Chapter 461 Reunion (Third Update)
Inside the house, the mother and son were overcome with grief, while outside, a scene of eavesdropping and laughter unfolded – one head on top of another, all pressed against the crack in the door, as if they wanted to gouge out their ears and eyes and put them inside.
Xiao Jingkong is the smallest, and he is at the very bottom.
A long way up are Gu Xiaoshun and Gu Yan, and above that is Aunt.
The great-aunt was not as tall as the two of them, but she had a strong presence, so the two of them had no choice but to obediently lower their bodies.
The Yao family also joined in the fun.
Yu Jin stood guard at the door to prevent anyone from eavesdropping, but the old and the young were both difficult to persuade, and neither did the gentle approach work; they absolutely refused to admit that it was because the Empress Dowager was there.
In the end, Yu Jin gave up resisting.
Let's listen together!
Long Yi walked over and saw a group of people pressing their heads against the crack in the door. He paused for two seconds and then pressed his own head against the crack in the door as well.
He stuck it on quite high.
Everyone looked up in unison: You're blocking the light!
Long Yi: "..."
Apart from Xiao Jingkong, who lacked social experience and could understand each word but not the meaning of the words combined, the rest of the group roughly figured out the relationship between the mother and son and the ins and outs of what happened back then.
Xiao Jingkong: My bad brother-in-law really is Aheng! He still won't admit it!
Okay, that's all the information he understood.
Gu Yan: So my brother-in-law is the young chief priest and the young marquis of Zhaodu!
Gu Xiaoshun: We've all said that the weather is dry and fire is a serious matter. The fire prevention measures for timber at the Imperial College are inadequate.
Madam Yao: My son-in-law is so pitiful, what kind of sins has he committed? I'll have Granny Fang stew a pot of pig's heart soup later.
Yu Jin: The princess and the young marquis have actually endured so much.
Ryuichi: ...Hehehe!
Empress Dowager Zhuang couldn't stand it anymore. The two of them were talking back and forth in the room without getting to the point. Their awkwardness was making her very anxious!
A misunderstanding that could have been resolved with just one sentence, but they just won't say it! They just won't say it!
Screw it, I won't say it!
If you two won't tell, then I will!
Empress Dowager Zhuang gave everyone a look: Charge in?
Everyone nodded in unison: Charge! We must charge!
Empress Dowager Zhuang, with a surge of power, flung open the door!
She planned to lead her army of Bishui Hutongs to storm in, but then she turned around.
Holy crap, where is everyone?!
Everyone, including the heavily pregnant Mrs. Yao, instantly darted to the door and pressed themselves tightly against the wall.
Empress Dowager Zhuang, who took the lead, ultimately shouldered everything alone...
The commotion caused the atmosphere in the room to freeze abruptly. Princess Xinyang and Xiao Liulang changed their demeanor completely, and the mother and son were perfectly in sync – their brows relaxed, their shoulders straightened, their backs straightened, and their eyes calm and cold.
As if nothing had just happened, the two were simply talking about the weather.
Empress Dowager Zhuang: Hehehe, if it weren't for those two eyes swollen like walnuts, I would have really believed it!
Well, she's already in here. She's the Empress Dowager of the whole country, and she can handle all the civil and military officials. How could she not handle two two hypocritical little tantrums?
Xiao Liulang moved a chair for Empress Dowager Zhuang.
Empress Dowager Zhuang sat down casually and first looked at Princess Xinyang on her right: "You! Yes, it's you! Wasn't it you who rescued him from the fire four years ago?"
When she mentioned "him", she glanced at Xiao Liulang.
Before Princess Xinyang could speak, Empress Dowager Zhuang continued, "You'd better think carefully before you answer. I'm not asking you as the aunt of Liu Lang, but as the Empress Dowager of the country. I am an Empress Dowager with real power. You'd better not deceive me, otherwise it would be tantamount to deceiving the emperor!"
Those with real power are just that arrogant!
After hearing his aunt's words, Xiao Liulang instantly transformed into a primary school student waiting for the teacher to announce his exam results, filled with anticipation and trepidation.
Princess Xinyang was someone who was obsessed with saving face and would rather suffer than admit defeat. In this respect, Xiao Liulang was just like her. She was only one step away from backing down, and now that Empress Dowager Zhuang had offered her a way out, she naturally wouldn't kick it away.
But we still have to put on a show.
It wasn't that she wanted to say it; the Empress Dowager forced her to.
Princess Xinyang said in a low voice, "Yes."
Xiao Liulang's eyes flickered slightly.
Empress Dowager Zhuang asked, "Is there any evidence?"
Princess Xinyang really didn't intend to say anything, but her body language betrayed her.
Empress Dowager Zhuang noticed at a glance that her hand instinctively reached for her left arm. Although it was just a symbolic movement, it was enough for the sharp-eyed Empress Dowager Zhuang to see through everything.
Empress Dowager Zhuang lifted her sleeve and saw that her left upper arm was covered with hideous and ugly scars that extended all the way to her shoulder.
Princess Xinyang had not anticipated that Empress Dowager Zhuang would be so perceptive, and she immediately exposed her wound to Xiao Liulang.
Empress Dowager Zhuang was also quite surprised. She knew that Xinyang must have been injured, but she did not expect the injury to be so serious.
I should have known better than to show it to Liulang.
No mother in the world wants her child to see her in such pain.
How did she manage to carry Liu Lang away from the fire?
