Chapter 708: Chapter 258: Parting

Xiang’er stared at Chen Wanqing’s round, bulging belly in astonishment—it looked as if she were hiding a drum under her clothes. Standing there at a loss, Xiang’er wanted to touch it but didn’t dare, her eyes filled with a mixture of joy and worry.

"Isn’t there still more than a month until you’re due, Wanqing? How did your belly get so big? Are you very uncomfortable? Jing is so wrong for this. At a time like..."

Xiang’er suddenly bit her lip, a look of remorse flashing across her face. She had been holding back her grief, trying not to mention Jing. But how could she control her mouth? That was her oldest brother. And just like that, with a simple slip of the tongue, his name had escaped her lips.

Panic-stricken, Xiang’er grabbed Chen Wanqing’s hands. "Wanqing, I misspoke. Let’s not talk about Jing; let’s talk about my little nephew. When Mother and I found out you were pregnant, we were overjoyed. Having nothing else to do at home, we cut fabric to make little clothes and shoes for him every day. We’ve already made enough clothes to last until he’s three!"

A maid helped Chen Wanqing put on her shoes. She stood up, supporting herself on Xiang’er’s arm, her expression utterly calm.

"You’ve already made clothes for a three-year-old? That must have been so much work. You’re still young; don’t stay cooped up in the house all day. You should go out for a walk when you have free time.

"In Xinghuai Prefecture, you didn’t have many good friends, so it was fine that you didn’t like going out. But now, the Xu family has many girls your age, and even Kaiyan lives here. If you play with them often, you’ll slowly start to find it interesting.

"Let’s go find Mother so I can pay my respects to her."

The two stepped out of the room. Unexpectedly, they had just reached the middle of the courtyard when they saw Xu Suying walking over with Mrs. Zhao.

When Mrs. Zhao saw Chen Wanqing, she quickened her pace, eventually breaking into a run for the last few steps. She pulled Chen Wanqing into a tight embrace. "My poor Qing’er! That bastard Jing, how could he just leave you behind..."

Mrs. Zhao and Xiang’er had run into Zhao Jing at a post station over a hundred miles away from Capital City.

At first, they thought their eyes were playing tricks on them. But when they walked up and confirmed that it was really Jing, an overwhelming wave of joy washed over them. In that moment, they hadn’t realized anything was wrong. They simply assumed that Jing had received their letter in advance and had come to pick them up.

However, they quickly realized something was amiss. For one, Jing was currently working at the Hanlin Academy. Qing’er had written earlier, saying that he was so busy every day that his feet barely touched the ground. If he didn’t even have time to sleep, how could he possibly have the time to leave Capital City to welcome them?

Then, they noticed several burly men from the Western Regions following behind Jing. The men stared at them with hostile eyes and asked Jing maliciously, "Mr. Zhao, is this your family? Oh my, what a rare reunion. Why don’t you bring your family along to the Western Regions as well?"

Mrs. Zhao felt as if she had been struck by lightning. Later, when she pulled Jing into a room and interrogated him for the truth, she found out that he was heading to the Western Regions.

She felt as though her head had been bashed with a hammer, and she couldn’t recover her wits for a long time. Even when she finally snapped out of it, she refused to believe it was true. She just thought her son was playing a trick on her.

But how could a matter of such magnitude be a joke? She was forced to accept the reality. She had to swallow the tragic truth that she and her son were being separated just after being reunited, and she had to bear the agonizing news that they might never see each other again for the rest of their lives.

She cried, threw a tantrum, and even threatened to take poison to force her son’s hand. However, Zhao Jing merely knelt before her bed and absolutely refused to back out of going to the Western Regions.

It made sense. The imperial decree had already been issued. If he backed out of going to the Western Regions now, it would be a defiance of an imperial order, and their entire family would be thrown into prison.

Jing stayed in her room for the entire night. He spoke of nothing else but Chen Wanqing.

"Wanqing is about to give birth, yet I am leaving her behind. I feel deeply ashamed toward her. Mother, once you arrive in Capital City, please take good care of Wanqing for me.

"Mother, even if I am not by your side, you still have your grandchild. If you protect Wanqing and the child, you are protecting my very life. I will return one day.

"Please, protect this family for me. You can’t let my family fall apart..."

Remembering her son’s sorrowful expression, Mrs. Zhao felt a mix of resentment and heartache. But all those feelings vanished into thin air the moment she saw the heavily pregnant and utterly haggard Chen Wanqing.

"Qing’er, you must take good care of yourself. Jing has no conscience; we won’t think about him anymore.

"Jing has let you down, and I won’t make excuses for him. Just focus on taking care of yourself and the baby first. Later on, whether you want a divorce or wish to remarry, I will leave it entirely up to you..."

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