Synopsis and Starting Chapter Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41: Chpater 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44: Chpater 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Chapter 48
Chapter 49
Chapter 50
Chapter 51
Chapter 52
Chapter 53
Chapter 54
Chapter 55
Chapter 56
Chapter 57
Chapter 58
Chapter 59
Chapter 60
Chapter 61
Chapter 62
Chapter 63
Chapter 64
Chapter 65
Chapter 66
Chapter 67
Chapter 68
Chapter 69
Chapter 70
Chapter 71
Chapter 72
Chapter 73
Chapter 74
Chapter 75
Chapter 76
Chapter 77
Chapter 78
Chapter 79
Chapter 80
Chapter 81
Chapter 82
Chapter 83
Chapter 84
Chapter 85
Chapter 86
Chapter 87
Chapter 88
Chapter 89
Chapter 90
Chapter 91
Chapter 92
Chapter 93
Chapter 94
Chapter 95
Chapter 96
Chapter 97
Chapter 98
Chapter 99
Chapter 100
Chapter 101
Chapter 102
Chapter 103
Chapter 104
Chapter 105
Chapter 106
Chapter 107
Chapter 108
Chapter 109
Chapter 110
Chapter 111
Chapter 112
Chapter 113
Chapter 114
Chapter 115
Chapter 116
Chapter 117
Chapter 118
Chapter 119: 第119章
Chapter 120
Chapter 121
Chapter 122
Chapter 123
Chapter 124
Chapter 125
Chapter 126
Chapter 127
Chapter 128
Chapter 129
Chapter 130
Chapter 131
Chapter 132
Chapter 133
Chapter 134
Chapter 135
Chapter 136
Chapter 137
Chapter 138
Chapter 139
Chapter 140
Chapter 141
Chapter 142
Chapter 143
Chapter 144
Chapter 145
Chapter 146
Chapter 147
Chapter 148
Chapter 149
Chapter 150
Chapter 151
Chapter 152
Chapter 153
Chapter 154
Chapter 155
Chapter 156
Chapter 157
Chapter 158
Chapter 159
Chapter 160
Chapter 161
Chapter 162
Chapter 163
Chapter 164
Chapter 165
Chapter 166
Chapter 167
Chapter 168
Chapter 169
Chapter 170
Chapter 171
Chapter 172
Chapter 173
Chapter 174
Chapter 175
Chapter 176
Chapter 177
Chapter 178
Chapter 179
Chapter 180
Chapter 181
Chapter 182
Chapter 183
Chapter 184
Chapter 185
Chapter 186
Chapter 187
Chapter 188
Chapter 189
Chapter 190
Chapter 191
Chapter 192
Chapter 193
Chapter 194
Chapter 195
Chapter 196
Chapter 197
Chapter 198
Chapter 199
Chapter 200
Chapter 201
Chapter 202
Chapter 203
Chapter 204
Chapter 205
Chapter 206
Chapter 207
Chapter 208
Chapter 209
Chapter 210
Chapter 211
Chapter 212
Chapter 213
Chapter 214
Chapter 215
Chapter 216
Chapter 217
Chapter 218
Chapter 219
Chapter 220
Chapter 221
Chapter 222
Chapter 223
Chapter 224
Chapter 225
Chapter 226
Chapter 227
Chapter 228
Chapter 229
Chapter 230
Chapter 231
Chapter 232
Chapter 233
Chapter 234
Chapter 235
Chapter 236
Chapter 237
Chapter 238
Chapter 239
Chapter 240
Chapter 241
Chapter 242
Chapter 243
Chapter 244
Chapter 245
Chapter 246
Chapter 247
Chapter 248
Chapter 249
Chapter 250
Chapter 251
Chapter 252
Chapter 253
Chapter 254
Chapter 255
Chapter 256
Chapter 257
Chapter 258
Chapter 259
Chapter 260
Chapter 261
Chapter 262
Chapter 263
Chapter 264
Chapter 265
Chapter 266
Chapter 267
Chapter 268
Chapter 269
Chapter 270
Chapter 271
Chapter 272
Chapter 273
Chapter 274
Chapter 275
Chapter 276
Chapter 277
Chapter 278
Chapter 279
Chapter 280
Chapter 281
Chapter 282
Chapter 283
Chapter 284
Chapter 285
Chapter 286
Chapter 287
Chapter 288
Chapter 289
Chapter 290
Chapter 291
Chapter 292
Chapter 293
Chapter 294
Chapter 295
Chapter 296
Chapter 297
Chapter 298
Chapter 299
Chapter 300
Chapter 301
Chapter 302
Chapter 303
Chapter 304
Chapter 305
Chapter 306
Chapter 307 - 307 Chapter 307
Chapter 308 - 308 Chapter 308
Categories Genre: All, Drama, Historical, Josei, Ongoing, Romance Status: Ongoing Alternative names: 凰权, 天盛长歌, ______
Total Chapters in book: 308
