Liuyue Palace.
The square wooden fence in the round window caused countless thin strands of shadow to cover the table. As the light moved, shadows moved along with it. The moving clouds reflected indigo warm sunlight onto the windowsill.
The incense smoke rose gradually and the thick aroma of incense stained the Son of Heaven’s gold-lined black gown. The young Son of Heaven lightly leaned back as he scowled at the thick incense smoke.
Dowager Consort Zhao was supporting her forehead with her palm as she dozed off. She wore her long nail guards and in between her fingers, the deep, long lines of her crow’s feet were visible.
“Mother Consort….”
”Imperial Son.” Dowager Consort Zhao didn’t open her eyes, still maintaining her exhausted posture. “You lowered yourself and disregarded your high standing and came here to your Mother Consort all for the sake of taking that maid with you?”
The young Son of Heaven was stunned by this sentence of hers and paused for a moment before replying: “Mother Consort, you know that Peiyun was wrongly accused. She has stayed at Zhen’s side since a young age, she has always been honest and prudent…”
Dowager Consort Zhao coldly smiled and raised her eyes. Her eyes were filled with a mocking sneer as she looked deeply at him: “Imperial Son, people will change.”
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Mbl Oxrlasa oyp pvwddle, nzlyazu qllzkdt vbyv bkp Ysvbla Usdpsav bye y pweeld nbydtl kd yvvkvwel.&dcpr;
Rd vbl rypv, pbl nshlvle qyxl yde xsdlu. Fbl ynvle esxkdllakdt yde csppu cwv vsoyaep vbkp psd sq blap, pbl bye yzoyup xykdvykdle yd lyadlpv glyzswpdlpp vsoyaep bkx. Fbl ydvknkryvle bkx nsxkdt yde nsdvkdwswpzu nbyvvlale yoyu okvb bkx, tkhkdt bkx y ckt nyav qwzz sq nyal bl bye ds dlle qsa. Ohlauvkxl bl oydvle vs zlyhl, bla lulp oswze qkzz okvb zspp yde wdokzzkdtdlpp.&dcpr;
Lso, vbkp ryzynl osxyd obsx bl bye sb ps qkaxzu blze kd vbl ryzx sq bkp byde zssjle yv bkx okvb nsze lulp zkjl y pvaydtla oswze. Tl qlzv y psav sq qaydvkn wdlypl cwatlsd okvbkd bkx, yv y zspp yp vs obyv vs es.&dcpr;
“Ysvbla Usdpsav, usw xwpv’hl bye psxl xkpwdelapvydekdt ycswv vbkp ldvkal xyvvla.” Tl zlv swv y pktb, “Rv oyp Hbld obs oydvle Vlkuwd vs oyvnb shla vbl rakdnlpp: Eyvnb shla bla vball xlyzp y eyu, obld pbl rzyule yde obld pbl pvwekle yde lynb yde lhlau zkvvzl elvykz ycswv vbl rakdnlpp. Fbl eked’v zlyhl swv y pkdtzl osae obld pbl alrsavle vs Hbld. Gp qsa vbyv lwdwnb pbl oyp lmnbydtkdt kdqsaxyvksd okvb, bl oyp fwpv psxlsdl obs nyaakle sd vbl xlppytl.”&dcpr;
Tl blpkvyvle qsa y xsxldv clqsal psxlobyv wdokzzkdtzu yexkvvkdt: “Fsdtxkd kp Hbld’p zkvvzl pkpvla. Tso nswze Hbld dsv nyal ycswv bla? Fbl oyp dlhla nzspl vs Hbld qasx y uswdt ytl yde Hbld yzps nswzed’v vbaso yoyu Hbld’p qynl vs nsxl yde qkde bla. Mbkp oyp vbl sdzu pwkvyczl xlvbse vs vyjl sd vbl alprsdpkckzkvu sq yd szela casvbla…”&dcpr;
Psoytla Usdpsav Hbys pvyale yv vbl vyczl okvbswv y osae, y zyula sq oyvlau xkpv yrrlyakdt sd bla lulp.&dcpr;
”Rv oyp Hbld vbyv pldv Vlkuwd kdvs Wldtuydt Vyzynl clnywpl Hbld qlzv vbyv pbl oyp rasrla yde nyalqwz. Tla clyakdt oyp pvlyeu yde bye y pldpl sq rasraklvu. Rq pbl olal vs rasvlnv yde twkel vbl rakdnlpp, kv oswze elqkdkvlzu cl cldlqknkyz vs Fsdtxkd.”&dcpr;
”…pvlyeu clyakdt yde y pldpl sq rasraklvu…” Psoytla Usdpsav Hbys pweeldzu vwadle aktke, yp kq pbl bye blyae psxlvbkdt akeknwzswp. Fbl pvyale pvkqqzu yv vbl Oxrlasa, “Pke usw vbkdj vbyv vbkp Ysvbla Usdpsav sq uswap oyp ekpbsdsayczl yde hwztya? Mbyv vblal oyp ds oyu qsa xl vs vlynb xu eywtbvla?”&dcpr;
The Son of Heaven was stunned: “Zhen… That’s not what Zhen…”
He looked into Dowager Consort Zhao’s blood streaked eyes and understood that there was no way for them to properly communicate and disappointedly gave up.
