Come back and marry you

In the courtyard of Xuehan Palace, spring is already in full swing.

Tender leaves burst out from the gnarled branches of the old plum tree, stretching out in the thin afternoon sunlight. The icicles under the eaves have melted, leaving only winding water marks, and the air is filled with the moist scent of awakening soil.

Ning Lingyi sat in the corridor, a scroll of river engineering map resting on her knees, but her mind was wandering to the dredged river in Mingzhou.

Shen Qingyan's latest letter said that the spring flood was smooth and the newly built dam was as solid as a rock. His fingertips unconsciously ran across the few small words "Su Qingfan supervised the construction" on the paper. A faint smile had not yet appeared on his face when he was startled away by the sudden sound of footsteps.

Luqiao led a person through the palace gate. Her steps were slow, but her presence could not be ignored, shattering the tranquility of the courtyard.

Wearing a black cloak and with a few pieces of willow catkins from somewhere stuck to his shoulders, Tuoba Hong stood in the light and shadow of early spring without any warning.

He was still tall and straight, his eyes passed over Luqiao who was bowing, and fell directly on Ning Lingyi who suddenly looked up in the corridor.

Their eyes met, and the air froze for a moment.

Ning Lingyi put down the scroll and slowly stood up. An indescribable emotion flashed across her eyes and finally settled into calmness.

She was not wearing fancy clothes, but a plain green casual dress, which made her face look a little pale, but her back was straight, just like the plum tree in the courtyard of Xuehan Palace that had experienced the cold winter. In Tuoba Hong's eyes, she was even more stunning.

"Your Highness Tuoba." Her voice was clear and emotionless.

"Xuehan Palace is deserted, yet a distinguished guest has set foot here."

Tuoba Hong took a few steps closer and stopped at the bottom of the steps. His eyes swept across her slightly thinner face, then passed by the tightly closed palace door behind her, and a few pots of newly blooming forsythia.

"You're really cold," he said in a low voice, "but I don't think you're a distinguished guest. But before you leave, you should at least come and see my fiancée."

"Before leaving?" Ning Lingyi caught the key words and her heart moved slightly.

"Yes." Tuoba Hong stepped onto the stairs and stood a few steps away from her. The wind in the courtyard blew up a corner of his cloak.

"My father is seriously ill and the royal court has urgently summoned him. He will leave tomorrow and his return date is uncertain." His eyes were fixed on her, not missing any subtle changes on her face.

Ning Lingyi was silent for a moment.

Beishu Khan is critically ill, which means that the man in front of him is about to become the true king of that vast grassland. It seems that a storm is coming.

She raised her eyes and met his deep gaze: "Are you here now to finalize the wedding date?"

The corners of Tuoba Hong's lips curled up slightly, and it was impossible to tell whether it was a smile or something else.

"I saw the memorial you submitted." He went straight to the point.

"Your Majesty is still in poor health. As a daughter of a man, I am worried and sick. How can I feel at ease to marry far away at this time? The ceremony of marriage is complicated and cannot be hastily completed in a few months. If we act rashly, we may lose the dignity of the country..." He repeated the words in the memorial in a calm tone.

"Every word makes perfect sense and is very reasonable. Ning Lingyi, you want to delay it until the end of the year, is it just out of filial piety and respectability?"

His eyes were sharp, as if they could penetrate the carefully woven excuses.

Ning Lingyi didn't avoid the question and looked back frankly: "Yes, but not entirely."

She paused, her voice low but clear and firm, "Tuoba Hong, you and I both know this marriage started with an alliance and is based on interests. If I marry into Beishuo, I will be the Queen of Beishuo, not the Pearl of the Southern Dynasty. I told you long ago that I don't want to marry you."

She looked at the plum tree in the courtyard that was sprouting buds, her attitude firm.

"Xuehan Palace can hold my body, but it can't hold my heart. Similarly, you can still ask me to abide by the marriage agreement, and the vastness of Beishuo can't hold me back."

Tuoba Hong stared at her.

The woman in front of him was confined in this small space, but there was no trace of dejection between her brows. Instead, she had a kind of calm strength and was still able to say no to him.

She is no longer the impulsive girl who swings her sword in anger. She knows clearly what she wants and will fight for every inch of land within the scope permitted by the rules.

"Okay." He suddenly responded, so decisively that Ning Lingyi was slightly startled.

"The end of the year is the end of the year." Tuoba Hong took a step forward, and the shadow cast by his tall figure almost covered her. "I agree to it. But, it depends on you whether I can marry you successfully or you can cancel the engagement successfully."

He spoke with a certainty that he was in control of the situation, "The wind in Beishuo is much harsher than that in Mingzhou."

Changing the subject slightly, he looked around the exquisite palace.

"Your place," he said flatly, "is more popular than I thought."

His eyes swept across the river engineering map spread out on the small table in the corridor, and the plate of untouched exquisite snacks next to it. It turned out that this was the place that raised this little phoenix.

"No matter how gorgeous a cage is, it's still a cage," Ning Lingyi said calmly. "It can't compare to the vastness of the grasslands where you gallop on horseback."

Tuoba Hong chuckled softly, but there was not much joy in his laughter.

"The world is vast?" He looked towards the north, a barely perceptible gloom flickering across his eyes. "Under the dome of the royal court, the fighting never ceases. My father, the Khan, had eleven sons, but only five survived to adulthood. My mother..."

