"Fanghua..."
"Mother, your daughter knows her mistakes."
The last plea was heart-wrenching; she looked at the Empress Dowager, unable to stop her tears.
The cry felt like it choked the Empress Dowager, making her throat tight and painful.
"Yanqing is my biological child. A child's misconduct reflects the mother's fault. If he faces misfortune, it's all due to my selfishness. If he faces disaster, it's as if I'm driven to death."
The Empress Dowager closed her eyes, her heart aching, "Fanghua, why do you suffer?"
"As long as he can be spared, I'm willing to voluntarily abandon my title, be demoted to a commoner, never again be a favored child of heaven, never step foot in the Imperial City, never oppose mother at every turn."
The Empress Dowager's eyes reddened; after a long silence, she spoke, "What you're doing is tearing at my heart."
