Atonement

The palace turned into a prison.

Ning Lingyi took off the blood-stained black clothes and put on the simplest white linen mourning clothes.

She dismissed all the palace servants and walked alone under the cold moonlight to the palace garden that she was once very familiar with but now found difficult to walk in.

This is the residence of Concubine Jing, no, now it is the residence of Empress Dowager Ningtai.

Yan He's mother lives here.

The palace door was closed, there was no light or sound inside, as if no one lived there.

But Ning Lingyi knew that she was inside.

The mother who just lost her son is behind this door.

Ning Lingyi stopped in front of the palace gate and looked at the tightly closed vermilion door. The delicate carvings on it looked a little hideous in the hazy moonlight.

She lifted the hem of her linen dress, bent her knees, and knelt straight on the cold bluestone slabs.

The night dew grew heavier, and the coldness seeped into the bone marrow through the cracks in the rocks.

She didn't say a word, but just knelt quietly with her head lowered, letting the night wind mess up her hair.

She didn't know how long it had been, so long that her knees had already lost feeling. Finally, a sob that was suppressed but still broken could be heard in the hall. The cry seemed to be squeezed out from the deepest part of her lungs, with bloody pain, making her whole body tremble.

Inside the door was Empress Dowager Ning Tai; outside the door was Ning Lingyi.

Behind a door, two women, one who had lost her son and the other who had lost her brother, cried facing each other.

"My banquet..."

From inside the door came the almost incoherent sobbing voice of Empress Dowager Ningtai.

"When he was born, he was so small and soft. He was not favored and was not cherished by his father. Unlike you, you were born as a jewel in the palm of your hand..."

"I didn't have much hope. I didn't expect him to achieve anything great. It was enough for him to live a good life..."

Ning Lingyi closed her eyes, tears silently falling and hitting the bluestone.

"Later, during the Guangqi Incident, Guangqi could not tolerate him. It was you who took away their sisters and my two children..."

"It was you who saved him, gave him a chance to live, taught him to read and write, and led him away from this place of trouble..."

"I am very grateful to you, from the bottom of my heart. Later, he came back and grew up by my side. I keep your kindness in my heart and pray day and night, hoping that you will be safe on the battlefield..." The voice from inside the door was filled with endless sadness and confusion.

"He's been studying hard every day in the palace these past few years. The Jing family is pushing him, and he doesn't let himself off. He listens to you. If you say he's working hard, he'll work even harder without regard for his life..."

"You two siblings have a great relationship. No matter how much I feel for him, I never let him stop. You gave him this life..."

"But now, he has returned this life to you..."

"He's grown up and become the emperor. As his mother, I have no right to make decisions for him. He has chosen this path, and I have no say..."

Her voice suddenly became sharp, filled with the pain and resentment of a mother animal: "But I can't stand it! I can't stand it! Every time I close my eyes, I see him... I see him lying in your arms with a knife in his chest..."

"Blood...so much blood..."

"If you hadn't sent him to the Jing family, would he be in this situation today? Don't you know what the Jing family is like? You know, you know it all too well. For the sake of your own cause, you threw my son into a pit of wolves and a fire!"

"I'm his mother! I carried him for ten months and gave birth to him! I watched him grow up little by little! I can't... I can't face the person who indirectly killed my son, I can't do it!"

"My son is dead, but you are alive!"

"How can I not hate you? I hate you so much!"

These questions were sharper than a knife, stabbing into Ning Lingyi's heart, causing her to tremble violently and almost collapse. The pain almost devoured her heart.

"I know, I know I shouldn't blame you. I know the Jing family is powerful, I know the court situation is difficult, and I know it's not easy for you and your sister..."

"I know that if I don't do this, it might not only be Yan He who will die, but also me, Sister Yu, and countless people in this world... I know, I know everything!"

Her tone was filled with painful struggle, as if she was questioning Ning Lingyi, or even this cruel fate: "But is there really no other way? Must my son die? Can't... can't he be locked up? Somewhere where no one can find him?"

"Or... or I could send him far away, to a place where no one knows him, and let him live as an ordinary person. Even if his life is mediocre, even if I never see him again, as long as he's alive... alive is all that matters!"

These words, every word piercing with tears, are a mother's most humble and desperate prayer.

Ning Lingyi knelt outside the door, tears streaming down her face, but she couldn't make any sound.

What can she say?

Did he explain that the throne was like a whirlpool, impossible to escape once you got close? Did he explain that the Jing family's web had already been woven, and that taking a step back would lead to an abyss? Did he explain that Yan He's sensitive and resolute heart had already been overwhelmed?

These reasons are so pale and powerless in the face of a mother who lost her son.

Empress Dowager Ningtai inside the door did not wait for her answer.

Resentment receded like the tide, leaving only endless pain.

She murmured to herself, her voice so low that it was almost inaudible: "I always thought of him as the child who needed my protection, but he is not anymore. He has grown up, he has chosen his own path, he has protected everything he wanted to protect in his own way, he has become a real man..."

"As a mother...I respect him."

The last sentence is light and airy.

"Lingyi...please go."

"I will never see you again in this life."

"Yan He died for you. Yan He loves you as a sister and is willing to fulfill your wish."

"But as a mother, I will never forgive you. I will only hate you, hate you for the rest of my life. I will never forgive you..."

"From now on, be a good emperor. Don't forget what Yan He sacrificed his life for... Don't forget his wish..."

After the words fell, there was no sound from inside the door, as if everything that had just happened was just an illusion caused by Ning Lingyi's grief.

Ning Lingyi was still kneeling there, motionless.

She knew that this door would never open for her again.

What she lost was not only her younger brother, but also her stepmother who treated her like her own daughter.

