The Beauties of the Song Dynasty - Chapter 37
Wanlan smiled to herself, curtsied to Prime Minister Xue, and said, "Lord Xue, please excuse me." She then followed the maidservant directed by Xue Juzheng out of the hall, turned left and headed towards the backyard from the outer perimeter.
Chapter 42, A Secret Glance Back Reveals Deep Affection (2)
The Prime Minister's residence was very simple and elegant. Wanlan turned down two long corridors and entered the inner courtyard, arriving at the door of Xue Suxin's room. Just as the maid leading the way was about to knock and enter, the door creaked open. The maid behind the door looked startled, but upon seeing her fellow maid, she breathed a sigh of relief and muttered in annoyance:
"Hongye, what are you doing here so early in the morning? You startled me."
"Sister Biyu, Hongye brought the princess to visit Miss."
"Princess?" Biyu looked up in confusion, and exclaimed in surprise when she met Wanlan's smiling eyes: "Madam? What brings you here?" She was used the title "Madam" because of Xuan'er and the others when she was in Jiangling, and she was quite unfamiliar with the title "Princess".
Wanlan stepped forward. "Biyu, I've come to see Suxin. How is she?"
Biyu hurriedly opened the door wider and stepped back to welcome her in. "Miss just got up. I was just about to advise her to rest in bed for a few more days before getting out of bed, but Miss won't listen. Please help persuade her."
"Um."
Entering the room and walking around the screen to the inner chamber, the scene before my eyes was elegant and serene: a pure white silk embroidered screen, pink and white embroidered curtains, and transparent beaded curtains with pale yellow and green hues. My amazed gaze remained fixed on a girl in a blue dress in the inner chamber.
She smiled and called softly, "Su Xin."
The girl, who had her back to her while washing her hands, suddenly turned around, her face beaming with surprise. She quickly dried her hands and rushed over to greet her, "Wanlan! What brings you here? Did you just get back?"
"I just got back yesterday, but I'm leaving again tomorrow, so I came to see you before I go."
Xue Suxin opened her eyes in astonishment, "Tomorrow?"
Wanlan gestured for her to sit down, and Biyu and Xuan'er, who had followed her, silently withdrew.
“I’m going to Guizhou with Zehua, and it’ll probably be several months before I come back. But I’m worried about you, Suxin—” She frowned, looking at Xue Suxin’s pale face, “How are you feeling? Are you feeling any better?”
Xue Suxin smiled faintly, "It's nothing. That's just how this illness is. It comes on quickly and goes away quickly. I'm fine now."
Wanlan stroked her pale, icy face, and said with some indignation, "Zhao Dezhao treated you like this! I will never forgive him!" This sickly young woman was only seventeen years old, more than three years younger than her real self, yet she was so strong.
“Wanlan, don’t be like this,” Xue Suxin said softly, her eyes lowered. “In the end, all of this was caused by my wishful thinking. He has no obligation to take responsibility for anything. This incident just made me realize that you are so important to him.”
“Suxin…” Wanlan frowned, unsure how to respond. “Why are you up so early? Your father said you just woke up yesterday, why are you out of bed today?”
“I want to come to you,” Xue Suxin smiled faintly. Her face was still pale, but there was a softness in her eyes after she relaxed. “You just arrived in the capital yesterday, and my father found out and told me. If my health hadn’t prevented me, I would have come to see you yesterday.”
"So urgent?" Wanlan asked in surprise. "What do you want with me?"
Xue Suxin frowned slightly and said slowly, "I just want to ask you, have you seen the contents of the letter that Father sent to the Prince of Qin?"
Startled, Wanlan stared blankly at the slight furrow between her brows. "Is it the letter sent to Jiangling? Does it contain more than just news about you and Lanwu?" Judging from Suxin's expression, it seemed that there really was some hidden story in the letter, but Zehua hadn't told her.
“No, that’s not it.” Xue Suxin suddenly looked up at her, as if she had made up her mind, and tightened her grip on their hands. “The letter only contained those things, but what I know is not so simple, so I wanted to discuss it with you.”
"What's the meaning?"
When Wanlan pressed for details, Xue Suxin shook her head. "I can't tell you the specifics right now. This matter can only be known between the two of us for the time being. I want to ask you a question: would you be willing to come with me to Junzhou?"
Wanlan silently met her cautious, clear gaze, without answering.
Su Xin had just been rescued from Junzhou by Prime Minister Xue, and was nearly killed. Why did her first thing upon waking up be to return to Junzhou? What exactly happened in Junzhou during their days in Jiangling? Lan Wu's death was so sudden. As one of the three guards in the Prince of Qin's mansion, and someone who was secretly investigating the Prince of Yan, how could he have died so easily so soon after arriving in Junzhou?
