The Beauties of the Song Dynasty

Chapter 10

Her brow, which had just relaxed, furrowed again—but no matter who she turned to, it didn't seem right. As the wife of the King of Qin, she couldn't always rely on others. Could she become independent?

Perhaps... it should start with her son?

"Zehua".

"What?"

After a long silence, she finally spoke, and Zhao Defang quickly responded while looking up at her.

"Haven't you noticed a problem?" Wanlan rested her chin on her hand, frowning in puzzlement.

Zhao Defang raised an eyebrow. "What's the problem?"

"I don't need to meet my in-laws—well, your father and mother, don't I need to take Xu'er to pay my respects to them?" She remembered that the history books said that Zhao Defang, as the youngest son, was very much loved by the Taizu Emperor. Why didn't anyone come to congratulate him when he was overjoyed to have a son?

She frowned and rubbed her forehead, wondering why she had been thinking about this for so long. Zhao Defang couldn't hide her disappointment and said in a low voice, "Yuan Niang was originally a palace maid who served by the Empress Dowager's side. After learning that you were pregnant, she sent her to accompany you. She knew that you liked quiet, and you also said at the time that you didn't want to make a fuss. A month ago, you almost had a difficult childbirth, so the Empress Dowager canceled the wedding banquet that was originally going to be held so that you could rest in peace."

"And now? My confinement period is over, shouldn't Xu'er have a full moon celebration?" After all, he is the King of Qin, shouldn't he host a banquet to celebrate the birth of his son?

Zhao Defang looked straight at her and asked, "Do you want to set it up?" Was she no longer afraid?

"This isn't a matter of whether I want to or not, is it?" Wanlan met his gaze with her clear, bright eyes. "What I mean is, as the King of Qin, if you don't hold a banquet for your son's birth, wouldn't it be impolite not to hold a full-month celebration as well?" Wealthy families usually pay a lot of attention to this, right? Let alone the royal family?

Zhao Defang looked at her quietly for a long time. Just as Wanlan was about to say "Let's not do it then," he suddenly smiled and said, "Alright, if you don't mind, I'll make the arrangements tomorrow. What do you think?"

"Uh...of course, then—"

"Then you should prepare yourself well." His smile deepened, making Wanlan wonder if she had asked a terrible question.

Prepare……

Wanlan blinked. If there was a banquet, she would definitely attend. What was so surprising about that? But—did this man really trust her that much?

Chapter 9, The Emperor's Feelings Are Unpredictable, and My Heart Is Hidden (2)

At the Prince of Qin's command, the palace instantly became lively. Wanlan, knowing nothing, spent her days following Zhao Defang, watching him draft the banquet guest list, arrange the time, instruct the servants to prepare all necessary items, and oversee the palace's preparations. She also listened to him introduce her to some of the main stewards of the palace. After the full moon banquet, he would leave the capital for Guizhou, and the palace would naturally be managed by her from then on.

Wanlan instinctively wanted to refuse, but reason wouldn't allow it. If she wanted to stay in the Prince Qin's mansion, she had to act like a mistress. Over the past few days, the servants she hadn't known at all had easily accepted her. Seeing those once unfamiliar faces slowly blossom into kind smiles towards her, she couldn't deny being deeply moved. Especially Xuan'er and the servant boy named Lan Wen; she hadn't expected to gain their loyalty so easily. These two children truly liked her.

However, she shouldn't have forgotten someone else.

It wasn't that she forgot, but that she temporarily put it aside and didn't care. However, it was precisely because of this "temporary putting aside" that something unexpected suddenly happened to her.

Three days before the banquet, Wanlan was suddenly summoned to Zhao Defang's study. She was puzzled and couldn't figure out why the man wanted to see her. In the past few days, aside from occasionally visiting the children and glancing at her, they had rarely spoken. She wondered if he was genuinely too busy or avoiding something.

He was still like this. He called her in but didn't say a word. He stood straight in front of her, staring at her with his deep, dark eyes, which made her feel confused and her scalp tingle.

"What do you want?" If she didn't speak up, this man would probably keep arguing with her forever.

Zhao Defang turned his back with his hands behind his back, his voice indifferent and devoid of emotion, "Have you remembered anything?"

