Chapter 1786 -1779: He Dreamed of Xiao Yu and Su Miaoyan Again

Su Miaoyan and Xiao Yuntang waited in the main hall for a long time, even preparing a sumptuous dinner, intending to have Xiao Ning join them for dinner.

But they only waited for Xiao Yu, who wheeled himself to the table. Su Miaoyan craned her neck to look behind him, “Why is it just you? Where’s Ningning?”

“He’s gone.” Xiao Yu’s tone was flat.

“He left? Daddy, why didn’t you ask him to stay? What if he’s really my brother…” Xiao Yuntang clutched her handkerchief, looking outside with some agitation.

She didn’t see that handsome and upright figure, feeling a hint of loss in her heart.

Su Miaoyan’s eyes reddened, “He’s my Ningning! Yu, why didn’t you keep him here? He’s been gone for over ten years, can’t you feel it? He’s our Ningning!”

This kind of mother-son bond was unmistakable!

For all these years, others said her son had died. Every year, Saint Ruan would say, such a young child, if not dead in that great fire, would surely meet a grim fate if taken away, possibly suffering unimaginable torment.

But she never believed it!

She could feel it, her Ningning was still alive and well somewhere, growing up like Tangtang.

“Yan’er, sit down.”

Xiao Yu held her arm to calm her down, “He resembles Ningning, but it’s too deliberate.”

Even his closeness to Su Miaoyan and Tangtang was too deliberate, subtly hinting at his motives.

He wanted help to ask Chu Heng for his sister back.

“If he is our Ningning, what harm is there in asking the Crown Prince? Would the Crown Prince really detain a lady without reason in the palace?” Su Miaoyan’s eyes were red as she blamed Xiao Yu.

Xiao Yu did not explain further but instead continued to comfort her until her emotions settled.

With the night deep, he put Su Miaoyan to sleep, then saw Xiao Yuntang still standing alone under the corridor.

“Daddy,” Xiao Yuntang softly murmured.

She walked behind Xiao Yu, gently pushing his wheelchair with a considerate touch, “Daddy, can you be sure that person is Brother?”

To her, Xiao Yu spoke more than he did with Su Miaoyan, “Right now, Daddy cannot be sure. His resemblance to your brother is precisely his most exploitable trait.”

Xiao Yuntang’s heart felt heavy, “The wealth and power of the Xiao family, coveted by many, allow for countless possibilities. So perhaps that person harbors ill intentions, merely wanting to use Brother’s identity to exploit our parents’ love, gain the Xiao family’s support, and enter the court as an official, receiving high office and honors.”

Xiao Yu remained silent.

For a girl like Xiao Yuntang to think this far, she was already very wise.

Yet, from the first moment he saw Xiao Ning, he knew the situation was inexpressibly complex.

The emperor was abdicating, the Crown Prince was about to ascend the throne, nobles from various countries were hidden in the court, the spring imperial examinations—so many events were converging, creating a storm beyond anyone’s predictions.

After years of trials, it was only now that his heart was a little unsettled.

“Tangtang, Daddy asks you, do you have feelings for the Crown Prince?” Xiao Yu held the wheelchair, his voice low and unfathomable.

Xiao Yuntang froze, first embarrassed as her thoughts were seen through, looking down shyly.

But she had been spoiled by Daddy since childhood, her Daddy was unlike ordinary fathers, supporting many of her ideas, never confining her to her boudoir, taking her out to see the world, and willing to spend a fortune to make her happy. This allowed her to be sincere and open with Daddy.

She earnestly replied, “Yes, Daddy.”

Her heart was set on that gentle as jade man, feeling he had no flaws and was the best man in the world.

Xiao Yu’s gaze turned colder, warning her, “Daddy will not let you marry him as a concubine. You should give up thought and forget him.”

Xiao Yuntang was shocked, “Why?”

Xiao Yu did not want to explain too much to her, but when he saw her dropping tears, he somberly said, “He is not as the world sees him, nor is he a good man to marry.”

Their Crown Prince was like the deep sea, immeasurable, and more impossible to comprehend fully.

Rong Ning sought Xiao Yu’s help, but he himself foresaw that it didn’t go as his father had planned, where Xiao Yu would recognize him as his long-lost son upon meeting. Instead, Xiao Yu treated him politely but with distance.

His actions inadvertently aroused caution, making everything he laid out in Jiang Du City increasingly difficult.

He sat at his desk, writing a letter back, informing his father of the situation.

Late at night, he dreamt of Xiao Yu again.

This cold and indifferent man was smiling happily with the woman and child in the courtyard, personally holding water to feed the child, playing with the young girl-like wife in the courtyard.

The happiness of the family of three was very eye-catching, and the lovely woman even walked over to him, poked the child’s face playfully, “Ningning! Shall we swing with Mother?”

“Ningning! Ningning…”

In the dream, Su Miaoyan’s gentle eyes fell on him, and he instinctively awoke, sitting up from bed.

Xiao Yu raised his hand, placing it on his left chest.

Here, his heart pounded violently, as if a beast trying to break free from its cage, continually stirring him, making him reminisce about the past.

But what he could recall was only the icy world of Beiling, his father, mother, and sister.

Born and raised in Beiling, he had no memories outside of it.

But these images in his dream…

He didn’t know where they came from, seemingly out of nowhere.

The next day, he still had no news of Rong Yue. The palace was as impenetrable as a metal bucket; any attempt to reach out would be detected by the Imperial Guards, and when he personally scouted the day before, he found experts hiding around the imperial city.

Such experts that, once encountered, he might not escape unscathed.

So he could not rashly intrude, only wait.

He waited until three days before the spring imperial examinations, went to the Gongyuan to submit his diploma, and underwent his last identity verification. Three days later, he would be tested again, where no one is allowed to accompany him, to take the exam inside the Gongyuan.

The closed examination in the Gongyuan; once finished in three days, only then he could leave through the gate.

After the examination, Rong Ning came out from the Gongyuan, only to be hit by a big dumpling head-on, his abdomen felt like it was struck by a stone. Before he could speak, the big dumpling turned to quarrel with someone, “Chu Nianhan, are you blind, bumping into people?”

The woman called Chu Nianhan across them, haughtily supported her willow-thin waist, mocking Song Huaining, “Am I blind, or are you? You don’t even see how your hefty body bumped into the young master behind, I’m afraid you owe them medicine money, don’t you? Fat Song!”

Fuming, Song Huaining lunged forward to fight Chu Nianhan.

Having fought each other from childhood, Chu Nianhan, in her frail childhood, would take some losses, but having diligently practiced martial arts in adulthood, Song Huaining could gain no advantage over her now.

Both were disheveled and panting after fighting.

Seizing a moment when Song Huaining was wiping sweat, Chu Nianhan kicked her in the abdomen, knocking her down, before quickly taking her servant and maid, jumping onto a carriage, and escaping.

Song Huaining fell to the ground, her pear blossom white skirt curled up, looking like a big dumpling covered in dust.

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Update is here! Because I’ve been diligently updating my new book lately, I haven’t attended to my old one, but I’ll catch up these two days. Thank you to the readers who have kept up with my updates. I’ll stock up on extra updates for you all during the holidays! Feel free to check out my new book as well, “The Delicate Princess: The Cold and Stern Regent Was Swayed by Her,” 600,000 words, ready for your reading binge~~~

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