Chapter 103 Mother and Son
Liu Yuetang quickly turned around and saluted Xiao Heng who was walking steadily forward: "Your Majesty, your concubine pays respects to you."
Seeing Liu Yuetang here, Xiao Heng was a little surprised: "Xi Jieyu is here too."
After saying this, he waved his hand, walked up to the Queen Mother, bowed and said, "Your Highness, I pay my respects to you. May your Highness live long and happily."
The Queen Mother looked at Xiao Heng coldly for a moment, then set her gaze on Liu Yuetang.
"The Emperor has arrived just in time. Are you afraid that I might bully your favorite concubine?"
Xiao Heng frowned slightly and said, "I came here today to pay my respects to the Queen Mother. I didn't know Concubine Xi was here."
The Queen Mother curled her lips in disbelief: "It would be better if it were so."
Looking at the empress dowager's cold expression, Xiao Heng felt very unhappy.
Turning to look at Liu Yuetang kneeling on the ground, he asked, "I wonder what crime did Concubine Xi commit that made her kneel on the ground?"
"Did I ask her to kneel?" the Queen Mother asked.
She scoffed lightly, her brows thick with cold air, "Why, can't your concubine pay her respects to me?"
It would have been fine if their mother-son relationship was weak, but I didn't expect that this time he would question me for a woman.
There seemed to be frost and snow in the Queen Mother's eyes as she looked up at Xiao Heng.
Xiao Heng nodded and said in a gentle voice, "That's not what I meant."
If the mother and son had a dispute because of herself, then Liu Yuetang would be the sinner of the harem.
So, she said, "The Empress Dowager is the Emperor's mother. As a junior, I should respect her. I offered my respects to her voluntarily. I did not intend to cause the Emperor to misunderstand me. I beg the Empress Dowager to punish me."
Although the Queen Mother disliked Liu Yuetang, she still had to give face to Xiao Heng.
Now that the ladder had been brought, she calmly walked down it.
"Okay, this ceremony is enough, then get up."
"Yes, thank you, Queen Mother."
Liu Yuetang was about to stand up, but because she had bent her knees for too long, her knees were sore and weak, and she was able to stand up steadily only with the help of Liu Zheng's hand.
When Xiao Heng saw this scene, he frowned even more tightly.
Seeing the chill in the atmosphere, Nanny Zhu poured a cup of hot tea and brought it to Xiao Heng, whispering, "It's freezing outside. Your Majesty, please have some hot tea."
Xiao Heng took the Qinglian teacup, and the misty hot steam blew over it, bringing with it the sweet aroma of red dates.
He lowered his eyes and looked at the red tea soup, his expression dazed.
"This is the red date and longan tea that Your Majesty loved to drink when he was young. I still remember it now. Whenever you asked me to drink ginger soup, you would ask me to put a few red dates and longans in it before you would drink it."
Thinking of the past, Aunt Zhu was filled with mixed emotions.
Time flies, and nearly twenty years have passed.
The child who pulled me to act coquettishly has become the emperor who rules the world.
The Queen Mother clenched her fingers in her sleeves slightly. After Xiao Heng drank his tea, she calmly asked, "What is the Emperor's business today?"
Xiao Heng put down his teacup and said, "Tomorrow is Laba Festival. The Queen wants to hold a banquet in Yingchun Palace while my mother is back in the palace. It will be very lively."
The Queen Mother's expression froze for a moment, and then she slowly said, "Tomorrow is also the Emperor's birthday."
Xiao Heng quickly said, "Yes, tomorrow is my son's birthday."
His clear voice trembled slightly.
Liu Yuetang raised her eyelids slightly and saw Xiao Heng staring at the Queen Mother. His usually cold and deep eyes were now filled with anxiety and expectation.
He was like a child asking for candy, both afraid and expectant.
But the Queen Mother's next words dispersed all his expectations in her deep eyes, and replaced them with bitterness.
"I don't like crowds, so I won't go to the banquet."
Xiao Heng clenched his hands and said in a deep voice, "Is the Queen Mother really not going?"
The Queen Mother sat in the chair without saying a word, her eyes colder than the winter night, which made him feel chilled.
He didn't ask any more questions, but bowed and said, "Okay, I'll take my leave now."
After saying that, he stood up and walked out. When he passed Liu Yuetang, he stopped.
"Xi Jieyu, please follow me back to the palace."
Liu Yuetang also breathed a sigh of relief and bowed to the Queen Mother: "I will take my leave."
She followed Xiao Heng out of Shoukang Palace.
Xiao Heng took big steps and walked very fast. Liu Yuetang lifted her skirt and quickly followed him.
Perhaps he felt that the woman behind him was falling behind, so he stopped and stared blankly ahead.
Liu Yuetang could understand his feelings at the moment.
Whether in the royal family or outside the palace, parents' partiality is like a sharp sword that can always pierce the depths of the heart accurately.
Shatter those desires and expectations into pieces.
After being hurt all over, Liu Yuetang decided to take care of herself and live for herself.
But Xiao Heng couldn't.
His identity and his past were like a wall that trapped him tightly.
He is an emperor and can never live for himself.
Liu Yuetang said nothing, but reached out and held Xiao Heng's hand.
His fingertips trembled slightly, as if he was extremely cold.
Liu Yuetang held it tightly, transferring all the warmth in her palm to him.
Now he is no longer an emperor, but a child who longs for his mother's love.
Xiao Heng didn't say anything, but he grabbed the woman's hand and held it tightly.
In Shoukang Palace, the Queen Mother stared blankly at a certain place in the palace.
His eyes seemed to have lost all color, empty and distant.
Nanny Zhu sighed gloomily, "Empress Dowager, why are you doing this?"
The Queen Mother closed her eyes slightly to hide the bitterness in them: "What can I do?"
"Tomorrow is Heng'er's memorial day. Do you think I, as a mother, should celebrate another son's birthday with such joy? I can't do it!"
Nanny Zhu's eyes were moist: "But Empress Dowager, is this fair to the Emperor?"
"The dead will never come back. You should cherish the present and cherish the emperor!"
The Queen Mother opened her chaotic and sorrowful eyes and shook her head slightly: "There is already a rift between me and the Emperor. In his heart, the only mother is Song Jinrou. To me... it's just a facade."
"Empress Dowager!" Nanny Zhu knelt down.
"The Emperor loves you as his mother. He was so eager for you to celebrate his birthday with him. If you don't go... I'm afraid your relationship will become even more distant."
"Just keep your distance." The Queen Mother breathed a sigh of relief.
"He killed his brother. How can I celebrate his birthday with a smile on my face?"
The cold pain flooded her heart like a flood, suffocating and powerless.
"I want to accompany my Heng'er, my Heng'er..."
Having said this, the Queen Mother suddenly stood up and walked towards the small Buddhist temple with tears in her eyes.
"I want to copy scriptures, and I want to accompany Heng'er."
Looking at the empress dowager who was like a walking corpse, Nanny Zhu felt extremely uncomfortable and subconsciously clutched her clothes to her chest.
"What a sin! What a sin!"
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