CHAPTER 401: CHAPTER 369: ACCEPTING THAT SO-CALLED YOUNGER BROTHER, LU YANLI

The Empress Dowager nodded, "Lu Xingzhou nowadays is no longer the famous War God of twenty years ago. Even if you bring him back, he may not necessarily be able to help you deploy troops and formulate strategies."

Emperor Guangxi has already considered this aspect.

Although the army has been resting for twenty years, in daily life, drills and exercises are inevitable. However, this War God has been resting for twenty years without even approaching the training ground. Leisurely sipping tea and admiring flowers has made him idle and lazy. In the past two years, he has joyously become a father, diverting his focus away from the military camp.

Moreover, Fanghua has already been demoted to commoner status. Even as the Emperor, and as her biological brother, facing so many lives, he cannot disregard the law to bring them back.

The Empress Dowager casually took over a green porcelain dish and fed the mynah bird on the perch. "Doesn’t the Su Family have another useful person? With the chaos of war, it’s time to bring him back and entrust him with a significant role."

Emperor Guangxi nodded, "Your child has already decreed for Su Qing to return to the Capital as soon as possible."

——

In the afternoon, when Song Wei went to see Emperor Guangxi, he learned from him that he hadn’t obtained the painting.

Emperor Guangxi said, "The Empress Dowager likes that painting very much and wants to keep it."

Song Wei bowed, "Since the Empress Dowager likes it, naturally, I should not take away what she loves."

Emperor Guangxi felt quite embarrassed having his usually proud chessmanship defeated by a Sixth-rank Hanlin Official, but as a dignified Emperor, he wouldn’t be a sore loser. "Let’s do it like this. You can propose another condition, and as long as it’s within my power, I will try to fulfill it."

Song Wei knew when to stop and shook his head, "The Emperor manages state affairs day and night, and to be invited to play chess with me, a humble Hanlin Official, amidst his busy schedule, is already a great honor. I dare not ask for further rewards."

These words were a timely gesture to offer Emperor Guangxi a way out after he lost the gamble - the Emperor’s chess skills are naturally unrivaled, and he lost only because he was exhausted from handling affairs daily. How many subjects can actually play chess with the Emperor? Song Wei, just a negligible Hanlin Official, having this chance is as if smoke rises from his ancestral grave, let alone daring to ask for any reward.

The reason why Emperor Guangxi both resents and admires Song Wei lies in this.

He is straightforward and never indulges in flattery. The Emperor, accustomed to hearing sycophantic words daily, would feel how refreshing it is to suddenly have someone who speaks frankly all the time?

Yet Song Wei, while arrogant, is not presumptuous. He always knows how to act with discretion, making the Emperor, though grinding his teeth, unwilling to truly punish him.

At that moment, Emperor Guangxi’s eyebrows relaxed, and his dragon visage showed delight. He let Song Wei sit and ordered Mr. Cui to serve tea.

After Song Wei sipped the tea, Emperor Guangxi spoke: "Let’s not discuss official matters today."

Hearing this, Song Wei was thoughtful.

The Emperor’s voice soon followed, "Song Wei, be honest with me. How did you know that the Empress Dowager has Mr. Liu’s Mo Bao in her possession? What are your intentions in wanting that painting?"

From the moment he requested that painting, Song Wei had prepared to deal with this moment. Upon hearing Emperor Guangxi ask, he remained calm and composed, "There are only a few of Mr. Liu’s paintings. As someone who takes an interest in collecting, it’s not hard for me to find out whose hands they are in with a bit of effort."

Upon hearing Song Wei say this, Emperor Guangxi thought it was likely Fanghua’s people who helped him discover this and didn’t inquire further.

The monarch and his subject sat for almost an hour, and before leaving, Emperor Guangxi instructed Mr. Cui to select several supplements that were tributes from various provinces from the National Treasury last year for Song Wei to take home.

Song Wei did not accept them and bowed, "Without merit, I cannot receive reward. This honor from the Emperor deeply unsettles me."

Emperor Guangxi let out a cold snort, "Don’t flatter yourself. These things aren’t for you; they’re for my... Anyway, they’re supplements beneficial to women. The concubines enjoy them very much. There are plenty from last year’s tributes, and I’m worried they won’t be good if kept for too long, so I’m just awarding you some. Take them home for the womenfolk."

Song Wei looked up at Emperor Guangxi, who was busy sipping tea, and couldn’t discern his true emotions.

Since it was already made clear that they’re for his niece, Song Wei couldn’t refuse anymore. After he knelt to express gratitude for the imperial kindness, Mr. Cui personally escorted him to the palace gates.

...

The garden of Song Mansion.

