Mistaken Era chapter 37 p2
Seated inside was the woman in the long dress she had seen at the tavern. She now wore a magnificent brocade robe, her ebony hair elaborately coiffed, with a thin gauze veil covering her face.
Xiao Xiao noticed that the woman’s bewitching purple eyes held an otherworldly tinge. This purple hue seemed even deeper and richer than Wei Jie’s eye color.
So Xiao Xiao first said, “You…are Wei Jie’s mother, aren’t you?”
The woman also scrutinized Xiao Xiao, and upon hearing her question, smiled wryly, “So you really do know who I am. In that case, you must also know about my origins, yet you still dare to enter the carriage?”
Xiao Xiao blinked her large eyes. “You…know that Wei Jie changed his surname from the one with the ‘ghost’ radical Wei, but are you more inclined for your son to take another surname?”
Between intelligent people, words need not be explicit to grasp each other’s meaning.
The woman said indifferently, “A man born to this world, as long as he is a dragon or phoenix, will not remain trapped in a puddle, but will inevitably make a resounding name for himself. In that case, what does a surname matter? These are trivial matters.”
Xiao Xiao shook her head slightly and said in a low voice, “A surname may not be important, nor does it matter much if one is human or ghost. But if that ‘ghost’ takes root in one’s heart, it makes a great difference. As a mother, one would naturally hope for their child to become a dragon or phoenix. There are divine dragons that bless the human realm with rain, and evil dragons that bring disaster. I wonder what your hopes are for your child?”
The woman did not expect Xiao Xiao to broach the subject so directly upon entering.
She smiled faintly, finally slowly removing the gauze veil from her face. “You make a fair point, miss. Although I could not fulfil my duties as a mother and was forced to separate from my young son, my love for him has not diminished in the slightest. Of course I hope for Jielang’s(Wei Jie)(1)* safety and wellbeing…”
A femme fatale’s beauty was bewitching. Seeing the woman’s face clearly now, Xiao Xiao suddenly understood that the most captivating beauty did not lie in coy glances or alluring charm.
But rather, with a single look, it was as if you were drawn into a boundless quagmire, sinking uncontrollably until you were completely lost.
Si Ling’s beauty was despairing, impossible to escape…
Si Ling saw Xiao Xiao avert her gaze and press her throat before turning to look out the window. She couldn’t help but laugh, “What’s wrong? Am I so frightening that you dare not look at me?”
Xiao Xiao replied honestly, “I have somewhat of a lustful nature. Regardless of gender, I cannot help but stare at great beauty. Madam, you are too beautiful – I fear being entranced and acting disrespectfully if I gaze too long.”
Si Ling was amused by Xiao Xiao’s candid words.
It seemed this young master that Jielang took as his teacher was quite interesting. Despite her tender age, each of her words carried a subtle edge, and she appeared very protective of Jielang, befitting the role of a master.
Si Ling also knew that yesterday, Cui Xiao Xiao had led Jielang to slay the evil spirit-doctor plaguing Ghost Alley.
This young lady indeed possessed extraordinary abilities…
At that moment, Xiao Xiao asked again, “Madam, you clearly saw Jielang yesterday, yet avoided him. Why have you sought him out in person today? Is there some inconvenience at the prince’s manor?”
Si Ling nodded slightly and said in a soft voice, “I am currently staying at the pleasure pavilion. If people knew he was my son, I fear he would be mocked. So yesterday at the prince’s manor, I avoided him. I came here for two reasons – one was to see you, the other was to see Jielang. However, after meeting you, I feel it is enough, and there is no need to see him…”
It seemed that after being separated from her son for so long, Si Ling felt apprehensive about their reunion, developing cold feet despite her longing to see him.
Xiao Xiao knew that this reunion between Si Ling and her son had deviated from the original trajectory.
In the previous timeline two hundred years ago, Wei Jie was branded the Demonic Killer, yet Prince Can, out of great favor for his talents, suppressed several of his murder cases.
