Long Xuan took a slap in the face, and stood motionless.
"That face is very beautiful, huh?" The Empress Dowager stood in front of Long Xuan and asked: "Do you feel sorry for that bastard?"
Long Xuan said: "He has the blood of the Long family in him, how can he be a bastard [1]?"
"You scoundrel!" The Empress Dowager couldn't help but use all her strength to slap Long Xuan again. "The lives of hundreds of people from your grandmother and uncle’s family were destroyed in the hands of that creature! Your own mother and grandmother can’t see the light of day just because of that bastard! That bitch is not like Long Yu! Do you now know how cruel he is?! If he becomes ruler, can we still live?! Your heart aches for him? Will that bastard let you go because of your heartache?!"
"It turns out that mother also played a part," Long Xuan seemed to be awakened by the Empress Dowager, looking at her and smiling: "I didn’t know until today."
The Empress Dowager said: "Did that bitch not tell you?"
"He regards me as an enemy," said Long Xuan. "The humiliation he endured in the Huajie Pavilion, Luo Wei will remember it. How could he come to me to complain?"
"I do not believe that bastard said nothing!" The Empress Dowager could not accept: "If it weren't for him, how could your father be angry at me to this day?"
Long Xuan said: "If someone treated my son this way, I would not forgive."
The Empress Dowager looked at Long Xuan with surprise. His face was expressionless, and the coldness in his eyes made her realize that it might have been a mistake to tell him that she touched Luo Wei. "Are you blaming me?"
"What Imperial Grandmother said is right, Luo Wei is not a kind-hearted person," Long Xuan said, "I think he must not know who is the one who really harmed him. Otherwise, not Buddha nor the guards outside would be enough to stop him."
"He dares to kill me?"
"Imperial Grandmother does not know, Luo Wei has killed many," Long Xuan's tone was flat and there were no ups and downs. "At that time, Luo Wei was chasing down someone called Ku Liu. Presumably, this person is the one Imperial Grandmother arranged?"
Dealing with Long Xuan like this, she became flustered. "Xuan’er, what do you want to say to me?"
"What I want to say is that Luo Wei does not need to complain to anyone. He can take revenge himself. Ku Liu was caught in Dongshang territory. He escaped from Great Zhou, but could not evade death.”
"That bastard didn’t say anything?" The Empress Dowager only then believed Long Xuan’s words.
"How can anyone talk about this kind of thing?" Long Xuan said, "Looking at my father’s appearance back then, Luo Wei should not have been touched by anyone. If it were otherwise, Imperial Grandmother would not be talking to his grandson here today.”
"Why are you speaking to me in this way?" The Empress Dowager couldn't stand Long Xuan talking to herself in such a cold tone. She wanted to hold Long Xuan's hand. "That bitch, has your soul also strayed?"
"Imperial Grandmother" Long Xuan avoided Empress Dowager’s hand and said: "No one in this world can charm this grandson's mind. Grandmother, although there is no third person here, Luo Wei and I are the same. He is my half-brother, when you say this, you not only insult Luo Wei, but also humiliate this grandson."
"Xuan’er?" The Empress Dowager took a step forward.
Long Xuan stepped back. “Is there anything else that Imperial Grandmother wishes to say to her grandson? If not, this grandson will leave."
"Xuan’er,” Empress Dowager said, "I watched you grow up. Are you blaming your grandmother? Because of Luo Wei?"
"The grandson retires," Long Xuan turned and left.
"Xuan’er!" The Empress Dowager shouted.
Long Xuan stopped. "Grandmother, I know that my father slaughtered your family, and that you have been unable to let go all these years. But I also think that the Duanmu clan was damned to die."
"You!" The Empress Dowager pointed her finger at Long Xuan with a distorted face.
"I am not doing this for Luo Wei [2]. This country belongs to my Long family. The Duanmu clan has made countless mistakes. They should not have wanted to be the master of my family. The minister is the minister – if it forgets its duty, you should kill it." Facing the Empress Dowager, there was no regard for the past. His gaze was cold and distant. "Imperial Grandmother married into my Long clan. You should have left your Duanmu clan behind. This grandson said some disrespectful words, but Imperial Grandmother will also enter the royal tomb of the Long family in the future, and enjoy the sacrifices of our descendants. What is there between the Duanmu clan and Imperial Grandmother?"
