"Father, for so many years you've refused to tell me anything about Mother. Why have you changed your mind now?"
Ling Chuyi chased after Ling Qima Bu while asking him questions.
Ling Qi remained silent, unsure how to respond.
He couldn't very well say that he was afraid Fengqi wouldn't acknowledge Chu Yi, which would cause Chu Yi sadness and distress.
At this moment, he thought that so many years had passed, and now he was nineteen years old. He figured that Feng Qi was no longer so stubborn.
He was the one who forced her first, causing Feng Qi to regard him as an enemy.
Although Feng Qi had shown him kindness on the battlefield, it was only for the sake of her prince.
She always hated herself.
Now, for the sake of her first year of junior high school, can she forgive herself?
Ling Qi was unaware of this, but he secretly hoped to rekindle their past romance.
He wanted to spend the rest of his life with her, but he didn't know if she was willing.
"Father, who exactly is my mother?" This wasn't the first time Ling Chuyi had asked this question over the years, but Ling Qi had never told her.
"She is Feng Qi, the daughter of Feng Yu Manor and a former general of Western Qin."
“You told me about General Feng’s fame, but you never told me that he was my maternal grandfather.”
"What good would it do to tell you?"
Ling Qi was extremely uneasy at this moment.
If Feng Qi doesn't acknowledge Chu Yi, how will the father and son face each other?
After all, Fengqi had once said that she would abandon the child.
“If you had told me, I would have gone to look for my mother long ago. I want to know what she looks like, what her temperament is like, whether she has been doing well all these years, and whether she has been well-fed and clothed.”
Ling Chuyi had absolutely no memory of her mother.
The little he knew about his mother came from his father.
For example, the reason the mother abandoned the father and son was entirely because they went against each other's wishes.
But why did things go against his wishes? Father never told him.
Therefore, Ling Chu couldn't understand why his mother would abandon him.
After several days of travel, Qin County was near.
Ling Qi and his son, like headless flies, inquired everywhere about Feng Qi's whereabouts.
After more than half a month of arduous searching,
They were not found in Qin County.
When it was learned that the former General's Mansion of Fengyu Manor in Qin County was not located within the city of Qin County, but rather in a suburb far from Qin County,
Ling Qi and his son were overjoyed to finally have a clue and hurriedly rode to the location.
Finally, they stopped in front of a courtyard gate.
The courtyard was just an ordinary farmhouse.
The original General Feng's Mansion no longer exists.
Ling Qi was about to push the door latch and ask where Feng Qi was when he heard a sharp shout from outside the door.
"Who goes there!"
Ling Qi froze on the spot upon hearing the voice alone.
Ling Chu turned around,
Then a middle-aged woman dressed in gray cotton and linen, with a headscarf on her head and carrying a bundle of firewood on her back appeared in front of her.
A sudden sense of familiarity arose.
He carefully examined the woman in front of him.
She was dressed simply, and from her appearance, she was just an ordinary woman.
"Father." Ling Chuyi pulled Ling Qi back to his senses, forcing him to look the woman in the eye.
"Is that Mother?"
Ling Qi was still stunned.
He nodded blankly.
"yes."
Upon hearing Ling Chu's question, Feng Qi froze on the spot.
In fact, she was stunned the moment she saw Ling Chuyi.
"Fengqi, how have you been all these years?" Ling Qi asked, his hoarse voice bringing Fengqi back to reality.
After saying this, he stepped forward, intending to take the firewood from Fengqi.
But Feng Qi dodged it directly.
In the end, Ling Chuyi carried the bundle of firewood on her shoulder.
Feng Qi silently opened the door.
He let the father and son follow behind him without saying a word.
Ling Qi spoke first.
"Fengqi, have you always lived alone?"
As he spoke, he glanced towards the stables in the courtyard.
Inside the stable, the once strong black horse was now like a clay sculpture, thanks to Feng Qi's care.
Besides the horses, there was also a flock of chickens and ducks in the poultry shed next door.
The courtyard is neither too big nor too small, and can be seen through at a glance.
Ling Chuyi's gaze also fell on the black horse.
Surprisingly, the unassuming mother also raises horses.
Ling Chuyi put down the firewood and walked into Fengqi's house.
"Mother, Father thinks about you every day. Come with us, let's live together as a family of three."
"No," Feng Qi finally spoke.
She gazed intently at Ling Chuyi.
I don't know if I'm in reality or a dream.
For many years,
She thought of His Highness and Qiu Yan countless times.
Every time I think of Ling Qi, it brings back unbearable memories.
But he never thought about his own son.
Yes, she believed that the child she gave birth to at that moment had already died on that very day.
Earlier, throughout her pregnancy, she had considered this child a disgrace.
