Hongyu and Lvzhu looked at each other at the palace gate. At this time, no one dared to go in to comfort Qingcheng. At this moment, a soft sedan with a green roof slowly walked towards Changping Palace. Hongyu and Lvzhu They couldn't help but be puzzled until Shen Changge's stepmother, Shen Wu, dressed in a dark blue skirt, got off the sedan chair. They both looked at each other in confusion.
Hongyu quickly stepped forward to support Shen Wu, and asked doubtfully: "Mrs. Shen, why are you here?"
"I heard that the princess was in a bad mood, so I came here to visit." Shen Wu sighed lightly.
"Old madam, please wait a moment for me to report!" Lu Zhu saluted and then said softly.
"Okay!" Shen Wu nodded towards her.
At first Qingcheng didn't see anyone and ignored anyone, but when she heard that it was Shen Changge's stepmother who was coming, she hurriedly stood up and walked out. Halfway there, she remembered that her bun was still messy, so she went back to rearrange it. After a while.
When Shen Wu entered the inner hall, most of the palace had been tidied up, but traces of smashing and smashing could still be clearly seen. Qingcheng saw Shen Wu's clear eyes and immediately explained to her: "Madam, I am Because I was grounded by my father and couldn’t go out, I wanted to deliberately make some noise and let my father come see me. I’m not like this on weekdays.”
Mrs. Shen Wu first smiled gently at her, and then knelt down to her uprightly.
Seeing this, Qingcheng immediately stepped forward to help her up and said hurriedly: "Madam, there is no need to salute, please get up quickly!"
"Yes, there is a distinction between monarch and minister, and there is an order of hierarchy. When I see the princess, I will naturally bow to you." Shen Wu said slowly.
"Madam, you are so polite! Madam, why are you here this time?" Qingcheng said straight to the point.
Shen Wu couldn't help but burst into tears when she recalled Shen Changge's tragic situation. She said sadly: "Changge is still in jail in the state capital and has been severely tortured. I went to see him once and found that he is already extremely thin. !”
When Qingcheng heard this, she was shocked and angry as if she was struck by lightning.
"He was tortured! Why? Why was he tortured? Who is so bold as to torture him?"
When Shen Wu heard this, she just sighed.
"Who is it? Is it my father?"
Qingcheng immediately felt a deep sense of powerlessness when she thought of this.
"Princess, once a person is in prison, how can he not be punished? Alas!" Shen Wu sighed sadly again.
Qingcheng thought that the initiator of this incident was King Beilin, and she didn't know what to do! She could only hold back her tears and comfort Shen Wu, saying: "Madam, don't worry, I'll go find my father. I won't make trouble this time. I will beg him to play a long song. "
However, Shen Wu just shook his head, and then slowly bowed down again.
"Madam, why is this?" Qingcheng was puzzled.
"Princess, do you know why Changge has been imprisoned for so long?" Shen Wu asked, looking at Qingcheng steadily.
"Because of me!" Qingcheng bit her lip and said in a low voice.
"Then princess, does she know why Chang Ge is still being tortured every day?" Shen Wu asked again.
A flash of panic flashed in Qingcheng's eyes, and then she asked in shock: "Is it also because of me?"
"Yes, the princess refused to marry to Nan'an for Chang Ge, so Your Majesty was angry with him." Shen Wu said with a look of pain on her face, lowering her head.
"Impossible! How could my father do this? No, he loves me very much. He wouldn't force me like this, no!"
Qingcheng couldn't bear it any longer and immediately burst into tears, hugging her head and crying.
Shen Wu couldn't help but feel moved, and she gently held Qingcheng's hand.
"Princess, the king is not only your father, he is also the king of the entire Beilin Kingdom. In order to ensure the stability of the country and the stability of the people, there are many things he has to do."
"Is it a last resort?"
Qingcheng couldn't help but sneer in her heart. When she thought about Shen Changge's current situation, she understood that her father had made the final decision between power and family affection.
"Princess, from the moment Changge was defeated and surrendered on the battlefield, the high-spirited and ambitious Shen Changge was no longer there. The surviving Shen Changge is just an ordinary man covered with scars. He has He has nothing, so the king will never marry you to him, and he does not dare to have such extravagant hopes again. Princess, let him marry an ordinary woman like an ordinary man and live a peaceful life, okay?" Shen Wu said with a praying face.
"Madam! You are forcing me!" Qingcheng said coldly with a look of pain on her face.
"No, I am begging the princess to save Chang Ge's life for the sake of past love, and to leave a sliver of hope for the orphans and widows of the Shen family."
Shen Wu pays his respects again.
Qingcheng didn't speak for a long time, and her temples were throbbing in pain. The scenes with Shen Changge flashed before her eyes one by one, but in the end they became more and more blurry, turning into tears falling from her eyes.
After Shen Wu left, Qingcheng sat on the couch and thought for a night. She finally understood the despair in Shen Changge's eyes when she surrendered for Shen Changge. It turned out that from that time on, he understood that there was no possibility for them anymore. That's why she clearly felt his alienation every day and night in the Nan'an military camp.
She was too stupid in the end, but she did not regret this matter. As long as he was still alive, no matter how difficult the life was, he could always get through it. There would always be a day when spring blossomed and the clouds cleared and the mist appeared. It was a pity that she would not I can't wait with him any longer!
To the north is the Qinzheng Hall of the Royal Palace.
