Chapter Seven: The Tears We Shed Now Are the Consequence of Our Past Foolishness

That look startled Su Jingluo and Xiao Jingxuan, and the two of them instinctively exchanged glances. Xiao Jingxuan, proud as ever, quickly turned his head away. Su Jingluo, however, was in no mood for bickering with him.

She hurried to Xiao Yunbai’s side, crouched down, and wrapped her arms around his thin shoulders, gently stroking his hair.

The moment Xiao Yunbai felt Su Jingluo’s tenderness, his grievances burst forth and he began to sob uncontrollably.

“Mother, ever since that bad father came back, he doesn't like me anymore. He always scolds me—it’s all his fault.”

“Good child, Mother believes you know right from wrong, don’t you? You’re so well-behaved, yet you’re always fierce with others. Those who like you and treat you kindly end up keeping their distance. Your father isn’t a bad man, he just hopes many people will like you and want to protect you. Do you understand?”

Xiao Yunbai looked at Xiao Jingxuan warily and uncertainly, but still nodded obediently.

Xiao Jingxuan wanted to say a few more words to assert his presence, but just then a servant rushed in from outside.

“My lord, a eunuch from the palace has arrived with an imperial decree. He’s waiting in the front courtyard.”

Xiao Jingxuan frowned. Someone from the palace? An imperial decree was far different from a mere verbal message. The latter was common, but the former was formal and undoubtedly meant something significant.

He glanced back at Su Jingluo and her son, his voice icy. “You two go rest in your rooms for a while. I’ll return shortly.”

Su Jingluo was more than glad to see Xiao Jingxuan leave. She gathered her son and Ruihuan and returned to their quarters. Seeing Xiao Yunbai limping as he walked, she lifted his trouser leg to find his knee swollen and bruised from kneeling. Her heart ached as if stabbed, overwhelmed by guilt.

She leaned against the bed, lifted Yunbai up beside her, and instinctively pulled a bottle of bruise ointment from her sleeve, rubbing it gently onto his leg. Her head throbbed with pain. No matter how she tried, she could not recall how Xiao Yunbai had learned the art of poison-making.

“Ruihuan, when did Yunbai learn to make poisons?” She’d just finished reprimanding the child and didn’t want to ask him directly, lest he burst into tears again.

“Madam, you—you don’t remember?” Ruihuan glanced around, astonished, and looked at Su Jingluo in disbelief.

What? Should I remember? Su Jingluo was bewildered. The harder she tried to recall, the more her head hurt. It seemed the original Su Jingluo had truly slammed her head hard against the wall—her mind must have been damaged.

“It’s just that I hit my head here, so I’ve forgotten many things.” Su Jingluo pointed to her forehead, glancing subconsciously at Xiao Yunbai, not wanting him to grasp the full reason.

“Oh, my lady, you are truly pitiful. But it’s nothing that the young master can make poisons. Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten even where you come from?” Ruihuan leaned in even closer, dropping her voice to a whisper.

“I don’t remember. Was my family powerful?”

Su Jingluo moved her head closer too, lowering her voice unconsciously.

“My goodness, how could you forget that? Your father is the master of the Valley of Spiritual Herbs, and your mother is the Queen of Ten Thousand Poisons. With a mere shake of your sleeve, countless lives would be lost. What’s so surprising about the young master learning a bit of poison-making?” Though Ruihuan spoke softly, pride was written all over her face.

So the original Su Jingluo was hiding such a formidable identity. Why put up with this prince’s nonsense then? Just deal with him—teach him a lesson! Otherwise, the child would always have to hold back just because he’s his father.

“Let me ask you this: if I was so powerful, why didn’t I just kill that scoundrel Xiao Jingxuan instead of putting up with him?” Su Jingluo truly could not fathom the original’s thinking. With her temper, she would never swallow such humiliation.

“Heavens above, madam, what’s gotten into you? You used to be so infatuated with the prince. You couldn’t even raise your voice at him, let alone kill him. Besides, he’s not easy to deal with—layers of shadow guards everywhere, even around our small courtyard. There’s no lack of them.” Ruihuan exaggerated, eyes wide.

“Perhaps I really was blind and foolish before, but that’s not important. Let’s analyze this further—how did the child find out, then?” If she’d known he wouldn’t take responsibility, Su Jingluo would never forgive such a deadbeat father.

“My lady, we’ve discussed this before. Not even a fly could get in or out past the shadow guards. But who could know what goes on inside? This time was just an accident—the young master ran outside, otherwise the guards wouldn’t have come to our courtyard.”

In short, Xiao Jingxuan truly doesn’t care, and the original was truly well-behaved.

“Let me ask you, how did we get so many herbs and poisons? Those things have to be bought somewhere.”

Honestly, Su Jingluo didn’t believe the three of them could be confined for five years—it was no different from prison.

“My lady, do you think we had to buy them? All those herbal dowries from your wedding procession would last not just five years, but a lifetime.” Ruihuan looked at Su Jingluo anxiously, as if she truly remembered nothing.

Su Jingluo was speechless. The original was truly one of a kind. While others’ wedding dowries were gold, silver, jewels, shops, and land, hers consisted of endless herbs. No wonder life was hard. Imagine trying to bribe a servant with, “Here, I’ll give you some scorpions—can you get me some meat in exchange?”

All the tears shed over the past five years were nothing but water in the original’s brain.

“So, Mother, what was the conflict between you and that bad father really about?” While the two women were gossiping, little Yunbai sidled over, his big dark eyes wide with curiosity.