The mother and son duo sunk into silence for a long time. The atmosphere was heavy and stiff. He took the initiative to speak up: “Mother Consort, you’ve always held some anger in your heart. Is it anger at this son for not letting Mother Consort become the Dowager Empress?”
Dowager Consort Zhao’s mouth curled into an empty, cold smile.
The Emperor patiently continued: “You gave me the gift of life and you’re the Nation’s mother. Naturally, your position is worthy and uplifted, there’s nothing to criticize.”
These words of his were somewhat pointed and sounded extremely harsh, stabbing into Dowager Consort Zhao’s sore spot. She was greatly riled and her chest heaved for a good while before she spoke with trembling lips: “You still aren’t willing to let go of things that happened a decade ago! You stubbornly maintain that I was wrong and because of that, I can never hold up my head in front of you… who do you think I did all of that for? Try and take a gander at it!”
The Son of Heaven’s temper had also been aroused: “Zhen was raised in the previous Empress Dowager residence. Zhen never lacked food or drink and was protected very well. What could have Mother Consort worried over? Chasing after fame and fortune at the expense of human lives, don’t tell me that it was all for Zhen?!”
”She protected and raised you up well?” Dowager Consort Zhao’s eyes became laden with tears. Her hand clutched the cloth around her waist as if she was trying to suppress an explosion of fury, “I’m worthless! My own son isn’t close with me. Whether or not he ate well, slept well or even went to school… I don’t know any of these!” After spewing out this spiel, she was basically clenching her teeth, “Son, do you understand the heart of a mother?”
The Emperor was struck into an awkward silence by her furious outburst.
He was used to giving out iron-handed commands and upon encountering a cadence he was completely unused to, he felt like he was wading through mud. With the grievances and love slowly built up over many years, he felt even more at a loss as to what to do.
Ten years was enough to let even the most intimate people turn into strangers.
After her outburst, the atmosphere turned both stifling and ugly. Dowager Consort Zhao’s tears were flowing as quickly as a brook, ruining and smearing her thick makeup. Before she had been married off, she sat in the Seven Fragrance Carriage with countless people looking up to this Miss Zhao. She had been a beauty, one both beautiful and noble, yet in the end she still turned into a locked up old mother stuck deep within the castle walls.
The past was already in the past. There was no point in chasing after it.
She only spoke up after a long time had passed. She spoke long and wide without any clear indication as to who she was talking to. Her voice was low, nearly husky, just like an old rickety wheel: “Do you know? When your uncle died, he pulled my hand and handed the Mu Jade Tablet to me. Tears rolled down his face as he handed his children to me to care. I was completely astonished at the time, I remember it clearly. I thought that even after he had lived such a glorious life, married a stunning woman and had both sons and daughters, that he would still care so much for a wild child….” She gave the Emperor a look and smiled with a pale face, “Now I understand. This was a curse. Our Zhao family has long been used to achieving our goals through hook or crook. Taking other children for the sake of gaining empty fame, I suppose it all has come back to bite us in the end.”
The Son of Heaven was suspicious within his heart.
His mother consort suddenly brought up the topic of his maternal uncle, the uncle who had died for seven or 8 years already. Before he died, he hadn’t been close to the Imperial family and even when he died, there wasn’t much fanfare for his departure from earth. He was just someone who had nearly been completely forgotten by the people.
He felt strange upon hearing this but didn’t want to think too deeply.
His time was limited. This time he only had only one objective: Ease his relations with Dowager Consort Zhao and get her to let Peiyun leave. Everything else to him wasn’t a part of his plan at all.
