The whole family is insanely eavesdropping on my thoughts Chapter 437
Chapter 437: Unwilling
This novel is translated and hosted on Bcatranslation
Old Madam Ning had just stepped out of the Ten-Thousand Longevity Palace when a young palace maid blocked her path.
“Old Madam, our lady requests your presence.”
Xu Shi Yun quickly stepped forward to shield her mother, recognizing the maid as one of the deposed empress’s attendants. Her eyes were filled with wariness.
The empress had been stripped of her title, her daughter had been torn apart alive, her grandson had gone mad, and her granddaughter had ascended only to be struck down by the gods. Xu Shi Yun feared that, in her madness, the former empress might attempt something desperate.
“Why does she wish to see my mother?” she asked.
The palace maid lowered her head. “Her Ladyship did not say, only that she wished to meet Old Madam one last time.”
Old Madam Ning furrowed her brows, gently patting her daughter’s hand to reassure her. “It is of no concern. I will go and return shortly. She can do nothing now.”
With the coronation ceremony approaching, the emperor would never allow her to cause trouble.
Xu Shi Yun understood this but remained uneasy. She decided to have Rong Che and his men wait at the palace gates while she brought Lu Chao Chao and a few handmaidens along.
Her handmaidens were personally selected by the Emperor of Northern Zhao—formidable warriors who, unless confronted by divine attendants or malevolent spirits, were nearly invincible in the mortal realm.
The palace maid led them towards the Cold Palace.
The Cold Palace was desolate and lifeless. From time to time, eerie singing echoed through the halls, a voice hovering between laughter and sobs.
“Hehehe… Return my child… Return my child…”
“My son… You were not yet born, yet divine power seeped from you. You were destined to be extraordinary. My son, you were meant to be emperor, and I—your mother, the Empress Dowager…”
A crazed woman, her hair in disarray, cradled a pillow, humming a lullaby as she gently patted it.
As she sang, her gaze suddenly sharpened when she saw the empress seated within the chamber.
“Wretched woman! It was you! You killed my son! Aahhh! My son! My son is gone!”
“Give him back! Give me back my son!” The woman lunged at the empress, clawing wildly.
The palace maid immediately stepped forward, dragging the deranged woman away.
Clutching the pillow tightly, her hair tangled and wild, the madwoman let out a sinister chuckle.
“Hehehe… Heaven’s justice is swift, karma spares no one.”
“The heavens see all—retribution is inescapable.”
“Haha, it’s time for fireworks—New Year’s has come!”
“I heard your daughter is dead? The granddaughter you were so proud of, struck down? Your grandson lost his mind? And you? You were thrown into the Cold Palace too!”
“Oh, and the Su family? They’re dead too. All gathered together, such a happy reunion…”
“A family reunion! A family reunion!” She skipped out of the room, giggling.
As she passed Xu Shi Yun, she hesitated for a moment.
Xu Shi Yun’s handmaidens, wary, blocked her way, but she merely cast a longing glance at Xu Shi Yun’s belly before lovingly stroking her own pillow, lost in her hallucinations.
After she left, Xu Shi Yun let out a sigh.
“She is but another pitiful soul… In the harem, every step is a gamble, and countless wronged spirits are buried here.”
The former empress sat in the dilapidated Cold Palace, her tea cup chipped and jagged. Though her surroundings were in ruins, her hair remained meticulously groomed.
The palace maid who entered still performed the customary grand salute, as though nothing had changed.
“Are you pleased to see my downfall?” the empress asked, staring at Old Madam Ning.
“You are truly hard to kill. Hunted for thirty-eight years, yet you still managed to enter the Southern Capital alive. But in the end, the emperor did not love you as much as I feared.”
“A life-saving debt, a marital bond—ultimately, they meant nothing.”
“How unfortunate that I dirtied my hands for nothing.” A mocking sneer curled her lips.
“Pity that you had such a stubborn life, crawling back from the grave!”
“If not for you, if not for you! I would never have ended up like this! It is all your fault!”
“You were buried alive! How did you return?! How?!”
Old Madam Ning’s expression remained calm. “Did no one tell you? Nan Feng Yu buried me, but Nan Mu Bai and his Northern Zhao men happened to pass by. He had me dug out. You should thank your eldest grandson.”
The empress froze before letting out a bitter laugh, tears slipping silently down her cheeks.
“Fate… It is all fate.”
“Hahaha, Ning Clan’s daughter, how much better off are you than I?”
“You saved the emperor’s life, shared his bed—how much true affection did he ever give you?”
“Even if I had never been empress, it still would not have been you!”
“He is eager to sever ties with you now, isn’t he? Hahaha! The Elf Race! The Elf Race!”
“With their blood, he could gain centuries of life—why would he ever choose you?”
“You, too, are his discarded pawn.”
“Your fate is no different from mine.”
“Do not think you have triumphed over me, Ning Clan’s daughter! I will wait and watch as you fall just as I have!”
Old Madam Ning shook her head gently.
“I never wished to compete with you.”
“Even if you had done nothing, I would not have entered the palace.”
“Though I was born a farmer’s daughter, I had my own pride. Life in the countryside was hard, but I never yearned for the luxuries of the palace. Had you done nothing, I would have refused him all the same.”
She could have survived on coarse grains, but she would never lower herself to be a concubine.
She did not even know what she was being proud of, only that she would rather die than become one.
She had refused Chao Chao’s offer of becoming the Empress of the Western Palace, not as a mere formality, but because she had always planned to leave.
From the day the old emperor’s identity was revealed, she had already intended to walk away.
But the empress had never given her that chance.
The empress could not believe her words. A mere peasant girl—how could she not dream of the palace’s grandeur?
Old Madam Ning did not explain further.
But the empress suddenly stood, stepping closer with each word.
“Do you know how much I envied you? The emperor had countless concubines, yet in his unconscious mutterings, it was your name he called.”
“How could I allow it?! How could I lose to a farm girl?!”
“He cherished your face—so I had it destroyed.”
“He loved your voice—so I burned your throat!”
She lunged forward, tearing off Old Madam Ning’s veil.
Her gloating, triumphant laughter froze instantly.
The ruined, scarred face she had imagined was nowhere to be seen. Instead…
The empress staggered back, knocking over the chipped teacup on the table.
Her eyes widened in horror and disbelief as she looked upon Old Madam Ning.
“Impossible! Impossible! Your face—your voice—!”
She finally noticed that Old Madam Ning’s voice was no longer hoarse and broken but clear and melodic.
“I saw them scald your face with hot oil with my own eyes! How could this be?!”
She had only heard rumors that Old Madam Ning’s beauty was peerless, but she had never seen her in her youth.
By the time they first met, Old Madam Ning had already spent thirty-eight years on the run—her hair grayed, her posture hunched, her face aged beyond her years.
Only her voice had remained remarkable.
But now…
Old Madam Ning removed her hat, revealing her flowing black hair and the smooth, youthful glow of her skin. Her eyes gleamed with an ethereal light.
No wonder. No wonder…
The emperor had never forgotten her.
She was so breathtaking, so otherworldly, that the empress could scarcely believe she was real.