Chapter 1: The Blind Old Widow
Autumn, the seventh year of Emperor Wen of Han's latter reign, Chang'an.
The morning sun, like ink, spilled over the palaces, casting a unique orange-yellow hue of late autumn upon the ancient and solemn Han imperial court.
Inside the towering palace walls, palace servants, like ants, systematically carried out their day's work: some climbed wooden ladders, others held long poles, successively removing the mourning lanterns and cloths that hung throughout Changle Palace.
—Three months ago today, Tai Zong Emperor Wen passed away, and the nation entered a period of mourning.
And today, it happened to be the day the national mourning ended.
The end of national mourning, however, did not mean that the sorrow of the late Emperor's passing had vanished from this world.
Inside and outside the palace walls, in the streets and alleys, people's low, mournful sobs still occasionally echoed.
Only today, the sounds emanating from Changxin Hall in Changle Palace were not the cries of Empress Dowager Dou;
Nor were they weeping for the deceased Tai Zong Emperor Wen…
“Wuwu…
“Mother!”
“Your daughter has no face to live on!”
“Wuwu…Wuwuwuwu…”
Changle Palace, Changxin Hall.
Empress Dowager Dou, who had recently moved into Changle Palace, was now dressed in mourning attire for her husband, with a filial band tied around her forehead, seated on the imperial couch;
Her hands held a dove-headed staff upright beside her, her forehead gently resting on the staff's top, her unfocused, scattered eyes revealing endless sorrow.
Beside Empress Dowager Dou, a woman who looked about thirty or forty years old had already taken off her mourning clothes, and was sobbing, already a tearful mess.
If one were to only look at this mother and daughter, in such a scene, it would seem as though the woman's innocence had been violated, and she had come to her mother, the Empress Dowager, to weep and complain;
But in front of this mother and daughter, there was another slightly younger figure kneeling…
“Aunt, do not cry, do not cry…”
“All the faults, all the wrongs, are my mother's lack of propriety;
“Aunt, please do not take it to heart and ruin your health…”
Liu Rong had repeated these words countless times today.
But just by looking at the woman's tear-streaked face, one could tell that no matter how much Liu Rong apologized and pleaded, the woman didn't hear a single word, only whimpering pitifully by her mother, the Empress Dowager's side.
Seeing this, Liu Rong could only turn aside, take yet another handkerchief from a palace maid, and then carefully offer it forward.
While comforting his tearful Aunt Liu Piao, he also sighed inwardly at his own tragic fate.
“My mother, ah…”
Counting on his fingers, it had been about ten years since he transmigrated to this era;
In these ten years of transmigration, Liu Rong had deeply experienced just how much a troublesome mother could persecute her son.
Who was Liu Rong's mother?
She was none other than the historically renowned, even surpassing Bian Que and Hua Tuo, the first divine physician in history, respectfully known on the streets as: Consort Li.
According to the original historical trajectory, in another seven or eight years, this divine physician would angrily shout “Old dog!” at her dying imperial husband.
Then, Emperor Liu Qi, who was originally on the brink of death, with one foot already in the coffin, breathing more out than in, would be so enraged that he would miraculously cling to life.
The story that followed, naturally, was the extermination of Consort Li's entire clan, and Liu Rong, who was already the Crown Prince, was also deposed from his position as Crown Prince because of that “Old dog” remark, enfeoffed as a king, and did not meet a good end…
After realizing his identity and the fate he would face in the latter half of his life, Liu Rong had made countless efforts to avoid that incredibly tragic outcome.
When his mother got angry, Liu Rong would coax her;
When his mother was bored, Liu Rong would accompany her;
Even when his mother, as everyone expected, caused trouble, Liu Rong would dutifully run around, cleaning up her messes.
He originally thought that ten years of continuous effort would surely yield some results;
Until today, Liu Rong could only resignedly admit: To this day, he was still living a tragic life of ‘writing a blood letter, kneeling and begging his idiotic mother to stop causing trouble.’
Isn't that right?
A moment of inattention, and another huge disaster…
“Aunt…”
“Aunt?”
After coaxing for a long time and calling out pleadingly, Liu Piao's sobbing showed no sign of diminishing. Liu Rong could only turn his gaze to his grandmother, Empress Dowager Dou, for help.
—Regardless of whether the old lady could see or not, and regardless of whether the old lady could help or not;
At this moment, Liu Rong truly had no other choice…
“Enough, enough~”
“You're an old woman, still crying in front of your Grandson, aren't you ashamed?”
