PMM - 55

Early autumn, the river shimmered with ripples, enveloped in a thin layer of mist, making Huan Shui appear dreamlike.

The three Ling men came to see off Lian Sheng and Yi Qiancheng. Ling Jiuyao felt reluctant, glancing at Lian Sheng several times, hoping she would call him “Father.” He had made many mistakes in his life, and only now did he realize what was most precious.

Ling Feng smiled and said, “Take care, sister.” As the eldest brother, he was mature and composed, easily endearing himself to others.

Ling Chu wore his reluctance plainly on his face. He gazed longingly at little Hanxiao, but she was asleep. The wind on the river was strong, so she was wrapped tightly, leaving only her rosy little face exposed.

Ling Chu wanted to kiss her, but seeing Yi Qiancheng’s frosty glare, he swallowed nervously and instead ran to bid farewell to Lian Sheng.

What the other two Ling men couldn’t bring themselves to say, Ling Chu could: “Sister, you’re leaving now, and who knows when we’ll meet again. Just call me ‘Second Brother.’ How could you bear to leave your kind Second Brother behind?”

Lian Sheng huffed, “And whose fault was it that I was kidnapped here in the first place?”

Ling Chu chuckled awkwardly, “It was my mistake.” When he acted shamelessly, Lian Sheng could tease him a bit. But when he earnestly admitted his faults, she didn’t know what to do. After a brief silence, it was truly time to go.

Yi Qiancheng draped a cloak over her shoulders and softly said, “Go now, or you’ll regret it.”

Lian Sheng looked up at him. His eyes were gentle, filled with encouragement and understanding. From their initial mismatched words to now being perfectly attuned to each other, he knew exactly what she was thinking.

Lian Sheng nodded and walked over to City Lord Ling.

He had truly aged. Gone was the youthful handsomeness; even the strongest people cannot escape the ravages of time. Ling Jiuyao’s hair was streaked with silver, and fine lines marked the corners of his eyes. Yet his bearing still hinted at the brilliance of his younger years.

Now, as he watched Lian Sheng approach, he felt slightly uneasy. During her time in Huan Shui, he had treated her well, as well as little Hanxiao. Occasionally, when meeting friends from Huan Shui, pride and affection for his daughter shone in his eyes.

She sighed softly and said, “Father, please take care of yourself. In the future, I won’t be by your side. You and my brothers must stay well.”

Ling Jiuyao was stunned for a long time, tears welling in his eyes. For the first time, he felt so vulnerable, moved simply by Lian Sheng calling him “Father.” He didn’t deserve to be her father, but having such a wonderful daughter was his honor.

With a trembling voice, Ling Jiuyao said, “Alright, alright.”

Lian Sheng bowed respectfully, about to board the ship, when Ling Jiuyao called her back. He handed her an object wrapped in brocade cloth. “Ah Sheng, I don’t have much to give you, only this. Look at it after you board the ship. Huan Shui will always be your home.”

Lian Sheng accepted it and nodded.

“Big Brother, Second Brother, take care.”

There is no feast that does not end, but with every separation comes the hope of reunion. Only when the ship had traveled far and Lian Sheng’s figure was no longer visible did Ling Jiuyao finally turn away.

It was time to let go. After so many years of regret, things had finally come full circle. His love for Xu Yu’e had not ended in tragedy but had taken on a more beautiful form.

Lian Sheng opened the brocade cloth that Ling Jiuyao had given her. Inside was another layer, making it quite mysterious.

She slowly unfolded the innermost layer and looked at the imperial seal and text on it, unable to hide her surprise. Yi Qiancheng frowned: “What is it?”

“Dear, take a look.”

Yi Qiancheng took it and gradually relaxed his brows. It was a letter of surrender, stamped with the seal of the Huan Shui City Lord, pledging Huan Shui’s loyalty to the new ruler, Yi Qiancheng. Ling Jiuyao’s move was bold; besides being a gift for his daughter, it also hinted that Yi Qiancheng should ascend the throne.

The true ruler of the land, as expected by all.

