Anti-Knochen-Scharlachlied

Kapitel 79

Wanlan frowned. She didn't know much about traditional Chinese medicine, and she really didn't know what "Chuan Duan" was.

"What is 'Kawadan'?" she asked directly.

Before Zhao Defang could answer her, a person walked in from the side and said loudly, "Dipsacus asper, also known as Dipsacus asper, is mainly used to treat lower back pain, weakness in the legs and knees, injuries from falls and blows, etc. The Tongjun Pharmacopoeia says: Dipsacus asper grows and spreads, with thin leaves, stems as large as perilla leaves, yellowish-white roots, and sap."

The three of them turned to look at each other at the same time and saw Xue Weiji walk in with his hands behind his back. His slender eyes were filled with a faint smile. After speaking, he cupped his hands to the two of them and said, "What a coincidence, we actually met here."

Wanlan was somewhat surprised to see him, but then she smiled and said, "You've come to see the lanterns too? Alone?" He must have let go of his worries by now.

"Hmm, just taking a stroll." Xue Weiji said as he picked up a riddle: "Where the clouds are deep and the path is unknown. Guess two Chinese medicinal herbs."

Wanlan pouted at Zhao Defang, "It's Chinese medicine again."

Zhao Defang chuckled and replied, "Rehmannia glutinosa."

“Dried tangerine peel,” Xue Weiji immediately replied, and the two exchanged a smile.

Lan Wu, who was standing nearby, also curiously picked up a riddle, which read: "Half of the Spring and Autumn Annals. Guess the word."

Zhao Defang smiled and was about to reveal the answer when Wanlan reached out and covered his mouth, saying urgently, "Don't say it! I know it, it's the character 'Qin'!"

Her hurried yet confident tone elicited chuckles from the three men. Zhao Defang stroked her hair tenderly, glanced at Lan Wu, who was all smiles, and subtly furrowed his brows.

Wanlan, however, did not notice his little action. She stretched out her arm and took the riddle from a colorful lantern opposite her, and read it with a smile: "Longing for each other in heaven and on earth. Shoot the crops."

"Longing for each other in heaven and on earth..." Xue Weiji was somewhat dazed, reaching out to take the note from her hand. "Longing for each other..." There must be regrets, right? If he had been braver back then, perhaps everything would have been different.

However... let him and Su Xin look forward to the next life together.

He smiled again, his elegant eyes fixed on Wanlan, who was looking at him with worry, and said with a smile, "Can Your Highness guess?"

Wanlan was initially a little guilty, since she had received a riddle, but when Xue Weiji asked her question, she was stunned for a while before pouting in annoyance, "Soybean!"

The group burst into laughter again. Zhao Defang frowned and hugged his wife tightly. He turned to look at Lan Wu, a faint smile on his lips. "Lan Wu, go and find Lan Wen and Xuan'er. If it's too late when you find them, just go back."

Lan Wu had followed Zhao Defang for eight years. Hearing the coldness in his tone, he was startled. He glanced at his master and then quietly lowered his head.

"yes."

Wanlan looked at the two of them strangely, and only after Lan Wu turned and disappeared into the crowd did she look at her husband with amusement, "What's wrong with you? Lan Wen and Xuan'er aren't three-year-olds, they'll go back on their own, why do you need Lan Wu to go find them?"

Zhao Defang smiled but remained silent, taking the slip of paper from her hand and saying warmly, "Didn't you want that one-of-a-kind lantern in the whole city? These should be enough to exchange for a lantern. Let's go."

When the three of them arrived at the prize redemption area, the old master gave Wanlan two lanterns. When asked why, the old master smiled and said, "Madam Chai just gave birth to a daughter this morning. Master Chai is so happy that he has decreed that everyone who guesses the riddles today will receive a lantern."

Wanlan happily accepted the two lanterns and said with a smile, "What a joyous occasion! A young lady born on the Lantern Festival? She will surely marry a loving husband in the future. Please convey my congratulations to Master Chai."

But the old master sighed, "You flatter me, Madam. But she was born with asthma, which makes Madam Chai very sad and she cries. It's truly a pity."

"Asthma?" Wanlan and Zhao Defang exchanged glances, then subconsciously looked at Xue Weiji, only to see his dazed expression trembling slightly.

Both of them sighed.

However, immediately afterward—

"Huh?"

Wanlan suddenly widened her eyes in surprise, then smiled knowingly, and burst into laughter as she threw herself into Zhao Defang's arms, laughing incessantly for something she had just thought of.

"Wanlan? What's wrong?"

She hugged him with a grin, then winked at him mysteriously, "Zehua, I've thought of something really interesting!"

Zhao Defang raised an eyebrow at her. "What is it?"

Wanlan glanced at Xue Weiji, gestured for Zhao Defang to lower his head, and whispered in his ear, "Let me tell you, Young Master Xue's second wife also has the surname Chai! I wonder if it's this newborn Miss Chai?"

Zhao Defang opened her eyes in surprise and stared at her blankly.

Wanlan playfully stuck out her tongue, then jumped into his arms and laughed nonstop.

An Interlude: A Hundred Years Is But a Dream (Empress Song's Story)

The late emperor had not yet been buried, and the Lantern Festival in the palace was quite deserted.

The weather was fine. Although not a single star could be seen in the dark sky, the moonlight was exceptionally bright. The courtyard, which had not yet been lit, was illuminated by the silvery glow of the moonlight. Song Huining moved lightly, disappearing into the city. It must be quite lively there, right? I still remember how much I loved the holidays when I was a child. The city was always bustling with activity. Back then, Emperor Taizu of Zhou was in power. On the Lantern Festival, the entire capital was adorned with lanterns, making it incredibly beautiful and a place that people would linger in.

How long has it been since I've seen a scene like that?

It seems that ever since he was bestowed with the crown and robes by Emperor Taizu of Zhou, he has never been willful again.

Later, Emperor Taizu established the Song Dynasty and replaced the Zhou Dynasty. Her father became the military governor of Huazhou. She left the capital with her mother, thinking that she would be far away from the court. However, she did not expect that when she went to the capital with her mother to celebrate the Spring Festival, she would be favored by Emperor Taizu and be bestowed with a crown and robes again.

A few years later, she moved into the central palace and was made empress by Emperor Taizu.

Clutching her soft fur coat, the chill of early spring seeped into her clothes, but Song Huining merely smiled indifferently and remained motionless.

Lately, I don't know why, but I often think about the past. It seems like I'm aging rapidly, and in the blink of an eye, I'm already in my twilight years. I miss the carefree days of my youth and reminisce about the happiness I once had.

At the age of twenty-five, she was doing things that a fifty-two-year-old would do.

If she hadn't met that person, perhaps she would have been more resigned to her fate? If she had truly given up on resisting her destiny, perhaps she wouldn't feel that she has aged so quickly, and there wouldn't be anyone in this world that she misses so dearly.

If she had known earlier, on the night the late emperor passed away, that her child was gone, would she have avoided making that mistake? The situation today would be completely different.

She never imagined that she herself was such a cold-hearted person. How could she have done it? How could she have so ruthlessly poisoned her own husband, while the only witness... watched her silently, taking the blame for her.

Why was she so captivated by that man's eyes at their first meeting, the investiture ceremony? If she had withdrawn in time, none of this would have happened.