Scharlachroter Regen überflutet die Stadt

Kapitel 132

She had the bright eyes her mother had when she was fifteen. Over the years, he had watched those eyes change from bright to complex to dim, and now to a deep weariness. Her mother was only in her early thirties, still beautiful, still stunningly gorgeous, and captivating. It was just that the deep weariness in her eyes was incongruous with her age.

But now, seeing this palace woman who resembled his mother laughing and chatting in front of him, while his mother struggled in her illness, he felt an indescribable anger. He drew his sword and stormed into the main hall.

“Lu Zhen…” When the Fourth Prince saw him, there was a slight surprise in his eyes.

Lu Zhen didn't look at the palace maid, nor did he bow to his fourth uncle. He simply said, "That person, that person is still alive, right?"

The Fourth Prince was taken aback, waved for the palace maid to leave, and frowned slightly. "What's wrong with you?"

"Did he abandon Mother? If she is truly a woman he doesn't want, can I, your nephew, take care of her?" Lu Zhen asked without hesitation.

"What do you want?" The Fourth Prince slowly narrowed his eyes. He had never paid so much attention to this nephew—Lu Li's eldest son—who had a calm demeanor but was more cautious than most.

Lu Zhen smiled, "If he really doesn't care anymore... at least I won't let her feel heartbroken."

"What kind of woman is she?" The Fourth Prince frowned slightly. In his memory, this child was not one to be swayed by romantic feelings. Like his seventh brother, he was calm and self-controlled, always knowing what he wanted.

"She is the woman I have always admired and respected; she is the first woman I have ever loved in my life."

Having said that, he turned and left. The Fourth Prince watched his retreating figure, lost in thought.

The Fourth Prince rubbed his forehead slightly, and the eunuch behind him stepped forward.

The prince waved his sleeve and said, "Speak!"

"Her Majesty got up early at dawn, drank only half a bowl of porridge, walked around in the courtyard for a while, and then returned to her room without taking her medicine..."

"He didn't take his medicine?!" The person in the hall frowned slightly and said no more.

Yes, she only ate half a bowl of porridge for lunch as well. In the afternoon, Jing...

The Fourth Prince nodded. "Is there anything else?"

"And... there's blood in Ropari..." he said cautiously.

"Damn it!" The Fourth Prince slammed his fist on the table. "What are those imperial physicians doing? Haven't they made any progress after all that treatment?"

"Your Highness, please calm your anger—" The eunuch hurriedly knelt down, seemingly already used to it. For the past two weeks, the prince had asked him to report on the situation at Jingning Nunnery every day, and each time the prince would fly into a rage like this. He really wanted to ask the prince, if he was so worried, why didn't he visit the nunnery himself?

Enraged, the man flicked his sleeves and slumped listlessly at his desk, his brows furrowed. Mo Xue emerged from the back hall and gently approached him.

When he turned around, he had a fleeting illusion that he mistook her for her. For so long, he had been seeking solace in this substitute; only in this way could he endure not seeing her. He hadn't even dared to pass by Kunning Palace before, fearing that he might lose his temper and step inside.

"Your Highness..." came Mo Xue's coquettish voice from beside her.

Slightly regaining her senses, she looked into the clear eyes before her and couldn't help but sigh. Mo Xue was ultimately not her.

"Mo Xue, send out the letter I wrote to Lao Ba last night."

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At night, I tossed and turned, my chest tight and coughing incessantly. I leaned against the bed, panting slightly, afraid to make a sound lest I wake the palace servants outside. Outside the window, the shadows of the trees were lush, and it seemed as if someone was standing under the bed, lingering there for a long time.

"Who's outside?" I asked softly.

The figure trembled, but didn't come out. However, the door was suddenly pushed open. I chuckled to myself, wondering if it had the ability to create clones!

Lu Zhen walked in through the door, his icy aura suggesting he had been waiting outside for a long time.

"Mother..." he pursed his lips.

"Zhen'er, it's so late..."

"Mother," he suddenly interrupted me, "your son only wanted to come and see you."

I nodded, glancing out the window, surprised to see the person still there under the tree's shadow.

Lu Zhen stood in front of me, and I reluctantly reached out to touch his face. "Zhen'er, you were my first child. Back then, I was still a child myself, but I became your mother, and I felt very fulfilled and proud. So I often boasted to others about having a son as old as you. Although I paid less attention to you than to your younger brothers, your mother has always been proud of you."

"Mother..." He frowned, staring intently at me. When he frowned, he looked just like that person.

I smiled and said, "In my eyes, you're still that well-behaved five-year-old. You're luckier than your younger brothers because all those years, I devoted myself to raising and teaching you, and you... stayed by my side longer than anyone else."

