The Queen's Thousand Autumns - Chapter 3

Chapter 3

The loquat tree in the Western Warm Pavilion was as lovely as ever.

Tang Yichen had planted it with his own hands when we were newly wed.

He did it because I loved loquats.

At first, Tang Yichen hadn’t agreed to planting a loquat tree, insisting on a pomegranate instead.

He said the symbolism of a loquat tree wasn’t auspicious.

I felt slighted, so that night, I buried my head in the covers and slept with my back to him.

He then grabbed a few loquats and snuck them into the bedding one by one, making silly noises. “The Loquat Spirit pays his respects to the Loquat King! Long live the King, long live, long live!”

I twisted and turned to hide from him, and soon we were a laughing mess.

When I stepped out the next morning, a small sapling had already been planted in the courtyard.

I asked him in pleasant surprise, “Is it a loquat tree?”

He kept a straight face and stubbornly insisted, “No, it’s a pomegranate.”

The surrounding servants all stifled their laughter.

I reached out to touch the loquat tree, its leaves rustling softly.

Xinyue pouted. “Why do I feel like I’m constantly being fed dog food?”

I tilted my head. “Huh? Dog food? Is it tasty?”

Xinyue laughed and waved her hand as she slipped into the sleeping quarters. “Keep going, keep going. I love hearing this.”

The furnishings in the hall remained exactly as they were, but the memories were becoming more frayed by the day.

Xinyue picked up a small tiger-head hat from the bedside, looking at it with curiosity. “Was this for your child?”

My heart trembled. I gave a faint smile and shook my head. “Our child never made it into the world; they left before they could be born. The Imperial Physician said I was physically weak and had an accumulation of ‘cold’ in my system, making it difficult for me to carry a child to term.”

During the pregnancy, I often vomited until I was exhausted.

The mere smell of food made me nauseous; I couldn’t eat, and my spirit was weary.

I spent my time lying on the daybed, using those hours to embroider this little hat.

Tang Yichen would rush to my side the moment he finished his work.

I would embroider, and he would build a rocking horse.

He said he hoped the child reincarnated into our family would be a hero who once galloped across the battlefields.

But in the end, I couldn’t protect the child.

On the day the baby left us, Tang Yichen held my hand all night, softly kissing my furrowed brow.

“It’s not your fault. The little one must have changed its mind at the last second. It didn’t want to be a pampered noble; it wanted to be a wandering hero of the martial world.”

While I was still in my postpartum recovery month, the Princess Consort arranged a concubine for Tang Yichen.

Several servants blocked Tang Yichen inside the bridal chamber, determined not to open the door until he had consummated the marriage.

I curled up alone on my bed and cried all night.

Eventually, I fell asleep from exhaustion.

In a half-awake, half-dreaming state, I felt someone pull me into their arms.

Tang Yichen sounded even more aggrieved than I felt as he recounted how difficult it had been for him to escape and make it back to me.

In truth, my heart was full of joy, but I still had to maintain a serious front and tell him to listen to his mother and work on expanding the family line.

Tang Yichen played the rogue with a straight face. “But I’m not just picky about which bed I sleep in-I’m picky about the person. I have an ailment; I can’t do it with anyone else. If you don’t believe me, why don’t you try for yourself?”

My face flushed hot at his words, and I buried myself under the quilt, refusing to acknowledge him.

He simply held me through the blanket, patting me gently to coax me to sleep as he murmured softly:

“There are thousands upon thousands of women in this world, but there is only one Xue Wanjun.”