Xun Yi rarely had time to enter Tangqing Courtyard. He sat down and quietly sipped a cup of tea, feeling that the place was somewhat desolate compared to the other courtyards. He let out a soft sigh and spoke in a gentle, measured tone, “She passed away fourteen years ago. At that time, I handed you over to Ana Yanran, who had just entered the mansion not long before, because I saw that she was the Princess Consort and could secure a place for you in the mansion. But I never expected her to harbor such malicious intentions.”
It turned out that she had died long ago. Xun Changqing felt a sense of relief. Otherwise, she would not have abandoned her without care. Her thick lashes fluttered as she listened to Xun Yi continue.
“Her ancestral home was in Jiangnan. She was the daughter of merchants, well-read and sensible. After I met her, I proposed countless times to bring her back, but she refused. She said the marquis’s household was as deep as the sea, and it was freer outside. I agreed with her. Moreover, by then I had already married the Princess Consort and had one wife and two concubines. If she came in, she would surely suffer grievances, and I could not bear to see that, so I kept it hidden.”
Xun Yi’s gaze was faint, a smile tugging at the corners of his lips, as if recalling some past events that brought him joy. His eyes softened as he looked at Xun Changqing. His hand, calloused from years of gripping a sword, touched her soft cheek, making her frown slightly, but she did not refuse.
He was a man of iron will, yet he had fallen for a gentle Jiangnan woman as soft as water. Rumors outside claimed he was deeply in love with Princess Consort Gu Liangyin and thus unwilling to take more concubines, but little did they know he had no interest in other women.
Xun Changqing sighed softly, unsure if this was her mother’s fortune or misfortune—to meet Xun Yi yet receive no formal status.
A faint smile hid beneath Xun Yi’s stern features. His fingertips tapped excitedly on the table as he said, “I loved her indifference to fame and fortune. That house of hers became a pure land. I visited often but never stayed overnight. She never asked about court affairs, only if I was tired. I knew I had delayed her life, but I could not let go. Later, I went to the Southwest Region. When the Princess Consort passed away, I planned to bring her in and treat her as the principal wife. But with the marriage alliance between the Borderlands and Great Qi imminent, I had to let go once more.”
“I married Ana Yanran but never touched her. She was unwilling, and so was I. I stayed in the Imperial Capital for a year. Just as I prepared to leave, she told me she was pregnant and asked if I could wait until the child was born and named before departing.”
Xun Changqing shot to her feet in shock, her eyes wide with astonishment, not hiding her complex emotions. “You left?”
Xun Yi nodded, his gaze dimming, no longer carrying the confidence from moments before. His voice sank low. “You should know that in times of urgent warfare, there can be no delay. I could not promise her.”
“And afterward? You just said she died fourteen years ago. What happened?” Xun Changqing found the father before her inexplicably cruel. Since her mother had spoken up, she must have needed him, yet he still left, abandoning years of affection.
Xun Yi felt he could not face his beloved’s child. He turned to gaze at the hazy void, as if seeing her silhouette again—ethereal as water and mist. He loved her deeply, yet she never voiced it. That was the resilience of such a woman.
The atmosphere suddenly grew delicate. Outside the room, Zi Jin could not help but peer in, her heart pounding as if it would leap out.
The air in the Magnificent Prince’s Mansion felt suffocating to Xun Changqing, but Xun Yi’s voice repeated steadily, “I rushed back as fast as I could, but I was still too late. I never saw her. The servants who attended her said she died in difficult childbirth, without even glancing at you. You were barely a month old then. I handed you to Ana Yanran. Whether her feelings were genuine or not, she truly cared for you—I knew that.”
Xun Changqing stared at him blankly and murmured, “What… was her name… and where is she buried?”
She had lived two lives, yet she did not even know her own mother’s name, let alone the location of her grave. She had never visited even once on Qingming or Cold Food Festival. Her faint smile slowly froze. Seeing Xun Yi silent, she said sarcastically, “In terms of status, she was unworthy of you. But in terms of affection, you… were unworthy of her. Prince, she gave her life, yet you do not even know where she is buried. Your own daughter knew nothing of her existence. And you remain the revered Pingnan Prince of all Great Qi, with heirs aplenty. You gained everything.”
“I sent people to search, but they found nothing. Perhaps she did not want me to know. As for her name, go see it in the ancestral hall in a few days. I’m leaving first.” Xun Yi turned abruptly, his expression cooling. Behind him came a low, suppressed sob. The string in his heart, taut for fourteen years, finally snapped. He had become the heartless man after all.
He strode out of Tangqing Courtyard and encountered the steward hurrying over outside. Without stopping, he ordered gravely, “Yuyin, select a day to bring back Hui Niang’s spirit tablet.”
The name Hui Niang halted Yuyin in his tracks. It was a milk name. He had never met her, only heard of her from the Prince. Dead for fourteen years, her burial place unknown—why bring her in now? In a daze, Xun Yi had already rounded the corner. Yuyin hurried after him.
“Prince, how should we bring her in? As a side consort?”
