"Even you're disgusted with me now?" The man couldn't help but frown, somewhat at a loss as he tried to comfort her.
Su Xuerong brought out the white fungus and pear soup and saw Xiao Shiyan carrying Yuan'er to a small pavilion in the backyard, sitting there blankly, seemingly lost in thought.
The little girl, Yuanjie, in his arms had a heartbreakingly sad face from crying.
Upon seeing Su Xuerong appear, Yuanjie immediately reached out and began to call out in a soft, babbling voice.
Su Xuerong hurriedly put down the soup bowl, picked up the child, and glared at Xiao Shiyan: "Yuan'er is crying like this, why don't you comfort her?"
Xiao Shiyan tilted his head and looked at her, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes.
Although he had concealed his identity at the time, Su Xuerong had always been gentle and considerate after marrying him, regarding him as her heaven and earth, and had never spoken to him in such a blaming tone.
Su Xuerong suddenly noticed that his gaze towards her was a little strange, and hurriedly said, "The baby is only five months old, doesn't it break your heart to see him crying like this?"
She recalled her time in the palace in her previous life.
When Yuanjie was five years old, Xu Wanjing held a banquet at the East Palace, inviting the female relatives of the imperial family to come and admire the flowers.
Among them were several young women from the Xu family, who brought several children about the same age as Yuan Jie'er to the East Palace. For some unknown reason, they joined forces and pushed Yuan Jie'er into the pond.
Fortunately, she was rescued in time and was not seriously injured.
However, Xu Wanjing accused Su Xuerong of deliberately letting Yuan Jie'er ruin her flower-viewing banquet, and directly imprisoned her in the cold palace, making her repent and start anew.
Later, it was only after the then Consort Shu pleaded with the Emperor that Xu Wanjing was released from the Cold Palace.
Su Xuerong went directly to her daughter's side hall, only to find Yuan Jie'er lying on the bed with a sallow complexion.
Only then did she learn that Xu Wanjing had not only banished her to the Cold Palace, but also locked Yuan'er in a dark room, starving her for three days and three nights. If someone hadn't asked Consort Shu to plead for her, Yuan'er would probably have been tortured to death long ago.
Su Xuerong was heartbroken. She wanted to ask Xiao Shiyan to stand up for her and her daughter, but all she got was a reprimand from the chief eunuch beside him: "It's because you, as the mother, failed to raise your daughter properly. What face do you have to come and beg me?"
From then on, Su Xuerong never contacted him again about the humiliation she and her daughter had suffered.
At that time, Xiao Shiyan's concubines had also borne him several children, so in Su Xuerong's eyes, he no longer cared about her and her daughter, and was even ashamed of her background...
Recalling all this, Su Xuerong became even more determined, coldly looking at the man who was tilting his head to look her over: "Your Highness, the identities of my mother and me are really not worthy of your attention, please let us go!"
Xiao Shiyan was trying to figure out Su Xuerong's thoughts and hadn't thought about it in that way at all. But when he suddenly heard the little woman say such heartless words, his face instantly darkened.
"Xue Rong, have you thought this through?"
He had originally planned to spend some time with her tonight to dispel her absurd idea.
Unexpectedly, she actually took it seriously?
It wasn't that he didn't care about the child, but that he didn't know how to comfort her!
As a result, his originally docile and sweet wife suddenly turned on him.
Although Xiao Shiyan had spent a few years among the common people, he still considered himself to be of noble birth and had been educated from a young age to be male superior to female, let alone the future Crown Prince.
He couldn't tolerate her acting so recklessly, and immediately said with a stern face, "If you really want a divorce, I can grant your wish!"
"But you need to think this through carefully, because there's absolutely no going back if you ever want to!"
When he said this, he was mostly trying to scare her and make her quickly give up this absurd idea.
Unexpectedly, Su Xuerong gave him a calm and composed smile.
Holding Yuan'er in her arms, she bowed deeply to Xiao Shiyan: "Thank you for your permission, Your Highness!"
For some reason, seeing her so composed made Xiao Shiyan feel a sudden panic. He stepped forward and grabbed her wrist: "Xue Rong, do you even have me in your heart?"
Looking at the panic in his eyes, Su Xuerong couldn't help but smile self-deprecatingly.
Back when she and her daughter were trapped in the Eastern Palace and had nowhere to escape because of Xu Wanjing, she asked the same question.
But what was his answer to her back then?
"Su, I went through countless difficulties to let you into the Eastern Palace. Otherwise, given your previous status, how could you have entered the palace?"
At that time, Xiao Shiyan was extremely impatient with Su Xuerong: "The Crown Princess has been more than kind to you and your daughter, you should be content!"
You should be content!
These words completely extinguished the last remaining affection Su Xuerong had for him.
Looking at the slightly aggrieved man in front of her, Su Xuerong couldn't bring herself to say anything heartless.
Regardless, Xiao Shiyan had not yet done anything to harm the mother and daughter at this time.
Su Xuerong immediately said softly, "Your Highness, don't you understand that if Yuan'er and I really follow you into the capital, we will definitely hinder your future. Rather than putting you in a difficult position, it's better to let go now."
Xiao Shiyan's expression darkened, and he found it difficult to express his feelings.
Just before he rushed back to Suzhou, his father had a face-to-face talk with him.
He subtly mentioned Su Xuerong, suggesting that he find a way to settle her in Suzhou and that she shouldn't have to go to the capital unless absolutely necessary.
As for their child, it doesn't matter since it's a girl. It's fine for her to stay in Suzhou. Just bestow upon her the title of Countess and let her enjoy royal treatment.
But he refused outright, determined to bring his wife to Beijing, and he couldn't just abandon his daughter.
The Emperor sighed with a hint of helplessness: "If you want the Xu family to help you in the future, the existence of the Su family is a problem. You should think about it carefully."
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