Chapter 54 She's Fine

Yuan Ting and Feng Li held their breath, the figure under the palace wall, especially the lines of the eyebrows and nose, bore an astonishing resemblance to their prince.

A storm raged in both their hearts. This was the prince's mother, Zhang Yinqing.

The prince's birth mother was once a swordsmanship prodigy of Huaqing Mountain, a talent unparalleled in a century, and also a famous imperial concubine.

There are many versions of the rumors circulating in the palace about this deposed former imperial concubine, but the most talked-about one is the story of how the emperor fell in love with her.

In the tenth year of the Great Lin Dynasty, the new emperor Mu Yeling ascended the throne. At that time, the martial arts world was in constant turmoil. In order to stabilize the court, the young emperor turned his attention to Huaqing Mountain, which ranked first among the prestigious sects.

That early spring, the Emperor himself arrived, and atop the mountains, a sea of ​​clouds surged. It was while observing the disciples' martial arts demonstration at the Sword Platform that Mu Yeling's gaze was completely captured by a figure as graceful as a startled swan.

At that time, Zhang Yinqing was dressed in a plain white outfit, her black hair tied up high, and her long sword in her hand moved like a dragon and a phoenix. The sword energy surged and petals fell in profusion. She was not only outstanding in appearance, but her otherworldly demeanor also made the emperor, who was used to seeing beautiful women, lose his mind for a moment.

After returning to the palace, the emperor couldn't forget her and, disregarding the criticism of his courtiers and the rules of the martial arts world, insisted on marrying her. He even went to the royal temple and knelt devoutly before the ancient Buddha and the dim lamp for a whole night, just to show his determination to marry the chief disciple of the righteous path, not to force her, but to sincerely invite her.

This affair was once considered a beautiful story, with everyone praising the new emperor's deep affection and willingness to compromise his principles for a beautiful woman. Little did they know that this seemingly romantic beginning would ultimately end in the predicament of the deep palace and the loneliness of the cold moon.

Mu Cenlin's tall and straight body stiffened almost imperceptibly for a moment, and the knuckles under his sleeves tightened slightly.

Under the moonlight, the mother and son gazed at each other across more than a decade of time. The air was still, with only the soft rustling of the night wind through the wild grass.

After a long silence, Mu Cenlin finally spoke, his voice devoid of emotion, yet colder than the night wind: "The Cold Palace is a bitter place, Your Majesty, how have you been?"

The word "Your Majesty" made Zhang Yinqing sway slightly. She forcibly suppressed the surging excitement and sorrow in her eyes, forcing a faint yet poignant smile onto her lips: "I'm alright."

Her gaze greedily traced her son's features, from his tightly pursed lips to the fierce look hidden in his eyes. "Your Majesty... has never mistreated me, but these palace walls can lock people up, but they can't lock up their hearts."

She took a barely perceptible half-step forward, as if wanting to get closer, but was stopped by an invisible boundary: "You...you've grown up." Her voice was choked with barely concealed sobs, "The last time I saw you, you were so little, clutching my clothes tightly when you had a fever."

Mu Cen's jawline tightened, that vague yet warm memory was forcibly brought up, but he quickly suppressed it, turning it into an even colder tone: "Childhood trifles, Your Majesty has worried about them for many years. I have long forgotten them."

Mu Cenlin's Adam's apple bobbed violently. How could he not know? Did he not know that his mother had traded her freedom for his freedom to leave the palace?

That bowl of medicine that suppressed her life's cultivation was the only way for him to escape the palace.

His mother sent him to his uncle Zhang Ling's mansion, which was planned as a safe haven for him away from the intrigues of the imperial palace.

But he messed everything up.

His uncle went missing, and he eventually... voluntarily returned to this enormous golden cage.

"You shouldn't have come here!" His mother's voice interrupted Mu Cenlin's internal torment, filled with urgency. "How many eyes are watching here? Get out of here!"

Back when he returned to the capital, the spies monitoring the Moon Palace had already been replaced one by one with his own people. As for the information about the person living in the Golden Palace, it was all deliberately released by him.

"I know why you came back," Zhang Yinqing's voice choked as she spoke, "He... told me everything."

The "he" that Zhang Yinqing spoke of could only be one person: the current emperor, Mu Yeling.

Mu Cenlin already knew what kind of person his biological father was, but he still underestimated the emperor's indifference to tell a woman imprisoned in a desolate place about the suffering of her closest relative.

