The next moment, a voice echoed in her mind. [It's so disgusting... This Song Xuan! I'll remember him.]
[His tears, snot, along with the oil and dirt on his face, all rubbed onto me!!! He's really damned!]
Shen Mingzhu: "...... Cough, cough, cough."
She tilted her head slightly and saw Xie Lang looking at her with even more resentment. He heaved a deep sigh.
[I really suffered a great loss for Shen Mingzhu today. I'm so angry. If only...]
"You've worked hard today."
Shen Mingzhu interrupted Xie Lang's train of thought and looked at him. "Getting yourself all messed up like this."
Xie Lang was interrupted just as he was feeling resentful. That little bit of grievance in his heart got stuck, neither going up nor down, leaving him feeling choked.
He lowered his head slightly and saw the guilt in Shen Mingzhu's eyes. All the anger in his belly vanished instantly. Finally, he sighed and said, "It's my duty, Your Highness. This is what I should do."
As he said this, Xie Lang regained his senses a bit. Then he leaned over and rested his head on the other person's shoulder socket, snuggling up to Shen Mingzhu in a rather strange posture.
Shen Mingzhu: "...... Why don't you, why don't you stand up? Aren't you hot like this, leaning on me?"
When Xie Lang leaned on her, Shen Mingzhu felt as if there was a ball of fire beside her. With only two thin summer clothes separating their skins, she could clearly feel the other person's body temperature.
One of Shen Mingzhu's hands was also held by Xie Lang. Before she knew it, their fingers were intertwined, their palms tightly pressed together.
Chuntao, standing beside them: "......" Why does she suddenly feel a bit redundant?
She heaved a deep sigh.
"Your Highness!" Song Xuan seemed to suddenly remember something and said to Shen Mingzhu, "The Zhou Prime Minister didn't have much contact with the Song family. But once when my father went to the Zhou family, he took me with him."
Shen Mingzhu was greatly surprised. She didn't expect such an unexpected gain. So she continued to ask, "And then?"
"Then... Then I didn't quite understand. They were talking about some Jiangzhou and that they needed to get something recently."
Shen Mingzhu gritted her teeth.
It was really a false alarm. It was really not unjust that Song Xuan was abandoned. Such a grown - up person, taken to such an important place, actually didn't hear anything and knew nothing.
Really...
Song Xuan saw the look in Shen Mingzhu's eyes and suddenly felt a chill run down his spine. He tightly closed his mouth and didn't dare to say a word.
Shen Mingzhu's legs were starting to feel uncomfortable from standing. So she was just about to sit down and continue. But at this moment, Xie Lang suddenly stood up, let go of her hand, and somehow moved a chair over. He said, "Sit down and talk quickly. Go back after you're done."
Seeing the look on Xie Lang's face, Shen Mingzhu knew that he really didn't want to see Song Xuan anymore. So she finally asked the question she had been wanting to ask.
"Song Xuan, why is the relationship between the Empress Dowager and the Song family so cold?" Shen Mingzhu said, with a cold look on her face. Looking at the person in front of her, there was a bit of condescending pressure in her expression. "What exactly happened?"
Song Xuan subconsciously didn't want to say anything. But unexpectedly, Shen Mingzhu suddenly gave a soft laugh and continued, "If you can tell me this, then I'll guarantee your safety for three months."
Song Xuan was stunned. A bit of hesitation showed in his eyes. He probed, "Six months."
"Four months. If you don't say it, then..."
"Okay, okay, okay!"
Song Xuan immediately agreed. He said to Shen Mingzhu, "When the Empress Dowager entered the palace, I was still young. I didn't know anything at that time. I just heard about these things accidentally later. I'm not sure if it's definitely the truth."
Shen Mingzhu stared at Song Xuan for a few moments.
This Song Xuan was really an amazing person. He was extremely useless, but now it seemed that he was a bit smart. He never forgot to bargain and had a bit of courage.
"In the year when the Empress Dowager entered the palace, a little maid in the mansion seemed to have died." Song Xuan said, subconsciously frowning. He said uncertainly to Shen Mingzhu, "That little maid was the Empress Dowager's personal maid. But since she hadn't gotten married yet and had no other family, she was going to be buried hastily."
"The Empress Dowager seemed to have an argument with the Song family because of this. But finally, the Song family compromised." Song Xuan said, subconsciously squeezing his hands. Big drops of sweat fell from his face. "But at that time, the relationship between the Empress Dowager and the Song family wasn't as bad as it is now. It seemed that in the third year after she entered the palace, when the Crown Prince... the former Crown Prince was one year old, the Song family and the Empress Dowager completely became strangers."
Shen Mingzhu fell into silence. She asked rhetorically, "How can you be sure that my mother had a rift with the Song family after she entered the palace?"
As Song Xuan spoke, a rare look of hesitation showed on his face. Finally, he said, "I once saw my father burning letters in the yard. There were quite a few of them. The last date was the second year after the Empress Dowager entered the palace. After that, there were no more letters."
Shen Mingzhu fell into silence.
She didn't really care about the matter between her mother and the Song family before. Just now, she was just a bit curious about the past, so she asked.
But she suddenly thought that since there was an argument between the Song family and her mother, could this matter be related to her elder brother's birth?
There were too many mysteries now. Shen Mingzhu's mind was in a mess. When she came back to her senses, she saw that Song Xuan had been taken away by the servants as Xie Lang had ordered. The yard gradually emptied, leaving only herself and Xie Lang.
"What's wrong?"
Xie Lang finally came to his senses. He was no longer immersed in the disgusting feeling just now. He heaved a big sigh of relief, then dragged a small chair beside Shen Mingzhu, sat down with his chin in his hand, and continued, "Anyway, these things can't be rushed. They're all old - fashioned things. If you want to find out, just take your time."
Shen Mingzhu's mind was in a complete mess. Seeing the gentle look in Xie Lang's eyes when he looked at her, she suddenly came back to her senses. The depression in her heart gradually disappeared, and she finally managed to gather some thoughts.
"Okay."
She said, stood up, and moved her stiff body. Then she continued, "Then I won't be in a hurry."
Hearing that she no longer referred to herself as "I" in front of him, Xie Lang couldn't help but let out a soft laugh in his heart. "Okay, then I'll accompany you to investigate."
...
When Li Xiyu heard that Shen Mingzhu had finally returned, she heaved a big sigh of relief. She originally planned to go and see her, but then heard that as soon as she came down the mountain, she rushed to the palace and finally went back to rest. Moreover, Shen Mingzhu and another person left the Xie Mansion together. She didn't know where they had gone.
Li Xiyu was anxious, but thinking that she shouldn't disturb Shen Mingzhu's rest for now, she waited at home for Shen Mingzhu to send her a message.
In the afternoon, when the message came, Li Xiyu immediately rushed to the new residence of Shen Mingzhu and Xie Lang.
"Sister Xiyu is here?"
Shen Mingzhu was chatting casually with Xie Lang in the room. Unexpectedly, Li Xiyu suddenly came. So she said to Chuntao, "Hurry up and invite Sister Xiyu in."
Thinking that she hadn't gone to see Li Xiyu since she returned safely, Shen Mingzhu couldn't help but feel a bit guilty.
Xie Lang let out a cold laugh.
[Why are you feeling guilty now? Why are you so rude to me?]