After an unexciting outing with the crown prince and the other princes, I rushed back to the stonehouse. It was already late evening when I arrived and I caught Wei packing his things.

"Wei!"

A startled Wei looked up from his things. "Ma!"

"Are you going to the west?" My eyebrows furrowed in anxiety.

Wei put his things down and walked towards me before he was right in front of me. "Yes, ma. We'll disembark tonight. There's no time to waste."

I sighed and looked away. "Oh. I just got my son back and they're taking him away again."

Wei gingerly took a step towards me. "Don't worry, ma. I heard that the west would be less tedious because the people there are mostly farmers."

I turned to face Wei. "But still. I worry. Because I'm your mother. I can't just stop worrying. It doesn't work that way."

Wei grabbed my upper arms to soothe me as best as he could. "I'll be back before you know it. I promise."

I pursed my lips.

Wei then held my hands in his before patting them. "There, there. I bought some potatoes from a vendor on my way back. Let's have a quick meal together before I leave. Let's not argue."

I sighed and deflated. "Alright then."

That night, Wei and I had a simple dinner of vegetables and potatoes with steaming bowls of white rice.

I smiled ruefully. "I'm going to miss you, Wei."

"Ma, I'll be back before you know it." Wei flashed me a kind smile.

I looked at Wei thoughtfully as I munched on some vegetables. "I heard that His Imperial Majesty intended to offer a bride to you."

Wei almost choked on his rice. "Where did you hear that from?"

"Children hear everything." I smiled.

Wei let out a laugh. "So you heard it from the princes? I'll need to have a talk with them when I return."

I cut through a piece of potato with my chopsticks and place the larger piece over Wei's rice. "Do you have no intention of starting your own family?"

"Ma, you are my family."

"You know what I mean. You're going to be all alone when I'm gone. And I don't mind a pair of small feet pitter-pattering in these halls. God knows this place is too big for two people."

"Ma, I'm hurt. Is your son not enough now?" Wei's facial expression was sad but his eyes glinted mischievously.

I tsked. 

"Alright. Alright. Honestly, I haven't given it much thought. And if you're gone, I'll just follow you. Like how I've always followed you everywhere you go." His trademark mischievous grin was back.

I scrunched my face. "Don't say that!"

"Alright, I'm sorry. I'll think about it when I return, hmm?"

"You better."

The dinner ended in silence before the servant cleared the table and we were now at the main courtyard of the stonehouse, parting ways.

"I'll be back in no time." Wei said as he hugged me goodbye. "Take care of yourself, ma." And that was the last I heard from him.

Because Wei, my son, my only son, returned to me in a funeral procession.

For days after the funeral, I ate nothing and barely breathed. My soul had lost its reason to continue this thing called life. How was a mother supposed to live on when her son dies before her?

There was a knock at the door.

"Peiyang Niang Niang. It's me, the crown prince."

I didn't answer. That non-gesture alone might have costed me my head. Well, so be it.

The door creaked open. "Excuse my intrusion, Peiyang Niang Niang. My brothers insisted that we visit you."

"Peiyang Niang Niang! Are you still alive?" Prince Ruiyang barged past his brother to kneel at my bed side.

This action had startled me out of my stupor. I clambered up until I was seated, feeling the strain and nicks from laying in a position for far too long. "Your Highness! Please stand up!"

"Nah, I think I'll pass." Before I could protest, he pulled something out of his sleeves. "However! I could make an exception if you take a bite out of this."

It was a piece of honey biscuit that had seen better days before being squished in the prince's sleeves.

My eyes trembled with an unspoken emotion before my vision blurred. Through my fuzzy viewpoint, Prince Ruiyang's frame doubled and tripled until I thought I saw Wei. But when I wiped the tears away, I realized that he was never there.

Life after that returned to some form of normalcy. I dedicated my life in educating the princes and the noble children. But with each day, my heart ached more especially in moments when I stood still and fully immerse myself in the fact that I was getting older while Wei will always remain eighteen.

Days turned into nights and nights turned into days. Weeks, months, and even years had passed before I followed Wei's footsteps and my time in the human realm had arrived to its final day.

Prince Ruiyang, who was already in his mid-twenties held my hand and kept vigil by my bedside as I battled the sickness that had settled itself in my body. The crown prince, who had ascended to his throne as the emperor almost half a decade ago, was standing in the corner with the other princes scattered around the dimly-lit room. Tendrils of shadow danced lazily over their faces as the candles flickered.

I opened my mouth to speak. Prince Ruiyang moved closer. My voice came out hoarse and scratchy. "Thank you. For the last ten years." I felt Prince Ruiyang's hand tightened its grip ever so slightly over mine.

"But it's time for me to see my son." Those were my last words to the boys who had kept me alive after Wei. But alas, the grip of grief was stronger.