The Empress Dowager turned her head to look at Nanny Jin, her eyes gradually welling up with tears.
"Nanny Jin..."
The Empress Dowager's voice was hoarse. "Nanny, I... I want to see him, I miss him so much..."
Nanny Jin's heart ached, and tears almost fell.
"Your Majesty... Your Majesty, please don't be like this. Ninth Prince... cannot come back."
The Ninth Prince was already dead. It was the Empress Dowager herself who...
"Your Majesty, perhaps..."
But Nanny Jin did not continue. She merely wiped away her tears with caution.
The Empress Dowager gazed at the gauze canopy above, her eyes already blurred with tears.
"Did I... make a mistake? Why was I so cruel to him back then? Was I truly wrong... Chu'er, Mother misses you, Mother really... really misses you so much..."
Perhaps, this was for the best. When she descended to the underworld, she could finally cherish Chu'er, treat him well, and atone for the sins she committed against him back then.
"Chu'er..."
Suddenly, a flicker of surprise appeared in the Empress Dowager's eyes. She stared intently at the space behind Nanny Jin. "Chu'er..."
"Your Majesty." Nanny Jin held her hand, thinking she was about to pass away and had seen a soul from the underworld due to her failing sight. Nanny Jin felt a pang of sorrow and despair.
"Your Majesty..."
"Your Majesty, I saw Chu'er, Nanny."
"Your Majesty, please don't be like this..."
"Help me up, quickly, help me up."
The Empress Dowager had not been so spirited in a long time.
At this moment, she clasped Nanny Jin's hand, her grip surprisingly strong.
Nanny Jin looked surprised and turned back, but saw nothing.
She could only help the Empress Dowager sit up. "Your Majesty."
"Nanny, you go out, go out..." The Empress Dowager waved her hand, a hint of urgency in her voice. "Chu'er is here to fetch me, Nanny, hurry and go out. I want to have a private word with Chu'er! Quickly! Quickly go out!"
Nanny Jin eventually left.
She waited outside the chamber, not leaving, but moving a little further away.
The Empress Dowager leaned against the headboard, looking at the empty inner chamber, her voice hoarse. "Chu'er, I know you've returned, Chu'er... Ah Jiu..."
A figure in white, drifting lightly, landed on the floor.
If she hadn't experienced so much already, the Empress Dowager would have been terrified.
When he landed, he was so light, as if he had no weight at all.
More like a phantom.
But now, she was not afraid at all. Her eyes quickly filled with tears.
"Ah Jiu..."
Feng Dingchu remained silent, simply watching her.
His gaze was not complicated, light and indifferent.
"Ah Jiu, are you still angry with Mother? Ah Jiu, you've come to fetch Mother, haven't you?"
The Empress Dowager reached out a hand.
That hand was sallow and withered.
Feng Dingchu's heart finally ached.
A wave of bitterness washed over him.
"Ah Jiu, don't be angry. Mother will come with you now. Mother... will stay by your side forever, never leaving you again."
Her hand remained outstretched, and her heart was filled with joy.
Even though she knew she was about to die, she was truly happy that she could atone for her sins after death.
Feng Dingchu's heart was filled with a surge of sorrow.
Years of resentment and hatred, in this hand that showed no signs of life, gradually dissipated.
She was truly dying.
After so many years, reaching this point, what did past grievances matter?
"Mother, your son has returned."
Feng Dingchu finally walked over and gently took the Empress Dowager's hand.
But the moment the Empress Dowager clasped his hand in return, her expression drastically changed!
It was warm!
"Ah Jiu, you... you're not dead? You're still alive?"