The Beauties of the Song Dynasty - Chapter 108
As soon as Zhao Defang stepped into Wancheng, before he could even rest, he saw Li Chongju, who was supposed to be dealing with the Yellow River flood, waiting at the city gate for a long time. Upon seeing them enter the city, he hurriedly came forward to greet them.
"Your Highness."
Zhao Defang couldn't hide his surprise. "What brings Lord Li here?" He glanced up at the green-robed official behind Li Chongju, whose head was half-lowered. "And who is this?"
"This humble official greets Your Highness." The official in green robes bowed respectfully.
"This is Prefect Zhang of Wancheng," Li Chongju introduced. "Your Highness must be tired from your journey. Please go to the government office to rest for a while. I have something to tell you."
Zhao Defang's heart skipped a beat, and he almost instinctively blurted out, "There's news about Wanlan, isn't there?" He didn't know how many people the Emperor had summoned to help him search for her along the way, but as long as he didn't give up, the Emperor certainly wouldn't give up either. And the fact that Li Chongju, who shouldn't be here, had actually appeared meant that something had happened.
Li Chongju hesitated slightly, then slowly nodded. "Yes, we have news of the Princess Consort. The Emperor has also ordered that no one should disturb her. Everything will be decided upon when the Prince arrives, but..."
Zhao Defang gritted his teeth, the initial elation of finally hearing news of her quickly replaced by overwhelming fear. "But what? Where is she now? Take me to her immediately!"
Seeing that the person in front of him would never listen to him and go to rest, Li Chongju took a step back and said, "Your Highness, this way please. The Princess Consort is in Nanyang now. I will take you there."
It was midday, and the streets were sparsely populated. The vendors, bored, sought refuge in the shade to avoid the direct sunlight, casting curious glances at the few people hurrying past. Only after watching them turn into the alley at the street corner did the vendors turn away and continue waving their sleeves and calling out their wares in a half-hearted manner.
After turning into the dark alley, Zhao Defang's gaze fell on the mottled walls of the houses on both sides of the alley. Perhaps due to the long-term darkness and dampness, the corners of the walls were covered with moss and overgrown with weeds.
"Why did it take you so long to find her? How long has she been in Nanyang?" Why didn't you try to find him? Is she alright? He abandoned her for so long, does she resent him?
"The Princess Consort has been in Nanyang for almost half a month..." Li Chongju glanced sideways at Lord Zhang beside him and sighed inwardly, "In fact, when the Princess Consort first arrived in Nanyang, she went to the government office to look for me, but... Lord Zhang was negligent, and now the Princess Consort is stranded here..."
Zhao Defang stopped abruptly, turning to look at the pale-faced Lord Zhang. "She came looking for you?"
"Your Highness, please forgive me!" Lord Zhang knelt down in alarm, explaining tremblingly, "When the Princess Consort appeared with Guard Lan that day, she only said she was looking for Lord Li. I thought they were just disaster victims, so I persuaded them to go back to Xingyang to find Lord Li. Only after they left did I receive news that Princess Consort Qin was in danger. Only then did I realize that it might be the Princess Consort. I sent people to search for several days before finally finding where the Princess Consort was staying, and then I immediately reported to Lord Li."
Zhao Defang closed his eyes tightly, then abruptly took a step forward and continued walking.
Wanlan... Wanlan...
Please, please don't let anything happen to you...
Deep in the alley stood a small, single-story house. As Zhao Defang and his group approached, the simple wooden door of the house was pulled open, and a tall young man emerged. He ducked slightly, peering over the edge of the doorway, carrying a bowl of water that splashed against the corner of the wall. Just as he was about to turn back inside, he sensed something unusual in the alley and looked up. The next moment, his eyes widened in disbelief—
"Your Highness..."
"Blue Weapon!"
Xuan'er, who was standing next to Zhao Defang, exclaimed in surprise, while Lan Wen on the other side had already rushed over and grabbed the young man's arm. He opened his eyes wide and looked him up and down. His tense face suddenly relaxed. He hugged the person in front of him and shouted in a choked voice, "You brat! You've been playing hide-and-seek with me!"
"Brother." Lan Wu came to his senses and pushed him away. He looked up at Zhao Defang, who was standing blankly at the door, took a step back and said softly, "Your Highness, Madam is inside."
