Song Yanqing looked at Xie Ruotong with scrutiny.
During these days of separation, as well as the punishment Xie Ruotong had suffered, he thought that Xie Ruotong would no longer speak to him sincerely.
If it were him, he might have harbored resentment as well. Thɪs chapter is updatᴇd by novel~fire~net
However, Xie Ruotong spoke with genuine sincerity, as if she was explaining matters to him.
She harbored no resentment towards him.
In Song Yanqing’s heart, there were still some emotional fluctuations regarding Xie Ruotong.
He explained, "There’s no need to dwell on the rights and wrongs of decisions that have already been made. As a Minister, our duty lies in serving our master loyally, regardless of who that might be."
"I just think that it may not necessarily end with the Prince of Chu," Xie Ruotong stated clearly.
For some reason, she had that confidence in Ye Qichi.
She always felt that with Ye Qichi present, the Prince of Chen’s chances of winning were greater.
Currently, the Prince of Chen’s side didn’t show any significant developments, merely biding their time. Once the right moment came, the Prince of Chu would be easily defeated.
"I understand your concerns," Song Yanqing said, "I’m worried too, after all, the Prince of Chu..."
Song Yanqing didn’t have a high opinion of the Prince of Chu.
His way of doing things was sometimes too impulsive, anxious and restless, lacking the composure and calmness an Emperor should have, and sometimes overly cautious to the point of hesitancy.
But now that the entire scholar mansion had sided with the Prince of Chu, he could not stand alone; survival would be impossible.
Among the court ministers, one also needed the ability to bend or stand tall as required.
Those who focus solely on court politics, disregarding people’s hearts and social interactions, can never last long.
"In any case. Do not worry too much about matters outside, my father and I will take care of them. You just focus on doing your own duties within your household," Song Yanqing no longer elaborated to Xie Ruotong.
He also didn’t want Xie Ruotong to understand too deeply.
Not knowing, after all, might bring more ease and comfort.
"Yes," Xie Ruotong responded respectfully.
Song Yanqing finished speaking and turned to leave.
As he left, he still turned back to say, "You have been wronged during this time."
Xie Ruotong watched Song Yanqing.
"After Lin’er gives birth, it won’t be anymore," Song Yanqing promised.
Xie Ruotong gave a light laugh.
The laugh was beautiful.
Yet it seemed to carry a hint of irony.
Even so, she merely nodded slightly, "Okay."
No extra emotions were visible.
But it made Song Yanqing’s heart tremble slightly.
He always felt as if he owed Xie Ruotong a lot.
But in the end, he still said nothing and left.
Xie Ruotong watched Song Yanqing’s retreating figure.
Knowing that he was upright in character, she knew that he would feel psychological burden over her mistreatment, but it was precisely because of this that she was all the more disappointed in Song Yanqing.
She knew that many of the issues were caused by Xie Ruilin, yet in the end, Song Yanqing still showed partiality towards Xie Ruilin.
This was probably the difference.
Between love and no love.
In the side residence.
Xie Ruilin was being thoroughly looked after by the servants.
Ever since Xie Ruilin became pregnant, the number of servants in her courtyard had increased by more than ten from before.
The maids taking care of her had expanded from only her own Chun Tao and a lower-ranked servant from the Song Residence, to now five others in addition to Chun Tao attending to her needs.
Chun Tao had even risen to a status not much different from the Chief Maid Ming Yufang; in the Song Residence, she became quite arrogant, scolding servants of the Song Residence whenever she was displeased.
Chun Tao never expected that, having been bullied by her miss since childhood and with no real status in Duke Mansion, she would finally get to hold her head high in the Song Residence.
Life couldn’t be happier for her.
Just the other day, when she saw Qiao’er the maid going to the storeroom for charcoal, she mocked her and even had the storeroom reduce the amount of charcoal allocated for the young miss. Qiao’er was infuriated but had no choice but to swallow her anger.
Thinking back to the time in Duke Mansion when Qiao’er was more favored by the old lady, and she was always overshadowed by Qiao’er, now she finally had the chance to let Qiao’er taste being suppressed by her.
Chun Tao entered the room.
"Where have you been?" Xie Ruilin glanced at Chun Tao.
She was already aware of Chun Tao’s recent actions in the Song Residence.
But she didn’t stop her.
Chun Tao could act in such a manner precisely because of her, Xie Ruilin’s, face.
She wanted everyone in the Song Residence to know that it was she, Xie Ruilin, who was the master of this house, not Xie Ruotong!
"Miss," Chun Tao approached Xie Ruilin eagerly, clearly having something to say.
Xie Ruilin saw through her at a glance, signaling to the other maids by her side to leave them alone.