FID – Chapter 846

Chapter 846 – She Thought They Could Be Together for a Lifetime

“Your Majesty? Your Majesty?” Grandma Liu sat down at the edge of the bed and called out twice. When she saw the Empress Dowager didn’t respond, she simply reached out and pulled her up. “Oh come now, you’re not even asleep! Why are you lying there all quiet like that? Get up, get up! The sun’s shining bright outside and everyone’s out there chatting. You should come join the fun too.”

“You—you let go of me! Insolent woman! Preposterous!” The Empress Dowager nearly choked from shock after being suddenly yanked up. Her eyes widened, and even her silvery hair trembled.

She had entered the palace as empress at the age of sixteen and had lived in privilege for the past forty years. Always dignified, always revered—who would dare lay hands on her like this?

And yet, precisely because she had always been pampered that her strength was feeble. Against Grandma Liu’s grip, her struggles made no difference at all. And so, she was forcefully dragged out of bed!

“You—let go this instant! I will truly be angry!” She had only tolerated this peasant woman because she knew she was an ignorant country bumpkin. Otherwise, she would have made her pay. 

Even if Feng Qingbai tried to protect her, she could still see that this woman wouldn’t come out of it well!

How could she be treated like this—just because she was kind enough to be lenient?!

“Oh, alright, alright, stop struggling. Lying around in a dark room all day will make you moldy. Just look at your face! Ask your old maid, isn’t it pale as death? Without sunlight, how could anyone stay healthy like that? At our age, we have to take extra care of our bodies! Our Nannan has made some great herbal nourishing tea. When you return to the palace, take two jars with you. Drink a small pot each day, and I guarantee your complexion will be rosy within a month.”

The Empress Dowager was trembling with rage. Nothing she said matched what this woman was going on about. Whatever she said, Grandma Liu just said something else.

It was as if she was deliberately opposing her at every turn!

With just a few quick moves, Grandma Liu dragged the frail Empress Dowager—who didn’t even have the strength to truss a chicken—out the door and all the way under the grape trellis.

Behind them, the old maid finally put on a flustered expression and hurried out after them. “Your Majesty! Your Majesty!”

The Empress Dowager, panting, shot her a cold glare. Now you come running—where have you been a moment ago?! 

A servant should loyally protect her mistress. If she couldn’t do that, then what was the point of her existence?

The old maid braced herself and pretended not to notice the anger. The Empress Dowager was clearly upset she hadn’t protected her earlier, but when she was being dragged away, hadn’t Her Majesty also said nothing?

Everyone outside was chatting and laughing, and the mood didn’t shift just because the Empress Dowager had arrived.

Liu Zhiqiu clapped his hands. “Alright, now that everyone’s here, let’s start picking grapes! If we let them sit in the sun much longer, those plump grapes will start to shrivel.”

After all, the vines had been cut and set up here; they weren’t actually planted in the yard, so the grapes wouldn’t last long.

At this height, Liu Yusheng could reach up and pick them with ease, so she could join in the fun without any effort.

She was happy—so naturally, everyone else was happy too.

At the word, everyone picked a spot and got to work.

Grandma Liu grabbed a small pair of scissors from a nearby basket and handed them to the Empress Dowager. “Picking by hand is a bit much, but using scissors makes it easier. Just be careful not to damage the grapes. We’ll wash them later and use them for wine or grape jam.”

Staring blankly at the little pair of scissors in her hand, the Empress Dowager was in disbelief. 

This crude woman actually expected her to pick grapes?

When has she ever done something like this in her life?!

She immediately reached out to hand the scissors back to her old maid, but that crude woman was one step ahead of her. “You come too, Granny. Let’s all have some fun. Never picked grapes before, have you? Do you know how to make wine? What about jam—can you make that?”

As the two walked off chatting, they naturally fell in with the rest of the group, leaving the Empress Dowager standing there alone, still glaring at their retreating backs, scissors in hand—awkward to throw, awkward to keep holding.

Then she looked toward the other side of the yard, where Feng Qingbai had rolled up his sleeves and was deftly plucking grapes with two fingers—just a light pinch and drop, and a cluster of purple grapes landed neatly in a basket.

Even the Prince had lowered himself to do such humble work. If she kept putting on airs, it would feel out of place in a setting like this.

She looked down at the worn, old pair of scissors in her hand. Made of raw iron, the blades were speckled with rust. Who knew how many years they’d been used without being thrown away?

In the palace, even her bonsai pruning shears were made of gold.

Crude woman, she thought. You’ve got so much money and still don’t know how to use good tools.

But as she watched the bunches of grapes gradually disappearing from the trellis, she finally stood up. 

Fine—she’d give it a try.

It was just picking grapes. How hard could it be?

She gently pinched a bunch, careful not to squeeze too hard—after all, the crude woman had said not to damage the fruit. She positioned the scissors on the stem, applied a little pressure, and snipped—the grapes dropped into her hand.

It was really quite easy.

A hint of satisfaction flickered in the Empress Dowager’s eyes.

“Your Majesty, here’s a small basket for you. You can carry it on your arm like I’m doing, or set it at your feet. Just drop the grapes you cut into the basket,” a gentle-looking middle-aged woman approached her with a smile, handing her a bamboo basket. The Empress Dowager recognized her—it was Liu Yusheng’s mother.

Her voice was soft and pleasant, not unpleasant to the ear. The Empress Dowager’s mood eased a little as she accepted the basket.

Not far off, several grown men were huddled together, picking grapes and eating them as they went. Their baskets held only a few clusters, but the pile of grape peels had already filled nearly half.

“Just seeing these grapes reminds me of when Nannan was a little girl—barely up to my knee,” Liu Dalin said as he spat out a grape peel, a nostalgic look on his face. “She used to come with us up the mountain to pick grapes. One time she even found a ganoderma.”

“When we sold that mushroom, Zhiqiu and I were able to go to school,” Liu Zhixia added with a smile. “I think it sold for dozens of taels of silver, was it?”

Ever since then, the family had been supporting the two brothers through their studies.

First they sold the mushroom, then Nannan started making wine from grapes, and the family began to thrive bit by bit.

Even the village began to change over time. The rice yields improved year after year, and the flavor was excellent. Eventually, the villagers started calling their Nannan the ‘Blessed Doll.’

Liu Zhiqiu chimed in from the side, “I remember the time we were picking grapes with Feng Qingbai. He and Nannan came a bit later. By then everyone else had nearly filled a whole basket. He was worried Nannan wouldn’t have any to eat and would be upset, so he took all the grapes out of Dabao’s big basket and put them into Nannan’s little one. Dabao was so mad he almost burst into tears right then and there.”

Everyone burst into laughter at the memory.

Feng Qingbai looked at the girl beside him with tender eyes. She was sneakily eating grapes, her fingers stained purple with juice. When he noticed, she stuck out her tongue and grinned at him.

Back then… those times were beautiful. Back then, there was Shengsheng, his mother, and the whole Liu family who had accepted him.

While everyone chatted, the Empress Dowager sat nearby, quietly listening, and found herself unconsciously drawn into the conversation.

She glanced at the man and woman exchanging smiles, realizing that even from a young age, the Prince had treated Liu Yusheng with extraordinary care.

That kind of affection must have been childhood sweethearts. No wonder their bond was so deep—so exclusive that there was no room for anyone else in their eyes.

She, too, had once been like that…

Childhood companions, growing up together, believing they would stay by each other’s side for a lifetime.