Owing such a tremendous debt of gratitude, Wei Jie naturally felt obliged. Prince Can then tracked down Wei Jie’s birth mother Si Ling based on his distinct purple eyes, allowing the mother and son to reunite.
In any case, in the previous timeline, Prince Can became Wei Jie’s close friend, while this mother and son were both honored guests at the prince’s manor.
Now, because Cui Xiao Xiao had slain the possessing demon, defending justice in front of the Four Great Sects, the Lingshan Talisman Sect’s banner remained upright, and the righteous master and disciple no longer owed any gratitude.
At last night’s banquet, the other three sects had stolen their thunder, allowing the master and disciple to make a low-profile exit without much interaction with the prince.
So the reunion between this mother and son, initially facilitated by the prince, never came to pass. In this lifetime, instead of the prince acting as a go-between, Si Ling came to seek out her son herself.
And due to Yu Ling’er’s meddling, Si Ling did not get to meet Wei Jie, but rather encountered Cui Xiao Xiao first.
Hearing Xiao Xiao’s words, Si Ling realized the young lady was implying she did not wish for Si Ling and Wei Jie to reunite.
Although Wei Jie’s bloodline was impure, viewed with disdain by many, he was still a descendant of the Wei Family after all.
If he truly gave in to his demonic nature, his entire life would be overshadowed by his femme fatale heritage, unable to live as a respectable human.
And now, with Si Ling lurking in Luoyi City, only able to don make-up and perform at night, relying on her singing voice to enchant others, if people knew Wei Jie had such a mother, he would never be able to hold his head high.
Seeing that this young master of Wei Jie’s was not a hypocritical or cruel person, Si Ling felt reassured that even if she could not reunite with her son in this lifetime, it did not matter.
After all, her heart was filled with the bitterness of vengeance for her late husband, and in this life, if she could not bring down the Four Great Sects, she would not rest in peace!
However, Xiao Xiao’s intention was not to prevent their reunion, but rather to ensure that Si Ling did not instill her own vengeance into Wei Jie.
As the saying goes, a child never finds their mother ugly, just as a dog does not scorn its poor family. To Xiao Xiao, who was born to street cons, there was nothing unseemly about being a songstress.
As long as Si Ling harbored no malicious intent and simply earned an honest living singing for her keep, it was better than leading disciples to perform for alms on the streets!
Xiao Xiao’s main concern was whether Si Ling could heed her advice to temporarily leave Luoyi City and avoid directly confronting the Four Great Sects.
However, after hearing Xiao Xiao’s persuasion, Si Ling only curved her lips into a faint, cold smile. “You need not worry about me. I have operated here for a long time and know how to take care of myself. I will not be leaving this place.”
“…Then you should heed her words and depart from Luoyi City.”
Just as the two were at an impasse, Wei Jie’s voice suddenly came from outside the carriage.
The carriage had long since traveled out of the city to a secluded bamboo grove.
Hearing the composed masculine voice, Si Ling’s phoenix eyes widened slightly, her lips pursed, as she slowly parted the window curtain to gaze upon her reunited son after their long separation.
The child she remembered was just a bald little turnip head, yet now he had grown into such a towering, handsome man!
Although his eyebrows and eyes resembled his mother’s, his physique and bearing were more like his late father’s.
That steadfast yet gentle man, the kindest soul in this world, suddenly overlapped with her son’s image in that instant.
Si Ling’s lips trembled as she stumbled out of the carriage.
Her son was so tall now that she had to look up at him.
Si Ling still remembered when she left Mount Qilao, little Jielang had secretly run out, clutching her robes as he cried and begged to go with her.
But she had steeled her heart and left him behind. The child had stood on the mountain, screaming desperately at her, “Mother, please take me with you! If you don’t take me, I’ll never acknowledge you again…”
That time, she never looked back, but her son’s words had been etched into her heart.
Jielang’s(Wei Jie)(1)* = A’jie : A’ : prefix used before monosyllabic names, kinship terms etc to indicate familiarity.