Estimated words: 438270 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 2191(@200wpm)___ 1753(@250wpm)___ 1461(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 438270 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 2191(@200wpm)___ 1753(@250wpm)___ 1461(@300wpm)
______
LIST OF LAST 10 CHAPTERS:
Page No. 308 Page No. 307 Page No. 306 Page No. 305 Page No. 304 Page No. 303 Page No. 302 Page No. 301 Page No. 300 Page No. 299 Page No. 298 Chapter 103
Chapter 103
“But on my final night, when I was at my final gasp and about to die, a ghost came to haunt the Empress’ courtyard. Nobody thought I had hope, so only an old wet-nurse was assigned to stand watch, and as she dozed, she noticed a white shadow floating by. Terrified, she cried out, and the startled guards and waiting ladies came rushing in. They found me covered in sweat, but recovered from my sickness.
“Nobody could explain what had happened, but no one paid it any mind. I lived in the Empress’ residence, but the servants did not take good care of me and I was often injured. The Crown Prince was naughty in his youth and often stuffed strange things in my mouth, but my wet-nurse did not dare stand in his way, so she could only bring me outside the residence walls, weeping in the open air.”
Ning Yi spoke calmly as if he was speaking about another, as if it was just a story — the main character’s misery and loneliness had already long frozen into a plain of crystal, crushed underneath by forward marching steps.
“One night, my wet-nurse cried herself asleep, and when she woke I was sleeping on the stairs next to her. She clearly remembered hugging me to her chest, and so she was very scared by this strange occurrence; afterwards, she no longer dared bring me outside and cry. That night, the Empress’ residence was once again haunted by a ghost.”
“The ghosts that walk this earth often come from the hearts of people.” Feng Zhiwei quietly replied.
Ning Yi looked at her, a small, gentle smile floating in the depths of his eyes. “After these hauntings, the Empress grew uneasy and said that my Four Pillars of Destiny were not in harmony with hers, so she gave me to Imperial Noble Consort Chang. Consort Chang was a distant cousin of hers and only became Father Emperor’s Concubine because she was born from a concubine. She did not have any daring back then, so I was able to grow stably until I was seven when the Tian Sheng Dynasty was founded.”
The flames in the fire pan weakened and the dim room fell more and more into darkness. The faint aroma of ash drifted in the air, accompanying the rare, expensive, black and gold lacquered furniture as they faded into the boundless dark, as old and weighted as the story being told.
“You... when did you see her again?” Feng Zhiwei finally asked.
“You are clever. You are just too clever...” Ning Yi replied, stroking her hair and sighing meaningfully. “The Tian Sheng Country was founded, and because I was still young I still lived in the palace. The Tian Sheng Imperial Palaces were built on the old Da Cheng Palaces, its grounds magnificently large. I did not see much of anything else until I was nine, when I was holding a kite for Eldest Brother and fell, injured. Everyone took the kite and rushed away, saying they would call the Imperial Physician, but time passed without anyone coming back. In my pain, I rolled off the hill and stumbled upon a peaceful residence. I had heard that this palace was abandoned, locked, and off limits, but on that day the gates stood open.”
