Su Xuening and Su Yun'an naturally knew that the symbolic totem of the Western Liang royal family was the totem of the Vermilion Bird divine beast.
Su Yun'an asked curiously, "How was the Vermilion Bird totem transferred onto the paper?"
It doesn't look like it's painted or thorned, so how did they get it there?
Duanmu Junyu explained, “Our Western Liang royal family has a national treasure, the Vermilion Bird Seal, which has the totem of the Vermilion Bird mythical beast on it. The Vermilion Bird totem on the back of the direct descendants of our Western Liang royal family is made by heating the Vermilion Bird Seal red-hot and then branding it onto their backs.”
Su Yun'an frowned as she listened: "Doesn't that hurt a lot? Xiao Bao is still so young!"
Isn't this the branding punishment of the Eastern Chu? Using such a cruel method to imprint totems on such a young child, isn't that a bit inhumane?
Su Xuening frowned and glanced at the little baby in her arms who didn't understand anything and was staring at them with wide eyes.
Duanmu Junyu knew this was indeed somewhat cruel, and said with a wry smile, "This is the only way for the Western Liang royal family to make rubbings of the Vermilion Bird totem throughout the ages!"
Only those items that have been rubbingd by the Western Liang national treasure can be considered true direct descendants of the Western Liang royal family.
Duanmu Junyu then looked at Su Xuening and Su Yun'an and said, "After you truly acknowledge your ancestors and return to your clan, you will also need to make rubbings of the Vermilion Bird totem."
Su Xuening and Su Yun'an exchanged a glance, but neither of them said anything.
In fact, they never thought about acknowledging their ancestry, because they never considered themselves to be the royal family of Western Liang. Although they were still being hunted down by Eastern Chu, they still considered themselves to be people of Eastern Chu from the bottom of their hearts.
After all, Dongchu was where they grew up. Even though their father and mother weren't from Dongchu, they still felt closer to Dongchu!
Seeing that they seemed to have some unspeakable trouble, Duanmu Junyu frowned and said, "Don't you want to acknowledge your ancestors?"
Su Yun'an didn't dare to speak.
Su Xuening looked at Duanmu Junyu and sighed softly, "It's not that we don't want to acknowledge our ancestors, it's that we've never thought about it. In our hearts, we might still consider ourselves to be people of Eastern Chu. Although we've come to Western Liang now, it's because of you, Mother, not because you are the Empress of Western Liang. Of course, if you need us to acknowledge our ancestors, we can."
Anyway, her father wasn't a biological child of the Su family. Although her grandparents treated her father well, Su Renyi and Su Huiyan had caused her and Yun'an a terrible fate, so they didn't necessarily have to acknowledge the Su family's ancestors!
Therefore, if their mother really needed them and Yun'an to join the Western Liang royal family, then for their mother's sake, they were willing.
Su Yun'an nodded in agreement, saying, "Sister is right. As long as Mother needs us, my sister and I will do anything."
Actually, he had always thought that the Su family's roots were in Su Family Village, but when he returned to Su Family Army, he learned that his father was not born to his grandfather and grandmother, and even his grandfather and grandmother did not have the surname Su. So the Su family ancestor was really not that important.
As for their father, they haven't even figured out whether he's really in Northern Wei yet, and there's no need to care!
Seeing how understanding her two children were, Duanmu Junyu felt relieved: "Of course, your mother hopes that you can recognize your ancestors and return to the family. It's not just because of the pressure from the officials of Xiliang, but also because you are indeed my children, my bloodline. I don't want you to be left out in the world, but I hope that you can recognize your ancestors and return to my side."
Su Xuening had observed how her mother had treated her and Yun'an these past two days. She also understood her mother's current situation and difficulties in Xiliang: "As long as Mother needs us, we can return to our ancestral home at any time."
Su Yun'an nodded in agreement.
Duanmu Junyu was happy, and then glanced at the baby in her arms: "Then the baby..."