The Empress Dowager walked to her seat and sat down. She was afraid that if she were not seated, she would fall to the ground in front of Long Xuan.
"In fact, when the sedan chair left the gates of the Duanmu estate, Imperial Grandmother must have understood this truth." Long Xuan didn’t intend to stop, and continued: "You keep admonishing Luo Wei and calling him a bastard, but don’t you know that when you curse him, you curse our whole Long family? How can the dragon's descendants be low-born?"
"Leave," said the Empress Dowager. “Hurry up."
"What’s the point of your hatred towards Luo Zhijin?" Long Xuan said: "The Duanmu family dared hold grudges against the woman the Emperor holds dear. Did they still have the emperor in their eyes?! They couldn't possibly live."
"Get out!!" The Empress Dowager couldn’t even look at Long Xuan. She turned her face and pointed her finger at the door. "Get out of here!"
"Grandson retires," Long Xuan knelt and kowtowed three times towards the Empress Dowager.
The Empress Dowager did not look at Long Xuan once.
Long Xuan walked to the door and turned back: "Imperial Grandmother, if your grandson can ascend to the throne as emperor one day, he will let Grandmother leave this Dongfo Hall. Before that, you should still kneel to the Buddha, and self-cultivate diligently."
After an unknown amount of time, the Empress Dowager raised her head. She was alone in the temple. She looked at Guanyin on the altar, and suddenly let out a sinister laugh. This was her good grandson who she watched grow up and who she held dearly in her heart! The Empress Dowager laughed so hysterically she almost lost her breath. The Long family is the dragon that rules this country, but they are all her children, and they all had her Duanmu family’s blood. Why can’t these children and grandchildren understand? “Bodhisattva is merciful," the Empress Dowager said to the Guanyin statue: “Tell me, what is the purpose of aijia’s life? Not reconciled, I am not reconciled!"
"What is this commotion in the Buddhist hall?" The palace people who were "sitting in prison" with the Empress Dowager in the East Buddha Hall were all frightened when they heard the crazy laughter from inside. They stood in the open space outside the hall. No one dared to go in and see what was going on, and so they only huddled together and discussed amongst themselves.
"Locked up here every day," a more courageous palace official complained to his companions in a low voice, "Not to mention the Empress Dowager, even I’m going crazy.”
"Has she gone mad?" Pointing at the tightly closed doors and windows of the Buddhist hall, another servant whispered.
"Report it tomorrow and let the imperial physician take a look." The palace’s head servant yawned. "Listen, only the Empress Dowager is inside. There are no outsiders, let’s rest."
They all dispersed in groups of twos and threes.
The head servant walked to the front of the hall, poked a hole through the window paper, and glanced inside. He saw the Empress Dowager sitting in a chair, crying and laughing at the Guanyin statue, talking to herself incoherently. The servant shook his head, what about the Empress Dowager? It is said she’s the most honorable old woman in the world, but she can't please the emperor. Who wouldn’t go crazy alone in this cold place?
Translator Notes:
[1] For the most part, the Empress Dowager refers to Luo Wei as 贱种, bastard / born to a prostitute / lit. "cheap kind/seed", sometimes translated to bitch.
[2] Original said “Luo Zhijin” but “Luo Wei” makes more sense….
The bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara (Guanyin in Chinese) is the bodhisattva of compassion and mercy. She is also often associated with the moon, and the moon's reflection in the water, casting her light on all beings big and small. It seems the text often mentions the “Buddha” of the East Buddha Palace (Dongfo Hall), but a bodhisattva is not the same as a Buddha – while the Buddha ascends to nirvana and casts all worldly matters behind, the bodhisattva stays to help others; this difference is often depicted by having the bodhisattva wearing jewels and such things. I just think it's interesting; not important to the story.
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