Jinbao, freshly washed by Yun Cai, smelled fragrant as he ran around with a pinwheel.

Wen Wan sat in the hexagonal pavilion, holding a needle and thread.

Outside the pavilion lies a small lotus pond, now in midsummer, with lotus flowers blooming beautifully, their pink tops layered.

The evening afterglow, accompanied by a fresh scent, enveloped this tranquil spot.

When Song Wei returned to the mansion and learned that Wen Wan was in the garden, he changed out of his official robe and came directly over, already seeing from afar the person in the pavilion engrossed in embroidery.

Song Wei gave a faint smile and stepped forward.

Wen Wan heard the faint sound of footsteps, realizing someone was approaching, and slowly raised her head, just meeting the man’s eyes.

Thinking of the effort he made earlier in the day to care for her mood and their son, her heart warmed slightly, "Are you home so early today, husband?"

Song Wei sat across from her, curling his lips, "Returned to see the results."

Seeing her sewing work was exquisite and undistracted, he guessed their son was behaving well and smiled gently, "This material doesn’t seem to be for me."

"It’s not like you don’t have clothes to wear," Wen Wan playfully teased, "It’s time I made some for others too."

"Is my brother-in-law considered others?" Song Wei asked.

Wen Wan was stunned for a while, "How did you guess who I was making it for?"

He laughed, "Perhaps a couple has a telepathic connection?"

Wen Wan didn’t believe this nonsense, yet her heart was touched.

This kind of tacit understanding without much explanation only happens when she’s with him.

Song Wei guessed right; she was making clothes for Lu Yanli.

Regarding her birth mother, she didn’t want a lifetime of estrangement due to the "betrayal of remarriage," but she also couldn’t immediately rush in with affection and intimacy.

During the age when she most needed protection, that person wasn’t there. She managed to get through it on her own. Now, she’s already the mother of a three-year-old child, has a man to take care of her when she’s sick, and another to console her when she’s upset. She will no longer become introverted from being neglected, no longer cry scared because her mother wasn’t there to guide her during her first period, and no longer secretly wipe her tears at night from envying others having a mother...

When she suddenly learned her birth mother was still alive and had another family, Wen Wan felt heartache, but after a myriad of emotions, reason ultimately prevailed.

Before the age of sixteen, she was used to her birth mother "not being alive."

After sixteen, someone replaced her mother, caring for her with meticulous tenderness.

Mother’s love seemed no longer so needed for her.

It was also this "not needing" that buffered her mindset, preventing her from collapsing from difficulty in accepting reality.

Reining in her thoughts, Wen Wan pointed to the material in her hands and asked Song Wei, "Do you think the little guy will like the clothes I’m making?"

The greatest grace she could muster was to first try to accept that so-called younger brother.

Probably because she herself became a mother, Wen Wan wouldn’t easily transfer emotions to the child, feeling accepting him was easier than accepting her birth mother.

As for Lu Xingzhou, Wen Wan wasn’t sure if she could still call him "Godfather" in the future.

Song Wei’s gaze fell on the fabric, "Why not find a chance, let Wanwan ask him in person."

Wen Wan muttered softly, "That far, and I can’t return to Ningzhou."

Song Wei said, "I’ve had correspondence with Mother-in-law. She once said she’d let Yanli come to the Capital once he’s three."

Wen Wan’s attention lingered on his natural utterance of "Mother-in-law," realizing he had known all along, painstakingly hiding it from her while trying invisibly to reunite her with her birth mother.

Her heart suddenly filled with mixed emotions.

Putting down the embroidery needle, Wen Wan looked at him, her expression sincere and earnest, "Husband, thank you."

"Thank me for what?"

"Thank you for teaching me another lesson."

"So what did you learn?"

Wen Wan listened to his gentle question and pampering gaze, only feeling an unprecedented calm and stability in her heart.

She couldn’t even articulate what exactly she’d learned, "At least, I didn’t cause a scene or storm out when it was hard to accept, isn’t that so?"

She thought she behaved well and was calm enough.

The man laughed, "That just shows you’ve truly grown up."

Wanwan’s reaction indeed exceeded his expectations in its calmness. Perhaps amidst it was some distress and struggle, but after all, she didn’t let her mentality collapse over it, and that was the best result.

Passing over this Chapter, Song Wei inquired about the day’s events, "Jinbao wasn’t too much, right?"

"Anyway, I hit him twice."

Wen Wan thought of her son riding on the sheep’s back, running over to bring her flower garlands and collecting little stones to fill the water pouch, and couldn’t help but secretly laugh.

The little guy was also resilient; apart from crying out, he didn’t weep or fuss, and afterwards, still cheekily grinned at her, acting as if he were carefree.