Wearing a pink princess uniform and well-made makeup, Qingcheng folded her hands on top of her head and bowed slowly, and then said quietly word by word: "Father, my daughter has been thinking about it in the palace for so long, and she finally figured it out. Beilin and Nan'an have diplomatic relations, and I am willing to marry to Nan'an, but everything depends on my father!"
"Oh! Qingcheng, everything you said is true!"
King Beilin quickly helped Qingcheng up himself, his face full of disbelief.
"Yes, my daughter has figured it out! Father, please rest assured!"
Qingcheng looked at King Beilin with calm eyes.
"That's great, Qingcheng, it's great that you can figure it out on your own!"
King Beilin's eyes were filled with joy, and he said excitedly: "Father, I will reply to Yi Yang's name right now and ask Nan'an to marry you on a certain day. Don't worry, Qingcheng, my father will not let you suffer any injustice. When you marry to Nan'an for the second time, you must be the queen and the most noble woman in Nan'an!"
"Father, there is one last thing I want to ask my father before Qingcheng gets married!" Qingcheng looked at King Beilin expectantly and said softly.
King Beilin had roughly guessed what she wanted, and he said softly: "But it doesn't matter, you just want the stars in the sky to be plucked by my father!"
Qingcheng sneered in her heart, but she still begged on her face: "Please, father, be kind to Shen Changge! The Shen family is a loyal family and is a rare pillar of the country. I beg father, please don't be blamed for your daughter's self-inflicted surrender." To him!"
The King of Beilin sighed and said: "I have almost watched Shen Changge grow up. I know him well and know that he is completely loyal to me. However, the battle of Yongzhou suffered heavy losses. As the commander-in-chief of the three armies, he has an unshirkable responsibility. "
Qingcheng smiled faintly: "He has the responsibility, and now he has paid the price. This time the two armies are fighting, there is a huge disparity in strength, not to mention victory and defeat are common things in military affairs. Father should understand him more, and if he can do it for both sides this time, In order to ensure peace in the country, he personally sent me to Nan'an to get married. I wonder if my father can count him as one of his great contributions?"
When the King of Beilin heard this, his expression turned serious. He asked Qingcheng doubtfully, "Do you want Shen Changge to escort you to Nan'an to marry you? Qingcheng, don't you have any other plans?"
Qingcheng couldn't help laughing at herself: "Father, you are worrying too much. Even if Qingcheng is ignorant, Changge will not ignore the lives of dozens of Shen family members. Besides, he has always been self-disciplined. Father should believe in him!"
King Beilin nodded, then frowned and said, "How could my father not believe you? Wouldn't it be too cruel to just ask him to marry you off in person?"
The smile on Qingcheng's face grew stronger, but she felt deep sadness in her heart. Is it cruel? Father, I just realized today that you are so hypocritical. You obviously forced all this, but you told me that you felt cruel!
"Father, you can ask him. My daughter believes that Changge will agree!"
Beilin Dynasty Qingcheng nodded and said: "Okay, father, ask him! If he doesn't want to, don't embarrass him, okay!"
Qingcheng smiled softly and said to the North Linwang: "Okay!"
On the way back to the palace, passing by the high platform of the Qinzheng Hall, Qingcheng couldn't help but look up to the sky. The unknown birds in the sky were still fluttering around the Qinzheng Hall. They were making cooing sounds, their white wings Flapping up and down, seemingly free and carefree, but it could only fly around the Qinzheng Hall. Qingcheng couldn't help but smile bitterly in her heart, it turns out that you are also prison birds!
There were constant guards in the imperial uniforms patrolling back and forth in the palace, but that tall and straight vermilion figure could no longer be seen.
Changge, will you understand me? Even if I can't marry you in this life, I still hope to see you for the last time before getting married and say goodbye to you. From now on, we will never see each other again.
Shen Changge was released from the prefectural government office today. It was Wangcheng Prefect Feng Lihai who personally took him out of prison.
Feng Lihai kept nodding and bowing to him, and kept apologizing, saying that he had been deceived before, and had no choice but to take him into custody, and told him not to take it to heart. He also said that he had already severely punished the person who falsely accused him.
Shen Changge didn't want to say more to him. He was uneasy about his sudden release. He always felt that there was something wrong with it.
Until he saw his mother's hair that seemed to have turned white overnight and the red and swollen eyes of his brothers and sisters, his heart suddenly felt like needle pricks. When his father was around, his mother never had to worry so much, and his brothers and sisters never knew the sorrows of the world. Such a childish child, now that his father is gone, he, the legitimate son and eldest brother of the Shen family, can only bring them fear and fear. He is really incompetent!
Not long after he returned to Shen's Mansion, he was summoned by King Beilin. Before he entered the palace, his mother's face was full of nervousness. When he asked her, she always kept prevaricating and led the way to the inner prison. After urging him several times, he could no longer do it. He continued to ask and hurriedly followed the inner prisoner out. His mother suddenly chased him to the door and said to him word by word: "Changge, you have to remember that you are not alone. You are the head of the Shen family and the hope of the Shen family! I hope you will think carefully about any decision you make!”
He was confused, but it was too late to think about it. It was not until he arrived at Qinzheng Hall that every word spoken by King Beilin was like a sharp knife, cutting him all over. Only then did he understand what his mother meant. He was the head of the Shen family. , the hope of the Shen family, he cannot be willful, no matter what the situation, he must be calm and self-possessed.
Now Qingcheng's marriage to Nan'an is irreversible. Since Qingcheng said that she wanted him to personally escort her to get married, how could he refuse? Anyway, since she couldn't keep her, why not give her a ride! There is no fate in this life, but I hope for the next life!