He nodded, a tear rolling down his cheek. I caught a glimpse of the snow-white jade at his waist, which he held in his hand, stroking it with a hint of unease. "You still have this... Do you remember? It was given to you by your mother the first time she saw you."

He nodded, "My son won't forget."

I laughed and pulled him into my arms. "Good, it's good that you can't forget. Even after Mother is gone, you'll have something to remember her by."

The figure beneath the window trembled for a moment, but ultimately failed to step forward.

I felt a sudden warmth on my front, and it was instantly soaked. Lu Zhen buried his face in my chest, his voice choked with sobs, "Mother, don't go... Your son loves you, Mother..."

I shuddered, then couldn't help but laugh. "If you like it, that's good. I thought Zhen'er hated her mother."

He looked up, his face like that of a wronged child, and said, "I...like it."

"But you don't call me 'Mother' like my younger brothers do."

He suddenly broke free from my embrace, somewhat flustered, "I don't like calling you Mother..."

"Why?"

"If it's the mother, the son can't like her as an ordinary woman."

I was speechless for a moment, and said with a slight reproach, "Zhen'er, what are you saying!"

"Mother...your son has someone he loves."

I gave a weak smile. "Yao? She's someone you absolutely have to like."

Lu Zhen frowned slightly. "Mother... I've loved that person for many years, since I was four years old."

I exclaimed in surprise, "So early?!"

"Would you like to hear it, Mother?" He looked at me intently. "I first saw her when I was four years old. She was being led by her father, her head covered with a bridal veil. I was small, so I could see her face hidden under the veil from below. I blushed immediately because she was the most beautiful person I had ever seen, more beautiful than my mother, more beautiful than all my aunts, more beautiful than all the women in the mansion and the palace."

I didn't feel any coldness in my hands, and my eyes were fixed on Lu Zhen, as if he were telling some unbelievable story.

That night, my mother made me feign illness to keep my father confined and prevent him from going to the bridal chamber. My father indeed stayed by my side all night. But that night, just like me, he kept looking towards the main courtyard, towards the bridal chamber with its flickering candlelight. At that moment, I felt sorry for her. I felt that my father had betrayed her. I thought to myself, if my father doesn't want her, when I grow up, I will definitely have her, I will make her my woman. I will never betray her, I will treat her a million times better than my father treated her. Later, I was sent to her place. I was unhappy, unhappy to be just her son, but I was also grateful to be with her every day, to be held by her, and to be coaxed to sleep by her. I constantly reminded myself that I couldn't treat her as my mother, I—

"Zhen'er..." my voice trembled, "Don't say anymore..."

After a long silence, I smiled slightly. "Zhen'er, just pretend I didn't hear anything."

"Mother..."

"Son, your mother is tired, you should go back."

I closed my eyes, leaned against the headboard, and listened as the footsteps gradually faded away. When I opened my eyes again, the figure under the window was still there.

I put on my robe and got out of bed, walking slowly. Pushing open the door, a gust of cold wind rushed in, and I coughed involuntarily. My legs suddenly gave way, and I slumped to one side, instinctively falling into a strong embrace. In my panic, I met those cold, indifferent eyes, and for a moment, I was pierced by their gaze.

I chuckled to myself, "How long are you going to hide, Fourth Master..."

He emerged from the shadows, and his first words were exactly as expected.

"How are you?"

Over the years, I've gotten into the habit of saying "very good," no matter when, where, or what the situation.

A new patch of gray hair had appeared at Fourth Master's temples. It shouldn't be like this. I couldn't help but reach out to touch that hair, but I hesitated for a moment before my hand could touch it. Before I could pull it back, Fourth Master had already grasped my hand and pressed it against his cheek.

I gasped. The Fourth Master's gaze softened, and after a long pause, he said, "Did you see clearly?! My white hair isn't fake."

I chuckled, "Fourth Master has learned to joke around now."

He released me, helping me stand steadily, and glanced at the quiet crabapple grove in the courtyard under the night sky. "Are you... really okay?"

"That would be perfect," I answered readily, then suddenly asked, "I heard that His Majesty's reforms to improve officialdom have been very effective?!"

"Yes," he nodded. "How can you recover like this?" he said, tightening his grip on my robe and half-pushing, half-leading me into the room. He then personally covered me with a brocade quilt by the bedside.

As silence fell, he quietly lit a candle. In the dim light, the colors in his eyes blurred.

"I didn't expect to recover from my illness," I said with a soft smile, speaking frankly.

The muffled "I guessed it"

"Take a stroll through the inner palace when you have time. Mo Xue is a good girl, very devoted and genuine." I suddenly remembered Sang Sang's familiar eyes. I had once been surprised that the child resembled Zhi'er, and even more so, me. It wasn't until I saw the woman beside the Empress Dowager in Cining Palace who looked quite like me that I suddenly understood the reason behind it all.

