The Beauties of the Song Dynasty - Chapter 150
Side Story: The Origin of Zhao Defang's Third Son
The small village nestled against the mountains and beside the water has only a few scattered households.
At the foot of some unknown mountain in the south lived hunters, each household having at least one male member who was the pillar of the family.
There was only one exception.
"Sister Su? Is she home?"
A woman in plain clothes carried a plate of wild game into the extremely simple courtyard, calling out towards the thatched hut as she placed the food on a low table in the yard.
As the call arose, a young woman emerged from the hut. She possessed striking beauty, wore a greyish-blue cloth dress, and had her long hair simply tied back with a matching cloth ribbon.
"Sister-in-law Liu, you've brought me things again, how can I accept this?"
Sister-in-law Liu chuckled and said, "It's nothing special! Your brother Liu hunted quite a lot today. I picked some to keep for myself, and I just finished cooking it, so I thought I'd bring some to you."
"I'm always being taken care of by you all, I—"
"Hey, Su sister! I truly consider you my sister. Besides, you're a widow with a child. Since you're staying here, we're family now. Don't be so polite!"
Speaking of which, this Su girl was quite pitiful. Two years ago, she came to their village with her baby on the verge of giving birth, startling everyone in the village. The situation that night was truly terrifying; there was no doctor in their village, and the mother and child almost lost their lives.
Fortunately, the child was resilient and didn't trouble the mother for long. The cry at birth was quite loud.
After waking up, Su's sister asked the locals to take her and her child in, saying that her husband's surname was Su, and that her husband had suddenly died. She and her child had no one to rely on and had been wandering around until they arrived here.
"Sister Liu, thank you."
"What are you thanking me for?" Sister-in-law Liu waved her hand and took a step towards the house. "Is Xiao Neng still sleeping? I'll go check on him."
Before they could even enter the house, a clumsy little figure staggered out the door, calling out in a childish voice, "Your Highness, Your Highness."
Sister-in-law Liu strode forward, picked up the little one, and chuckled, "This little guy, he only knows how to call me 'Empress,' why doesn't he call me 'Grandma'? Come on, call me 'Grandma'."
"Your Majesty..."
"Mother-in-law!"
"Your Majesty!"
"Wow! You little rascal! You dare challenge me?" Aunt Liu slapped him hard on the back before handing him to Su's sister, "Go away! Go hug your mother! You ungrateful little thing!"
"Sister-in-law Liu, Xiao Neng—"
"He's still young," Sister-in-law Liu laughed. "I was just joking with him! Why are you taking it so seriously? Alright! I'm going back now!"
As she was about to turn and leave, Sister Liu suddenly remembered something, turned back, and whispered, "Sister Su, have you heard about what's happening in the court?"
The Su family girl was taken aback, her face stiffening for a moment. "Which matter is Sister-in-law Liu referring to?"
"It's about the Prince of Yan's sudden suicide two years ago, isn't it? The common people are all saying that the Pope drove him to his death. At first, I didn't believe it, but your brother Liu heard something incredible when he went into town yesterday: Prince Qin also died of illness last month. Don't you find that strange? We've never heard of Prince Qin having any serious illness, so how could he suddenly die? Tell me—hey! Sister Su! What's wrong?"
Aunt Liu was shocked and helped Su's sister up, who suddenly lost her balance and almost fell to the ground. Her face was deathly pale, and she shook her head in disbelief, "No, it can't be... how could this be?"
"The Su family's daughter? The Su family's daughter?"
"How could the King of Qin be dead? What will happen to Miss? What will happen to Young Master? It's impossible...it's impossible..."
"Sister Su?" Sister Liu looked at her in astonishment, somewhat at a loss.
The woman holding the child suddenly turned and ran into the house. A moment later, she came out again carrying a simple bundle, hurriedly leaving a sentence for the stunned Mrs. Liu:
"I have to go to the city for some business, so I'd like to trouble Sister Liu to look after the house for a few days."
Before he finished speaking, he was already outside the courtyard.
*******
It was half a month later when they arrived in the capital.
Su Li stood across the street from the Prince Qin's mansion, holding her child, and looked at the gate with its white sails billowing in the distance. The tears that had been refusing to fall finally broke free.
She had never believed it until she witnessed it all with her own eyes, and now she had no choice but to believe it.
"Miss..." The King of Qin is dead, what will become of you, Miss?
"Your Majesty?" Xiao Neng curiously touched his mother's wet face.
How could something like this happen in just two years?
She's going to see the young lady!
Su Li had just taken a step when a palm landed on her shoulder, stopping her movement. Startled, she turned around and stared in astonishment at the young man who had appeared behind her without her noticing. "Young Master Xue?"
"Don't go. No one can enter the Prince of Qin's mansion now. You'll only bring trouble upon yourself. If your identity is exposed, the consequences won't be good."
Su Li bit her lip hard, "I just wanted to see Miss..."
"She's fine, don't worry."
Xue Weiji spoke calmly, took one last look at the Qin Prince's residence, and turned to leave.
"Young Master Xue!"
"You should leave now. Don't ever come back to the capital again." Suddenly remembering something, he stopped, turned back to look at the child in her arms, and asked, "What's his name?"
Su Li paused for a moment, looking at the child in her arms. "The Zhao family's lineage starts with 'Wei,' so his name is... Wei Neng. I know I shouldn't have chosen this name! But the subsidiary is, after all, the flesh and blood of the Prince of Yan, and I—"