Stone coffin female corpse 3
After they had talked things out in the garden, the atmosphere among them became noticeably more relaxed. When they sat down at the dining table, there were fewer formalities. Xiao Congzhi was placed in the seat of honor, while the others sat down without much formality.
Xiao Hezhang, Xiao Sizhao's father, noticed Xie Mowen, who was following half a step behind Xiao Congzhi. He politely cupped his hands in greeting and asked, "Is this a personal guard?"
Xiao Sizhao tripped over a chair leg and glanced at Xie Mowen amidst the slight noise, secretly thinking to himself, "He's not a bodyguard, he's a shameless villain."
"Please sit down with me." Xiao Congzhi didn't give Xie Mowen a chance to answer. He simply moved the chair next to him with the handle of his fan, tapping it with the end of the handle, so that Xie Mowen could sit down.
Xie Mowen readily agreed, nodded to Xiao Hezhang with a smile, and then sat down next to Xiao Congzhi.
Xiao Hezhang didn't think anything was wrong; this was a family banquet, so there was no need to stand on ceremony. Xiao Sizhao, however, secretly glared at Xie Mowen.
The Xiao family's dinner was not lavish. Most of the servants in the mansion had been dismissed. This meal was prepared by Madam Xiao and her dowry maids. Xiao Hezhang also went to help prepare two main dishes, for fear of losing face.
After taking their seats, Xiao Congzhi picked up his wine cup and drank it all in one gulp. The others then started eating, and after a few drinks, the atmosphere became increasingly harmonious.
Under the dim candlelight, Xiao Congzhi, through the rising steam, held his wine cup and thought that the four quails from before probably weren't afraid of the emperor's might, but just didn't want to get too close to him. Even so, they had been planning for him for more than ten years, all because of his mother.
What kind of person is my mother?
The question came out as he was thinking, and neither Old Master Xiao nor Xiao Hezhang reacted at first. They just moved their lips for a long time but couldn't answer.
Xiao Hezhang shook his head, took a swig of wine, and said in a low voice, "Sister, your name is known throughout Jiangnan."
"My elder sister's original name was Wanxi. When she was eighteen, she had a fight with her family and insisted on changing the character Wan to Cong, meaning 'jade stone,' implying resilience. I was young and ignorant at the time. She told me that it wasn't that being gentle and graceful was bad, but that it didn't suit her. Even so, she was skilled in music, chess, calligraphy, painting, martial arts, and strategy. Countless suitors came from all around to propose marriage, but she always felt something was amiss. My parents and I all thought that my elder sister didn't want to get married, so we thought that it would be fine to find a son-in-law, as long as my elder sister was happy, but..." Xiao Hezhang took another swig of wine, his voice tinged with resentment, "But someone found a way to take advantage of her!"
Xiao Congzhi was taken aback, wondering if it was the late emperor who was looking for an opportunity.
Xiao Hezhang was slightly drunk from the wine, and without caring who was sitting at the head of the table, he said in a pained voice, "I still remember that year, it was spring, the flowers in the courtyard were blooming exceptionally well, my elder sister was standing there pulling a man dressed as a scholar, saying that she wanted to marry him and go to Yidu. Yidu is more than a thousand miles away from Jiangnan. I never thought that my elder sister would marry so far away."
Xiao Hezhang wiped his face, took another swig of wine, and sighed, "I looked him over from all angles and couldn't see anything good about him. He was dressed in fine brocade robes, but he was thin and pale. His only redeeming quality was his appearance. My parents also felt that he was unworthy of my sister and strongly opposed the relationship. The important thing is that he just stood there without saying a word, watching my sister and parents argue. If he had just knelt down and made some promises, wouldn't he have done something?"
Xiao Congzhi nodded in agreement, but glancing at Xie Mowen out of the corner of his eye, he wasn't entirely oblivious to his father's intentions. If one day Xie Mowen were to shield him from the wrath of Prince Rong and promise to treat him well for life, or if he were to shield Xie Mowen from the wrath of Yun Shaocheng and guarantee Xie Mowen's safety, the scene would be utterly comical. The same applied to his mother and father.
"My parents always spoiled my older sister, even agreeing to her name change. But on that day, they were unusually firm and refused to back down. My older sister bluntly stated that the two of them had already been intimate, and if they didn't agree, they would elope to Yidu. I was so angry that I went up and beat the scholar. Only when I saw blood did I hear my older sister shout that he was the Crown Prince and that the so-called intimate relationship was all a lie."
Xiao Congzhi: ...
Old Master Xiao patted Xiao Hezhang's hand, then stopped the wine cup from being brought to his lips, and smiled apologetically at Xiao Congzhi: "You flatter me."
