Chapter 342: Retribution

After a long silence, the Empress Dowager could only sigh.

Admittedly, she owed the mother and son a great deal, and even after more than a decade, she never felt she had done anything wrong.

The most abundant and most useless thing in the deep palace is a soft heart, but she couldn't bear to do it to Yin'er in the end.

"Then what do you want? As long as I can do it."

Yu Shiyan remained silent, his ebony-black pupils filled with coldness.

To be honest, he's completely confused right now, and he doesn't even know what conditions to ask for, or whether he should ask for them at all.

If he were to let this go so easily, then all these years would have been a joke. If his mother knew this in the afterlife, wouldn't she be heartbroken?

But he had promised her that he wouldn't touch the Yuan family.

"It seems you don't know what to do." The Empress Dowager, having been immersed in this cesspool for so many years, naturally saw through his hesitation at a glance.

Yu Shiyan turned around and glanced at the simply decorated Buddhist hall. Without saying anything more, he turned and left.

The Empress Dowager withdrew her gaze, wrapped the prayer beads around her wrist, and continued to meditate with undivided attention.

Not long after, the thin string holding the rosary beads suddenly broke, and the beads scattered all over the ground with a crackling sound, as if it were a premonition of something.

The Empress Dowager was stunned for a moment, staring at the prayer beads scattered on the ground, speechless. She recalled that this day more than ten years ago seemed to be just as warm and peaceful.

Perhaps this is retribution.

She simply left the few remaining prayer beads on the prayer mat, got up and opened the window. She saw that the once warm sunlight outside was completely hidden in the clouds, and half the sky had become gloomy.

——

Yu Shiyan returned to the Prince's Mansion and locked himself in his room for several hours without saying a word. No matter how much Ren Zhongheng listened, there was no sound.

Just as he was considering whether to ask through the door, Yu Shiyan suddenly opened the door, looking quite dejected, and even his voice was slightly hoarse.

Zhong Heng immediately knew that what Wang Po said was true, and fell silent.

"Prepare the horses."

"Where are you going at this time? The weather is about to change. It would be better to arrange for carriages and horses." Zhong Heng glanced at the gloomy sky and was somewhat worried.

"Prepare the horses."

Yu Shiyan placed his fingertips on his brow and rubbed it gently, his voice flat yet undeniably firm.

"Where are you going? I'll go with you." Zhong Heng led a fine horse from the stable.

"You don't need to come with me to the imperial mausoleum; I'll go by myself."

As he spoke, Yu Shiyan mounted his horse and headed towards the imperial mausoleum. His body was like a three-foot-long icy blade under the eaves of a winter corridor, slowly emanating a chill that would deter anyone who looked at him.

A flash of light suddenly streaked across the dark sky, followed by a deafening roar, signaling the approaching storm.

Yuan Siyin sat still, unusually calm even though she already knew the truth about her poor health.

"Miss, you should call a doctor right away," Hongxiu pleaded earnestly, having been preoccupied with this matter since yesterday.

"No need, I already had someone check it out on my way back."

How to say it?

"The pulse is normal and there is nothing wrong with it. It's just that there is a deficiency of qi and blood. You can use some tonics to replenish the deficiency."

"How is this possible? It's clearly all... all..."

Hongxiu couldn't continue speaking and could only silently wipe away her tears.

Zi Yuan stood silently by her side, while Yuan Siyin turned her head and beckoned to her: "Zi Yuan, come here."

Without hesitation, Zi Yuan immediately squatted down in front of her and looked up at her, her eyes hiding a sorrow she had never shown before.