He paused, his voice sinking. "I died in an unexpected snowstorm. I was ten years old that year. Living in Beishuo has never been easy."

Ning Lingyi's heart was shocked.

This was the first time she heard him mention such a cruel past.

The rules of survival in the Beishuo Palace are naked and bloody. Although different in form from the harem infighting she had experienced, the cruelty is even worse.

"At least you have had it." Tuoba Hong's gaze fell back on her face, with an indescribable complexity, "Your father and mother treated you like a pearl and a treasure. Imperial Concubine Yu even gave up her position as Imperial Concubine for you."

He thought of the letter of apology in the court, and of the woman in front of him who was being protected at such great costs.

"This kind of love is a rare treasure in the Beishuo Royal Court, but it is also a fatal weakness."

Ning Lingyi remained silent.

She thought of her mother's warm embrace and her father's indulgence. This love was her armor, her bondage, and the reason she was able to stand here and deal with Tuoba Hong.

"My parents' love is a treasure to me," she admitted softly, her eyes clear. "It lets me know that there are people in this world who value me more than their own lives. It also makes me understand that some things are worth protecting and fighting for, even at a heavy price."

She looked at him and said, "Your Highness Tuoba, you and I were born in completely different cages. Your cage taught you plunder and survival, and mine once made me indulge in illusory comfort. But now, I want to try to see if I can break open this cage and see the real sky outside."

Tuoba Hong looked at her deeply.

The spring light fell into her clear eyes, and it seemed as if she could see herself in her eyes.

She openly admitted what she had and made no secret of her ambitions. He had never seen such frankness and clarity in other women.

"Ning Lingyi," he called her name, "You are indeed very special."

Ning Lingyi looked up at him. His eyes were very focused at this moment, as if he wanted to reflect her in his eyes.

"Tuoba Hong, you are not an ordinary person either." She replied.

"And more." Tuoba Hong seemed to want to say something.

"how?"

"I was too offensive in the past, and I apologize."

"Um?"

"I didn't know what respect meant. On the grassland, the strong have always been respected, and the weak have never had the right to say no. But you really made me look at you in a new light. You convinced me that I was wrong." Tuoba Hong looked squarely at the woman in front of him. It was she who taught him that women can be powerful.

Ning Lingyi smiled and suddenly felt much better.

"You'll continue to grow stronger, but so will I."

He turned around, his black cloak drawing a sharp arc. "At the end of the year, I will come back and marry you."

He walked down the steps, his back straight as a sword drawn from its sheath.

"Tuoba Hong." Ning Lingyi called out from behind him.

He stopped and didn't look back.

The spring breeze blew through the courtyard, and the young leaves rustled.

After a brief silence, her voice came out clearly: "The journey is long and dangerous. I hope you are safe."

Tuoba Hong's back seemed to pause very slightly.

He did not respond, but raised his foot and strode out of Xue Han Palace. The dark figure quickly disappeared outside the moon-shaped gate, leaving only the spring branches swaying in the courtyard and a faint chill in the air.

Ning Lingyi stood alone in the corridor. She knew that the danger of his journey was no less than the swordplay outside Mingzhou City. The appointment at the end of the year was her delay, and it might also be the deadline for his return.

He came to marry her? This thought crossed her mind for a second and then was dismissed from her mind.

It was spring, but the silence in Xuehan Palace had deepened.

She bent down and picked up the river engineering map on the ground. He left, but she was still trapped here. Her work was not over yet.

Concubine Yu walked out of the hall and watched her daughter staring at Tuoba Hong without saying a word.

Until Ning Lingyi came to her senses and saw her.

"Mother, Tuoba Hong is going back to Beishuo!" Ning Lingyi was surprised and happy. She wouldn't see this man for at least a short time.

Concubine Yu waved her hand, and Ning Lingyi immediately ran to her side, and the mother and daughter entered the inner room hand in hand.

"What do you think about next, Yi'er?"

"Father's injury should be healed soon. I would like to ask Father to make the decision, or see if there is any other opportunity."

Hearing this, Imperial Concubine Yu shook her head and said, "Yier, you're overthinking it. Even if your father is ready to rule the country, he won't agree."

"Tuoba Hong is going back to fight for the throne. If he wins, he will be the Khan of Beishuo. Even if your father wants to cancel this engagement, the whole court will not agree."

"Mother, the poem says that I was sent to protect the country, but I don't know where the general is needed. But I don't believe it. Even if I were really sent out to complete this marriage, the world would be at peace." Ning Lingyi raised her eyebrows.

"Yier, stop talking nonsense." Concubine Yu patted her hand gently.

"Mother, this is not nonsense. This is how it should be."

"Even if it is true, how many officials in the court would listen to what you and I say? For now, mother must give you more support, so that even if you go to Beishuo, you can still be free and happy." Concubine Yu pondered.

Pearls are used as shackles to casket gold. In this deep palace, even if all the treasures in the world are used to pave her way, how can we be sure that it will not be another pair of heavier chains? But this is the only crack that she, a bird in the cage, can peck open for her fledgling.

The accompanying relatives also had to be carefully selected. Concubine Yu's eyes fell on the budding plum branches outside the window. Yi'er didn't believe that "a concubine was sent to protect the country", how could she have believed it?

But in this overturned chess game, she must prepare enough weights for her daughter to survive, even if the weights themselves are soaked in the blood of the palace walls.