Perhaps her eye condition was not yet too severe, and she vaguely saw Liu Rong turn his head towards her, so Empress Dowager Dou finally spoke, stopping her daughter Liu Piao's sobbing.
But even though her crying stopped, Liu Piao did not quiet down;
Wiping the tears from her face with a handkerchief, she began to complain with a choked voice.
“Your daughter, your daughter is, after all, the only daughter of the late Emperor and the Empress Dowager, and the Emperor’s elder sister by the same mother;
“Not to mention Consort Li’s ‘Lady’ title, even the Empress residing in Jiaofang Palace should at least give your daughter some face, shouldn’t she?”
“But she, she was quite something, your daughter brought gifts to visit, and before she could even say a few words, she was beaten and scolded and driven out…
“Wuwu…
“Your daughter, your daughter, what face does she have to continue living in this world~”
“Wuwuwuwuwu…”
Within a few words, the air raid siren sounded again, making the palace servants outside the hall frown. They wanted to cover their ears but dared not, so they could only move their feet and hide further away.
Knowing his own fault, Liu Rong naturally dared not show the slightest impatience, but it was Empress Dowager Dou who was first annoyed by her daughter's endless crying.
“Enough!”
“In the past few months, haven't I heard enough crying?!”
“Do you have to make me, this blind old widow, cry with you, you wretch?!”
A few sudden, stern reprimands immediately startled Liu Piao, leaving her frozen in place. Even the few tears that had slipped from her eyes stopped on Liu Piao's face, scared.
Empress Dowager Dou turned her face grimly, frowning as she looked at her Grandson Liu Rong.
“Crown Prince, do you know the details of what happened?”
A cold remark, which made Liu Rong break out in a cold sweat. He immediately bowed, “Your Grandson, your Grandson knows…”
Knowing was one thing, but Liu Rong truly had no face to mention it…
“This morning at court, the Emperor had just issued the edict ending the national mourning, and you just had to rush off to seek trouble with that unruly woman!”
“Was what was mourned for three months of national mourning not your father?!”
“Did you just have to rush to arrange a marriage for A Jiao on the very day the national mourning ended?!!!!”
Already ashamed of his own mother's actions, and seeing his grandmother scolding Liu Piao in front of him, Liu Rong buried his head even lower, wishing he could find a crack in the ground to crawl into.
How embarrassing…
“Alright.”
“Let this matter end here.”
“The Crown Prince has apologized and admitted his fault, so even for the sake of your Grandson’s filial piety, don’t hold onto it anymore.”
With an undeniable tone, Empress Dowager Dou ordered Liu Piao not to pursue the matter further, then once again cast her cold gaze towards Liu Rong, who was still looking down for a crack in the ground.
Feeling his grandmother's gaze upon him, and realizing that Empress Dowager Dou's words just now were not only settling today's matter but also subtly dismissing him;
Liu Rong immediately rose, bowed to the two women in front of him, and repeatedly promised Liu Piao that he would ‘visit to apologize in a few days,’ before shamefully taking his leave.
As Liu Rong stepped out of Changxin Hall, Liu Piao's endless tears stopped instantly, and she cautiously looked at her side.
“Mother, Mother?”
She spoke tentatively, but saw Empress Dowager Dou take a deep breath and grope her way to her feet: “Stop right there.”
“If Consort Li doesn’t approve, A Jiao will not marry the Crown Prince.”
“I don’t believe that my old face can’t find a good marriage for A Jiao?”
Upon hearing this, Liu Piao's face immediately changed with anxiety. She quickly rose to support Empress Dowager Dou, her voice filled with urgency.
“Mother~”
“A Jiao, she is Mother's most cherished darling~”
“If she can't become the Crown Prince’s Consort, how can A Jiao have a good life in the future?”
“Mother, how can you bear A Jiao…”
—“Who said if she doesn’t marry the Crown Prince, she can’t become the Crown Prince’s Consort?”
Before her words finished, Empress Dowager Dou spoke calmly, and Liu Piao was stunned again.
But Empress Dowager Dou took a step, walking towards the back hall, while muttering something under her breath.
“Consort Li doesn’t want A Jiao as a daughter-in-law, so I, this blind old woman, naturally cannot decide for the Crown Prince.”
“But I am, after all, the Emperor’s mother, and I have already moved out of Jiaofang Palace and into Changle Palace;
—“The Empress Dowager, who is the motherly model for all under Heaven, surely isn't so powerless that she can't even decide the matter of establishing the Crown Prince, is she?”
“Establishing the Crown Prince, it still requires an imperial decree from me, this blind old woman, and then I must personally lead the Crown Prince to offer sacrifices at the ancestral temple…”