Rain walked into his bedroom, hoping to take a nap. However, he was confronted by an alarming sight.
His room was in disarray. Their were scratches of the wall and the covers of the bed were thrown all over the place. And on the corner of the bed, the perpetrator was curled up into a ball.
His mother, Mo Jing, her hair disheveled and her robes a mess. Through the gap in her knees, he could see tearstained cheeks, one with a red mark pasted on top of it.
'Well shit.'
Rain could guess what had happened. It wasn't hard. He had expected this eventually, just not immediately after he reincarnated. His mother had probably gone to see the king, only to be disappointed in some way. Though it probably wasn't just disappointment.
'What triggered this?'
He didn't know what is was, but he knew there was one. Something had caused this, something that his mother had deemed very important to her and that the king had deemed useless.
'Me?'
It was possible, but he thought it was something else, something different. Perhaps her old family before she was a concubine.
It didn't matter right now. What mattered was that it had happened and it had broken her. She hadn't even noticed his entrance. Rain looked back at the maid who had opened the door for him. Her face was blank and uncaring... no scratch that, it was scornful and a bit pleased, as if his mother was getting what she deserved.
'This is why I don't like people who lead others on. It's just rude.'
Rain made a decision. Odds are, he wouldn't like his father. He didn't particularly care for his mother either, but Rain knew gratitude. She had taken care of his original self for two years and clearly loved him. He wouldn't scorn or abandon her for that. Plus, there was no telling what his father truly thought and he didn't want to risk that. He would help her here, as payment for the life that she had given him, though unwanted.
Not knowing exactly what to do in order to comfort her, he figured words probably weren't the best option. Besides, any words he could say would make him sound like an adult. So he walked up to her and climbed on the bed, standing on it.
She was consumed in her thoughts and her sorrow, her mind and heart broken due to the trauma. She was so sure. Sure that he loved her. She had willingly gone with him, not that she had anywhere else to go due to her not having any family, but he had saved her. If he hadn't picked her up, she would probably be a slave to some noble or degenerate who wanted her solely for her body. Turns out, that was what had happened, she just hadn't noticed.
She was falling, slowly. Everything of importance was forgotten and her mind was breaking. There was nothing left.... Then things changed.
A hand on her head. That was all it took. Feeling the hand, she looked up, only to see her son, the one she loved and wanted the best for, looking at her.
She had almost forgotten her son. She couldn't believe it. She had sunk so low to forget about her greatest love, whose life she had created. A flurry of emotions flung throughout her face. Surprise, despair, shock, love, and guilt.
"It's okay."
Her son said these words and in that moment she knew, she was still loved. She didn't need the king or anybody else to love her. As long as her son was by her side, everything would be okay.
Yes, indeed. The woman, the mother, broke. She was not repaired by the words that her son offered her, but rather reformed. For better or worse, her son was all that matters to her now. There was only a tiny sliver left of her heart that was left unoccupied, and that was left for whatever child she would be having within the coming months. Everything else, she devoted to the one who mad her whole again. Her beloved son.