FID – Chapter 810

Chapter 810 — I Won’t Let Anyone Bully You Again

As the young man spoke, Shi Xianrou glanced at him, her pupils slightly contracting.

In the boy’s eyes, she couldn’t see a trace of emotion.

They were deep, and dark.

Ever since he had taken control of the Imperial Seal, the feeling he gave her had changed.

But upon closer examination, it seemed as though nothing had changed at all.

Feng Mohan had already started to become inscrutable — more and more like Feng Qingbai.

“Xiao Feng’er, don’t act rashly on your end. Before your Imperial Uncle left, he instructed that unless absolutely necessary, do not mobilize the troops — the losses would be too great,” Liu Yusheng reminded him as she accepted the plum soup and took a sip to ease the chest tightness brought on by her pregnancy.

If it were to come to a battle between two armies, Feng Qingbai wouldn’t have chosen to personally go to the border to negotiate with the Emperor of Dongyue.

He had already laid his plans there. If Xiao Feng’er acted rashly, it could very well disrupt Feng Qingbai’s strategy and ruin everything.

“I understand. I won’t be reckless.”

That afternoon, after a nap, Liu Yusheng resumed refining medicine in the Yangxin Hall, while the Empress Dowager reclined on a soft couch reading Buddhist scriptures.

The room was quiet — no different from usual.

The only difference was that the sandalwood incense in the air had been replaced with a faint medicinal fragrance.

And the cold, desolate stillness that usually lingered in the hall had quietly vanished.

Simply because there was one more person present.

Even if each was occupied with their own task and there wasn’t much conversation, the atmosphere was distinctly different.

From time to time, the Empress Dowager would lift her gaze to watch the woman’s focused expression as she refined her medicine, and would ask the old matron to bring her another cup of plum soup.

As the evening sun set, a eunuch from the outer hall came to report, “Reporting to the Empress Dowager — General Qin has come to visit!”

At that moment, Liu Yusheng, who had been drowsing by the medicine furnace, was startled awake by those words.

Qin Xiao?

Qin Xiao visiting the Empress Dowager?

“Let him in,” the Empress Dowager said calmly.

While the eunuch went to announce him, Liu Yusheng packed up her small medicine furnace.

“Since Your Majesty has an esteemed guest, I’ll take my leave for now and return later to dine with you.”

The Empress Dowager nodded. She didn’t ask her to stay, nor did she say anything else.

At the entrance of the hall, Liu Yusheng brushed past Qin Xiao.

Feng Qingbai had never mentioned before that the Empress Dowager and Qin Xiao were acquainted.

Was it because Feng Qingbai considered it unworthy of mention? Or… did even he not know?

And what was Qin Xiao’s purpose in visiting today?

If it were truly something meant to be kept secret, she should have been kept away, unaware of it entirely.

Was she overthinking it? On her way back to the side hall, Liu Yusheng remained deep in thought.

“Your servant greets Your Majesty,” Qin Xiao saluted after entering the hall.

“Rise. Is there an important matter that brings General Qin here today?” The Empress Dowager’s gaze rested on the book in her hands. She did not lift her eyes to look at the Grand General.

Qin Xiao sighed, glancing around before finding a seat himself. “Why does the scent in Your Majesty’s hall seem different? I remember you liked sandalwood.”

“Sandalwood is strong; this fragrance is pleasant too.”

“I heard people say that Your Majesty allows the Princess Consort of Nanling to refine medicine here. At first, I didn’t believe it, but now it seems true.” Qin Xiao smiled, studying the Empress Dowager closely. “You’re still the same as before — soft-hearted.”

“What is it you want to say?” At last, the Empress Dowager lifted her gaze. Her eyes were calm and unruffled.

“I just came to check on you,” Qin Xiao lowered his voice, with a barely noticeable trace of self-mockery. “You like peace and quiet, you like sandalwood, but recently the atmosphere in the Yangxin Hall has changed a lot. The sandalwood has been removed, and it’s noisy all day long. I was worried you were putting up with something against your will.”

“My affairs are no concern of yours, General. Nor do I need you to worry about me. Qin Xiao, remember your status!”

