After Wei Shuxuan finished speaking, she looked at Sima Yongheng. He didn't say a word, and it was hard to tell from his face whether he was angry or not.
Sima Yongheng wasn't a willful child. Just because he wanted to live with Sister Xuan, he wouldn't force her to do such things for him. Moreover, he knew that it was really difficult to enter the heavily - guarded palace. His teacher had also said in class that the palace wasn't a place where just anyone could enter or leave at will.
Suddenly, a white light flashed through Sima Yongheng's mind. Could it be?
"Sister Xuan, I'm not angry with you. But I have a question for you. Can you tell me the truth?" Sima Yongheng looked at Wei Shuxuan with a bit of caution in his eyes.
"Sure. Go ahead and ask."
Wei Shuxuan felt that there was nothing she couldn't tell Sima Yongheng by now. After all, he had already moved into General Long An's mansion, and her relationship with General Long An was known to almost everyone in the capital.
"Sister Xuan, are you a concubine in the palace? Or are you a court official?"
"Court official?" Wei Shuxuan really didn't know why Sima Yongheng would think she was a court official. She showed an embarrassed yet decent smile and denied Sima Yongheng's second assumption. "I'm not a court official."
"Ah, so you're a concubine? Then aren't you the queen?" Sima Yongheng still knew that there was actually only one concubine in the current Kingdom of Yulong. Because the new emperor had announced his marriage to the daughter of the Wei family soon after ascending the throne and hadn't taken any other concubines since.
The smile on Wei Shuxuan's face froze a bit, but she still nodded. "Will you blame me for lying to you, Yongheng?"
"Of course not. Why should I blame you, Sister Xuan?" Sima Yongheng smiled. "Everyone has their own secrets that they can't tell. Mother told me not to pry into other people's secrets unless they're willing to tell me."
"Yongheng, you're really a good boy..." Wei Shuxuan felt so touched that she was almost on the verge of tears. "Then does Yongheng have any secrets that you haven't told Sister Xuan?"
Taking this opportunity, Wei Shuxuan asked Sima Yongheng this question. Sima Yongheng thought seriously for a moment, frowning. "Um... I don't have any secrets. My mother passed away six years ago. She left me this jade pendant. I don't know who my father is, and I have no idea if there are any relatives on my mother's side."
That's right. Six years ago, Sima Yongheng was just a nine - year - old child. How could he have known?
"But my mother told me before she died that if someone came to me with a jade pendant like this one, I must never go with him. And that's all she said."
"Do you mean a jade pendant like the one hanging around your neck?" Sima Yongheng showed the jade pendant hanging around his neck to Wei Shuxuan. She had seen this jade pendant once before, but she had no idea what was written on it.
Although Wei Shuxuan didn't understand what her mother's last words meant, the person with the same jade pendant should be from their family, right? Otherwise, how could they have the same jade pendant? Her intuition told her that this jade pendant was very dangerous.
"Yongheng, listen to me. Keep this jade pendant well and don't let others see it. Do you understand?" Wei Shuxuan suddenly became very serious. Sima Yongheng was taken aback for a moment but still obediently nodded.
At sunset, the warm orange spread across the blue - purple sky, and the rosy clouds on the ground brought a comfortable feeling.
Dinner was already prepared at General Long An's mansion.
"Xuan'er, is it really okay to handle the matter of the Phoenix Feather Mirror like this?" Ge Zian asked Wei Shuxuan with some concern.
"Sure. Anyway, just handle it as Xin Zizhao says. I can't interfere. He's the one in power,"
Wei Shuxuan shrugged and replied to Ge Zian while picking up some food. "By the way, Zian, I'll go out with Xin Zizhao later to inspect the people's livelihood. Do you want to go? I don't know if Xin Zizhao has asked you to go with us."
"The emperor didn't tell me. Where do you plan to go for the inspection?" Ge Zian was taken aback. He hadn't heard anything about this from the emperor.
"Um..." Wei Shuxuan bit the end of her chopsticks, showing a puzzled look on her face. "I don't know either. He just said he'd go out with me and that we'd inspect the people's livelihood by the way, but he didn't tell me where! Do you know, Zian?"
"You're the emperor's beloved. If you don't know, how could we possibly know?" Ge Zian then thought of a possibility. Could it be because of that incident?
Noticing Ge Zian's expression, Wei Shuxuan asked him, "Zian, do you know where Xin Zizhao is going?"
"No... I'm just guessing. I'm not sure if that's where he's going."
"Where on earth is it?" Wei Shuxuan hated it most when people kept her in suspense.
"He may be going to Kele Town."
"Kele Town? Where is it?" Wei Shuxuan wasn't very familiar with the small towns here. She only knew the ones she had been to.
"Kele Town is a border town in our Kingdom of Yulong. Xuan'er, you have no reason not to know that, do you?" Ge Zian looked at Wei Shuxuan with a puzzled expression.
Being asked like this by Ge Zian, Wei Shuxuan was suddenly choked. "Cough, cough, cough, cough, cough..."
"Zian, why are you asking Xuan'er such a question? Here, Xuan'er, drink some water quickly!" Seeing Wei Shuxuan choking, Ge Long'an quickly poured her a glass of water.
With great difficulty, Wei Shuxuan swallowed the food stuck in her throat. Tears welled up in the corners of her eyes. "... It's okay. I was just careless. It's not Zian's fault."
"Didn't Xuan'er say before that she had lost her memory? Why are you still asking her this question?" Ge Long'an still remembered that Wei Shuxuan had lost her memory due to a serious injury before.
"I'm sorry, Xuan'er. I was just forgetful."
Ge Zian apologized to Wei Shuxuan. Wei Shuxuan waved her hand. "It's okay. It's normal not to remember."
"Then when are you and Zizhao leaving?" Ge Long'an picked up some food for Wei Shuxuan.
"I don't know. We have to wait until Xin Zizhao finishes dealing with all those important matters before we can leave."
"If you're ready, remember to tell our father - son pair," seeing the puzzled look in Wei Shuxuan's eyes, Ge Long'an smiled. "Our father - son pair will also set off with you."
"Ah?" Wei Shuxuan looked at Ge Long'an in surprise. If Ge Zian wanted to go, she could understand, but why did Ge Long'an want to go with them? "Godfather, why?"