bully me! He almost killed me just now!"

Qingyun scratched his head awkwardly, thinking to himself that her attitude changed so quickly. Just a few weeks ago, she was sweetly asking to play cards with him, but now she was calling him a lackey.

Could it be that she really didn't know?

The system's words were a wake-up call: "If she didn't know the truth, what did her reaction just now mean? Did it mean she was crazy?" The system actually didn't want Qingyun to get involved in this kind of thing at all.

What if he really is a madman?

System: [Host, sometimes you're even crazier than her.]

I've noticed you're a very meticulous person.

After venting to the system, she gave Song Chaoyun a look, indicating that she wanted to talk to her alone.

The maid led Song Chaohua away, and Qingyun then repeated the man's words. She stood in front of the table and looked at the man in front of her, "I want to know if what he said is true."

A heavy silence hung in the air. After a long while, Song Chaoyun sighed softly, "What if we knew the truth?"

Qingyun simply smiled upon hearing this, "I have my own decision to make. Now, I want to know why."

This matter involved too many people and things at once. Song Chaoyun remained silent for a long time, still pondering how to say it. It was true that she had collected evidence, but she had not submitted it. However, she was not entirely innocent herself.

Unable to choose between the country and the friend, Song Chaoyun decided to delegate the matter to someone else. The knife in her hand was Ye Linping. Song Chaoyun only reminded him of the embezzlement and did not want to go too far, but once it started, it would inevitably lead to a series of problems.

If you ask her what she regrets, she doesn't. Song Chaoyun couldn't bear to leave such a treacherous minister alive.

“The Qin family was driven out of the capital by me.” Song Chaoyun approached, put his hands behind his back, and lowered his eyes as if thinking about something. “That Taoist priest was just a pawn of the Qin family. He stayed by Chaohua’s side in an attempt to control a princess to achieve his own goals. His intentions are truly despicable.”

It took Qingyun a moment to realize that this referred to the love-hate relationship between Song Chaohua and the Taoist priest.

In recent years, the Qin family has become increasingly arrogant, even extending their reach into the imperial court. Since they want to gain power, they will definitely resort to some dirty tricks. However, she did not expect that several people would set their sights on Chaohua. The people who were inciting her were talking nonsense and even asked her to go into the palace to steal memorials.

What if it's in the future? If they can steal memorials, can they also steal the imperial seal? Song Chaoyun knew she couldn't let his family live. So what if there was no evidence? She could just send them here and force them to come here.

She just didn't expect that there would be a change in the situation, namely that Song Chaohua would also come along.