Chapter 142: Amnesia? Or a Facade?
The Hall of Reflection.
Quan Xiu was reviewing documents at his desk.
The little snake was confined in a specially made magical cage, lined with several layers of soft, silken cushions, placed right on the desk. He could see it at all times.
"This time, a minor punishment, confining you for three days," Quan Xiu said casually, turning a page of the document. "If you run off again, I won't bother looking for you."
Xiao Qi, already dispirited, burst into tears upon hearing this. "Waaah! I really am a child without a mother. Father doesn't love me either. Once my little sister hatches, I'll become a neglected weed."
"…" So noisy. Who did it get this personality from?
Quan Xiu sighed, rubbing his temples. "I didn't say I wouldn't care about you."
Every time it ran off, wasn't he the one who anxiously searched for it? No matter what trouble it caused, Quan Xiu always smoothed things over for it.
"Then, Father! Let me out!"
"If I let you out, you'll just run off again."
"I won't run off this time, I promise! I've found Mother!"
"You mean that female?" Quan Xiu paused, his eyes unable to focus on the words in the document. He remembered the little snake saying last time that she had an aura that instinctively drew it closer, making it uncontrollably want to find her.
"She is my mother, absolutely! Father, you should quickly marry Mother and bring her home, and I'll never run off again," Xiao Qi said.
"…When you first came to the manor, you used the same excuse, saying you liked the scent of that concubine, Luan Zhi, that it made you feel close, which is why I kept her around. You're changing mothers a bit too quickly. I can't marry them all," Quan Xiu said, having heard this excuse from it more than once, so he hadn't taken it to heart.
"No, it's different! I just like the scent on Luan Zhi, I don't know why, it smells good, and I can't help wanting to sniff her, but I don't like her. She always uses me as an excuse to pester Father, and I hate her!" the little snake said anxiously. "You can't marry Luan Zhi, you have to marry Mother. You quickly need to keep Mother by your side. I swear, I'll never run off again!"
"If you're more obedient, I'll consider it."
"That's great, Father! You must get along well with Mother. Other beastmen children have parents. In the future, Xiao Qi will also be a child with a mother!"
Quan Xiu hummed in response, his heart unmoved. It made no difference to him who he married.
He would choose whoever Xiao Qi wanted as its beast mother to be his partner, giving it the family it longed for.
"My lord, the noble female you brought back this morning has awakened and requests an audience with you."
"Alright, let her in."
Sang Luo had only just entered the room when she saw Xiao Qi locked in the cage, making her smile wryly.
Quan Xiu set down the document in his hand, his gaze landing on her, and dismissed the servants attending him.
"What do you want to see me about?"
Sang Luo looked at him, her face once again covered by a mask, though wearing it was rather pointless. "Um, thank you for saving me."
"You're welcome. It was just a matter of convenience."
Sang Luo was speechless. She pursed her lips and asked again, "Quan Xiu, why did you pretend not to know me when I met you at the morning market last time?"
"…We know each other?"
"You don't remember me?" Sang Luo asked in surprise.
He didn't answer, seemingly lost in thought. Sang Luo didn't know what to say either, and the two fell into an awkward silence.
After a moment, Quan Xiu picked up the cage from the desk and walked over, handing it to her. "I have some matters to attend to and must leave. My son is very fond of you. I wonder if the noble female would be available to help me look after him."
The two were close, and Sang Luo could smell the faint fragrance on him, so familiar and pleasant…
As soon as Xiao Qi saw Sang Luo, it happily wagged its tail. Sang Luo also liked this little snake very much. She snapped out of her daze and took the cage. "Don't worry, I'll take good care of His Highness!"
Quan Xiu nodded in satisfaction and left.
After Sang Luo left with Xiao Qi, she ran into Luan Zhi, who must have been there to find Quan Xiu. Seeing Sang Luo carrying the little snake, her face immediately turned ugly.
Was this the resentment of someone whose son was being snatched away?
Putting herself in her shoes, Sang Luo felt uncomfortable too, and wondered if she should return the little snake to Luan Zhi when the little snake suddenly spoke, "Mother, I'm sleepy. Can you take Xiao Qi to your room to sleep? Xiao Qi wants to sleep in Mother's arms."
"You! You can talk!" Sang Luo exclaimed in surprise. Was this 'Mother' calling her? Or…
Sang Luo looked at Luan Zhi, who was not far away and dared not speak, and then at Xiao Qi, who was happily swaying towards her. These two didn't seem like a mother-son duo at all. It seemed she had guessed wrong before. Luan Zhi was not Xiao Qi's biological beast mother.
She chuckled and said, "You can't call me 'Mother' randomly."
"But you are my mother. I really like the scent on Mother. I want to be with Mother."
A strange feeling swept through Sang Luo's heart.
The little snake had come to find her several times and was extremely close to her. Little cubs wouldn't pretend; it really regarded her as its mother…
But nothing had ever happened between her and Quan Xiu.
That's not right. From the time she entered the manor until now, she hadn't really seen Quan Xiu's face. A thought flashed through Sang Luo's mind, and her fingers trembled uncontrollably.
Quan Xiu and the Caesar brothers looked almost identical, but there were slight differences between their eyebrows and eyes. She could distinguish them. If she could take off that mask, the truth would be revealed.
But, let alone whether Caesar was really still alive, Quan Xiu's attitude towards her was cold, as if he were looking at a stranger. How could it be him…
Was it a facade? Or amnesia?
In the short span of a few breaths, Sang Luo's mind was filled with thoughts, and she had a faint guess, but she still had no evidence.
She said to Xiao Qi, "Can you tell Mother about what happened to you and your father in the past year or so?"
"Okay, Mother! But Xiao Qi only woke up half a year ago, and there are many things I don't know, but I will honestly tell Mother what I do know," it said happily.
Sang Luo took Xiao Qi back to her room.
Luan Zhi was a little far away and didn't know what the two were talking about, but watching Sang Luo's intimate and seamless posture with the little snake, a huge sense of crisis rose in her heart.
She usually relied on her closeness to the little snake, and Quan Xiu would often stay by her side, but now, another female had replaced her position, which made Luan Zhi feel terrified.
Not being biological still wouldn't do. It was so easily snatched away! She couldn't wait any longer. She had to get pregnant with Quan Xiu's child as soon as possible to stabilize her position.
Luan Zhi went to the Hall of Reflection and found that Quan Xiu had already left. She gave the steward a few crystals. "After the lord returns, please let me know."
In the evening, the steward sent someone to report that Quan Xiu had returned.
Luan Zhi changed into a pink lotus-root gauze dress as thin as cicada wings, brought some food and pastries, and went to the study.
The man was correcting documents on the throne.
His appearance was pure and refined, his ink-black hair unbound, wearing a white inner garment and draped with a dark cyan cloak, his posture relaxed.
Luan Zhi only felt a desire burning within her, her mouth dry. "My lord, let me grind ink for you."
