Mu Fulan stood up, motioned to Ah Mao not to come over, then turned around and walked towards her.
Her feet stepped on a pebble, which was wet and slippery. She lost her balance, slipped, stumbled, and fell backwards.
The accident happened in an instant, without any warning. Ah Mao felt that he had only blinked his eyes, and she disappeared in front of him. He was stunned. When he reacted, he ran to the front and leaned out. He saw that the water in front of him was dark, and the waves were pushed by the wind and rolled up, hitting the island shore. Where was her figure? He was immediately terrified, jumped up and down, and screamed for help. Her cry attracted the guards not far away. Everyone came over after hearing the sound. They learned that Queen Mother Mu had fallen into the water just now. They were shocked. Those who knew water immediately went into the water to search and rescue.
The terrain of the island shore was like a knife and an axe. As soon as Mu Fulan fell into the water, she felt empty under her feet. Before she could call for help, the salty and fishy water had already poured into her mouth, nose and ears. She struggled a few times and sank.
The water pressed down on her from all directions, carrying her away. She was in this endless dark world, the world spinning around, as if she were in chaos.
She soon stopped struggling and was carried away by the undercurrent, drifting in an unknown direction. Her consciousness gradually left her.
Although the guards tried their best to search and rescue, it was pitch black underwater with undercurrents. When they heard the sound and rushed over, Empress Dowager Mu had already fallen into the water for some time. The location pointed out by Ah Mao might not be very accurate, and Ah Mao's swimming ability was limited, so he could not hold his breath for long. In this underwater area, he could only do his best, like a blind man groping in the dark.
Time passed little by little. Ah Mao's eyes widened as she saw the guards who had gone into the water surface one after another, take a breath, then go back into the water and come out again, but she was still not rescued. She was extremely anxious and kept running along the lakeside, shouting to her at the surface of the water. Suddenly, she was tripped by a stone and fell to the ground. Thinking of how good she was to her, she burst into tears. She was crying heartbrokenly when she suddenly stopped. She raised her head, stared at the lakeside not far ahead with her eyes wide open, and suddenly, she jumped up and ran closer. When she could see clearly, her eyes shone, and she turned her head and shouted loudly: "Come here! The person is here!"
Her roar of ecstasy pierced through the wind and rain and reached everyone's ears.
The guards rushed over upon hearing the noise and saw Queen Mother Mu lying on the shore, wet and motionless, as if she had held her breath and fainted. They quickly lifted her up and hurriedly sent her into the tent.
Mu Fulan felt as if she had fallen into a deep dream. Deep in the dream, it was dark and she was sucked in. When she was about to fall into a deep sleep, she gradually heard a voice calling her.
She vomited a few mouthfuls of muddy water, her eyelashes trembling slightly. She opened her eyes and found herself lying down, having changed into dry clothes, surrounded by maids and servants serving her.
"The Queen Mother is awake! The Queen Mother is awake! That's great! I was scared to death just now—"
Ah Mao wiped away the tears he had just cried and jumped for joy.
After a moment of trance, Mu Fulan finally remembered that a moment ago, because her feet were slippery, she accidentally slipped and fell into the lake.
She still felt dizzy and had chest pain, which she knew was caused by choking on water. She was also very clear that if she had not been rescued in time, she would have drowned by now.
She closed her eyes, and the hazy scene before she lost consciousness flashed through her mind. She suppressed the strange feeling in her heart, and when her strength recovered a little, she asked, "Who rescued me?"
After she asked, she opened her eyes and saw that everyone had a smile on their face.
A maidservant said, "Your Majesty, you were carried to the shore by the water yourself. This is a blessing from heaven. You have the blessing of the God of Dongting Lake! I saw it with my own eyes!"
Ah Mao met Mu Fulan's gaze, seemed to hesitate for a moment, and finally nodded, saying: "Queen Mother, when I saw you, you floated out of the water, carried up by the waves. It must be the blessing of the lake god..."
Mu Fulan was silent, lost in thought for a moment, then she said in a low voice: "You are all frightened, I'm fine. Tell the people outside to go and rest as well."
Everyone fed her some hot ginger tea that had just been prepared, helped her lie down again, and when they saw her close her eyes and fall asleep, they dispersed.
