Chapter 4

Chapter 4

◎My Mother Was Actually a Black Lotus◎

"Ahem, ahem," Huiyin coughed a few times. Her cold had mostly recovered, but the cough was unavoidable.

Madame Ji pushed the small green porcelain jar on the table and said, "Here, drink some pear soup. I woke up early and cooked it for you myself. It helps moisturize the lungs, quench thirst, and soothe a dry cough."

It had been a long time since Huiyin had drunk pear soup. In her previous life, a year after entering the prince's mansion, she started experiencing intense menstrual cramps every time her menstruation came, and it would last for a long time. She was unable to enjoy many cooling foods like pears.

Now, she naturally drank a bowl without any hesitation. It was sweet and very refreshing.

Seeing her daughter finish the soup, Madame Ji continued, "Your elder sister made a pair of knee pads for your father, and he was very pleased. It's clear that your grandmother has been paving the way for her, wanting her to excel in everything from music and chess to needlework and embroidery. I just don't understand why there's such favoritism between granddaughters. We're both her granddaughters, so why is there such a difference in treatment? I suppose it's because of me."

"Mother, there's actually something I've always wanted to ask you. What exactly happened? I've heard some rumors before, but whenever I asked, you always brushed me off with 'children shouldn't meddle in adult affairs.' But I really want to know, how did you marry my father?" In her past life, Huiyin recalled overhearing whispers from those around Empress Dowager Xu, as if they were calling her mother a fox spirit or something similar.

This was also why, after becoming Empress Dowager, Huiyin invited her elder sister to the capital for grace.

Madame Ji looked at her daughter and finally nodded decisively, "Alright, I'll tell you."

"Back then, after I divorced your father, I lived at your grandfather's home. After staying there for a long time, it was inevitable that my sister-in-laws would say things like I was eating without working. How could I bear that? So, your grandfather advertised for a son-in-law. At that time, during the chaos caused by Lu Ji, Lu Ji was killed by your father, and his followers pursued and attacked your father and the others. In a panic, your father fled with Madame Xu, and they happened to pass through Pingyang County. To avoid the pursuit, Madame Xu devised a cunning plan."

Seeing that her mother's tone had a hint of sarcasm, Huiyin couldn't help but ask, "What plan?"

Madame Ji replied, "Madame Xu told your father to tear down the notice and become my son-in-law, so that it could protect her entire clan. I didn't understand what was going on, but when I saw your grandfather praising your father for his martial prowess and masculinity, and after I saw him myself and agreed, we got married. However, I didn't expect that before the wedding, Madame Xu came to me and revealed her plan. She said your father was willing to marry me only to escape the pursuit and hoped we could be a fake couple, and after everything settled down, he would set me free."

"What a despicable person," Huiyin thought. Madame Xu wanted to use the Ji family to help them escape the disaster and even revealed the plan on the wedding day, making it so obvious.

Madame Ji smiled, "I had already been divorced once. If I were to be divorced again, where in the world would I have a place to stay? So, I maintained a calm exterior but secretly had my father announce that since your father was already married, I couldn't agree to the marriage. At this point, if Madame Xu had given up, it would have been fine, and your father even suggested running away with Madame Xu. But Madame Xu, seeing how obedient I was, treated me like a concubine. She asked your father to fake a divorce to stall for time."

"She thought the divorce letter was just a temporary measure, but I had it legally registered, making it official. Your father and I were married with the proper rites. Since I was his legitimate wife, I no longer had to depend on others. Madame Xu ended up losing everything. Whose fault was that?"

Madame Xu tried to cross the river by breaking the bridge, but Madame Ji turned the fake into reality and took the upper hand.

Huiyin thought, so that's what happened. She then asked, "What about Father? How did he feel about all this?"

Madame Ji smiled, "When I was younger, I valued feelings the most. But later, I realized that most men are the same. Since that was the case, I might as well find someone to rely on. Your father was brave and good at fighting. At the very least, when he fled for his life, he was willing to take his wife and children with him. That was enough."

The situation was such that Madame Ji wasn't entirely innocent either, so she didn't talk much about it. Madame Xu thought she was clever but ended up being out of the picture, going from a legitimate wife to a divorced wife.

"Mother, even though you managed to turn things around, Madame Xu must have been resentful, right?" Huiyin asked.

Madame Ji nodded and looked at her daughter with affection, "Yes, at first, she was resentful and had the support of your grandmother. After all, she was your grandmother's niece, and she would nitpick everything I did. I thought I wouldn't have any children and just wanted a place to stay with your elder brother, so I endured as much as I could. Even a powerful dragon can't overpower a local snake. But then you were born, and your younger brother was born. My position as the legitimate wife became stable. No matter how dissatisfied your grandmother was, since your father and I had a good relationship, my position was secure, and she couldn't do anything."

After listening to Madame Ji, Huiyin said, "I've never heard you mention these things before. I didn't realize your life was also difficult."

"Whose life isn't difficult? This world is a dog-eat-dog place," Madame Ji said, stroking her daughter's head.

Huiyin thought that she was truly her mother's daughter, also being schemed against but eventually turning the tables. Crown Prince Li Heng's true love was Lu Xiao, the daughter of Prime Minister Lu. But he needed to clear obstacles for himself, so he neglected Lu Xiao and favored Huiyin, deliberately using the Zheng family to eliminate the Lu family.

At the same time, he secretly gave her a cooling potion, which was also a contraceptive. It sounded bitter but tasted sweet, like honey water. If Huiyin hadn't suffered excruciating pain each month during her menstruation and hadn't noticed that despite being heavily favored, she couldn't conceive, she might have fallen for Li Heng's deception.

She knew that if she got pregnant, the child would likely be harmed, so she deliberately didn't take the contraceptive medicine before Li Heng went on a campaign and indeed got pregnant.

After the Zheng family helped Li Heng eliminate the Lu family, Huiyin had planned to tell Crown Princess Lu about the plan, hoping Lu Xiao would eliminate Li Heng. After all, Li Heng deeply loved her and wouldn't have been on guard against her. But to her surprise, Lu Xiao was so weak that she took her own life.

With no other option, Huiyin pretended ignorance and first laced Li Heng's ox knee soup with poison in two doses. The first time, in front of his father, Li Heng drank it to show his affection. After the second dose, he died suddenly.

When she did this, Huiyin was terrified because if she failed, she could have lost her life. But Li Heng was overly arrogant and dismissed her as just a woman, believing he had everything under control. Ultimately, he died suddenly.