Chapter 256:
No blame, no resentment, just concern upon opening his mouth, making Xie Wanning’s nose tingle suddenly.
She shook her head gently, her eyes welling up with mist due to guilt.
Xie Yanyu and Ji Chengfeng had already withdrawn, and the several maidservants waiting nearby also left quietly on tiptoe.
In the vast courtyard, only the two of them remained.
Pei Yuqing wanted to hug her, but her belly was really too big, leaving him at a loss.
“Don’t stand anymore,” his voice was somewhat hoarse. After helping her sit down slowly, he asked, “How many months?”
What a ridiculous scene.
They had once been a couple, and even the last time they met, they had been intimately entwined, full of tender affection.
Yet upon meeting again, she had another man’s child in her belly, and he could ask so calmly how many months along the child in her belly was.
Xie Wanning swallowed, answering dryly.
Seeing her extreme embarrassment, Pei Yuqing sighed softly and carefully took her hand, saying, “It’s not your fault.”
At those words, Xie Wanning’s tears could no longer be held back and burst forth, her emotions somewhat out of control as she cried and kept saying sorry.
Pei Yuqing had never seen this willful young lady cry like this, and he immediately became flustered.
“Don’t cry.” He raised his hand to wipe her tears, but her usually bright and bold almond eyes were now like a waterfall, impossible to stop. After coaxing her a couple of times with no effect, he simply stood up, walked in front of her, and pressed her face into his waist.
“It’s really not your fault,” he kept his voice very low, as if afraid of scaring her, extremely gentle, “You are just a young lady. No matter what happened in that situation, it’s not your fault.”
He couldn’t even blame Lu Ziyan.
Without Lu Ziyan, his Wanwan would have already been kidnapped to the Jin Kingdom by now.
Although he had righteously told Lu Ziyan that the root of everything was because of him.
But only Pei Yuqing himself knew how much he hated his own incompetence.
If only he had been a bit more ruthless, if only he hadn’t been held back, and had returned to the capital as promised within three months, his Wanwan wouldn’t have gone through this.
She wouldn’t have been kidnapped by Jin Wuji, nor rescued by Lu Ziyan.
That way, she wouldn’t have changed her view of Lu Ziyan because of that life-saving grace, nor fled from Lu Ziyan’s side due to guilt and self-blame toward him.
She had been raised in a honey pot since childhood, accustomed to a life of luxury. When had she ever suffered the humiliation of falling into the hands of enemy bandits?
It was normal for her to change her view of Lu Ziyan, the one who rescued her.
Pei Yuqing saw it very clearly. This young lady was willing to abandon her identity and family, abandon the position that was within reach, and flee the Northern Region, all just because of him.
Now, her standing alive before him was already a heavenly blessing. How could he bear to blame her?
The child…
Whether the child was Lu Ziyan’s or… someone else’s didn’t matter.
What mattered was that she was still alive.
Xie Wanning was crying so hard she could barely catch her breath when he suddenly pressed her face into his waist, making her sobs muffled.
Soon, she finally stopped shedding golden beans.
Only then did Pei Yuqing release her and slowly squat down.
He was extremely tall, and squatting put him at eye level with her.
The moment their gazes met, Xie Wanning guiltily looked away, “You’re not angry?”
Her tone was strained, “This is Lu Ziyan’s child.”
At those words, Pei Yuqing’s first reaction was actually to breathe a sigh of relief.
…Just now, he had even considered the worst possibility.
