“After all, while you never saved my life, you did save Sui Sui’s.”
Holding the soft and adorable little girl in her arms, Su Tan felt her eyes grow warm. Sui Sui’s small round face, delicate as carved jade and irresistibly cute, truly made her beloved.
She once had a daughter herself, named Chang Le.
If little Chang Le had grown up healthy, she would be about this age by now.
She wondered if she would have been like Sui Sui—clingy, fond of being held, and wanting to see flowers in winter.
Su Tan’s eyes dimmed briefly, but she quickly forced herself to adjust and not dwell on these thoughts.
“Fairy Sister, kiss~”
As if sensing Su Tan’s wandering emotions, Sui Sui planted another kiss on her cheek.
Her voice was milky and sweet, like suddenly taking a sip of warm, sweet red bean sweet soup in winter. “Bad Uncle made Fairy Sister unhappy.”
Sui Sui didn’t know that Su Tan was recalling a pain too private to share; she thought Su Tan was still upset over Song Tingchen’s words.
“Then Fairy Sister shouldn’t play with him. Play with uncles and sisters who make you happy, then you won’t be unhappy~”
Su Tan’s mind drifted for a moment before she looked at Sui Sui and smiled softly.
Holding such a fragrant, soft little girl made even this winter feel less harsh.
“Sui Sui is so good.”
As Su Tan held her, the little girl broke off a plum blossom branch and gave her a loud kiss on the cheek.
“Flower, for Fairy Sister!”
Su Tan took the flower and couldn’t help but smile, her eyes curving.
“Thank you, Sui Sui. The flower is very beautiful.”
She liked it very much too.
…
When it was time for Su Tan to leave, Sui Sui clung to her leg unwilling to let go, tilting her little head up to look at her. “Will Fairy Sister come again next time?”
Lu Zhiheng laughed helplessly and scooped the little bundle up. “You’ll see her in a couple of days, be good~”
Sui Sui pouted, clearly skeptical, and gazed eagerly at Su Tan.
Su Tan patted Sui Sui’s round little head. “Really, I’m not lying to you.”
Prince Chen had used their master’s jade token to find her and her senior sister, not only because Sui Sui had been persistently ill but also due to matters concerning the East Palace.
The Crown Princess was due to give birth soon. To prevent anyone from taking advantage and causing disturbances that might attract evil spirits, Su Tan needed to go to the East Palace.
Lu Zhiheng also wasn’t comfortable leaving Sui Sui alone at Chen Wang Mansion and would certainly bring her along.
The Crown Prince was frail, currently unable to withstand wind and practically living on medicine. Whether the Crown Princess could safely deliver the child was crucial to the fate of the entire East Palace.
Lu Zhiheng looked at Su Tan solemnly. “Childbirth is a perilous ordeal for women. Neither my elder brother nor I will be able to enter the delivery room then. I must trouble you and your senior sister to watch over my sister-in-law for us.”
Su Tan nodded, pondered for a moment, and said to Prince Chen, “On that day, the East Palace will surely be heavily guarded, and many items might not be allowed inside. Please ask His Highness the Crown Prince to write a letter in advance to avoid complications during the Crown Princess’s delivery.”
Lu Zhiheng, holding Sui Sui, agreed.
He escorted Su Tan out of the mansion. Sui Sui waved her little hand. “Fairy Sister, goodbye~”
Su Tan adjusted the plum blossom tucked by her temple—the one Sui Sui had placed there. “Mm, goodbye, Sui Sui.”
Su Tan boarded the carriage, never expecting to be intercepted by Song Tingchen on her way back to Duke Dingguo Manor.
…
Teahouse private room.
The steam rising from the tea obscured Song Tingchen’s vision. Though her face remained somewhat indistinct, he could clearly see the red plum blossom pinned at her temple.
The tea was still hot, but in such chilly weather, it cooled quickly.
Su Tan held the teacup in her hand. “General Song, why have you blocked my path?”
Song Tingchen’s cheeks were gaunt, his jawline taut. A cold aura enveloped him as his gaze swept over the red plum blossom in Su Tan’s hair, his brow furrowing slightly. “Su Tan, the muddy waters of Chen Wang Mansion are not for you to tread.”
“You may have saved Princess Zhaoyang, but your involvement with Chen Wang Mansion should end here.”
Su Tan set down the teacup, her eyes clear and cold. “This is my affair, none of your concern.”
Her stubborn refusal to yield made Song Tingchen’s frown deepen. It seemed she was always like this—never accepting others’ goodwill. “Su Tan, you’ve just returned to the capital. The court situation is no longer what you saw three years ago.”
“If you insist on plunging into the murky waters of the succession struggle and seeking your own doom, I cannot stop you. But do not forget—you still hold the title of Xiao Xiao’s mother. Do not drag him down with you.”
Su Tan found herself caught between laughter and tears, her gaze sweeping indifferently over Song Tingchen’s frosty countenance.
“Then consider Song Xiao’s birth mother already dead.”
Had she not obtained the divorce, she would have been mere dust by now.
At these words, Song Tingchen’s expression tightened instantly, a gloomy aura radiating from him. He let out a short, cold laugh, his eyes mocking. “Su Tan, I underestimated you. I also underestimated your cruelty toward Xiao Xiao.”
Su Tan could only find it absurd.
“Song Tingchen, Song Xiao has never regarded me as his true mother in his heart, yet you expect me to treasure him like pearls and jewels?”
“Do you think I’m still the person from three years ago, willing to constantly compromise for an unworthy child? I haven’t sunk that low.”
The bonds between people are predetermined.
Her connection with Song Xiao was simply destined to be thin.
Song Tingchen’s eyes darkened abruptly. Over these past three years, people outside had called Xiao Xiao an ungrateful wretch and mocked him as a motherless wild child. He had thought Su Tan would feel heartbroken upon learning this, never expecting she would say Xiao Xiao was unworthy.
“I know you were angry with me because I intended to marry Qingyin, but that marriage never happened, did it!”
“No matter how great your resentment, three years should have diminished it. I won’t marry her now—there’s no need for you to transfer your bitterness toward her onto Xiao Xiao!”
Su Tan watched him quietly, momentarily caught between amusement and disbelief. “Song Tingchen, you certainly know how to flatter yourself.”
He actually still believed she had abandoned him and Song Xiao because of Liu Qingyin.
Her gaze turned icy, like snow clinging to branches. “Your Song family is nothing but a den of wolves. Since I’ve escaped, I won’t be foolish enough to crawl back.”
Between her and Song Tingchen lay Chang Le’s life.
It was a wound that would never heal in this lifetime.
It wouldn’t fade with time but would remain embedded in her heart like a chronic illness, causing sharp pains to surge like tides whenever damp, rainy weather arrived.
“As for Song Xiao—”
Su Tan paused, a ripple of emotion flickering in her eyes before her expression settled into blankness. “The Su Tan who cherished him more than her own eyes died long ago.”
Song Tingchen’s face was as dark as water, his eyes narrowed at her as he suddenly let out a cold laugh. “Treating Xiao Xiao like a pearl and treasure?”
This was probably the funniest joke he had ever heard.
“Su Tan, Mother once said that you deliberately starved Xiao Xiao, never letting him eat his fill, causing his body to grow increasingly frail.”
“Xiao Xiao is just a child, not a fool. If you truly did your utmost for him as you claim, why would he prefer Qing Yin over you?”
Song Tingchen stood up, his gaze coldly fixed on her. “In the end, you were never fit to be his mother!”
As his words fell, a bowl of thoroughly chilled tea was splashed entirely across his face.