Why should only the two of us know?
Xue Suxin seemed uneasy because of her silence. When she heard her question, she paused for a moment before answering, "Because I am not sure if the information I have is true or false, and in these critical times, if I tell my father or the Prince of Qin, they will become even more suspicious, given that they have already prejudged the Prince of Yan's crimes. I do not want things to get out of control, so I would like to ask you to take me out of the mansion and go with me to Junzhou to investigate some things."
Wanlan stared intently at her without blinking. "What information have you received?"
"I can't tell you now." Xue Suxin turned her eyes away. "If you agree to take me to Junzhou, I'll tell you then." If Wanlan refuses to go, then even if she tells everything, it will be of no use to Wanlan and will probably only increase her worries.
Wanlan softened her gaze, sighed, and smiled. "Suxin, you trust me so much? You know perfectly well that the person who abducted me to Jiangling was the Prince of Yan, so why are you still defending him so desperately?" She looked away, her tone turning indifferent. "If you don't want to tell me what you know, I won't press you. We'll find out eventually anyway. But if you want me to take you away from the capital, that's absolutely impossible. You just woke up yesterday, and you're in such poor health. I won't allow you to take any risks. Besides—I'm going to Guizhou with Zehua tomorrow, so I can't go to Junzhou with you. You don't need to worry about this matter. Let Zehua and the Prince of Jin figure it out."
"Wanlan!" Xue Suxin looked at her almost pleadingly, "I can only ask you for help. If even you won't help me, I'm afraid I'll really be at my wit's end. This matter involves a lot of people, so please come with me. I will tell you everything I know afterward, okay?"
The implications are very wide-ranging?
What exactly happened in Gyunju?
The Prince of Yan returned to the capital a few days earlier than them. What might happen in Junzhou, where no one is in charge? Why is Su Xin in such a hurry to go to Junzhou, disregarding her own health? Is it all for the sake of the Prince of Yan?
Chapter 43, A Secret Glance Back Reveals Deep Affection (3)
When the Prince of Qin and his wife bid farewell to Prime Minister Xue, it was nearly noon. They declined his polite invitation to stay for a meal and boarded their carriage to return home. Surprisingly, neither of them spoke a word the entire way. Wanlan was still pondering Xue Suxin's thoughts, while Zhao Defang looked at her with a thoughtful expression.
After returning to her residence and having lunch, Wanlan took the child back to Tingyuxuan in Tongxinyuan and entrusted her to Xuan'er's care. Then she left Tongxinyuan and headed towards Canghan Pavilion. With a heavy heart, she found her way to the door of the study. She silently sorted out what she was going to say later before pushing open the door and entering. She looked up at Zhao Defang, who had finished his meal and indicated that he had official business to attend to.
Zhao Defang looked up at her, and the two stared at each other silently for a long time before he slowly rose and walked to the desk, hesitatingly saying, "Wanlan, about Miss Xue—"
"Zehua!"
Wanlan abruptly interrupted him, a smile curving her lips, and suddenly asked, "Do you know the reason for the unusual relationship between the Imperial Uncle and the Empress?"
Startled by her interruption, Zhao Defang paused, a look of doubt flashing in her eyes. "Wanlan, why did you think of asking this? Do you know why?"
“Yes, I know the reason.” Wanlan looked at him seriously, walked up to him, and pulled him to a chair next to her. “But you have to promise me that no matter how shocking the reason I give is, you can’t do anything about it. You can’t do anything about the matter of the Imperial Uncle. You can only watch from the sidelines. Do you promise me?”
Obediently, Zhao Defang sat down in the chair under her gentle push, her brow furrowed. "You haven't said anything, so what do you want me to agree to? How do you know about the matter between the Imperial Uncle and the Empress?"
Wanlan placed her hands on his shoulders, leaned slightly forward, and looked into his warm eyes with hesitation—should she really tell him? Could Zehua accept it after he found out? She could accept it because she felt sorry for Empress Song. A young woman of twenty-five should have a relationship, and no one had the right to take that away. But Zehua's position was different. One was the Empress Dowager, and the other was the Emperor's uncle. Such an incestuous relationship was hard to accept no matter what.
Zhao Defang quietly looked at her gradually bewildered eyes, her slightly closed lips parted slightly, and as she spoke, she helped her sit down beside her, saying gently, "Wanlan, if this matter is not urgent, then don't think about it. I have something else to talk to you about."
"No! This is urgent, I must tell you today!" Wanlan was unusually anxious. She couldn't let him have a chance to ask about Suxin. Although she told Suxin that she couldn't help her, she couldn't let Zehua know that there was something wrong in Junzhou. She had to find out the truth for herself and couldn't let Zehua get any more tainted.