Lady Wan of Bright Deportment lowered her eyes.
Yu Wan shook her head and said, “But I still don’t understand why you have to hurt Yan Jiuchao so much. Even if he dies, and Shangguan Yan won’t be able to live long, you’ve long entered the palace as a concubine. It’s impossible for you to marry Xiao Zhenting again in this lifetime. Not to mention that you can fake your death and leave the palace, I think even if you have a new identity, Xiao Zhenting won’t accept you either. Everything you do is in vain. You’re simply stupid.”
“What do you know?” Lady Wan of Bright Deportment roared.
In her sleep, the Ninth Princess trembled. She opened her eyes and looked at Fu Ling, then closed her eyes and fell asleep.
“I don’t know? Could it be that you do? You’re a selfish and stupid woman! You’ve racked your brains, but in the end, you’re still trapped in this palace!”
“Do you think I’m doing this for myself?! Do you think Princess Consort Yan is so easy to marry?! Do you really think Shangguan Yan drank that bowl of childless medicine?!”
Clang!
Someone bumped against the door.
Shangguan Yan stood at the door in a daze and looked at Lady Wan of Bright Deportment in surprise. When Xiao Zhenting heard the second sentence, he already sensed that something was wrong, but it was too late to shut Xiao Linlang up.
Shangguan Yan took a deep breath. “Xiao Linlang, what did you mean just now?”
“Ha, I knew it!” Lady Wan of Bright Deportment looked at Shangguan Yan and then at Xiao Zhenting. She immediately laughed until she cried. “You’ve hidden it from her for so many years. Do you plan to hide it until you die?”
“Stop talking!” Xiao Zhenting shouted.
Lady Wan of Bright Deportment smiled crazily. “I want to say it!”
She turned to look at Yu Wan. “Back then, when Xiao Zhenting asked His Majesty to marry Shangguan Yan, His Majesty gave him a bowl of childless medicine and asked him to choose whether he drank it himself or Shangguan Yan drank it. Actually, it doesn’t matter who drinks it. As long as Xiao Zhenting doesn’t have any children, everything in the Xiao family will eventually fall into Yan Jiuchao’s hands and fall back into the hands of the Great Zhou Imperial Family. A Princess Consort Yan who has lost her value in exchange for everything in Marshal Xiao’s residence is a good deal.”
As she spoke, she smiled at Xiao Zhenting with tears in her eyes. “But this man is stupid. He insisted on drinking the bowl of childless medicine himself…”
She looked at Yu Wan again. “You’re asking me why I did this? I was lying on His Majesty’s bed at that time. I heard His Majesty and Eunuch Wang’s plan! Can I watch him have no descendants?!”
“Don’t you have your own selfish motives?” Yu Wan asked.
Lady Wan of Bright Deportment laughed crazily. “I do… Of course I do! I’m still looking forward to marrying him after escaping from the palace… and giving birth to children for him… Is there anything wrong with me thinking that way?”
Yu Wan looked at her coldly. “You harmed an innocent child. No matter how right you are, it’s still wrong.”
A trace of regret appeared on Lady Wan of Bright Deportment’s face.
Yu Wan sighed softly. “You’re just… finding excuses for your selfish desires.”
Lady Wan of Bright Deportment inserted her hand into her hair. “No, it’s not like that… I didn’t… I didn’t…”
“Why didn’t you tell me?” Shangguan Yan turned around and looked at Xiao Zhenting with tears in her eyes.
“I…” Xiao Zhenting was speechless.
Being unable to give birth was an unspoken pain for any woman. Ordinary people might live in guilt for the rest of their lives when they find out that they could not give birth to children for their husband. However, Shangguan Yan would not. When she picked up the bowl of “childless medicine”, she was even a little relieved. She did not love this man. She did not want to give birth to his children.
Prince Yan was already dead. She was unwilling to have children with another man in her life, so she drank it.
Shangguan Yan was willing to drink it. It was precisely because he understood this that Xiao Zhenting felt that there was no need to say it. Besides, if he said it, she would only feel guilty and feel that she owed him another favor.
