FID – Chapter 844

Chapter 844 – I Despise the Notion

Their eyes met in silence, but neither of them spoke.

The dim light of early morning cast a heavy, almost oppressive air between them.

It felt like a standoff—neither side willing to break first.

Feng Qingbai’s gaze briefly swept over the woman’s silvery hair. A moment later, he opened his mouth and said calmly, “It wasn’t me.”

The Empress Dowager’s eyes instantly sharpened. “Who else could it be if not you?”

She wanted to maintain her usual composure, the cold detachment she’d mastered over the years. But she couldn’t hold onto it now—not even that.

He said it wasn’t him. He actually said it wasn’t him!

He could speak of that cruelly murdered infant without the slightest flicker of emotion!

“I don’t know who it was,” Feng Qingbai replied coldly, “but I never gave any order to kill a child. And I had no reason to do so. The imperial succession was a battlefield. I made countless enemies, and there were more people who wanted me dead than you could count. Would I really concern myself with some child who might seek revenge one day? I will only explain this once on Shengsheng’s account. Otherwise, I wouldn’t waste my breath. If I, Feng Qingbai, did something, I’d admit it. Believe it or not—your choice.”

The Empress Dowager stared at his calm face, her entire being swaying like she might collapse. 

His words had pierced a gaping hole through the belief she had clung to for years, and that belief was now crumbling, bit by bit.

She shook her head, body trembling violently. “No… You’re lying. You’re lying to me!”

“Why would I lie to you?” Feng Qingbai said flatly. “Perhaps in the past, I still had a measure of caution toward you—but now, not anymore. Qin Xiao’s military power has been taken back by the court. What do you still have to rely on that allows you to challenge me? I find lying to someone who no longer poses any threat to me beneath me.”

With that, he said no more. Ignoring the Empress Dowager’s face turning deathly pale in an instant, he turned and walked back to his room. Just before entering, his voice floated lightly back to her: “The border situation is resolved. Qin Xiao and Shi Kewei have both returned to court, safe and sound.”

The Empress Dowager’s trembling gaze froze—and then began to ripple again. Her eyes gradually turned red.

That final sentence from Feng Qingbai was meant to convey just two words: safe and sound.

Qin Xiao is safe.

He had seen straight through the real reason behind her desperate rush to come here.

Wise. Sharp. Merciless. Insightful. Strategic.

This was Feng Qingbai—the King of Nanling.

Just as he said: without Qin Xiao as her backing, she was nothing more than an old woman with no support.

Even with the title of Empress Dowager, she no longer had the power to restrain a man like the King of Nanling.

She was no longer a threat to him.

He had no reason whatsoever to lie to her.

But if it wasn’t him—if it truly wasn’t Feng Qingbai—then who was it who could be so heartless as to harm her infant grandson, barely a month old?

Sitting blankly at the window, the upright posture she had maintained slowly collapsed. For the first time, the Empress Dowager looked truly old.

The Empress Dowager did not leave her room the entire day. Anyone who came to check on her was told she was asleep. The meals delivered to her quarters remained untouched and were eventually sent back to the kitchen by the old maid, just as they came.

That night, before going to bed, Liu Yusheng found an opportunity to ask Feng Qingbai, “Did you already talk to her?”

“Mm, everything’s been made clear.”

“And… does she believe you?”

“I’ve said what needed to be said. Whether she believes it or not is her own choice.” As he gently pressed the woman—who had been propping herself up—back down onto the bed, Feng Qingbai added, “You’re pregnant now. Stop worrying about all these other things. The Empress Dowager is no ordinary woman—she’ll get past it on her own. There’s no need for you to carry that burden for her.”

If the Empress Dowager didn’t have the strength to bear something like this, she wouldn’t still be standing here today.

She had carried hatred in her heart for so long that even with her hair turned white, she could still rise up to oppose him. Now that the target of that hatred had shifted, what difference did it make? Why would that become something she couldn’t get past?

What—if she couldn’t hate him anymore, then she couldn’t go on living?

