Shen Mingzhu instinctively glanced at Xie Lang. To her surprise, the look in his eyes was... kind? Shen Mingzhu: "..."
She must be seeing things. How could such a description fit Xie Lang?
She took another look. This time, she saw a hint of confusion in Xie Lang's eyes. Realizing that her reaction was too obvious, she suppressed the faint smile on her lips and continued, "Song Xuan, are you still not going to talk?"
Xie Lang's attention was drawn back by Shen Mingzhu's words. He withdrew his gaze from her and looked at Song Xuan coldly. "Song Xuan, are you still not willing to talk? If you don't, I can't guarantee what I'll do."
He took a step forward and looked down at Song Xuan, who was lying on the ground. His eyes were cold, filled with a strong warning. "Guards!"
Before Xie Lang could continue, Song Xuan suddenly lunged forward and hugged his leg tightly. He cried, "I'll talk! I'll talk! I'll tell you everything now!"
Surprisingly, Song Xuan's fat body was quite agile. He clung to Xie Lang's leg, rubbing his tears and snot all over him. Xie Lang's face instantly turned pale, looking a bit embarrassed.
Shen Mingzhu had never seen Xie Lang like this before. She instinctively stepped forward and said to Song Xuan, "Let go."
Song Xuan was startled. He thought Shen Mingzhu was going to kill him on the spot. So he hugged Xie Lang's leg even tighter, crying and trembling all over. "Your Highness! Your Highness! You can't kill me! If you do, you'll never know what the Song family has done!"
Xie Lang's face turned even uglier. His expression darkened, and his lips were tightly pursed. Looking at the unknown mucus on his clothes, he felt his stomach churning.
Shen Mingzhu frowned. She said to the guards who were too scared to step forward, "What are you standing there for? Hurry up and pull him away."
The guards rushed forward and finally managed to pull Song Xuan away.
Xie Lang's outer robe was in a mess, and there were some disgusting things on the hem.
"Maybe you should go back and change your clothes first?"
Shen Mingzhu felt sorry for him. Seeing the discomfort on Xie Lang's face, she instinctively gave Song Xuan a cold look.
"Speak." Shen Mingzhu was too lazy to waste any more time on Song Xuan. She said coldly, "What on earth did the Song family do to make the Emperor so angry?"
In fact, Song Xuan must have limited knowledge. He was just a pampered playboy raised by the Song family, to be sacrificed when necessary, like now, used as a pawn to pave the way for the family.
But now that they had come this far, if they couldn't get any information from Song Xuan, it would be a waste of Xie Lang's sacrifice.
"Your Highness... Your Highness, I... I really..."
Song Xuan stammered, trembling all over. He mustered up his courage and gritted his teeth. "If I tell you, can you promise to keep me safe?"
"...Very well."
Shen Mingzhu looked at Song Xuan in disbelief. "I've never seen such a ridiculous person like you. At a time like this, you still dare to bargain with me?"
She saw the tentative look in Song Xuan's eyes as he knelt on the ground looking at her. She couldn't help but let out a cold laugh, and her eyes became colder.
As she spoke, Song Xuan finally began to regret his attempt to test Shen Mingzhu.
Shen Mingzhu saw Xie Lang take off his outer robe and put on the clothes handed over by the guard beside him. Only then did she feel a little more at ease. She turned her head and continued to look at Song Xuan coldly without saying a word.
"Fine! Your Highness—"
Song Xuan started crying again. He sobbed and said, "I'll talk! The Song family... after hearing that you had fallen out of favor with the Emperor, they wanted to..."
Shen Mingzhu let out a cold laugh when she saw Song Xuan still being evasive.
Song Xuan trembled and continued, "No no no! It was after the Song family heard that you had a dispute with the Emperor. They were worried about being implicated, so they wanted to seek protection."
Shen Mingzhu didn't know what to say for a moment. Seeing Song Xuan's timid look, she said coldly, "Continue."
Song Xuan looked miserable. He continued, "But... But the Song family didn't know who would be willing to help us. In the end, they turned to the Zhou family."
"Prime Minister Zhou was willing to help the Song family. So during that period, the Song family had more interactions with the Zhou family, which caught the Emperor's attention."
Shen Mingzhu could tell from Song Xuan's tone that he now referred to the Song family as "they", with a hint of alienation. She knew that Song Xuan finally realized that he had been abandoned by the Song family. So she let him continue.
"After that, Prime Minister Zhou suddenly became cold towards the Song family, as if he had never made any promises. Even some noble families that used to have a good relationship with us no longer interacted with us."
"Many members of the Song family were implicated to some extent, and some even had their official ranks demoted. Only then did we realize that there must be someone behind the scenes pulling the strings." As Song Xuan spoke, he thought of the tragic experience during that period. His heart ached, and he continued, "After searching high and low, we finally found out that it was the Emperor's intention."
After Song Xuan finished speaking, he knelt on the ground silently, unable to say a word.
He was now abandoned by his family and used as a pawn to test. If... if he had realized earlier and hadn't been so loyal to the Song family, he wouldn't have sneaked in to find Shen Mingzhu like a dog. Naturally, he wouldn't have ended up in such a situation.
The bitterness on Song Xuan's face was almost tangible. He looked like a beggar, with a pale face, disheveled clothes, and his face covered in dust and tears.
Shen Mingzhu was silent for a moment. She couldn't figure out Shen Mingyuan's intention.
Was he taking action because the Song family had flattered the Zhou family? Was he avenging her?
Shen Mingzhu instinctively ruled out this answer. She looked at Song Xuan and continued, "Is there anything else?"
Song Xuan was stunned. He looked up at Shen Mingzhu, his eyes filled with confusion.
"I don't believe that the Song family did nothing after getting close to the Zhou family."
As Shen Mingzhu spoke, her tone was light, but there was a hint of coldness in her eyes.
Song Xuan suddenly fell silent.
She lowered her head and saw a shadow behind her. Before she could tell who it was, she smelled a faint fragrance of jasmine.
It was Xie Lang.
Shen Mingzhu knew who was behind her without turning around.
The next moment, the fragrance of jasmine suddenly became stronger. Her hand felt warm, and someone leaned against her side, half of his body pressing on hers.
Xie Lang leaned in a very skillful way. He was close to Shen Mingzhu, but he had removed the pressure, so he didn't really weigh her down.
Shen Mingzhu was slightly stunned. She turned her head and saw that Xie Lang's face was a little pale.