112: Chapter 112 Mother really doesn't recognize you anymore

A massive earthquake struck the imperial court of the Great Li Dynasty.

You sat upright on the Dragon throne, expressionless as you issued an imperial edict to the world: Wei Feisen, Grand Commander of the Black Tiger Division, conspired to rebel and broke into the Imperial Study with a blade last night to assassinate the monarch; he has been executed by my hand on the spot.

Once this edict was released, the world was in an uproar.

Within the imperial court, the officials were silent as cicadas in winter; everyone knew that the Grand Commander was deeply devoted to the Empress, having even handed over the empire to her on a silver platter—how could he possibly conspire to rebel?

In the teahouses of the streets, the discussions were even more fervent.

"Have you heard? The Grand Commander has been killed by the Emperor!"

"Hiss... But he was the Imperial Consort-to-be, set to marry soon! This is practically husband-slaying!"

"Shh! Do you have a death wish? If the Emperor says he rebelled, then he rebelled! Didn't you see that this morning, several former commanders of the Black Tiger Division were all thrown into prison?"

"The heart of a woman is the most venomous... I fear from now on, the Great Li Dynasty will only have the Emperor's word as law."

The discussions, accusations, and fears from the outside world flew into the palace like snowflakes.

But you did not care at all.

You sat in the cold, desolate great hall, toying with the "red emperor heart pendant" you had brought out from the Qingling Immortal Cave.

For some reason, the red emperor heart pendant had dimmed a little more.

Wei Feisen was dead, and the Black Tiger Division had been thoroughly purged.

In the Great Li Dynasty, there was no longer any force that could block your path.

You raised your head, your gaze looking toward the northwest; that was the Cultivation World beyond the Ten Thousand Mountains, recorded in the 'qingling notes'—the Nanxuan Region.

Three days after your edict was issued, someone finally stood up in the imperial court.

Censor-in-chief Li Boyong, sixty-seven years old, a veteran official of three dynasties and a remnant official of the former Great Qing, had been retained by you until now.

He walked out of the ranks tremblingly, holding his tablet, and knelt on the golden hall, tears streaming down his old face: "Your Majesty! Grand Commander Wei followed Your Majesty for over ten years, braving life and death to conquer this vast empire. Even if he had faults, he should have been tried by the Three Judicial Offices and punished according to the law! Now, Your Majesty has decided his life and death with a single word, without even a trial. How will the people of the world view Your Majesty? How will they view the laws of our Great Li!"

You sat on the Dragon throne, looking down at him.

Behind Li Boyong, three more officials stood up and knelt together to echo his sentiments.

The great hall was silent for a few moments.

You spoke, your voice not loud, yet it clearly reached everyone's ears: "Censor Li, are you trying to plead grievances for a traitor who broke into the palace with a blade?"

Li Boyong shuddered all over, but still bit the bullet and said: "This subject dares not! This subject only..."

"You dare not?" You interrupted him, your tone as flat as if you were commenting on the weather, "Then step back."

Li Boyong opened his mouth, wanting to say something more.

You raised your hand, picked up a memorial from the Dragon desk, and tossed it down. The memorial hit the golden floor tiles with a "slap," and the scattered pages slid to Li Boyong's knees.

"That is a secret letter intercepted by the Black Tiger Division's hidden agents. Three months ago, Wei Feisen was already contacting Deputy General Zhou Dingbang of the Imperial Guards, plotting a mutiny." Your gaze swept over the officials, "The evidence is solid, with both human and physical proof. Considering his contributions to the state, I have already shown extraordinary grace by giving him a quick death."

"If Censor Li feels that I have wronged him, you are welcome to go to the imperial prison and ask those three commanders whom Wei Feisen failed to silence; their words are far more effective than my imperial edict."

Li Boyong looked down at the handwriting and seal on the secret letter, and his face turned deathly pale in an instant.

He did not speak again, kowtowed heavily, and retreated back to the ranks.

The three officials who had echoed him behind him shrank back like quails.

