Lady Xiao waited until the sun set, the moon rose to its peak, and the sky lightened, but still, she had not seen Xiao Ding return.

  She reassured herself over and over that nothing would happen. After all, Xiao Ding had brought enough manpower. As long as he could capture Song Chuyi, and eliminate Song Jue and those female retives, he could ter push a few scapegoats out to take the bme and let the Xiao family continue to thrive. Prince Duan would also help them erase any traces.

  But as she waited and there was still no sign of Xiao Ding.

  Now even a fool would sense something was off. In a panic, she dismissed her eldest daughter-in-w, who had come to curry favor, and shouted for someone to go to Fang Deng's house to find Lady Fang.

  At this point, the Pingyang Marquis's residence was already closely tied to Fang Deng's family. Lady Fang was always more decisive than she was, so she controlled her trembling hands and waited for Lady Fang to arrive.

  However, when Nanny Chen returned, she said that Lady Fang was no longer in the residence.

  "Not in the residence?!" Lady Xiao stood up in shock, her disbelief evident as she repeatedly questioned, "How could she not be here? Where else could she go?!"

  Could a mere woman fly away?!

  Nanny Chen was surprised at her mistress's loss of composure and lowered her head, feeling somewhat helpless.

  Lady Xiao's mind was in chaos; she couldn't understand where Lady Fang, as another woman from the inner chambers, could go besides the Fang family. Especially under such unusual circumstances, with Xiao Ding and Fang Deng's situations unclear, she felt that a reliable ally had suddenly vanished...

  After sitting in silence for a while, she finally realized that she needed to gather information. However, feeling guilty for her intentions, she didn't dare go directly to the Song family. Fortunately, there was still one person she could call upon. She breathed a sigh of relief and summoned Song Chuxuan, asking her to return home for a visit.

  Previously, mentioning a trip home would have earned Song Chuxuan a scolding, but now Lady Xiao actively asked her to go back, leaving Song Chuxuan puzzled. It took her a while to realize what was happening.

  The daughter-in-w of the Pingyang Marquis felt somewhat wronged. Today, she heard that Lady Xiao had been up all night for some unknown reason and had even prepared ginseng soup early to send over to help her regain her strength. Who knew she would receive no gratitude and would instead be reprimanded?

  Now Lady Xiao had instructed her to prepare a carriage to send Song Chuxuan back to the Marquis's residence. The daughter-in-w of the Pingyang Marquis felt a stomach full of frustration, her belly heavy with discomfort. She managed to send Song Chuxuan back while grumbling and then y on her bed, fuming.

  If something were to happen in the Song family, it would be impossible for there to be no signs at all. But now, during this tumultuous time, she couldn't send people out to inquire directly. Lady Xiao could only have Song Chuxuan go back home to sound out the situation.

  Lady Xiao rubbed her forehead while sitting on the couch, feeling her heart race, which made her uneasy.

  Last night, she had been so busy worrying and in a flurry that she had completely forgotten that Song Chuxuan was still at the Pingyang Marquis's residence. When Old Lady Song heard from the maid that Song Chuxuan had returned, she felt a bit dizzy.

  At this point, the Pingyang Marquis's residence had already torn its face with the Marquis's residence, and it was bound to suffer misfortune, but Song Chuxuan would be the one to suffer...

  The First Lady clutched her daughter, tears streaming down her face, looking at Old Lady Song with pleading eyes.

  If only she had known earlier! If she had known that the Xiao family harbored such intentions, if she had known that Lady Xiao was such a person, if she had known that Xiao Ding dared to involve himself in such significant matters regarding the throne...

  Old Lady Song closed her eyes and finally made up her mind to tell Song Chuxuan the whole story.

  "You know what kind of person your mother-in-w is, but I never expected her to be so bold..." Old Lady Song personally pulled Song Chuxuan to sit beside her, seeing her tremble in fear and feeling a pang of sympathy. "But if she succeeds this time, your mother and even your brother will all be in trouble..."

  Tears streamed down Song Chuxuan's face like a broken dam as she clutched Old Lady Song and cried.

  She had never expected Lady Xiao to be so ruthless, even targeting her own mother and biological brother.

  "Grandmother, please don't say any more," she wiped her tears, feeling as if she had already died once. "Such a heartless and ungrateful family is not worth my returning. I ask you to help me, let me divorce Xiao Yan."

  She had been married into the Xiao family for more than two years, showing respect to her in-ws and being friendly with his siblings. Yet in the end, not only did she not receive a kind word, but they also became even more excessive.

  Xiao Yan was usually a wayward young man, not only having multiple concubines in the household but also being restless outside. She could tolerate all that, but to set his sights on her family...

  Song Chuxuan let out a cold ugh from the bottom of her heart. That was truly a miscalcution.

  Hearing Song Chuxuan say this, Old Lady Song felt a sigh of relief in her heart.

  She had always worried that this granddaughter was too weak to bear such a blow and was even more concerned that she would foolishly accompany Xiao Yan into exile and suffer. Now it seemed that although Song Chuxuan was indeed weak, she could still discern the pros and cons.

  The First Lady nodded repeatedly and looked up at Old Lady Song: "We should not dey, Mother. I will go to the Pingyang Marquis's residence right now..."

  "No need," Old Lady Song gently shook her head, a smile brimming with confidence on her face. "This matter does not require us to take action ourselves; someone will come forward to seek justice for us."

  On April 5th, the Minister of Revenue, Song Chengru, removed his cap and insignia in the Golden Hall, personally presenting a letter of apology, requesting to resign from his post.

  The officials were in an uproar.

  On April 15th, the case of Pingyang Marquis Xiao Ding erupted. The Ministry of Justice investigated and found that Xiao Ding and Fang Deng had abused their power, unwfully mobilizing stationed troops and attempting to harm the female retives of the Marquis of Changning in the suburbs of the capital. The nature of this case was extremely serious, and Xiao Ding had colluded with the orphan of the former Duke of Cheng, Wang Jinsi, attempting to frame the Marquis of Changning's family.

  In an instant, the court was in turmoil, with countless memorials accusing Xiao Ding and Fang Deng piling up before the emperor.

  On April 19th, the emperor personally issued an edict stating that Pingyang Marquis Xiao Ding and Deputy Commander of the Five Cities Military Division Fang Deng had abused their power to entrap officials and unwfully mobilized troops to commit violence, sentencing them to death in the autumn.

  The properties of the Xiao and Fang families were confiscated by the state, the male members exiled to Lingnan, and the female retives sold into svery.

  At the same time, Song Chengru was repeatedly summoned by the emperor for comfort.

  On April 21st, the emperor decreed the promotion of Song Chengru to the Grand Schor of the Wenhua Hall, admitting him to the cabinet, and concurrently appointing him as the Minister of Personnel.

  At the same time, the empress decided that Song Chuxuan would divorce Xiao Yan, personally bestowing upon her one hundred taels of gold and one thousand taels of silver as a consotion.

  The First Lady finally believed Old Lady Song's words. She sat there in a daze for quite some time, feeling worried about her daughter's future but also relieved that her daughter had escaped from the tiger's den, exhaling a mix of joy and concern.

  When Li Shi heard about this, she was so shocked that she almost bit her tongue off. She had gone to the Temple that day for a different purpose, but it was all disrupted by the First Lady. She thought the dy was deliberately making things difficult for her, not realizing she would experience such a thrilling turn of events.

  Song Chuning frowned tightly.

  This matter was closely reted to Song Chuyi. She felt a pang in her heart when she recalled the unusually warm attitude of Song Jue and the First Lady towards Song Chuyi at that time.