"Mother, I'm back."
Qin Ze, who was jogging towards the back room, saw his mother walking towards him. Seeing that she looked noticeably thinner, Qin Ze felt ashamed.
"It's good to be back." Lin Wan, as always, greeted him with a smile and a gentle voice.
"I just finished talking with the Heavenly Official and came back right away." Qin Ze replied as he walked to his mother's side, and then nodded to Zhang Zisheng, who was standing next to his mother.
Zhang Zisheng didn't speak, but simply nodded slightly and gave a faint smile.
Lin Wan then began to grope Qin Ze's body with her hands. Qin Ze, confused, blushed and asked, "Mother, what are you doing?"
Lin Wan did not respond. After groping around for a while, she suddenly hugged Qin Ze tightly, burying her face in her son's arms. Her dignified and serene expression had vanished, replaced by a look that seemed to be both smiling and crying.
Suppressed laughter and sobs escaped muffledly from Qin Ze's arms: "It's good that you're alright... very good."
In the past, before her husband died, Lin Wan had high hopes for her son, hoping that he would grow up to be a successful man like his father. Now, she only hopes that her son can live a peaceful and safe life.
Whether he is the Prince of Zhenbei or the King of the Nation, these rights and titles are irrelevant. As long as his son is healthy and can stay by his side, that is enough.
The year her son was away leading troops felt longer than ever before to Lin Wan. She held him tightly, feeling the warmth of his body, fearing that all of this was just a dream she hadn't yet woken up from.
Qin Ze sensed his mother's unspoken concern and reached out to hug her in return. He gently patted her back, comforting her:
"It's great. I can eat and sleep well, even better than before."
Zhang Zisheng looked at the mother and son embracing each other, took a few steps back, and then turned around to instruct the servants to prepare dinner.
After an unknown amount of time, Lin Wan gradually calmed down. She lifted her face from her son's arms, looked at her son with gentle eyes, and reached out to stroke his face:
"It's been almost a year since I last saw you. You've gotten a bit darker, and you haven't been grooming your beard."
Qin Ze laughed and said, "Doesn't that show more of a man's character?"
Lin Wan smiled and said, "You are my son, of course you have manly qualities."
Then, she gradually suppressed her smile, stepped away from Qin Ze's embrace, took his hand, and said earnestly, "Son, you did very well."
"I'm so happy for you." As she said this, tears welled up in her eyes.
Qin Ze reached out and wiped away her tears, smiling as he said, "It's nothing, Mother."
"It's only been a year since we last met, why are you crying? This isn't like you."
Yes, it's only been a year since we last met, but in that year, as a mother, I don't know how many times I've secretly shed tears at night, worrying that he might encounter some misfortune while he's away, or that I might hear bad news about my son.
During her time back in Jinling, Lin Wan felt as if she were in a dream. Now that she could finally hold her son's hand and touch his body, she realized that this was reality, not a dream.
Tears were still welling up in her eyes, but Lin Wan smiled again: "Mother is getting old and has become more sentimental."
Upon hearing the words "Mother is getting old," Qin Ze felt a sudden pang of sadness; these were the words he least wanted to hear.
"You're not even fifty yet, how can you be old?" Qin Ze reached out and brushed aside a strand of hair that had fallen across his mother's forehead, looking at her with a smile as he spoke.
"Getting old is getting old, I even have gray hair now," Lin Wan sighed.
"Where? I don't see any." Qin Ze looked at his mother's full head of black hair and couldn't see a single white hair.
“You can look at it later. Come on, son, let’s go inside and talk.” Lin Wan grabbed her son’s hand tightly and pulled him into the back room.
After sitting down, she still held her son's hand tightly and poured out all her worries. Qin Ze was not annoyed by his mother's nagging. He listened with a smile, sometimes nodding and sometimes saying a few words to comfort his mother.
Zhang Zisheng, who was busy arranging for the servants to prepare dinner, had already told them not to disturb the mother and son at this time.
Inside the house, the mother and son chatted for a long time until the sun completely set and the sky gradually darkened.
"I heard you brought Jin Weizun's daughter back to the capital?" Lin Wan suddenly brought up this matter after chatting about countless topics.
Qin Ze had been talking to his mother until his throat was dry. He was reaching for the fruit plate when his mother asked about it, and he immediately nodded and said yes.
Lin Wanxuan then asked, "You saved her life at the execution ground and called her a heroine, didn't you?"
Qin Ze had just picked up two plums from the fruit plate when he heard this. He hesitated for a moment, then said tentatively:
"Mother, what I said isn't wrong, is it?"
"Although her surname is Jin, you should know that her assassination attempt was..."
Before he could finish speaking, Lin Wan interrupted, "I didn't say you were wrong, why are you in such a hurry to explain?"
Qin Ze smiled helplessly: "I thought you were blaming me for doing that, Mother."
Upon hearing this, Lin Wan reached out and pinched his cheek, scolding him playfully, "In your mind, is your mother really that unreasonable?"
Qin Ze shook his head repeatedly: "No, no, how could I think that way?"
"I think that's what you're thinking." Lin Wan, who had been crying uncontrollably because she was worried about her son, changed her expression and started to complain.
"No, really. Is there any woman in this world more sensible than you, Mother?" Qin Ze flattered his mother, smiling as he handed her a plum.
Lin Wan took the plum, but asked with a stern face, "I don't think there's anything wrong with what you did."
"But what are you going to do with her when you bring her back to the capital? Are you going to grant her some land, a house, and some money and grain in Jinling to show your appreciation?"
Seeing his mother's stern face, Qin Ze sensed something was wrong. He had been thinking about this on the way back to the mansion. After all, the feud between the two families was there, so it was not surprising that his mother was hostile to Jin Changge. However, if he completely disregarded his mother's thoughts, there would be no peace for either his mother or Jin Changge in the long run.
Seeing his mother ask so directly, Qin Ze sighed inwardly and stammered:
"Well... I don't have that plan."
"So, her merits and demerits cancel each other out, and she'll just be an ordinary citizen and find her own way out?" Lin Wan then asked.
"Well...no, it's not that either." Qin Ze brought the plum to his mouth.
"Then what are you going to do?" Lin Wan's face darkened, and her tone became increasingly harsh.
Qin Ze's heart skipped a beat, and he put the plum he was about to eat down again. But then, he said with a serious expression:
"Mother, actually I wanted to..."
Before he could finish speaking, Lin Wan interrupted him:
"What kind of good deed are you planning?"
"Do you want her to give you a few big, healthy sons?"
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