Su Xian’s hand instinctively drifted to her belly.
This was her first child with The Prince…
Su Xian’s gaze fell on Duoduo’s innocent, radiant face.
No!
She had sworn that Duoduo was the first child she and The Prince had shared!
The baby in her belly could only count as the second.
Having made up her mind, Su Xian said, “Didn’t you just say that it’s still too early?”
“There’s an old custom that says people should try not to tell too many others during the first three months of a pregnancy.”
“It wouldn’t be good for the baby!”
A look of sudden realization appeared on Duoduo’s face.
So there was such a saying!
Then she definitely couldn’t tell anyone!
This was the little brother she had waited so long and so hard for!
“All right! Then I definitely won’t tell!” Duoduo covered her mouth, showing how determined she was.
Su Xian was amused.
“Yes! If your father asks, just tell him that your mother wouldn’t let you say anything.”
Su Xian was worried that if The Prince found out Duoduo had kept something from him, he would be unhappy.
So she simply took the blame upon herself.
Duoduo smiled at Su Xian, her eyes curving into crescents. “Mm!”
Su Xian gently patted Duoduo’s head.
“All right. Your maternal grandfather has sent a letter, and your father wants me to go take a look.”
“You two carry on. Mother will be going now.”
Duoduo gently touched Su Xian’s belly.
“Little brother, you have to be good!”
Su Xian smiled.
“What if it’s a little sister? Wouldn’t she be hurt if she heard you say that?”
Duoduo tilted her little head. “It is a little brother!”
“All right, all right. I know you want a little brother. Mother is leaving now.”
With that, Su Xian said goodbye with a bright smile. She gave Nina a slight nod, then turned and left.
Nina had heard the entire conversation between Su Xian and Duoduo.
A look of envy appeared in her eyes.
“Princess, you and your mother are so close!”
Duoduo turned around in surprise. “Nina, is your mother not good to you?”
At the mention of her mother, Nina lowered her head.
“I’ve never seen my mother.”
“I don’t even know what she looks like.”
Duoduo was astonished.
“Nina, I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”
Nina shook her head.
“It has nothing to do with you.”
“My mother left with a man not long after giving birth to me.”
“According to my grandmother, that man was an important official in the capital.”
“My mother went there to enjoy a life of luxury!”
This was the first time Duoduo had heard Nina speak about her past.
She was curious.
“Nina, has your mother never come back to see you all these years?”
Nina shook her head.
“No.”
“I secretly followed my master to the capital because I wanted to look for my mother.”
“I want to ask her why she gave birth to me only to abandon me!”
“I want to find out whether she left me deliberately or whether she had some unspeakable reason!”
Duoduo pondered for a moment. She felt deeply sympathetic toward Nina.
“Has your mother ever sent you a letter?”
Nina shook her head again.
“No! Not even once!”
A puzzled look appeared on Duoduo’s face.
“Then how does your grandmother know that your mother is in the capital?”
“Could she have lied to you?”
Nina’s expression immediately darkened.
“My grandmother would never lie to me!”
“My grandmother knows how to read fortunes. She calculated that my mother is in the capital!”
“And my mother is living very well!”
Duoduo fell silent.
What mother who was living well would never return to reunite with her family?
“Did your mother have a falling-out with your grandmother’s family?”
Duoduo thought of Su Xian. Her mother had also quarreled with her maternal family, which was why they rarely visited one another.
Nina shook her head again.
“Impossible!”
“My grandmother often tells me about my mother’s past. I can tell from her expression that she isn’t lying!”
“She misses my mother terribly!”
Although Nina said this, doubts had begun to creep into her own heart.
She had asked before why her mother had never returned.
But everyone who knew what had happened said that her mother had gone to the capital to become an official’s wife.
They even said that her mother was truly heartless.
She had abandoned her daughter and left for all these years.
Nina had been furious and gotten into a heated argument with those people.
In the end, it was her grandmother who dragged her home.
“They’re just jealous. Don’t pay them any mind!”
“The southern border is so far from the capital. How could a woman possibly travel such a long distance to come back?”
“Forget what those people said!”
After that, Nina stopped playing with the other children in the village.
Instead, she buried herself in the search for the most powerful gu insects.
Because she had to become outstanding!
Only then would she have a chance to go to the capital and find her mother!
Sure enough, she followed her master and traveled thousands of miles to the capital.
But after arriving, Nina discovered that the capital was nothing like the southern border.
In the southern border, women could freely stroll about outside.
That was impossible in the capital!
Even Princess Consort of Pingyang spent most of her time within the inner residence.
Nina gradually understood what her grandmother had meant when she said that her mother must have had a difficult life.
She herself had grown accustomed to freedom in the southern border, yet in the capital, she could only remain cooped up within the confines of the inner residence.
It was suffocating!
Nina began to miss the southern border.
She missed her grandmother.
She wanted to go home!
Seeing Nina’s expression suddenly turn gloomy, Duoduo began to feel guilty.
Thinking of her own experiences, she felt a strong sense of empathy toward Nina.
“Nina, do you have a portrait of your mother?”
“My mother knows quite a few wives from prominent families in the capital.”
“Give the portrait to me, and I’ll ask my mother to take a look. Maybe she knows your mother!”
Duoduo had thought of a wonderful idea.
Nina’s eyes lit up, but they soon dimmed again.
She shook her head dejectedly.
“People from the southern border never have portraits made of themselves!”
“And I’ve never even seen what my mother looks like…”
Duoduo tilted her head and asked, “Then do you have some keepsake? Perhaps a jade pendant or something your mother left behind that could help you recognize her?”
Nina thought for a while.
“No!”
“I asked my grandmother, and she said that my mother left in such a hurry that she didn’t even leave a message.”
“My grandmother only stopped worrying after using divination to determine where my mother had gone!”
Duoduo’s eyes widened.
“You have none of those things, and you still came all the way to the capital to look for your mother?”
Duoduo found it utterly unbelievable.
The capital was enormous and densely populated. Finding one person among the countless people there was easier said than done.
What was more, her mother was a woman living behind the gates of an inner residence!
That made it even more difficult.
No— it was simply impossible.
Nina shook her head once more.
“Even though I don’t have any of the things you mentioned, I will definitely find my mother!”
“Everyone from the southern border has their own gu insect.”
“My gu insect can sense my mother’s presence.”