After saying this, he poured himself a cup of wine and said in a deep voice, "I'm not afraid of His Majesty's censure, but for more than twenty years, I still don't understand what Xi'er saw in the late Emperor. Back then, she forced me and her mother to compromise and follow the late Emperor back to Yidu. The late Emperor died a few months after ascending the throne, and for several years afterward, he didn't even dare to acknowledge you as his son. The court and the country were controlled by the Jiang family, and I didn't see any talent for governing the country in the late Emperor. Otherwise, he wouldn't have left you with such a court!"
These words were quite harsh. Xie Mowen turned to look at Xiao Congzhi, whose expression remained unchanged, with a smile playing on his lips, indicating that he was not angry.
“I was raised by Lady Jiang from a young age, and I was not close to my father during those eight years.” Xiao Congzhi held the wine cup in his hand, his gaze falling on the gleaming wine, and said meaningfully, “I originally thought it was because I was worried that Lady Jiang was wary of me, but now I think it might be for the same reason that you don’t want to see me.”
Old Master Xiao stared at him blankly.
“Only in the last few days of his illness did my father summon me to the Zichen Palace and bestow upon me the courtesy name Congzhi. I have always wondered why it was these two characters, as they do not seem like the name of an emperor. Now I know why, Cong means Cong.” Xiao Congzhi took a breath, raised his wine cup and took a sip. “My father knew he had wronged my mother. For eight years, he dared not think of her even a little. How could he have the right to be concerned and sad if he could not even protect her? Only when his death was approaching did he hold my hand, call out the name Congzhi, and look at my mother through my eyes.”
Xiao Congzhi's words made the four people opposite him breathe softly. Old Master Xiao sighed heavily. More than twenty years had passed. Even if he could see the late emperor's deep affection, his daughter was gone, and that was that.
"The imperial family must not be involved in love, but..." Xiao Congzhi looked at Xie Mowen, placed his hand under the table on Xie Mowen's hand, inserted his fingers one by one, clenched his fist, and then continued with a helpless yet gentle tone, "It's hard to control."
Xie Mowen secretly moved to the side to get closer to Xiao Congzhi.
The past, with its myriad disappointments, inevitably stirred up worries. Xie Mowen, not wanting Xiao Congzhi to keep these thoughts bottled up inside, raised his eyes and gave a faint, enigmatic smile.
"The late emperor has no right to comment." Old Master Xiao drank another cup of wine, then stood up, looked at Xiao Congzhi carefully for a while, and then said, "But you are the child my daughter welcomed with great anticipation." As he spoke, Old Master Xiao walked away to a nearby place and retrieved a beautifully carved wooden box.
Xiao Congzhi took it, looking puzzled.
Xiao Hezhang continued, "After my elder sister went to Yidu, she rarely wrote to me until she became pregnant. Then she would send a letter home every month, and the contents were all about you."
Xiao Congzhi was stunned. He opened the wooden box in disbelief. A faint smell of ink wafted out. Nearly twenty years had passed, and the paper had long since yellowed. But the stack of family letters that Xiao Congzhi had carefully preserved was something he had never imagined came from his mother.
"Greetings! I wonder how Father and Mother are? I hope He Zhang has become more sensible. Your daughter is doing well in Yidu, so please don't worry. This morning, the imperial physician came to check my pulse and said the baby is very healthy and almost full term. I was a little nervous, so I had him check my pulse repeatedly, but thankfully everything is fine. These past few days, the baby has been moving more frequently in my womb, as if it can't wait to come out. My husband says it's because the baby is intelligent, but I think he's talking nonsense, without any basis. But I also hope the baby is intelligent, or at least not too stupid, so I won't dislike it. I haven't decided on the baby's name yet. According to custom, if it's a boy, it should be named Sheng, and if it's a girl, it should be named Yi, but I think we can also have a nickname so we can call each other that. My husband says we should wait until the baby is born and we know whether it's a boy or a girl before deciding, but I think it doesn't really matter." So I've been flipping through dictionaries these past few days. If Father and Mother have any suggestions, please write a letter. The name your grandparents chose is quite meaningful; I plan to take the child to Jiangnan next spring, then you can call him by that name. Earlier I mentioned I hope the child will be intelligent, and this is a sincere wish. I'm already looking for his first teacher. The Grand Secretary is too rigid; I don't want my child to memorize the Four Books and Five Classics from a young age, I'm afraid it will make him stupid. The Minister of Rites is good, but unfortunately he's quite old and will probably retire in two years. The Minister of Revenue visited and recommended himself; my husband thinks he's acceptable, but I think he's just average. Minister Feng is only good at writing. I've set my sights on the Vice Minister of Personnel, but he's a bit young, but when the child is four or five, it will be just right…”
The topic of his first teacher was followed by much more, with hundreds or thousands of words written in each letter, which was the same in every family letter, full of details, and even a bit verbose.
