Chapter 86: Rain marks and old characters startle the broken dream, half a scroll of poetry and books identifies the previous life
The late spring rain came suddenly. The sky had been clear just moments before, but now it was covered in fine raindrops, which rustled against the wisteria leaves. Xiaoyanzi and Ziwei had just returned to the study to take shelter when a maid came in carrying a rosewood box. "Miss, I found this while sorting through the old lady's belongings. She said she brought it from Jiangnan. Perhaps there's something related to Jinan in it."
The wooden box was secured with a small copper lock. Xiaoyanzi removed the silver hairpin from her hair and gently pried it open, clicking the lock open. Inside, covered in royal blue brocade, lay several yellowed poetry volumes, a sandalwood fan, and an exquisitely framed scroll. Ziwei's eyes were immediately drawn to the scroll, and her fingertips gently brushed the brocade. "This material... is very similar to the brocade box my mother left behind."
Xiaoyanzi picked up the sandalwood fan, its ribs made of warm bamboo. Unfolding it, she saw a painting of lotus flowers from Daming Lake, painted in vibrant ink. Next to it was a line of small characters: "Raindrops hit the lotuses, pearls falling onto a plate. Take a moment to relax by Daming Lake." The brushstrokes were elegant and unrestrained. Just as she was about to admire it, Ziwei's finger paused at the signature, and her whole body trembled.
"What's wrong?" Xiaoyanzi leaned over to take a look, and saw only two small characters in the signature: Hongli.
Ziwei's face paled instantly, and her fingertips trembled as she traced the two characters, her breathing quickening. She had heard her mother tell her father since childhood that when they first met, he had given her the name "Hongli," but her mother had never mentioned the significance of the name. These days, she'd overheard neighbors in the capital gossip occasionally mentioning "The current emperor's name is Hongli, and he was granted the title of Prince Bao before ascending the throne." She'd dismissed it as a coincidence, but now, seeing those two characters suddenly appear on the fan, in the exact same handwriting her mother had described, her heart pounded like thunder.
"Ziwei? What's wrong with you? You look so pale." Xiaoyanzi held her arm and saw that her lips were pale and her eyes were straight. Her heart skipped a beat - bad, she saw it after all.
Ziwei suddenly looked up and grabbed Xiaoyanzi's hand. Her voice was filled with tears and trembling with disbelief. "Xiaoyanzi... Hongli... is the name of the current emperor, right? Prince Bao Hongli..." Her tears welled up instantly. "My mother said that the name my father used in Jinan was Hongli..."
Raindrops pattered against the window lattice, and the study fell silent, save for Ziwei's suppressed sobs. Trembling, she opened the scroll, revealing a painting titled "Rainy Scene on Daming Lake." It depicted Daming Lake on a rainy day. Standing in a pavilion by the lake were a man and a woman, the man in royal blue attire, the woman in a plain cloak, watching the rain fall side by side. In the corner of the painting, the characters "Hongli" were also inscribed, alongside a smaller line of text: "In the spring of the thirteenth year, rain fell on Daming Lake, and the fragrance of lotus flowers lingered on my clothes."
"Thirteen years..." Ziwei muttered to herself, tears blurring her vision. "I'm sixteen this year. My mother said I was born in the third year after she left Jinan... It just so happens..." She covered her mouth, tears falling through her fingers, "So... So my father..."
Xiaoyanzi watched her excited and frightened expression, feeling both anxious and distressed. She had known the truth for a long time, but had never dared to speak it out, fearing Ziwei wouldn't be able to handle the sudden shock of her new identity, and even more afraid she'd act rashly like she had in her previous life. Seeing Ziwei figure it out herself, she could only pat her back gently and say softly, "Don't worry, maybe it's just a coincidence. There are so many people with the same name and surname in the world."
"It's not a coincidence!" Ziwei shook her head, pulling out the half jade pendant her mother had left behind from her sleeve and comparing it to the lotus pattern on the fan. "Look, the pattern on this jade pendant is exactly the same as the lotus on the fan! And there's also the letter my mother left behind, saying that my father is 'of noble status, connected to the world.' Who else but the emperor could be so worthy of these words?"
Her voice trailed off, filled with disbelief and panic. "So, Fifth Prince... Yongqi..." Ziwei suddenly remembered the Yongqi she had met that morning. That gentle, polite young man was actually her half-brother. She felt dizzy and steadied herself by holding onto the desk. "I actually... spoke so much to him without even knowing who he was..."
Xiaoyanzi supported her shaky body and sighed inwardly. What was to come would eventually come. Instead of hiding it from her and letting her speculate, it would be better to slowly guide her to accept it. She took out a handkerchief to wipe Ziwei's tears and said softly, "Even if it's true, there's nothing to be afraid of. Your father and your mother had a relationship in the past, so he left a token of love. If he knew he had a daughter like you, he would definitely be happy."
"But... he's the emperor..." Ziwei's tears fell again. "The palace is so big, with so many rules. Will he disown me? Will he think I'm trying to curry favor with someone powerful?" She grabbed Xiaoyanzi's hand like a lifeline. "Xiaoyanzi, I'm scared... I just want to find my father and tell him that mother missed him until her death. I don't want to get involved in those disputes..."
The rain outside the window gradually grew heavier, crackling against the banana leaves. Little Swallow looked at Ziwei's pale face and made a secret resolution: she would never let the tragedy of her previous life repeat itself. She held Ziwei's cold hand, her eyes firm. "Don't be afraid, I'm here. Even if he's the emperor, he's still your father. Now's not the time. Wait until my brother finds out everything. When the time is right, we'll find a way to make him recognize you as his daughter."
She picked up the painting "Rainy Scene on Ming Lake" and carefully examined the woman's cloak. "Look at the embroidery on this cloak. Doesn't it look very similar to the purse your mother left you? This shows that he has always remembered your mother, otherwise he wouldn't have kept the painting for so many years."
Ziwei looked at the woman in the painting, as if she saw her mother herself back then. Her tears slowly stopped. She gently stroked the paper, her voice choking with sobs, "My mother said it was a rainy day just like this. She was taking shelter in a pavilion by Daming Lake when she met my father... He held an umbrella for her, talked about poetry with her, and said her name was like a lotus in the rain..."
Xiaoyanzi helped her fold up the scroll and placed it back in the wooden box along with the sandalwood fan. "These are important keepsakes and must be kept safe. We can't make it public just yet. The palace is different from the common people. We must proceed cautiously until we find solid evidence, then we can proceed step by step." She looked at Ziwei's reddened eyes and added, "Don't worry, I promise I will help you meet him and let him know the story of your mother and you."
Ziwei sniffed and nodded emphatically, feeling a mixture of emotions. The father she'd been searching for turned out to be the most noble man in the world; the gentle young man she'd met this morning turned out to be her brother. The overwhelming shock left her dizzy, yet a faint glimmer of hope emerged—perhaps her mother's obsession could finally find a happy ending in this life.
The rain gradually subsided, and sunlight filtered through the clouds into the study, casting dappled shadows on the ground. Ziwei clutched the wooden box tightly in her arms, as if holding a mother's final instructions. Little Swallow observed her cautious expression and silently said to herself, "Ziwei, wait a little longer. When the time is right, I will allow you to openly recognize your father. I will protect you in this life."
The wisteria outside the window, washed bright by the rain, its shimmering purple petals clung to water droplets, like scattered diamonds. Two girls huddled against the window, one harboring a terrifying secret, the other a promise to protect. On this late spring afternoon, the threads of fate had quietly tangled ever tighter.
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