Sowing Discord, the Empress Dowager as a Woman’s Final Goal

The hatred and killing intent in Prince Nolan's eyes was far too obvious. For a moment, Lady Min felt her heart twist in pain...

He was her own son, flesh of her flesh, the person closest to her in the world—yet now he looked at her as if she were an enemy. She'd known it would come to this, but facing it for real, Lady Min found it still hurt.

Seeing Prince Nolan's cold, hard face, Lady Min's mind flashed back to the moment he was born—so small, so soft, crying in her arms as if he already knew he was about to be abandoned by his mother.

She admitted it: she had wronged this child. But now, even if she wanted to make it up to him, it was impossible.

In the battle between mother and son, she had already lost. At this moment, she couldn't afford even a shred of softness—if she wavered, she'd never have a chance to rise again.

No longer daring to confront Prince Nolan, Lady Min looked away in embarrassment, her gaze landing on Serena Feng. Seeing Serena so composed, so regal, completely unaffected, a flash of murderous intent flickered in Lady Min's eyes.

It was this woman—if not for her arrival, everything would have stayed on track. Even if Nolan became emperor, he wouldn't have grown so distant from his own mother.

Facing Serena Feng, Lady Min made no effort to hide her disgust. She sneered, "What, now that you're Empress, you won't even acknowledge your mother-in-law? You see me and don't come forward to pay your respects?"

Serena Feng hadn't expected Lady Min to turn her fire on her. She looked at Lady Min in surprise, a flicker of puzzlement in her eyes—at this point, was she really still trying to put on airs?

Serena's unconscious reaction, in Lady Min's eyes, was pure contempt for a defeated enemy. Lady Min's anger ignited, and she spat out, sharp as a knife: "So you're Empress now and think you're above everyone? Didn't your parents ever teach you to respect your elders? Oh, I forgot—you had a mother but no father. Your bandit-born mother only knew how to seduce men, and that's all she taught you."

"Today, I'll teach you what it means to respect your elders. Serena Feng, remember this: you may be Empress, but the one sitting on the throne is my own son. No matter how noble you are, in front of your mother-in-law, you should kneel and show proper respect."

Serena hadn't planned to argue with Lady Min, a defeated enemy. But dragging her deceased parents into it—Serena couldn't tolerate that.

Serena's phoenix eyes flashed with authority as she replied coldly, "Mother-in-law? Do you even deserve that title? Has His Majesty ever acknowledged you? Out of respect for him, I'll call you Lady Min. Lady Min, let me be clear: even if you were Empress Dowager, Grand Empress Dowager, or even a reigning queen, if you insult my parents, I would kill you without hesitation!"

"Kill me? Such arrogance! Serena Feng, let's see how long your luck lasts. You may have seduced my son for a while, but you won't hold him forever."

A son as emperor is nothing like a husband as emperor—a husband can belong to other women, but a son is always his mother's. In the harem, only by becoming Grand Empress Dowager can a woman truly rest easy." Even now, Lady Min tried to sow discord, hoping to plant seeds of doubt between Nolan and Serena so they would turn on each other.

If even a birth mother could sacrifice and betray her son for the throne, what hope was there for a woman with no blood ties? But Lady Min was destined to be disappointed.

Serena and Prince Nolan had been through too much together—they knew each other too well. Betraying each other for the throne? That would never happen.

Neither Prince Nolan nor Serena would ever put the throne above each other. Lady Min's tactics might work on others, but with these two, they didn't cause even a ripple.

Prince Nolan met Serena's eyes, silently reassuring her, then turned to Lady Min with a mocking smile. "Mother, rest assured, my woman will always remain proud. Not every woman is like you—willing to sacrifice her own son for the throne."

"Nolan Dongling, is this how you speak to your own mother? Whatever my faults, I'm still your mother—the Grand Empress Dowager of Eastlyn. From now on, you should address me as Empress Dowager." Crushing the guilt rising in her heart, Lady Min armored herself in ice, determined to keep stalling for time and wait for rescue...

"Empress Dowager? You think you deserve that title?" Prince Nolan refused to recognize Lady Min's status.

Even as Empress Dowager, if her son refused to obey, how noble could she really be?

"Deserve it? Does it even matter? I am your mother. No matter how high you rise, you can't change the fact that you came from my womb. You are the Emperor, so naturally I am Empress Dowager." Lady Min put on all the pride of a mother and a princess of the Former Dynasty, staring down Prince Nolan, refusing to show any weakness—even though Nolan saw right through her.

"You think too much. Don't forget, you're already a dead woman." To have such a poisonous mother was his misfortune. If he'd known what kind of person his birth mother truly was, he'd have preferred her dead.

"Dead? What do you mean? Are you going to kill your own mother? Aren't you afraid the world will condemn you?" Lady Min's proud face cracked, panic flashing in her eyes.

She wasn't afraid of death—but she feared that after her death, the Lan clan would have no one left to unite the realm.

She couldn't die—not until Jingyang's son was grown!

"You're already dead. Why would I need to commit matricide?" Prince Nolan spoke slowly and low, every word like a hammer blow straight to the heart, leaving a dull ache in its wake.

Lady Min panicked, suddenly rising to her feet, her voice filled with sorrow: "Nolan Dongling, you say I'm dead? I'm standing right here, alive, and yet you call me dead. Aren't you afraid of heaven's wrath?"

"Heaven's wrath? If you have the power, let the heavens strike me down with lightning! If I believed in fate, I wouldn't have fought and killed for this throne."

"You... you're terrifying..." Lady Min clutched her chest, collapsing into her chair, tears shimmering in her eyes. "I am your birth mother—how can you treat me this way?"

This time, Lady Min was truly heartsore. No matter how badly she'd treated Nolan Dongling, she was still the one who gave birth to him. Her son... was just too cruel, too terrifying. She had no hope left...

"Birth mother?" Prince Nolan rose, brushing dust from his sleeve. "As long as I say you're not, then you're nothing. I am Emperor—my word is law. If I say you're dead, then you're dead. Guards—"

At his command, trusted aides and shadow guards appeared at once. "Greetings, Your Majesty, Your Highness the Empress..."

Lady Min's face was drained of color, her eyes utterly gray and lifeless...