Henry Johnson lay comfortably in those soft hands, and as soon as he heard those words, he grinned. A child rises with the mother’s status—though he knew that The Lincoln Family’s methods of toppling the Empress Wang were far from aboveboard, even cold and ruthless, so what? Right now, he was her son. If she couldn’t become empress, how could he, Henry Johnson, ever have a good life? Who knew in which dark corner he’d be hiding in the future!

“I entered the palace at fourteen and have been here for eighteen years. For Emperor Taizong, I studied calligraphy, read hundreds of books, yet I was always just a Talented Lady. If not for your father, after all my hardships, I finally managed to secure a place for myself. Why should that woman occupy the empress’s seat just because of her birth? Just because she’s from the Taiyuan Wang clan, just because her bloodline is nobler than mine?”

Seeing his mother’s face twist with a grim, teeth-gritting expression, Henry Johnson’s heart skipped a beat. He knew The Lincoln Family usually had no chance to pour out these words to anyone, and since he was still a baby, she could vent her true feelings without restraint. While he was unsettled by that deep resentment, he also had to think of a way to ease his mother’s mood.

Psychology says that long-term tension and insecurity can distort a person’s mind. Judging from some of The Lincoln Family’s later actions, calling it distortion wasn’t enough—it was already psychological abnormality.

As he stroked The Lincoln Family’s face, delighting in the soft sensation, he mumbled vaguely, “Mother… good… mother… good…”

As soon as he said this, he felt The Lincoln Family’s steps stop. The face that had just been twisted with ferocity was now filled with sorrow and grief. Soon, a string of words, almost like a delirious murmur, drifted into his ears.

“I didn’t want to… but if I lost that chance, your father would never have decided to depose the empress… That was my first daughter, your sister, Hong’er’s younger sibling… But if that woman remained empress, Li Zhong would still be crown prince. No matter how many sons I bore, they’d always be beneath others. If I alone suffered humiliation and cold stares, so be it, but why should my children have to live at the mercy of others?”

A mixture of desolation and coldness—two utterly incompatible expressions—flashed in The Lincoln Family’s eyes, and Henry Johnson shuddered for real. That case had been discussed by later generations countless times, and now he was finally certain: the little princess had truly been strangled by his own mother. The shadow of this trauma would inevitably drive The Lincoln Family to madness—if she could do something so cruel, what wouldn’t she do?

At this moment, he couldn’t bring himself to say anything clever with his clumsy acting, so after thinking it over, he grabbed his mother’s collar with one hand, closed his eyes, pretended to sleep, and began to breathe evenly.

It goes without saying when a woman is at her gentlest. Sure enough, he gradually felt those stiff hands soften, then gently pat his back, the movements light and slow. With that rhythm, he too drifted off in a daze.

In the days that followed, since William Johnson made an exception and agreed, The Lincoln Family kept Henry Johnson by her side at all times—they were practically inseparable. Her favorite word to hear, of course, was “mother.” When there were no outsiders, Henry Johnson did his best to oblige his mother’s little quirk. After all, calling her “mother” cost him nothing, so why not?

He didn’t idle at other times either. With so many palace maids around The Lincoln Family, he picked out the prettiest ones and secretly memorized all their names. He also deliberately acted cute, and for a while, these young girls in their prime all adored him. Without The Lincoln Family even needing to ask, they were all eager to play with him.

Over two days, he was carried around the entire palace. The flowers, pavilions, and towers were certainly attractive, but what drew his eyes most were those beautiful young women—he could only regret that he couldn’t grow up faster.

One day, Anna Brooks was carrying him out for another stroll when The Lincoln Family called her back: “There’s a meeting at the Hall of Two Principles soon. I want to take Henry to watch. Don’t take him wandering off.”

His mother was still just a Zhaoyi, not the empress, and yet she dared to eavesdrop on court meetings? Henry Johnson was dumbfounded by her boldness. Watching her calmly dress and do her hair, he was in awe of her nerves of steel, and his imagination ran wild. What new things would those long-opposed anti-Lincoln ministers say?

Sitting with his mother behind the beaded curtain of the Hall of Two Principles’ throne, he could only come up with a few meager adjectives—the hall was big, spacious, beautiful—because he really couldn’t see much. The high throne blocked most of his view; the only thing it couldn’t block were those heated words. He couldn’t tell which voice belonged to which minister; he only knew their words were more than a little harsh, and his mother’s face was growing uglier and uglier—she was probably on the verge of exploding.