Chapter 41 Xiao Zhou Enters the Palace
Cui Xiao’s coma was like a bottomless abyss, swallowing up every moment in the Qianqing Palace.
Although Emperor Liu Jin felt somewhat relieved that Cui Xiao's pulse had stabilized, the anxiety he felt when he saw his son's eyes remained closed and his cheeks were as pale as paper, burned his heart like a raging fire day and night.
The imperial doctors took turns on duty, prescribing decoctions, acupuncture, and massage. The essence of the thousand-year-old ginseng seeped into Cui Xiao's weak body bit by bit, but they were unable to awaken his dormant consciousness.
Liu Jin almost never slept, and only handled state affairs in the outer room of the warm room. After finishing his work, he would stay by the bed.
He no longer concealed the heartache and kindness in his eyes. His rough fingers carefully stroked Cui Xiao's forehead and eyebrows, as if he wanted to carve the appearance of this lost and recovered flesh and blood into the depths of his soul.
He whispered over and over again, his voice hoarse and gentle
"Xiao'er... Xiao'er... It's father... Open your eyes and look at father..." However, the only response he got was Cui Xiao's weak breathing.
Fu'an felt sorry for the emperor as he watched him grow increasingly haggard, his eyes bloodshot but he stubbornly waited.
He knew that a heart disease needed a heart medicine. This young man grew up in the Weiyuan Marquis Mansion, and the person he missed most was probably the adoptive mother who had poured fifteen years of her life into his life.
"Your Majesty," Fuan spoke cautiously, his voice very low.
"Teacher Cui... His Royal Highness the Crown Prince grew up in the Marquis's Mansion and has a deep affection for the Marquis of Weiyuan's wife.
Perhaps... if we let the Marquis enter the palace and whisper something in His Highness's ear, evoking his familiar memories and concerns, it would help His Highness wake up sooner?"
Liu Jin stiffened slightly when he heard this. An indescribable feeling of bitterness and jealousy instantly surged in his heart.
That was his son! His own flesh and blood, born after ten months of pregnancy and the pain of the Reincarnation Stone! But what woke him up might be another woman's loving call?
It felt like a blunt knife cutting flesh. He subconsciously wanted to refuse, wanting to monopolize this moment of recognition between father and son.
However, when his eyes fell on Cui Xiao's lifeless face, all his selfish thoughts were instantly shattered by huge fear and expectation.
He closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, only his father's purest wish remained.
"Approved. Summon the wife of Marquis Weiyuan, Xiao Zhou, to the palace immediately! Grant her a phoenix chariot, without delay!"
Ever since Cui Xiao was carried into the Qianqing Palace, Xiao Zhou felt as if her soul had been sucked away.
She knelt in the Buddhist temple in the mansion, praying day and night, her tears almost running dry. The controversy over the true and false prince in the mansion, the covetous gaze of the second house, and the death of the old lady, all became insignificant in her heart at this moment.
She only hoped that her Xiao'er would be safe! No matter whose child he was, the mother-son relationship of the past fifteen years had been deeply engraved in her heart.
When the imperial edict came from the palace, ordering her to go to the palace to visit Cui Xiao immediately, Xiao Zhou almost thought she was dreaming!
She didn't bother to wash up, just wiped her face roughly, and staggered towards the carriage waiting outside the door, her heart in her throat.
When she was led by Fu'an into the warm room of the Qianqing Palace, which symbolized the supreme imperial power, and saw that the young man she regarded as her life was still unconscious and breathing weakly on the dragon bed, all her strength collapsed in an instant.
“Xiao’er——!”
With a heart-wrenching cry, Xiao Zhou threw herself down in front of the couch. Her trembling hands wanted to touch her son's pale face, but she was afraid of hurting him.
Tears flowed out like a flood that broke through a dam, instantly soaking the quilt beneath Cui Xiao.
"My son... why are you so stupid... why is your life so miserable..."
Little Zhou burst into tears, tightly grasping Cui Xiao's cold hand, pressing it against her face, trying to warm it with her own warmth.
She forgot the emperor's majesty and everything around her. At this moment, she was just a heartbroken mother.
"Xiao'er... Mom is here... Mom is right here... Can you open your eyes and look at Mom?"
"Mom made your favorite almond cheese...it's still hot...get up and try it..."
"I promise you, I'll never force you to practice calligraphy you don't like again... I'll find you whatever storybook you want to read..."
"Xiao'er... Mom is begging you... Don't sleep... Wake up quickly... Don't leave me alone..."
She talked on and on, her voice choked and incoherent, pouring out without reservation every detail of their fifteen years together as mother and son, the worries, fears, endless longing and love in her heart.
Those tearful cries, filled with the deepest and purest maternal love, were like a trickle of warm current, penetrating the fog of coma.
Emperor Liu Jin stood not far away, watching this scene with mixed feelings.
Bitterness, jealousy, gratitude, guilt…all eventually turned into a pang of heartache.
He saw Xiao Zhou's unreserved love for Cui Xiao, which was as deep as that of any biological mother.
He resisted the urge to go forward and pull her away, and just looked at his son's sleeping face silently and greedily, hoping for a miracle to happen.
The third day since Xiao Zhou entered the palace.
The morning sun shone through the window lattice, spilling into the warm room. Little Zhou was still guarding the bedside, holding Cui Xiao's hand and humming his favorite lullaby from childhood. Her voice was hoarse but gentle.
She felt that the cold finger in her hand moved very slightly...!
Xiao Zhou's whole body trembled, and her singing stopped abruptly! She suddenly held her breath, her eyes wide open, staring at Cui Xiao's face!
Cui Xiao's thick eyelashes like butterfly wings trembled violently a few times!
Then, the pair of eyes that had been tightly closed for several days slowly and with difficulty opened a crack under the breathless gaze of everyone!
Confused, fragile, with the ignorance and pain of just waking up...the familiar, deer-like eyes finally appeared again!
“Xiao…Xiao’er?!”
Xiao Zhou's voice changed tone due to extreme surprise and disbelief, and was trembling violently!
"mother……?"
Cui Xiao's lips were cracked, and he made a faint mosquito-like sound. His eyes were focused on Xiao Zhou's tearful face, full of confusion and attachment.
"……pain……"
The cry of "mother" and "it hurts" was like the sound of nature, instantly lighting up the entire warm room!
"Xiao'er! My Xiao'er! You're awake! You're really awake!"
Xiao Zhou could no longer restrain herself, she rushed over, hugged her son tightly, and burst into tears!
This time, she cried tears of joy! The ecstasy of having found her lost son again! She hugged her lost and found son, as if she wanted to cry out all the fear and despair she had felt for the past ten days.
The moment Cui Xiao opened his eyes, Emperor Liu Jin felt a huge surge of ecstasy running through his body like an electric current, almost drowning him!
He suddenly rushed forward, opened his arms, and subconsciously wanted to embrace the frail boy! That was his son! His lost flesh and blood!
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