“This Wang Ling, why retire now when he’s only in his thirties…” Wei Linxia was worried. Xi Qi was too aggressive. Did he really think he could stabilize the throne just by staging a military coup?
“He won’t marry, and I won’t marry either. I’ll spend my life with him,” Xi Yaya clenched her fist and muttered.
“Yaya, go to your uncle’s mansion again and have him…”
“Mother, you shouldn’t force things. If I were Wang Ling, I would also resign after the Emperor treated me like this. If he can do this to his own mother, who knows how he might treat other officials? Besides, Xi Qi is capable; let’s see what he can do!” Xi Yaya said.
“Stop making trouble,” Wei Linxia rebuked her daughter. After a while, she picked up a brush and wrote a letter. She sealed it with wax and instructed her daughter to deliver it to Wang Ling. “If he still insists on resigning, I will no longer press him.”
Chapter 63
Xi Yaya returned to the hall around dinnertime, holding the letter written by Wei Linxia.
“He left right after I went out this morning, leaving with nothing but his two sleeves. It seems Wang Ling understands you and knows you have another trick up your sleeve,” Xi Yaya said, propping her chin on her hand.
“Where am I going to find him now?”
Wei Linxia took back the letter from Xi Yaya, tore it up, and burned it. She hadn’t expected Wang Ling’s determination to leave to be so resolute.
“Mother, do you think Wang Ling might return to Langyue?” Xi Yaya asked.
“I don’t know,” Wei Linxia replied, concerned. With each new emperor comes a new set of officials. Wang Ling understood this well, but she worried that his departure on the second day of Xi Qi’s reign would provoke a strong reaction from Xi Qi, who might not let this go easily.
After careful consideration, she realized Wang Ling was not one to sit idle, but neither was Xi Qi an easy opponent. She hoped they wouldn’t destroy each other.
“Mother? Mother?” A pair of small white hands waved in front of her eyes.
“Yaya, how much do you like Wang Ling? What would you do for him?” Wei Linxia asked.
