The Beauties of the Song Dynasty

Chapter 151

"Zhao Weineng?"

Xue Weiji was taken aback, then remembered what the Princess Consort of Qin had once casually mentioned about the King of Qin's third son. He hurriedly returned to Su Li's side, "You said his name is Zhao Weineng? When was he born? How old is he now?"

Su Li was puzzled by his reaction, but answered in great detail: "Xiao Neng was born ten days before the Dragon Boat Festival last year, and will be one year old next month."

"So it was him!" Xue Weiji seemed quite surprised, then pulled Su Li aside to a corner. "Su Li, are you planning to let this child stay with you for the rest of his life, unable to acknowledge his ancestors?"

Su Li stared blankly, somewhat at a loss. "I... I have no choice. I can't go back to the Prince of Yan's mansion. The Princess will definitely not tolerate me." And she herself didn't want to go back to a place where that person wasn't there.

Xue Weiji smiled slightly, "I have a way. As long as you are willing to give up this child, I can arrange a good home for him."

"What method?"

Xue Weiji hesitated for a moment, then said, "You may not know, but Madam miscarried two years ago." He apologized for making up a white lie. "If that child were born, it would be about the same age as this one. And now that the Prince of Qin has suddenly encountered trouble, would you be willing to let the child comfort the grieving Madam?"

Su Li was startled. "You mean...you mean..."

"Before his death, the King of Yan had restored his relationship with the King and Queen of Qin. It would be reasonable for the King of Yan's child to be raised by the Queen of Qin. You don't need to worry about the Zhao family's descendants being scattered among the common people. Isn't this a good plan for the child's future?"

Su Li fell silent. She looked down at the child in her arms, who had fallen into a deep sleep sometime earlier, and bit her lip as she asked softly, "Is Miss... really alright? Can't I really see her again?"

Xue Weiji simply looked at her, smiling but saying nothing.

Gently stroking the child's face, Su Li bit her lip and handed the child over. "I...I promise, but please be sure to tell Miss that you must take good care of him. Xiao Neng is very good...really very good..."

She quickly covered her mouth to stifle the sob that almost escaped her lips, then turned and ran away.

During those days in the village when she often relied on her neighbors for help, she couldn't let Xiao Neng suffer along with her. Entrusting him to the young lady was the best outcome; she was right… she must have done the right thing…

****

"Sister Su, why did it take you a whole month to leave? What were you doing? Why didn't Xiao Neng come back with you? What happened to Xiao Neng?"

“I just suddenly remembered a relative I’ve known for a long time. They asked me to visit them around that time, so I left suddenly. As for Xiao Neng… he suddenly fell ill on the way, and I… I couldn’t bring him back.”

"Oh dear, God is so blind! I say, Su girl, you're so young and so beautiful. It wouldn't be good to be all alone in your next life, would it? How about I find you a husband? Like that young man from the Chen family, he's honest and reliable, and he's liked you ever since you came to the village. What do you think?"

"Sister-in-law Liu, let's talk about this later. I'm not in the mood for it right now."

Xiao Neng...

You must grow up safely; Your Majesty will always pray for you.

The Inside Story of Zhao Dezhao's Suicide (Extra Chapter)

Zhao Defang watched the carriage carrying Wanlan disappear from sight before turning to Zhao Dezhao beside him and saying in a low, hoarse voice:

"Brother, there's something I want to discuss with you."

Zhao Dezhao nodded silently, turned around, and went into the Qin Prince's mansion first.

Inside Canghan Pavilion, the two brothers remained silent.

For the past month, every time they entered this study, it was like this: not that they had nothing to say, but neither of them knew where to begin.

Wanlan, whom Zhao Dezhao had left behind, always assumed that they were discussing some confidential matters in the study.

"Defang, what is it?" Zhao Dezhao raised his voice, breaking the silence of the room.

His voice made Zhao Defang reflexively frown. "Brother... Wanlan said about you—said about you—"

"He will commit suicide."

Zhao Dezhao calmly took over the conversation, looking at him with a half-smile, "Do you believe it?"

"I don't believe it."

Zhao Defang sighed. He couldn't possibly believe such an absurd thing, but what Wanlan said...

"But I believe it."

Zhao Defang was taken aback, then abruptly looked up at him with a half-smile, "You...believe me?"

"Defang, do you think a predetermined ending can really be changed?"

He smiled faintly and shook his head. "The death of my father, the succession to the throne, the failure of the Northern Expedition—she did interfere in all of these things, but what was the result?"

“However, Wanlan said you can go to another world to continue living, so as far as this Song Dynasty is concerned, you are indeed… no longer existent, so—”

"I don't want to go."

Zhao Defang wearily reached out and rubbed her forehead. "Defang, going to a strange world, with no past and no future, no center and no goal... how can I persevere in this kind of life?"

Zhao Defang stared at him in a daze, "Big brother..."

"Defang, I am not strong."

With a faint, bitter smile, Zhao Dezhao looked down at his outstretched palm. "Unable to grasp what I want, unable to let go of what I've already given up, in the end, I'm just someone who can't pick things up or put them down."

Zhao Defang lowered his trembling eyelashes. "Then what does elder brother intend to do? Perhaps you don't need to—"

"If I don't die, can you imagine the consequences?"

Zhao Dezhao interrupted him, a hint of a smile creeping into his deep eyes, "Defang, no matter what your brother does, promise me you won't overthink things, and don't let her know too much."

Zhao Defang suddenly clenched her hands at her sides, turned her face away, and said in a hoarse voice, "I... I won't agree!"

Zhao Dezhao simply smiled and said, "Trading certain death for lasting happiness seems like the best deal. Don't be foolish or overthink it. Some things are just destined."