Repeatedly broken branches

"This child looks like you, not at all like the Emperor." Consort Xian held Xiao Yichuan, her eyes full of affection.

After giving birth, Chen Lanhe completely forgot what she had told Consort Xian before, that she would entrust the child to her care.

The Consort Xian understood her very well. The moment the child was born, she was already a mother and full of love for him. How could she possibly give him to herself?

Although she liked Xiao Yichuan very much, she wouldn't ask for a child unless Chen Lanhe brought it up herself, even though she wanted one.

Chen Lanhe put down the cloth tiger in her hand, sighed and said, "The New Year is coming soon, I wonder how things are there."

Xia Yunxu was oblivious to what was happening outside. She had no interest in what was going on outside and preferred to read more Buddhist scriptures.

But when she thought of Wuchen, she couldn't help but worry. That child was kind; how could he have been persuaded by the Emperor?

"Will the Emperor return? Will Xiao Yichuan be able to wait for him?" Chen Lanhe seemed to be talking to herself.

She was used to Xia Yunyun's silence when they were together.

Sometimes she doesn't answer, but she'll continue talking to herself.

When her sister was alive, she often praised Consort Xian, saying that she was kind and calm, had an extraordinary love with her husband, and respected her very much. Such a person, despite being treated like this, still treated others with kindness. Her heart was truly soft.

Xia Yunxu looked at the sleeping child in her arms and said calmly, "He will come back, but is your change in attitude towards him for the sake of the child?"

"Yes. I won't hide it from you. If it weren't for the child, I would have left long ago."

"You...don't you love the Emperor, sister? This is a crime of deceiving the Emperor!"

Chen Lanhe smiled and said, "What crime of deceiving the emperor is this? In the entire palace, besides my sister, who loves him? Does Consort Qing love him? Does Consort Kangyan love him? Do Xin Ning and Yu Xue love him?"

Xia Yunxu raised her eyes to look at her, pondering her words repeatedly. They were like a powerful medicine injected into her blood, resolving her years of worries. Yes, in the entire palace, besides herself, who truly loved him? Weren't they all just flattering him because of his favor?

Suddenly, I realized that the emperor who had been so powerful was actually quite pitiful.

"I just met him earlier." Xia Yunxu sighed heavily and handed Xiao Yichuan to the wet nurse.

I walked to the window and looked at the beautiful, white snow scene in the yard.

She remembered that there used to be a white plum tree here, which she loved. Everyone else liked red plums and green plums, but she was the only one who liked white plums.

She always felt that one day the boy in white would stand under her white plum tree, confess his love to her, and tell her how much he liked her.

However, on his first day in the palace, Yin Fu'an ordered the white plum tree to be cut down. He said that white was unlucky and that as the new emperor, he could not tolerate such an unlucky thing appearing before his eyes.

At that time, the identity of the empress had not yet been decided, and she was already utterly despondent. She never imagined that she would end up like this.

Yes, he killed his father, his grandmother, and his brothers and sisters in the palace.

But she loved him so much. She couldn't forget that boy in white. She really couldn't forget him. She was so angry. She wanted to die. But even death was a luxury. If she died, it would inevitably implicate her younger sister Yunzhi outside the palace. So she couldn't die.

Chen Lanhe stood behind her, gently patted her back, and said softly, "Sister, I admit that I love children very much, and what I said before is no longer valid. However, I promise you that Yichuan is your child, and he will call you Mother Consort from now on. Shall we raise him together?"

"Don't force yourself." Xia Yunxu said calmly, "No matter what, I will be good to this child, even if he doesn't call me Mother."

"Sister, am I too bad? I want to abandon this child, but I also want to keep him by my side. I don't know what's wrong with me. I love him so much, but I also want to leave here."

After she finished speaking, tears streamed down her face. Chen Lanhe herself didn't know what was wrong with her.

Yi Chuan, this child is hers and Yin Fu'an's, but she doesn't love Yin Fu'an at all, not even a little bit.

……

The border between the Western Regions and Chaoyang Jiuguang.

Heavy snow is falling, and winter is approaching.

In his letter to Xiao Mu, Yu Yanjing wrote that the snow here was so heavy that one could turn into a snowman in no time. He was afraid of the cold, so he stayed in his tent almost all the time. The heavy snow had buried the mountains, and avalanches could occur at any time, so they temporarily signed a ceasefire agreement.

He didn't say whether he could go back before the Lunar New Year.

Xiao Mu's heart sank. He continued reading and saw that Xiao Ran'er missed him and he really wanted to see who she looked like.

Upon reading this, Xiao Mu couldn't help but smile. "Of course you're like me, not at all."

At the end of the letter, he said, "I miss my wife dearly and long to see her again soon. This letter may be the last one, because heavy snow has blocked the mountain pass, and the soldier who was supposed to deliver the letter could not get out."

Xiao Mu carefully put the letter back into the envelope and placed it in a small wooden box containing all the letters from home over the past three months.

She treasured them like precious gems, taking them out to look at them from time to time, stroking Yu Yanjing's handwriting, as if she could imagine the tenderness in his expression when he wrote these letters.

