The Crown Princess Is Jealous Again - Chapter 42
“Have you heard about Sun Cheng?” Song Qingqian hesitated for a long time before asking.
“Sun Cheng?” Xiao Beitang was startled. He hadn’t appeared in a long time.
Song Qingqian gave her a meaningful look. “He’s dead.”
Xiao Beitang was shocked. “I thought he and his whole family had moved out of the capital? How could he suddenly be dead?”
“You really don’t know?” Song Qingqian frowned. “Just three days after moving to Suzhou, their house caught fire. All twenty-three members of the Sun family perished in the flames.”
“How could I possibly know?” Xiao Beitang looked at her in disbelief. “Are you suspecting me?”
Song Qingqian stared at her. “You once said you regretted not cutting off his bloodline. And now, he really…”
Xiao Beitang frowned. “You’re saying this was my doing too?”
“I can’t think of anyone else who would go that far.”
Xiao Beitang was indignant. “If I wanted to deal with him, I’d do it openly. I’d never resort to such underhanded methods!”
But Song Qingqian remained doubtful. Among the people in the academy, who else had the power to do something like this?
“If not you,” she asked, “could it have been Xiao Lin or Xiao Wanqi?”
Xiao Beitang’s voice turned cold. “I know them well. They wouldn’t stoop to such disgraceful means. Is that really how you see us?”
Song Qingqian was angry too. Xiao Beitang had left without a word, gone to Baihua Pavilion
without a word, and even redeemed a courtesan without telling her. And now she was throwing a tantrum?
“What are you getting angry about? I was just asking a question.”
Xiao Beitang felt wronged. “Just a question? You were clearly accusing me. Yes, I said something in anger back then, but as much as he was at fault, I would never harm his family. We’re talking about more than twenty lives!”
How could she not be angry? The moment something terrible happened, the first person Song Qingqian suspected was her. This was a massacre. So many lives lost. Even if it was an accident, did Song Qingqian truly think Xiao Beitang capable of such cruelty?
Song Qingqian sighed. “Of course I hope it wasn’t you. If Sun Cheng had truly committed some unforgivable crime, then being wiped out might be considered just retribution. But he merely said something wrong, and it cost his entire family their lives. It’s too much…”
Xiao Beitang said with barely suppressed fury, “I’ll get to the bottom of this myself. At the very least, I’ll clear my name.”
Maybe it really wasn’t her. But then who could have pulled off something so devastating? A faint worry settled in Song Qingqian’s heart. If such a person was close to them, it was truly frightening.
She couldn’t let Xiao Beitang take that risk.
“Forget it. Leave it to the authorities. To uproot a family like the Suns in such a short time… whoever did this has terrifying influence.”
Xiao Beitang asked, “So you still don’t believe me?”
She shook her head. “No, I just think… you shouldn’t involve yourself. Let the authorities investigate.”
But it was clear she didn’t believe her. Xiao Beitang turned her face away in silence. When the carriage reached the palace gates and hadn’t even stopped fully, she jumped out and stormed off. By the time Song
Qingqian stepped down, she was already far away.
“What’s wrong with Her Highness?” Xiaotao asked, confused.
“Don’t bother with her,” Song Qingqian replied blandly.
When she reached the gate of Fuhua Courtyard, she saw Xiao Beitang sitting by the window. Xiao Beitang saw her too, snorted coldly, and slammed the window shut.
“She’s impossible,” Song Qingqian muttered, stepping inside.
She didn’t even know why she was holding back her anger. It wasn’t about Sun Cheng. So, what was it?
________________________________________
The next day, word of Sun Cheng’s death spread through the Guozijian. Everyone was sighing in pity—he had made mistakes, yes, but didn’t deserve such an end.
After class, Xiao Beitang once again left early with Xiao Lin and the others. When Song Qingqian stepped outside and heard they had already gone, a quiet resentment flared up within her.
They probably went to Baihua Pavilion again. But today, she didn’t feel like going after her. She gave orders and returned to the palace.
In truth, Xiao Beitang had gone to the Sun family residence. The one in Suzhou had burned down, but the residence in the capital remained—though its owners would never return.
She stepped up to knock, but no one answered for a long time.
“Could the place be empty?” Xiao Wanqi asked.
Xiao Beitang shook her head. “Look at the door latch. It’s clean—someone has been coming and going. If this place were abandoned, it’d be covered in dust.”
She knocked again. “Is anyone home?”
Eventually, the door creaked open, and an old, hunched man with white hair peeked out, eyeing them warily.
“You are?”
“We’re Sun Cheng’s classmates from the Guozijian—”
Before she could finish, the old man slammed the door shut.
Xiao Beitang knocked hard. “Hey! Don’t go—please open the door!”
“Leave,” the old man’s voice quivered behind the door. “No one lives here anymore. You shouldn’t come back.”
“We just want to understand what happened. Please, we’re begging you—just open the door.”
“There’s nothing to understand. They’re all dead! What’s the point of digging it up?”
Xiao Beitang straightened her tone. “Sun Cheng died an unjust death. You’ve stayed behind—you must be a loyal servant. Don’t you want the truth for them?”
There was a long pause. Then the door creaked open.
“…Come in,” the old man said with a heavy sigh.
He led them to the front hall and poured them tea. The house was still clean and orderly, no doubt due to his daily care.
“Grandfather, how long have you served the Sun family?” one of them asked.
“Forty years.”
“That long?”
“I was already serving the old master when he was a young man.”
“No wonder. You’re the only one left here now.”
The old man’s expression turned mournful. “There were a few left behind at first. But after the tragedy in Suzhou, they all left. I just couldn’t bring myself to go… I’m old, with nowhere else to go. Might as well wait for death here. One day at a time.”
Xiao Wanqi asked, “If you cared for the family so deeply, why wouldn’t you let us in at first?”
He sighed. “You’re not the first to come. I spoke the truth at the beginning, hoping someone would right the wrongs. But they were just going through the motions. No one really listened.” His hands trembled with rage.
“The officials?”
He nodded. “From both Suzhou and the capital.”
“Would you tell us what happened before the family left the capital?”
The old man looked lost in thought. “After the young master got into trouble, the master received a threatening letter, telling him to leave the capital. He ignored it. The next day, the madam went mad. Then the
Tongji Association expelled the Sun family from their merchant guild in the capital. Several people disappeared. Suppliers stopped delivering. No goods, no business. Then came another letter, again telling the master to leave the capital. He got scared and decided to move to Suzhou, where they had some holdings.”
Tears streamed down his cheeks. “But who would’ve thought they’d die in a fire just days after arriving?”
Xiao Beitang frowned. “Don’t be upset just yet. What is this Tongji Association? They could cut off all of Sun family’s business?”
“They’re a powerful merchant guild. They have branches in every major province. I heard they’re backed by a secret martial sect.”
“A martial sect?” The three of them exchanged glances.
“Is there anything else you remember?”
“That’s all I know.”
“Did you tell the authorities all this?”
He coughed harshly, eyes burning with indignation. “I did. But they ignored me. I’m just an old man—no one listens. I only wanted justice for the Suns. But who would care…”
“Please don’t be so heartbroken, sir.”
________________________________________
As they left the Sun residence, all three were silent, each burdened with unanswered questions.
Xiao Beitang glanced once at the nameplate—Sun Residence—then turned and walked away.
Autumn days were short, and night was already falling. Xiao Beitang disliked traveling after dark. She was afraid of the dark. So, she sent a message back to the palace and decided to go to the nearby Xiao Lin residence. Since they had a carriage, she wouldn’t feel as afraid.