Returning to the house, Mu Qinying saw some silver and a sandalwood box on the table, with a letter underneath.
She first opened the letter and read it. Her eyes gradually became surprised, but finally she smiled helplessly.
"This Qianji..."
"Mom, what's wrong?" Mu Lin looked up at his mother in deep thought, as if something was wrong.
Mu Qinying handed the sandalwood box to her daughter and said with emotion: "Silly girl, open it and see for yourself."
Mu Lin opened the box without knowing why, and inside was a Hetian jade plaque with a pattern of phoenix and auspicious clouds carved on it, which was lifelike and exquisitely crafted.
"Mother?"
"This is one of a pair of jade tablets, given to you by Qianji."
Mu Lin had a bad feeling, "What about the other one?"
"It should be in Xiao Muyun's hands. Qianji said in the letter that when he grows up, he will use this token of love to ask you to marry him."
"… "
Was she betrothed for no apparent reason? No matter how careful she was, she still couldn't prevent the princess from randomly matching people up!
Mu Qinying blinked, "Actually, this is not necessarily a bad thing. The kid from the Xiao family is really good."
"Mother!" Mu Lin said angrily.
"Okay, okay, this may not be a bad thing. If Xiao Muyun grows up to be disabled, mother will help you break off the engagement."
She had to retreat! Otherwise, she would be too ashamed to see her master!
"Mom, you must keep your word!"
"Of course, mother can still lie to my daughter?" Mu Qinying put away the jade pendant with a smile, and said softly with emotion: "Besides, with your identity, you may not be suitable to marry him..."
"That's right, my daughter is a citizen of Jingsheng, and he is a noble of Tianlan, it's not appropriate!"
Mu Qinying looked at her innocent daughter, smiled and did not refute.
Mu Lin sighed and comforted himself. At least he had changed the plot and took the title of his master's fiancée. This way, the tragedy of his master's fiancée being taken away would not happen.
Half a year later, news of a great victory came from Kyoto. His Royal Highness the Crown Prince completely put down the rebellion of the three kings and was officially enthroned as the new emperor, with the title of Emperor Jingming.
"Jingsheng is finally at peace..." Mu Qinying cried with joy, and it took her a long time to calm down.
Mu Lin put down the book in his hand, a little confused: "Mother, Jingsheng is in turmoil, why don't Daqin and Tianlan take advantage of the situation to rob?"
"Before he passed away, the late emperor summoned his sons to his dragon bed and forced them to swear a poisonous oath. He could no longer control the struggle for power and profit, but anyone who dared to destroy the foundation of their ancestors, abandon the country, and collude with foreign enemies would be expelled from the clan, despised by the people, and die a miserable death. Therefore, when the battle was the most intense, the border guards did not lose a single bit, and even doubled when the Qin Dynasty made a move."
Mu Lin asked curiously: "Where did so many troops come from?"
"The three kings and the crown prince have temporarily ceased hostilities. Each of them has withdrawn 50,000 troops, and together they have gathered 200,000 troops and are stationed at the border."
Mu Lin: “…”
I didn't expect that they were quite harmonious in terms of being consistent in their external relations.
Unexpectedly, Mu Qinying shook her head, sadness and fear revealed in her beautiful eyes.
"Even if we only get a glimpse of it from the records, who among the people of Jingsheng dares to forget the nightmare that happened fifty years ago? The land trampled by the Qin cavalry was filled with grief and the corpses piled up like mountains..."
Mu Lin was silent for a while and put his arms around her neck.
"Lin'er understands, mother, don't be afraid. As a citizen of Jingsheng, I will also protect Jingsheng and mother at all costs."
Mu Qinying touched her head with relief and thought, silly girl, mother will protect you all your life.
On the first day of July, the new emperor led an army of 10,000 to Qingyuan Town. He dismounted in front of a beautiful young woman, knelt on one knee in front of the whole world, and said devoutly:
"Queen, I am here to take you back to the palace."
Mu Qinying smiled faintly and said, "Okay."
She reached out and pulled him up, and he held her in his arms. Clusters and trees of snow-white silver hibiscus flowers became the most romantic background.
"Ahem... Mother..."
Mu Lin spoke softly behind them.
Mu Qinying quickly broke free from her husband's arms and introduced her to her daughter:
"This is your father, um, you should call him Father..."
Then he said to Emperor Jingming: "This is our daughter, Mu Lin, she is three and a half years old..."
As he spoke, his eyes became red again. The three of them had been separated for more than four years.
During the war, he could only get news about his daughter through a few letters. When the soft and lovely little girl really appeared in front of him, Emperor Jingming had an unreal dreamlike feeling.
He suppressed his excitement, patted his wife's shoulder comfortingly, squatted down to look at his daughter, and said softly:
"Lin'er, Daddy misses you guys so much, are you willing to go back to the palace with your father?"
Mu Lin stared at the handsome man's face and blinked.
"Is the Imperial Palace the home of Mother and Lin'er?"
There was no uneasiness, just a hint of doubt.
"Yes, the palace is our new home. Lin'er, do you want to go back to the palace and see the world that father has built for you and your mother?"
"Yes!" Mu Lin smiled sweetly, her big eyes curved into crescents.
