Chapter 163 Our Prime Minister's Estate is Going to Be Marked with Circles

Song Ci did not actually wish to think the worst of human nature; it was just that television and reality had corrupted her.

Well, now that someone had tampered with the Loyal and Diligent Count’s estate, who knows, perhaps even her Prime Minister’s Manor would be cursed in effigy. Ah, add yet another hostile enemy to the list.

How vexing.

Empress Dowager Wang, however, clasped Song Ci’s hand, deeply moved. "I knew it, A-Ci. It’s not that you don’t understand; rather, you understand completely yet choose not to speak of it. Your low-profile nature is truly reserved. I know your temperament—unlike those who wear dozens of masks, everything you say to me comes straight from the heart."

Song Ci felt a cold sweat.

Please, stop praising me, I’m so embarrassed I can barely keep up this act.

"I will listen to you. When the time comes, I shall summon the Loyal and Diligent Count for a talk. I will let them know that without this child, there will simply be no more Duke of En’en Manor." Empress Dowager Wang snorted coldly. "Besides, the adoption was a half-hearted affair to begin with. Without it, would there truly be no one left to tend to the family incense?"

Nowadays, she specifically hired old servants to guard the graves and weed the grounds of her parents and brothers, ensuring that the incense offerings were never broken during festivals, the first, or the fifteenth of any month.

Song Ci relaxed slightly, smiling sheepishly. "I only hope Your Majesty won't blame me for overstepping and meddling. I was just afraid that Your Majesty had finally secured a satisfactory heir, only for something to happen before you could even bond... I didn't want Your Majesty to grieve."

True to form, Empress Dowager Wang was touched, squeezing her hand. "How could I ever blame you?"

"Then this child is being adopted under your nephew's name?"

Empress Dowager Wang nodded. "Back during the wartime chaos, my nephew had only been married for two years and had just fathered a single child before the entire family perished. It is fitting for this boy to be entered under his lineage."

"In that case, congratulations, Your Majesty. Your maternal family now has a successor to carry on the line." Song Ci rose, offered a bow, and smiled. "It seems I shall have to instruct someone to prepare gifts to celebrate the Duke of En’en inheriting his title and establishing his manor."

"There is no hurry; the child is still young, and the residence needs to be renovated. Besides, if he inherits the title, he will be the Marquis of En’en, and the estate will have to be called the Marquis of En’en's Manor." Empress Dowager Wang sighed. "I truly wish I could skip ahead ten years in an instant, just to see him come of age, establish a household, and perpetuate our descendants. That way, even beneath the earth, I would be able to face my parents with a clear conscience."

"Rest assured, time flies, and that day will be here before you know it."

"Right, that candy you gave the child just now—why do you carry it with you? Let me try some as well." Empress Dowager Wang curiously glanced at Song Ci's waist. "And that medicine pouch too."

Song Ci unfastened the two pouches, handing the medicine pouch over first and explaining that it was made by Lin Qing. As for the candies, she claimed they were made by her personal kitchen. "As I grow older, I occasionally suffer from dizzy spells. The physician by my side said it's due to low blood sugar, so I keep small candies on me at all times. Should I ever feel faint while walking about, I can immediately taste one to restore my strength and recover."

Song Ci shamelessly shifted the blame of this fabricated excuse onto Lin Qing, knowing full well the Empress Dowager would never go verify it with her.

"There is such a saying?" Empress Dowager Wang found it fascinating. She peeled back the candy wrapper, revealing a pink, translucent piece of candy, and popped it straight into her mouth without a second thought.

Song Ci was alarmed. "Your Majesty, you didn't even test it first!"

Lianqiao, standing not far away, also grew slightly nervous at the sight.

"It's just a piece of candy, what is there to test? Besides, you were eating them yourself, A-Ci, so there's no problem. Mmm, sweet and sour—what is this made from?"

"It's made from a boiled reduction of hawthorn and aged tangerine peel, with sugar added..." Song Ci hurriedly replied.

"Later, I shall have the Imperial Kitchen make some for me to carry around as well." Even if she didn't eat them herself, she could use them to coax children. She noticed Song Ci doing just that, and it seemed rather nice.

Song Ci: "..."