Song Xingzhi a vécu sous le règne de l'empereur Huizong

Chapitre 14

A woman like that would never give herself a chance to regret it!

How could Jiao Wanlan possibly go back to Zhao Dezhao to ask for a vow?

She had never met Jiao Wanlan, so she wasn't sure if Wanlan was really seeking revenge on Zhao Dezhao by marrying someone else. It was just a gut feeling, a woman's gut feeling, especially since she was currently inhabiting Wanlan's body, so close to this woman who didn't know how to cherish her blessings.

Before marrying Zehua, Jiao Wanlan made a pact with Zhao Dezhao, which must have been based on a certainty of the depth of Zhao Dezhao's feelings for her; otherwise, wouldn't everything she did have been meaningless? However, the outside world was completely unaware of their relationship, which is quite strange. Furthermore, Jiao Wanlan completely disregarded Zehua's feelings, using him as a pawn in her revenge against Zhao Dezhao, and even dragging the utterly innocent Xu'er into it!

That horrible woman!

At this moment, she strongly repelled this woman. She didn't want to be Jiao Wanlan, but she had no choice but to live as Jiao Wanlan!

At least then, she can choose her own path in the future.

"You can leave now."

She had retreated to the sidewalk, her face filled with sadness and resentment, and pointed to Su Li, who was still lying on the ground beside her, and said coldly, "Zhao Dezhao, you can leave now. Take her with you. I don't want to see you again."

"Lan'er..."

"I'm not Lan'er!" she glared at him fiercely and shouted, "Zhao Dezhao, I've told you before, I'm not your Lan'er! No! I'm Zehua's wife now, and I don't want anything else! I don't want anything else, do you understand?!"

Zhao Dezhao clenched his fists suddenly, his eyes blazing with fury as he stared at her, and asked in a suppressed voice, "So, you don't even want me anymore, do you?"

"Zhao Dezhao!" Wanlan, holding the child in one arm and clutching her aching chest with the other, sneered, perhaps driven to the extreme by her anger. Her cold eyes met his astonished gaze, and she scoffed, "Don't you think it's beneath you to say such things? When have you ever belonged to me? If you never possessed me, how can you talk about abandoning me? Your accusations are utterly ridiculous!"

Zhao Dezhao was startled, his feet wobbling slightly. His wide eyes slowly calmed down, turning as black as ink in a deep pool. He slowly smiled, lowered his eyes, and turned away.

"Indeed! I was the one who let go first, so I have no right to criticize you..."

Wan Lan raised her head and coldly watched his desolate back, then said in a hard voice, "Stop! Take her with you!" She glanced at Su Li, who was slowly getting up and staring at her resentfully, but ignored her. "Your Highness, although Su Li was my dowry maid, she did such a thing today. I cannot keep her here any longer. Ultimately, everything she did was for you. Please take her back!" She wanted to completely cut off any paths that shouldn't have been forked!

"For me?" Zhao Dezhao stopped, but did not turn around. He suddenly threw his head back and laughed loudly, "Haha... Jiao Wanlan, Su Li, as a maid, is so loyal to her promise, and you—" He turned around abruptly and stared at her, his face now cold and his eyes icy, "Just because of amnesia, you so easily broke your promise. What a Princess Deqing!"

He hates her!

Wanlan unconsciously took a step back and slumped onto the stone steps, her face deathly pale. Had she spoken too harshly? Had she driven a man's love to hatred? Was this the price she had to pay for possessing this woman's body? No one knew Jiao Wanlan's revenge, and perhaps no one but herself understood what this woman was thinking.

Jiao Wanlan, oh Jiao Wanlan, if you wanted to take revenge on this man, why did you run away at the last minute? Leaving behind such a huge mess? Do you regret marrying Zehua? Do you regret getting pregnant with Xu'er? Do you regret choosing this path? The man before you is the object of your affection and your revenge, but he has nothing to do with me. I won't feel sorry for him, I won't love him, yet... do I have to bear his hatred?

Watching the two figures gradually disappear into the night, Wanlan frowned as she looked at the mess on the ground. A strong sense of loneliness suddenly overwhelmed her—could this place... possibly accommodate her? As a wandering soul with nowhere to go, would there be a corner for her to rest here?

Wanlan bit her lip and looked at the child in her arms, whose big eyes were staring straight at her. Her eyes stung with tears—thankfully… she still had a son… Wanlan forced a trembling smile and murmured in a low voice, “Xu’er… good boy, you’ve been watching your mother, haven’t you? Are you hungry? Let’s go inside and have something to eat—” Wanlan suddenly froze, remembering something she had almost forgotten.