Outside the tent, the wind and rain roared. In the darkness, Mu Fulan slowly opened her eyes and spent her last night on the lonely island in a sleepless state.
The next day, the storm stopped and Yuan Handing came to pick her up on time. When he learned that she had fallen into the water last night, although he was very relieved, he was still frightened and immediately let her go back on the boat.
Mu Fulan arrived at the newly built tomb, bid farewell to her aunt, and boarded the boat silently.
The boat gradually sailed away from the island. She stood at the bow, turned her head, and looked at the island behind her again. The lake and sky were deep and clear. Thinking of what happened last night and the feeling at that time, it was like a dream.
"You just fell into the water last night, and your body hasn't recovered yet. The wind is strong at the bow, so go in and rest."
Yuan Handing came over and persuaded her.
Mu Fulan slowly withdrew her gaze from the isolated island that was getting smaller and smaller, nodded at him, turned around, and entered the cabin.
Behind the solitary cliff, a shadow like a rock stood quietly, watching the big ship carrying her gradually go away until it completely disappeared from sight.
He once said to himself that the reason he came back today was just to witness with his own eyes that the empire he had built would finally be completely unified as he had imagined.
However, he could not deceive himself after all. When he should have gone back, he did not go back, but came here - the place where he and she had first met many years ago.
She is still as beautiful as ever, and there is someone by her side.
Finally, he could let it go completely, he thought.
The Wuchuan will come to pick him up, and it is time for him to go back. Back to the place where he belongs, with a longbow and a crossbow, walking on the wind and snow, if the rest of his life is like this, what regrets does he have
…
After Mu Fulan came back, she was in low spirits and stayed at home. After several months, she gradually recovered.
After she recovered, she still lived in the medicine house, treating patients who came to seek medical treatment. In her spare time, she personally tended to the medicine garden.
She was busy all day long, from dawn to dusk. Who could have imagined that those patients who came from far away to seek medical treatment, that this young female doctor in the pharmacy, who had a kind heart, dressed in ordinary clothes and treated people well, was actually the former Princess of Changsha and the current Queen Mother Mu
In a blink of an eye, the Ullambana Festival is here.
On this day, the people of Yuecheng have a custom of waiting until nightfall, leaving the city and coming to the shore of Dongting Lake, where they light lanterns for their dead ancestors and pray for their souls to rest in peace in the underworld and to enter reincarnation soon.
It was getting dark, and Mu Fulan was in the pharmacy sorting out a batch of herbs she had collected during the day, feeling a little tired. She returned to her residence, bathed and changed her clothes, and wanted to rest early, so she lay down, but she couldn't fall asleep. When she closed her eyes, she suddenly remembered that today was the Yulan Festival.
Many years ago, when she was still a young girl, she and her sister-in-law lit lanterns by the water to wish the souls of their deceased relatives peace. Now, after so many years, she returned home, but she was all alone.
She got up, dressed, asked someone to prepare lamps, and accompanied by Mother Mu, she left the medicine house, went down the mountain and came to the water's edge.
She lit the lamps for her parents, brothers and sisters-in-law one by one and put them into the water. Then she took out the last lamp, lit it, held it, walked to the water's edge, and gently put it into the water.
The water lanterns swirled slowly on the water surface along with the waves and gradually drifted away.
Mu Fulan stared at it until the flame was swallowed by the water and disappeared into the night.
"Let's go."
Mother Mu came over and gently held her hand.
Mu Fulan stood up and walked slowly along the lakeside. Suddenly, she saw a water lantern floating in the water ahead, swaying and its light was as small as a bean.
She stopped and saw Ah Mao kneeling in a corner by the water not far away, with her back to her, kowtowing towards the distant lamp. Her back was pious, and she could hear her muttering something in the wind.
The surroundings were extremely quiet. Mu Fulan could vaguely hear her saying, "My lord, the princess is living a good life now... The princess is so good to Ah Mao, Ah Mao will definitely accompany her and serve her for the rest of her life, my lord, you can go with peace of mind..."
Mu Fulan listened and was stunned.