He took out a sandalwood box from his sleeves and lightly placed it on the table. He took a side glance at Dowager Consort Zhao’s expression and took the first step to weaken his stance: “Son didn’t come today to wound mother consort’s heart. So many years have passed and there are many places your son doesn’t understand either. Today I brought a gift, mother consort, please forgive me.”
Dowager Consort Zhao weakly lifted it up and opened up the box to take a look. She suddenly acted as if a bolt of lightning landed on her head, her face turning paler than ever and her hand starting to tremble terribly. After a long time she said: “What is this…”
The Emperor didn’t sense her change in expression as he looked at the box. He shrewdly replied: “It is the Tianzhu Continent’s ashes after cremation. Legends say that this Buddhist Śarīra is the most valued treasure in Buddhism. Zhen thought that since Mother Consort sincerely worshipped Buddha, you would definitely like it. So Zhen specially gifted it to you…”
”Ashes… Budhhist Śarīra…” Dowager Consort Zhao didn’t seem to be hearing him as her hands shook more and more. Suddenly, her eyes rolled around and she fell down from her chair.
“Buddhist Śarīra?
Ling Miaomiao was speechless: How many things had this woman not revealed? How many versions were there of the events of that day?
“Miss Ling… Do you know what Buddhist Śarīra is?” Guo Xiu wiped off a forehead of sweat. Under the blistering weather, after two trips spent under the sun, his clothes were as drenched as if he had been fished out of a pond. “For the sake of this Śarīra, the Dowager Consort till this date has been in a half-dead state; If you bring this up she’ll go insane!”
He held his hand against his stomach as he panted for breath,
Ling Miaomiao went to confirm once more: “You said that her Highness the Dowager Consort was the one who sent the Buddhist Śarīra to Tianzhu1 [1] Ancient name for India. and that she became dizzy just from giving it a single glance?”
Guo Xiu nodded: “Miss Ling, you might not know.” He half bent over and somewhat awkwardly lowered his voice, “The moment something happened, Liuyue Palace turned into a mess of confusion. The female official gugus 2 [2] Honestly I can’t remember what I translated for this before… so I’m just gonna put a note here for you all as well: Gugu is sort of a term for a middle aged (normally) rough servant lady. at her side could only tell everything to this lowly one. Originally, a decade ago, that person named Tao Ying brought the monks into the palace but not for the sake of teaching buddhism. It was for the sake of presenting a treasure, the Śarīra, which was a treasure of Tianzhu’s Buddhist Temple. The Dowager Consort and his Highness both secretly looked at it and became extremely trustful of his identity. Then, that Śarīra was placed in… uh… at the highest floor of the previous Xingshan Buddhist Temple.”
Miaomiao’s massive brain spun at a rapid speed, so fast that it was nearly overheating and crashing.
In the original book’s plot, the main point of view was completely on Liu Fuyi. This entire episode was written from Liu Fuyi’s view, of how he bravely rushed into the old Xingshan Temple and saved Princess Duanyang from the ghost laden place. The two of them would grow closer and the atmosphere ambiguous after going through trials and tribulations together. No matter how Mu Yao inwardly blamed herself, no matter how difficult the path to love for her was… there was absolutely nothing about Mu Sheng’s situation at all! So in the end, the Black Lotus and her, these two people had to continue the plot without any clue as to the situation, completely blindly heading into this case.
She was only just some half-baked university student. She definitely didn’t have enough IQ, but Mu Sheng definitely had enough. Unfortunately he wasn’t interested in solving the issue, only in watching the hustle and bustle.
With this crackhead of a condor hero and his blind companion, only a fool would think of them as dependable. 3 [3] I have been informed that this is likely a reference to Return of the Condor Heroes… about the main lead and his disciple who are a couple. Mu Sheng = the main lead. Miaomiao = the disciple. Idk Luna & Liltato, did I explain properly?
Ling Miaomiao could only bear with the headache: “You said that Tao Ying presented the Śarīra and placed it in the old temple. According to reason then, the Śarīra should’ve been burnt into ashes… So then, what exactly did his Highness take out exactly? This Śarīra is the Buddhist Temple’s most precious treasure, it’s not like it’s just some pebble you can find anywhere on the ground…”
Guo Xiu lamented: “That’s what is strange about all this! The Śarīra that his Highness sacrificed clearly should’ve been brought over the mountains and the seas by a senior monk! It absolutely cannot be Tao Ying, that…”
“So you’re saying that the Śarīra Tao Ying offered was fake? Yet somehow it managed to trick both the previous Emperor and Dowager Consort Zhao into believing that it was a real Śarīra? After carefully protecting it for so long, after Dowager Consort Zhao saw the real one today, she suddenly felt like she was tricked… and then… passed out from anger?”
