Chapter 58
Liang Chengqiu spurred his horse and rode alongside Xiao Yu: "The carriage is slow, we should be able to keep up if we go faster."
Xiao Yu didn't ask any more questions and silently quickened her pace. Her purpose in going to the Prime Minister's residence was not only to appease the young lady, but she also had some questions to clarify. Otherwise, there would always be a barrier in her heart, and over time she might end up becoming a resentful couple with the young lady.
Since there's a rift, let's try to figure it out.
The two horses had barely run a street when they caught up with the Prime Minister's carriage. The sound of hooves grew closer and closer. The coachman glanced back and said through the carriage window, "Miss, the young master has arrived."
Song Luoning tightened her grip on her fingers. It wasn't too surprising that Xiao Yu had followed. She paused for a moment and said, "No need to stop, let's keep going."
Xiao Yu and his companion followed the carriage, riding their horses along the side of it, crossing the street, and soon arrived at the Prime Minister's residence.
The Prime Minister's residence occupies a large area, and the left and right courtyards were also bought and merged together, which is why it has its current size. The carriage stopped outside the gate, and the servants waiting outside the gate hurriedly stepped forward to put down the stool and help Song Luoning get out of the carriage.
Xiao Yu jumped off his horse, intending to help his wife, when suddenly a little pink dumpling hugged his leg: "Uncle's here too! Ling'er missed you so much!" The voice was sweet and childlike. Xiao Yu bent down. The little dumpling was wearing a pink ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress) today, her big eyes blinking. Xiao Yu couldn't resist pinching Song Ling'er's cheek and said with a smile, "Uncle missed Ling'er too."
"Ling'er, stop bothering your uncle and come to your mother." Li Yan said gently, nodded to Xiao Yu, and stepped forward to take the little dumpling's hand.
"No, Ling'er wants to play with Uncle." Song Ling'er pouted, looking incredibly cute.
Xiao Yu's heart softened, and she picked up Song Ling'er, saying, "It's alright, sister-in-law. I like Ling'er very much too."
The little dumpling was already very happy to be held in Xiao Yu's arms, but when she saw Song Luoning the next second, she giggled and pressed herself to burrow into her arms, excitedly saying, "Auntie, Ling'er missed you so much."
Xiao Yu held her down: "Little girl, didn't you just say you missed your uncle the most? How come when you see your aunt, your uncle isn't the person Ling'er misses the most?" He then put on a hurt expression.
As expected, children are the most innocent. When Song Ling'er saw Xiao Yu was sad, she immediately said, "Ling'er misses Uncle too, but... Ling'er misses Aunt even more." Presumably afraid of hurting Uncle's feelings, the little dumpling lowered her head guiltily at the end, only daring to secretly peek at Xiao Yu.
Song Luoning approached, reached out and tapped Song Ling'er's nose, and said softly with a smile, "You have the sweetest tongue."
"Ling'er really misses her aunt..." Song Ling'er blinked her bright doe eyes, wishing she could immediately snuggle into her aunt's arms and act coquettishly. However, her short legs wobbled, and she could only look longingly at her beloved aunt from Xiao Yu's arms.
"Alright, Auntie understands," Song Luoning said with a smile.
The expectation in the little dumpling's eyes was too obvious to refuse, so Song Luoning smiled and opened her arms to her: "Come on, let your aunt hug you."
"Little sister, no!" Li Yan exclaimed.
Song Luoning chuckled: "It's alright, sister-in-law. I'm much better now, and our little Ling'er is so cute, I really want to hold her too."
Song Luoning has been frail and sickly since childhood. Let alone carrying Ling'er, she would cough for half a day after walking just a few steps. Even though she said that, Li Yan was still worried. In addition, Ling'er has gained a lot of weight recently, and it is difficult for her, as the mother, to carry her. How could she dare to let Song Luoning carry her?
"Little sister, please don't say goodbye. This little girl has gained quite a bit of weight recently, so it will take some effort to carry her."
Seeing that she had said that, Song Luoning knew that she was worried about her, so she didn't insist anymore: "It seems that Xiao Ling'er can only be held by her uncle."
