Chapter 191 Qinghe Knows
Seeing her father's tired face, Pei Qinghe sat down beside him with heartache, her voice low and sad: "Father, may I ask you, is Sister Sheng my mother?"
Pei Yanzhi opened his eyes and looked at him. "Why do you ask that?"
Her little head drooped slightly. "You all treat me like a child. I heard your conversation in the house today, but I didn't hear the whole thing."
"Since Sister Sheng is my mother, why didn't you tell me?"
Pei Yanzhi hadn't expected him to find out. He had originally planned to tell him after everything had settled down, but he didn't expect it to come so suddenly.
"Does she... not want to acknowledge me?"
The child's voice was blank, still reeling from the shock, and a subtle pain welled up in Pei Yanzhi's heart.
She pulled him onto her lap and whispered, "It's not that she doesn't want to acknowledge you. If she didn't, why would she allow you to call her 'Mother'?"
"...It's because Father Emperor did many things that hurt your mother. Every time she sees me, she's reminded of the past, which is why she's like this!"
Pei Qinghe looked up and said, "Then Father should apologize to Mother. The Grand Tutor often said that a good child is one who admits his mistakes and corrects them. Mother is such a good person, as long as Father admits his mistakes, she will definitely forgive you."
Pei Yanzhi couldn't help but smile bitterly after hearing this. He also wanted a chance to admit his mistake, but the person inside...
Every time I wanted to kill him, he never had the chance.
After the father and son left, Chunzhi became anxious, especially after seeing the man carry the child onto the carriage and disappear in the blink of an eye.
She rushed to the door and looked around, but there were no more carriages on either side of the street. "My lady, the young master is still so young, these are matters between adults..."
The sky had darkened without her noticing. Ji Shu slumped onto a stool, her hands supporting her forehead, a weariness seemingly seeping into her very bones.
After a long silence, a hoarse voice finally rang out: "They're gone?"
Chunzhi said in a low voice, "They left a long time ago. The young master was crying when they left."
"Zhi'er, do you think he might... make it so that I'll never see Qinghe again?"
A belated panic surged up. If that person really was gone, he might never see his child again in this life. As soon as this thought arose, he felt dizzy.
Chunzhi squatted down and looked at her earnestly, saying, "My lady, I think you should talk to that person properly. Your young master is currently very attached to you. If you part ways like this, you might regret it later."
"But I... I really don't want to have anything to do with him anymore."
"Since you are so reluctant to part with your young master, why don't you discuss with that person whether it would be a good thing for you if your young master could come to Ganzhou to stay for a period of time every year?"
Ji Shu's eyes suddenly lit up.
Yes, Qinghe doesn't need to inherit the throne. Pei Xingjian is the crown prince, and he will be the one to rule the country in the future.
If he could return Qinghe to her, she would agree to any unreasonable demands he made, as long as he could meet them.
Thinking of this, a hint of regret flashed in his eyes. How could he not have thought of this before? He had been blinded by anger.
You've offended someone for no reason.
When Chunzhi saw that her wife had finally come to her senses, she sighed inwardly: "This usually calm person, once she meets that person, is like a firework meeting a candle wick, burning up recklessly with a crackling sound."
As Ji Shu had predicted, Pei Yanzhi did not bring Qinghe out again in the following days.
She even stopped mentioning the previously agreed-upon change of medication, and for two days she made a special trip to Tongfu Inn.
Manager Pang only told her that the person in the inn hadn't come for a long time.
Perhaps they've already left.
It was only at this moment that Ji Shu realized that this person had been here for several days, and she had no idea why he had come. The only thing she knew was that he was staying at a temporary residence.
She stood there, thinking that if he really left, he would leave without a sound.
...
Another day passed. On her day off, Ji Shu went to visit Grandpa Sheng. It had been quite a while since she had last visited him.
As soon as she entered the mansion, she heard the steward say that guests had come to the mansion today. Ji Shu was slightly taken aback: "Does the old master still have old friends in Ganzhou?"
The butler glanced inside and lowered his voice, saying, "It seems to be their first visit, but they have quite an air about them. The old master treats them with great respect."
Ji Shu nodded, not thinking much of it, and continued walking towards the front hall as usual.
As soon as she stepped across the threshold, she heard a familiar voice. The young boy was none other than Qinghe, whom she had been longing for day and night.
Her heart skipped a beat, and she couldn't wait to lift her skirt and go inside. Hearing the sound, Pei Yanzhi looked up.
Today, her attire was completely different from what she usually wore in the pharmacy; she wore a long, dark blue dress with gold trim, the hem of which trailed on the ground.
The gold thread embroidery creates a lotus pattern that appears and disappears as the wearer moves, and she wears a moon-white gauze dress that flutters like butterfly wings in the breeze.
Her jet-black hair was loosely tied into a high bun, adorned with a red-gold and kingfisher-feather hairpin with tassels cascading down to her shoulders. Her makeup was delicate and refined, as serene and beautiful as the autumn moon.
Pei Yanzhi calmly shifted his gaze, picked up his teacup, and took several sips.
Upon seeing that it was her, Pei Qinghe couldn't contain himself any longer and was about to jump off his chair and run towards her.
He cried out loudly, "Mother, Mother!"
Ji Shu sighed and hugged him tightly. Old Master Sheng, who was sitting in the main seat, looked at them with suspicion.
Pei Yanzhi's gaze fell intently on Ji Shu, then he glanced at the child, a hint of hesitation flashing through his mind.
Ji Shu suppressed her smile, led Qinghe to her seat, and then bowed, saying, "Grandfather!"
Having lived to such an old age, what storms haven't I weathered? Now, looking at this child's features, which resemble Ji Shu's, I can see the truth.
Thinking back to that time when I went to the Marquis's mansion every month to have my pulse checked, I already understood most of it.
When she realized that the child was Ji Shu's flesh and blood, her expression softened considerably.
He whispered to Qinghe, "Come quickly to your great-grandfather!"
Pei Qinghe first glanced at his father, and seeing that he lowered his eyes and remained silent, he tacitly agreed. Then, seeing his mother nod gently, he immediately ran over and called out in a clear voice, "Great-grandfather!"
This call made Old Master Sheng beam with joy, and he said repeatedly, "Good, good, have dinner here. Your great-grandfather has many good things to show you."
Seeing that Pei Yanzhi did not stop her, Ji Shu said no more.
Grandpa Sheng asked Qinghe a few questions in a low voice: how old he was, how many characters he knew, and what he liked to do in his daily life.
The child was naturally sweet-talking, and with his mother by his side, he answered with extra seriousness, his innocent words making the old lady laugh heartily.
Seeing that the old man was happy, Ji Shu idly shifted her gaze from the agate cups to the pair of bamboo-shaped vases with floating flowers in the multi-treasure pavilion.
In the end, it all came down to Pei Yanzhi.
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