Lian Sheng smiled: “Dear, what will you do?” Her tone was teasing, and he laughed: “That depends on what my lady wants. If you desire the position of empress, I will naturally proclaim myself emperor. If you wish to remain the wife of a general, then I will forever be a general. If you want to live an ordinary life, then I will be like any other common laborer, working outside and doting on my wife at home.”

He used to be insincere, but now he knew how to flatter. Unbeknownst to him, Yi Qiancheng spoke the truth. He once couldn’t understand why the old city lord was content with a simple life, only wishing to live with the city lord’s wife. Now, having someone precious in his heart, he finally understood his father’s thoughts from back then.

In his childhood, he had indeed been very happy. Now, with a charming wife and an adorable daughter, he was content. Even Ling Jiuyao, who had once vied for glory in his youth, ended up with more regrets in his old age. Yi Qiancheng felt fortunate to have realized this early.

“I want to be with you, regardless of your status. But I can’t bear to see you become a common laborer.” She said softly. She had seen how hard he worked, fighting countless battles, risking his life many times.

There was someone willing to give up the world for her, yet she didn’t want to owe him a kingdom for the rest of her life. He had ambitions and dreams, not meant to be confined.

“Dear, ascend the throne.” Fulfill the promise you made to yourself years ago.

~

Xiang Han died in battle in Yuanhuai, and Liang Zhen and his son were killed by the late empress dowager in the palace.

On the third day of the eleventh month, Yi Qiancheng entered the capital with his wife and daughter, changing the national title to “Xuan,” becoming Emperor Xuanjing. On the fourth day of the same month, he crowned Lian Sheng as the empress and their eldest daughter, Yi Hanxiao, as Princess Anping.

The land was unified, and the hearts of the people were won. For several centuries thereafter, there was peace and prosperity.

In the winter of the same year, in a dilapidated courtyard on the outskirts of Yingdong, Lady Sang was making winter clothes. From inside the house, a disheveled woman stumbled out.

Lady Sang put down her sewing and nervously went up to her: “Tian’er, why did you come out?”

Lian Sitian grabbed Lady Sang’s hand: “Mother, I am the real empress, I am Yi Qiancheng’s wife. Take me to the capital, let’s switch places, okay?”

Seeing her daughter’s deranged state, Lady Sang could only shed tears and comfort her: “Tian’er, listen to mother. Go back inside first, the wind is strong outside. Mother will make something delicious for you later.”

Lian Sitian shook off her mother’s hand, her face contorted: “It’s all your fault! Why did you send Lian Sheng instead of me, who had the engagement with Yi Qiancheng? Why? Why did you let her go! I will kill her! Yes, if I kill her, I will be the empress...”

As she spoke, she began to laugh hysterically.

Lady Sang was horrified. She looked up and saw that the guards outside the courtyard were staring intently at Lian Sitian, ready to strike her down at any moment. Lord Lian heard this and came out of the house, slapping Lian Sitian across the face: “You wretch, shut your mouth! Do you want to get us all killed?”

Lian Sitian remained in her dazed and foolish state. In the past, she had feigned madness in the palace, but now she was truly insane.

Lady Sang paused for a moment, then coldly laughed at Lord Lian: “Is there any difference between our current situation and death? You blame her, but who is truly responsible for all this? It’s you! It has always been you!”

“You lusted after Fei Yu’e’s beauty but never obtained her; her heart belonged only to Ling Jiuyao. You were selfish and cowardly, breaking the engagement with the Yi family, causing countless innocent lives in Shaji to perish under the Western Qiang’s hooves! You pushed Lian Sheng away, greedily sent Tian’er, and ultimately killed Fang Mu! All these wrongs are your doing—why do you deserve to live!”

Her last words were almost screamed. Gentle and kind her whole life, yet burdened in her heart, perhaps it was her complicity, never stopping him, that led to all of this! Her daughter was mad, her son disabled, and her husband a complete monster!

They would spend the rest of their lives imprisoned in this small courtyard without sunlight until they died here.

