The Beauties of the Song Dynasty - Chapter 66
Zhao Defang frowned, still not quite understanding what she was trying to say. "So?"
Wanlan collapsed weakly into his arms, prompting, "When I was ten, I first lost consciousness during my illness and had a dream where I was a bride." She insisted that he tell her the story himself!
Zhao Defang blinked blankly at first, but then, incredulously, he pushed her away from his chest, his dark eyes fixed on her smiling face, his voice unsteady, "So...it was you that night?" No wonder "she" was so intense afterward, no wonder "she" hated Xu'er's existence so much...
Wanlan smiled sweetly, knelt upright with her hands clasped at her sides, and said in a soft voice, "My lord, your wife greets you." Then she burst into laughter, threw herself into his arms, hugged him tightly, and blinked away the tears that suddenly welled up in her eyes, calling out to him in a choked sob:
"Zehua, Zehua, Zehua..." He didn't know how desperate she was when she thought it was all just a dream. How could this man be an illusion? He was so good to her, they loved each other so much, how could it just be a dream?
Heaven took pity on her, and she returned to his side!
If he hadn't seen it with his own eyes and experienced it firsthand, he would have found it hard to believe such a bizarre thing. He wrapped his arms tightly around the person in front of him, closed his eyes with a smile, and stroked her soft hair, letting out a long sigh of relief—
"Welcome back, my wife."
The Beauties of the Song Dynasty, Chapter 71
Wanlan got out of bed immediately after regaining consciousness.
Her soul departed, but her body remained asleep due to the lingering thoughts. Two months later, the wound on her back had long since scabbed over and fallen off, leaving only a light white scar.
On the second day after regaining consciousness, Wanlan couldn't wait to ask about the cause of the late emperor's death. However, Zhao Defang told her that he didn't know either, because he had never asked Zhao Guangyi. So Wanlan decided to ask Zhao Guangyi for clarification.
That night, Zhao Guangyi clearly carried her away from the Wansui Palace. Did he return to the Wansui Palace and kill Zhao Kuangyin immediately after sending her to the Qinlan Palace? That explanation seems a bit far-fetched. But if he didn't kill him, then who killed Zhao Kuangyin? And if he didn't kill him, why did he ascend the throne?
By the way, what about Zhao Dezhao? What was his attitude towards Zhao Guangyi's ascension to the throne?
Although Wanlan was eager to know the truth, the timing was wrong.
The third day after she awoke was the day Zhao Guangyi received court homage at the Qianyuan Hall, which was also the day the reign title was changed. From that day onward, the reign title of the Great Song Dynasty was changed from "Kaibao" to "Taiping Xingguo," marking the beginning of the Taiping Xingguo era. Zhao Guangyi's haste in changing the "Kaibao Ninth Year," which had only one month left, to the "Beginning of Taiping Xingguo" era, after the sudden death of Emperor Taizu of Song, made people feel that his intentions were sinister. Thus, another doubt was added to the historical records regarding Emperor Taizong's crime of regicide.
Wanlan remained silent on the matter and did not say anything more to Zhao Defang.
On October 22nd, she accompanied Zhao Defang into the palace. He went to the court to pay respects to the new emperor, while she went to the inner palace to visit Empress Song, whom she had been most concerned about since waking up.
When the car arrived at Anfu Palace, Wanlan asked the driver, Xuan'er, to stop and got out of the car with the child in her arms.
"I want to walk there myself."
Xuan'er quickly tossed the carriage to the waiting eunuch, "Madam, let me carry the young master. You've just recovered—"
“Xuan’er,” Wanlan stopped and smiled at her, looking at the familiar face in front of her and thinking of the impetuous Ye Xuan’er in modern times, “I slept for two months, and I’m not just recovering. I’m fine now, so don’t be so cautious.”
Xuan'er pursed her lips and withdrew her hand, calming her worry as she followed behind her, saying, "Fortunately, Madam has woken up, otherwise we wouldn't know what to do." Seeing the prince, who seemed to have come back to life, they were sincerely grateful for God's mercy.
Wanlan smiled silently. No one knew what had happened during the two months she had been asleep except for Zehua. Xuan'er and the others probably considered her awakening a miracle, and indeed it was a miracle.
