Chapter 39#

This bloody mess of seniority.

Being men ourselves, how could I have momentarily forgotten that a man’s fondness for bedtime roleplay is equally timeless, irrespective of whether he’s straight or gay.

In any case, whatever games Chu Ruiyuan fancies in bed, I’m not the one who’ll bear his child.

It was Consort De who, quite peacefully and smoothly, bore him a son in one go.

Then, tragically, the Noble Consort of Virtue ‘bled to death’ and departed for the imperial temple on the western outskirts of the capital, becoming a Buddhist nun.

However, whilst in plain clothes inspecting the palace and visiting the reopened Tea Classic Pavilion once more, I happened upon my childhood friend who had come for tea.

He told me that rumours were now circulating in the capital that I was narrow-minded and jealous, that I had caused the Noble Consort of Virtue’s death and seized her son from her.

Could I be more wronged than Dou E?!

A man, crowned empress through an irregular imperial decree, monopolising the harem with jealousy and tyranny for three years. When Consort De finally arrived, I supposedly murdered her to seize her child…

No need for me to write fiction—I can already foresee the image of me in the wild histories a hundred years hence.

But this palace cares not.

The current Emperor is this Empress Dowager’s husband, and the next Emperor will be this Empress Dowager’s adopted son. No matter how the unofficial histories twist and turn, the official histories cannot write a single word of ‘no’ about me.

It must be: The Holy Mother Empress Dowager Liu, eldest daughter of Chancellor Liu, gentle and virtuous, graceful and dignified…

Ah, but that feels less satisfying than being branded a “male fox spirit who brings ruin to the nation and its people”.

After my childhood friend departed, calculating the time, Chu Ruiyan should have finished his official duties by now. So, escorted by a group of disguised guards, I made my way back to the palace.

On the return journey, nearly a year later than in my first life, I witnessed an older gentleman publicly abusing and kicking a “grey-haired elder”.

I ordered the guards to halt the carriage, lifted the curtain, and peered out the window. My gaze met the head the victim lifted and their tear-filled eyes.

Thus, though this man had betrayed me across two lifetimes, my heart still ached for him.

I instructed the driver to rescue the man, find him shelter, and keep my own involvement discreet.

The guard acknowledged the order and approached the pair, but a man clad in coarse cloth stepped forward before him.

This rough-clothed man rebuked the assailant, emptied his pockets of every coin, and purchased the strikingly handsome youth—one who had entangled me across two lifetimes, leaving me uncertain how to judge him.

Upon seeing the man’s face, I recognised him: one of the most elite secret guards under the CEO of our dynasty.

Recalling that Chu Ruiyan had devised this scheme a decade prior, it was naturally ill-advised for me to intervene further.

Fortunately, though the CEO of our dynasty possessed a heart of darkness, he harboured a peculiar obsession with Dugu Yan—an obsession driven by a need to prove to me that whoever rescued Dugu Yan from the depths of despair and treated him kindly would inevitably win his affection, regardless of who they were.

Thus, whether genuine or feigned, Chu Ruiyan’s devotion to Dugu Yan would be unwavering.

As for whether Dugu Yan would become utterly enamoured, and how this might ultimately unfold, that could only be left to fate.

With Dugu Yan’s matter settled, I could rest easy awaiting my fellow townsman Fang Xueying’s arrival in the capital three years hence.

Three years—neither long nor short.

For me, it meant merely turning twenty-five from twenty-two.

But for the young Crown Prince, it meant growing from a newborn babe into a child who could call out ‘Father Emperor’ and ‘Mother Empress,’ roam freely through the palace grounds, and recite simple verses from the classics.

Ever since he could recognise faces, the young prince has been closer to me. He’s more my son than the son of the dynasty’s CEO.

I usually put it down to my greater approachability.

But Chu Ruiyuan’s official explanation is ‘a kind mother, a strict father’ - he holds high hopes and demands for the crown prince, while I’m always doting on him.

How could I not dote on him?

My son is utterly adorable!

According to Eunuch Ning, the young prince bears an uncanny resemblance to His Majesty in his childhood.

He’s a miniature, cuddly version of Chu Ruiyuan.

A true beauty addict’s weakness!

Even knowing he’d already eaten five pastries today, when he gazed at me with sparkling eyes, calling ‘Daddy, Daddy,’ I couldn’t resist slipping him another piece.

Truthfully, the young prince is bright and well-behaved, never once acting capriciously. At such a tender age, he already understands diligence and a thirst for learning.

The only way I can indulge him is through these pastries and sugar beans.

I understand that Chu Ruiyuan insists on being an uncompromisingly strict father in these small matters, but it’s only to foster a closer bond between the Crown Prince and me. I hope that when he fully understands the ways of the world in the future, he will still regard me as his birth mother.

Such is the sovereign’s grace; it can only be repaid with heart and flesh.

Indeed, lately the fleshly repayment has been particularly intense and frequent.

Almost reaching a daily frequency.

After being drained dry for several days, I finally managed to return home and discovered why Chu Ruiyuan had been so merrily preoccupied lately.

Ah, Fang Xueying’s father had been transferred to the capital.

The CEO of this dynasty never encountered my fellow townsman in my previous life, yet in this one, he’s been monitoring the Fang family’s movements. His memory is surprisingly sharp—far beyond my expectations.

As for why he still allowed Father Fang to enter the capital, I suspect it’s to test my resolve—to prove that this ‘woman’ who once served as my concubine holds no significance, no place in my thoughts.

But man proposes, heaven disposes. Before he’d finished stewing over his jealousy from two lifetimes ago, Fang Xueying entered my family’s doors once more.

This time, however, she wasn’t becoming my mother’s daughter-in-law, but her adopted daughter.

Here’s how it happened.

My sister-in-law bore my twin nephews and niece eight years ago, then gave birth to a second son three years prior. Recently, she has become pregnant once more.

Thus, seeking blessings, she has been accompanying my mother to the capital’s temples with increasing frequency.

It was through these visits that the pair became acquainted with my fellow townsman.

My sister-in-law and Fang Xueying hit it off splendidly, becoming such fast friends they could have sworn blood oaths—ah, no, sworn sisterhood.

Pitying Fang Xueying’s plight of being haggled over by the Fang family, my sister-in-law resolved to help her.

Thus, my mother—a First Rank Lady, wife of the Chancellor—took my fellow villager as her sworn daughter and informed the Fang household she would oversee Fang Xueying’s marriage arrangements.

The Fang family, newly arrived in the capital as a Fourth Rank official household, could scarcely believe their fortune. Naturally, they agreed wholeheartedly.

And so, the woman who had been my concubine in a past life became my sworn sister in this one.