Clearly, Song Chaoyu's words were not what the Chang family wanted to hear.
Seeing that Song Chaoyu was determined, she stopped pretending.
She sneered, "So, Your Highness the Princess Consort, are you afraid of the Duke Liang's mansion, and afraid of the Duke Liang's wife? Do you want them to think that we are without status and backbone, and that we must bow to them?"
"Cough cough!"
The Chang family spoke a little too harshly. Someone behind her coughed lightly, reminding the Chang family, "Sister Chang, that's not how you should say it! You should... be careful with your words!"
The Chang family knew that there were many people present, so it was not appropriate to say such things.
Song Chaoyu's face showed a slight smile, "It's not about anyone bowing to anyone else, but rather that escalating the matter will not solve the problem. Instead, it will add a lot of trouble for the men in the family. I'm afraid... this is not the outcome you all want to see, right?"
She looked around at everyone. Indeed, most of them nodded, agreeing with Song Chaoyu's words.
The Chang family had originally intended to use Song Chaoyu to deal with the Duke Liang's wife and her faction. However, she now realized that this young concubine's daughter could not be persuaded by her few words.
Although she appeared to be a peacemaker, she actually had her own firm ideas.
Her words were impeccable, and she never allowed the Chang family to gain the upper hand.
The people beside her, seeing the Chang family at such a disadvantage, could not help but step forward and pull the Chang family aside, saying, "Let's stop, Sister Chang! We've also understood Princess Consort Chang's intentions, and we know what we need to know. There's no need to say more, right? We've come today, and since we're not of the same mind, we shouldn't associate further."
The Chang family had not expected Song Chaoyu to simply dismiss them.
To her surprise, Song Chaoyu also stood up and nodded slightly, "Since that is the case, I will not see you off. When I have more time, I will definitely bring gifts and visit you all to apologize. I hope you will not mind. I am young, and perhaps I have said something inappropriate today. I hope you will not take it to heart."
Just now, Song Chaoyu had been serious and earnest, but now she had suddenly changed her attitude to be soft and accommodating.
This combination of firmness and gentleness left the Chang family with no room to say anything else.
She could only reluctantly stand up and say, "Since that's the case, we won't disturb you any longer. If we have time in the future, we will visit Princess Consort Chang again!"
Song Chaoyu personally saw them out and watched them leave one by one.
Tiaohong, behind Song Chaoyu, finally breathed a sigh of relief.
After Song Chaoyu returned to the empty hall, she sighed and leaned back against the chair, "They're finally gone."
"My dear Princess Consort, are you already tired?"
Tiaohong chuckled, "There will be many more such matters and people to deal with in the future. If you get this tired every time, what will you do?"
Indeed.
Song Chaoyu sat up and regained her spirits.
Just as she was about to go to the backyard, she saw Qiu Qing leading a maid from the Hu family into the courtyard.
Song Chaoyu recognized the maid as the one who usually followed Hu Xiaoye.
The maid hurried in, frowning slightly, as if she had something difficult to report.
Song Chaoyu quickly asked, "Why are you here? Your young lady should be at the Duke Liang's mansion banquet today. Why didn't she bring you?"
The maid shook her head, "No, no, no, my lady naturally brought me! It's just..."
Seeing her hesitate, Song Chaoyu's brow furrowed even deeper, "What is it? Did something happen to Xiaoye?"
The maid nodded, then shook her head again. "It's like this, Your Highness the Princess Consort probably knows that our master has arranged for Miss to marry Master Jie, the top scholar of this year's imperial examination. Master Jie also attended the banquet today. Our young lady likes to have fun, so Master Jie invited our young lady to go boating on Guijia Lake outside the city. But I watched from the shore, and the boat kept getting further away, and there was no sign of it returning. I was anxious and didn't know what to do!"
Logically speaking, this matter should not have come to Song Chaoyu at all.
As if understanding Song Chaoyu's thoughts, the maid continued, "Since this matter was arranged by our master, and it's just a boat trip, it's not a big deal, so I thought our master wouldn't interfere. Madam has been unwell for the past two days and is in bed. Our young lady doesn't want Madam to know about this. But I'm uneasy and really don't know what to do. I remembered that the previous two times, it was Your Highness the Princess Consort who helped our young lady. Now, I think it would be good if Your Highness went!"
She looked at Song Chaoyu pleadingly, "It's best if nothing happens, and you can say that our young lady felt the scenery on the lake was beautiful and invited Your Highness to join. If something has indeed happened, Your Highness must give our young lady some advice!"
Song Chaoyu naturally understood that if this maid did not trust her completely, she would not have come to her.
"Go, take me there!"
Without further hesitation, she followed the maid outside.
They took the fastest carriage from the Chang Prince's mansion. In the carriage, Song Chaoyu also asked the maid, "Since you feel that Master Jie is acting strangely, is there a reason? Also, although it's a boat trip, your young lady should have brought others with her, right? Will you be returning to the Duke Liang's mansion banquet later?"
The maid calmed herself and then said, "He often visits our mansion, and my lady likes him very much, saying he is very interesting. But I feel that my lady is still young and only likes him as a close friend. I've noticed that he often touches my lady, not excessively, but there are always some physical contacts that make me feel very uncomfortable. However, when I told my lady, with her carefree nature, she didn't notice it next time."
She sighed, "Originally, my lady didn't want to go on this boat trip. But the Duke Liang's wife spoke up, and perhaps she knew our master's intentions to match them. He brought two servants with him, and my lady brought two maids, so she felt at ease going. Usually, people on boat trips just go around near the shore. But I saw their boat getting further and further away, and I felt something was wrong."
Song Chaoyu remembered that in her previous life, Hu Xiaoye also went on a boat trip with that person.
Not long after the boat trip, the two of them got married.
At that time, Song Chaoyu didn't think much of it, but now that she thought about it...
She urged the coachman even more anxiously, "Faster, faster!"
The carriage sped through the capital, and Song Chaoyu soon arrived at the lakeside.
At the lakeside, people from the Hu family and those accompanying Master Jie were waiting. Song Chaoyu saw a small boat by the lake and walked over.
However, she was stopped by a servant of the Jie family, "I'm sorry, all the boats on the lake today have been booked by our young master."