"Really..." he murmured, standing up as well, his eyes somewhat unfocused.

"Are you daydreaming?" I reminded her. "It wouldn't be good to be like this all the time, especially in court."

He looked at me and said softly, "In my heart... no woman can compare to someone..."

I avoided his gaze, trying to calm myself down, and smiled slightly. "The weather is getting warmer soon, so let's bring Mo Xue back to the manor. I've already spoken to Fourth Sister-in-law and the Empress Dowager. That girl has had a hard time all these years. Why won't you bring her back to the manor sooner?"

After a long pause, he replied calmly, "Okay, I'll listen to you."

He slowly rose, making a move to leave, then turned back and insisted, "You... you still won't let him see you?"

"Until death..." He closed his eyes slightly, a tremor running through his teeth, "...we will never see each other again."

With a long sigh, the figure in the night finally turned and disappeared.

I slept lightly through the night. When Liu Shang entered the inner room in the early morning, I had already opened my eyes and watched her quietly busy herself with morning chores. Seeing that I was awake, Liu Shang quickly moved the stove next to me. I smiled gently at her, "I feel great today, as if my whole body is refreshed."

“But the weather is getting warmer, which will help your condition,” she said, a smile finally appearing on her face after many days, as she placed a cup of tea beside me.

I smiled, picked up the cup of hot tea, and took a sip. Perhaps I drank it too quickly, because I couldn't control myself and suddenly spat out the whole cup of tea, which crashed to the ground with a loud thud.

"What's wrong? Is the tea too hot?" Before Liu Shang could finish speaking, a few drops of blood stained her robe. I covered my mouth tightly, but bright red blood still kept oozing from between my fingers.

Liu Shang frantically pulled out a handkerchief and stuffed it in, but the blood was gushing out so quickly that the handkerchief was soaked in no time. Liu Shang took a breath and almost cried out, "I'll go get the maids."

I grabbed her wrist, looked up, and shook my head gently with some difficulty: "Don't... alert others..."

Liu Shang supported me, took out another handkerchief to replace the soiled one, and I leaned on Liu Shang's shoulder, closed my eyes, and said, "I'm sleepy again, let me sleep for a while."

Chapter Nineteen: String Chaos

The countdown is on! We're getting closer to the finale, so let's hold our breath and pray...

The atmosphere at the morning court session was strange. Both the young emperor and the regent looked anxious, as if something was about to happen. Ever since he saw her last night, the fourth prince had been restless. Today's morning court session was supposed to be for discussing the grand sacrificial ceremony, but he just couldn't concentrate.

"Ahem, Fourth Uncle, Minister Fang is waiting for your opinion." Lu Jinghan, sitting on the dragon throne, gently reminded his Fourth Uncle, who was lost in thought in the distance, with a clenched fist. To be honest, he hadn't slept well that night either. His heart was pounding inexplicably with anxiety. Perhaps it was the hot weather that made him restless?

The Fourth Prince quickly regained his composure, his face cold and expressionless, and said, "I would like to trouble Vice Minister Fang to present his report again."

Vice Minister Fang hurriedly bowed and, holding his official document, read aloud a figure that had been faintly seen running up from the back hall. Lu Jinghan was also stunned. This was court time, and normally this willful older sister wouldn't come and go as she pleased. Yet this time, she had run to the hall with a pale face. Lu Zhi pulled aside a guard and gave him a few instructions. When the guard reported back to Lu Jinghan, the young but composed boy was still greatly alarmed.

"The court is adjourned for further discussion!" Startled, Lu Jinghan interrupted Vice Minister Fang's resuming presentation. He rose, flicked his sleeves, and strode to meet Lu Zhi. Before the assembled officials could react, they had vanished from sight. When the assembled ministers exchanged bewildered glances, completely unaware of what had happened, Vice Minister Fang, still holding his memorial, dared not move, until the Fourth Prince softly said, "Rise, His Majesty has adjourned the court."

"What's going on here?" Several ministers whispered among themselves. "This has never happened in so many dynasties." It seemed that since Empress Xiaozhuang entered the nunnery and stopped holding court behind the curtain, the atmosphere in the court had become increasingly strange, and the ministers were becoming more and more uneasy.

Suddenly, a minister cried out in anguish, "It seems Her Majesty is dying!" The entire hall fell silent. Immediately, all the ministers knelt on the ground, some weeping softly, others truly panicked. If the one in power were to suffer any misfortune, where would the empire go?! This was an unprecedented catastrophe; no one dared to think of such a thing. Several elderly ministers immediately knelt and prayed to the heavens, begging for divine protection for the Empress and for their dynasty.