At fourteen, Xiao Heng was about the same height as Gu Yan, and it would be difficult for Princess Xinyang to carry him on her back with her slender frame.
She had almost extinguished the fire in the house, but then a beam came crashing down. She raised her hand to block it, tripped, and fell right into the nearly extinguished fire. The sleeve of her left arm caught fire.
From their conversation, neither Empress Dowager Zhuang nor Xiao Liulang could tell how many people set the fire. Empress Dowager Zhuang thought it was only Prince Ning, and Xiao Liulang thought it was only Princess Xinyang. The fire that actually burned Xiao Su's brother to death was actually the third fire.
The Minghui Hall of the Imperial College was burned to the point of being unrecognizable. During the more than three years that the Imperial College was closed, almost half of the time was spent on its restoration.
The arsonist's intentions were all too clear.
They wanted Xiao Heng dead, dead beyond any hope of survival.
Princess Xinyang initially suspected that the other party was seeking revenge against her or Marquis Xuanping, but the more she investigated, the more suspicious she became. The people they had offended were either in Zhao or Chen, and there was no power in either country that she could not find out about at all.
There is only one possibility: the other party is very likely from a superior country.
The two of them had no dealings with the people of the superior country, so there was no question of them being enemies. Therefore, the other party was probably really after Xiao Heng.
Xiao Heng had never offended the people of Shangguo. His only connection with Shangguo was that his mother was a female slave from Yanguo.
Could this be related to her? Was she really a female slave?
Princess Xinyang was reminded of the past by her scars and lost her mind. She didn't notice that Xiao Liulang was kneeling in front of her and once again lifted her sleeve, looking at the crisscrossing scars that ran up her jade-like forearm.
"Let Jiaojiao think of a solution later." Empress Dowager Zhuang patted Xiao Liulang's shoulder.
Xiao Liulang lowered his eyes and quietly put down the hand that had been pulling up her sleeve.
A scalding tear fell onto the back of her hand, its heat sending a shiver down her spine.
She snapped back to her senses and realized that Xiao Liulang had seen her injuries again.
Xiao Liulang's eyes were filled with unspeakable sorrow.
He was like this when he was a child; if she suffered even the slightest injury, he would feel so sorry for her that he would start crying first.
Even though she was perfectly fine, he cried himself into a pitiful state.
Princess Xinyang said instinctively, "It doesn't hurt anymore, Mother is alright."
The moment the word "mother" was uttered, both of them froze.
Empress Dowager Zhuang: I suddenly feel that I am somewhat superfluous here...
Empress Dowager Zhuang silently got up and left, not forgetting to take the candied fruit from the table before she left.
Sure enough, no one noticed that she had stolen the candied fruit at this special moment!
However, just as she arrived at the door, she bumped into Gu Jiao, who had just returned from the clinic.
Empress Dowager Zhuang, whose candied fruit had been stolen: "..."
What goes around comes around; no one escapes the wrath of Heaven!
In fact, once some secrets are revealed, there's no point in hiding them anymore.
Princess Xinyang smiled choked with emotion, as if recalling something, and said, "Xiao Yi."
"What?" Xiao Liulang looked confused, not understanding how the topic had suddenly shifted to this. Also, what is Xiao Yi? Is there a Long Yi and a Xiao Yi?
“The ‘Yi’ in ‘fragrant and comforting’,” Princess Xinyang said with a smile, her eyes filled with tears but her lips curved into a smile. “When I was pregnant, I had already thought of a name for the child. If it was a girl, I would name her Xiao Yi.”
Xiao Liulang murmured, "Degradation without form, fragrance with reliance."
“That’s right.” Princess Xinyang smiled faintly.
"If it's a son, will he be named Xiao Heng?"
Isn't that obvious?
His name is Xiao Heng, isn't it?
Why ask such a question when the name has already been prepared?
Xiao Liulang's eyes darkened.
“No.” Princess Xinyang shook her head with a smile. “If it’s a son, I plan to name him Xiao Qing.”
Xiao Liulang asked, "Is it the 'celebration' in 'May the Emperor's reign be boundless, and may the celebrations be passed down through generations'?"
Princess Xinyang smiled and said, "Now that you mention it, the name doesn't seem so ordinary after all."
Xiao Liulang did not understand the meaning of Princess Xinyang's words. Did she originally intend to give her son an ordinary name?
Princess Xinyang continued, "I had already tied the longevity lock on, and then he was gone."
This was the first time in eighteen years that Princess Xinyang had spoken so openly about her son's death.
For some reason, she suddenly felt relieved and realized that it wasn't as painful as she had imagined after she spoke about it.
Princess Xinyang wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes, raised her hand to stroke his cheek, looked at his reddened eyes, and said solemnly with a choked voice, "Xiao Heng is Xiao Heng, and Xiao Qing is Xiao Qing. I have never confused you. You did not steal his life. Xiao Heng's life is your own life. I know very well that you are Xiao Heng, and I have always known that."
And I have always loved her deeply.
A bittersweet feeling welled up in Xiao Liulang's heart. He clenched his fists nervously, his eyes reddening and glistening with tears. His throat tightened as he said, "I am... Xiao Heng?"
Princess Xinyang cupped his cheeks in her hands, smiling through her tears: "Yes, you are Xiao Heng, my child."
His lost name has finally been found again.
He is Xiao Heng.
It is the mother's child.
Hmm, are there any monthly passes left?
(End of this chapter)
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