You withdrew your gaze and said calmly: "Does anyone else have any objections?"

The entire court was silent as the grave.

"Dismissed."

In the following days, you issued three consecutive edicts.

The first, posthumously conferring upon Wei Feisen the title of "Marquis Zhongwu," burying him with the honors of a Marquis, and granting him a tomb adjacent to the Imperial Mausoleum.

The second, stating that from this day forth, the Black Tiger Division would be under your direct command; all original officers above the rank of Chiliarch in the Black Tiger Division were dismissed from their posts on the spot, pending reappointment after a re-evaluation.

The third, granting a general amnesty to the world and reducing taxes for one year.

These three edicts, using both the stick and the carrot, brought the imperial court to heel.

The posthumous title and lavish burial silenced the criticisms of "killing the hunting dog once the hare is caught"; look, the Emperor remembers old affections, it was just that the Grand Commander himself committed a great taboo. The tax reduction directly silenced the common people; they didn't care about some Grand Commander, they only cared about whether they would have to pay so much grain next year.

Seven days later, the imperial court returned to normal.

The discussions ceased completely.

But one person did not.

That evening, you had just finished reviewing the last stack of memorials, raised your head to rub your temples, when you heard a flurry of hurried footsteps outside the hall.

"Your Majesty, the Empress Dowager is here." The female official reported in a low voice.

Your hand holding the brush paused for a moment.

Before you could say "Please," the hall door had already been pushed open.

Mother Lin was wearing plain daily clothes, without any jewelry, her hair held up only by a wooden hairpin; she looked much older than she had a few days ago.

She walked in without bowing, nor did she call you "Your Majesty."

She simply stood before you, looking at you.

In those eyes, there was no anger, no questioning, only something you had never seen in her eyes before: estrangement.

It was as if she were looking at a stranger.

"Mother." You put down your brush and stood up.

Mother Lin spoke, her voice very soft: "Wanwan, was Wei Feisen... really conspiring to rebel?"

You were silent for a moment.

Then you walked up to her, took her hand, led her to the soft couch in the side hall to sit down, and personally poured her a cup of tea.

"No."

You said.

You did not choose to lie.

Mother Lin's hand holding the teacup trembled violently; a few drops of tea spilled onto the back of her hand, scalding her so that she flinched, but she seemed not to feel the pain.

"Then... why?" She raised her head to look at you, her voice already choked with sobs, "You were clearly about to get married, you even spent every day together for a while, you even gave yourself to him—I even thought I would soon be holding a grandchild. Even if he... even if he was in the wrong, you didn't have to..."

"Mother," you sat down opposite her, meeting her gaze calmly, "He would not let me leave."

"Leave?" Mother Lin was stunned, "Leave to where?"

"To the Cultivation World."

You told her everything.

The Immortals Abode, the source fruit, the red emperor heart pendant, the Nanxuan Region, the Spiritual Root... everything.

You told her that one day you would leave this place to pursue the Dao of longevity, and that Wei Feisen would absolutely not allow you to leave; he would spare no cost to destroy the possibility of you embarking on the path of an Immortal.

You told her that you had no second path to take.

You spoke very calmly.

After listening, Mother Lin was silent for a long time.

The water in the teacup had gone completely cold.

"Cultivation..." She murmured these two words, as if chewing on a term she couldn't understand at all.

Then she suddenly raised her head, her eyes rimmed with red: "So you were deceiving him from the very beginning? You were using him from the first day?"

You did not deny it.

Mother Lin's tears finally fell.

But she was not crying for Wei Feisen; she was crying for you.

"Wanwan, you weren't like this before..." She wiped her tears with the back of her hand, her voice intermittent, "When you were little, if there was an injured kitten on the side of the road, you would crouch there for half a day, wanting to bring it home to raise... When did you become like this?"

"You kill without blinking, you lie without hesitation, even someone who has followed you for over ten years, you kill them just like that... Mother doesn't recognize you anymore."

"Mother truly doesn't recognize you anymore."