Princess Cheng did not expect that Tang Ning would say that she would not be allowed to go to the Song family. She frowned: "But with the Song family, is it possible that this matter has been settled like this?"
"Won't."
"and you……"
"Song Jinxiu and the others will come to me."
Tang Ning looked at her injured hand. Song Hong and the others were anxious, but the Song family's faces were ashamed.
If she doesn't go back to the Song family, people outside will remember what the Song family did.
As long as she can hold her own, the Song family will jump ahead of anyone else.
Princess Cheng knew how attached Song Tangning used to be to the eldest son of the Song family. In the past, no matter what she did, she always treated her like a brother. When talking about Song Jinxiu, she was very affectionate. But now, she calls him by his first name, and even more so when mentioning the Song family. Indifferently, she only felt that the Song family had broken her niece's heart.
"Okay, aunt will listen to Tang Ning."
"Auntie is the best."
Song Tangning leaned on Princess Cheng's shoulder and rubbed her gently.
Princess Cheng was softened by the little girl's coquettishness, and stroked her hair with affection: "What's going on between you and Xiao Yan? How come he suddenly recognized you as his adopted sister?"
Tang Ning subconsciously touched the dragon pattern pendant hanging around her neck.
On the way back to Beijing, Xiao Yan told her that Aunt Xue, who gave her the jade pendant, had died.
He said that Aunt Xue was born into a noble family, and her family was once one of the most prosperous families in Beijing. However, she was killed because of provoking a villain, and the whole Xue family was committed to the crime of rebellion and was executed by nine clans.
This dragon-patterned pendant is an heirloom of the Xue family. Many dignitaries in the capital recognize it. Moreover, many people who had enemies with the Xue family are now in high positions in the court. If she is seen wearing something belonging to the Xue family, , it is very easy to cause trouble.
Xiao Yan told her to put away the dragon pattern pendant and not to mention Aunt Xue's affairs to anyone.
Song Tangning was not afraid that her aunt would mention it to others, but Prince Cheng... She lowered her eyelashes slightly: "I don't know either."
"When Governor Xiao rescued me, I fainted from the pain. When I woke up, I was already in his villa. He looked at me with a strange expression and said some strange things to me. I didn’t hear clearly what he was like from his old friend.”
"Later, when he found out about my relationship with the Song family, he told me to call him brother, and he took me to the Qian family."
When Princess Cheng heard this, she did not doubt the ambiguity in Tang Ning's words, because Xiao Yan's reputation in the capital was too great. Even if Princess Cheng had little interaction with people in the court, she knew how powerful this Governor Xiao was.
Even King Cheng was always afraid of talking about Xiao Yan. There was no way such a person could plot against Tang Ning, a little girl whose parents both died.
"Perhaps you have some similarities with his old friend?"
Princess Cheng thought, "I heard that Xiao Yan had a hard time when he was young. His parents were unloving and his brother was even more vicious."
"When he was young, he almost lost his life due to a plot by his eldest brother. His father personally sent him to death to protect his eldest brother, so when he later gained power, he directly massacred everyone in the family."
This situation is somewhat similar to Tang Ning's.
"Maybe he sees you as pitiful and can't bear you being bullied by the Song family, and because you think of his situation when he was young, he wants to make an exception to help you."
As for acknowledging relatives, it may just be said casually.
Song Tangning curled his lips, that person was so vicious and cruel that he couldn't bear it.
Seeing that Princess Cheng had found the reason herself, she said vaguely: "It should be so."
Princess Cheng felt relieved and said, "That's good. After all, he is a member of the Internal Affairs Supervisor. Although he is physically handicapped and does not harm your honor, it is better to have less contact with him. However, although this person may be a bit ruthless, But I still saved your life. After your injury is better, I will take you to say thank you to him."
I still need to thank you deeply for saving my life.
Tangning didn't want to see Xiao Yan at all.
That person had too sharp eyes and too many evil intentions. She seemed to be able to see through him at a glance every time.
She didn't want to see him, but she couldn't find a suitable reason.
Tangning was silent for a while and could only lower his head in a depressed tone: "Okay."
…
Tang Ning followed Princess Cheng back to Prince Cheng's Mansion, and the affairs of the Qian family could not be hidden from anyone at all.
When Song Jinxiu came out of the palace at the end of the day, he vaguely noticed that the people around him looked at him strangely, but whenever he looked over, those people looked away without any trace, and even stopped talking in low voices. .
Although they still greeted him as before, they seemed to have drawn a circle and excluded him.
Song Jinxiu was famous for his talent at a young age, and he passed the imperial examination early before he was twenty. Because of the favor of the emperor, he was appointed as one of the four officials in the province. Although his official rank was not high and he was only seventh grade, anyone could see that he had a bright future.
He was already outstanding in academics, and he was the eldest son of the Duke of Song Dynasty. He had always been a good friend of others in the government office, but today it was the first time that he was so vaguely rejected and disliked.
"Master Xiao Song, is this a low point?"
Not far away, a young official who came out of the palace gate smiled and waved, "Tonight there is a banquet at Tongfeng Tower to celebrate Mr. An's promotion. Do you want to go with him?"
Just when Song Jinxiu was about to shake his head and say no, someone took the lead.
"What are you calling him for? Mr. Yutai is a noble man. How can he look down on us? He doesn't have the time to go drinking with us."
"Fu Laiqing, if you don't speak, no one will treat you as a mute."
The person called Fu Laiqing was about the same age as Song Jinxiu, but compared to Song Jinxiu's solemn and stern look, Fu Laiqing's face was very different.
He and Song Jinxiu had a long-standing feud. Both of them were young talents. They both entered the palace academy, took the imperial examination in the same year, and entered the official service in the same year. One entered the Shangshu Province and the other entered the Menxia Province.
Song Jinxiu always suppressed him and always liked to preach to others with a straight face. Fu Laiqing had long disliked him.
"I'm not mute, but I'm not as eloquent as Mr. Yutai."
Fu Laiqing mocked, "Master Song, you can say something black is white, and something smelly can be termed fragrant. I used to say that you followed the rules and followed the rules, but now it seems that you have really tainted the word "Yutai".
"What do you mean?"
"You're still pretending. You, the Song family, treated a concubine as a treasure, forced her to be a concubine to your second wife, and allowed others to bully the second wife's legitimate daughter. How dare you say you don't know?"
"What nonsense are you talking about!"
"Am I talking nonsense? You probably don't know yet, then everyone in the capital knows about Song Shulan's life experience."
Fu Laiqing couldn't help but sneered when he saw his expression change.
"I heard that before you went on duty in the morning, you personally took the concubine to Qian Shangshu's house. You took care of her with every possible care and compassion, and you couldn't bear to let her suffer even the slightest grievance. I just don't know if Mr. Song still remembers yesterday. My sister who was thrown on Mount Qishan by you and almost died."
"But that's right, you, Song Jinxiu, can leave someone in that wilderness forest and you don't care about her life or death. You just pity that little lady Song. She broke her leg and ruined her face..."
Song Jinxiu was so shocked that he still had no trace of his previous grace. He suddenly stepped forward and grabbed Fu Laiqing's collar.
"What did you say, what happened to Tang Ning?"
