Chapter 938: I Go to See My Master

Mu Rong Jin cradled Xiao Che and walked step by step to Cheng Ru'an.

Si Yu followed behind her, tears still wet on her face, and dared not utter a single word.

Mu Rong Jin, still holding her son, slowly knelt down, her knee striking a golden brick and emitting a muffled thud.

"Empress!" Cheng Ru'an sprang back half a step, reaching out to help her, "Not allowed!"

Mu Rong Jin shook her head, tears streaking her face.

"Tuan Tuan," she said, looking at the little head peeking from behind Cheng Ru'an, "You are the Princess Consort who has achieved countless great deeds."

"I can only be at ease after entrusting Che'er to you."

She paused, gently handing the babbling infant in her arms forward: "Whether you accept this Empress as mother or not, it makes no difference."

"All I ask is that you acknowledge Che'er and protect his lifelong safety."

Si Yu knelt behind the Lord, repeatedly kowtowing, her forehead striking the golden brick heavily: "Princess! Please grant the Lord's request! I beg you!"

Cheng Ru'an tried to help the Empress kneeling before her, but could not pull her up no matter how hard she tried.

Tuan Tuan stepped out from behind her mother.

"Little brother is so cute," she said, tilting her little head, "I really like him."

She looked at Mu Rong Jin, blinked, "Alright, I accept."

"From now on he is mine, and I will protect him."

She reached out, tugging Mu Rong Jin's robe: "Empress, please get up quickly, the floor is so cold."

Mu Rong Jin shivered all over; the massive stone that had weighed on her heart for countless days and nights finally, at this moment, gently fell to the ground.

She rose slowly with Cheng Ru'an's support, a relieved smile appearing on her face.

She turned and walked to the cradle, gently placing her son inside, staring at him for a while before turning her head and asking:

"Tuan Tuan, you just said… there's a gray thing on my head?"

Tuan Tuan nodded: "Yes!"

"That thing…" Mu Rong Jin's voice trembled slightly, "Is it bad?"

"Bad," Tuan Tuan's little brows knit, answering without hesitation, "Everyone I've seen with gray mist on their heads ends up doing evil deeds."

Mu Rong Jin shivered, holding the cradle to steady herself.

"Empress!" Si Yu hurriedly steadied her, a chill running down her back.

Mu Rong Jin's voice was hoarse: "How did you… see that?"

"Some people I can see, others I cannot," Tuan Tuan thought seriously, "But after Master taught me, I can see far more than before!"

"National Preceptor?" Mu Rong Jin blurted out.

"Yes."

Mu Rong Jin stared at her in stunned silence.

So that's it!

In the eyes of these enlightened masters, one cannot hide at all.

It wasn't that Tuan Tuan couldn't see before; it was that the former self had no gray mist on the head.

It is the suspicion, fear, and resentment of these days…

It is that I have walked step by step to this point, becoming a "person who will do evil deeds."

Cheng Ru'an looked at Mu Rong Jin's pale face, a hint of speculation forming in her mind.

She let out a soft sigh, stepped forward, and gently clasped Mu Rong Jin's icy fingertips.

"Empress, I can imagine the suffering you endure within this deep Palace."

She said softly, "But please, Empress, consider that His Majesty's heart has always been thinking of you and the young Prince."

"His Majesty once intended to abdicate, only to take you, Empress, out to travel the mountains and waters."

"He also issued a grand amnesty across the realm when the young Prince first cried out after birth."

She lifted her eyes to Mu Rong Jin, her gaze gentle, expression sincere: "If you have any matter, Empress, you should state it openly to His Majesty."

"After all, husband and wife are one; although His Majesty is the Son of Heaven, he is also your husband!"

"His Majesty is your true support. Do not choose the wrong path, lest you later regret it irreparably."

Mu Rong Jin shivered all over.

She had already been teetering on the edge of a cliff.

Tuan Tuan's words and Cheng Ru'an's counsel alike were like a hand gently resting on her own.

Indeed, she could not continue like this.

That person, clutching such a massive leverage, would never stop, only press tighter.

Now, Tuan Tuan has already accepted Che'er.

With the Princess Consort protecting the son, what else does she have left to cling to?

She nodded at Cheng Ru'an, walked to Tuan Tuan, crouched, and looked into those clear bright eyes.

"Tuan Tuan, I will now go to meet the Sage."

"I will report everything that has happened these days to His Majesty, word for word."

She stood, her voice unusually calm: "If I do not return, please take Che'er away."

She turned to Cheng Ru'an: "Princess Consort, please tell His Majesty this is my sole dying wish; surely he will not oppose."

"I believe Che'er, raised in Ning Prince's Mansion, will certainly live better than in the Palace."

"Empress!" Si Yu fell to her knees, sobbing uncontrollably.

Cheng Ru'an helped her up, looking at the tear‑streaked cheek, feeling a pang of sorrow.

She looked at Mu Rong Jin, speaking slowly: "The Empress no longer calls herself 'this Palace'; does that mean she has condemned herself as a criminal?"

Murong Jin did not speak.

Cheng Ru'an then said, "I, too, am a mother. Since Your Highness loves and protects the little prince so dearly, I believe Your Highness would never do anything that defies heaven and reason."

"I am willing to accompany Your Highness to see the Emperor; if His Majesty is angered, I am willing to share the blame with Your Highness."

"Imperial Uncle is a very good person," Tuan Tuan said, puzzled. "Empress, why are you so afraid of him?"

"If Mother goes, I'll go too!"

"Empress, the little brother is still so young—how could he leave Mother?"

Upon hearing this, Murong Jin burst into tears.

Si Yu fell to her knees with a plop, saying, "Thank you, Princess Consort Ning! Thank you, Princess!"

Cheng Ru'an said, "Please rise. How about we invite His Majesty to Fengyi Palace..."

"No!" Murong Jin interrupted her. "Someone can come and go freely in Fengyi Palace; it's not safe here. Better to go to Zichen Hall."

"Someone can come and go freely in Fengyi Palace?" Cheng Ru'an exclaimed, horrified. "This is the residence of the mother of the state! Who could come and go as they please?"

Murong Jin shook her head. "I don't know either, but if it weren't so, how would I have been driven to a dead end?"

Cheng Ru'an's heart sank.

It seems this is no trivial matter. If someone can come and go freely in Fengyi Palace, what about Zichen Hall?

Could it be... that His Majesty also knows something, which is why he always comes to the Prince's Mansion at night to discuss affairs?

After thinking, she asked, "Has the little prince ever seen the National Preceptor?"

Murong Jin shook her head. "Never."

Cheng Ru'an said, "I will go see the Emperor now and ask him to issue an edict allowing Her Highness to take the little prince to the National Preceptor's residence."

"Just say the little prince has been ill for days and ask the National Preceptor to pray for his blessing; then nothing will be amiss."

"Exactly! Let's go to Master's place!" Tuan Tuan clapped her hands. "Perfect, I get to see Master too!"

Murong Jin looked gratefully at Cheng Ru'an, reached out to pat Tuan Tuan's head, and nodded. "Thank you, Princess Consort."