Chapter 129 The Family's Savior
because……
King Wu once saved A'niang, his brother and her.
That was the third year after my father passed the imperial examination and entered the Hanlin Academy.
That was also the third year that A'niang had been living alone with her brother and her in Luohe Town, Mizhou.
The three of them, mother and son, have been waiting for their father to get a new official position and come home to pick them up.
On New Year's Eve, they received a letter from their father.
My father said that his official position would probably be decided in April or May.
A Niang is very happy.
The three of them, mother and son, waited in agony in their hometown for three years, and finally the dawn came.
On the first day of the Lunar New Year, my mother went out at dawn.
She was going to the temple to light the first incense stick and pray to the Buddha to bless her father to get a good official position.
That day, my mother had not originally planned to take my brother with her.
But she happened to wake up early that day and pestered her mother to go with her.
A'niang couldn't persuade her, so she took both her brother and her along.
The two little kids held their mother's hands, one on each side, and walked towards the temple laughing.
Luohe Town has always been safe, and there has never been any robbery or murder.
Therefore, the mother and her two sons never imagined that they would encounter five vicious desperadoes that day.
The five bandits were chased from other places by officers and soldiers.
Because the stronghold was destroyed, almost all of their companions were strangled by the government, and they had no place to vent their anger.
Seeing Wen Li'er and her two children, the five bandits surrounded them with a grin.
A'niang was quite pretty, and the leading bandit dragged her into the forest with lustful eyes.
A'niang struggled desperately, and she and her brother rushed forward to scratch and bite the thief leader.
But these two children didn't have the strength.
The leader of the thieves kicked the brother and sister away.
The other two bandits held the brother and sister captive with a smirk, and threatened to sell them to a brothel after they were done.
Her brother was only a year older than her, but she didn't know where he got the strength from.
He struggled to break free from the bandits, picked up a long stick from the ground, and rushed forward to fight with the bandit leader.
Several bandits immediately grabbed the brother and beat and kicked him and her.
Her brother held her tightly under him.
The bandit leader immediately drew the knife from his waist and was about to chop off his brother's head.
A'niang screamed and rushed forward, knocking the thief away, then pounced on her brother and her, shouting for help.
A few bandits got angry and drew their swords to slash at A Niang's back.
At the critical moment, five arrows flew from a distance at the same time, instantly blowing the heads of the five bandits apart.
A'niang was extremely frightened at the time. When someone came forward to help her, she screamed and pushed the person away, holding her brother and herself tightly and refusing to let go.
Wen Li'er was lying on her back on the ground.
She saw with her own eyes a tall man fall off his horse.
He was wearing silver-white armor, his figure was as big as a mountain, and he looked very majestic.
He personally helped the mother and her two children up, and said that he was a government official who was passing by and had just come across this incident and came to their rescue.
After hearing the word "government" and seeing that the bandits were dead, A'niang finally came to her senses.
A'niang pulled her brother and herself, who was crying incessantly, to kneel on the ground, kowtowed to the man, and repeatedly thanked him for saving her life.
The man ordered his men to send Wen Li'er and her two children home, then he mounted his horse and rode away.
A soldier, also in armor, escorted them to their doorstep.
He stuffed twenty taels of silver into A Niang's hand, told them to find a doctor, and then left.
A'niang refused to take the money and pulled the soldier aside to ask who the adult was.
The soldier was anxious to catch up with his own troops, so he called out "King Wu" and hurried away.
King Wu...
From then on, these two words and this person became the people their family was most grateful for.
Wen Li'er was too young at the time, and after so many years, King Wu's face had gradually become blurred in her mind.
But this did not prevent her from remembering who this person was and the silver armor.
The soldiers of Dayan wearing armor are all heroes in her heart.
From then on, A Niang became keen on doing good deeds.
On the first and fifteenth day of every month, he would go to the temple to pray for his family and King Wu.
For nearly twenty years, rain or shine, we have continued to do so.
If it weren't for King Wu, the three of them, mother and son, would have already turned into cold corpses.
I will never be able to wait for my father again, and my family will never have a happy and healthy life in the future.
But before his family had the chance to repay his gratitude, King Wu died.
When Wen Li'er thought of this, tears suddenly welled up in her eyes.
This really scared Qingmei Qingzhu and Nanny Qin.
"Master, what's wrong with you?"
Nanny Qin scolded Qingmei, "Why did you come and tell the master this news?!"
Qingmei was dumbfounded. Isn’t this what the master wants to know?
But seeing that her master was sad, she quickly knelt down and admitted her mistake.
Wen Li'er wiped the tears from her face and helped her up.
"This has nothing to do with you. I'm just sad that such a great hero was killed."
Nanny Qin and others were also sighing.
After all, it was a pity that such a powerful figure as King Wu was poisoned to death.
After Xiaoxiao fell asleep, Wen Li'er supported her chin and began to daydream again.
She thought about the possibility of proposing to the Crown Prince that they go to pay homage to King Wu as his consort.
She quickly rejected the idea.
It's against the rules.
If the prince took her with him, he would definitely be criticized by other clan members and civil and military officials.
During the Dayan Dynasty, funeral rituals had clear restrictions on women's participation, especially concubines who were not the main wife.
As the elder of the royal family, King Wu's funeral ceremony was a high-standard national funeral.
The right to preside over the ceremony belongs to male royal relatives, and female participants are usually limited to the wife or specific relatives.
Wen Li'er sighed deeply. She was just a humble concubine of the Eastern Palace and was not even qualified to pay homage to her savior.
Suddenly, a thought flashed through her mind, and her eyes lit up instantly.
After hesitating for a moment, she seemed to have made up her mind and secretly pulled Nanny Qin to a corner.
"Mammy, please help me prepare the altar, incense, candles, offerings, paper money, and other things."
Nanny Qin was startled. She asked uncertainly, "Master, are you going to offer sacrifices to King Wu?"
Wen Li'er nodded.
"No, Master."
Nanny Qin shook her head violently. She lowered her voice and reminded him, "It is a big taboo to set up an altar in the palace."
There are strict etiquette regulations in the palace, and setting up an altar without permission is not allowed.
Even princes and nobles needed the emperor's approval.
What’s more, she is a concubine of the Eastern Palace.
Wen Li'er bit her lip.
She usually conscientiously abides by the palace rules, but this time she was determined to do it.
"Mammy, just prepare some for me secretly. I'll find a private place to worship, and you all shouldn't follow me."
"What if we're discovered?"
Nanny Qin was extremely anxious and wanted to dissuade her from this idea.
"If we are discovered, the master will definitely be severely punished!"
Wen Li'er opened her mouth, but finally closed it.
After all, she gave birth to His Highness's first child. Even if she was discovered, the most she would be punished with would be kneeling and being beaten with a stick.
But it’s a different story for the palace maids who serve them. They might even lose their lives.
She couldn't let so many people risk their lives just for her own selfish reasons.
Wen Li'er finally nodded: "Then let's not worship."
After saying that, she climbed onto the bed weakly and lay down, pulling the quilt over her head.
Nanny Qin was very worried when she saw her like this.
She hesitated for a long time, gritted her teeth, slapped her thigh and left the Qionghua Palace.
…
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com