Chapter 42: Turning Princess Anning to Their Advantage

How on earth could she have thought she could manipulate him with such a clumsy trick?

Song Shiwei still felt something was amiss. Given the Prince of Ding’s ability and methods, resolving those two matters shouldn’t have been difficult, and marrying her was hardly his only option.

Then why was he so insistent on marrying her?

Could this man have some kind of ulterior motive?

Suppressing her thoughts, she kept her expression entirely neutral. "Your Highness, I need to consider this matter."

Bai Bohan indicated there was no problem. "Once Eldest Miss Song has considered it, simply let Lingze know."

Song Shiwei offered a soft murmur of acknowledgment and steered the conversation elsewhere. "Your Highness, has anything else happened in Mingdu recently?"

Following her lead, Bai Bohan’s voice calmed down as he replied, "Aside from the matter I mentioned, two other things have occurred."

"First, Anning has been trying to plant her own people within the military. The Emperor is already aware of this."

Hearing this, a thought suddenly flashed through Song Shiwei’s mind. "Is the Emperor choosing not to take any action, almost as if he’s allowing Princess Anning to stir up trouble in the military?"

Hearing this, Bai Bohan knew she had guessed the Emperor’s true intentions.

Tapping his right hand lightly into his palm in a fist, he said at a measured pace, "Just as you thought."

"The Emperor has long wanted to deal with Duke Wei, but has never been able to find a way."

"Now that Anning is causing trouble in the military, it plays right into the Emperor’s wishes. He can turn the situation to his advantage."

"However—"

Song Shiwei looked at him in confusion.

With a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes, Bai Bohan said, "Anning’s commotion is very likely to throw the military into complete chaos."

"An army cannot serve two masters."

After a brief moment of reflection, Song Shiwei understood the underlying reason.

Just as a large household could not have two heads.

"Isn't that wonderful?"

A trace of a smile curved the corners of her lips, while a cold light flashed in her eyes. "The more Princess Anning stirs things up, the more advantageous it is for us."

Once Princess Anning’s chaos reached an irreconcilable point, she could drag the Emperor into the fray.

Suddenly, she slapped the table lightly, a plan to make the Emperor wary finally taking shape in her mind.

"What is it?" Bai Bohan looked slightly bewildered. What had just come over Song Shiwei so abruptly?

With an apologetic smile, Song Shiwei said, "Pardon me. I just thought of something and got a little excited."

Princess Anning was her trump card.

She could orchestrate things so that Princess Anning’s disruptions escalated, and then implicate the Emperor.

That way, the Emperor would be utterly overwhelmed and would have no spare energy to cause trouble for her family.

Bai Bohan simply asked, "Do you need my help?"

Song Shiwei replied, "I don't need the Prince of Ding’s help for now."

Bai Bohan gave a soft affirmative. "Just say the word if you need assistance."

"Moreover, give my proposal some serious thought."

"Several more households have now pledged allegiance to Anning, hoping to curry favor with her by targeting your family."

Song Shiwei’s gaze was clear and piercing. "Truly, when a tiger falls from the mountains, dogs will bark at it."

"Your Highness, I will consider it."

Her family might escape danger once or twice, but they could not dodge it every single time.

Along this path of exile, it was far too easy for someone to tamper with things behind the scenes.

***

After seeing Bai Bohan off, Song Shiwei hoisted the large bundle he had given her and prepared to return to her room.

Instead, she saw Old Third Wang carrying Song Shiwei’s younger sister, Song Shilan, back on his back.

Looking closer, she caught sight of Song Shilan’s completely bloodless face, her gaze fixed entirely on her own feet.

Song Shilan’s feet were tightly bandaged, with faint traces of blood seeping through the cloth.

Clinging to Old Third Wang’s back in agony, she didn't even cast a glance at her surroundings.

It hurt so much!

