CHAPTER 409: CHAPTER 377: HAVE YOU EVER LOST A DAUGHTER?

When Lu Xingzhou and his wife were leaving the palace, they saw Song Wei standing outside the Imperial City Gate, as if he had been waiting for a long time.

Seeing them, Song Wei stepped forward and respectfully called out, "Father-in-law, Mother-in-law."

Then, he turned his gaze to the little one beside Fanghua.

The little one was fair and chubby, with big, round eyes.

When Song Wei looked at him, he also looked at Song Wei.

Their eyes met, and the little one blinked twice, not frightened at all, looking very well-behaved.

Song Wei had always been patient with children, and at the moment, looking at his young brother-in-law, his expression softened, and he quietly called, "Yan Li?"

The little one didn’t know why the other person knew his name and instinctively turned to look at his parents.

Lu Xingzhou looked back at his son with a smile and said, "This is your brother-in-law."

"Brother-in-law~," the little one obediently and softly called out.

Song Wei laughed and asked him, "Is Yan Li going home?"

The little one looked at his mother again.

Fanghua didn’t answer for him, "Your brother-in-law is asking you a question, why don’t you answer?"

The little one thought for a long time, only nodding his head, and let out a "mm" from his nose.

Song Wei asked him again, "Do you want to stay a few more days to play?"

The little one couldn’t make up his mind and dared not answer.

Lu Xingzhou looked at Song Wei: "Third Son came all this way, is there something going on?"

Song Wei no longer beat around the bush and said directly, "Wanwan made two sets of clothes for Yan Li, wants to give them to him personally. Now most of the teahouses and taverns are closed, so we can’t invite Father-in-law and Mother-in-law to eat, let’s go to Mirror Lake, where there’s a painting boat. Let’s consider it a lake tour since the weather is hot."

Seeing that he had already arranged for the meeting matters in advance, Lu Xingzhou was satisfied at heart, "Your mother-in-law and I always have time, whatever you arrange is fine."

...

The meeting was arranged for the next day.

There were two carriages at home; Song Wei arranged one to go to the Lu Family to pick them up, while he took Wen Wan and Jinbao in another directly to Mirror Lake.

Before leaving, Granny Song had asked, but Song Wei only said it was because the Empress Dowager had passed away and there was something to handle, not mentioning Lu Xingzhou’s family at all.

Granny Song didn’t understand much, so she naturally took it as truth.

In the carriage, Wen Wan was in a daze.

She had a bundle on her lap, inside were the two sets of clothes she made for Lu Yanli, her fingers clutching it slightly.

The restless Jinbao was jumping up and down beside her, but she seemed not to notice.

Song Wei said, "No need to be nervous, just treat it as an ordinary meeting."

Wen Wan was lost in thought for a long while, suddenly asking, "Husband, when I see her later, should I ask for a reason?"

These days, she dreamt of getting an answer.

A Royal Princess falling into a small place like Ningzhou might have been due to an unexpected disaster; she could understand.

But what does her existence count for then?

She didn’t even know if she was wanted when she was born.

...

The Lu Family was closer to Mirror Lake; by the time Song Wei’s family got off the carriage, Lu Xingzhou and his family had already arrived, sitting on the lakeside enjoying the breeze.

Jinbao helped his mother with the bundle, while Wen Wan inadvertently saw the woman in the pavilion who shared similar features with her and halted her steps, forgetting to move forward.

To meet her daughter, Fanghua had deliberately changed out of her mourning clothes, though, during the mourning period, she wore very plainly. After enduring for some time, her spirits were not too high, and even with deliberate touch-ups before leaving, cosmetics couldn’t hide the weariness in her eyes.

Noticing the gaze from the other side, Fanghua raised her eyes, saw Wen Wan standing still, and naturally waved to her, "Wanwan, come and sit."

Seeing the harmonious family of three, Wen Wan thought of her father far away in Ningzhou, and her heart was filled with mixed emotions.

A man’s low and steady voice reached her ears, "You go sit there first, I’ll go rent a painting boat."

Wen Wan obediently nodded and walked over with her son.

Seeing a little playmate, Jinbao called out without thinking, "Little brother~"

Lu Xingzhou chuckled lightly.

Wen Wan was embarrassed and quickly corrected her son, "That’s not your little brother, that’s your uncle."

Jinbao scratched his head, struggling to accept that he had to call a baby younger than himself "uncle."

He was full of confusion, and after pondering, he still called out, "Brother."

Wen Wan: "..."

Fanghua laughed, "Little guy, calling wrongly will get you a smack on the butt."

