087
It's New Year's Eve again, and it's a snowy night.
Song Ling stood in the main hall, watching the old man who was limping towards her with a cane, and remained motionless for a long time.
They hadn't seen each other for several years.
"Uncle Zhong."
The old man paused, sat down in front of her, looked at her kindly, and said with a sigh, "Ah Ling, you've grown up too."
Song Ling poured him a cup of hot tea: "Have you come down the mountain to enter the world?"
"Yes and no." Old Zhongshu coughed lightly. "I've spent my whole life on the mountain. Now that I'm getting old, I thought I'd come down to see the children."
"So I came here first. Xiao Yan, is he in the Southern Frontier?" Uncle Zhong paused slightly, "I heard that you even posthumously conferred a title on him. When you were young, you fought every day, but he could never beat you. Now that he has your affirmation, he must be very happy."
"I want to go south and see him."
The two remained silent for a long time.
Uncle Zhong hesitated for a moment, but finally revealed his true purpose for coming: "A-Ling, don't blame your master, and don't hate her."
"He certainly deserved his punishment, but he also had a difficult life."
Song Ling didn't know why he said that, and shook her head slightly: "I no longer hate him."
I've hated this for over ten years, and I'm tired of it.
Seeing that she was reluctant to mention her master, Uncle Zhong chuckled and said, "Let me tell you a story, a story from a long time ago... a story that has been hidden in my heart for nearly twenty years."
Song Ling's gaze lingered slightly, as if she had guessed something.
Uncle Zhong's gaze was fixed on the void, as if he were recounting a story from twenty years ago.
"That day, your master was going down the mountain to find a successor, and he said goodbye to me before he left. At that time, he was not like he is now; on the contrary, he was full of vigor and ambition."
"He was not afraid of death or hardship, and he didn't care about the so-called mission. Because the world was at peace, Huailai didn't need to be born. At that time, he hadn't yet experienced the tribulation of being thirty years old, and he scoffed at the destiny that his master had talked about."
"He went down the mountain and left for a long time, so long that I thought he had died outside. So long that I began to worry that if he had died, where would I go to find the next sect leader of Huailai?"
"Until a year later, he returned with a baby girl in swaddling clothes."
Uncle Zhong paused for a moment, then looked at Song Ling: "It's you."
“I will never forget that day.” Uncle Zhong’s voice was a little hoarse. “Such a steady man, completely devoid of his former vigor, shrouded in darkness. He entrusted you to me, and then went into the bamboo house. On the eve of his thirtieth birthday, he locked himself up for one night.”
"Miracle, he didn't die. He didn't die in the bamboo house like his predecessors, and I breathed a sigh of relief. Because the remains of my ancestors were to be buried in the snowy abyss, and I didn't know where they were."
“I don’t know why he was an exception, why he didn’t die. Until the next day he knelt in front of me.” Uncle Zhong sighed, “I watched him grow up, and I could never bear to refuse him whatever he asked for.”
"But on that day, he asked for too much."
"I can't give it to you, not even if it costs me my old life."
Song Ling's eyes flickered slightly. "What...did Master ask for?"
"Please let me keep it a secret, please let me take care of you after he leaves, please... hide all of this." Old Zhong's aged voice struck Song Ling's heart like a heavy hammer: "He said he couldn't find the child anywhere when he went down the mountain."
"But he only found one woman. He waited and waited... until they met by chance, until they got to know each other, until he fell in love with her, until... the woman became pregnant."
He suddenly realized that perhaps... that child was the one he was looking for.
Song Ling's voice trembled slightly: "The child you're talking about, is it... me?"
Uncle Zhong was silent for a moment before saying, "Yes."
"Your birth inevitably means the death of that woman. Sixteen... dared not gamble, so he wanted to induce an abortion... but he had no way to explain it to the woman."
Uncle Zhong sighed again, his eyes reddening as he spoke: "I only remember that he cried for a long time after returning from the bamboo house that day. A grown man of thirty, he cried like a child."
“Ah Ling, do you know what hurts him the most? It’s that he just experienced the death of his lover in childbirth, and now he has to accept your inevitable death.”
"And he himself did not know when he would die."
Song Ling's eyes stung, hoping that Uncle Zhong was lying to her, but her lips moved and she couldn't say anything.
Uncle Zhong couldn't bear to look away and continued, "Perhaps from the moment he carried you up the mountain, he had already decided on the path he would take in the future."
“The night before his ‘fake death,’ he came to me and said that this secret should not have been revealed to me. You saw it too,” Uncle Zhong patted his crippled leg and said, “I was lucky to survive after learning Huai Lai’s little secret, but I lost my leg.”
"Qi Ying went blind, and Yin Xun died. Xiao Qi Man was still looking for her father every day back then... Your master said he was sorry for me, for dragging me into this mess."
“But we all know what he’s going to do. I’ve watched the children of Huailai grow up, and Qi Ying and Yin Xun also have daughters, so we’ve tacitly approved of everything he’s doing. If he succeeds, we will die, but the children of Huailai will no longer have to live in fear.”
"Then he set up this game, and you are a pawn, as are we. But his purpose was not bad. His death would not have mattered, but he did not want his daughter to follow the same path as him, to have a life of wandering."
“Ah Ling, parents who love their children plan far ahead for them.”
"His gamble on the game still resulted in a comeback."
Uncle Zhong stood up and ruffled her hair like he did when she was a child. "Two years ago, he returned to Huailai and told me this. He was very happy because A-Ling had grown up, A-Ling had the ability to support herself, and A-Ling had found someone she loved."
