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There was no mother in the world who would willingly let their child see their painful side like this.
How had she managed to escape from the fire with Liulang?
Xiao Heng, who was fourteen years old at the time, was about the same size as Gu Yan now, and with Xinyang's slender frame, it would have been challenging to carry him.
At that time, she had almost extinguished the fire in the room, but the ceiling beam collapsed. She raised her hand to block it, stumbled, and fell into the nearly extinguished fire. That was how her left arm's sleeve caught fire.
From their conversation just now, neither Empress Dowager Zhuang nor Xiao Liulang could determine how many people had actually set the fire.
Empress Dowager Zhuang believed it was only Ning Wang, while Xiao Liulang believed it was only Princess Xinyang. In reality, the fire that had killed Xiao Su's younger brother was the third big fire.
It had completely burned down the Minghui Hall of the Imperial Academy. During the three-plus years that the Imperial Academy was closed, nearly half of that time was spent restoring it.
The arsonist's intentions were painfully clear.
They wanted Xiao Heng's life, the kind of death that left no room for survival.
Princess Xinyang had initially suspected that the culprits were seeking revenge on her or Marquis Xuanping, but the more she investigated, the less it made sense.
Those they had offended were either in the State of Zhao or the State of Chen, and there were no powerful factions within these two states that she couldn't uncover.
There was only one possibility: the culprits were likely from an upper state.
Neither she nor Marquis Xuanping had any dealings with people from upper states, so there was no enmity to speak of. Therefore, it was highly likely that the other party was indeed after Xiao Heng.
But Xiao Heng had never offended anyone from an upper state either. The only connection he had to an upper state was through his mother, who was a slave from the State of Yan.
Could this be related to her? Was she really just a slave?
Thinking about the past while looking at her scars, Princess Xinyang became lost in thought and didn't notice Xiao Liulang kneeling on one knee in front of her. He gently pulled up her sleeve to inspect the intertwining scars on her delicate arm.
"Let JiaoJiao think of a way later." Empress Dowager Zhuang patted Xiao Liulang's shoulder.
Xiao Liulang lowered his gaze and quietly let go of her sleeve.
A scalding tear fell onto the back of her hand, causing Princess Xinyang’s heart to tremble.
She quickly came back to her senses and realized that her injury had been seen by Xiao Liulang again.
Xiao Liulang's eyes were filled with indescribable sadness.
He was always like this when he was a child. As soon as she suffered even a small injury, he would feel so heartbroken that he would start crying himself.
Even though she was perfectly fine, he would turn himself into a little rainwater spirit, crying uncontrollably.
Princess Xinyang unconsciously said, "It doesn't hurt anymore, Mother is fine."
As soon as the word "Mother" was uttered, both of them stiffened.
Empress Dowager Zhuang: Suddenly, Aijia feels a bit unnecessary here...
Empress Dowager Zhuang silently got up and left, making sure to take the candied fruits from the table as she departed.
Sure enough, in this special moment, no one noticed that she had discreetly taken the candied fruits!
However, as she reached the doorway, she bumped into Gu Jiao, who had just returned from the medical hall.
Empress Dowager Zhuang, who had been robbed of her candied fruits: "..."
The cycle of destiny was unpredictable, and the heavens spared no one!
In reality, some things were like window papers; once they were pierced, there was no need to hide anymore.
Princess Xinyang choked back tears and smiled as if reminiscing about something. She said, "Xiao Yi."
"What?" Xiao Liulang looked puzzled, not understanding how the conversation had suddenly shifted here, and who was Xiao Yi? Were there Long Yi and Xiao Yi now?
"’Fragrant in essence.'" Princess Xinyang said, with tears glistening in her eyes but a smile on her lips. "When I was pregnant, I had already thought of a name for the child. If it was a daughter, I would have named her Xiao Yi."
Xiao Liulang murmured, "Degraded without form, yet fragrant in essence." [T/N: a verse from a Chinese poem.]
"That's right." Princess Xinyang said with a faint smile.
"If it were a son, he would be called Xiao Heng?"
Wasn't that obvious?
Wasn't he already named Xiao Heng?
The name was prepared a long time ago. Why ask this again?
Xiao Liulang's gaze darkened.
"No." Princess Xinyang shook her head with a smile, "If it were a son, I had planned to name him Xiao Qing."
Xiao Liulang asked, "Boundless sacred blessings, celebrating the chapter of music?" [T/N: also from a Chinese poem.]
Princess Xinyang smiled and said, "Now that you put it that way, this name doesn't sound so ordinary."
Xiao Liulang didn't quite understand the meaning behind Princess Xinyang's words. Did she originally intend to give her son an ordinary name?
Princess Xinyang continued, "I even had his longevity lock prepared, but 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 she found out that it wasn't as painful as she had imagined.
She wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes, raised her hand to Xiao Liulang’s cheek, looked at his reddened eyes, and said with a choked voice, "Xiao Heng is Xiao Heng, Xiao Qing is Xiao Qing. I never confused you. You didn't steal his life. Xiao Heng's life is your own life. I've always known that you are Xiao Heng."
And she had loved him deeply all along.
Emotions welled up in Xiao Liulang's heart as he tightly held her hand. His eyes turning red, tears glistening in them, and his throat felt sore as he asked, "Am I... Xiao Heng?"
Princess Xinyang cradled his face in her hands, and she smiled tearfully, "Yes, you are Xiao Heng, my child."
The name he lost was finally found again.
He was Xiao Heng.
He was his mother's child.
References
1. — Longevity Locks are given by elders to babies, typically worn as pendants which serve as luck charms to protect them from harm, evil, and procure longevity, prosperity, wealth, honor, and good fortune.
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