The Beauties of the Song Dynasty - Chapter 15
Zhao Defang was taken aback; he hadn't expected her to be so sensitive. He nodded slightly and replied, "I know."
As expected. Wanlan bit her lip. "Then why didn't you show yourself? Why did you leave quietly? Aren't you worried about Xu'er? Aren't you worried about... me?" He didn't love Wanlan, so after learning about Wanlan's agreement with Zhao Dezhao, did he choose to let go? Could it be that he no longer needed her as his wife?
"Worried?" Zhao Defang raised his eyes and smiled. "I don't have time to worry. When I arrived at Cherry Blossom Garden, my brother had just rescued Xu'er. What do I have to worry about? As for you—" He stared at her increasingly bitter expression and tenderly wiped away a tear from the corner of her eye. "Wanlan, don't overthink it. I just think that you can handle things between you and my brother properly. It's better if I'm not there."
W-what?
Wanlan clutched his collar in astonishment, her tear-filled eyes wide with disbelief. What he meant was... he didn't mind her comforting Zhao Dezhao? Was it because she was too nervous and lost her composure?
She lost her composure and panicked...
Her fingers, which had been tightly gripping his collar, loosened one by one. She tried to force a smile, but failed. Her trembling red lips parted slightly, and in a low, husky voice, she asked the question that was becoming increasingly important to her, "Zehua... do you believe me?"
Is she deliberately trying to make him feel sorry for her by acting like this?
Zhao Defang sighed softly, hugged her tightly, and gently reminded her, "Wanlan, we are husband and wife." He had never doubted her from beginning to end. Not to mention the Qin Princess who had lost her memory, even the former Princess Deqing who was in love with the Yan Prince would never do anything that would dishonor her status.
He quietly left the Cherry Blossom Garden because he believed she would handle everything well. Although... there was a bitter feeling in his heart, when she pushed open the door and appeared in front of him in a disheveled state, his unease vanished without a trace.
Wanlan nestled obediently in his arms, her restless heart gradually calming down. She quietly reached out and carefully returned his embrace.
They are a married couple.
But she knew clearly that this man... was not her husband. This embrace probably wouldn't be her permanent refuge; it seemed all she could hold onto was the present moment.
"Zehua".
"Um?"
"You...respect your older brother a lot, don't you?" She bit her lip secretly and sighed softly in his arms. The rationality she had thrown behind her gradually returned—she was afraid she hadn't handled the matter tonight properly.
Zhao Defang lifted her face and asked in surprise, "Why are you asking this?"
Wanlan blinked at him timidly, the panic on her face quickly replaced by shyness and worry. "I yelled at your older brother and then kicked him out." If Zehua's relationship with his older brother were to sour because of her, she would be considered a sinner.
Zhao Defang was taken aback, his dark eyes momentarily blank, but then he grinned, rubbing his forehead as if helpless, his bright eyes staring intently at her worried face. A sudden wave of warmth enveloped his heart, and he couldn't help but lean forward and kiss her red lips with utmost tenderness.
His wife...
“It’s alright,” he said warmly, stroking her blushing face. “Since you want to let go of the past, don’t think too much about your elder brother. But… if she remembers the past one day, what will she feel? Will she regret what she did today? And himself… if Wanlan regrets it in the future, will he be able to let go easily? This wife, who was reborn due to amnesia, is so attractive to him, making him more and more greedy for everything about her. This infatuation… is so unfamiliar, yet he is willing to do it.
Sometimes he even had a ridiculous thought—the woman in front of him was a completely different person from Wanlan. Although they looked the same, they were two completely different souls. He could ignore the Wanlan of the past for more than ten years, but he could not ignore the woman in front of him even if she just raised her eyes slightly.
Ha! He couldn't help but laugh at his own wild thoughts. Wanlan had only lost her memory; the woman before him... was essentially still that strong-willed woman who harbored feelings for another man.
Wanlan quietly gazed at his pensive face, leaning against him in silence. She was speechless at his worries; she herself couldn't be sure if the real Wanlan would ever return, nor when she herself would become a lost soul. She began to reflect on whether her words and decisions when she first entered this study had been too naive. To simply be the Princess of Qin and to be Zhao Defang's wife seemed like two completely unrelated things; everything… ultimately depended on how her heart chose to act.
In the quiet study, a man and a woman embrace, each lost in their own thoughts, speechless.
Unbeknownst to them, a storm was brewing in Anfu Palace within the inner palace grounds because of their affair.
Chapter 15, My Heart Is Still Unsettled, Waves Rise (1)
On the 28th day of the third month of the ninth year of the Kaibao era, the temperature dropped sharply, and a light drizzle began to fall from the hour of Chou (1-3 AM) and continued until the hour of Mao (5-7 AM), showing no signs of stopping and even increasing in intensity.