After Ah Mao finished praying, he kowtowed to the water again, climbed up, and turned to go back. He was startled to see Mu Fulan standing behind him. He came to his senses, hurried over, and explained in a panic: "Queen Mother, Ah Mao thought about how good His Majesty was to Ah Mao in the past, so I couldn't help but come here..."
Mu Fulan took a breath and said, "I know."
She turned around, glanced at the lanterns behind her again, and turned away. Ah Mao followed silently.
After returning to the pharmacy, Mu Fulan stopped, but Ah Mao seemed to be preoccupied and didn't pay attention. He almost bumped into her and hurriedly apologized.
Mu Fulan looked at her carefully and said, "I noticed that you seem to be worried these days. You grew up in the Xie family, and I look at you differently from others. If you have any difficulties or ideas, just tell me and I will help you."
Ah Mao hesitated for a moment, as if he wanted to say something, but finally shook his head.
Mu Fulan smiled and shook her hand: "When you are willing to tell me, come and tell me. Go and rest first."
Ah Mao lowered his head and walked away slowly.
Mu Fulan returned to her room, and after a while, she heard someone knocking on the door.
The cat is here.
Mu Fulan stood up and went to open the door.
"Queen Mother, I really have something... I have been wanting to tell you these days... but I was afraid that I had seen it wrong... so I dared not say it..."
Ah Mao stood in front of her, hesitating and seeming to want to say something.
"It doesn't matter, just say it, even if you're wrong, it doesn't matter."
Mu Fulan held her hand, led her to the bed and sat down.
Ah Mao made up his mind and finally said, "Do you remember the time when we fell into the water on the island a few months ago? When I saw that they couldn't find you, I was scared and sad. I really wanted to go down to look for you myself, but Ah Mao couldn't swim. I shouted for you by the water and accidentally fell. When I looked up..."
She opened her eyes wide, as if she saw the unbelievable scene again.
"I looked up and saw that you, Your Majesty, seemed to be supported by something, sending out water. It was too dark and it was raining, so I couldn't see clearly. I just felt that it was a person, and the shadow seemed to be somewhat similar to Your Majesty... But Ah Mao really didn't see it clearly. When I got up and ran over, it was gone..."
Mu Fulan had a smile on her lips. Gradually, her smile froze. She stared at Ah Mao, her face gradually turned pale, and suddenly she grabbed her hand.
"What did you say? Say it again!"
Her eyes widened and her voice suddenly rose.
Normally, she was always so kind and noble in front of others, and was even more friendly to Ah Mao like a family member. It was the first time that Ah Mao saw Mu Fulan lose her composure like this.
Ah Mao was frightened and stunned for a moment. His voice suddenly became smaller and he said timidly, "Queen Mother, Ah Mao was afraid that I had seen it wrong, so I didn't dare to tell you... If it is true, Ah Mao thinks that His Majesty must have become a god and was worried about you, so he didn't go that day and appeared to save you..."
Mu Fulan stared at Ah Mao with her eyes fixed on her, holding her hand tighter and tighter, until veins gradually appeared on the back of her hand, but she seemed to feel nothing at all. It was not until Ah Mao felt pain, was shocked and frightened, and her eyes turned red that she suddenly came to her senses.
She let go of Ah Mao's hand, stood up, turned around, stumbled to the window, pushed it open with a "bang", welcomed the fresh air coming in from outside, closed her eyes, and breathed in deep gulps.
That night she slipped and fell into the water and was clearly already deep underwater. However, just before she lost consciousness, she felt as if she had gained a force of support out of nowhere.
At that moment, she knew that someone was saving her. She was being carried by a pair of arms towards life.
And that feeling is so familiar.
After she woke up, she kept telling herself that it was a hallucination before she suffocated and died.
He was gone long ago, so how could he appear by her side at this time
However, at this moment, her heart almost exploded.
She felt an excruciating pain in her heart, as if a needle was pricking her constantly.
She held onto the window with both hands and slowly curled up, as if dead.
"Queen Mother! What's wrong with you?"
Ah Mao finally came to his senses, ran over, supported her, and shouted for help.
Mu Fulan didn't move for a long while, then slowly opened her eyes, her face pale, and she spoke word by word: "Prepare a carriage for me, and we'll set off tonight. I'm going to the capital!"