The hall fell silent for a moment.

After a pause, Qin Xiao spoke again, “As long as you are happy, that’s enough. You know I have always wished for you to be happy every day.”

Suddenly, the Empress Dowager flung aside the scripture in her hand and stepped toward Qin Xiao, her eyes sharp and fierce. “Happy? You wish for me to be happy? How am I supposed to be happy?! Qin Xiao, do you realize how laughable your words are?!”

“Aman…”

“Don’t call me Ah Man! You are a subject!” Their eyes locked — hers fierce and heartbroken, his repressed and enduring.

Yet both were filled with deep sorrow.

“I merely came to visit Your Majesty, nothing more. Knowing you are well puts me at ease.” Qin Xiao cupped his hands in a salute, slowly stepping back. “In three days, the Prince will arrive at the southeastern border to negotiate with the Emperor of Dongyue on the battlefield. If the negotiation fails, I will lead the army into battle. Whatever it is you wish for, I will risk my life to accomplish it for you.”

Staring intently at the man’s retreating figure, the fierceness in the Empress Dowager’s eyes did not lessen — it grew stronger.

Once he stepped out of the hall, a bitter, desolate laugh escaped her lips.

“Aman, I won’t let anyone hurt you again. You know that. I can do anything for you.”

Soft as a whisper on the wind, the words drifted through the hall and scattered into nothingness.

The setting sun cast its purple-golden light into the hall, falling upon the woman and gilding her silver hair with a layer of violet-red.

Desolate and sorrowful.

In her eyes, as the fierceness gradually faded, there was nothing but emptiness.

There was no one else in the hall, only an old matron who had served the Empress Dowager for many years. She stood quietly in the corner, worriedly watching the woman, yet not daring to step forward to offer comfort.

After experiencing the greatest bitterness and pain in life, what use was comfort?

No matter what was said, it would sound hollow.

Outside the grand hall, a tall, broad figure slowly departed under the slanting rays of the setting sun, his steps unsteady.

His shadow on the ground stretched long and thin, frail and fragile.

After returning to the side hall, Liu Yusheng felt restless and uneasy.

Her mind kept circling around Qin Xiao’s visit to the Empress Dowager.

In the end, she couldn’t sit still and quietly made her way back, lingering outside the inner hall.

She saw Qin Xiao leave with her own eyes.

Though she couldn’t hear what had been said inside the hall, Qin Xiao’s back seemed to have aged ten years in an instant.

From within the hall came a heart-wrenching, hollow laugh.

After hesitating a moment, Liu Yusheng stepped into the hall.

The elderly woman stood alone at the center of the grand hall, laughing with tears clinging to the corners of her eyes.

Lost and dazed, her expression wooden and vacant.

“Your Majesty?” Liu Yusheng called softly, slowly approaching her.

The Empress Dowager ignored her and did not look her way, simply staring blankly toward the door.

“Your Majesty, you don’t look well. Let me help you sit down.”

When her hand touched the Empress Dowager’s arm, it was suddenly grabbed in return — her grip was so strong that Liu Yusheng frowned in pain.

“Why do you insist on clinging to me?” the elderly woman asked, staring fixedly at her. “Why do you keep hovering around me? Do you pity me? Or are you trying to soften my heart and help reconcile things with Feng Qingbai?”

“Your Majesty…”

Withdrawing her hand, the Empress Dowager turned and walked toward the inner hall. The old matron immediately stepped forward to support her.

“From now on, do your alchemy in your own side hall. There’s no need to come here anymore. I’m used to solitude—I don’t need anyone to keep me company.”

Her voice now was extremely calm, her ability to control her emotions precise and effortless.

She had returned to being the composed and inscrutable Empress Dowager, as she usually appeared before others.

Liu Yusheng pressed her lips together, staring at the figure disappearing behind the beaded curtain, a growing tightness swelling in her chest.

What exactly had Qin Xiao and the Empress Dowager discussed just now that caused her to suddenly change her attitude and refuse to indulge them any longer?

Feng Qingbai… He should be arriving at the Dongyue border soon. Why had Qin Xiao come at this time? What exactly was he planning?