Chapter 167: Only One Child
"The prince just happened to be eighteen this year. How could such a coincidence happen?"
Xie Suzhou's eyes were cold, and his tone was even more distant. "When the biological child was lost, the adopted son came. Madam, have you ever really missed your biological son?"
"There's a rumor in the capital that the Duke of Su's son broke his leg on the battlefield. The Duke and his wife climbed a thousand stone steps and cleared the grounds of Fo'an Temple to pray for the prince." Xie Suzhou curled his lips coldly, a hint of sarcasm flashing in his eyes. "What a deep mother-son love."
"That's not the case..." Gu Yunchang hurried to explain to him, treating Xie Suzhou, who looked 70% like her, as her own son, fearing that he would misunderstand her. "Eighteen years ago, I lost my only son. I was so heartbroken that I wanted to hang myself and follow that child, but..."
"Madam, there's no need to say more." Xie Suzhou looked at her coldly, his tone calm, "I have memories from before I was four years old. I grew up in Xinghua Village all those years and have never been anywhere else."
"My wife and I are not mother and son."
After he finished speaking, he covered the wound on his shoulder, turned around and left without even looking back.
"Xie Suzhou..." Gu Yunchang chased forward and wanted to talk to him again, but was stopped by the men around him.
"Madam, our doctor is not feeling well. Please forgive him." An Zhicheng blocked her action, looked apologetic, and immediately caught up with the man.
Gu Yunchang's body went limp and she almost collapsed to the ground. If the maid beside her hadn't been quick to help her, she would have lost her composure in public.
"Madam, let's go back." The maid beside her said in a low voice with a distressed look on her face, "We can't rush this matter. This young master is avoiding people, and Madam can't force him."
Gu Yunchang stood up in a daze, looked at the Xie family's door plaque reluctantly, and had to turn around and leave.
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Duke Su's Mansion
Lu Garden
Monks and nuns were chanting scriptures on the side. Gu Yunchang was kneeling on the cushion, gently twisting the Buddhist beads with her fingertips. She looked dazed and couldn't calm down at all.
"Madam." The nun lowered her eyes and looked at her, with pity in her eyes. "If your heart is not here, even if you listen to the Buddhist scriptures, it is useless."
Gu Yunchang came back to her senses, looked at her apologetically, and said softly, "I was distracted."
The nun shook her head and sighed, putting down the Buddhist scriptures in her hands. "Madam, if your heart is full of weeds, no flowers will grow. Your mind is now focused on other things, which is not conducive to meditation and practice."
Gu Yunchang closed her eyes in pain, almost tearing the Buddhist beads in her hand apart. "If I can find my son, my heartache will be relieved."
"Madam, the prince requests an audience."
The maid came in to announce it. Gu Yunchang was stunned for a moment, her body visibly stiffened. After a moment, she slightly turned her head and whispered, "Please come in."
After removing the cushion, Gu Yunchang sat back in the hall and looked quietly towards the door.
Soon, a figure appeared at the door. A man was sitting on a wooden chair and was pushed into the house by a servant. Although it was spring, he had a cotton blanket covering his knees. Even though his collar was soaked with sweat, he never took off the blanket.
"Mother." Tang Song's knuckles turned white as he gripped the handle. His once healthy tan skin had turned a bit paler due to not leaving the house for months. He was so thin he looked unrecognizable, his cheeks sunken, and his eyes looking unusually large. "Mother, why didn't you go to Yue Garden to visit your son these past two days?"
Gu Yunchang lowered her eyes, her gaze landing on his unnaturally twisted right leg, and spoke softly, "Mother hasn't had time to come over these days, but the court doctor sent word that you're willing to go out of the house, bask in the sun, and listen to some music. That's already very good."
Tang Song raised his eyes to look at her, his eyes hiding an emotion that Gu Yunchang couldn't understand. His tone was unfriendly, "Why doesn't mother have time to come and see her son? Is it because someone has stopped you?"
Gu Yunchang's face darkened, and for the first time, she lost her temper with him. "How dare you! Is this how you speak to your elders? Do I need to give you, my son, a heads-up before I go somewhere?"
His mother rarely got angry, and Tang Song couldn't help but be stunned. He had lived in the Duke's Mansion for so many years, but he had never seen his mother get angry with him.
“Mother…Mother…”
Seeing the bewilderment that flashed across Tang Song's face, Gu Yunchang stiffened. After a long pause, she spoke softly, "Song'er, I've been very worried lately and have neglected you for a while. I apologize to you."
The step his mother offered him didn't make Tang Song let down his guard. Instead, his expression became even more serious. "Mother, what are you worried about? Why don't you talk to me? Maybe I can help."
Gu Yunchang concealed the annoyance in her eyes and had to patiently coax him, "Song'er, be good. This is an adult's business. You don't have to interfere."
Tang Song's eyes flashed with sarcasm, and he smiled, "Is this a matter between adults or between children? Mother, isn't it enough for you to have a son to fulfill your filial duty? Why are you so obsessed with finding your own child?"
Gu Yunchang was stunned for a moment, then she stood up suddenly and raised her voice, "What did you say!"
"Is my son wrong?" Tang Song's eyes flashed with tears. Unwilling to accept his words, he raised his voice and questioned, "Mother, your older brother left you when he was only four years old. Isn't the bond between us mother and son deeper? You raised me for so many years, can't that be compared to blood ties?"
Gu Yunchang could hardly believe her ears and murmured, "Who told you this?"
"It's me."
A man's voice came from the door. Gu Yunchang looked over and saw Duke Su, his face livid, slowly walking towards her. "Husband...how could it be you?"
"Of course it's me." Duke Su put his hands behind his back and looked at Gu Yunchang with eyes full of regret, "Yunchang, wake up, Chen'er is gone, and we only have Song'er as our son. Don't be stubborn anymore!"
"You..." Gu Yunchang's body went limp, and she suddenly fell into the chair. "You and your son are now of one mind. I just want to find my biological son back. He is a piece of flesh that fell from my body! What have I done wrong?"
Tang Song looked hurt and whispered, "When my father told me this, I didn't believe it at first, but now I see clearly that my mother has never considered me her own child."
Duke Su's face grew even colder, and his tone was impatient. "Yun Chang, Chen'er has already died in the fire. You even saw the corpse. Why are you still so convinced that Chen'er is alive?"
"You're talking nonsense!" Gu Yunchang got the strength from nowhere, stood up from the chair, and rushed to the Duke of Su. "You saw how much that child looks like me! His age is also--"
Before she could finish her words, the man who had loved her for thirty years suddenly raised his hand and slapped her in the face.
Gu Yunchang was knocked to the ground by a powerful blow, her ears buzzing.
"I'll say it again, between you and me, there can only be one child, Song'er."
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