Chapter 71 The Simple Lang Zhizhi
Zhao Xian's heart skipped a beat.
The book contains a story about the female protagonist's pregnancy, but it doesn't happen at this time. This is because the female protagonist was injured when she gave birth to Xiu'er and was also angered by that scoundrel Jiang Wei. It took her several years to recover before she became pregnant again.
The child was lost and was mistakenly identified as the offspring of the villainous Prince Yu, causing the relationship between the male and female protagonists in the tragic novel to plummet to its lowest point.
Was the plot moved forward? Or was the plot rewritten?
His gaze fell on Li Lianniang's belly.
This child arrived a few years earlier than the planned storyline, so there shouldn't be any unexpected problems, right?
After much thought, she still wasn't sure, since pregnancy was a big deal. Zhao Xian looked at the physician's daughter and said, "From today onwards, you will move to the young mistress's courtyard to take care of her."
The female doctor nodded. "Yes."
"As for the eldest young master, inform him as soon as he returns. Even though the family physician cannot yet confirm whether it is a slippery pulse, we must still be extra careful."
Chi Lan and others echoed this sentiment.
Upon hearing that her mother had a slippery pulse, Jiang Shuxiu broke free from the wet nurse's hand, walked to her mother's side, and gently placed her hand on her abdomen, saying, "Little brother."
Li Lianniang reached out and tapped her daughter's nose. "The physician isn't even sure yet, and you already know it's a younger brother?"
Zhao Xian thought of the plot in the book, where Li Lianniang miscarried. She had been pregnant for more than five months, almost six months, but the sex of the baby was already clear at that time. It was a boy.
Yingchun entered the room and reported, "Madam, word has come from the front courtyard that the carriage to Guluo Temple is ready."
Zhao Xian glanced at Li Lianniang and said, "Lianniang won't be going to Guluo Temple this time. She should stay home and rest more. You, Granny, should also stay and help with the household chores. Don't let Lianniang get tired."
Granny He readily agreed, "Yes, this old servant understands."
Li Lianniang didn't want to spoil the mood, especially since she had just agreed yesterday, "Mother, I'm fine, I..."
Zhao Xian: "You're not feeling well right now. It's not like you can just say you're fine and expect to be fine. What if you get bumped or fall on the way? You're still very far along in your pregnancy, so don't overexert yourself. Stay home and I'll bring you a gift when I get back."
The trip to Guluo Temple could not be delayed, as it had already been arranged. Although the prefectural doctor was not entirely certain, Li Lianniang clearly could not afford to travel.
Zhao Xian's gaze fell on Jiang Shuxiu, who was standing right next to her mother. "Sister Xiu, are you going to Guluo Temple with your grandmother? You can take this opportunity to ask for amulets for your mother and the baby in your belly."
Jiang Shuxiu was about to shake her head. Her mother had been depressed for a long time after her miscarriage in her previous life, and she didn't want her mother to be hurt again. But after hearing the second half of the sentence, she immediately nodded, "Go and ask for the peace and safety talisman."
She is too young and not strong enough. Rather than staying by her mother's side, she would rather pray to Buddha and ask for her younger brother to be born safely.
Jiang Shuxiu often wondered if she had really been reborn. Why were so many things different in this life compared to her previous one? Although the people were still the same, their personalities had changed a lot.
Especially my grandmother, her kindness meant that none of the servants around her made things difficult for her and my mother.
Instead of spending her days in tears, Mother started smiling more often.
Even her father wasn't as repulsive as he was in her previous life.
Guluo Temple was even more bustling than when Zhao Xian visited last year.
Perhaps it was related to the end of the imperial examinations, but men and women would come in groups, or elders would come to burn incense and pray to Buddha. Some were fulfilling vows, but most were making prayers, especially before the results of the spring imperial examinations were announced.
The incense in front of the Bodhisattva burned exceptionally brightly.
“Mother, isn’t that Miss Liu?” Cui Tingyue asked, pointing to the person under a huge marriage tree.
Liu Pan'er should be at home copying "Rules for Women" and "Precepts for Women" right now, why is she here asking for a marriage match?