A small smile quirked his lips and his eyes glittered with happiness: “The door opened and a lady walked out.. that was the first time I ever saw her...”
Ning Yi coughed twice and turned his face away, but not before Feng Zhiwei noticed the brightness glimmering in the corners of his eyes, glittering like diamonds.
After a moment, Ning Yi regained his calm and continued: “I didn’t know who she was. I just she knew was incredibly beautiful, and that her eyes were filled with warmth and kindness like nothing I had ever seen before. I was too startled to be wary of a stranger, so I didn’t struggle as she came near and picked me up. She brought me inside and bound my wound and made a special, delicious cake for me. Even though I was nine, she still tried to hand feed me, and thought I stayed for over two hours, she never said a word. Finally, when I was saying my goodbyes, tears fell from her face.”
Feng Zhiwei had to turn away and hold back her sniffles as she choked back her emotions.
Mothers!
“I returned home, but I could never forget her, so I sneaked back several times. I knew that her palace was off limits, so I was very careful every time. My studies were getting intense, and my brothers kept close watch over me, so I could only find a few opportunities to visit. Every time I visited, she would happily busy herself taking care of me; one time, I was so tired I fell asleep while visiting, and when I woke hours later, I saw her fanning me, her wrist swollen from fanning without rest.”
Ning Yi paused, touching his wrist as if he could feel his mother’s pain through that touch. His fingers brushed lightly against his skin, but his eyes grew gradually colder and colder.
“Seven times... I visited seven times... but on the eighth visit... she was gone, and the palace was empty.
When he was nine, he met his mother for the first time, and the next year he lost her forever.
He remembered everything about her in vivid detail. He remembered every precious, stolen moment he had spent with her. Those seven visits were carved into his heart, relived countless times.
Seven meetings, one life.
Life before and life after seemed so cold and miserable. Only this one short stretch was filled with color, a vibrance that would never fade.
Feng Zhiwei looked into his eyes, unable to ask about her final days. The saying that beautiful women often lived unfortunate lives spoke to these moments.
Perhaps she had struggled and lived in seclusion those ten years, hoping everyday to meet her son, hoping that her motherly love could brighten his heart and relieve some of the burden of the cold-blooded Imperial politics. Perhaps she had hoped that in his doomed loneliness, she could bring some measure of warmth to his life.
“I later discovered that the day of her death was today.”
Everyone gathered to celebrate the Noble Consort’s happy and grand birthday, but her lonely, desolate death was remembered by no one.
“When I learned of this, I was filled with immeasurable regret. If I had known she was waiting for me, no matter how packed my schedule, no matter how much evil my brothers planned, even if I could not eat or sleep, I would have come as many times as I could... but there is no medicine for regret, and I wasted the most precious moments of my life.”
“No, not wasted.” Feng Zhiwei replied sincerely. “In the end, you two still met, and you spent many happy moments with her. She was happy, and so were you. That is enough.”
“Happy?” Ning Yi said, startled. “Happy?”
He burst out in unhappy laughter, his voice low and deep, flecked with blood. He wiped the scarlet drops from his lips and stared down at the smeared trails of red, his laughter cutting off as suddenly as it came, his voice sad and lonely. “I had thought she was happy, and for these long years I had always believed that, but not I find out how wrong I was!”
Feng Zhiwei stirred, thinking back to the alluring pose of the crystal statue.
“You also saw the tunnel!” Ning Yi exclaimed, jabbing his finger into the distance. “Father Emperor, my father! In the end, he could not abandon her beauty, and so he ordered a secret tunnel built, and that statue... that, that thing!”
Total Chapters in book: 308
Estimated words: 438270 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 2191(@200wpm)___ 1753(@250wpm)___ 1461(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 438270 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 2191(@200wpm)___ 1753(@250wpm)___ 1461(@300wpm)
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