Wanlan was taken aback. What did he mean by that?

She slowly stood up and stood behind him, staring at his solemn back. She blinked her clear eyes and said softly, "Zhao Defang, don't be mysterious or play coy with me. Just tell me what's on your mind."

Is he playing the deep and mysterious card?

Zhao Defang lowered his head and smiled inwardly. If something hadn't actually happened and involved her, he probably would have laughed out loud. Reaching for the letter on the desk, he turned and silently handed it to her, his deep eyes fixed on her face, not missing a single change in expression.

Wanlan was taken aback at first, giving him a strange look before reaching out to take the envelope. "A letter?" Unfolding the envelope, she saw the four characters "日新亲启" (Rìxīn Qīn) written in ink on it. Quite puzzled, she took out the letter inside, opened it, and softly read the words aloud—

"Daily life is good, do not worry. When will the swallows reunite? I hope you will not betray my heart."

love letter?

Wanlan looked up at Zhao Defang, whose eyes seemed fixed on her, and sighed helplessly, "Why are you showing me this? Isn't this a love letter someone wrote to their lover? What does it have to do with me?"

Zhao Defang smiled; her expression was incredibly cute. However, there was one question he still had to ask: "This...didn't you write it?"

Wanlan narrowed her eyes, scrutinizing the man before her from head to toe. She raised a lip and retorted, "So what if I wrote it? So what if I didn't?" Was he doubting her? This man actually dared to question her so casually with just a letter?

Zhao Defang almost burst out laughing. He pursed his lips and said very seriously, "If you wrote it, then it would be better not to hold the full moon banquet. But if you didn't write it, then there's something fishy about this matter."

It's suspicious if she didn't write it? Wanlan opened her eyes in surprise, "How is it suspicious?"

No sooner had she finished speaking than a deep laugh echoed in the study. Zhao Defang could no longer contain himself and chuckled, rubbing his forehead. This woman… was truly naive. He began to wonder if he had overestimated her by harboring a slight suspicion towards her earlier. Just now, she had at least given a vague answer, giving the impression that she knew everything. But now, with her counter-question, wasn't she practically admitting that she knew absolutely nothing about the situation?

Wanlan was truly baffled by his laughter.

What's so funny?

"Zhao Defang! Explain yourself clearly!"

Zhao Defang coughed lightly, suppressing a laugh, and took the letter from her hand. He pointed to the two characters "Rixin" with his long finger and asked her, "Does this name ring a bell?"

She took a closer look, raised her eyes to meet his serious gaze, and shook her head. "No, should I know this person?"

He chuckled again. "Of course you should have known him before, but now—" He paused, then laughed, "Now it's up to you to decide whether you still want to know him. 'Rixin' is my elder brother's courtesy name; that's what you always called him before."

Hearing this, Wanlan suddenly opened her eyes in realization, "Zhao Dezhao's handwriting, no wonder it doesn't look like a name to me... Then what did you mean by what you just said? Why did you say that if I wrote this letter, it would be better not to hold the banquet—I understand!"

With a sharp look in her eyes, Wanlan suddenly grabbed his hand and stared into his bright eyes, laughing, "No wonder you asked me if I remembered anything as soon as you opened your mouth. You must be wondering if I wrote this letter. You're thinking, if I really wrote this letter, then the Wanlan who loved Zhao Dezhao in the past would naturally come back, and there would be no point in holding this banquet. But this letter is clearly not written by me, so... someone is sabotaging it in secret. Am I right?"

Zhao Defang raised an eyebrow and smiled approvingly, then took her hand in his and nodded. "Yes! However... I don't believe you've remembered the past, but since this matter concerns you, I have to ask you no matter what, do you understand?"

Wanlan took a deep breath, trying to ignore the heat emanating from their clasped hands. "What should we do now? Who wrote this letter, and how did it end up in your hands?"

“I’m not sure who wrote it yet,” Zhao Defang said with a slight smile as he looked down at their clasped hands. “I didn’t invite my elder brother to the banquet at first because he wasn’t originally in the capital. But today he sent someone to tell me that he will be there for the full moon banquet in three days. This letter was taken from you by my elder brother’s servant, who said he was going to give it to him. The servant felt it was inappropriate, so he brought it to me.”