When they were in the carriage returning to the manor, Song Chaoyu called Hai Sha, who had been following outside, in.
Hai Sha appeared meek and submissive. After entering the carriage, she knelt before Song Chaoyu. "Your Ladyship, please command me."
Song Chaoyu sat in the carriage, took a sip of tea, then leaned forward and reached for Hai Sha's chin, gently lifting it.
Hai Sha looked up in surprise, her eyes no longer showing the fear and trepidation she had in the palace.
Song Chaoyu chuckled lightly. "You truly are a beauty! Our Prince has good taste. How long did you accompany the Prince in the Southern Kingdom?"
Hai Sha, for some reason, even though Prince Ning had told her that the current Prince Chang's Consort was merely a woman raised in an outer chamber, still felt a sense of unease and apprehension when facing Song Chaoyu.
What was she afraid of?
Hai Sha considered herself experienced. She took a deep breath and then stared fearlessly at Song Chaoyu. "This servant has served the Prince for six years, always by his side. The Prince said I served him very well. Please rest assured, Your Ladyship, the Prince is not a man of loose morals. He is devoted. He treated me very well back then, and he treats the Consort very well now."
The implication was clear: she was comparing herself, a mere servant, to Song Chaoyu, the Prince's Consort.
Knowing her intention, Song Chaoyu was not angered at all.
She even nodded, agreeing with Hai Sha's words. "Indeed? The Prince is a man who values loyalty and righteousness. But if that's the case, why did he leave you in the Southern Kingdom back then, instead of bringing you and the child back?"
"..."
Hai Sha remained silent for a long moment before replying, "The Prince... did not know he had this child."
For some reason, if Song Chaoyu had previously thought Hai Sha was lying, or that even if the child existed, it wasn't Prince Chang's, she now felt that perhaps the person who had replaced Mu Changxi in the Southern Kingdom had indeed fathered a child with Hai Sha. However, Hai Sha had not let him know, so he hadn't informed Mu Changxi of this matter upon his return to the Great Yue Dynasty.
If this was the case, things would be troublesome.
Even with this thought, Song Chaoyu could not reveal any emotion.
Hai Sha hesitantly lowered her head again. "The Prince Chang's days in the Southern Kingdom were actually not easy. He was a hostage, a Great Yue person, so most people his age were unwilling to associate with him. Especially when he first arrived, he was lonely all day. Only we, the slaves, accompanied him. This servant truly felt pity for Prince Chang."
Recalling the past, Hai Sha wiped away a tear. "This servant accompanied Prince Chang for a long time. In truth, I asked for nothing, only that Prince Chang could be safe and live well in this world. I also knew that with my status as a slave from the Southern Kingdom, how could I be worthy of returning to Great Yue with Prince Chang?"
She spoke as if she were sincere. "So, after Prince Chang came of age, he asked me if I wanted to wait for him and leave with him when he could. I thought, how could I have such fortune? So I refused Prince Chang. Two years later, I discovered... I was pregnant!"
She lowered her head, recalling that time, a mixture of pain and happiness on her face. "To be fortunate enough to be carrying Prince Chang's child was a blessing from my past lives! But I was also afraid... because according to the rules of our Southern Kingdom, if a slave privately conceived the master's child, she would be beaten to death. It was fine for me to die, but I truly pitied the child in my womb!"
Hai Sha was already on the verge of tears. "So in the end, it was I who decided to leave Prince Chang voluntarily. I only said that I had served Prince Chang for many years and had done my best. My parents at home were ill, and I had to return to care for them. I asked Prince Chang to let me go home. Prince Chang was truly kind; he not only let me go home but also gave me a sum of money, asking me to serve my parents well at home."
Hai Sha said that, in this way, she left Prince Chang at that time. Pregnant, she left the royal city of the Southern Kingdom, found a small fishing village to live in, and later gave birth to the child.
When the child was one year old, she heard the news that Prince Chang was returning to the Great Yue Dynasty and was happy for him.
A while ago, she heard that Prince Chang's old illness had relapsed, which made her worried. She wanted to bring the child and accompany the envoys from the Southern Kingdom to Great Yue to see Prince Chang.
"Heh—"
These words finally made Song Chaoyu unable to help but laugh out loud. "To see Prince Chang? If you truly only wanted to see him, why would you appear with the envoy team? Moreover... you said you lived in a small fishing village for three years. Then, since you had no contact with anyone in the royal city, how did you easily find the envoy team? Surely the people of your Southern Kingdom wouldn't just believe anyone who popped up saying they had a child with Prince Chang, would they?"
Song Chaoyu truly felt that Hai Sha's lie was half true and half false.
The existence of the child was real, and she had served that "Prince Chang" was also real. But who knew if all of this was a setup for Prince Chang years ago?
Leaving that child behind to threaten Prince Chang later.
Now, they were colluding with Prince Ning, Mu Hansu, and suspected that Mu Changxi was not the person sent to the Southern Kingdom back then.
Using that child as "evidence" would naturally be the best course of action.
In the imperial court, if it could be proven that the child was Prince Chang's, then the mother and son could legitimately enter Prince Chang's manor.
If it could not be proven that the child was Prince Chang's, it would likely bring up the question of whether the current Mu Changxi was the Prince Chang from back then.
Either way, both paths would make Prince Chang's manor hesitant to proceed. They had indeed devised a clever plan, a good idea!
Such Hai Sha made Song Chaoyu's eyes grow cold, and her expression turned unpleasant.
Hai Sha felt the authority and pressure emanating from Song Chaoyu and dared not say more.
In the end, Song Chaoyu merely sneered. "Enough. You will serve in the manor for these two days. Rest assured, once you are in Great Yue, no one will bully you. However, you should also think clearly about how you will walk the path ahead with that child. Is this a mess that you must step into?"
These words caused Hai Sha's body to tremble slightly.
Song Chaoyu, however, suddenly seemed to recall something. She gently pinched Hai Sha's chin, forcing her to face her. "Hai Sha, let me ask you a question. When you were serving Prince Chang, were you truly sincere towards him?"