Today... is Xu'er's one-month celebration...

Zhao Dezhao just appeared here... How did he get here? How did the banquet go? Where's Zehua? Did Zehua come? Did he see what happened here? Did he see her and Zhao Dezhao...?

Wanlan clutched the hem of her clothes, a sharp pain suddenly shooting through her chest, instantly turning her just-recovered face pale. She frantically picked up her child and ran around, searching for the man who might be hiding in the shadows.

"Madam? What are you looking for? What happened here?" [TXT novel download: ]

Wanlan stopped abruptly, her heart pounding painfully—she was so panicked! Taking a few deep breaths, she turned and glared at the maid who had suddenly appeared, "Xuan'er! Where have you been? Why haven't you come back for so long!"

Seeing her angry expression, Xuan'er quickly curtsied, "I'm so sorry, Madam! I was helping out in the kitchen. Madam was in the front hall just now, and I thought you wouldn't be back to your room so soon, so—"

"Stop talking!" Wanlan waved her hand to interrupt her, and asked, "How's the banquet in the front hall going? Is it over yet?"

"That's about it. The Prince sent someone to escort the officials back to his study. He asked me to tell you that he won't be coming to see you tonight. He said he must be very tired after a busy day and wants you to get some rest."

Wanlan was stunned.

If he was truly worried about her health after a long day, how could he not come to check on her in person? Even normally, he would definitely come to see her every night before he could rest at ease, wouldn't he?

Zehua, did you not come tonight because you saw that scene? Are you avoiding me because you don't trust me? It's only been three days... You clearly said you believed me...

Wanlan clutched her aching chest and bit her lower lip hard—even if you don't believe me, how can you not even care about your son? Do you know about all the accidents that happened tonight? Have you ever thought about how I feel?

Xuan'er looked around the cherry blossom garden, puzzled by the wood chips and red silk scattered on the ground. Turning around, she saw her mistress's desolate appearance and immediately stepped forward in alarm, asking, "Madam? What's wrong? What happened?"

Chapter 14, How Will the Past Vows End (2)

"Xuan'er...did the Prince come to the Cherry Blossom Garden just now?" She...is probably already losing territory...and is about to be routed...

It couldn't be clearer: in the Song Dynasty a thousand years ago, she fell in love with another woman's husband, felt heartbroken for him, suffered because of him, and cared about everything he thought of her.

Xuan'er looked at her cautiously and answered softly, "This servant does not know if Your Highness has been to Cherry Blossom Garden, but—" She paused and continued, "This servant did meet Your Highness on the long corridor outside Cherry Blossom Garden, and guessed that Your Highness must have come from Canghan Pavilion."

How could that be? There was a banquet in the front yard, how could he have come out of Canghan Pavilion?

"Xuan'er, please look after the young master for me." After placing the infant in Xuan'er's arms, Wanlan lifted her skirt and rushed out. With an unprecedented eagerness, she passed through the archway into the courtyard of Canghan Pavilion and headed straight for the study. She stopped in front of the carved wooden door and, without stopping for a moment, stretched out both hands and pushed the door open heavily inward with a "smack".

The person sitting upright behind the desk in the room looked up at the same time, met her slightly moist eyes, and opened their eyes in surprise—

Her hair was slightly disheveled, and her cheeks were flushed from running. However, her flustered expression and her urgent, tearful eyes made him feel a suffocating heartache as he was filled with doubt.

This was the first time he had seen her like this.

Since she woke up and changed her personality, he had always seen a gentle, reserved, intelligent and dignified woman. When had she ever been so lost and helpless?

He rose and walked to the desk, looking at her with puzzled eyes, and asked softly, "Wanlan? What's wrong?" As soon as he spoke, he froze. As he spoke, two lines of clear tears welled up in the bright eyes of the woman before him. Before he could even be shocked, a sudden force pushed him back a step, causing him to bump against the desk behind him.

Zhao Defang stared blankly at the dark hair on her chest for a long while, then slowly reached out to embrace the person in her arms, gently stroking her hair and whispering warmly, "It's alright...it's alright..." She looked...like she was terrified...

“Ze…Zehua…”

"Don't panic, tell me what's wrong slowly."

Wanlan looked up from his arms, a tear still clinging to the corner of her moist eye, but she looked at him with utmost seriousness, "Tell me, did you go back to Cherry Blossom Garden just now? Do you know what happened?"