Song Shuwan smiled: "I just found something suddenly recently, so I thought of coming over to ask. Judging from your appearance, it seems that you... left something behind?"
Duke Xin Guo sighed: "I did leave some things, but I think those things are of no use to you."
Song Shuwan tilted her head slightly, and the scrutiny in her eyes was not concealed at all: "What is useless to me?"
"Just some letters."
Duke Xin Guo looked directly at Song Shuwan and said with a bit of solemnity in his words: "If you want, I can give you the letters, but I hope you will think clearly first whether you want to take those letters or not."
"What's the meaning?"
Xinguo Zhengyi straightened his sleeves: "I've said too much, you might not believe it, why don't you just watch it, you just follow me."
After that, Duke Xin got up and walked out.
Song Shuwan narrowed her eyes slightly, exchanged glances with Baicao without any trace, stood up and followed.
In the study, Duke Xin took out a box: "In this box, there are a total of thirteen letters from the Song family. Something happened to the Song family that year, which involved Yan Yin. When I realized it, it was already at the end. I had no choice but to
I was able to keep these letters and protect you."
Speaking of the last few words, Duke Xinguo's face became a little melancholy: "Speaking of which, when I protected you back then, I was betting on the survival of Duke Xinguo's palace. If it were changed now, I'm afraid...
"
He shook his head and didn't say anything. He just put the box on the table and pushed it in front of Song Shuwan.
There was silence in the room. Song Shuwan stared at the box for a moment, then took out the letters. The first letter, the second letter, the third letter...
When she saw the last letter, she clenched her fingers and looked at Duke Xin with red eyes: "What is written in these letters is for you to take care of me and protect me."
Duke Xinguo nodded, but said nothing. Instead, he collected the letters one by one and put them back in the box.
"I know that you have been resentful towards Duke Xinguo's government over the years. You feel that Duke Xinguo's government has treated you badly and even used you as a substitute for marriage. But I can only say that I have done the best I can.
You have also read these letters. It is up to you whether you want to take them with you or not, but I want to tell you—"
"It's not the things you carry with you that are the safest. Sometimes, it would be better for you to forget about the past. The Song family is a thing of the past. What you should do now is live a good life with Prince Pei and keep a low profile in the future.
, I don’t ask you to repay your kindness, but you can’t bring trouble to my government.”
Song Shuwan lowered her eyes and ignored Duke Xin's words. The Song family was indeed in the past, but it was impossible for her to forget the past. As for the consequences...
A flash of sarcasm flashed through her eyes. Given the profit-seeking atmosphere of the Xin Guogong Mansion from top to bottom, how could it be possible for Xin Guogong to implicate her?
Putting her thoughts away, Song Shuwan raised her head: "I want to take these letters away. As for the kindness of Duke Xinguo... you just mentioned a substitute marriage, which is a matter of losing your head. We are already even, so why not?"
Are you here to repay your kindness?"
Duke Xinguo's expression changed instantly: "Do you think this can be evened? I'm just betting on Duke Xinguo's palace just in case."
Song Shuwan twitched the corner of her lips, her eyes were cold: "The envoy asked me to marry him, wasn't he just risking the entire Duke Xinguo's palace to bet on a contingency? Why, Duke Xinguo felt that if the marriage became a big deal,
Can the Duke of Xinguo be excluded?"
Duke Xinguo has lost his voice. After the matter of substitute marriage became a big issue, it is absolutely impossible for Duke Xinguo's government to be excluded. But the problem is...
"The substitute marriage didn't make a big fuss."
"The matter of protecting me didn't make a big fuss."
Song Shuwan replied calmly, then picked up the box on the table and glanced at Duke Xin Guo lightly: "That's it for today. If Duke Xin Guo wants to keep the palace stable, he'd better put the past things into perspective.
Press down on everything, it’s better to keep some things under control. If it gets too big, it doesn’t matter if I’m the only one. I can trust the Duke’s back..."
She didn't finish her words. After a pause, she left.
Outside the study, Baicao and Mrs. Xin Guogong stood on both sides and turned their heads at the same time when they heard the sound of opening the door.
"The Crown Princess."
Song Shuwan nodded and handed over the box in her hand: "There are still some things to deal with in the Hou Mansion, so I won't stay in the Xinguo Duke's Mansion. I'll take my leave."
Mrs. Xin Guo Gong subconsciously wanted to keep someone, but she caught a glimpse of the study at the back: "The affairs of the Marquis are really important, I will see the Crown Princess off."
Song Shuwan did not refuse. After the carriage left Xinguo Duke's Mansion, she stared at the box in Baicao's arms and fell into deep thought.
"Prince Princess, what's in this box?"
"Some letters."
Song Shuwan came back to her senses and asked about the jade pendant: "How long will it take for the news from Hongfang to come out about the jade pendant?"
Baicao pursed her lips: "I can't say for sure, but it won't be more than half a month at the latest."
Song Shuwan pinched her eyebrows. It only took three days to investigate the Song family's case before, but now it has to be delayed for half a month? What is the origin of the jade pendant?
Back at the Hou Mansion, as soon as Song Shuwan entered Qingfeng Courtyard, she saw several servant girls kneeling in the courtyard, their bodies trembling. Not far away, the door of Pei Huan's house was wide open, and a person in a wheelchair could be vaguely seen.
Song Shuwan raised her eyebrows. Was Pei Huan angry with the servant woman? It was really rare. She thought that Pei Huan's anger would only be directed at the secret guards.
Thinking about it, Song Shuwan walked over and said, "The prince is a little angry today."
Pei Huan raised his eyes slightly, his empty eyes fixed very accurately on Song Shuwan's face.
"That's not as good as the imperial concubine. I heard that the imperial concubine went to Duke Xinguo's mansion to make a fuss and punished several guards of Duke Xinguo's palace?"
The expression on Song Shuwan's face slightly condensed: "The prince sent someone to follow me?"
Pei Huan flicked his sleeves: "If I didn't send someone to follow you, I wouldn't know how dare you let someone contact Hongfang."
Song Shuwan's clasped hands tightened instantly, her eyes fell on the man's face, and her thoughts kept swirling: "The prince is staring at me like this, but I am flattered."
"Flattered?"
Pei Huan repeated the four words in her words: "If you really felt flattered, you wouldn't go to Duke Xin's mansion at this time."
Song Shuwan narrowed her eyes slightly: "The prince is seriously injured. It is not natural for me, a married woman, to return to her parents' home. Why does the prince say that it is a big mistake for me to go back?"
"Yesterday, the emperor issued a decree that in order to help the little princess take good care of her health, she was specially ordered to stay at Duke Xin's Mansion. Along with her, the imperial doctor Ling and his son were also sent to take care of her health."
Pei Huan slowly spoke about the news he had received earlier, and every word was like a heavy hammer falling on Song Shuwan. No one in the capital knew about the rift between the little princess and her, but when she went back, the Duke of Xinguo didn't mention it at all.
and this matter.
"The Duke of Xinguo did not mention this matter to me."
Song Shuwan explained something, but felt that her explanation was weak. The room fell into silence, and the atmosphere gradually became stagnant.