The Beauties of the Song Dynasty

Chapter 72

Wanlan smiled at her, took her arm and continued towards the Cherry Blossom Garden. "Zehua and I plan to go out and travel around after the New Year and after Father's funeral. He said that he has never taken me out to see the world properly since we got married, but because Xu'er is still young and it is inconvenient for him to travel, we have not been able to go. Mother, if you have nothing to do, could you help me take care of Xu'er?"

Song Huining's eyes suddenly lit up, and she tightly grasped Wanlan's hand, smiling broadly. "Of course! Speaking of which, Xu'er has been with me for quite a while now. He's such a well-behaved child. You can keep him company while he goes with Defang to your place."

Wanlan smiled, her eyes crinkling, "Yes, thank you, Mother."

Ever since she learned that her mother had miscarried, she had been thinking about this problem. Before, she and Zehua had rarely seen each other, and she herself often left the capital for various reasons, so Xu'er had always been raised by her mother. Now that her mother's child was gone, her father had suddenly passed away, and Zhao Guangyi, who had turned her mother's life into chaos, had become the emperor and was now very close to her. Under multiple pressures and confusion, her mother's life was in great turmoil.

If there was something to keep the Empress Dowager from collapsing, would she have been better off?

Two days ago, when Zehua asked the Imperial Uncle to resign and retire, he was sternly rejected. Without saying a word, the Imperial Uncle "invited" Zehua out. Perhaps the Imperial Uncle was still angry that they had kept quiet all this time, or perhaps the Imperial Uncle really didn't want Zehua to leave the court. After all, Zehua was raised by the Empress Dowager and had been her adopted son for seven or eight years. If Zehua left, the Empress Dowager would be quite lonely and helpless.

Because of this incident, Wanlan finally understood the last words Zhao Dezhao said to her that day: "...Do you want to get away like this? I won't let you have your way."

He deliberately told his uncle about his mother's secret, firstly to anger his uncle for "knowing but not reporting," and secondly because his uncle would definitely ask his mother to confirm the matter. His mother, who originally wanted to keep it a secret from his uncle, would definitely push him away from her side to prevent him from being used against her. In this way, his mother would truly be helpless and alone. Under such circumstances, Zehua would have no way to get away easily.

Are you tired?

Coming to her senses, she looked up and met the gentle-looking man who entered the room. She smiled back, rose to help him undress, and casually began to speak:

"Zehua, how about we leave Xu'er with the Empress Dowager?"

Zhao Defang stretched out his arms so that she could take off his outer garment. He was about to habitually reply "Okay" when he suddenly froze, his mouth slightly open. He withdrew his hands in surprise and turned to look at her. "Wanlan?"

Wanlan didn't raise her eyes, but instead took his hand again and took off his outer robe, then turned around and hung it on the clothes rack. She continued, "Weren't we planning to go out for a walk? Your royal uncle won't allow you to retire, but you can always take a leave of absence, right? But Xu'er is too young to follow us around. Why don't we leave him with Mother so he can keep her company? Wouldn't that be better?"

As she finished speaking, a wave of heat washed over her from behind. She smiled and leaned into the arms of the person behind her, listening to his soft, warm whisper in her ear, "Thank you, Wanlan. Mother will be very happy."

"Yes, she was very happy."

She turned to face him in his arms, hooked her arms around his neck, tilted her head, and smiled with narrowed eyes, "Zehua, where are we going? Do you have a plan?"

Zhao Defang supported her waist, gazing at her with a smile, "Is there anywhere else you want to go?"

She frowned slightly, tilted her head, and thought for a moment before suddenly smiling. "I'm not familiar with this place, but there are two places I've always wanted to visit: Chang'an and Luoyang. I've been to Luoyang twice already, once just passing through and once when I was under house arrest. But those memories are really unpleasant. How about... we go to Chang'an first? Okay?"

“Of course it would be good, but—” Zhao Defang stroked her delicate face and said slowly, “Father left in a hurry, and his funeral arrangements may take quite some time. I’m afraid we can’t leave so soon.”

"It's okay, as long as it can happen, I'll wait however long it takes!"

She hoped that this trip would take Zehua away from here, and that they would not have to come back if possible. Before that, it would be good to arrange some things for them for a while.

She will definitely take Zehua away!

