Chapter 1363: A hairpin was given as a gift.
The handwriting on the handkerchief was messy and also very brief.
The fact that Xiao could only use cosmetics and bloodstains to write indicates that she had limited time and resources, and that was all the information she could reveal.
Xiang Weinan looked serious after receiving the handkerchief; he knew he would have to see Madam Xiao again.
He never expected that after returning and meeting the emperor, and learning from the emperor that the second prince might still be alive, he would turn around and find out the second prince's whereabouts from Lady Xiao.
This matter is of great importance. Xiao Shi clearly has no personal space, and her parents are even being held hostage.
Fortunately, Xiang Weinan is the son-in-law of the Xiao family, so it is perfectly normal for him to visit his father-in-law and wife.
So a few days later, Xiang Weinan bought a lot of tonics and went to the Xiao family again.
In front of the maid who was watching him, he calmly told Madam Xiao to stay at the Xiao family home and take good care of her father-in-law.
Everyone knows that Xiang Weinan's marriage to Xiao was forced by the latter, so his attitude towards Xiao is not surprising.
Fortunately, the Xiao family was unaware that he had been working for the emperor all along. They even thought that marrying Xiao Shi to him would win her over. Unfortunately, before they could do so, the late emperor passed away and the new emperor ascended the throne.
However, because of this, the Xiang family was not marginalized by the emperor and was not classified as part of the Third Prince's faction.
The new emperor, out of consideration for the old lord, and through the influence of the Xiang family, transferred Xiang Weinan back to the capital. Even though his official position upon his return would be low, merely a sinecure, it was still better than being stuck in a small county as a magistrate.
The Xiao family and the Third Prince both felt that this was a deliberate act by the new emperor to show the officials in the court, so that everyone would know that he was magnanimous and a person who cherished the past.
Because the Xiao family was unaware of Xiang Weinan's stance, they did not strictly prevent him from contacting the Xiao family.
Xiang Weinan didn't stay at the Xiao family's house for very long either, and soon left.
However, before leaving, he gave Xiao a jade hairpin as a way to appease her.
After Xiang Weinan left, the hairpin was taken away by the maid to check it. There was nothing wrong with the hairpin, so it was returned to Madam Xiao.
However, when Xiao went to the outhouse, she took off the hairpin, removed the bead from it, and then hollowed out the hairpin.
The hairpin is filled with powder of the same material; you can poke it a couple of times to remove the powder.
The originally solid hairpin became hollow, and then Xiao Shi hid the charcoal pencil that Xiang Weinan had given her inside the hairpin.
With this charcoal pencil, it became much easier for Mr. Xiao to write anything.
She is now under surveillance except when she goes to the toilet.
Even when I went to the outhouse, those two people would wait outside and urge me every now and then.
However, with charcoal pencils, Xiao's actions became much smoother.
It wasn't until Xiang Weinan came over again and received Xiao's letter that he finally understood the whole story.
After returning to the capital from Jiangyuan County, Xiao went to visit her parents the next day.
On this trip, however, they saw the figure of the Second Prince, who was supposed to have drowned.
The figure flashed by, and it was only a back view. Xiao herself wasn't quite sure, and she suspected that she had seen it wrong, so she didn't take it to heart.
Who knew that the Xiao family would quickly replace her personal maid, Granny Gu, and her trusted confidante, He Wen, and reassign two maids to take care of her personally, and even prevent her from returning to the Xiang family.
This move, ironically, confirmed Xiao's suspicions.
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