If you look closely, the year Xiao Congxi became pregnant was the final crucial moment in the struggle for the throne. Yet, not a single word in her twelve letters to her family mentioned the perilous political situation; every word was filled with expectations for her child.
Xiao Congzhi could not help but be moved. Before bringing the wooden box, Old Master Xiao said that he was a child whom they had welcomed with great anticipation, and there was probably half a sentence behind it, so the Xiao family was willing to make far-reaching plans for him.
Xie Mowen silently stretched his arm behind Xiao Congzhi, loosely encircling Xiao Congzhi in front of him, so that he wouldn't be sitting there alone.
Xiao Congzhi felt Xie Mowen's body temperature and leaned back as if it were a good idea. He took a few deep breaths and looked up at Old Master Xiao and Xiao Hezhang with a solemn expression: "May I take these letters with me?"
Xiao Hezhang had drunk quite a bit, and now, overcome with intoxication, his vision was blurred, and he could no longer speak coherently. Old Master Xiao, however, waved his hand dismissively: "Take them with you tomorrow along with those assets."
Xiao Congzhi nodded solemnly, then turned his gaze back to the letters. His mother's handwriting was beautiful and powerful; if one could judge a person by their handwriting, she truly deserved the name "Cong".
These letters were so long that each one was several pages long. The layout seemed to be carefully designed, with a neat and beautiful arrangement. As he read them, Xiao Congzhi slowly frowned.
"What?" Xie Mowen asked.
“These letters…” Xiao Congzhi frowned and went through all the letters again. Then he lowered his voice and said to Xie Mowen, “The layout of these letters seems to be quite particular. If you read them according to certain rules, the content will be completely different yet coherent.”
As he spoke, Xiao Congzhi pointed to several key points with his finger.
Following the order Xiao Congzhi pointed out, Xie Mowen pondered for a moment and roughly understood the underlying pattern. He then diligently read a letter…
"This..." Xie Mowen asked hesitantly, "Is it the art of emperors?"
Xiao Congzhi slowly nodded: "This letter analyzes the situation in the court, while this one is about the emperor's way of weighing power. I think all twelve letters are similar in content, and they are here to help me understand the situation and plan before acting."
"Could your mother have foreseen the late emperor's early death, the Jiang family's regency, and your difficult situation?"
“She doesn’t need to think about all that. As long as she’s sure I’ll ascend the throne, that’s what I need to be taught.”
Xie Mowen's brow twitched slightly. This unwavering certainty likely stemmed from the fact that Congzhi's parents, like the two of them, were intimately confidants, sharing everything without reservation. Such rare and profound imperial affection—if it weren't for Jiang Shi, his Congzhi…
"Ahem, is this your friend?" Old Master Xiao suddenly asked. It wasn't that he wanted to ask, but Xie Mowen didn't look like a guard at all. If he were a friend of the emperor, they shouldn't be negligent.
Upon hearing this question, Xie Mowen snapped out of his daze and quietly distanced himself from Xiao Congzhi.
Xiao Sizhao, who had been sitting in the corner with zero presence since the beginning, finally raised his head, squinted at Xie Mowen for a while, and let out a cold snort. He had wanted to say it for a long time: the two of them were too unrestrained and almost hugged each other.
Xiao Hezhang, after being given a few sips of tea by his wife, sobered up slightly. Hearing his father's question, he also found it strange. This person dared to act out in front of the emperor in the garden, and then had a low and intimate conversation with the emperor at the banquet. It was almost impossible for him to be a guard; it would be hard to believe he was a friend...
Xiao Congzhi slowly folded the letter, closed the wooden box, and then looked up at everyone. He replied lightly, "He is my husband."
Xie Mowen's pupils dilated slightly, and he looked at Xiao Congzhi with an empty expression. Even he was taken aback by this bluntness.
The four people opposite were completely stunned, staring wide-eyed and motionless.
Xiao Congzhi seemed much more relaxed than before, perhaps because he had discovered the coded message left by his mother. He looked at Xie Mowen and chuckled, saying, "Why are you so surprised? You were holding back just now?"
Xie Mowen stiffened his neck, wondering who had come closer first. But he still went along with Xiao Congzhi's wishes and replied, "No one."
"This..." Even the most composed Old Master Xiao could only utter this one word in shock, his expression blank as he looked at Xiao Congzhi and then at Xie Mowen.
Xiao Hezhang was completely sober. He rubbed his eyes and temples, seemingly unsure if he was still dreaming. His wife kept her head down, as if she wanted to pretend she hadn't heard anything.
Xiao Sizhao's reaction was even funnier. He had asked the same question in Yidu before, and Xiao Congzhi hadn't answered it then, so he always felt there was room for maneuver. Now that he had actually heard it, he felt like the sky was falling and looked utterly hopeless.
Xie Mowen stood up, cupped his hands in greeting, and said calmly, "Thank you, Xie Mowen."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com