"Now, we can talk more about you, Wen Jingting, son of Wen Zhen and Lin Rou." Jingting tried to put on his mask, trying to be nonchalant, but Madam Zhao saw right through him.
"My name is Li Peien. I have no idea who you are talking about," he said, his voice flat, unemotional. She smiled slightly, but her eyes remained dead. When she raised her hand, trying to cup his cheek. He let her, but waited for an answer. His feelings were too tangled now, he did not know how to react at all.
"You have her eyes, but other than that, you are the spitting image of your father when he was young." Jingting's eyes widened in shock. Father?
"Father?" he asked carefully.
"Your father, Wen Zhen. He was the most righteous man I've ever met. The one who did not hesitate to save a life, no matter who was in trouble. He did not even care to almost cut my belly open just to get Liu Sheng out…" she sighed as if remembering the past, mindlessly caressing her belly.
"He… did?" Jingting was unable to think. He was stunned.
"Don't worry. I know how bad that probably is, but once I saw you, I just couldn't help it… You are really cute. I never saw you as a baby, nobody allowed me to visit you. None of us could meet your father after that night. It was too risky. The three of them could never meet again if they wanted to live." Jingting was only more confused. But she stopped caressing his cheek, and her eyes got back the light in them, being kind again, and she smiled once more.
"Let's talk more with everyone during the dinner. I won't hold you and Princess Changning from talking. You definitely have things to talk about." She got up and left with all her servants. Both of them were so stunned that they even forgot to bow on her way out. Rude, yes. But who would be able to when their carefully crafted identities were found out so easily?
There was no way they would be able to go further than Datong if they were recognized by the older generation.
"Who is she?" Jingting asked, completely stunned. But it took him a while to wake up from the shock he received.
"I have no idea," Xuhua admitted.
"I thought she was just simply Madam Zhao, the Duchess Dowager, the widow after the late Duke of Zhenshuo. I knew she had skills and surely was smart. But Liu Cheng is not exactly bright, and they had been away from the Capital for a long time… Yet…" Yet, she managed to dig out their deepest secrets, maybe she heard it from Liu Cheng or Liu Sheng, who knew, but now she had leverage against them. She could do anything, and if she wished, she could kill them both.
"Who did she mean by the 'three of them'? Do you have any idea what she meant?" Jingting shook his head. It was his first time to be told he looked like his father when he was young. The people around him weren't that old to remember Imperial Doctor Wen Zhen when he was Jingting's age.
"Fuck this. I shouldn't have left the sanctuary. This was a bad idea," he exclaimed, slamming the teacup on the table, so hard he got splashed by hot water. It was a welcome pain to make him wake up from the shock.
"If she was a bad woman, she would have already used you. Also, Liu Cheng talked about blood debt, he was obviously not without manners. When he learnt about us, he swore not to tell anyone. That means he and Liu Sheng weren't those who betrayed us. The only possible outcome is that she knew our parents…" his mind was working so much it was hurting. But Xuhua nodded.
"I think she really thinks of me as a daughter… I've never felt any threat from her behaviour." Jingting straightened himself.
"Oh, yeah, daughter-in-law? You are Princess, did you forget it in the sanctuary?! Remember that in the future you will marry whoever your father picks for you… Don't get attach-..." he stopped.
"Wait, he is a duke now? Duke of Zhenshuo…? It might be possible…" She slapped him over his shoulder and stood up.
"I don't care, the future is too far, live for today because you never know how long you will live." Jingting rolled his eyes.
"You are two years younger than me… Don't try to sound all high, mighty, and wise, you will definitely outlive me. Just go back to your father's mansion, and you will be pampered till your death." He smiled at her before she left. It was a joke. They were surrounded by death, and since she helped out in the barracks, she must have encountered more death than recoveries.
Jingting was left alone in the room, feeling the gloom looming over him. It was too bad. His thoughts were running around in his head, making him more and more confused. But he sat there, alone, sipping the tea that had already become cold, weighing the pros and threats, until the night came. And with night, a person in a black robe came into the room, quickly closing the door and windows.
"Are you silly? Do you want to get sick once again? I don't want you to catch the chill." Liu Sheng took down his own dark black coat lined with gray fur and put it over Jingting's shoulder. He brought it closer to his chest and looked up at Liu Sheng.
"Did you or Liu Cheng tell your mother about me and Xuhua?" he asked, his voice desperate, lost. Sheng sat beside him and reached out with his hand before taking it back. He looked deeply into Jinging's eyes before looking away.
"No… we did not. But she knows. She is the one who told us about the Wen family and our father after I came back and after she saw Xuhua… It's…" He looked back at Jingting.
"She said we will talk during dinner. Should I be scared?" Jingting asked, not knowing what to do, searching for support. Liu Sheng shook his head.
"She would never hurt you. She has a bit of a soft spot for you, actually. But there is something from their past that all of us need to know. She did not want us to get included at first, but once I was gravely wounded and my father was killed, she said we are already in, and we need to brace for something. So… In my opinion, you can think of her as your aunty. She would never hurt you as hurting you will hurt me…" he said and smiled. But Jingting was not calmer, more like the other way around, his heart started beating even faster.