A Shocking Dream

Chapter 193

But as the days passed, Qin Rongchen seemed to sink deeper and deeper into the quagmire. He returned to the palace like a walking corpse, emaciated and with a hollow look in his eyes. The spirited youth of his past was gone. Then, in front of everyone, he knelt flat on his back, kowtowed, and begged to be stripped of his status as a prince. His voice was hoarse but resolute: "Mother, I have no desire to serve in the court for the rest of my life. Please grant me your permission and let me leave the palace." Kou Jing was horrified and angrily rebuked him, but she couldn't change his determination.

Eventually, Qin Rongchen moved out of the palace and settled in a remote mountain villa where plum blossoms bloomed year-round. While the plum blossoms bloomed year after year, he grew increasingly depressed, trapped in a cage of memories. Never leaving his house, he stared blankly at the old belongings left behind by Lin Bingshuang, drowning his sorrows in alcohol and a gloomy mood for five years. The fragrance of the plum blossoms in the villa's courtyard seemed to carry with it an unquenchable melancholy that permeated every inch of the air.

At first, Kou Jing was patient and went to persuade her son several times in her best attire, hoping to wake him up. As soon as she entered the villa, she was met with desolate and chaotic conditions. Qin Rongchen was dressed in rags, his hair disheveled, and he looked nothing like a prince. Her eyes reddened, and her heartache instantly turned to anger: "Enough! He's already dead, what else do you want? You're so self-indulgent, how can you be worthy of our ancestors and my years of hard work!" Qin Rongchen seemed to be oblivious. When Kou Jing approached, he slowly raised his eyes. His eyes were as cold as a stranger's. Without a word, he drove her out of the room and slammed the door shut, isolating the angry curses outside from the dead silence inside.

Kou Jing trembled with rage, pointing at the door in the courtyard and cursing, "You unfilial son, you're ruining your life for a woman! How could I have raised such a fool as you!" But all she heard in response was the cold wind, carrying plum petals, and the faint sound of sobbing from within the house. From then on, the rift between mother and son grew ever more ferocious, like an abyss, swallowing up all the tenderness they had once shared, leaving only endless sadness and confrontation, a stalemate that persisted through the years.

After five years of silence, Kou Jing tried countless methods, from soft words of persuasion to harsh words, but none of them could open Qin Rongchen's closed heart. She gradually gave up hope and just thought that he would just rot away the rest of his life in Hanmei Villa and turn himself into a desolate tomb.

Unexpectedly, fate suddenly shifted. While hosting a banquet in the imperial palace, Qin Rongchen caught a glimpse of Yun Shuang, the Holy Maiden of the Yun Nation. Dressed in azure, she looked like a banished immortal who had strayed into the mortal realm. Her eyes, shone with compassion and tenderness, like a ray of bright sunlight piercing Qin Rongchen's battered heart. Somehow, after just a few encounters and conversations, the walls he had once built for Lin Bingshuang crumbled. He seemed possessed, quickly captivated by Yun Shuang's gentle presence, easily forgetting the longing he had endured for her for five years.

The news reached Kou Jing like a thunderclap, leaving her stunned for a moment. She hurried to the villa and saw a new lease of life in Qin Rongchen's eyes, not because of renewed ambition, but because of another woman. Shock and dismay washed over her. "How could you be so heartless! Five years of waiting, and it's nothing compared to a few days of this woman's companionship?" Kou Jing glared at him, her finger trembling as she pointed at him, her heart filled with resentment at being betrayed.

Qin Rongchen lowered his head, a flicker of guilt crossing his face, but he remained firm, saying, "Mother, I don't know why, but since meeting Yunshuang, I've felt that all my previous years were dark, and now I've found light." Kou Jing stumbled a few steps in anger, her mind swirling with suspicion. Yunshuang's appearance was too bizarre, and she had so easily seduced Qin Rongchen's soul. Could it be that Lin Bingshuang had returned to seek revenge? After all, there was a certain similarity between their eyes and eyebrows.

At this thought, Kou Jing's murderous intent suddenly surged, and he immediately ordered the release of the Snow Country Princess, who had been imprisoned for five years. The Princess had suffered utter torture in prison, her heart filled with hatred. Upon hearing that she could buy her freedom, she immediately obeyed the order and sharpened her knife to attack Yun Shuang.

Yunshuang was ultimately defeated, her white clothes stained with blood, and she collapsed to the ground. Qin Rongchen rushed over upon hearing the news, his face filled with panic. He ran to the bedside and hugged Yunshuang tightly, calling out to her with anxiety and heartache as if he was ripping his heart and lungs out.

Kou Jing arrived shortly afterwards, and when he saw this scene, his rage soared to the sky. He yelled angrily, "You are so confused because of this woman. How can you be a man like this!" Qin Rongchen turned around with red eyes and roared, "Mother, why are you so cruel? If anything happens to Yunshuang, I will never forgive her!" The two quarreled in the bloody house. Kou Jing was filled with hatred. Looking at the dying Yunshuang, she prayed viciously in her heart that she would die at this moment, so as to put an end to this disaster and avoid misleading Qin Rongchen again. Even if mother and son turned against each other, she would not hesitate to cut off this evil relationship again.

Later, Yun Shuang, the Holy Maiden of the Yun Nation, truly died. Her frail body lay quietly on the carved bed in the Jinyu Courtyard of the Daqi Palace, like a withered flower, devoid of its former lively and ethereal aura. Kou Jing stood by the bed, gazing at Yun Shuang's pale yet gentle face, and suddenly felt as if she were trapped in a long nightmare.

She recalled that when Qin Rongchen was a child, she was full of plans and isolated him from all the troubles of the outside world. In those cold and lonely days, the little guy could only stare blankly at the palace walls and high courtyards. Occasionally, when he teased the kitten, it would be hurriedly taken away by the nanny for fear that it would become wild.

When he grew older, every time he showed a little more affection towards a maid, he would disappear without a trace within a few days. Over time, the light in his eyes dimmed, and he became accustomed to being alone, and his eccentric personality took root.

The appearance of Lin Bingshuang was like a spark in the cold night, but it was ruthlessly extinguished by himself. After the bloody storm, Qin Rongchen's heart was half dead; Yunshuang came again with hope, but still failed and died in a foreign land.

Kou Jing's hands unconsciously clenched the bed curtains, her heart filled with panic and self-reflection: Was she really going to have to watch her son die alone before she would give up? By pressing her every move, controlling everything, was she protecting him or destroying him?

However, to Kou Jing's surprise, Yunshuang's death didn't drag Qin Rongchen back into the abyss. For the first few days, he stayed indoors, and everyone thought another storm was brewing. But when he stepped out again, the previous dejection disappeared from his eyes, leaving only a deep, cold silence, as if all his delusions had burned away, and a steely will had been reborn from the ashes.

At court, Qin Rongchen volunteered to handle the backlog of government affairs. He personally surveyed the dilapidated water conservancy projects, studied tax malpractices by night, and meticulously counted the relief grain and funds. He even personally handled every aspect of the Linzhou plague, leaving no room for error. It was as if he had grown up overnight, becoming a capable and influential official.

Kou Jing saw it all and was shocked in her heart. During those sleepless nights, she tossed and turned on the bed, her mind in a mess.