Maternal Love and Rebirth (End)
That night, the palace lanterns in Xuehan Palace were lit until late at night.
Empress Dowager Yu sat by the window, listening to the sound of the night clock, and finally she sighed softly.
She stood up and ordered the palace servants to quietly prepare a bowl of lily and lotus seed soup that had been kept warm on the stove. Then she took the female official's hand and walked towards Minyou Hall under the cold moonlight.
Inside the hall, candlelight shone brightly, illuminating the figure of Ning Lingyi bent over her desk. She was concentrating on reviewing a proposal regarding taxation in the Northern Frontier, her pen hovering for a long time. She didn't even notice her mother quietly enter the hall.
Queen Mother Yu looked at her daughter quietly.
His gaze swept across her slightly furrowed brows, the dark shadows beneath her eyes, and finally settled on the long-cold cup of tea on the desk. She stepped forward and replaced the cold tea with the warm teapot she had brought.
She sat down on the brocade cushion below, just like the countless evenings in the past when she waited for her daughter to come home from school. But now, the person she was waiting for was no longer the little princess who would throw herself into her arms and act coquettishly, but the emperor of this empire.
Time flows in silence.
Ning Lingyi finally put down her pen and subconsciously picked up the teacup beside her and took a sip. The warm taste melted in her mouth, completely different from the bitter tea she usually drank.
She was startled and raised her eyes, only to find her mother sitting there without her noticing.
"Mother?" She immediately stood up and walked quickly to Queen Mother Yu, saying apologetically, "Why didn't you call me when you came?"
Queen Mother Yu looked up at her daughter with a gentle gaze: "It seems you are busy."
"Sorry to have kept you waiting." Ning Lingyi said softly.
Queen Mother Yu shook her head, carefully observing the weariness hidden between her daughter's brows. She reached out and gently held her daughter's cool hand. "It's been a long time since I last saw you. You've been busy all night. Let's deal with the rest tomorrow, okay? Mother will take you home."
Ning Lingyi looked at her mother's earnest expression and pondered for a moment. She realized that most of the important government affairs on her desk had been dealt with.
She nodded and held her mother's warm hand: "Okay."
Queen Mother Yu smiled and took her daughter's hand, just like she did when she was little, and led her up steadily.
The mother and daughter walked side by side, stepping on the bright light on the ground, slowly walking towards Xuehan Palace.
The night wind was cool, but Empress Dowager Yu's hands were dry and warm, which strangely calmed Ning Lingyi's heart, which had been tense all day long due to state affairs.
"I've been busy lately and haven't been able to show my filial piety to my mother often. It's my fault," Ning Lingyi said in a low voice.
Empress Dowager Yu turned her head and gave her a reproachful look, but her tone was gentle: "What nonsense are you talking about? Go and focus on your business. If I miss you, I will come and take you back."
Ning Lingyi's lips curled up slightly when she heard this: "So, it's Mother who misses me."
"Of course." Queen Mother Yu said calmly, "You are my only daughter. How could I not miss you?"
Ning Lingyi's smile deepened, and she sighed with emotion, "My daughter is already this old."
The night wind blew a few strands of white hair from Ning Lingyi's temples. Empress Dowager Yu saw it, and her heart ached. She said, "Don't worry about age. Even if you grow old and become a grandmother, you will always be my daughter to me. Even if you become the emperor and rule the world, I will still love you with all my heart."
Hearing this, Ning Lingyi's throat choked slightly, and a thousand words were stuck in her chest. She said softly, "Of course, I will always be your daughter."
Empress Dowager Yu said no more, but just held her fingers tightly together. She enjoyed the time with her daughter. Only at this time, her daughter no longer belonged to the emperor, but belonged to her again.
Ning Lingyi had walked this palace road since she was a child and could recognize it even with her eyes closed.
The night wind blew, carrying a familiar breath, and the moonlight stretched out the figures of the two people, snuggling together, as if they had never been separated and would never be separated.
If there is only one last love left in this world that belongs to her.
She knew where it would come from without having to ask.
*
It was an unknown spring in an unknown village.
The setting sun painted the sky a warm orange. A performance had just ended on the simple stage at the town entrance. The gongs and drums died down, and the audience, in groups of two or three, shouldered their farm tools or led their children as they headed home.
A little girl with two buns on her head, rosy cheeks, holding her grandmother's rough hand.
Grandma mimicked the aria from the opera: "Hey! That corrupt official oppressed the innocent people. Your Majesty is wise and has found out the truth. He unsheathed his Longquan sword and with a snap, he beheaded the corrupt official. It's truly a relief to the people!"
She thought of the teacher in the village school. She was the first scholar in the village who passed the "Women's Subject" exam. She did not become an official, but came back to teach the children to read and understand.
Compared to the "Emperor Taichu" in bright yellow robes on the stage, she was more familiar with the female teacher of the village school. She was a very good person. Although she always beat them with a stick, she knew that she was a good person.
She carried a small basket filled with freshly dug wild vegetables. As she walked, she shook her head and recited what her teacher had taught her: "Raising seedlings and selecting seeds requires the right time and place. Every grain is the product of hard work, and every meal should be cherished..."
Grandma listened and said, "You're right. We can't waste food."
The grandfather and grandson talked as they returned to their own courtyard. Although it was not big, it was clean and tidy.
Grandma put down her things and started preparing dinner.
She walked over to the small clay pot beside the stove, hesitated for a moment, then carefully scooped out a small spoonful of solidified lard and placed it in the hot pot. With a sizzling sound, the aroma of the oil filled the air. She stood on tiptoe again, took the small piece of black bacon from the bamboo basket hanging from the beam, carefully cut two thin slices, and added them to the pot to stir-fry with the vegetables.
Dinner was served. The simple vegetables looked particularly tempting because of the greasy and meaty flavor and two slices of bacon. The little girl ate the rice in her bowl, her face full of satisfaction: "Grandma, it smells so good!"
Grandma kept putting food into her bowl: "If it smells good, eat more. This is grown in our own fields. When your parents come back from work in the city, they will take you out to play."
After dinner, the little girl wiped her mouth and ran to the yard.
The afterglow of the setting sun illuminated the courtyard with a golden hue. She picked up a thin wooden stick, squatted on the flat ground, and began to write and draw stroke by stroke.
She wrote a straight character "人", a slightly crooked "你", and a small "我".
The evening breeze blew the hair on her forehead. She looked at the crooked but powerful words on the ground, and suddenly an idea came to her mind.
She raised her head and made a solemn wish: "Now that I can read, I will take the women's degree exam and teach more children to read like you did."
In the courtyard, the smoke has dissipated, but the aroma of food remains.
Outside the courtyard, the night was deep and the lights of thousands of houses gradually lit up.
The story of an era has come to an end, and a new story is about to begin.
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