Chapter 387: Chapter 310: Can We Be Mother and Son Again?_2
However, just a few days before the foreign prince completely withdrew his troops,
the Empress Dowager returned to the palace with a grim expression and sat motionless in Jingren Palace for half a day. During that time, she dismissed everyone and forbade any interruptions.
When she finally emerged, a calligraphy note remained on the desk. In clerical script, she had written a Buddhist verse: "If the mind does not depart from illusion, where lies the true within the false?" Followed by four characters: "Truth and falsehood are hard to discern."
Suxin initially did not think much of the note. After all, the Empress Dowager was well-read in Buddhist Scriptures, and this solitary note likely reflected a moment of insight into the Buddhist Law.
But afterward... the Empress Dowager claimed to have fallen ill with hysteria. She first summoned the imperial physicians, but when their consultations were fruitless, suspecting spiritual disturbances, she called upon the palace Taoists.
At first, the Taoists performed rounds of divinations, casting cups and consulting charts, but all efforts proved futile. Opinions varied until, after several days, clarity emerged: it was the remnant soul of the Tushan Clan causing the harm.
The lingering spirit of the Tushan Clan had latched onto the Empress Dowager for reasons unknown, leaving behind a shred of residual soul within her.
As Suxin’s thoughts wandered, the Empress Dowager walked forward without glancing back.
When they reached deeper within, the Empress Dowager paused and slowly asked Chen Yi:
"What brings you to the palace today?"
Chen Yi replied calmly, "Min Ming’s matter."
"Oh, so you care about her. I thought you didn’t," the Empress Dowager said playfully.
Chen Yi did not respond.
Under no circumstances could he reveal to this woman that his reason for entering the palace was Min Ning.
"Since you care so much, why not just claim her sooner? It’s been left to me to play the villain for so long," said the Empress Dowager with a hint of mockery.
She gestured to a small pavilion nearby, sighing:
"When I met her there, she trembled uncontrollably. After all these days of teaching, she remains so fearful, clearly showing her mediocre comprehension. According to the Buddhist Sect, she utterly lacks spiritual affinity."
Chen Yi replied offhandedly, "Naturally, she lacks spiritual affinity."
"Then tell me, what does she have?" the Empress Dowager asked with a smile.
"..." Chen Yi hesitated for a moment before responding, "An idiot streak?"
Hearing the completely unexpected term, the woman in the phoenix robes froze briefly. Then, realizing its meaning, she burst into uncontrollable laughter.
"What a good phrase, a precise phrase..."
After her laughter subsided, the Empress Dowager sighed lightly and remarked:
"Though it is an insult, it hits the mark for a brothel girl surviving on mere beauty."
With this exchange, the tension between the two—like drawn swords—finally eased, though traces of stiffness lingered.
Seeing the change, Chen Yi adjusted his mood slightly and said:
"I care about her, but from the beginning until now, it has only been her appearance that I cared for.
If we speak of personality, hers is not entirely unappealing. As a wife, she could perhaps become a virtuous wife and good mother. But having been trapped in a brothel for years, her vision is unavoidably narrow. Moreover, she is vastly different from me and has intentionally hindered me several times. So to say that I care deeply—it’s hardly true."
The Empress Dowager nodded faintly in approval: "Exactly. A woman like her is merely for amusement."
Chen Yi replied with a mixture of sincerity and pretense: "Naturally."
"The same can be said of Lin Wanxiao; you play with her and that’s enough," the Empress Dowager added.
Chen Yi wondered why she brought up Lin Wanxiao—perhaps due to matters related to the underground palace. Nonetheless, he replied, "Naturally."
No sooner had he spoken than the Empress Dowager said, "The Princess of Annan is also just for amusement."
"Naturally..." The moment the words left his lips, Chen Yi realized and abruptly corrected himself: "Naturally not."
The Empress Dowager laughed again, covering her mouth:
"Do you really think you can keep this from me? I know every thought in your head like counting the worms in a bowl, Yi’er. From the day you appeared before me, escaping from my grasp was never an option."
As she spoke, a chilling wind swept gently past them. In the distance, Jingren Palace stood unmoving, as steadfast as the wide sleeves of the court attire remained.
By the side, Suxin watched this scene with astute instinct, lowering her head discreetly and standing stiffly like a wooden figure. Having served the Empress Dowager for years, she knew well what should be heard and what ignored.
The Empress Dowager then turned around, her gaze soft, though her lips carried a cold smile as she said:
"The Princess certainly imitated this palace’s essence well, didn’t she?"
Chen Yi did not answer, his gaze lowering.
"I wonder how the Prince of Annan will react when he learns of your affair with her. But no matter how it ends, it remains unseemly. Besides, you don’t hold her that dear," she murmured, her tone growing gentler with every word.
Chen Yi remained silent.
"If you’re indifferent, why interact with her? Is it to replace the real with the false?" The Empress Dowager paused, her voice smoothing: "What need is there for such a pretense?"
Chen Yi abruptly looked up, his lips moving slightly, as though struck by her words, but he could not respond.
The Empress Dowager’s voice grew increasingly deliberate: "Associating with traitors and scoundrels, all just to muddle truth and falsehood—it undermines virtue, falls short of righteousness."
Chen Yi’s eyes narrowed.
The Empress Dowager leaned closer, extending her fingers as though to touch the familiar face before her.
At this point, she dropped all pretense, adjusting her phoenix robes tenderly as she said:
"Yi’er, let’s end this estrangement and become mother and son again, shall we?"
Chen Yi lowered his head, remaining silent for a long time before finally saying:
"But you’re the counterfeit."
"..."
It was as though even the wind paused. The expression on the phoenix robe’s embroidered face faltered, visible stiffness overtaking her features.
She, counterfeit?
The Chen Yi before her curled his lips into a smile and asked:
"Should I mimic the old Princess and call you ’Mother’ a few times?"
The Empress Dowager’s face turned as pale as paper, and the previously steady phoenix robe trembled.
Chen Yi’s face carried an overly amiable smile.