TSFLIP Chapter 73

Twenty-six years ago, the daughter of the Xu family was chosen by His Majesty to be one of his concubines due to her exceptional beauty, and she was given the title of Consort Min. However, Xu Min did not care for the Emperor. Before entering the palace, she had feelings for Prince Qi Yun, a noble from a different clan. As fate would have it, Qi Yun also loved her, despite already having a legitimate wife. Qi Yun had no concubines, and everyone said that Qiao Wan was blessed. She thought so too—everything in her life seemed perfect, except for one thing: her husband did not love her. Still, Qiao Wan did not need his love to survive.

Qiao Wan was aware of the affair between Qi Yun and Xu Min. She also knew that in the year Xu Min retreated to Linggan Temple under the pretense of seeking blessings, Qi Yun would secretly meet with her every time he left the house. But Qiao Wan never intervened. What is meant to be yours cannot be taken by others, and what isn’t yours will slip away no matter how tightly you hold on. Qiao Wan had always seen things this way. But then, everything changed.

That year, a plague broke out in the city, and Luo City was completely sealed off. The supply of medicine to treat the plague dwindled each day, and it became impossible to bring in more from outside the city. Coincidentally, both Qiao Wan and Xu Min gave birth around this time—two boys, both fathered by Qi Yun. Xu Min’s servants were loyal, and, at the very least, the Emperor knew nothing of the birth. And then, in a dramatic turn of events, both newborns, weak from birth, contracted the terrible plague. Qi Yun only had one pill of medicine in his hand.

Qiao Wan had never begged him for anything before. But for the first time, she pleaded with him to save her child. Qi Yun did save a child—just not hers. He chose to save Xu Min’s baby. He told Xu Min that their child had died, then took Qi Duan back to Qiao Wan and said, “This is our son.”

As she held the child in her arms, Qiao Wan smiled in happiness, but her heart had grown cold. No mother would mistake her child, and she certainly would not.

Later, Nanny Guo returned, carrying Qi Mu—dug up from the grave. The small child had but the faintest breath of life left in him. Qiao Wan, hiding the truth from everyone, took the child to Linggan Temple. She knelt in front of Master Jianyuan’s door for an entire day and night. Just as Qi Mu was about to pass, Master Jianyuan emerged.

Jianyuan said he could not be sure whether this child would grow up to be someone who would bring great harm to the world. But one cannot let a life be lost based on uncertainty. It took him a whole day and night to decide to act. However, it was already too late. The child survived, but he was left with a permanent injury—he was blind.

Qiao Wan thought to herself that she would love this child twice as much. But secretly, she raised him in a desolate house, waiting for the day when they could take revenge together once he was grown. At first, she truly cared for Qi Mu, even though he was a flawed child. But as Qi Duan grew more intelligent and perfect by the day, her feelings twisted.

“To prevent the prince from knowing that I had uncovered the truth, I treated Qi Duan as if I were the most loving mother. But when it came to Mu’er, I saw him only as a tool for revenge. I pushed him to achieve perfection. Any task Qi Duan had done, I made Mu’er repeat. If he fell short of Qi Duan in the slightest, I would lock him in the darkest room of the desolate house. He would cry until he could cry no more. I was pleased, thinking he had grown stronger. Until I realized later—he always smiled at me, no matter what.”

Qiao Wan spoke, her eyes vacant, then suddenly threw aside the Buddhist prayer beads in her hand. Her face tightened with resentment, and hatred flared in her eyes. “I turned to Buddhism to ease my guilt toward Mu’er, but every day of chanting and praying only deepens my regret for what I did to him. Xu Min, are you happy? He chose your child back then, but now your child calls me ‘mother’ every day. How ironic.”