Zhao Xian had previously thought that the Liu family members were not very bright, as evidenced by their perfunctory attitude towards the Empress when they sent apologies.
Zhao Xian looked over and saw that Liu Pan'er, a lady from a prominent family, was not wearing a veil. "The two people beside her are the Lang siblings."
The palace has already explained that Lang Zhizhi was talking nonsense, and that Liu Pan'er is still with the Lang siblings.
They seemed to be chatting and laughing without any barriers between them.
Cui Tingyue was speechless.
Ignoring Liu Pan'er, the group went to the Zen temple.
The servants put the things away neatly.
Not long after settling in the Zen temple, Han Mu arrived and said, "This junior greets Madam Jiang."
"Young Master Han, there's no need for such formalities." Zhao Xian raised her hand, and couldn't help but glance at Han Mu a few more times. This man was extremely handsome and had no disabilities, so why was he still unmarried at the age of twenty-two?
Cui Tingyue, having finished tidying up, came over and curtsied, saying, "Young Master Han."
Zhao Xian looked at the two of them and said, "The scenery at Guluo Temple is quite nice. Why don't you go and take a look?"
Lou Bai has already informed him to investigate, but it's unclear when the results will be available. The main issue is that the Han family doesn't live in Jin'an, so the investigation will be quite troublesome.
Since it was just two young people getting to know each other, Zhao Xian didn't interfere too much. She only arranged for a maid to follow her closely, while the guards protected her from a distance.
After Cui Tingyue left with Han Mu, Jiang Shuxiu also hurried outside, as she still needed to pray for her mother and younger brother.
As Jiang Shuxiu emerged from the main hall, she clutched a fortune stick she had drawn tightly in her hand. Judging from her expression, it was a good one.
"Madam Jiang."
As soon as the woman spoke, her two maids, Peony and Yingchun, stepped in front of her, blocking her from getting any closer.
Zhao Xian had been looking down at Jiang Shuxiu, but upon hearing this, she slightly raised her eyelids.
Although she called out to her, Zhao Xian recognized her immediately from her eyes that she was not Lang Qingwan.
Based on previous observations, Lang Qingwan and Lang Zhizhi's memories are not interconnected.
Zhao Xian remembered that she had never shown her face in front of Lang Zhizhi, and besides, she was wearing a veiled hat, so Lang Zhizhi shouldn't know her.
Why is Lang Zhizhi alone? Wasn't she with Lang Mingxuan and Liu Pan'er?
“Madam Jiang, my surname is Lang. I’m sure you know me. I have something to say about your son and me.”
Such blunt words! Although Zhao Xian herself doesn't mince words, she's never been this direct, and even a bit impulsive.
"There are too many people here, it's not convenient to talk. Miss Lang, would you please come with me to the Zen temple to sit down and we can discuss this in detail?"
Because the scientific expedition was over, the incense at Guluo Temple was very strong, with worshippers coming and going everywhere. Blocking the entrance was not a solution.
It also makes it easy for people to see it as a spectacle.
Lang Zhizhi was surprised that she was so easy to talk to. She paused for a moment, then nodded slightly: "Y-yes."
Zhao Xian also thought she was easy to talk to and knew the other person's character, so she went if invited.
The Zen temple had stone tables and benches. After entering the temple, Shaoyao removed Zhao Xian's veil.
Upon seeing the face beneath the veil, Lang Zhizhi froze for a moment, then asked incredulously, "Sister, you're so young, yet your son is so grown up?"
Zhao Xian pursed her lips. Their thought processes were quite similar. After all, when she first arrived, she was also shocked when she saw this face in the bronze mirror. The face of someone in their thirties looked just like hers when she was in her twenties, or even better maintained, without showing any signs of aging.
Jiang Shuxiu was held by her wet nurse and sat on a stone bench, looking curiously at the strange woman opposite her.
Who is the son of the grandmother she mentioned? Is it her father or her second uncle?
The servants brought tea and snacks.
Zhao Xian raised her hand, "Miss Lang, please have some tea."
Lang Zhizhi glanced at the tea and snacks on the table, feeling a sense of dread. She was the kind of person who couldn't keep a secret. "I heard that the lady is spreading rumors in the palace that I am lying."
