"I said, you are not allowed to harm Li'er!" Feng Yexuan turned around abruptly and glared at her, roaring.
Hua Rong, however, was not to be outdone. "I also said, if she offends me first, I will not back down!"
Feng Yexuan remained silent, his chest heaving with the turmoil of his breath.
Although Hua Rong's tone was not stern, her attitude was beyond question.
"Nanny Ni is not my person, but why she sought me out, I cannot tell you at this moment."
Hua Rong stood up, turned, and walked towards the entrance of the stone chamber.
"Xuan'er, have I been too lenient with you during this period? You can defy me, but do you dare to defy your ancestors!"
"Do you wish for them to die with their eyes wide open in the netherworld?"
Feng Yexuan watched her desolate figure, and after a long while, he said coldly, "Your son dares not!"
"You dare, you dare everything! I don't care. If you truly disown your ancestors, then you can leave now and never return to see me."
Hua Rong left.
Nanny Cui watched Feng Yexuan, who was still standing by the table, and after a while, she shook her head. "Your Highness, for so many years, you have been a prince, having everything you desire."
"Everything you have experienced has accustomed you to your current status, but you do not know how much hardship and grievance the Venerable Master endured back then!"
"The Venerable Master did not wish to not see you grow up. In fact, what mother would not want to stay by her child's side?"
"But if the Venerable Master had stayed, you would likely have met certain death. They would not have let you go! If the Venerable Master had not been forced to drink poisoned wine by them, your brothers would have been their next target."
"Your Highness."
Every time Nanny Cui remembered the events of that year, her heart ached.
"Your Highness may not know how the Fourteenth Prince came into this world, but this servant knows it clearly. Back then, that dog emperor, night after night, to the Venerable Master..."
Feng Yexuan suddenly strode out of the stone chamber.
His taut body was as stiff as a sculpture.
Nanny Cui watched his stern back and shook her head helplessly.
Feng Yexuan walked to the outside of Hua Rong's sleeping chambers and knelt down with a thud.
He did not speak, merely kneeling upright.
He knew the grievances his mother had suffered. If it weren't for them, his mother would have left this hell of suffering long ago.
His mother endured humiliation and lived a life worse than death, yet she still gritted her teeth and persisted, all for him!
He knew, he knew it all!
He just... felt truly heartbroken tonight.
"Mother... I'm sorry, your son is unfilial. Your son should not have doubted you."
From within, there was no response.
Nanny Cui looked at Feng Yexuan's thinly clad form and felt a pang of sympathy.
She walked in and said softly, "Venerable Master, outside... it's freezing. Perhaps..."
"If he wishes to kneel, let him kneel his fill. This seat has not asked him to do anything."
Hua Rong had not yet retired for the night; she was sitting in a chair, reading.
It was already so late; in another two hours, dawn would break.
These mother and son were, in fact, equally stubborn.
Nanny Cui could do nothing but finally fetch an outer robe and drape it over Feng Yexuan.
Feng Yexuan looked at the closed door, his heart feeling as if it were locked shut.
It was cold, heavy, filled with concealment, and devoid of any light.
Just like his life.
From the moment he saw his mother again and learned who he was, his life was destined to have no more sunshine.
Perhaps, Li'er leaving him was the most correct choice.
He had already fallen into an abyss; why should he drag an innocent girl down with him?
By leaving him, she could live a better life, couldn't she?