Now, seeing each other again, her heart is filled with sorrow.
She silently observed the father and son for a moment, and finally, her gaze settled on Ling Chuyi.
"Child, when did you arrive?"
"We just arrived."
"Please sit down." Feng Qi's simple words revealed no emotion.
This reunion between mother and son was very different from what Ling Chuyi had imagined, and she couldn't help but feel a little disappointed.
But in Ling Qi's view, he breathed a sigh of relief.
At least, Feng Qi didn't kick the person out as he had imagined.
The old Feng Qi was capable of doing something like this.
Ling Qi and his son awkwardly sat down.
Feng Qi did not invite them into the house, so they sat at the stone table outside the courtyard.
Soon after, the sound of pots and pans clattering came from the kitchen.
Ling Qi suddenly felt the rural life of men farming and women weaving, and for a moment, she wanted to stay there.
"Dinner's ready." Feng Qi's simple three words gradually warmed Ling Chuyi's slightly chilly heart.
"Hmm." He paused, then stepped forward to help, but was stopped by Feng Qi.
"I'll take care of it."
Ling Qi watched Feng Qi's busy figure quietly. In her memory, Feng Qi had never cooked.
A plate of boiled greens, a plate of cold tofu salad
A plate of bean sprouts and shredded pork, a plate of sliced potatoes.
Paired with simple porridge,
After the simple four dishes and one soup were served,
It didn't make Ling Qi and his son feel shabby; instead, it warmed their hearts.
"Don't just stand there, eat." Feng Qi's words were indifferent, still devoid of any emotion, but her gaze kept glancing at Ling Chuyi.
The three of them sat down to eat together.
Ling Qi had imagined these scenes more than once.
Now that it's come true, I feel an indescribable joy.
Even so, Feng Qi treated the father and son with indifference.
After the meal,
Fengqi got up and cleared the dishes.
Ling Chuyi wanted to help, but Feng Qi stopped her again.
"You can just sit here."
Ling Chuyi still helped Feng Qi put away the bowls and chopsticks and sent them to the kitchen.
Fengqi continued working in the kitchen.
When they came out, the father and son sat in the afterglow of the setting sun, chatting and laughing.
It seems that they are a family of three.
Feng Qi stepped forward and shattered this beautiful moment with just two simple words.
Let's go.
Ling Qi's lips stiffened.
"Fengqi, all these years have passed, and you still can't forgive me?"
Feng Qi shook her head slightly.
The meaning of this,
This man had taken advantage of her vulnerability, and she had hated him intensely.
Now, so many years have passed, and her hatred has gradually faded away.
But that sense of dignity within him still remains.
Ling Chuyi noticed that the atmosphere between her parents was somewhat abnormal.
Unlike ordinary couples, their meeting was not marked by any particular emotion or indifference, as if they were strangers passing by.
Indeed, in the mother's eyes, the father and son seemed to be nothing more than passersby who had come to beg for food.
"Mother, let's go together. The three of us will live in Shangjin together, and then go to the Northern Desert together. From now on, we will never be separated."
"No." Feng Qi shook her head. "You should go." She'd been doing quite well on her own all these years.
Although life was a bit tough, they were able to support themselves.
She has never needed a man's support.
She's a woman, and she's doing just fine.
She simply could not accept marrying a man who had once defiled her.
This was true before, and it is true now.
"Feng Qi, please forgive me." Ling Qi's voice trembled slightly as he involuntarily embraced Feng Qi.
“He misses you a lot in the first year of junior high school. Over the years, he has always asked me where his mother is and why other people have mothers but he doesn’t. He has been deprived of maternal love for nineteen years. In the days to come, give him some love.”
Ling Qi spoke sincerely, but Feng Qi gently pushed her away.
“First year of junior high…” Feng Qi looked at Ling Chuyi with trembling eyes.
"So, your name is Chu Yi." Suddenly, she thought of the first day of the Lunar New Year, inside the military tent.
On the day she gave birth, all alone,
At that time, she was so helpless, and she hated Ling Qi to the core.
But looking back now,
When faced with Ling Chuyi, who was already nineteen years old,
Her heart was filled with grief.
At that time, she heartlessly abandoned the child to Ling Ba, telling him to give him to Ling Qi, and even said that if Ling Qi didn't want him, she should just throw him away.
"Child, do you hate me?" She abandoned him heartlessly, leaving him to fend for himself.
Over the years, I never thought of seeking him out in person, let alone that I would meet him one day.
That's right, in her memory, she selectively forgot Ling Chuyi's existence.
Because Ling Chuyi's existence is a disgrace to her.
When she finally met him, she was forced to revisit her memories, but this time with less hatred and more relief.
Ling Chu shook her head.