Zhao Xian paused, her hand still holding the tea lid and fiddling with the tea leaves.
Rumors? Her?
“If the young lady is referring to the matter of you saving my son’s life, then it is not a rumor, but a statement of the facts.”
As Lang Zhizhi spoke, her clear eyes turned angry. "In Changzhou, Jiang Wei encountered an assassin, and I took a knife for him. I still have the wound on my arm. I don't care that he has amnesia, but your Jiang family actually helped him cover it up and even tried to distort the truth and smear me. Don't you think you are shameless?"
“Miss Lang, we’ve met once before.”
Lang Zhizhi was very angry and her emotions were running high, but Zhao Xian interrupted her anger with a casual remark, "Huh? When?"
Zhao Xian: "Around the 24th or 25th of the twelfth lunar month before the New Year, when it was time to purchase New Year's gifts, you went to the Jiang family with Qi Zhengheng, the young master of the Qi family. You said that you were not my son's savior, that it was a misunderstanding, and that you were just talking nonsense because you were delirious."
"Is that so?" Lang Zhizhi's face showed a guilty and annoyed expression. She did have Qi Zhengheng take her to the Jiang family. She couldn't help but raise her hand to touch her nose. "I don't remember. I was sick during the New Year period and lost some memories."
lie.
Zhao Xian had observed Lang Qingwan and Lang Zhizhi for quite some time. At that time, Lang Qingwan was the main controller of the body, but now it was almost entirely Lang Zhizhi, and Lang Qingwan showed no signs of emerging.
Judging from Lang Zhizhi's reaction, she knew of Lang Qingwan's existence, but their memories were not connected.
Zhao Xian couldn't help but recall the original owner's past, but without any prompts, she felt her mind was blank and there were no images.
How similar these situations are!
Suddenly, the pain in her thumb woke her up; she had unconsciously pinched herself.
Looking at Lang Zhizhi in front of her, Zhao Xian felt a complex mix of emotions. "Lost your memory? In that case, could it be that you, Miss Lang, have misremembered and mistakenly believe that you are my son's savior, when in fact there is no such thing?"
Lang Zhizhi raised her hand to her arm and pointed, saying, "This is impossible, the injuries are still there."
"The injury only shows that you were injured before, it doesn't mean that you took a knife for someone else. Does the young lady really not remember those things? Or is she deliberately not thinking about them? Falsely accusing an official of the imperial court is punishable by a beating."
Even if they share the same body and their memories are somewhat blocked or separated, she doesn't believe there's no way to understand if she really wants to.
Because they were from the same hometown, Zhao Xian had been avoiding Lang Zhizhi. On the one hand, she felt comforted by having a like-minded person around, but on the other hand, she saw that they were two souls in one body, and she was struggling with her inner conflict.
I might as well not look at it or think about it, and just let nature take its course.
Actually, pointing out that she has one soul in two bodies is the best solution, but for some reason Zhao Xian just can't bring herself to say it.
Jiang Liangxu had also warned her not to reveal her identity.
Upon hearing her last sentence, Lang Zhizhi's expression changed.
"You mean I'm trying to extort you? Do I have any reason to? Who do you think I am?"
As Lang Zhizhi spoke, she suddenly stood up, and the movement was so large that she knocked over the teacup, which shattered on the ground.
The tea was scalding hot, so she quickly stepped back to avoid it.
Peony and her maid cleaned up the spilled teacups very quickly, without anyone saying a word.
Before long, a maid brought over another cup of fresh tea.
Lang Zhizhi bit her lip and muttered to herself, "Wait a minute, shouldn't she have called me ill-mannered and told me to kneel down?"
Hearing the soft murmurs, Zhao Xian frowned slightly. Did she also have a storyline?
Suddenly, a guard came to report: "Madam, that young master Lang has arrived. As soon as Miss Liu heard that it was Madam who invited her, she lifted her skirt and ran away. The Liu family guards blocked her way, and I was unable to bring him here."
Zhao Xian picked up her teacup and took a sip. "Let Young Master Lang in."
Lang Zhizhi asked, somewhat puzzled, "What do you want to do?"
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