Mother

It was already deep autumn, and the wind on the top of Weizhou City was bitingly cold, blowing the big Pearl flag in the wind, making it flutter.

Inside the Beishuo King's tent, an envoy dressed in the official uniform of the Southern Dynasty had just left, but the words he left behind were like a huge rock thrown into a lake, stirring up waves in the hearts of the Beishuo monarch and his ministers.

The court's proposal was simple and direct, even generous. As long as Beishuo was willing to join forces with the court to eliminate the traitor Ning Lingyi and his followers, after the success, all the land of Weizhou would belong to Beishuo. If Beishuo could take Zhenzhou on its own, the court would also recognize it.

Several trusted generals in the tent began to breathe faster.

Weizhou was a piece of fat meat that they had conquered with blood and sweat, but Ning Lingyi had cleverly manipulated it and had yet to fully control it. Now the Southern Dynasty was willing to give it up?

All you need to do is kill Ning Lingyi.

Yes, they took Ning Lingyi’s money, so what?

"Khan!" A fierce general couldn't help but speak out. "Although the Southern Dynasty court is untrustworthy, this proposal is of great benefit to us! Ning Lingyi is a princess of the Southern Dynasty after all, and her heart is with the Southern Dynasty. Right now, she is just using us! Now that she has grown stronger, how could she really offer Heshuo to the Khan? Why not seize this opportunity..."

"That's enough." Tuoba Hong interrupted him, his voice expressing no emotion.

Ning Lingyi, that woman is like the most cunning fox on the grassland. Every time she seems to give in, she actually has deeper thoughts hidden in her mind.

Over the past six months, he had seen and been shocked by the way she governed Weizhou and Youzhou.

She actually rebuilt order on the ruins and had the confidence to bargain with them. The court's move was nothing more than driving a tiger to devour a wolf, but was Tuoba Hong the kind of person who would willingly be slaughtered by others?

But the conditions are indeed tempting.

*

In the Weizhou government office, Ning Lingyi finished reading the secret report about the imperial envoy's arrival at the Beishuo camp. She handed the report to Nong Zishi, who quickly glanced at it with a frown.

"Your Highness, the imperial court is trying to use a knife to kill someone, and the price they're offering is quite high," Nong Zishi said solemnly. "Although Tuoba Hong may not believe it completely, it's hard to guarantee he won't be tempted. We must take action and not hand over the initiative entirely to others."

As soon as he finished speaking, Wang Mengzi took a step forward, the sound of armor clanging, and the old scar on his face looked even more hideous in the dim light.

"Your Highness," he said firmly, "I beg your command! Give me a unit of elite troops, and I will lead them straight into the enemy's heart and break this deadlock for Your Highness! No matter the cost, I will turn the situation upside down and gain the upper hand for my army!"

Xue Cheng also said in a deep voice: "My deputy general Zhao Kun is brave and resolute. He can cooperate with Mengzi. Thirty thousand elite soldiers are more than enough to carry out a brilliant plan."

Ning Lingyi turned around and glanced at everyone one by one. Faint drill sounds came from the military camp under the city wall, intertwined with the bleak autumn wind, as if the drums of war were about to rise.

After a long time, she exhaled, and white mist spread in the cold air.

"allow."

"Wang Mengzi, Zhao Kun, I order you two to gather 30,000 elite troops and prepare today. Tomorrow night at midnight, you will march according to the plan."

She walked up to the two of them, her eyes blazing. "This journey is incredibly dangerous. It's crucial to the overall outcome. I don't want me to be a coward, I want victory. No matter what, come back alive."

"I obey your command! I will not fail you!" The two men knelt on one knee and clasped their fists to receive the order.

That night, there were no stars or moon, and the wind was cold and windy.

Thirty thousand cavalrymen, with their mouths sealed and their hooves wrapped in thick cloth, quietly surged out of Weizhou City like a silent undercurrent, quickly disappearing into the thick night, their whereabouts remaining a mystery.

Ning Lingyi stood on the highest watchtower, watching the darkness completely merge into the distance. The cold night wind blew on her cheeks, but it could not blow away the heaviness and expectation in her heart.

After seeing off the army, Ning Lingyi did not stay.

She turned around and said calmly, "Prepare the horses and go to Beishuo Camp."

The Beishuo King's tent stood in the vast night, like a dormant giant beast.

Inside and outside the tent seemed like two different worlds. The air was filled with a unique scent of spices, warm but with an exotic sense of oppression.

Tuoba Hong dismissed his attendants and sat alone on the main seat covered with thick animal skins. He did not seem surprised by Ning Lingyi's late-night visit.

In the past six months, they had met several times, most of which were tense military consultations or division of interests with hidden intentions. This was the first time they had met like this.

Ning Lingyi took off her cloak, revealing a slightly thin blue dress.

She sat down on the felt mat opposite Tuoba Hong and took the cup of warm kumis he handed her, but did not drink it. She just held it in her palm and absorbed the warmth.

The tent was very quiet, with only the occasional crackling of the charcoal fire and the faint sound of patrol horses' hooves in the distance.

She lowered her eyes to look at the milky white wine in the cup for a long time before she spoke softly, her voice carrying a rare hint of erratic fatigue: "The warmth in this tent reminds me of the earthen dragons in my mother's palace when I was a child. It was also like this. It was freezing cold outside, but it was so warm inside that it made me want to sleep."

Tuoba Hong's hand holding the silver cup paused slightly, his eyes fell on her drooping eyelashes, and he listened to her without interrupting.

