Of Soil And Sovereign

The moment Mei stepped out and saw the older woman she felt as if she was stuck by lightning, she felt her ears ringing and the whole world at a standstill the woman before her looked exactly like her grandmother in modern times everything to the smallest details she was so shocked she couldn't speak or move and Madam Fang seeing her was grandchildren run and hugged both of them sobbing.

Before Mei could recover from her shock, a warm hug engulfed her. She felt her grandmother's chest shaking with sobs and felt her hand patting and lovingly stroking her back; tears fell as Mei remembered her life with her grandmother in the modern era.

It was warm and her grandmother had never let her feel the absence of her parents even for a moment when others accused her of being a bad luck and disaster star her grandmother stood beside her and defended her fiercely as she told off the old people bullying a child after the death of her own parent over something that the child had no control over.

She also started crying as she remembered her grandmother, who had lost her only child, her mother but took responsibility and started raising a child in her old age. And before she could even repay her grandmother for all that she did for her, her grandmother passed away, leaving her lonely and miserable.

Mingde was shocked to see his sister crying as he had not seen her cry since her illness months prior, and he stood awkwardly in his grandmother's arms, motionless.

Madam Fang could not believe she was seeing her grandchildren in one piece and was happy but bittersweet, as circumstances forced them to grow up too quickly, and she felt terrible that she couldn't help them.

She considered divorce, but she felt like she hadn't done enough. She would have pressured her husband more or even gone on a hunger strike to increase the pressure, but she did not and felt she did not try hard enough and felt inadequate toward her grandchildren.

After hugs and tears, Mei suggested they move to her courtyard to catch up; their grandmother finally released them from the hug, her eyes puffy and red.

She stood there and moved her arms over the other in a hug. She felt this all could be a dream, and maybe she was losing her mind and conjured up a vivid dream to soothe herself, but she came out of her imagination when a small hand held hers, and she looked up to see Mei smiling.

When she settled down, she could see the courtyard was warm and cosy, and they had many flowers in a small flower bed. Next to it was something that looked like a vegetable garden, and the estate looked in excellent condition.

If she remembered correctly, the former emperor's brother built this estate for his wife, who disliked staying in the palace, so he built her a small yet sturdy residence where they could stay when they returned to the capital.

Madam Fang had been to this estate visiting the lady of the manor, who was her close friend, and the Prince had his own territories and rarely came to the capital; she wondered how her grandchildren got the ownership of the residence.

What she didn't know was that the emperor had to write his uncle hundreds of letters, who, in turn, manipulated his way from being exempted from two New Year visits, and he had to build him a new residence in the capital within those two.

Madam Fang noticed both her dowry maid and Shirong were following her, so she sent both back to the Fang residence and told them she would stay there with her grandchildren for a while and if the old man had a problem with that, he should send her divorce papers here.

Seeing his grandmother's improved moods, Shirong was shocked as he knew this action would bring about a big fight, yet he went back to the residence with her dowry maid.

Meanwhile, in Mei's Courtyard, Madam Fang would ask questions, and only Mei would answer them, they had both noticed Mingde's distance 

What hurt Madam Fang was between the two siblings, Mingde was usually very clingy around her; there was nothing she could do but give him time as she knew she deserved it.

Mei also noticed Mingde's quietness, and she knew he was not ready to forgive their grandmother yet she was okay with that because he and the original host suffered a lot before she arrived and she was sure he had been disappointed so many times just to get to this point of detachment and she will give him time and only he had the right to choose who to forgive and when to and she will support him in every way

Mingde could see his sister had already forgiven his grandmother, and he could also see his grandmother's guilt and sadness, but anytime time he felt like he could forgive her, he remembered the desperation he felt when his sister was sick, and that made him hesitate.

He could forgive her for everything for the two years. Even though he knew it was his father's fault, he at least expected more from his grandmother.

Madam Fang explained how she spent the last two years and kept apologizing repeatedly, not because she wanted their forgiveness but because she wanted to inform them she had not assisted them, not because she had abandoned them, but because she was forced to. Mingde, unable to listen to more, excused himself to leave the courtyard.

Mei looked at her brothers departing back and felt a wave of sadness hit her. Even though Madam Fang looked just like her grandmother, she felt like she had disappointed Mingde and the original host for just forgiving Madam Fang this fast.

She felt like she did not have any right to act close to Madam Fang with what the two siblings experienced

But she also felt a void in her heart that was created when her grandmother passed away starting to fill and she just sat there, confused about what to do.

Meanwhile, in the palace, Xuan received a letter from Mei through the Duke's steward it was a brief letter thanking him for coming and also for the coins she also wrote that she was invited to attend a party in General Liu's residence, so she asked him to help her buy a carriage because she didn't know where to find one.

Xuan was thrilled that Mei was relying on him nowadays, asking for help whenever she needed, so he wrote a letter and called his chief eunuch to dispatch it.

With the book ready, he will have to pay her a visit, and what better time than when bringing her the new carriage she requested?