Chapter 457

Chapter 457 Xie Run said seriously, "Children are pure by nature. What they give is what they consider most precious in their eyes. Naturally, I cannot take it lightly." As she spoke, she smiled again. "Baozhen may seem soft and gentle, but he has his own temperament." "He often brings me gifts. If one day I were to treat them carelessly and he asked about them only to find them missing, he would be hurt, and I'm afraid he would stop giving me things altogether." "There was one such occasion before. Baozhen sulked for a long time and even secretly cried. It was only after I apologized to him several times that I managed to coax him back to good spirits." Xie Run couldn't help but say, "This temperament of Baozhen's—I wonder who he takes after. He's rather difficult to appease." Xie Run glanced at the Emperor. She actually suspected that Baozhen resembled the Emperor. But she had never seen the Emperor as a child, so naturally she couldn't jump to conclusions. The Emperor raised an eyebrow, appearing quite surprised. "You actually apologized to him?!" "Since time immemorial, it has always been children admitting fault to their mothers—never the other way around. What kind of reasoning is that?" the Emperor said stubbornly. "And over such a trivial matter?" "You're spoiling him far too much!" The more Xie Run listened, the stranger it seemed. She felt that the Emperor was acting as if he hadn't taken his medicine today. At first, she thought it was because the Emperor wasn't as familiar and close with Baozhen as he was with Taotao, which was why she had said a few extra words. Now she spoke cautiously, "Baozhen is my son. If I don't indulge him, who will?" "Besides, I treat Taotao the same way. Back when Taotao loved to play, through bitter cold and scorching sun, when did I ever stop him?" "Have you not heard the saying, 'To spoil a child is to harm a child'?" Xie Run: "I haven't. I only know that when parents lead by example, children will naturally understand reason and learn to be sensible." "If parents themselves fail to stand upright, no matter how many orders and instructions they give their children, I fear it will hardly be effective." The Emperor's gaze at her gradually deepened, yet he still pretended to be casual. "Is Suisui trying to offer me some counsel?" Xie Run smiled sweetly. "How would I dare?" "It's just that Your Majesty is brave and upright, accomplished in both letters and martial arts—you are already the finest of role models." "Taotao has become what he is today largely thanks to Your Majesty." Having spent so long coaxing her son, Xie Run was becoming increasingly smooth at coaxing the Emperor as well. And indeed, the Emperor was thoroughly pleased, body and soul. He pulled Xie Run into his embrace. "You are a good mother." Xie Run's guess was correct—Baozhen truly did resemble the Emperor as a child. Just now, when he mentioned Baozhen, the Emperor couldn't help but think of his own childhood. He didn't remember exactly which day it was, but he had received a reward from his Imperial Father and went excitedly to find his mother. He wanted to give the reward to his mother, to win her smile. At the time, he had rushed into Rouyi Palace clutching two pieces of jade. Before he could even speak, he was met with a scolding. "Yuan'er, where have you been running off to again?!" "In this scorching heat, your elder brother is at the Princes' Residence studying diligently day and night, not daring to slack off for even a moment. But you—you're perfectly content running around all day, refusing to learn anything." "If you continue being this reckless, Mother will be angry!" The Emperor forgot what he had explained back then. He only remembered that the blazing enthusiasm in his chest was extinguished in an instant, replaced by a belly full of grievances. He had choked up and shouted, "I wasn't running around!" "Father had me go to the Zichen Hall to recite my lessons today. I recited them well, so Father rewarded me with two pieces of jade." Actually, his Imperial Father had told him to name any gift he wanted, but the young Emperor, thinking of his mother, had asked for two pieces of jade so he could have ornaments made for her. Who would have thought his mother would only glance at them and say dismissively, "Your father has so many rare treasures, and he rewarded you with just two pieces of jade? He might as well have given them to a servant." Even as she complained, his mother still accepted the two pieces of jade. The young Emperor was still somewhat happy—as if the honor he had worked so hard to earn had finally been laid before his mother and received her acknowledgment. Some time later, his mother's sister-in-law from her natal family came to the palace for a visit. The young Emperor thought the jade hairpin in her hair looked somewhat familiar, so he asked, "Aunt, the hairpin in your hair is really beautiful." His aunt smiled and said, "This is jade bestowed by Noble Consort herself—how could it not be beautiful?" The Emperor's face changed instantly. Because of his sullen expression, he was scolded by his mother again. Then his mother's senior palace maid came up carrying tea. When the Emperor saw the jade bracelet on her wrist, rage surged from the depths of his heart. He grabbed the palace maid's wrist and demanded, "Where did you get this bracelet?!" The jade bracelet on the palace maid's wrist was clearly made from the very piece of jade his Imperial Father had bestowed upon him. The palace maid was startled and quickly explained, "This was given to this servant by Her Ladyship." The Emperor's face had turned dark, and he had gotten into a big fight with his mother. His mother even accused him of being petty—since he had given her the things, why couldn't she dispose of them as she pleased? "They're just two pieces of jade. Have I ever deprived you of gold, silver, or jade in your daily life?" "You're so ungrateful. Your sister Danyu has always treated you so well. I gave it to her because I saw how attentively she served me, and yet you hold a grudge against both her and me over this." "To make such a fuss over a piece of jade—how can you be so worthless?!" Her nails, painted with vermilion polish, were razor sharp as they jabbed again and again at the space between his brows, each poke accompanied by accusations. She tore him down as worthless and wicked, as though he had committed some heinous crime. She had thought the matter was over, but who would have expected that one day, she overheard her mother and a palace attendant chatting idly. "Old Sixth has such a volatile temper—who could he have inherited it from?" "On ordinary days he's spoiled and fussy, like a young girl, yet at other times he's overbearing and domineering. Last time, over that jade business, he glared at me as if I were his mortal enemy." "Sometimes I truly regret ever giving birth to such a monster." A monster? Years later, the Emperor slowly came to understand when he had grown estranged from the Empress Dowager. Was it perhaps during those times he was rejected, pushed away, called a monster by his own birth mother? His gaze was complex as he looked at Xie Run. He watched her carefully admire the little grasshopper Baozhen had given her—she had already put it in a box, yet couldn't resist taking it out to admire it a few more times. She even placed it among a row of strange little trinkets, arranged neatly, set in the most prominent spot on her dressing table. The phoenix hairpins, jade hairpins, agate, gemstone, and pearl jewelry on that dressing table—wasn't every single piece worth a fortune? Yet in her eyes, they couldn't compare to these little trinkets. A warm, gentle smile floated on Xie Run's face. The Emperor watched her, and his emotions fell like spring drizzle upon the grass, quietly nourishing all things, silent and soundless. By the time Xie Run had put away the grasshopper Baozhen had given her and turned around, she discovered the Emperor had closed his eyes and fallen asleep at some point. She rose and fetched a blanket to cover him. The next day, the Emperor went to Cining Palace once more. He sat upright before the Empress Dowager, his heart calmer than it had ever been. The Emperor said not a word, silently staring at the Empress Dowager until she grew thoroughly uneasy, before he finally spoke slowly. "Mother, I am not a monster." "Why is it that when you look at me, all I see in your eyes is fear?" He asked with all his might: "Am I not your son?!" ... The main story concludes tomorrow, though the subsequent side stories will continue updating as usual.