Chapter 457 – Mother (2)
On the very last day, Monk Xuwu came. Just like before, his face showed a glow of wisdom as well as a hint of cynicism of the mortal world. He walked over to Haohao’s bed. “Amitaba. I warned you a long time ago that this child should be handed over to me to care for. If you had done that, this could have all been prevented. Instead, you insisted on dragging things to this point.”
Ji Man’s eyes brightened. She rushed towards the monk and knelt down in front of him. “Great Master, please save the heir!”
Ning Yuxuan came into the room after the monk. He helped Ji Man stand back up.
Monk Xuwu stroked his beard and said, “Yes, yes, I’ll save him. The marquis has already entreated this old one countless times on the way here. However, this old one still has to ask the two of you a question, are you willing to make a sacrifice?”
Ji Man looked at him and seriously said, “Great Master, I’ll agree to anything that you want. Whether its gold, silver, and precious gems, my life, or even the marquis’s…”
A piercing gaze from the side was aimed at Ji Man, but it was if she hadn’t noticed. She saluted Xuwu. “Great Master, please save his life.”
Xuwu loudly laughed and went over to check Haohao’s condition, then he picked him and placed him onto his own shoulder. “This old one is a monk and has no use for mortal things like wealth or madam’s life. It’s only that this old one has said a long time ago that this child had a fated connection with Buddhism. It’s the marquis that insisted on dragging him to the mortal world. It’s only to be expected that he would inevitably meet with calamity. If you want this child to live, then you have to let this child come with this old one to Mount Tian and look for a cure there.
As he said this, he stuffed an unknown pill into Haohao’s mouth.
The doctor had already said that Haohao wouldn’t be able to live past tonight. Could she believe in Great Master Xuwu’s words? Ji Man looked at Haohao. She was absolutely unwilling to part with him. This child had been separated from her at birth, and now, after they had only been reunited for a short period, she had to send him away.
“To gain what you want, you have to give up on something.” Xuwu could see that Ji Man was unwilling to part with Haohao. He lightly smiled and continued, “If the heir doesn’t leave with this old one today, it might not be possible to save his life. It’s only by leaving with this old one, that there’s a chance that the rest of his life will be safe and happy.”
What other choice could she make? She could only allow him to take Haohao, right? Ji Man self-comforted herself. It was good enough that Haohao would be saved. This was a better option than watching him die in front of her and feeling heart-wrenching pain, right?
Although Ji Man nodded in assent, her heart still felt very reluctant. As she watched as the monk carried Haohao away, Ji Man couldn’t resist the impulse to run after them.
“Man-er.” Ning Yuxuan pulled her back. “Don’t keep chasing after them.”
“I’m just sending them off. Let me follow them a few more steps.” Ji Man turned her head to look at him. “I’ll just walk with them to the entrance.”
Ning Yuxuan’s heart ached too. Looking at her expression, he could only sigh and let go of her. He watched as she lifted up her skirt and ran to catch up.
Carrying Haohao, Xuwu walked at quick pace as if he was a fleeing thief. For a moment, Ji Man felt as if a kidnapper was taking Haohao away. It was if a motor had been installed in her body, she sprinted towards them and heard the old monk, whose bald head was shining underneath the sunshine, murmuring, “Poor child, you’ve been polluted by the mortal world. Who knows if you’ll face other calamities in the future? Don’t worry, just come with this old one.”
Haohao’s face was still blue and unconscious. However, his breathing wasn’t as weak as before.
By the time she got to the estate’s entrance, Ji Man was gasping for breath. She could only watch as the bald head disappeared into the distance with her son. She didn’t know how long it would take until Haohao would be returned to her.
—
Liu Hanyun didn’t know how much longer she had left to live. Her old illness couldn’t be cured, but she felt now was the best time to die, before the marquis found out that she was the culprit and while he still felt pity towards her.
Liu Hanyun called Xi-er over to her bedside and looked at him as she said, “In the future, you’ll be the only child in this estate. You have to talk more with your father and spend more time with him. Don’t resent your father. Do you understand?”
Xi-er blankly looked at his deathly pale mother and suddenly burst into wailing.
“Don’t cry. Learn from the heir, smile more.” Liu Hanyun covered her mouth, as she started coughing and gestured for Chunpi to bring Xi-er farther away from her. She continued to advise him, “If Miss Nie’s next child is a son, even as a ghost, I’ll help you. If it’s a daughter, you’ll become this household’s heir. You can’t keep hiding behind other people.”
“Mom…” Xi-er couldn’t stop crying. He wanted to go over to hold his mother’s hand, but Chunpi stopped him. Liu Hanyun smiled and gestured for Chunpi to take him outside. “Go bring him to the marquis.”
She didn’t regret in being ruthless enough to harm a child. She didn’t regret her actions, but her heart felt tormented, and her illness became increasingly worse. Liu Hanyun got out the dagger she had hidden nearby, mustered up her courage, and drove the dagger into her heart.
This time, she wouldn’t continue to live and be a burden to Xi-er. Once Xi-er lost his mother, the marquis would definitely treat him a little bit better. When he saw that she had ended her life, no matter what, the marquis would definitely feel more pity, right?
—
Chunpi was crying as she brought Xi-er over to the western courtyard. She knelt down in front of the marquis and couldn’t stop crying. Ning Yuxuan asked her twice why she was here, but Chunpi was crying too hard to speak.
Thus, he more or less guessed what had happened.
“Have her buried with full honors,” Ning Yuxuan said, “She was a foolish person.”
Xi-er was still crying too. He hid behind Chunpi with eyes full of fear.
Translator Ramblings: When I was reading this story for the second time, I felt much sadder about Liu Hanyun’s death, especially because she’s clinging onto the hope that Ning Yuxuan will treat Xi-er better if she dies. Based on Ning Yuxuan’s previous actions, we can easily guess that’s not going to happen. Killing herself is ultimately a futile gesture. There’s nothing she could have done to get Ning Yuxuan to care about Xi-er the same way that he cares about Haohao. I wish someone could have told her that Xi-er would rather have his mom alive. It would have been awesome if she could have become friends with Mu Shuiqing, who seems the most sensible woman in the story.
And, I feel like Haohao is being taken into Child Protective Services because time and time again, his parents have failed to protect him. More importantly, if they actually care about him, why don’t they ask the monk if they can come with Haohao and give up the secular world for a period of time?
What do you guys think?
If you want to read a vague spoiler about Haohao’s future, I wrote one in the comments below.