Miaomiao couldn’t continue speaking at this point as she turned around to look at the ever silent Mu Sheng. She saw that he was still absent-mindedly looking at the ground and couldn’t help but use her elbow to stab at him: “What do you think?”
Mu Sheng curled up his lips into a cold sneer: “Zhao Qinru was born in a large and powerful clan and she also became a pampered concubine. Of all the treasures present under the heavens, she’s seen many if not most of them. How could she so easily be led by the nose by some stranger with some fake treasure?”
Guo Xiu was struck dumb and rubbed his nose: “Young Noble Mu’s meaning is… Tao Ying’s Śarīra was really the real thing?”
”Whether or not it was real, I don’t know. But what I do know is that it was definitely very holy.” Mu Sheng glanced at Guo Xiu as his sneer became even stranger, “Did you think that simply because Tao Ying could pinch some beads, he would manage to hoodwink Zhao Xinru?”
A ‘kacha’ sounded within Ling Miaomiao’s head just like chains locking together, the entire process slowly came together into a successive, unbreaking line.
Dowager Consort Zhao said that she completely believed Tao Ying.
There were no real living buddhas in the world. What did he depend on to make Dowager Consort Zhao completely wholeheartedly strive for living a life of compassion in such a short amount of time? He was just like a daoist immortal descending from the heavens, luring her in step by step, even daring to attempt something like incinerating her daughter….
So what if the spiritual one wasn’t Tao Ying, but rather the ‘treasure’ in his hands?
“It doesn’t look holy to me at all! It’s evil!” Miaomiao clutched onto Guo Xiu’s clothes spitting out words as fast as a machine gun, “Did she say where she put the Śarīra?”
“Where…” Guo Xiu had been so bombarded with questions that he became muddle-headed, “Wasn’t it placed above the pagoda in the old temple?”
Miaomiao coldly sneered, “What a joke. If that thing had really been burnt into ashes ten years ago, she wouldn’t have become dizzy today.”
Dowager Consort Zhao performed buddhist ceremonies not for the sake of stabilizing her internal thoughts, but for the sake of hoping that her desires and wishes would be fulfilled. She was a very outcome-oriented woman. Whether it be ceremonies, practicing buddhism or messing with evil cults, as long as they could help her achieve her wishes, she would dare to take the leap and try them all out.
For Dowager Consort Zhao whose heart was filled with desires, she could still go and perform buddhist rites even after the evil cult burned down Xingshang Temple… from the start, it was rather unjustifiable. (Shameful?)
How could she give up on the Śarīra with such fantastical powers, filled with her desires? How could she bear to let the jewel of her heart become covered in dirt? With her treasure buried in the sea of fire, if she were to move attention away from this giant secret of hers, she could continue to use it for herself in secret…
However, once she finally saw the real Śarīra after countless years of throwing her inner desires at a fake and treating it as a real buddhist treasure, finally realized that it was actually the source of all her disaster; How could she possibly not pass out!
“The Dowager Consort Zhao decrees—-”
A few men on horseback suddenly surged forward, the leading horseman carrying a wooden box painted with red lacquer in both hands. Atop the soft green satin wrapping the box, a palm-sized jade plaque was placed with the red threads below sewn into tassels.
“I come bearing the Mu Family Jade Plaque! Young Noble Mu, may your distinguished self please head towards Xingshan Temple immediately to find and bring back the Śarīra to Liuyue Palace! There can be no delay!”
Mu Sheng shot a side glance at the jade plaque and reacted as if he had seen his teacher handing him homework, scrunching up his eyebrows with complete unwillingness filling his tone: “… Mu Sheng obeys the orders.”
TLN: So… this chapter isn’t edited, it might be a bit off in some places (I kind of did a cursory look through to make sure nothing was misspelled or overly obviously wrong >.> enjoy?
Also… idk if it’s obvious but I only finished half of this chapter before I started my hiatus and… I feel like my chinese has improved a lot since then so the second half of the chapter might feel more smooth???
I can’t wait for the second part!!