Chapter 816 – Building the Capital, Setting the Capital (5)
“What’s he sad about?”
Is it because of the names of the two children?
Jiang Pengji felt a chill in her heart, vaguely guessing something.
“What special meaning do these two names hold for you?”
Wei Ci took a deep breath silently to ease the aching pressure in his chest, his pale face regaining some color.
“They don’t have any special meaning.”
He replied with a smile, but his expression looked somewhat haggard and weak.
Jiang Pengji didn’t pry further and instead said, “Changsheng often stays over at your place? Where is she?”
Wei Ci stood up to lead the way. He was the only master in the residence, and the other servants had their own quarters, so most of the rooms in the house were empty. Because Changsheng often came over to cause a ruckus, Wei Ci had simply prepared a room specifically for her, decorated quite elegantly inside.
Jiang Pengji chuckled, “That girl sleeps really soundly, but her sleeping posture is terrible.”
In high-ranking noble families, every word and action, even sleeping positions, had to follow strict rules. If someone else’s child were to sleep like Changsheng, sprawled all over the place, they would surely be called out, and the servants would face punishment.
“Even though the weather is getting warmer, kicking off the blanket isn’t good.”
Seeing Changsheng’s rosy cheeks as she kicked the blanket under the bed, Wei Ci couldn’t help but laugh, lifting the thin blanket to cover her properly.
Jiang Pengji stared at Wei Ci for a long time in silence, making him feel quite uneasy; he wanted to back away but found it impossible to do so.
Finally, he could only force a smile and ask Jiang Pengji, “Why are you looking at me like that? Did a flower grow on my face?”
Just then, Jiang Pengji shifted her gaze away, allowing Wei Ci to breathe a sigh of relief.
But the next question she asked scared him stiff, causing cold sweat to break out, nearly making him forget to breathe.
“Zixiao is almost twenty-four now, right? Why is there still no movement at home?”
In the context of the audience, twenty-four is a young age right after graduation, the peak of vigor, and there’s no rush to settle down.
In Jiang Pengji’s era, twenty-four was legally still considered a minor, far from the legal age for marriage.
In this time, a normal man at twenty-four could be somewhat flirtatious and could already form a baseball team with children.
Looking at Wei Ci, not only was he unmarried, but he also had no concubines or even a secondary room; his nightlife usually consisted of being busy with official duties.
Whenever he had free time, he either visited relatives or spent his time with books, not once stepping into the world of romance.
Clearly, as an ordinary person in the secular world, he lived like an ascetic monk.
“A man who hasn’t achieved anything cannot establish a family,” Wei Ci tossed out a cliché excuse, “Moreover, marriages require parental commands and matchmaker words. Now that my family is all in Zhong Zhao, they probably can’t care for me. There’s no rush right now, I can delay a year or two.”
Jiang Pengji laughed.
“Not having achieved anything? How could that be? Zixiao is being too humble; when it comes to contributions, few can compare to you.”
Jiang Pengji’s words weren’t just flattery; they were heartfelt.
Wei Ci acted low-profile, his presence weak, but could the merits he achieved be considered small?
Not to mention, just the matter of “land reclamation” alone could earn him a spot in history books.
Throughout history, how many people have spent their lives striving for the phrase “to leave a name in history,” and how many have actually succeeded?
Wei Ci claimed he hadn’t achieved anything, which to Jiang Pengji seemed overly humble.
“As for matchmaker words and parental commands, special times call for special measures. Your relatives are a great distance away in Zhong Zhao; who knows if you’ll ever meet again. If you never see them again, are you really planning to remain single for life?”
At this moment, Wei Ci raised his head, his expression frighteningly calm, with eyes that held depths others couldn’t pry into.
Jiang Pengji cheerfully suggested, “How about this: I’ll step in and introduce a match for you.”
Upon hearing this, Wei Ci’s expression shifted to an exceedingly complex one, as if an internal battle was raging within him, the outcome unclear.
His thoughts were pulled into memories, fragments of the past flashing before his eyes.
[Child, if you bring him back, you know what to do.]
[臣知晓, the concubine Mi gave birth yesterday and unfortunately bled out, desperately giving birth to a son… Would the Emperor like to give the child a nickname?]
[… Let’s call him Fushou… From now on, he will take your surname. You can make all decisions, no need to consult me.]
Once the world was at peace, ministers worried for the royal progeny; the Emperor desired to establish his eldest daughter as the heir but faced objections from the officials.
At that time, the Emperor was pregnant again, and everyone’s hopes were set on this child, anxiously wishing for a crown prince.
Unfortunately, the situation was tumultuous, with constant natural disasters.
The Red Lotus Sect’s rebels wreaked havoc, even infiltrating the homes of court officials, conspiring to launch an assassination.
Amid the chaos, the Emperor was in labor.
It was the long-awaited male child.
Upon birth, he should have been named the Crown Prince, but alas, the child was ill-fated, taking his last breath immediately after birth, and could only be posthumously honored as Crown Prince Zhangzhuo.
In the aftermath of this calamity, the Emperor found it hard to conceive again.
A country cannot be without heirs, and the appointment of the eldest daughter was raised to the forefront.
This time, all officials were as silent as chickens, not daring to voice any objections.
[Wei Zixiao, you should understand… If Fushou is ‘alive’, both I and Changsheng will face a dead end…]
[I understand and will raise Fushou well.]
Before the five countries were unified, power struggles were less apparent, but after unification, all conflicts exploded to the surface.
The aristocracy had risen in power during the Emperor’s reign but remained suppressed.
After the unification of the country, the wounded aristocracy could only band together in secret, aiming to resist the Emperor and seize power.
Wei Ci knew that at this time, there must not be a “Crown Prince.”
Thus, the newly born Fushou had to be forced to “die young,” taking on the identity of the son of Wei Ci’s concubine Mi—a fictional character altogether.
Fortunately, Wei Ci had a low presence; adhering to norms in his actions, the fierce ministers didn’t pay attention to him at all.
No one connected the early demise of Crown Prince Zhangzhuo to Wei Ci’s illegitimate son.
When Wei Ci got lost in memories, Jiang Pengji’s face loomed larger, startling him into a sudden backward lean.
Luckily, the two were kneeling, so if he had dodged that sudden, he would’ve smacked the back of his head hard against the ground.
“If I told Zishi that I planned to gift him a beauty, he would definitely go crazy with joy. Why wouldn’t you want to?”
Jiang Pengji supported herself against the ground next to him, smiling as she looked at Wei Ci’s pale, panicked face.
She helplessly said, “I’m not a monster; every time I get close to you, you always look so scared.”
Wei Ci took a deep breath, his mind clearing considerably.
“Having a small heart, naturally, I’d be scared if you teased me like this.”
Jiang Pengji clicked her tongue, her tone a bit heavy with grievance.
Wei Ci said, “Could you please stand up? This isn’t proper; it could harm your reputation.”
“Your residence is empty, with no one outside to guard; who will know?”
Wei Ci couldn’t push her away, his complexion turning red and pale, even the red threads at the corners of his eyes betraying his embarrassment and anger.
Jiang Pengji also couldn’t press too hard; she had no choice but to stand up.
Taking advantage of Wei Ci’s moment of looking down to tidy himself, she meaningfully said, “Names aren’t important; what matters is the person.”