"Don't worry... everyone around here is my man," Mu Cenlin said, looking at his mother's ever-present furrowed brow.

As soon as he finished speaking, the figure that had been hesitating beneath the palace gate rushed toward him.

A gentle breeze stirred, and as robes fluttered, Mu Cenlin found himself in a long-lost yet incredibly warm embrace.

Back then, he was able to shield her from the wind and rain, and he was already more than half a body taller than her, barely reaching her knees.

The person in her arms could no longer hold back their tears and cried out, their voice broken and intermittent: "Lin'er, I miss you so much, I miss your uncle so much."

At this moment, the decades-long pretense could no longer be maintained. Mu Cenlin's straight back hunched slightly, and his hoarse voice choked as he asked, "Are you doing well?"

"I'm doing well; he hasn't mistreated me."

"Lin'er, don't blame yourself anymore." Years of suppressed emotions and longing poured out through unstoppable tears. Zhang Yinqing's heart ached. Mu Cenlin wasn't her only child, but he was the only one who survived...

Her life was turned upside down after she left Huaqing Mountain. All she wanted was for her family to be safe and well. But because of her, her brother's family was exiled to the border and her son struggled in the abyss for years.

“None of this is your fault, never. It’s me… I wasn’t decisive enough back then,” Zhang sobbed, but still stubbornly clutched the robe of the person in front of her.

"It is your mother's own fault for wronging you... It is your mother's fault for being an incompetent mother..."

“It was my stubbornness that sent you out of the palace, and my desire to impose my own pursuit of freedom on you. I am the one who should bear the guilt. I know how much you have suffered because you are not favored.”

Mu Cenlin spoke, his voice much softer than before, yet still carrying a hint of barely perceptible stiffness, "I have never blamed you, nor has my uncle." As he spoke, he pushed away the person in his arms.

He hasn't been able to face his birth mother with equanimity yet. They've been separated for too long, and he's no longer the child who longed for maternal love.

"I have something I'd like to tell you."

Zhang Yinqing raised her still reddened eyes, waiting for him to continue.

Mu Cenlin took a slight breath: "Soon... I will get married and marry the eldest daughter of the Prime Minister's family, Li Bao'er."

After she finished speaking, a brief silence fell. Zhang Yinqing's face was instantly filled with relief and a hint of indescribable bitterness.

Her son is finally getting married. In the long years she has been absent, he has grown into a strong and upright man and is about to have his own family.

"Good...good," Zhang nodded repeatedly, tears welling up again, but this time they were more of joy. "Lin'er, Mother is so happy for you."

"Tell your mother quickly, which family's daughter is she? The Li family, is she the daughter of the current prime minister? What kind of personality does she have? You... how did you meet? Are you mutually in love?" A series of questions seemed to want to ask all the questions she had missed about her son's growth in one go.

Looking at the long-lost radiance on his mother's face, Mu Cenlin couldn't bring himself to say the words that were on the tip of his tongue.

He couldn't bring himself to say, "It was merely a marriage bestowed by His Majesty."

Mu Cenlin turned his head slightly to avoid Zhang's overly intense gaze.

“She…” Mu Cen paused, as if searching for the right words, a long-forgotten memory quietly surfaced, “She is very good.”

Mu Cenlin hesitated for a moment, then chose the truth that was closest to the beautiful one, “When I was twelve years old, I sneaked back to the capital. On the way, I was assassinated and fell in the bamboo forest behind the Golden Buddha Temple on the outskirts of the capital… She found me, bandaged my wounds, and fed me water.”

He spoke briefly, omitting his initial wariness and suspicion, her clumsy yet earnest care, and all the subsequent scheming and harm caused by unforeseen circumstances. He only extracted the initial, brilliant warmth in the darkness.

Zhang Yinqing listened intently, but then said with lingering fear, "Lin'er, you've suffered so much. It's because your mother couldn't protect you."

Mu Cenlin's expression stiffened: "It's all in the past."

Zhang didn't want to fall into grief any longer. "Jinfo Temple... is a blessed place. The fact that she was able to save you back then shows that she is a kind-hearted child. Lin'er, you must treat her well."

Looking at Zhang's smile, Mu Cenlin felt that the guilt she felt for concealing the truth was somewhat lessened. At least for this moment, the lie brought her genuine happiness.

"I will," he whispered, a promise he made to his mother, and perhaps... also to himself.