"My mother, her name is Yu Niang." Ning Lingyi seemed to be talking to herself, but also seemed to be telling a long-buried story.

"It's a common name, isn't it? She was originally just a maidservant to the young lady of an official family. That year, my father was on a southern tour and happened to encounter the carriage of that family. The horses got scared and almost trampled an old vegetable vendor on the roadside. There was chaos at the time. The young lady was terrified and her face turned pale. The servants were also panicked. Only my mother rushed out without a second thought, scolding him harshly while protecting the old man with her body..."

"In that instant, my father said, he saw a new kind of life in the palace that had never been seen before. Later, my father summoned that young lady to the palace. The family thought it was a great favor and was so happy that they didn't know what to do."

"But when the emperor saw the carefully dressed daughter, his interest faded and he instead asked about the audacious maid."

"He asked my mother: What is your name?"

"My mother lowered her head and replied: My servant, Yu Niang."

"It's that simple. She entered the palace and became Consort Yu."

The wind outside the tent seemed to have died down a little, and the inside of the tent was even quieter, with only her low voice echoing.

"Life in the palace was difficult, filled with intrigue and scheming. My mother was actually very strong at heart, but she never fought for anything. She just protected me with all her might. She taught me to read, to be sensible, and to always look to the light even in the abyss."

Ning Lingyi's voice choked slightly, and she quickly lowered her head to hide the redness in her eyes. "She certainly couldn't have imagined that while she tried so hard to keep me safe and successful, I ended up taking the most dangerous path, resorting to war and embroiled in chaos, completely contrary to her wishes."

Tuoba Hong listened silently, his eyes never leaving her.

She had taken off all her armor, revealing her inner softness. She had never said these words to him before. In everyone's eyes, she had always been proud, steady, and confident.

But today, she missed her mother.

He saw her slender fingers unconsciously grasping the corner of her clothes, her knuckles were slender, and his heart moved slightly.

After a long moment, his low voice broke the silence, carrying a rare gentleness: "If she saw you now, she would be proud. The courage and tenacity she gave you are protecting more people. She is an amazing mother, and you are her proudest continuation."

Ning Lingyi raised her head, tears welling in her eyes, but she forced herself not to let them fall.

She shook her head: "No, it's because I am lucky to have her. She has spent her entire life giving me so much love."

"Sometimes, I hate Ning Yanli terribly. I hate the monstrous disaster he unleashed, the suffering of countless people, and the pressure he put on me to take up my sword. But sometimes, I feel like I should be grateful to him. Because no matter how terrible he was, he never used my mother to threaten me. With my mother in the palace, at least..."

Tuoba Hong's gaze became extremely deep. He stared at the dancing flames, as if he could see through the most secret corners of people's hearts.

He said slowly: "I know why he wouldn't do that."

Ning Lingyi looked at him puzzledly.

"Ning Yanli, he actually envies you."

"Envy me?" Ning Lingyi was stunned.

"He envies you for having a mother like that."

"A mother who protected her child with all her might in the deep palace, a mother who planned and calculated for you and spared no effort to protect the country. He respected your mother, so even if he was despicable and shameless, and lost all his bottom line, he would not touch this reverence for motherhood."

"Because he himself has none, his mother sees something else instead of her child, so he envies you."

Ning Lingyi was completely stunned and speechless for a long time.

I see.

The tent fell into a long silence, with only the faint sound of burning charcoal and the two of them.

After a long moment, Ning Lingyi suddenly asked softly, a hint of uncertainty in her voice: "What about you? Tuoba Hong, do you think so too?"

This time, Tuoba Hong fell into a deeper silence.

His gaze turned to the gray wolf totem hanging on the tent wall, and his eyes became distant and empty, as if he had penetrated the tent and returned to the snowy land of the Beishuo Royal Court.

He saw the woman deep in his memory, who was as beautiful as moonlight but as fragile as glass - his mother.

All her joys and sorrows were tied to her father, the Khan, like a vine clinging to a tree, but she quickly withered and died in the cruel wind and snow of the palace, and died on a silent snowy night.

He fought bloody battles all the way and stepped on countless corpses to ascend to the throne of Khan. His heart had long been as cold and hard as the frozen soil in the northern desert. All along the way, they hoped that he would die and fall. It was extremely painful and miserable.

If his mother hadn't been like that...

If, there is no if.

His eyes became clearer. Ning Lingyi's softness at this moment might also be a calculation. The conditions given by the court are more direct benefits.

But……

But he saw in her the desire deep in his heart that he had never expressed.

A powerful, vigorous vitality, like a prairie fire that can burn everything and bring new life. She is not like his mother. She is like the toughest weeds under the care of Eternal Heaven, with roots deeply rooted in the soil of suffering, and cannot be destroyed by wind and rain.

It made him go against his rational judgment time and time again, and he gave her a break several times, and even felt uneasy.

He knew too well that he shouldn't.

However, this emotion gnawed at his heart day and night.

After a long time, Tuoba Hong withdrew his gaze and looked at her with slightly red eyes, and his heart trembled unconsciously.

He did not answer Ning Lingyi's question, but picked up the wine jug, filled the two empty cups again, and then pushed one of the cups in front of Ning Lingyi.

He raised his glass and looked at her seriously.

Everything is implied.

Ning Lingyi looked at him, and after a moment, she also raised her glass.

The two silver cups touched each other gently in the air, making a crisp sound.

Outside the tent, the autumn wind was howling, and inside the tent, two people were accompanying each other.