She misses him terribly, something she never realized before because he was always by her side. Now that they've been apart for three months, she misses him more each day.

Xiao Shao's baby is very well-behaved; at least she didn't experience morning sickness in the early stages of her pregnancy. Now she's two months along, and I estimate that by this time next year, the baby will be able to come out and play with Xiao Ran'er.

Strangely, there was never a smile on Ruan Cifeng's face. He was about to become a father, but he showed no joy whatsoever.

"Aunt Xiaoshao, tell me, why does Zhong'er always say that woman is my mother?"

Xiao Shao stopped and asked, head down, "What woman? And who is Zhong'er?"

Siwan blinked and said softly, "Father treats the women and children he brought back very well. He buys them nice clothes and takes them out to play."

Xiao Shao asked in astonishment, "Is it... your father's mistress?"

"No!" Siwan shook her head repeatedly, grabbing Xiaoshao's sleeve and urging, "I've finally made it to the palace, Auntie, please take me to see Consort Jing."

After sending Siwan to Consort Jing's place, Xiao Shao immediately returned to Zi Ning Palace. Xiao Mu was playing with a cloth tiger with Xiao Ran'er, and the little dumpling was laughing heartily, which sounded very heartwarming.

"What's wrong? You don't look well." Xiao Mu handed the baby to the wet nurse and gestured for her to leave.

"Young Master Deng has found a mistress."

"Pfft." Xiao Mu burst out laughing.

Xiao Shao frowned, extremely puzzled. "Your Majesty, what are you laughing at?"

Xiao Mu said calmly, "It's not a mistress, it's Ye Wanwan who's back."

"Huh?" Little Spoon was astonished.

"Your Majesty, are you not angry?" Seeing that Xiao Mu had no reaction, Xiao Shao couldn't help but ask.

Xiao Mu helped her sit down, placed a soft feather pillow under her waist, and then smiled and said, "Why should I be angry? It's all in the past. She's outside the palace, and I'm inside. We have nothing to do with each other."

"But what she did before was really unacceptable."

“I’ve already accepted it all, so what can’t you accept? Now, we’ve all found our place. She was quite pitiful, raising this child all alone. Now that she’s back, Siwan has a mother again, and Deng Yizhi has found his place. Don’t you think it’s a win-win situation?”

Now that she's a mother herself, she can empathize more with the things women do. Siwan is pitiful; she's been separated from her mother for four years. Putting herself in her mother's shoes, she would go crazy if she had to leave Xiaoran'er for four years.

Xiao Shao understood what she meant, and even though she still felt a little resentful, she didn't dare to say anything more.

How can you explain matters of the heart?

Even though Ye Wanwan became a slave and had a child with someone else, not to mention her lowly status, her experiences there were simply inhuman.

But Deng Yizhi still treated her the same as always.

Suddenly, I feel a little envious of her. Would Yu Yanjing treat me like that?

"Wanwan, this is your favorite chestnut cake. Although it's not as good as the ones from Chen Kingdom, it's still very delicious!" Deng Yizhi closed the door and placed a wrapped cake in front of her.

Chestnut cake was something she missed most when she was a slave on the border.

After each humiliation, when all she could eat was spoiled food, she would think of chestnut cake.

It's very sweet, very sweet.

Right now, there's a portion right in front of me, but I don't really feel like eating it.

Did she love Zhou Tingxi or Deng Yizhi?

She fell in love with Zhou Tingxi the moment she first met him upon entering the palace. He was someone she could only admire from afar, but she loved the way Zhou Tingxi loved Xia Yunzhi—his tender and affectionate manner.

Ye Wanwan fantasized that she was Xia Yunzhi, cherished and pampered by Zhou Tingxi, so she tried every means to seduce him.

But Zhou Tingxi remained unmoved.

Fortunately, fate smiled upon her, leading Zhou Tingxi to mistakenly believe that she had saved him from drowning, and in this way, they grew closer and closer.

However, there was someone who secretly treated her well, giving her all sorts of beautiful jewelry and delicious food, and writing poems for her. That person was Deng Yizhi.

She didn't know what her feelings for Deng Yizhi were; she only knew that he was very good to her, and that his kindness was selfless.

He knew she liked chestnut cake because when she was a child and entered the palace, she hadn't eaten anything good. On one occasion, Xia Yunzhi gave her a plate of chestnut cake, and at that time, she thought it was the most delicious thing in the world.

Therefore, every time Deng Yizhi entered the palace, he would leave a bag of chestnut cakes in her room. Ye Wanwan never got tired of eating them. The chestnut cakes also contained poems he had written, and each time they were different.

"I don't like chestnut cake anymore."

Deng Yizhi bent down to look at her, his eyes full of tenderness, and asked softly, "What do you like now? I'll go buy it for you."

Ye Wanwan showed no emotion in her eyes. She simply glanced at him and said calmly, "You don't need to go. Just stay here with me."

"Okay, I'll stay with you."

Deng Yizhi sat next to her, not daring to make any inappropriate moves towards her, and sat up straight and properly.