On the first day of the first month of the second year of the Taiping Xingguo era, Emperor Taizong of Song did not attend court or pay any attention to Mei because Emperor Taizu's coffin was kept in the palace. Wanlan did not know whether Zhao Guangyi had bothered her mother again during this period, but when she occasionally went to the palace to see Xu'er, she found that her mother's condition was getting better and better. Perhaps it was because of Xu'er's company, or perhaps Zhao Guangyi really did not go to see her again.

Regardless, everyone is happy to see this situation; what the Empress Dowager needs now is this peace and tranquility.

After the restless Xu'er, who was growing up, was brought into the palace by the Empress Dowager, Wanlan's days became much quieter. She deliberately kept her mind occupied and stayed at home for several days before she slowly realized that she really should find something to do. At this time, she would suddenly think of Suxin, and then naturally, she would also think of Xue Weiji, who had been missing for three months. She wondered where he was now and how he was doing.

I heard somewhere some time ago that the Emperor was going to grant an official position to Prime Minister Xue's only son, but the matter was put on hold because he couldn't find the man. I wonder if Prime Minister Xue, who was ordered to find his only son, has found Xue Weiji, who ran away from home.

When she thinks like this, she suddenly has a feeling that something is about to happen.

When Wanlan is alone, she often makes self-deprecating jokes about whether she really has a talent for predicting the future, or whether she is just overly sensitive.

Whenever I think about something, something related to that thing always happens soon afterward.

On the fifth day of the first lunar month, a man entered the Qin Prince's residence to request an audience with the Qin Princess.

This person was none other than Xue Juzheng.

He came with only one purpose: to hope that Wanlan could help him find his missing son. Otherwise, if the emperor punished him, he would never care about that unfilial son again.

In fact, it would be very simple for the court to find someone, but the emperor strictly ordered Prime Minister Xue not to disturb the people. Therefore, the search for Xue Weiji has been carried out in secret, which has brought many obstacles to the search.

Wanlan didn't know why Prime Minister Xue was so certain that she could find Xue Weiji, but she didn't refuse, because she also wanted to find that man. She sincerely hoped that he could cheer up again, after all... Suxin was already dead.

"I'll trouble Your Highness with this matter," Xue Juzheng said after explaining the whole story.

Wanlan smiled and said it was nothing, but then suddenly remembered something and asked, "Where is Suxin buried?"

Xue Juzheng was taken aback, not immediately understanding her meaning, and replied, "In the western suburbs, next to the Xue family's ancestral graves." Because his daughter had died unmarried, and since she had no husband's family, she could not be buried in the Xue family's ancestral graves, so Prime Minister Xue chose a plot of land not far from the ancestral graves to bury his only daughter.

"What is the Princess's intention?"

Wanlan's eyes flickered slightly, and she smiled eerily, "I wonder if you have ever heard of ghost marriages, sir?"

Xue Juzheng was taken aback, "Princess Consort?"

Wanlan looked at him with a sly smile, "My lord, how deep do you think Young Master Xue's feelings for Suxin are?"

"You mean..." Xue Juzheng's eyes widened, and he suddenly understood what she meant.

Wanlan lowered her eyes and asked softly, as if speaking to herself:

Will he go to see her?

That afternoon, a strange story spread throughout the capital: the youngest daughter of the late Prime Minister Xue Juzheng appeared to her father in a dream, saying that she was lonely and wanted him to find her a husband. Prime Minister Xue was deeply saddened by this and went around asking people to help his ill-fated daughter fulfill her wish. Anyone willing could come to the Xue residence to discuss the matter, and once an agreement was reached, all the formalities and etiquette would be handled by the Xue family.

The next day, Wanlan, along with Lanwu and Xue Juzheng, along with Fengxing, quietly left the capital and headed to the western suburbs, intending to "wait for the rabbit to come to the tree stump." She believed that if Xue Weiji heard the rumors from the previous day, he would definitely show up.

However, she was wrong.

Xue Weiji did not show up. She and Xue Juzheng waited in the western suburbs for three whole days, but they did not see a trace of him. This made Wanlan very angry. Could it be that Xue Weiji really left the capital, left this place that was a sad place for him, but also the place where his beloved was buried, without any attachment at all?

On the evening of the third day, the group returned home disappointed once again. The western suburbs were already quite desolate, with more than half of them being cemeteries. Under the dark gray sky of deep winter, the area looked particularly bleak, and the chilling north wind seemed to be stronger than in other places.

As the group walked along the winding path to the main road, Wanlan looked up at the overcast sky, and a sudden, enlightening thought popped into her mind. She was initially annoyed at her own slowness, but then turned to Xue Juzheng beside her and said: