"Wanwan... Oh, my Wanwan..."
Murong Ba’s voice was hoarse, his old eyes red and on the verge of tears. "A woman as proud as her... to now be... to be in such a state... What will she do now?"
Murong Feng gritted his teeth and said, "Father, please calm down. Our priority now is to find the culprit and avenge our sister. We also need to find a cure and heal her as quickly as possible."
"Avenge her?" Murong Ba sneered. "That useless piece of trash, Xia Shengming, can’t even protect his own Empress. What is there to investigate? He’s pinning the blame on the Northern Desert and Southern Barbarians, but I don’t buy it. If masters from the Northern Desert infiltrated White Jade City, the first person they’d kill would be him, Xia Shengming. Why would they bother crippling my daughter?"
He stood, walked to the map of the Western Territory hanging in the hall, and jabbed his finger forcefully onto the three words "White Jade City." His face was a mask of fury. "The way I see it, the culprit is right there in the Imperial Palace, right under Xia Shengming’s nose! He’s ruined my daughter, just like he did the Former Empress."
Murong Feng was taken aback. "Father, do you mean... someone within the Royal Family is stirring up trouble, or that Xia Shengming is behind it all?"
"Are any of those Princes easy to deal with? And that scoundrel Xia Shengming has been dissatisfied with us for more than a day or two. The Third Prince and Fifth Prince just fell, and then something happens to Wanwan. It’s too much of a coincidence. Someone must be trying to eliminate Jiu’Er’s support, clear the obstacles in the fight for the throne, and prevent Jiu’Er from becoming the Crown Prince." A cold glint flashed in Murong Ba’s eyes.
Murong Feng hesitated. "But a lot has happened in White Jade City recently. Given the power of those Princes and Princesses, who among them could be responsible for all of this?"
Murong Ba fell silent. That was what he couldn’t understand either. If this was truly Xia Shengming’s scheme, would he really need to go to such lengths? The Inner Treasury was stolen from, the National Treasury was pilfered, and Qianqing Palace was ransacked... Though their Prince Zhenxi’s Mansion suffered a great loss, Xia Shengming’s losses were far more catastrophic.
After a moment of hesitation, he finally declared, "Regardless, send a message to Xia Shengming. If the culprit isn’t found within three months, the half-million-strong army of my Prince Zhenxi’s Mansion will march to the capital and find him ourselves."
This was a naked threat, a testament to Murong Ba’s fury.
Murong Feng drew in a sharp breath. "Father, this is..."
Murong Ba flicked his sleeve. "What is there to fear? My daughter was harmed in the Deep Palace and turned into a cripple. As her husband and the Emperor, he can’t even find the perpetrator, yet he still has the gall to sit on the Throne? I am going to force him. Force him to use every method he has to drag out that skulking scoundrel and get vengeance for my daughter."
"Then... what about Jiu’Er?" Murong Feng asked about his nephew.
A flicker of pain crossed Murong Ba’s eyes. "Send him a message. Tell him to be careful and to lay low as much as possible. We will absolutely get justice for his mother."
「Deep within the Imperial Palace, in Yongzhen Palace, the residence of the Twelfth Prince, Xia Wujie.」
The Empress’s only son was dashing and handsome, having inherited Murong Wan’s beauty and the Murong Family’s martial valor. He should have been a popular candidate in the struggle for the throne, but he simply didn’t have the drive.
Right now, he was embracing two beautiful women, drinking and carousing. The sound of music and bursts of laughter filled the air, as if he were completely oblivious to the tragedy that had occurred in Kunning Palace and paid no mind to the outside world.
"Your Highness! Your Highness!"
A trusted eunuch burst in, scrambling and stumbling, his face pale with panic. "Kunning Palace... Something’s happened at Kunning Palace! Her Majesty the Empress..."
Xia Wujie cut him off languidly, waving for the Musicians and the beautiful women to withdraw. "I know. I already know."
He was the only one left in the hall. He had sent everyone away.
The drunken haze on his face vanished instantly, as if it had all been an act.
In its place was a complex mix of emotions: shock, fear, anger, and a hint... of inexpressible relief. ’Mother was too overbearing, so much so that I found it suffocating.’
’From childhood to adulthood, my entire life was planned out by Mother down to the last detail.’
’At what age to begin martial arts, at what age to study, which Courtiers to befriend, which Consorts to take... I was like a puppet on a string, living without any sense of self. But my own abilities were limited; I really couldn’t live up to her expectations. All I could do was rebel through drinking and carousing, which ended up earning me the reputation of a wastrel.’
’Now that Mother is a cripple, I actually feel the thrill of breaking free from my chains. My heart feels strangely light.’
But guilt quickly washed over him.
’That’s my birth mother. The mother who has doted on me, loved me, and planned my entire life for me since I was a child. How could I have such thoughts? Am I a complete monster?’
"I... I should go see Mother." The Twelfth Prince, Xia Wujie, stood up. He staggered slightly, but there was little trace of grief on his face.
When he arrived at Kunning Palace, it was already surrounded by people.
Imperial Physicians, Palace Maids, and eunuchs... They all bowed at the sight of him, their gazes a mixture of pity and other complicated feelings.
Xia Wujie waved everyone away and walked into Fengyi Hall alone.
The foul stench in the hall made him wrinkle his nose, but what made his heart tremble was the familiar yet alien figure on the Phoenix Couch.
"Mo... Mother?" he called out softly, his brow slightly furrowed.
Murong Wan heard his voice, but she couldn’t do anything.
She wanted to reach out and touch her son’s face, to tell him "you must strive for more" just like she always had, but she couldn’t move a single finger. She couldn’t even move her eyes.
Xia Wujie walked to the side of the couch. Looking at his mother’s miserable state and her vacant eyes, he was filled with a mix of complex feelings.
He reached out, wanting to wipe away his mother’s tears, but he pulled his hand back halfway.
It wasn’t out of disgust, but... fear.
’I’m afraid,’ he thought. ’Afraid of seeing Mother like this, afraid of remembering my own despicable thoughts from moments ago, afraid of shouldering the heavy burden of hatred and responsibility. I can’t do it, and I don’t want to.’
In the end, he could only say woodenly, "Rest easy, Mother. Father... the Emperor will surely find the culprit. You just need to rest and recover. You’ll be back to normal soon."
With that, he practically fled Kunning Palace, barely daring to look back.
Back at Yongzhen Palace, he ordered fine wine to be brought and resumed his carousing. One beautiful Palace Maid after another was summoned into his Sleeping Palace, and the revelry began anew.
But on the Phoenix Couch, Murong Wan watched the back of her son as he fled in a panic. The light in her eyes faded, bit by bit, until there was almost no glimmer left in the depths of her pupils.
Even her most beloved son found her repulsive. He had run away after only a few words.
He didn’t even dare promise to help her get treatment, let alone find the perpetrator. He just went on about depending on Xia Shengming—that ruthless man who had killed his own Former Empress with his own hands.
How could Xia Shengming possibly be someone to rely on? That cruel man was completely unreliable. Murong Wan had seen right through him when he came to visit her earlier.
This was more agonizing than having her limbs crippled, more devastating than losing all her Cultivation.
「While the entire Great Xia Empire reeled in shock from the Empress being crippled, the scene inside Wenhua Hall was completely different.」

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