Chapter 153: Empress Dowager Wang: It’s Impossible for Me to Feel Depressed

Song Ci’s guess had been right: someone really was thinking of her—and that someone was none other than the current Empress Dowager.

Inside the Palace of Benevolent Peace, Empress Dowager Wang was discussing the heir she had chosen with her imperial son, as well as the arrangements to be made for him.

“A-Ci is broad-minded. Just look at the sort of child she raised in Runzhi. I trust her abilities. Send that child to the Chancellor’s residence—I’m certain he’ll fare much better there than in the Loyal Diligence Count’s household. At least he’ll be allowed to live.” Whenever the Empress Dowager mentioned the Loyal Diligence Count’s household, undisguised disdain crossed her face.

Emperor Chu rubbed the yellow-jade prayer beads in his hand, resting his other hand on the low table beside the heated platform. “Mother, since you’re willing to provide an heir for my uncle’s branch, and the child is only six years old, why not bring him into the palace and raise him yourself?”

“Raise him myself?” Empress Dowager Wang’s eyes widened. She had not even brought her own grandsons to live by her side—how could she possibly raise a complete stranger? Absolutely not.

Besides, it had been so many years since she had raised a child. It was out of the question.

“You must be bored here in the Palace of Benevolent Peace. Having a child by your side would give you some company, wouldn’t it?”

Empress Dowager Wang pointed at herself, amused. “You say I’m bored? How am I bored? Whenever I want to watch an opera, someone performs one for me. Whenever I want to hear music or watch a dance, your consorts are happy to come and entertain me. Even when I want to play ma diao, there are plenty of people to keep me company. Bored? That’s impossible. I’m not bored in the slightest.”

But if a child were brought into the palace and spent every day making a racket, she would be driven mad with worry.

No, no. Absolutely not.

The corner of Emperor Chu’s mouth twitched as he looked at his mother, rendered somewhat speechless.

Come to think of it, his mother really was remarkably good at finding ways to amuse herself. Nearly all his consorts had been summoned by her to display their talents, never repeating the same performance two days in a row. Whenever she was pleased, she rewarded them generously. In truth, his imperial harem seemed to exist primarily for his mother’s entertainment.

Still, so long as she was happy, that was all that mattered. She could do whatever she pleased.

“Mother, children can be very amusing at times. How would you know if you’ve never brought one here to raise? A child raised by you would naturally grow closer to you, wouldn’t he?” Emperor Chu tried persuading her again.

Empress Dowager Wang gave him a sidelong glance. “Why do I feel that you’re trying to shift the burden onto the Chancellor and his family? You don’t want me to send the child over there, do you?”

“That isn’t entirely the case. The Chancellor actually mentioned this matter in passing before. I imagine the Grand Madam must have spoken to him about it. He simply thinks that if the child is raised in the palace, by your side, he’ll be closer to you, and safer as well. And thirdly…” Emperor Chu hesitated. “I suspect he’s worried about his mother’s health.”

Empress Dowager Wang frowned. “A-Ci’s health looks perfectly robust to me.”

“That’s only how it appears on the surface. Internally, she’s already somewhat weakened,” Emperor Chu said cautiously.

The Empress Dowager’s expression changed several times. Her fingers tightened slightly around the armrest of the phoenix chair, and the lightheartedness vanished from her face.

“Truly?”

“That is what Chief Physician Lu said. Mother, you should know how much suffering Aunt Song endured in those years, and how hard she had to struggle to survive.”

He no longer called her the Grand Madam, but had instead adopted the more intimate form of address.

The Empress Dowager’s eyes reddened. “I know. Of course I know. Back then, to escape your Imperial Father’s persecution, we hid from place to place—even in mountain caves. At night, we would listen to the wild beasts roaring outside and tremble with fear. It was your aunt who carried food and water up to us. And during the great drought, when only two mouthfuls of water remained, she was so parched that her lips had cracked open, yet she still gave them to us.”

Emperor Chu was deeply moved as he recalled those years.

“A-Ci… A-Ci has always had such a hard life. She suffered in her youth, and now that she can finally enjoy some comfort, this happens again…” As she spoke, the Empress Dowager sorrowfully wiped away her tears.

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