TFWYH – Chapter 264 As a Substitute

Ji Wushuang harbored a small desire for revenge—after all, this woman had said he wasn’t as good-looking as her husband!

Tang Wan looked at him for a while, then resigned herself to lying back down and continuing to scribble, her brows knitted tightly.

After some more time passed, Tang Wan finally put pen to paper.

The tip of the brush jabbed straight onto the paper, spreading a blot of ink.

Tang Wan took a deep breath, tore the paper off, crumpled it into a ball, and tossed it away, then lay back down and kept struggling on.

Another quarter of an hour passed before Tang Wan finally finished writing the medicinal diet prescription. She let out a long breath of relief and handed the prescription to Ji Wushuang.

Ji Wushuang looked at the crooked, worm-like scrawl in front of him, the corner of his eye twitching hard.
“This is what you call being able to write?”

“Yes.” Tang Wan nodded, then added, “I’m just not used to using a brush.”

Ji Wushuang didn’t believe her at all and sneered mercilessly. “Isn’t your husband a scholar? How is it that you’re so utterly ignorant?”

“What’s it to you?” Tang Wan shot him a cool glance and turned to leave.

Ji Wushuang: ??

Ji Wushuang: …

He hadn’t heard wrong—this woman had just cursed at him!

It was… downright infuriating.

In all his years, this was the first time a woman had ever dared to scold him!

Ji Wushuang lifted his foot and followed after her, a trace of anger in his voice.
“You dare to scold me?”

Tang Wan looked at him with the gaze one would reserve for an idiot.
“You mocked me first. Why shouldn’t I scold you?”

Ji Wushuang was so angry he laughed. “You’ve got a lot of nerve!”

“Thanks for the compliment.” Tang Wan couldn’t be bothered with him anymore. Impatience filled her brows, and her steps quickened noticeably.

Ji Wushuang: …

He really wanted to throw this woman out!

But he didn’t get the chance.

Tang Wan soon returned to the pavilion and took her leave of Su Qing.

Su Qing was reluctant to see her go and wanted her to stay for dinner, but Tang Wan declined.

With no other choice, Su Qing had to let her leave.

Old Master Huang also spoke up, telling Ji Wushuang to escort Tang Wan back.

It really wasn’t necessary!

Tang Wan wanted to refuse, but seeing Su Qing’s worried expression, she let it go.

After she left, the emperor finally asked Su Qing, “You gave Su Xi to her?”

“Your Majesty, please forgive me!” Su Qing immediately knelt, her expression full of concern.
“Although my appearance has recovered, my body has been damaged, and it will be difficult for me to bear children in the future. Wan’er is my only daughter, and I truly cannot bear the thought of anything happening to her. Su Xi’s martial arts are superb—having her look after Wan’er puts my mind at ease.”

The emperor pondered for a moment, then asked, “Without Su Xi’s protection, what will you do?”

Su Qing smiled. “I have Your Majesty. Your Majesty will surely protect me.”

“You…” The emperor laughed helplessly. “You really are too good to this daughter.”

But he could understand it.

Although he treated Su Qing as a substitute, after so many years of companionship, it wasn’t as though he had no feelings for her.

Su Qing was too considerate. In the entire palace, she was the one who understood him best.

Their pair of children were gone, and how many twists and turns lay behind that—Su Qing wasn’t unaware.

Yet she had never once made a fuss with him over it, nor ever expressed dissatisfaction in front of him.

The emperor would always remember that after Su Qing escaped from the sea of flames, having learned that her children were gone and her face ruined, the first thing she said upon seeing him was, “Your Majesty, don’t be sad.”

In this lifetime, the emperor had many women and many children, but every woman seemed to forget one thing—he, too, was the children’s father.

And children were not tools for them to fight for power and profit.

Only Su Qing remembered this, and understood that when the children were gone, he would also be in pain.

Thus, he granted Su Qing special permission to return home to recuperate, and announced to the outside world that Consort Li was gravely ill and recuperating quietly within the palace.