Yi Qiancheng spared their lives but gave them the cruelest punishment, confining them to the place where Fang Mu died, without freedom, to repent for the rest of their lives.

~

In December, Yi Qiancheng received a letter from Yi Huan.

She wrote that she had found Fu Chengyu. On the day he fell into the river, the icy water had stopped the bleeding, and later he was rescued by the wandering herbalist doctor Bai Shen.

Yi Huan said that in the past, whenever faced with problems, she only knew how to escape. But after the pomegranate tree in the courtyard died, she finally understood. Being trapped in one place and refusing to take a step forward would only lead to death in the cold winter. This time, she wanted to try her best to see if she could bloom into a beautiful flower.

Fu Chengyu and Yi Huan did not return to Shaji. She had once been confined to Qifeng Mountain, but now, with peace reigning over the land, she wished to explore the world. Fu Chengyu protected her, cherished her, and together they watched the sunrises and sunsets, the clear waters and green mountains of this world.

Little Hanxiao was three months old and growing more beautiful each day. Unlike other children who cried often, she loved to smile. Her big almond-shaped eyes curved when she smiled, melting everyone’s hearts.

Lian Sheng… or perhaps now called Ling Sheng, pitied her young daughter and couldn’t bear to have her constantly cared for by wet nurses. She kept little Hanxiao by her side every day. Her obedient and adorable daughter was loved immensely.

But this also caused trouble for Yi Qiancheng. He had abstained for more than half a year, only being intimate with Lian Sheng once during her sixth month of pregnancy.

Whenever he tried to be intimate with Ling Sheng, their usually non-crying daughter would cry, as if deliberately opposing her emperor father. Yi Qiancheng felt he couldn’t endure it anymore and thought that next time, even if the daughter cried, he wouldn’t stop.

Ling Sheng was also aroused by him, but she found it amusing. In the end, she still pitied him. That day, she fed her daughter early. After eating her fill, little Hanxiao slept soundly. Though Ling Sheng was reluctant, she still let the wet nurse take the princess away.

She couldn’t keep her by her side forever.

When Yi Qiancheng returned in the evening and didn’t see Hanxiao, he asked about his daughter. Ling Sheng smiled: “The wet nurse took her to sleep.” Hanxiao had her own palace, and when she grew up, she would live there.

Yi Qiancheng’s eyes lit up—little Hanxiao wasn’t here, so finally, he could be with Lian Sheng…

Her figure had become more voluptuous after childbirth, but he had touched her before and knew that her fuller appearance was only due to breastfeeding. Her waist remained as slender as ever.

He took the initiative to embrace and kiss her. Lian Sheng closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around his waist.

Once they started, they indulged all night.

How terrifying can a man who has abstained for half a year be? The next day, Ling Sheng couldn’t get out of bed. She pitied him, but he showed no mercy toward her in this matter. He tried every possible way—from the bath to the desk, then to the bed—and insisted on hearing her moan.

She collapsed on the bed in frustration, thinking angrily that tonight she must bring little Hanxiao back to sleep. As for the person who didn’t know restraint, he could deal with it himself.

By the time little Hanxiao turned one, she could already say many words, though not clearly. She called everyone by the last syllable of their names, doubling it. Yi Qiancheng became “Huang Huang” in her mouth. Fortunately, she pronounced “Mother Empress” clearly. She was both coquettish and clever, and Yi Qiancheng and Ling Sheng spoiled her endlessly.

On her first birthday, she received a special gift—a small golden bracelet adorned with two tiny golden bells, delicate and adorable. The bells jingled, and she giggled, loving it immensely.

It was said that the bracelet was a gift from her uncle Ling Chu, but Ling Sheng knew it was personally engraved by Lian Qi.

Her brother Lian Qi—where was he now?

The Annals of Xuan records that Emperor Xuanjing governed diligently and loved his people. He and Empress Ling were deeply affectionate. In the fifth year of Xuande, Crown Prince Jue was born, later becoming Emperor Xuanren. After Jue ascended the throne, the emperor and empress traveled the world together, becoming a legendary tale.

—The End