“You…” Shangguan Yan wanted to say that he was stupid, but she realized that her entire throat was stuck.
Yu Wan looked at Shangguan Yan and then at Xiao Zhenting. She suddenly felt that the legend of the little monk and the demon might be true because there was really a kind of person in the world who could love a person to the bone.
“Let’s not talk about this first.” Xiao Zhenting cleared his throat and looked at Yu Wan. “Ah Wan, bring your mother into the room first. I have something to say and want to consult Her Highness alone.”
He was going to question Lady Wan of Bright Deportment. Perhaps he did not expect such an outcome.
Yu Wan pulled Shangguan Yan’s hand.
Shangguan Yan resisted the urge to cry and entered the Ninth Princess and Fu Ling’s room with Yu Wan.
Yu Wan closed the door. The firewood in the fire was roasting noisily. No one pricked up their ears to listen to what the two of them said. Fifteen minutes later, Xiao Zhenting entered the room.
Shangguan Yan’s eyes were red as she sat on the ground and looked at him blankly and helplessly.
He composed himself. “About Cong’er…”
“I told Mom,” Yu Wan said. After what happened just now, there was no need to hide it anymore.
Xiao Zhenting nodded and said, “She said everything. She was the one who poisoned Cong’er. You have guessed the reason. The people of Nanzhao agreed to give her a medicine to fake her death and let her successfully escape from the palace. The people of Nanzhao even provided her with the identity of a businesswoman of Nanzhao.”
This status was much better than hiding her identity in the Great Zhou. No wonder Lady Wan of Bright Deportment was tempted.
Xiao Zhenting continued, “It wasn’t a coincidence that the people of Nanzhao found her. They found out about my relationship with Master Xiao Wu and also found out that she had an arranged marriage with me. They were certain that she would be an extremely easy chess piece to control. However, that group of people from Nanzhao didn’t expect that the Fragrance of Hundred Miles didn’t flare up. They thought that she had failed and never interacted with her again.”
This coincided with Yu Wan’s guess.
“How did she feed Yan Jiuchao?” Yu Wan asked.
Xiao Zhenting said, “She didn’t feed it herself. She placed it in the snacks His Majesty gave Cong’er when His Majesty wasn’t paying attention.”
At that time, Lady Wan of Bright Deportment was favored and had the best chance to take action. Yu Wan paused and said, “Who’s the master of that group of people from Nanzhao? The Empress only heard that it’s the royal family of Nanzhao, but she doesn’t know which royal family it is.”
Xiao Zhenting glanced at Shangguan Yan and said, “She doesn’t know.” He clearly knew, but it was not convenient for him to say it in front of Shangguan Yan. Yu Wan tactfully did not ask further.
“Where’s the antidote?” Shangguan Yan was so focused on this that she did not notice Xiao Zhenting and Yu Wan’s expressions.
Xiao Zhenting said, “She gave us the prescription, but we need to find the herbs ourselves.”
“As long as there’s a prescription.” Yu Wan paused and said seriously, “But this doesn’t mean that she can make up for her mistakes. I still won’t forgive her.”
Xiao Zhenting nodded. “I know.”
The rain stopped. The group returned to the temple, no one caring about Lady Wan of Bright Deportment who had sprained her ankle.
Xiao Zhenting held Shangguan Yan’s hand and walked in front. Yu Wan and the Ninth Princess followed closely behind. No one asked Fu Ling what she was doing. The forest was a little quiet after the heavy rain.
“Be careful.” Xiao Zhenting pushed aside the thorns in front of him with his bare hands, and his palm was cut by the spike.
Shangguan Yan felt a crack in her heart.
“Xiao Zhenting.” Shangguan Yan choked and stopped in her tracks.
Xiao Zhenting looked at her reddened eyes and was at a loss. “What’s wrong? Are you tired? I’ll carry you!”
Shangguan Yan suddenly leaned into his arms and cried. “Who said I don’t want to give birth to children for you… I want to give birth to children for you… I want to give birth to children for you…”
