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

Chapitre 29

"How does my elder brother... treat you?" Zhao Defang asked with some difficulty. His elder brother, who was cold, wise, and always indifferent, was a very strong person in his mind. He often thought that his elder brother was the kind of person who could do anything he could think of and do it very well. However, he did not agree with his elder brother's actions when it came to matters of the heart. Why was Miss Xue also involved?

He thought that there had only been Wanlan all along...

Xue Suxin knows Wanlan's whereabouts, so could she infer that her elder brother treats this woman differently? But in any case, Xue Suxin is the daughter of the prime minister, how could her elder brother treat a woman to such an extent and still remain silent? What would the prime minister think if he found out?

“We…are friends.” Xue Suxin squinted at the reflection of the lights on the river, her tone full of uncertainty. That man was very cold, yet he had such a deep obsession with Wanlan, and he was quite polite to her. It’s just that she could never enter his heart.

"Did he tell you where Wanlan is? You brought me to find Wanlan today. If my elder brother finds out, you—" Zhao Defang paused, then continued, "Why did you do this? Although I'm grateful for the news, from my elder brother's perspective, I'm afraid it will be hard for him to forgive you." Her elder brother must have trusted her to tell her this, right? So her current actions are a betrayal of his trust. Miss Xue's position… it probably won't hold water either…

Xue Suxin smiled indifferently, her elegant and delicate face carrying a sense of detachment after seeing through everything, only her gentle and clear eyes still couldn't hide her lingering affection. She was just an ordinary woman in the vast world, with the obsessions of all ordinary people, but her future was not as unpredictable and mysterious as others'. Her path ahead was clearly laid out before her, and she could even see what her ending would be.

But despite this, she never considered taking a different path.

"Life is short, and I only want to grasp everything I can see and want. I have very little, and my heart is small, but—I am still greedy."

Greedily wanting to have more of the happiness he desired in his final days.

This was her selfishness, and also her willfulness.

It was already dusk when we disembarked. The blood-red sunset struggled on the horizon, painting the entire west a vibrant crimson, adding a touch of rouge to the evening glow, silently accompanying the solitary, struggling sun. The awning boat gradually drifted away from the shore, and the fisherman in his coarse cloth clothes vigorously rowed his oars, embarking on his journey home.

The journey took a full four days. Xue Suxin caught a chill on the boat and developed a fever, but fortunately, Biyu had medicine with her, which kept her illness under control. After disembarking, the group of five found an inn to stay in and then asked a doctor to treat Xue Suxin. By the time everything settled down, it was almost midnight.

After sending Lan Wen and Xuan'er away to rest, Zhao Defang sat alone in the room, but was wide awake.

Jiangling City, also known as Jingzhou City, is one of the "Nine Provinces". Located between Jing Mountain and Heng Mountain, it is a transportation hub connecting east and west and north and south. It has always been a strategic location fought over by military strategists and is a very important garrison.

He had always known his elder brother's abilities. Although his father had been slow to issue an edict designating his elder brother as the crown prince, the matter was a foregone conclusion. Years ago, his father had taken all military power back to the court, but left only his uncle and elder brother with real power, which showed the high hopes his father had for them. He himself had only just married, yet he had been sent to Guizhou...

Zhao Defang frowned, rubbing his forehead in exasperation. The Prefectural Defense Commissioner of this dynasty had no real authority or fixed number of personnel, and was not stationed in the prefecture. He was merely a nominal official for military officers, yet he had been sent to Guizhou… What was his father thinking? When his elder brother married, he wasn't sent to the prefecture to guard it so quickly. He didn't want to stand out from others in any way, and he really didn't want to create any trouble for those with ulterior motives.

He hoped that the kidnapping of Wanlan was merely a simple personal grudge between him, Wanlan, and his elder brother. However, this was just a hope; he couldn't rest easy. That's why he lied to his superiors and used the pretext of going to Guizhou to secretly come to Jiangling. If his uncle knew, he feared he would truly be unable to forgive him.

However, he couldn't care less about that anymore.

Slowly lowering his hand, Zhao Defang frowned and smiled calmly—from childhood to adulthood, he knew he had always been a very cowardly person. He often never took the initiative to fight for anything, always feeling that there were things he wasn't worthy of, nor capable of, striving for. But this time, he wanted to reclaim the hand that had once held his tightly; he didn't want to give up.

Now that he is in Jiangling and knows that she is very close to him, his heart is at ease.

Reaching out, Zhao Defang pushed open the window and looked up at the pitch-black sky. A relaxed and unusually gentle smile appeared on his lips. The night sky under the new moon was as dark as ink, without a single ray of light. Yet, he had already abandoned his panic and felt at peace, taking a deep breath of the cool night air.

Wanlan, wait for me.

Chapter 32, Clouds Rise Over the Sunset Pavilion (1)

For the past month, the people of Jiangling City have been incredibly curious about the owner of that grand red-walled, green-tiled mansion on the outskirts of the city. The mansion is built beside Bihu Lake, with high steps leading to its lacquered wooden gate. Above the gate is a plaque inscribed with "Bizhuang," likely named for its location near Bihu Lake. Bizhuang faces south, with the city gate to the west and Bihu Lake, formed by the confluence of rivers branching from the Han River, to the east. Above the lake stands a bamboo pavilion with an elegant name: Xiyun Pavilion.