Zhao Defang held her breath and slowly stepped inside.
The house was simple, with the whole structure visible at a glance. A four-cornered wooden table under the window opposite the door divided the small space into two parts. To the left was a simple stove, and to the right, against the wall, was a bed with someone lying on it.
The tall figure standing at the door trembled slightly. He took a step toward the bed, his feet feeling as if they were filled with lead. Each step seemed to take away some of his strength and breath. His eyes were fixed straight ahead, and he dared not blink, for fear that everything in front of him would disappear in the blink of an eye.
The woman on the bed was fast asleep, her thin face pale, and her black hair scattered on the pillow was dry and lifeless, the smooth and lustrous look he remembered was long gone. If he hadn't clearly felt her shallow breathing, he would have thought that she would never wake up again.
The breath that had been stuck in his chest was suddenly exhaled, and Zhao Defang's legs went weak from exhaustion. He swayed violently and knelt down by the bed. His right hand slowly touched her face, feeling her warmth.
"Wanlan..." I've finally found you...
"Madam caught a cold and has only just begun to recover in the last two days," Lan Wu said quietly as he entered the room. "I originally intended to take Madam back to the capital, but she suffered some minor injuries in the flood and has slight signs of miscarriage. The doctor said it's best not to overexert herself."
With trembling hands, Zhao Defang gently lifted the quilt and touched Wanlan's slightly protruding belly. His heart clenched violently, and he gritted his teeth in pain, whispering in a hoarse voice, "Go on."
"After learning that you had returned to the capital, Madam had her men find this house in Nanyang for you to stay in." Lan Wu stared blankly at the sleeping woman on the bed. "She said the Prince would come looking for you."
Of course he'll come looking for me.
But he arrived too late.
Two months... she has become so thin and haggard...
“Your Highness, a room has been prepared at the manor. If you don’t mind, please let Madam go there to recuperate,” Lord Zhang said cautiously.
Zhao Defang nodded, leaned over and pulled the woman on the bed into his arms, but she, who was fast asleep, only nuzzled her head slightly and then did not react. Zhao Defang frowned, his brows furrowed with regret, and held her even tighter.
Exhausted, Wanlan was carried from the bungalow to the prefect's mansion by Zhao Defang. She showed no signs of waking up and was lost in a deep dream. Her thoughts wandered in the void, and everything that had happened since she separated from Zhao Defang entangled her and she was unable to break free.
When the plague began to spread in Xingyang, Lan Wu hurriedly took her away. They originally planned to return to the capital, but they were secretly obstructed. She guessed that it must be Zhao Dezhao's people or the emperor's people. Before Zehua returned to the capital, they would never let her set foot in the capital.
Exhausted and weary, she had no desire to deal with them and simply instructed Lan Wu to change course and head south. Lan Wu seemed to know that they were being followed, so he gradually withdrew, slowly making their presence known to those who were watching them.
It wasn't until they reached Nanyang and learned that Zehua had finally compromised and returned to the capital that they stopped hiding their identities. They were planning to find Lord Li to help her return to the capital, but the prefect didn't believe them at all. To make matters worse, she was still weak and had caught a cold, so she simply stayed in Nanyang and waited for Zehua to find her.
She firmly believed that Zehua would find her.
However, several days passed without her receiving any further news from him. Lan Wu, seeing that she was too weak to move around freely, and not wanting to leave her alone, found themselves in a dilemma and remained in Nanyang for half a month, unable to move.
I wonder when Zehua will find her?
As she gradually awoke from her dream, Wanlan slowly opened her eyes. Her blank gaze met the light gauze bed curtains that came into view. She blinked very slowly, wondering if she had truly woken up. Why was the scene before her different from the small house where she had lived for half a month?
"Wanlan?"
A familiar, low voice called her from the side. Before she could turn her head, the person who called her had already moved closer to her. His handsome face showed unconcealed fatigue, and his eyes were moist but unusually bright. He was staring intently at her without blinking.
Wanlan opened her mouth in astonishment, “...Zehua?” Was she really still dreaming?
"Are you awake? Is there anything else that's bothering you?"
Staring blankly at the handsome face so close to her, she suddenly had the illusion that all the separation from Zehua over the years and everything that had happened was just a dream.