Jinbao feared being smacked, so he quickly corrected himself, covering his behind with his hand and hesitantly changing his words, "Uncle~"

Lu Yanli didn’t understand what they were saying at all, let alone what the word uncle meant, only curiously observing the peer in front of him who was about the same age.

He wasn’t as active as Jinbao, obediently sitting by his mother’s side, with his small back straight.

Facing this couple, Wen Wan suddenly didn’t know how to address them and remained silent.

Lu Xingzhou broke the silence first, "Isn’t Third Son renting the boat over there?"

Wen Wan responded with a "Hmm," without looking at him.

Fanghua patted the stone stool beside her, "Wanwan, don’t stand, come and sit for a while."

Wen Wan looked at her overly active son, found an excuse, "Jinbao is jumping up and down, hard to manage, I’d rather stand."

Soon after, Song Wei returned, saying that the boat was ready, inviting everyone to go over.

Lu Xingzhou and Fanghua stood up one after the other.

As Fanghua was about to pull her son, a small chubby hand got ahead of her.

Jinbao took care of his younger uncle, reaching out to help him up from the stone stool.

Lu Yanli rarely had a little companion, feeling delighted inside, but because the counterpart was a stranger at first meet, he felt somewhat scared, hurriedly ran to his mother’s side, afraid of being bullied by a "bad person."

Seeing this, Fanghua softly comforted him, "Don’t be afraid, Jinbao is not a bad person."

She originally wanted to say: Jinbao is your elder nephew.

The words felt inappropriate at her lips, so she swallowed them back.

Lu Yanli, listening to his mother’s words, reflexively looked at Jinbao, discovering that the little companion ahead, being led by his own mother, suddenly turned back and made a funny face at him.

Lu Yanli found it amusing, and he giggled.

Aboard the boat, Lu Xingzhou and Song Wei went into the inner cabin to talk.

Wen Wan stood on the deck.

Seeing she wouldn’t go inside, Fanghua stopped, waited for the two little ones to play aside, then looked at Wen Wan, who was holding the rail with one hand and a bundle with the other, speaking gently, "You seem downcast right from the start, have you encountered something troubling?"

Wen Wan turned to look at Fanghua, briefly dazed, then handed the bundle over, "Inside are two sets of clothes I made for Yanli myself, hope you won’t find them humble."

Fanghua didn’t expect that she would personally make clothes for Yanli, emotions surging, she reached out to accept them, her throat slightly moved, "Wanwan, you are so thoughtful."

Wen Wan tugged at her lips, "I tailored them according to Jinbao’s size when he was two, not sure if they fit."

Fanghua opened the bundle casually, took a piece out to have a look, complimenting Wen Wan’s craftsmanship while saying, "The size looks about the same as Yanli’s, should be fitting."

After putting the clothes back into the bundle, Fanghua said, "You’re busy with the Hongwen Academy and caring for the child, yet you still think of making clothes for Lu Yanli? Needlework harms the eyes, leave such matters to the servants in the future."

Wen Wan gazed at the lake surface ruffled by the breeze, uttered slowly, "I’ve already dropped out, no longer going to Hongwen Academy."

Fanghua felt somewhat surprised, "Why did you drop out?"

It’s hard to come by a chance to enter Hongwen Academy, once voluntarily quitting midway, it’s impossible to get back in.

"To return home and care for the child." Wen Wan said, "I want to fulfill my responsibilities and obligations as a biological mother as much as possible."

That statement left Fanghua at a loss for words.

Wen Wan said, "I grew up without a mother, more aware than anyone, many things left untaught by a mother can lead to pitfalls in the future."

"..." Fanghua felt increasingly speechless.

Wen Wan turned around, leaning her back against the vermilion rail, scanning her eyes towards Fanghua, "I nearly forgot to congratulate you on having a big, chubby son."

Even if not explicitly stated, Fanghua, being her biological mother, connected by heart, couldn’t help but sense the faint discord from the meetup till now, seemingly never hearing her call out "godmother" to her.

Fanghua’s hand holding the bundle slightly tightened around the knuckles, "Wanwan, do you have something you wish to say to me?"

Wen Wan met her mother’s eyes, her gaze appeared steady, yet inside was already turbulent.

Before coming, she imagined how she would react upon meeting her biological mother.

Would she steel herself and continue pretending and playing along, or burst into tears immediately and reconcile with her mother, asking her to return to that home?

When genuinely meeting face to face, especially up close, clearly noticing her mother’s tired look and weariness between the brows, Wen Wan suddenly felt at a loss for words.

Perhaps an innate, unbreakable fixation for "mother," even though she no longer needs her constant care, Wen Wan couldn’t utter hurtful words.

Her lips moved slightly, she asked, "Have you ever lost a daughter?"