The people of Jiangling City had never seen what the owner of Bizhuang looked like, because apart from two or three mediocre servants, no one else came in or out of Bizhuang, which once made people wonder if the owner was not in Bizhuang at all.

However, on this day, three or four pretty maids and several men who looked like guards rushed out of Bizhuang and invited all the skilled doctors in Jiangling City into the red walls. This action made the bored people who had been looking at Bizhuang even more curious about the people living in this mansion.

The next day, most of the people in Jiangling City heard a rumor: a young, sickly lady lived in Bizhuang. It seemed that she had some kind of heart problem, but no doctor could find the real cause of her illness. They only knew that the lady often had heart pain, and sometimes the pain was so severe that she would faint.

"...Even Dr. Mei said that the lady's heart is perfectly healthy, so this illness is quite strange!" A few idle people sat sparsely in the teahouse, but they were talking excitedly about the latest news from the past two days.

"It is indeed very strange. How can there be a disease whose cause cannot be found?" The pain is so severe that one faints. It must be a very serious disease. How could the cause not be found?

"But what's even stranger is that the head of the Bizhuang family is not home. How can he be at ease leaving such a sick wife to guard such a big house?" The main thing is that I heard that the wife is very beautiful. I don't know how her husband can bear to leave her alone.

"Is the owner of Bizhuang not home?" someone asked in surprise.

The person who had delivered the message looked up and saw a group of five people sitting at a table near the door, consisting of two men and three women. The one who asked the question was the young man who had abruptly stood up and was staring at them with wide eyes.

"Yes, she's not at home. There's only a sick lady in Bizhuang, but there are quite a few servants. I guess the master doesn't trust his wife at home and keeps them around to protect her."

The young man frowned, glanced at another man beside him who was drinking tea with his eyes down, then turned back and asked, "Do you know where the master went?"

The messenger shrugged, averting his gaze from them, and said casually, "Who knows?" They didn't even know who the head of the household was or what he looked like, so how could they possibly know where he had gone?

The young man sat back down dejectedly, then looked at his master. "Master, why don't we just go directly to the Prince of Yan's house to bring Madam back to the capital? Why do we have to go to the Prince of Yan?" In his opinion, it would be best if the Prince of Yan wasn't there, so as to avoid a direct confrontation. They could take the opportunity to take the Princess away.

“Why would he leave Wanlan here alone?” Xue Suxin, sitting opposite the young man Lan Wen, frowned, her face full of doubt. “Since he took Wanlan out of the capital, shouldn’t he have tried to help her regain her memory?” Isn’t that what the Prince of Yan wanted?

"Could it be a smokescreen? The Prince of Yan was worried that we would come looking for him, so he left the Madam here alone while he stayed in Junzhou?" Xuan'er tilted her head and analyzed, "If Miss Xue hadn't caught up with us, we would already be in Junzhou by now. If the Prince of Yan is really in Junzhou, we definitely wouldn't be able to find the Madam when we go there, because the Prince of Yan has hidden her in Jiangling! Right?"

Lan Wen suddenly opened his eyes and nodded in agreement, "Yes, yes, yes! That must be it!"

Xue Suxin, who was standing to the side, nodded slightly, thinking that the deduction was quite correct. She, Lan Wen, and Xuan'er all looked at Zhao Defang, who had been silent all along. They saw that he still had his eyes downcast and his brows furrowed, and they didn't know what he was thinking.

"Your Highness?" Lan Wen had no choice but to call out to him.

Zhao Defang slowly put down his teacup, glanced at them, and said, "Wanlan... how could she suddenly fall ill? Or is it some kind of heartache with no identifiable cause? She clearly never had—" He suddenly paused, suddenly remembering their second meeting after she woke up. That time, she had a fever due to breast engorgement, and during their conversation, she seemed to have mentioned her heartache...

How could this be? They've known each other since childhood, and he'd never heard of her having any heart problems. Come to think of it... it was after she lost her memory after giving birth... amnesia caused by childbirth is already abnormal, and now this inexplicable illness is added on top of that. What's wrong with Wanlan?

His words made everyone suddenly realize something.

“That’s right! Sir, Madam was never sick or in pain before, how could she…” Lan Wen scratched his head, “We haven’t come to the wrong person, have we?”

“It’s impossible to have made a mistake. Prince Yan has no reason to lie to me. Bizhuang is indeed his.” Xue Suxin frowned and reached out to brush away the teacup that Biyu handed her. “The person in Bizhuang must be Wanlan, but her illness…” How could this be? She had never heard of Wanlan being ill.

For a moment, there was another silence. The group of people, bewildered by this sudden change, all looked puzzled and deep in thought.

“Actually… Madam once…” Xuan’er suddenly began very slowly, looking up at the surprised gazes of everyone around her, “When Madam fell ill after being caught in the rain, she clutched her chest and kept crying out in pain. I was in a panic looking for someone and didn’t pay much attention, but from then until Madam gave birth, I never saw her cry out in pain again. But I never expected this to happen now…”

Zhao Defang's hand, which was on the table, suddenly clenched into a fist. His face turned stern, and he said in a deep voice, "As Wanlan's husband, I have been completely unaware for the past two months!" He had just heard those people say that Wanlan often fainted from the pain. That must be an excruciating pain that was hard to bear. He had never realized it!

He stood up abruptly, no longer caring whether his next move would widen the gap between him and his elder brother; he could wait no longer.