Ning Lingyi knelt upright outside the palace gate all night.

In order to atone for her sins, but this sin can never be completely atoneed for, and she will bear the death of her brother for the rest of her life.

Because of the loss of her younger brother's young life, her mother's everlasting pain, and the sadness of being unable to have both under the imperial power, she could not sleep a wink every day and night.

She knelt until the moon set and the stars dimmed, until dawn broke in the east, until the morning dew soaked her linen clothes and the cold pierced her bones.

If Yan He could come back, she would be willing to kneel forever.

*

After daybreak, the palace maids discovered Ning Lingyi, who had fainted from grief, and hurriedly summoned the imperial physician.

When Ning Lingyi woke up, she did not rest but went directly to Xuanzheng Hall and issued several decrees as the regent princess.

She wants to clear her brother's name.

His posthumous title was "Chenglie", which means achieving great things, being resolute and loyal.

His younger brother's short reign as emperor was solemnly recorded in history, and the reign title "Shao Xi" was also retained.

She asked the historians to describe in detail his heroic deeds of accepting the task in a time of crisis, restoring order, and even dying to prove his will and paving the way for his sister, so that future generations would know that the Southern Dynasty had such a "one-day emperor" who was so aware of the righteousness that he was willing to sacrifice his life.

She followed her brother's wishes strictly.

An imperial decree was issued to retain the honorary title of Grand Tutor in Jing Puze, and to imprison him in the Jing Mansion, where he was not allowed to leave unless he was killed.

The Jing family was investigated and dealt with according to the law. The main culprits were severely punished, while those who were coerced and unaware of the crime were pardoned, and no collective punishment was imposed. A daughter of the Jing family was canonized as the Empress of Emperor Chenglie, enjoying the honors of an empress and living in the Palace of Prince Qing. It was stated that in the future, no matter whether the empress remarried or not, her children, regardless of their paternity, would have the right to inherit the title of Prince Qing, and the title would be hereditary.

The imperial edict was issued and spread throughout the world.

People were shocked by Ning Lingyi's resurrection, and even more saddened by the "Emperor Chenglie" Ning Yanhe, who streaked across the sky like a meteor but illuminated the night sky in the most tragic way.

This one-day emperor became a legend of the Southern Dynasty.

*

Jing Mansion, once bustling with people and traffic, is now tightly closed and heavily guarded, like a gorgeous prison.

In the deepest study, Jingurazawa sat alone in his usual seat.

The interior furnishings are still exquisite and elegant, the treasures on the antique shelves are shining, and the rosewood desk is so shiny that you can see a mirror, as if the owner is still powerful.

He changed into a clean, plain suit and combed his hair meticulously.

On the small red clay stove in front of him, the spring water was about to boil, making a subtle sound. He slowly warmed the pot, put in the tea, poured it high, and brewed it low... His movements were still elegant and calm, just like the countless times he taught Ning Yanhe in this study.

The aroma of tea filled the air. It was his favorite, the kind Ning Yanhe was used to drinking, the tea from the Suzhou tea garden.

He picked up the crystal clear white jade teacup, the clear green tea soup reflected his calm yet bottomless eyes.

Ning Yanhe would rather die than become his puppet.

What about him? As the emperor's teacher, his pride would not allow him to survive as a prisoner in this cage he built with his own hands, living at the mercy of others.

In particular, all of this was thanks to the gift of the student whom he had personally nurtured but who also dealt him a fatal blow.

He had clearly planned everything.

Power, people's hearts, etiquette, military strength... He controls almost all the chess pieces. With the merit of supporting the emperor and being the leader of the dragon, the thousand-year glory of the Jing family will reach its peak in his hands. This should be a chess game that is sure to win.

Why?

Why is there such a Ning Yanhe?

Why would someone so easily abandon the throne of supreme power that was so easily within his grasp? How could he so resolutely sacrifice his most precious life for a fulfillment that seemed ridiculous to him?

He doesn't understand.

He has been active in the government and the country throughout his life, is proficient in political schemes and calculations, and is familiar with human greed, but he has never been able to understand Ning Yanhe.

But he didn't need to understand.

Jing Pu Ze raised his teacup to the void, as if paying tribute to the young emperor who was far away in the imperial mausoleum and whose soul had long since returned to the underworld.

Then he drank the tea in the cup in one gulp.

The tea still tastes the same, clear and sweet.

But after swallowing it, a burning pain quickly rose from the abdomen and spread to every part of the body.

He frowned slightly, then relaxed, allowing the darkness to swallow him.

Okay.

On the road to the underworld, perhaps he can catch up with the child who made him fail and feel lost.

He wanted to ask him in person why...

He did not lose this game of chess.

*

The Prince Qing's Mansion has a grand design, but it inevitably exudes a sense of emptiness.

On the high pavilion, a figure dressed in a queen's dress sat alone by the window.

She is the daughter of the Jing family, and now she is the widow of Emperor Chenglie Ning Yanhe and the honorable empress of the Southern Dynasty.

Outside the window is the prosperous capital city, and in the distance are the towering palace walls.

But she just sat there quietly, looking into the distance, with no sadness or joy on her face.

The phoenix coronet and bridal robe were heavy and gorgeous, but they made her figure look even thinner.

The piano table was silent, but she no longer had the interest to play the piano.

There is no sound of piano here, no figure of a young prince stopping to listen, and no heavy expectations of family honor and disgrace.

Only endless loneliness remained, like the dusk gradually spreading outside the window, slowly swallowing her, along with the rest of her life, which was destined to be special and lonely.

Her fate was completely changed by the two entangled Ning siblings. She gained supreme honor, but also lost all ordinary possibilities.

This tall building has now become her most magnificent cage.

The departure of one person imprisons the hearts of countless people.