Emperor Jingming gently picked her up. Mu Lin was not afraid of strangers at all. She hugged her father's neck like she hugged her mother and sat steadily on his arms.
"I will take the queen and the princess home right now!"
Before returning to the palace, the personal maid Nu Chun looked at the small courtyard where the mother and daughter lived and asked respectfully, "Empress, do you need to take the things here back?"
"No need, just put them all here."
Queen Mu smiled gently at her daughter, "There is nothing missing in the palace, and here... maybe one day I can come back and take a look if I miss you."
"Mother is right. When the time comes, let father bring us back to play..."
At that time, Mu Lin was only a little reluctant. She would never have thought that she would be the only one returning to Qingyuan Town.
In the first year of Xihe, Emperor Ming welcomed Empress Mu and the eldest princess back to the palace, and despite public opinion, he established a fictitious harem. The emperor and empress lived in harmony and were in great love.
In the third year of Xihe, Queen Mu died in childbirth and gave birth to a son, Yi Xi. The emperor made him the crown prince and the eldest princess was given the title "Jingxuan".
After Queen Mu's death, the palace became suffocatingly silent.
Emperor Jingming locked himself in the palace for three whole days, while Mu Lin was in mourning for his mother in the mourning hall and never went to see Emperor Ming.
He knew clearly that his mother could not get pregnant, but he still insisted on having this child. In the end, he got what he wanted, but his mother was gone.
Mu Lin couldn't help but feel resentful and painful.
She never thought that after losing her father, she would suffer the pain of losing a loved one again.
Mu Lin closed his eyes and let the tears slide down his cheeks. From his face to his heart, everything was wet and cold. In the muddled world, endless wails arose.
I wonder if she can see her mother again when she returns to the underworld? Or has she already drunk Meng Po soup and reincarnated, completely forgetting about her adopted daughter...
Mu Lin didn't dare to think about it, nor did he want to think about it.
It turns out that no matter whether she is a fairy or a human, she is equally powerless in the face of life and death controlled by fate.
Mu Lin went to Chaoyang Palace to look at the young baby. She looked down silently. Tan Yixi in the shadows looked like a little monkey, wrinkled and small, and had not opened his eyes for several days.
Although he was not a premature baby, he was so light that she was afraid to hold him.
Mu Lin watched and suddenly felt soft-hearted.
Before leaving, her mother held her hand and told her to take good care of herself and her brother. She said that her mother would always bless them in heaven. She also told her father not to be sad and to live well...
That man who loves his wife so much may really not be able to survive
A life together, he did almost everything for his mother, and he needed a boy to inherit the throne, so he forced his mother, who had given birth prematurely during the war and was almost infertile, to conceive...
If he had known the outcome would be like this, would he still have made the same choice
Mu Lin smiled sarcastically because she found that she couldn't come up with an answer.
Love is real, and disregard is also real.
There is no medicine for regret in the world.
Maybe she shouldn't blame it all on Emperor Ming, but her mother was already dead, so should she blame her? Mu Lin didn't have the energy to do so.
In just three days, Emperor Ming's energy and spirit were largely destroyed. Although he was a young man who was not even thirty years old, he already had a heavy air of old age.
Mu Lin knew that depression could destroy a healthy person. Her heart ached slightly, then turned cold and hard.
After Emperor Ming finished dealing with the government affairs that had been delayed for the past few days, he summoned his eldest princess first.
Mu Lin walked into the Yangxin Palace, bowed to him, and stood there without saying a word.
"Lin'er, you blame your father."
"… "
Mu Lin's throat seemed to be choked by something, and it felt stuffy and painful, making her speechless. She could neither say "strange" nor "not strange".
The atmosphere between the father and daughter was extremely depressing.
"I'm very sorry, but there's no point in saying more. I will personally apologize to Qin Ying. But I promised her that I would grow up with you, Lin'er, you have to grow up soon..."
"… "
Like seeing flowers in the fog, Mu Lin seemed to understand what he meant a little, but also didn't quite understand what he meant.
"I know you are precocious. Starting tomorrow, you will go to the court to listen to government affairs."
"I have appointed Song Yuan as the Prince's tutor. He will be responsible for teaching you and your brother."
"… "
He said he was teaching them, but in fact, he was teaching her alone. Song Yuan was the leader of the Qingliu School. His father, Song Ge Lao, was once the Prince's tutor and now the Emperor's tutor. He had retired with honor. It was said that Song Yuan's knowledge was better than his father's.
Mu Lin forced himself to think about these things and said softly:
"Do you want me to assist the prince?"
"You are my Princess Jingxuan, and 'Jing' is the name of our country."
Historically, only emperors were qualified to use their country as their title, such as Emperor Jingming, Emperor Jingwen, Emperor Jingwu... But Emperor Ming used the word "Jing" as Mu Lin's title, which shows his expectations for her.
Emperor Ming hoped that Mu Lin could become the future princess who guards the country.
You know, during the 170 years of Jingsheng, due to various reasons, there were three princesses who guarded the country.
But the blood, tears and sacrifice involved are unimaginable.
Mu Lin had read countless books and had a general understanding of some of the ways that the dynasties trained the princesses. From a young age, she had to accept the same rigorous training as the heirs of the empire, losing most of her freedom and happiness, and not seeing a bright childhood.