The physician had said the wounds on her feet had become infected and festering, and the rot had to be scraped away before medicine could work, otherwise her feet would rot off completely.

Scraping away the decaying flesh was excruciating.

"Alright, get back to your room on your own." Impatiently dumping her onto a long bench, Old Third Wang turned and left.

Before Song Shilan could even speak, she spotted Song Shiwei standing nearby, and her eyes instantly lit up. "Eldest Sister!"

"My feet were just bandaged. Could you carry me back to my room?"

Instead, Song Shiwei asked, "Did you bother to get your hand treated?"

"Looking at the state of your hand, if you don't treat it soon, it's going to heal crooked."

Song Shilan glanced down at her suspended right arm, and a deep-seated hatred surged within her. "Eldest Sister..."

"Song Shilan, I truly find these little tricks of yours sickening," Song Shiwei said in a chilly tone. "From now on, spare me these dramatics."

Biting her lip, Song Shilan let her tears fall. "Eldest Sister, we are sisters. Why must you treat me this way?"

Knowing full well what petty thoughts were running through her head, Song Shiwei scoffed, "You surely didn't think that by putting on a weak and pitiful act at the post station, the people here would take your side, did you?"

That was precisely what Song Shilan had intended—to exploit the sympathy of the people at the post station to scheme against Song Shiwei.

"Eldest Sister, how can you think such things of me?"

Lowering her head slightly, she put on her most pitiful facade. "My feet..."

"Song Shilan, just look at how filthy you are right now, and you're still putting on an act," Song Shiwei said, rolling her eyes. "Besides, the people at the post station aren't fools."

The travelers passing by hadn't even spared her a second glance, simply going about their own business and refusing to meddle in idle troubles.

After waiting a moment and realizing no one was coming to her aid, Song Shilan finally understood that this tactic wasn't going to work.

Raising a hand to wipe away her tears, she caught the sour, foul odor emanating from her own sleeves and was so disgusted she almost threw up.

"Ugh! It smells so awful!"

Looking down at her from above, Song Shiwei remarked, "Oh, so you finally realized you stink."

"Just now, when you were putting on that pitiful act, you probably came close to revolting half the post station."

In the past, this was Song Shilan’s absolute favorite trick to play.

Quite a few young men in Mingdu easily fell for Song Shilan’s routine.

Song Shilan’s face turned green. How had she managed to get this repulsive?

"I want to bathe!"

Scanning her surroundings for anyone from the post station, she shouted, "Where has everyone gone?!"

"Bring me hot water immediately, I want to bathe!"

Song Shiwei said, "Song Shilan, have you forgotten that you are a criminal undergoing exile?"

"How dare you bark orders at the post station staff? Do you really think they wouldn't dare beat you?"

Her words struck Song Shilan like a basin of ice water poured straight over her head, waking her up completely.

At that moment, she finally realized fully that she was no longer the esteemed Second Miss of the Song family; there were no servants to wait on her hand and foot, nor could she order others around anymore.

Even the Qin family, who had promised to help her, hadn't assigned a single servant to accompany her, leaving her here to suffer entirely on her own.

"Why has it come to this..."

It shouldn't have been like this. It simply shouldn't have been like this.

Determined not to let up, Song Shiwei continued, "Song Shilan, just listen to how utterly foolish you are."

"You drove Concubine Qin—the only person who truly cared for and protected you—to her death with your own hands."

"Did you honestly believe the Qin family would protect you and make you their legitimate daughter?"

"If the Qin family had genuinely wanted to protect you, would they have failed to assign servants to you? Would they have neglected to arrange a carriage for your journey?"

"Shut your mouth!" Song Shilan screamed with a distorted expression. "Shut your mouth!"

"Song Shiwei, you don't need to look so smug! You're enduring exile just as much as I am!"

With a faint smile, Song Shiwei replied, "I am on the road of exile, yes, but I have food, I have water, and I have my family protecting me."

"And you? What do you have left?"