Deng Hui blankly stared at the food in front of her. She did not want to eat it, so she called a servant inside.
"Take this away," Deng Hui said. The maidservant knelt to put the dishes back to the tray when a voice stopped her.
"Prince Nianzu," Deng Hui whispered and immediately stood up from the floor mattress.
"Don't take the food away. The Empress Dowager and I will have lunch together," Nianzu pronounced and gazed at his mother, whose heart filled with contentment.
"Leave it as it was and add some more dishes for the Prince," Deng Hui instructed the maidservant. She stood up and gradually stepped back.
Deng Hui came towards her son and put her arms around him. "I am happy to see the Prince. He has returned safely and it has put my heart to rest," she said delightfully. Nianzu gently pulled away from the hug and went towards the floor table. He sat down on the cushion. Deng Hui quickly came to her seat and sat down.
"Why is she taking so much time?" Deng Hui complained while looking towards the door. Looking back at the Prince, she said, "I did not know that you will come to have lunch with me."
"I do not want to but Chun insisted that I should go and have lunch with the Empress Dowager," Nianzu stated. "The same Chun whom you wanted to harm once," he said with a touch of sarcasm.
Deng Hui stopped smiling and found her son was still mad at her.
The maidservant came in and put three more bowls on the table. She placed the chopsticks on the table and tasted the food first. "The Empress Dowager and the Fourth Prince can start," she said in a low voice. She stepped back and stood there with a low head.
"Leave us alone," Nianzu ordered the maidservant, who left the chamber. Nianzu picked a pair of chopsticks and handed it to Deng Hui. They again looked into each other's eyes.
"Chun wants me to talk to you. But there is nothing left to talk about," Nianzu remarked as he picked another pair of chopsticks and opened the lid of the soup bowl.
"I had lost my mind that I made such a punishable mistake. However, son, I have realized how wrong I was! Please forgive your mother," Deng Hui asserted.
"Why don't you start eating?" Nianzu asked her and placed the rice bowl in front of her. Deng Hui hummed and started eating.
"Did you apologize to Father when he was on the death bed?" He asked her out of the blue.
Deng Hui slowed down and shook her head.
"You never loved him, did you? That's why you had the thought to feed poison to him," Nianzu affirmed.
"I was blinded with power. I thought my son should sit on the throne," Deng Hui asserted and sobbed. Nianzu gazed at her and chuckled.
"Why are you not eating?" He asked her hoarsely.
"I am," she answered and continued to eat. Silence surrounded them and they peacefully finished their meals. Nianzu called in a servant, who cleaned the table and left.
"So, where were we?" Nianzu asked. "Ahh, yes. You did all those things because you wanted me to rule the Empire," he answered himself. "How could you even think that? If you had harmed Chun, I would have killed you with my own hands. Didn't I tell you not to get too greedy after becoming the Empress?" He screamed at Deng Hui.
She ended up crying and joined her hands. "Forgive me, son. Do you want to take my life? I would do that. But do not look at me with those eyes. I beg you," Deng Hui stated.
"You considered Sheng Li as your own son, yet you plotted against him. Don't you think you have hurt him too? More than me, he is hurt. Do you know why? Because he considered you as his mother! But you are not even apologetic towards him. Your actions say otherwise," Nianzu asserted.
"What can I do when the Emperor has started to ignore my presence? He has warned me not to come near him," Deng Hui pronounced.
"Make sincere efforts for it. I will forgive you when I see the sincerity in you," stated Nianzu. "Also, don't think that if you try to take your life, I will start to respect you again. I will hate you more," He affirmed.
"You wanted to kill my wife, who sent me to you today. Can you see the difference? Chun has a big heart that she forgot everything. But I cannot forget everything easily. I want to see my mother's sincere side that would make me believe that she indeed has changed. I don't feel good behaving this way with you. But there is no option left. I will again address you as my mother when I see the change in you," Nianzu pronounced and bowed in front of her. "I shall take my leave," he said and walked out of the chamber.
Nianzu felt good that he said everything to his mother that he had in his mind for a long time. Now, he wanted her to be sincere so that he would again call her his mother.
He came back to the Eastern Palace when his eyes fell on Xue Yu-Yan, who was in the pavilion. He went to the pavilion and greeted her. Xue Yu-Yan was surprised to see him, and she greeted him back.
"What is the Princess doing here in the daylight? She should be in her chamber or with her husband," Nianzu asserted.
"Jian Ge is resting. I was getting bored in the chamber, so I thought about coming here," Xue Yu-Yan replied. "How is the Fourth Brother doing?" She asked.
"I am well as you can see," Nianzu said and passed her a tiny smile.
"Is something bothering you, Sister Xue?" He queried her, trying to find an answer through her eyes.
"Ahh, nothing," she answered.
"Sister Xue can share with me. I have told her earlier too that if she ever got tangled in a problem, she can trust me and tell me," Nianzu reminded her.
Xue Yu-Yan fidgeted with her fingers. Nianzu was confident now there was indeed something bothering her.
"Brother Nianzu," her voice quivered as she was unable to speak anything.
"What happened, Sister Xue?" Nianzu got anxious as he saw tears in Xue Yu-Yan's eyes.
"Brother Nianzu, I think I made a mistake," Xue Yu-Yan said and started to cry.
