The Beauties of the Song Dynasty - Chapter 8
Wanlan opened her eyes in surprise. Sending her dowry maid away before giving birth? What was Wanlan thinking?
"As for the matter of the Prince of Yan, this servant does not know much. I suppose Su Li simply did not understand Madam's thoughts, which is why she took it upon herself to ask the question. Madam need not take it to heart."
The girl's words were soft and well-intentioned, but Su Li probably wouldn't appreciate her concern at all. Wanlan sent away her dowry maid, who was practically her right-hand woman, when she was about to give birth; she couldn't be that naive. Now that Wanlan is gone, apart from Su Li, no one knows what this master and servant are really thinking.
Su Li, she'll find out what that girl is thinking sooner or later.
She still has something to ask the head of the household.
Chapter 7, The Reborn Soul Seeks Its Home (2)
Thinking it over, Wanlan stood up, turned to look at Xuan'er, straightened her expression, and said, "Xuan'er, I don't know if you were really afraid of me before, or if there was some other reason. I don't want to ask, but I hope that from today onwards, you can truly be a caring girl, so that I won't have no one to confide in. How about that?"
Xuan'er stared at her with wide eyes, biting her lip and with red eyes, and nodded very solemnly, "This servant is originally Madam's person, and will do my best to serve Madam."
"Very good." Smiling, she handed the child to her. "Take the young master to Yuan Niang's place. I need to talk to the Prince about something." With that, she turned to leave the pavilion.
Xuan'er carefully held the child and, seeing this, quickly asked, "Does Madam know the way to the study?"
Wanlan didn't turn her head. "If you don't recognize me, I'll ask someone. It's alright."
After passing the pavilion and walking a little further, there was a row of tall houses with carved beams and painted rafters. Wanlan instinctively crossed through what looked like a flower hall in the middle and came to another courtyard.
There are no cherry blossoms in this courtyard.
Some areas boast the picturesque scenery of Jiangnan, with its small bridges, flowing water, and clusters of flowers. In the gentle spring breeze of March, the large gardens beside the artificial streams are ablaze with color, each flower displaying its unique charm. Wanlan abruptly stopped, taking a deep breath of the air filled with the rich fragrance of flowers, a slight smile playing on her lips, utterly content.
Where is this?
"Madam?" A stuttering voice came from behind.
Wanlan opened her eyes, raised her eyebrows slightly, turned around, and looked at the handsome young servant in green before her. She saw that his young face was full of astonishment as he stared at her blankly, as if he had witnessed a miracle.
She smiled at the young servant in front of her and asked, "Where is this?"
The servant was nearly scared out of his wits by her smile. He immediately knelt down, bowed his head, and answered tremblingly, "Tong... Tongxin Garden."
Is this Wanlan really that terrifying? Why is every servant so careful around her?
With a helpless sigh, Wanlan glanced around the beautiful courtyard again. Suddenly, something occurred to her, and she blinked softly—Tongxin Garden? The name sounded like the courtyard of a loving couple, but besides Prince Qin, who was the head of the household, was there another master in the mansion? Prince Qin and his wife were anything but loving!
Looking back at the servant who was still kneeling, Wanlan secretly vowed that one day she would change the servants' habit of being easily panicked.
Is the prince's study nearby?
The servant was stunned, probably not expecting her to ask such a question. "The prince is in Canghan Pavilion, not here."
Noticing the fleeting surprise on the servant's blank face, Wanlan arched her eyebrows and decided to remember the servant. "So, where is Canghan Pavilion? Could you show me the way?"
"Of course!" the servant in green replied loudly, unable to hide his joy. He pointed to the right and said, "Canghan Pavilion is right next to Tongxin Garden. The Prince is in his study right now. Please come with me, Madam."
The lady took the initiative to seek out the prince! This was something that hadn't happened in the past year. When the prince first got married, everyone only caught a glimpse of the lady, and since then, apart from the servants working in the Cherry Blossom Garden, no one had seen her. Everyone thought that the prince and lady would just continue like this! Later, they were shocked to hear that the lady had a little prince. Although some gossipy servants had their doubts, everyone had witnessed that the lady had been withdrawn in the Cherry Blossom Garden. These servants secretly thought that the lady must have been heartbroken by His Highness the Prince of Yan, which was why she didn't want to see anyone. Fortunately, with the little prince, perhaps the prince and lady would move into this Tongxin Garden together in the future!
The young servant in green led the way, his heart filled with increasing joy, his smile widening to a point that seemed somewhat comical. However, Wanlan did not laugh; she gazed deeply at the servant, a feeling of deep emotion welling up within her.
These people care about her a lot.
Although they may only care about the Wanlan of the past, it is she who feels these things now.
Following the servant through a moon archway into a somewhat empty courtyard, Wanlan stopped in astonishment. Unlike Tongxin Garden and Cherry Blossom Garden, Canghan Pavilion was completely empty, with only a layer of lawn on both sides of the gravel path leading to the main house.
"Is this the Canghan Pavilion?"
“Yes, Madam.” The servant led her to one of the rooms and added, “The Prince is inside.”
Wanlan nodded. "I understand. You may leave now."
"yes."
"Wait!" Wanlan suddenly turned around and called out to him. Seeing the servant hurriedly turn around, she smiled and asked, "What's your name?"
The servant looked at her in surprise, smiling shyly, "My name is Lan Wen, Madam."
"Alright, Lan Wen, I'll remember you. Go now."
After Lan Wen bowed and left, Wan Lan turned around. Just as she raised her hand to knock on the door, the carved wooden door creaked open, and a man with a gentle smile looked at her from behind it.
Slowly withdrawing her hand, Wanlan smiled and said, "Zehua, are you busy? Did I bother you?"
"It's alright, come in."
Zhao Defang shook his head, took a step back, and welcomed her into the house.
Wanlan casually found a chair and sat down, glancing around as she surveyed the elegant study. Directly opposite her was an archway with white tassels, inside which stood two bookshelves taller than a person against the wall. The place where she was sitting was the outer room, with several mahogany armchairs on the left and Zhao Defang's desk on the right. At this moment, he was standing in front of the desk, quietly watching her.
Meeting those deep eyes, her heart skipped a beat once more. She took a deep breath, curved her lips into a relaxed smile, and said, "I've come to figure something out."
Zhao Defang nodded slightly, still looking at her quietly, "Go on."
“I don’t know how we got along before,” she paused, “Today I have forgotten everything from the past. Everything here is so unfamiliar to me, and you—” she looked into his eyes, “you are my husband, so I want to ask you, from now on—what should I do, and what shouldn’t I do?”
Indeed, she came today to let him make a decision—whether her heart should find something to cling to, or drift alone from now on.
His dark eyes narrowed slightly, concealing their brilliance. Zhao Defang raised his lips and asked softly, "What do you want to do, Wanlan?" He didn't know that the amnesiac Wanlan would be so interesting. Wanlan had been in the palace since she was four years old, always by her mother's side. He could say that he had grown up with her. However, Wanlan liked his elder brother, so he rarely interacted with her. In his memory, Wanlan was a rather stubborn and strong-willed woman who never said a soft word and never showed weakness to anyone. Therefore, after learning that her elder brother had suddenly married, she resolutely decided to bury that deep affection forever.
"What do I want to do?" Wanlan was taken aback, never expecting him to ask her that.
Zhao Defang smiled. "Yes, haven't you thought about what you'll do in the future?" He was also very curious about what she was thinking. Why did she say such a thing the day he visited her? Did she really want to be his devoted wife?