Ye Wanwan stood up and poured him a cup of tea. Only then did Deng Yizhi notice that she was wearing a light purple brocade jacket, which accentuated her curvaceous figure beautifully, and her beautiful eyes held a hint of flirtation.

"I want you to treat me the same way you used to, okay?"

"Um. "

"Will you despise me?" Her voice trembled slightly.

"No, never."

Deng Yizhi kissed her forehead tenderly, but his hands did not stop, slowly removing her clothes.

"Father! Father! Where are you!"

When Siwan came home from school, she couldn't find Deng Yizhi. She shouted and yelled in his yard, but he didn't come out.

He would usually be waiting for me in the study at this time, asking me about my lessons that day.

"Father!"

"It's Siwan." Ye Wanwan shyly pushed him away and looked towards the door.

"Father, where are you?"

Deng Yizhi got up, put on a cloak, and walked to the door with a somewhat dissatisfied expression. He opened the door and looked outside. A little girl wearing a pink brocade cloak was standing there, motionless, staring at him with her head up.

Why did school end so early today?

"What are you doing here?" Siwan's tone was somewhat angry.

Deng Yizhi took her little hand and left Ye Wanwan's courtyard, slowly telling her, "I've come to see your mother."

Siwan shook off his hand. "She's not my mother." She stopped and looked up at Deng Yizhi, saying, "She's definitely not my mother."

Deng Yizhi squatted down, took Siwan's fair little hand, and told her clearly, "Siwan, your father is telling you, she is your mother, but she left you when you were little. Now your father has found her. Aren't you happy?"

"And what about Zhong'er?"

Deng Yizhi smiled faintly and said slowly, "That's your younger brother."

Siwan asked blankly, "Is he your son? I don't want him. Didn't you say I was your only child? Why is he your child too?"

"Because, Father wants to find Siwan a playmate," Deng Yizhi said, patting her head.

Siwan stared blankly at him, then suddenly burst into tears, sobbing, "I don't want any playmates. You can only be my father. Father, don't be someone else's father!"

"So you don't even want your mother?"

Siwan nodded. "I don't want her to be my mother. She's so strange."

No matter how hard Deng Yizhi tried to persuade her, Siwan just couldn't accept Ye Wanwan and her son.

And they wouldn't even let him come to Ye Wanwan's courtyard.

But Deng Yizhi still secretly spent the night in Ye Wanwan's courtyard.

The next morning, Siwan entered the palace crying. She felt that someone had taken away her father, and that person was Ye Wanwan and Zhong'er.

"Alright, alright, Siwan, don't cry anymore, have something to eat!" Xiao Mu rubbed her head and brought over a plate of snacks.

Siwan swallowed hard as she looked at the plate of almond shortbread in front of her, but still didn't eat it. She wiped away her tears, stared at Xiao Mu, and said with some grievance, "Empress, Father doesn't want me anymore. Can I stay here with you?"

Xiao Mu hesitated for a second, then smiled and said, "How could he not want you? He just felt that you were grown up, so he brought your mother back."

"Is she really my mother?"

"Yes." Xiao Mu nodded with a smile. "Of course she's your mother, she just goes out to do business."

Siwan immediately said, "No, when Father took me to the Deer Park before, she was dressed like a servant."

Xiao Mu then realized that this child was not easily fooled and tended to believe what she saw.

"Really? Then Auntie doesn't know either, but Auntie knows that she loves you and has you in her heart, which is why she came back to your side."

"Then why didn't Father go back to his own courtyard last night but went to hers? Is she trying to steal Father from me?"

"Pfft." Xiao Mu looked at the quick-witted and innocent child in front of her and for a moment didn't know how to answer her question.

Ye Wanwan is her biological mother, but in her eyes, she becomes a bad woman who wants to steal her father. This is not to be blamed on Siwan, after all, she grew up with her wet nurse.

In her eyes, her wet nurse was her mother.

"Siwan, what are you doing in the palace?"

Deng Yizhi held Zhong'er in his arms. Xiao Mu glanced at the child in his arms. His eyebrows and eyes resembled Ye Wanwan's, while his nose and mouth probably resembled his father's.

Siwan immediately became jealous, grabbed Zhong'er's trouser leg and tried to pull him down, saying, "Father, you're not allowed to hug him."

Deng Yizhi patted her head and said gently, "Siwan, don't be silly. Go out and play with your brother. Your father has something to say to the Empress."

Siwan naturally disagreed.

It was only after Xiao Ran'er's wet nurse said she would take them to see Xiao Ran'er that they were coaxed out.

"What do you want to tell me?" Xiao Mu asked, looking at him.

Deng Yizhi didn't say anything, but knelt down in front of her with a thud.

"I beg Your Majesty to grant me the hand of Ye Wanwan as my wife."

Xiao Mu frowned slightly and said angrily, "Don't you consider Si Wan's future at all? You want her to have a mother who is a slave?"

Originally, Xiao Mu was already turning a blind eye to Deng Yizhi's silent acceptance of Ye Wanwan's return and his purchase of her slave status.

He actually wanted to go even further and marry her?

He didn't care about himself, but he also had to think about Siwan. She could live without a mother, but she absolutely could not have a mother who was a slave.