A bright red carriage was parked at the bottom of the wet stone steps in front of the Qin Prince's mansion. A servant, dressed in a raincoat and wearing a straw hat, stood quietly in front of the carriage, waiting for his master. Beside the open gate of the mansion stood a middle-aged man who looked like a steward, carefully carrying a bundle. A man and a woman walked side by side in front of him, sharing an oil-paper umbrella, as they stepped out of the gate.
"Watch out for the steps."
Zhao Defang held an umbrella in one hand and supported his wife with the other, his eyes lowered as he looked down at the stone steps beneath her feet, and gently reminded her.
Wanlan held the child firmly in her arms, glanced at the dark sky, and murmured, "I didn't expect it to rain..." When she went to bed last night, there was no sign of rain at all. Who would have thought that when she woke up this morning, it was already drizzling outside, and the whole street looked like it was shrouded in mist, appearing and disappearing.
"Or should I send someone back to the palace to talk to the Empress Dowager and suggest we go another day?" The temperature today is much lower than yesterday, and Wanlan has just finished her postpartum confinement period, so it's really not appropriate for her to go out in this weather.
"No need." Wanlan smiled, stopped in front of the carriage, and looked up at him. "Everything is prepared, how can we change it so easily? Anyway, we'll be traveling by carriage, so there's nothing to worry about." After speaking, she lifted her foot to step onto the low stool in front of the carriage, ready to get in, when suddenly the "clatter" of hooves came from behind her, mixed with the rhythm of the carriage wheels, making her instinctively stop and withdraw her foot, turning around with the man beside her.
Like a dark brown carriage gradually approaching through the misty rain, the tall, black horse pulling it, its mane soaked, panting heavily, slowly walked towards them, stopping only when it reached their side. At the same time, the curtain was lifted, revealing an indifferent male face. The man glanced at Wanlan indifferently before turning to Zhao Defang and saying, "Get in."
Wanlan blinked, puzzled, and heard Zhao Defang exclaim in a low voice, unable to hide his surprise, "Uncle? What brings you here?"
Imperial Uncle?
Wanlan was slightly surprised. The man in front of her looked very young, with a cold and slightly domineering face. Zhao Defang's royal uncle... she wondered if he was Zhao Kuangyi or Zhao Tingmei.
"We should be heading to Xijing tomorrow. There are still some things to settle today. Why are you wasting time here? Get in the car right now." The man's voice was calm and steady, but it did not diminish his authority in the slightest. Wanlan's heart tightened for no reason, her eyelashes naturally drooped, and her delicate eyebrows furrowed slightly before returning to normal.
Zhao Defang first nodded to the man, smiling gently, "Uncle, after I send Wanlan into the palace to see the Empress Dowager, I will go with you, is that alright?"
"It's not like you don't know the way, and you have servants with you, why should you make this trip?" The man's voice grew colder, and his icy eyes finally fixed on Wanlan's face. He said without any politeness, "Princess Deqing, it's only been half a year since you've been to the palace. You can't possibly not know the way, can you? Defang has something to attend to, so you can go to the palace by yourself today!"
This man hates her.
With just one glance, Wanlan noticed the intense annoyance and impatience in the man's eyes. She was secretly startled, wondering what kind of grudge existed between Jiao Wanlan and this royal uncle. She couldn't help but want to sigh—this was truly absurd. What exactly was her position? What role was she playing? Why was it that everyone who had appeared before her so far had such a troublesome entanglement with Jiao Wanlan?
"Uncle, I'm worried about Wanlan. Could you let me send her to the palace?"
"no--"
"Royal Uncle".
Wanlan raised her lips into a relaxed smile, and, holding the child, slightly curtsied to the person inside the carriage. Her soft voice rang out, "Wanlan is very polite. I will go to the palace on my own. You and Zehua may continue with your business. I will take my leave." Without looking at him, she turned, stepped onto a low stool, and bent down to enter the carriage.
Meanwhile, the composed man who was still holding back the carriage curtain looked astonished, staring incredulously at the closed carriage door opposite him. He then looked back at Zhao Defang's calm and serene smile and said, "Why... is she acting like this?"
"Uncle, Wanlan almost had a difficult childbirth while giving birth to Xu'er, and she may have some mental problems. She has forgotten everything from the past, which is why I said I was worried about her. Don't worry, I will rush back as soon as I send her to the Empress Dowager's side."
With a gentle smile, Zhao Defang offered a brief explanation. She glanced apologetically at the man, who looked thoughtful as he turned back to the closed carriage door. Without saying anything more, she instructed the servant leading the horse to set off, then turned and leaped into the carriage, pushing open the door and entering.