She not only wanted them to be recognized as ancestors, but also wanted Xiaobao to be recognized as ancestors.
Not only are they her blood relatives, but Xiao Bao is too; Xiao Bao is her grandson!
Seeing that she was still thinking about Xiao Bao, Su Xuening was both amused and exasperated: "This... I need to discuss it with Xuan Yuanzhan."
She naturally had no objection to letting Xiaobao recognize the ancestors of the Western Liang royal family and be included in the Western Liang royal family's genealogy!
However, Xiao Bao isn't just her child, so for such an important matter, she should ask Xuan Yuanzhan for his opinion.
Xuanyuan Zhan is a member of the Eastern Chu royal family, and Xiao Bao is also of Eastern Chu royal blood. If Xiao Bao were to acknowledge the ancestors of the Western Liang royal family, what would happen to Eastern Chu? Xuanyuan Zhan probably wouldn't agree to that!
Duanmu Junyu frowned and said, "What is there to discuss? You are the princess of Xiliang, so your children will naturally be included in the Xiliang royal family genealogy. What is there to discuss? After you take the surname Duanmu, Xiaobao will also take the surname Duanmu from you."
She didn't utter a sound when she mentioned Xuanyuan Xi before.
She was a princess of the Western Liang Dynasty, so how could her child have the surname Xuanyuan? It must have the surname Duanmu!
Su Xuening blinked in bewilderment. She wanted Xiaobao to have the surname Duanmu, so Xuan Yuanzhan was even less likely to agree!
Seeing Su Xuening's troubled expression, Su Yun'an quickly stepped in to smooth things over, saying, "Mother, Xiao Bao is still so young, not even a month old yet. Let's talk about Xiao Bao recognizing his ancestors later. Xiao Bao is also my brother-in-law's bloodline, so we should discuss it with him first!"
Duanmu Junyu disagreed: "Our royal totem of Western Liang needs to be made on the day of the full moon, so these things must be discussed before Xiaobao's full moon."
Seeing Duanmu Junyu's persistence, Su Xuening had no choice but to say, "Well then, the baby isn't even a month old yet. I'll ask Mother Consort when I have the chance."
Xuanyuan Zhan is currently in Dongchu, and may not be able to make it in time for Xiaobao's one-month celebration.
Therefore, she definitely couldn't discuss it with Xuanyuan Zhan, but she could first ask her mother for her opinion and sound out her mother's opinion to see if her mother agreed.
If the mother strongly objects, then Xiao Bao cannot be included in the Western Liang royal family's genealogy, nor can he change his surname to Duanmu.
Of course, if Mother Consort is willing, then we can discuss it further. It's not that just because Mother Consort agrees, we should immediately put Xiao Bao into the Western Liang royal family genealogy. She still has to consider Xuan Yuanzhan's feelings.
Duanmu Junyu could only nod when she heard Su Xuening say that.
If the Empress Dowager were not present, they could completely disregard her concerns. However, since the Empress Dowager is now in Xiliang, it is indeed necessary to discuss such an important matter with her.
"Alright, then find an opportunity to talk to the Dowager."
Su Xuening nodded, then looked at Duanmu Junyu and asked, "Doesn't Mother have official duties to attend to?"
My mother received her master's treatment early in the morning and then slept all morning. As the Empress of Western Liang, she must have state affairs to attend to.
Duanmu Junyu remembered the pile of memorials and sighed as she put Xiaobao back next to Su Xuening: "I do have official business to attend to. I'll go take care of it first. You get some rest and take good care of Xiaobao."
As Duanmu Junyu spoke, she patted Su Yun'an's head again: "You can't bother your sister."
Su Yun'an pouted: "Mother really treats me like a child. Don't worry, go ahead and do your work. I'll take care of my sister."
Duanmu Junyu was amused by him and went to handle state affairs with great satisfaction.
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