"Ling'er knows, Aunt is not well, it's okay, Uncle can hold her." Song Ling'er said obediently.
Hearing this, Li Yan breathed a sigh of relief and greeted them with a smile, "Let's go in quickly, Father is already waiting."
“Okay,” Song Luoning replied.
Her father had suddenly summoned her, so something must have happened. Song Luoning didn't dare to delay and followed Li Yan into the backyard. Song Yunzhou was waiting in the study. To get to the study, one had to walk through a long corridor. Xiao Yu silently followed behind. There were guards at the entrance to the study.
Li Yan smiled and said, "Little sister, Father is inside. I'll go prepare some tea and snacks and have them sent over."
Song Luoning nodded: "Thank you for your trouble, sister-in-law."
Li Yan chuckled, "What trouble is there for family members to talk about?" She glanced at Song Ling'er in Xiao Yu's arms and coaxed, "Alright, Ling'er, how about you and your mother prepare some snacks for your aunt and uncle?"
"Okay," Song Ling'er obediently agreed.
Li Yan smiled, nodded to Xiao Yu, and reached out her arm to take Song Ling'er: "Ling'er and I will go first. Father is waiting for you inside."
Li Yan was once a young lady from a prominent family. She is also very perceptive and understands the proper etiquette and manners. She knows what she should know without asking, and she won't ask about what she shouldn't know.
However, she vaguely sensed that something big was about to happen.
Without saying much, she took her daughter's hand and, surrounded by maids, went to the kitchen.
Song Luoning glanced in the direction Li Yan had left and gestured for Cuizhu to wait outside. The servant guarding the door stepped forward and opened the door. Song Yunzhou sat at the desk, and the three Song brothers sat in a row on a semi-circular chair. On the other side, a soft couch was placed, separated by a screen.
A bronze Boshan incense burner sat on the table, its faint sandalwood fragrance filling the entire room.
"Come in and talk," Song Yunzhou said.
Song Luoning stepped inside. Xiao Yu and Liang Chengqiu exchanged a glance and followed her into the study. The door closed behind them. Once inside, they saw that besides the Song family father and sons, there wasn't even a maidservant serving tea.
"Sit down." A hint of kindness appeared on Song Yunzhou's serious face.
Xiao Yu helped Song Luoning to sit down, and Song Yunzhou continued, "I have something to say to you today." He paused and did not continue, but looked at Xiao Yu: "When the Dali Temple went to Linyang County to investigate the case, they encountered some trouble. All the evidence and confessions that were reported before were burned. I suspect that someone deliberately wanted you dead."
What?
A cold sweat broke out on Xiao Yu's back. If he couldn't clear his name, wouldn't he be going to die for nothing? There was only one person targeting him like this, and that was the male lead, Xiao Chengze.
Sure enough, the next second, Song Yanqi took over and continued, "I also investigated today's events. Those dancers in the palace were presented to the Emperor by the Prince of Chang."
? !
Xiao Chengze is truly ruthless in his pursuit of killing me. Judging from the current situation, Yuan Niang is actually someone the male lead planted in the palace.
The question is, did that incompetent ruler participate in this matter?
If I hadn't participated, it would have been fine, but if I had, wouldn't I have been doomed? It's not easy for the emperor to kill someone.
That said, would the emperor really go to such great lengths to kill such a small fry as her?
Or perhaps he was afraid of his father-in-law's family and could only kill himself in this way, so that even if the truth came out, he could shift the blame to the male protagonist.
Xiao Yu dared not let his guard down. What role did his father-in-law play in the whole affair?
Why does it feel like he knows everything, and everything he does seems suspicious?
For example, no matter how trustworthy the Prime Minister's family is, they wouldn't marry their eldest daughter to a spendthrift son, would they?
For example, as soon as he escaped from Qingzhou, his brother-in-law met him in the suburbs of Beijing.
Was it a coincidence that I met Song Yanyu at Gongchen Gate today, or was he there to pick me up?
What exactly did the young lady say to Song Yanqi in the study that day?
A barrage of questions left Xiao Yu breathless.
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