20 Mother is useless

It was midnight.

The plum courtyard was especially silent at this time. Only a few lamps were lit that outlined the isolated courtyard.

Li Rui was sleeping inside her room and Xi Ying whom she couldn't see was sitting on the edge of the bed looking at her peaceful face.

His heart was in turmoil after he had heard her talking about herself like that. His heart clenched remembering her every word.

The despised wife. She was named this because of him.

He wondered if Li Rui hated him. Because in her mind, it was he who stopped her from seeing Xi Ling.

How could a mother not hate someone who separated her from her child?

In a corner of the heart, there was this fear and panic.

What if she really hated him?

He could not bear this. He, who was said to be the most intelligent minister in this Empire has such scheming servants in his manor. He couldn't see through their schemes. For the first time in his life, he felt he doesn't deserve such praises.

No, he was not an intelligent man. He was the most stupid and foolish person who didn't trust his heart. If only he had believed Li Rui how different it would be.

But now he didn't even know what his wife felt about him. He had made countless promises to her four years ago on that night that he would protect her, he would treat her best.

In his heart, he had promised himself that he would make her think that she was the most loved and lucky wife in this Empire. Because he had taken her when she was unconscious, he wanted her to not regret anything.

But what did he do? He made her the most despised wife in this empire.

An San, Li Na, Li Caihong. He will make them regret their birth after he got his body. But the problem was how could he get his body back.

When he was wondering about all this, he felt something different. A bird noise could be heard outside the window. As soon as it finished, Li Rui on her bed woke up and Xi Ying furrowed his eyebrows.

Getting up from her bed, Li Rui calmly opened the window of her room. Outside the window, a silhouette with its covered face bowed its head in front of Li Rui.

"My Lady, the path is clear."

It was a woman and Xi Ying could feel the energy from her body. She was a martial artist.

Li Rui nodded and closed the window again. She opened the door of her room and found her maids sleeping peacefully. Very silently, she made her way outside the courtyard, and Xi Ying because of the unknown force was also following her.

He found the same person waiting outside the courtyard. Li Rui walked to that person. Although he could see that the other person respected her and meant no harm to Li Rui, he still felt afraid because he could not even protect Li Rui if she was harmed.

"Let's go."

His wife said in a very low voice.

"Yes, My Lady."

The woman held Li Rui by her waist and disappeared from that spot or he should say used Qinggong. In a few seconds, they were inside a room that Xi Ying found familiar.

Because it was the room where his son Xi Ling resided. And sure enough, he found Xi Ling lying on his bed. But what shocked him was the state of his son. His face was very pale, his lips were bloodless and he looked very thin and frail.

It was not only him who was shocked. Li Rui standing a few steps away from the bed walked towards the bed. Each step felt very heavy and difficult. Xi Ying could feel her despair and sorrow and his heart clenched more.

He also walked towards the bed and sat by Li Rui's side who was kneeling on Xi Ling's side.

Her eyes were filled with unshed tears. He saw a tear slipping down through her eyes but she quickly wiped it away.

The woman disappeared from the room, Xi Ying didn't know where nor did he care because at this moment his whole attention was on Li Rui.

With trembling hands, she tried to touch Xi Ling's face. But at the last moment, she couldn't because she felt even her touch could hurt him.

Xi Ying found Li Rui murmuring something. With a very stiff movement, he neared his ear to her lips.

'Xiao Ling, Mother is sorry.'

'Mother is useless.'

'It is all because of mother.'

Each sentence squeezed his heart painfully. He saw so much pain and sorrow in her eyes. His eyes became red. He let out the words from his mouth.

"It is not your fault, Rui. It is my fault. Don't cry."

But his words were of no impact because they could not be heard by anyone.

The same sound of the bird came again. Li Rui stopped murmuring. As if woken up from a trance, she sat on the edge of the bed and took a deep breath. The calm eyes were back and all those emotions disappeared like they didn't exist.

Till now, he had thought that it was only he, who could hide his emotions very well under his cold face and read anyone's thoughts. But today he found that his wife was very capable of hiding her thoughts from him.

The pale white hands of Li Rui held Xi Ling's wrist. She didn't even blink as she took back her hand.

Xi Ying's frown got deeper. Xi Ling seemed to be in a very deep sleep as he didn't wake up from her movements.

He saw Li Rui standing up from the bed and walking to a table. There was a bowl of medicinal paste on that table. She smelled it and after a whole one minute and set it back on the table.

He saw her lips trembling. Her eyes were very cold and sharp.

He didn't know why but this Rui hurt him more.

The sound of the bird came again but it seemed more anxious this time. Li Rui again walked to the bed and gently kissed Xi Ling's small forehead and looked at him with longing eyes.

The woman's silhouette appeared again in the room.

"My Lady, we need to leave."

Li Rui hummed without looking up. Taking a last look at her son, she stood up from the bed and disappeared from the room with that woman followed by the invisible Xi Ying.