“Ah Ling no longer needs to be like him, helplessly watching her lover pass away.”
"A-Ling will live a life of joy and carefree happiness."
"He talked on and on all day until he said goodbye to me again." Uncle Zhong said with a comforting tone, "I know he was going to atone for his sins. He killed many people and committed many evil deeds along the way."
"But I want to tell you that his harshness towards you in the past and his hurting you later were all just a smokescreen. Don't hate him."
"He left the dagger with me before he left. I know he definitely didn't dare to tell you, nor did he want to bother you about it anymore. But deep down, he probably wanted to tell you... that as a father, he loves you."
"He may not be perfect or outstanding, but he is not unqualified."
Song Ling suppressed the tears welling up in her eyes. "But what he said is clearly different from what you said. How can I know who is lying?"
But when she asked persistently with a sob in her voice, she already had her own answer in her heart.
“What we said isn’t exactly false, but the truth or falsehood isn’t that important anymore.” Uncle Zhong patted her shoulder: “I just feel that everything is over, and you have the right to know what he did.”
"Xueyuan is the burial site of the Huailai Sect Master."
Uncle Zhong looked at the hand that was gripping the dagger tightly and said softly, "I think it's better to be buried by the wind and snow than to be buried by the wind and snow."
"At sixteen, he preferred that his own daughter build a tomb for him."
"In a few more days, when spring arrives... the snow will melt."
"If you'd like, you can go see him one last time."
Song Ling stood there, stunned. Old Zhong's voice grew fainter and fainter, and his figure gradually became blurred.
She subconsciously raised her hand and touched her cheek. It was damp; she realized her eyes had unknowingly welled up with tears…
Suddenly, a slightly rough hand covered her face and wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes.
Song Ling looked up and saw Yu Baizhou, with a normal expression, take her hand and ask, "Are you hungry? The noodles are ready."
I don't know how long he stood there, or how long he listened.
………
Yu Baizhou walked silently to the door, with Song Ling beside him, thinking that he had really changed a lot compared to a few years ago.
The arrogance between his brows and eyes has faded, replaced by composure and nobility; he has gradually grown into a qualified emperor.
It was late at night, time to rest.
"Rest well, I'll come see you again tomorrow." Yu Baizhou lowered his eyes and pulled her cloak tighter, his burning hands covering her cheek.
"A-Zhou," Song Ling said without smiling, but the tenderness and complexity in her eyes seemed to overflow, "Are you staying tonight?"
Yu Baizhou's fingers trembled, and his face tensed.
This wasn't the first time she had asked him to stay, but tonight he just couldn't feel any joy.
He heard what the old man said, and he knew that Song Ling valued loyalty and affection, but he couldn't help feeling a pang of sadness in his heart...
Song Ling's slender fingers gently grasped his warm hand, and she looked up as if seeking his opinion, "Or?"
Yu Baizhou stared intently at her for a few seconds, then wrapped one arm around her waist and reached under her legs, lifting her steadily into his embrace.
Then he strode in, kicked the door shut, carried the person to the bedside, and did it all in one smooth motion.
The quiet night and his silence made Song Ling feel a little nervous.
Without experiencing these things firsthand, it would be difficult for her to strategize effectively.
Unexpectedly, the man gently placed her on the bed, then carefully tucked her in. When he knelt down in front of the bed and held her hand, his voice trembled slightly, "Ah Ling, I really want to stay."
"Don't provoke me anymore, and don't provoke me anymore."
Yu Baizhou gently brushed her hair, his eyes swirling with barely suppressed desire as he gazed intently at her, but even more so with reluctance and pain. "I can wait... I can wait for everything."
He slowly closed his eyes, his eyelashes trembling slightly as he gently touched the woman's lips, remaining still.
A hot tear rolled down her cheek, scalding hot yet cool, it was hard to tell if it was his or hers.
It contains no lust, yet it is full of love and reluctance to part...
With reddened eyes, Yu Baizhou gently kissed away the tears at the corners of her eyes, his voice hoarse as he comforted her, "Do what you want to do. When you come back, we'll get married... okay, A-Ling?"
Song Ling moved her lips, looking at the hope and pleading in his eyes, and agreed.
"good."
He has been gone for a long time.
Song Ling was stunned as she raised her fingers to catch the tears streaming down her face. When she put her fingers to her lips, tears welled up in her eyes.
It's bitter...
***
When the sky was bright
Song Ling took one last look at the imperial city behind her, then put on her bamboo hat and rode away.
On the Star-Picking Tower, Yu Baizhou stood with his hands behind his back, his palms clenched so tightly they bled, yet he kept his eyes fixed on her departing figure...
The grief in my heart was unbearable and was about to overflow.
That was her father; how could he stop her? She disliked parting, so he quietly and silently saw her off.
She said she would come back.
Yu Baizhou knew perfectly well that last night she intended to leave, only wanting him to fulfill her wish, but what he wanted was not just to sleep in the same bed with her.
His only wish was that she could be healthy and live a happy life.
Only then did I have his company.
The man beside her took off his straw hat and said slowly, "Ah Ling will be alright, she will come back."
Yu Baizhou asked him in a hoarse voice, "What kind of place is that?"
Ji Chang shook his head. "I don't know. Nobody knows."
"I only heard Uncle Zhong say that it is a tomb-like place, but only the sect leader knows its location."
“A-Ling said that from today onwards, the Prime Minister’s residence can remain closed and he can claim to be ill.” Ji Chang clenched the letter in his hand. “Before she returns, I will help His Majesty handle some important matters.”
"I will leave again when she returns."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