When they arrived at Funing Palace, Yuan Niang was already waiting with a group of palace maids. Wan Lan greeted them with a smile.
"Madam, Her Majesty said she wanted me to come and fetch you, why did you refuse?" Yuan Niang muttered as she led the way.
Wanlan smiled faintly, offering no comment, and asked, "How is Mother?" Although she still remembered Zhao Guangyi saying that the medicine wasn't dangerous that night, the image of Empress Song lying motionless on the bed still haunted her, and she could only hope that she was truly well. Moreover, she had no idea what kind of turmoil Zhao Guangyi's current ascension to the throne would bring her.
Yuan Niang paused for a moment, then sighed softly, "Madam will know soon enough."
The two walked silently into the bedchamber. Whether it was Wanlan's imagination or not, she suddenly felt that Funing Palace had become very deserted. The chilling desolation made her tremble slightly.
As Wanlan walked past the screen and entered the inner hall, she saw a woman sitting in front of the couch sewing clothes. She was dressed in plain white clothes, with long black hair that reached her waist. Her face was unadorned, and although she was beautiful, her complexion was pale and bloodless.
Wanlan was stunned. This was the first time she had ever seen the woman, who was usually the Empress, so clean and pure. There was no other color on her body except white. Without the rouge to cover her face, this woman completely presented the youthful purity of a twenty-five-year-old woman.
Wanlan was about to call out to her, but when her gaze fell on a certain spot, she was terrified. She raised her finger in disbelief, pointing to the chilling place, and cried out in alarm:
"Where's the child?!"
A scream drew everyone's attention in the hall. Yuan Niang ordered all the palace maids to leave, sighed, took Xiao Weixu, who was staring wide-eyed at his mother, from Wan Lan's arms, and left with Xuan'er.
Wanlan trembled violently. She rushed forward and ripped the undergarment from Empress Song's hand. Her eyes were fixed on the flat abdomen once again. She shook her head in disbelief, "Why... why is this happening..." Two months ago, the Empress was already three months pregnant and her abdomen was already slightly protruding. Why is it so flat now that she is two months pregnant?
Where are the children? Where are the mother's children?
Empress Song only snapped out of her daze when Wanlan snatched the item from her hand. Then, upon hearing her whisper, she tilted her pale, expressionless face slightly upward and said calmly, "You've come."
Seeing her pick up the small garment again, Wanlan sat down and grabbed it, staring intently at her, and asked in a serious tone, "Mother, where is your child? What happened? How did the child disappear? Why didn't Zehua know about this? I've never heard him tell me anything!"
Empress Song shook her head, slowly pulled her hand away, and took back the little red jacket. "Don't ask anymore. This child... this child shouldn't have existed in the first place. Perhaps it's the best ending for him to just disappear without a trace." It would also save him from having to bear the pain of being a child in the future.
Wanlan suddenly tightened her grip on her fingers, her clear eyes turning cold. "Is it your royal uncle?"
The arm beneath her palm trembled almost imperceptibly, and Wanlan immediately understood—judging from the events of that night, Zhao Guangyi seemed to have no idea that the child in his mother's womb was his, but even so, he had no right to take the child's life!
She stood up abruptly, gritting her teeth, "I'm going to find him!"
"Lan'er!" The Empress shouted sternly, pulling her hand forcefully and forcing her to sit down. "You're not allowed to go!"
"Mother!" She absolutely cannot ignore the man who cruelly killed her own child! Five years of forbearance, what was it all for? Wasn't it just to prevent his loved ones from being hurt? But in the end, what did it all amount to? He was the one who hurt Mother the most!
"Lan'er! This was all a mistake from the start!" Empress Song shook her head and smiled bitterly. "It was a mistake from the very beginning, and then it was a mistake upon a mistake. It's better not to let him know. Let it continue to be a mistake. Anyway... it's all over..."
Wanlan pursed her lips, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.
Is it over?
Why does she seem like this is just the beginning?
How exactly did the Empress Dowager lose her child? What exactly did Zhao Guangyi do? What happened on the night the late Emperor died suddenly?
The parties involved told her to leave it at that, and she could have chosen not to, but she hated the ambiguity of being an outsider who couldn't see what was going on inside, and she hated this situation of being anxiously waiting. Now that she knew about it, she couldn't just ignore it.