When it came to people outside of the Liu family courtyard, Feng Qingbai had always possessed very little sympathy—if any at all.

Because those people had nothing to do with him.

Liu Yusheng couldn’t sleep—still worried, she lay tossing and turning for quite a while, one hand resting on her pregnant belly. In the end, she decided to continue pestering Feng Qingbai.

“Where is the Empress Dowager’s maternal family from?”

“The capital. Her maternal family fell into ruin after failing in the succession struggle. And from what I’ve heard, she was never close with them—she never returned after entering the palace,” knowing he couldn’t win against her persistence, Feng Qingbai replied with a note of helplessness in his tone, “By now, her maternal family is essentially gone. Most are dead, and the few who remain are scattered, living under assumed names.”

It was always like that.

Once you lose— You either die, or live out the rest of your days with your tail between your legs, never daring to appear before the victors. Otherwise, the life you barely managed to hold on to might be lost again.

“So that means the Empress Dowager is truly all alone.”

No family to rely on, no friends to support or care for her, and every last one of her bloodline had died.

No wonder her hair had turned completely silver.

The Empress Dowager was actually younger than Grandma Liu, yet when the two stood side by side, she looked far more aged.

Feng Qingbai sighed and said, “You’re so easily moved by a little kindness, with a temperament that soft—what will you do in the future?”

“What do you mean, ‘what will I do’? Don’t I still have you? Besides, I’m not that easy to manipulate.”

Feng Qingbai smilingly gave her petite nose a playful pinch. He didn’t argue with her—because all those overly complicated things… he hoped she would never understand.

If the day ever came when she understood them all, it would mean he was no longer there to protect her.

It would only be because he was dead.

Having finally made it back, and with the border now pacified and the nation stable, there was nothing urgent in the capital demanding immediate attention. So, the few who had returned home for the banquet were in no rush to leave.

Since they could stay a few more days at the Liu courtyard, they decided to enjoy it as much as possible.

With nothing much to do at home, the younger ones started looking for ways to entertain themselves.

“Those grapes at the vineyard behind Xinghua Ridge should be perfectly ripe now. Why don’t we find time to go play there and eat some grapes?” Liu Zhiqiu suggested.

He and Liu Muqiu were newlyweds and deeply infatuated with each other. Everything seemed pleasant to him—even the vineyard behind the mountain that he hadn’t bothered to look at in years now felt like a romantic getaway.

Liu Yusheng nodded, “Sure, the terrain around the vineyard is flat and the paths are easy to walk. Perfect for a big-bellied woman like me to get some light exercise.”

Everyone gave her a deep look of disdain.

All just sweet-talking to join the fun.

With how heavily pregnant she was, just walking one extra step in the courtyard was enough to give Feng Qingbai a near heart attack. 

Did they dare take her to the vineyard? Even if they all went together, they wouldn’t survive Feng Qingbai’s wrath.

Sensing she might be getting left behind, Liu Yusheng immediately looked to Feng Qingbai for support.

The man avoided her gaze and said, “If you want grapes, I’ll go pick some and bring them back for you.”

“I’m so bored at home I’m almost sprouting mushrooms.”

Qian Wanjin leaned in, sizing her up from head to toe. “Where are the mushrooms? I’ll pick them and cook soup for Grandma.”

“Xianrou, take this Jinzi of yours back—he’s such a pain!”

Shi Xianrou came over and grabbed Wanjin’s shoulder, shaking her head. “Getting angry won’t help. If you want to go out and play, first you’ve got to deal with your family’s stubborn tree.”

Qingbai is like a tree—straight and unyielding.

If you want to make him tilt his head, you’ve got to use a special move.

Ordinary people can’t do it.

So, Liu Yusheng will have to rely on herself.

Watching her eldest brother, second brother, and Qian Wanjin all leave in pairs, completely ignoring her, Liu Yusheng’s eyes turned green with envy. “Feng Qingbai, come with me! If I get tired, you can carry me. You didn’t drink much today anyway.”