"Mother, what do you mean by that? You gave me life, how could I hate you?"
His gaze fell on Ling Qi.
"Father, what is the unresolved issue between you and Mother?"
Ling Qi felt ashamed. He couldn't very well say that Chu Yi's existence was the reason Feng Qi hated him.
What will the child think of him?
Will I not recognize myself?
"There's no unresolved issue. It's just that we weren't husband and wife, much less family," Feng Qi said, clearing up Ling Chuyi's confusion.
“Child, even if you hate me, I won’t blame you. You should go. I’m doing just fine here on my own.”
This child doesn't hate her at all? Feng Qi thought to herself, if she were in the first year of junior high, she couldn't have achieved this.
Presumably, Ling Qi did not tell anyone about abandoning Chu Yi.
"Mother, why can't our family live happily together like other families?" Ling Chu's eyes were red, because of Feng Qi's heartlessness.
Fengqi was unwilling to mention the past, unwilling to dredge up old grievances, and even less willing to recount those events in front of her children.
Ling Qi raised the child, so she would never speak ill of Ling Qi in front of the child.
She was alone, carrying a bamboo basket, preparing to go to the mountains to gather some grass to feed her horse.
She slowly hoisted the bamboo basket onto her back.
But in an instant, Ling Chuyi carried him on her back.
Feng Qi's lips tightened, but she didn't speak. She led the way, clearing the path.
Perhaps, I'm used to living alone.
She was quite lonely too.
Being cared for by her son at this moment stirred up unusual emotions in her long-frozen heart.
On the green grass,
Ling Chu held a sickle in one hand and frequently cut grass.
Fengqi carefully placed the grass into the basket, and whenever she saw wild vegetables growing in the meadow, she would also put them into the basket.
Ling Qi watched from afar, pondering in his heart what he could do to make Feng Qi accept him.
That night,
Ling Qi and his son did not leave, but instead stayed in the house next to Feng Qi's.
Out of consideration for Ling Chuyi, Feng Qi did not chase her away.
Such behavior is not typical of Feng Qi.
That night, Ling Qi and Ling Chuyi couldn't sleep at all.
Everything he said revolved around Feng Qi.
During her journey, Ling Qi recounted her shameful past actions.
Even though he didn't think much of it at the time,
After all, they were enemies at the time, so even if he killed Feng Qi, it wouldn't have been unreasonable.
“At least, your mother entrusted you to Uncle Ling Ba. If she had really abandoned you, you wouldn’t be alive now.”
Upon hearing this, Ling Chuyi, from his mother's perspective, believed that...
What her father did was more painful for her than killing her mother.
But how can his existence be explained?
Before he could speak, he was already deeply saddened.
He's actually a bit of a sissy.
For several days in a row,
Ling Qi and Ling Chuyi never left; they have been living here ever since.
Feng Qi and Ling Chuyi gradually opened their hearts to each other, moving away from their previous indifferent relationship.
These days
Ling Qi's face lit up with a smile.
Ling Chuyi is the same.
As for Feng Qi, she remained as before, making it impossible to discern whether she was happy or angry.
However, judging from her behavior, she doesn't reject any interaction with the first-year students.
But no matter what, she refused to spend the rest of her life with Ling Qi.
Gradually, two months passed.
Feng Qi lost her former indifference.
They started talking more with Ling Chuyi.
The mother and son often went out together, chopping firewood in the mountains and fishing in the river.
Feng Qi would also occasionally teach Ling Chuyi some of her already decent martial arts skills.
This allowed Ling Chuyi to receive the maternal love she had been missing for many years.
That day in the mountains, Ling Chuyi and Feng Qi stood facing each other, and Ling Chuyi said earnestly:
"Mother, promise me you'll live with Father and me, okay?"
Feng Qi and Ling Chu embraced, their hearts filled with strange emotions.
She shook her head, and for the first time in many days, she showed a gentle smile.
“Children, we are fine as we are now. Go on your journeys and live your lives as you always have. If you ever want to see me, come and see me. I will always be here for you.”
Feng Qi deepened her smile, which saddened Ling Chuyi greatly.
“We’re not leaving. My father and I will live with my mother.” Having lacked maternal love since childhood, he had just begun to enjoy some warmth with his mother, so why would he choose to leave?
Moreover, they have nothing urgent to do in Shangjin at this moment.
Having said that, he gazed into the distance at Ling Qi, who was watching the two of them intently.
He nodded as well...
At that moment, Ling Qi understood.
Feng Qi refused to accept herself no matter what, but accepted Ling Chuyi instead.
He was thankful that there was still the first year of junior high school between them.
Let them live their lives as they are, carefree yet restrained.
As for the general, he will be there without hesitation whenever he is needed...
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