"Your Highness, the carriage is already waiting in front of the mansion. Please follow me." Shan Xing led the way, and Song Tangli tentatively asked, "Has Sister arrived yet?"
Shan Xing replied with a smile, "The Crown Princess will not be returning to her parents' home today."
Song Tangli nodded happily, her eyes filled with undisguised pride: "Why didn't you let my sister go with you? Parents must miss her very much. It's my fault for making my sister estranged from the Crown Prince..."
"The Crown Princess can ask His Highness the Crown Prince herself," Shan Xing said without explicitly stating it, but he gave Song Tangli the answer indirectly.
Song Tangli couldn't suppress the smile on her lips. Since it was the Crown Prince who gave the order, Song Tangli's steps became lighter.
It seems Song Tangxue didn't seize this opportunity to soar to great heights.
Upon arriving at the gate, a gilded carriage stood there, its tall horse slightly raising its hooves, eager to go.
With Shan Xing's help, Song Tangli boarded the carriage. Li Zhaoxian only glanced at her briefly before returning his gaze to the books, acting as distant as a stranger.
If it weren't for the need to give his father an answer, he wouldn't have wanted to go back to his parents' home. This trip back was somewhat reluctant, and he didn't give Song Tangli a pleasant look.
Song Tangli carefully snuggled closer, and just as she opened her mouth to call out, "Crown Prince Brother..."
“Silence. My father has been valuing me highly lately. If I don’t finish these official documents, he will punish me.” Li Zhaoxian slowly turned a page, his gaze focused intently, completely ignoring Song Tangli beside him.
Song Tangli bit her lower lip and retreated reluctantly.
She wanted to ask why, if she was so tired, she had gone to look for Song Tangxue last night. If it weren't for the palace servants she sent to keep an eye on Chang Le Palace returning to report, she would have been completely unaware of it.
Today is a sunny day. After the rain, the vendors have regrouped and resumed the bustling activity on the streets of Kyoto, with shouts of hawking their wares filling the air.
Despite it being a bustling summer day, Song Tangli's heart felt as if it had fallen into an ice cellar. The golden carriage drove through the long street and arrived at the gate of the Song residence.
Madam Song, who was pacing back and forth, was stopped by her maid: "Madam, look, isn't that the Crown Prince's carriage!"
Madam Song stepped out of the Song residence with delight. When the Crown Prince and Song Tangli alighted from the carriage, she bowed respectfully and said, "Greetings, Your Highness! Greetings, Your Highness's Consort!"
Song Tangli stepped forward to help her parents and the old lady, saying, "What are you doing? No matter what, I am always a daughter of the Song family."
With her eyes slightly moist, Song Tangli longed to rush into her mother's arms as she used to, but things were different now.
Song's mother patted her hand and said with satisfaction, "Ali has grown up."
No matter how old she was, she was still the little princess of the family. All the grievances Song Tangli had suffered in the past two days turned into tears that kept falling.
Song's mother wiped her tears with a handkerchief, feeling sorry for her: "Why are you still crying? Are you unhappy to see your mother?"
Li Zhaoxian stood to the side with a somewhat indifferent attitude, as if it were none of his business. The sun was swaying slightly, and Li Zhaoxian squinted impatiently.
Song's mother immediately sensed something was wrong and pulled her daughter, saying, "It's not good to block the doorway. Let's go inside."
The group entered the gate in a grand procession, and then dismissed the servants and irrelevant personnel.
As they entered the inner room, where fine tea had already been prepared, Li Zhaoxian's expression softened somewhat, but he still didn't glance at Song Tangli.
"Your Highness, I would like to speak with A-Li alone for a few minutes." Song Fu held Song Tangli's hand tightly and did not let go.
Li Zhaoxian nodded indifferently and continued talking to Song's father about matters of the court.
After leading Song Tangli into her courtyard, Song's mother turned to look at her and asked, "Has A-Li been wronged?"
There was no one else around. Song Tangli threw herself into her mother's arms and sobbed, "It's all Song Tangxue's fault!"
"How did she bully you again?" Song's mother was anxious, but Song Tangxue was no longer a member of the Song family, so she couldn't do anything about her. She gently patted her daughter's back.
Song Tangli lifted her head from her mother's arms, her eyes red-rimmed: "She snatched back the dowry given by the Empress Dowager, and she also seduced the Crown Prince."
Mother Song stroked her daughter's hair tenderly: "Don't cry. You are the legal wife, so you should always be above her. Just act like the legal wife. She is just a Crown Princess, and no matter what, she is still a concubine."
"A banquet will be held in the palace in half a month, and then..." Before Song's mother could finish speaking, Song Tangli nodded in surprise and wiped away the tears on her face.
She understood what her mother meant.
"What's going on between you and the Crown Prince?" Song's mother was puzzled. She had some guesses about Song Tangxue's situation, but Li Zhaoxian's coldness caught her off guard.
"A woman's marriage is a lifelong commitment. She spends most of her life at her husband's home, and her husband's attitude is her foundation for the rest of her life. Daughters don't stay with their parents for long," Song's mother earnestly instructed Song Tangli.
"I know, I was tricked by Song Tangxue. On my wedding day, she poisoned me. The poison looked like syphilis. The Crown Prince saw me on our wedding night..." Song Tangli sobbed uncontrollably as she said this.
Song's mother knew all too well what her husband's reaction would be if he saw her illness; the fact that the Crown Prince kept it a secret was already a huge favor to Song Tangli.
Mother Song exhaled a sharp breath, her eyes filled with malice: "This banquet will surely ruin Song Tangxue's reputation and make her pay back a thousand times for the suffering you have endured."
Song Tangli nodded, making no mention of her failed attempt to frame Song Tangxue.
"Men are visual creatures. Just humble yourself and coax them a little. Your relationship with the Crown Prince has lasted for so many years, and it can't be replaced overnight," Song's mother comforted her. However, she couldn't let someone like Song Tangxue live.
He is quite cunning.
The mother and daughter exchanged a few words and returned outside. Time flew by, and the setting sun slowly slanted down. Madam Song reluctantly saw them off onto the carriage.
Song Tangli rushed to the carriage window, lifted the curtain, and kept looking back until the Song family members could no longer be seen around the corner. Tears fell uncontrollably.
That tear seemed to fall into Li Zhaoxian's heart, and Li Zhaoxian finally couldn't bear it and handed her a handkerchief: "You can come back and visit if you miss home in the future."
Song Tangli took the handkerchief with delight, wiped her tears, and put it in her bosom: "Thank you, Crown Prince!"
Her eyes were clear and bright, just as they had been for countless years.
Lee So-hyun blinked.
Someone quietly left through the side gate of the Song residence and entered the palace. In the Empress Dowager's palace, the kneeling Granny Geng reported in a low voice: "The informant said that the Crown Prince only brought Song Tangli with him for his homecoming gift today."
The Empress Dowager opened her eyes and glanced at the sky outside: "The Crown Princess and the Crown Consort are newlyweds. I thought the Crown Prince had come to his senses by neglecting that little slut these past few days. Humph."
The Empress Dowager, though not angry, exuded an air of authority. Her narrow phoenix eyes closed again, and she gently twirled the Buddhist prayer beads between her fingers: "Since the Song family cannot teach their own daughters well, there are plenty of people who can teach them for them."
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