Chapter 74 Old Friends.
That day, an old woman was teaching embroidery, but she found it very boring. However, a little girl next to her, who was about the same age as her, was learning very seriously. She held a needle, but there was no thread or cloth on the needle; she was just imitating the needlework in the air.
Qin Yinrong naturally had a needle, thread, and handkerchief prepared in her hand, which she didn't need herself, so she simply gave them to her.
The little girl was immediately moved to tears and thanked her repeatedly. She was quite skillful and embroidered a small Suzhou-style flower after learning it just once. She also gave the handkerchief to her.
Although this person's embroidery was much better than hers, it still couldn't compare to the embroiderers in the Prince's mansion, nor could it compare to the embroidery sent from outside. But for some reason, Qin Yinrong still accepted it.
During her break, she learned that the young girl was working so hard to learn embroidery so that she could earn money as soon as possible and avoid being sent to another family to be a child bride.
Qin Yinrong didn't understand, "What is a child bride?"
The little girl was surprised that she didn't know what a child bride was. After Qin Yinrong was told what a child bride was, the surprised person turned out to be Qin Yinrong. "Doesn't that mean you have to go to someone else's house to be a slave? Even slaves can be redeemed, but you're going to be a beast of burden for the rest of your life?! How could your parents bear to do that?!"
The little girl lowered her eyes: "My parents sent me there. They gave me money, and my brother was able to get married."
It's less of a gift and more of a sale.
Qin Yinrong wanted to ask how much silver she wanted so she could buy her, since this was the first person she had met who didn't compete with her in terms of food, clothing, and daily necessities, and who could speak to her nicely and give her gifts.
The little girl spoke faster than her, saying expectantly and excitedly, "But it will be different once I learn embroidery! Once I learn the palace needlework techniques, my embroidered pieces can sell for a lot of money. My mother promised that as long as I can earn half a tael of silver a month, she won't send me away!" She cupped her face in her hands and said, "My neighbor's sister is the same. Her grandmother is sick and owes a lot of money to the wealthy man. He wants her to marry his mentally challenged son, who not only drools but also hits people! She's learning to weave here. If she can learn to make brocade, she can pay off the debt and won't have to get married!"
She said with deep gratitude, "Princess Duan is such a good person!"
Qin Yinrong remained silent, suspecting that this was a tactic employed by her stepmother.
But she went a few more times and, upon closer inspection, noticed that there were always different people with similar stories.
She even went out of her way to find the little girl's house, only to discover it was so far from the girls' school. It was the first time she had ever seen what it meant to be destitute. The little girl, surprised, happily took out her purse, pulled out some hidden candy, and handed it to her, saying, "These are five candies I secretly bought when I sold handkerchiefs last time. Here, take them!"
I bought five, and I still had five in my pocket, which shows that I hadn't been willing to eat them, but I gave them to her when I saw her.
Qin Yinrong had eaten many kinds of candy, but this was the cheapest one. It had been kept in her purse and was dark on the outside, but for some reason she didn't mind. She picked it up and put it in her mouth, thinking it was the sweetest candy she had ever eaten.
Later, she went to school with the noble ladies, and at first it was the same boring comparisons. She used to be enthusiastic about them, but now she just found them uninteresting.
Those attempts to please and curry favor no longer made her complacent. The reason she came to school here was because she liked listening to stories.
The place in their story is Jizhou, which is where she came from. But in her memory, there are only high walls. She even went back a couple of years ago. Her grandmother took her with her and kept her meeting people, different people, and attending banquets, similar banquets.
At those gatherings and banquets, she was praised by many and felt incredibly accomplished. Little did she know that Jizhou had a majestic border fortress, and beyond that, a desert bathed in the glow of the setting sun. Her great-grandfather, grandfather, and father had seized this land amidst the blood and sand!
She longed for it, and her classmates must have felt the same way.
Because she saw the same longing in their eyes.
Gradually, they stopped praising and comparing themselves to each other, and they stopped talking about the latest jewelry and clothes. At other banquets, they no longer wrote pretentious and empty poems or flowery articles. Instead, they would talk about the successes and failures of a certain battle, speculate about the homesickness of soldiers on the frontier, care about the suffering of people on the border, and write down their wishes to travel thousands of miles.
With a more open mind, she realized that although her stepmother wasn't likable, she was basically acceptable.
After all, if it weren't for her stepmother opening a girls' school, the noble ladies in the school wouldn't all follow her lead. Of course, she wouldn't admit that this was because she grew up in Jizhou.
Previously, she didn't want others to know she came from Jizhou. She envied the noble ladies born in the capital, who spoke fluent Mandarin, elegant and refined, making her seem like a country bumpkin. But now they all come to ask her about the scenery of Jizhou and the appearance of the Xiongnu. She no longer envies their ability to compose poetry; instead, they want to ride horses with her.
So she began, “Yesterday I went to my maternal grandparents’ house, but my aunt wasn’t there. Usually when I go there, she’s the one who accompanies me. She’s been so good to me, almost beyond compare. My grandparents have always told me that only my aunt, as my legal mother, would truly care for us. They’ve also always said that my aunt looks a lot like my mother, and they even dress her up according to the style of my mother’s clothes and jewelry. Although I don’t remember my mother anymore, looking at the portrait, she looks more than seven or eight parts like her, and at first glance, it’s hard to tell them apart.”
She fell silent after saying this, and Lingyi asked, "What do you want to say to me?"
Qin Yinrong was struggling internally.
She already understood what her maternal grandparents were planning, but having grown up in their household, the pain of being schemed against and the entanglement of family ties made her unable to continue speaking.
Fortunately, aside from asking her one question at the beginning, Lingyi didn't press her or even look at her again, as if she had never spoken.
Qin Yinrong thought of her new friend and the lessons her teacher had taught her, and finally spoke again: "I have a cousin who has no sense of propriety and is extremely arrogant. Yesterday, when he saw me, he proudly told me that my aunt was not at home yesterday because she went to see my father, and that he also said that in the future..." She said with some difficulty, "Soon I will be calling my aunt a princess... I'm afraid they might have some schemes, and I thought if you knew, you could be on guard."
Everything that seems abnormal has a reason.
Lingyi paused for a moment, then said, "There's no need to be on guard."
Qin Yinrong asked, "Are you that confident?"
Lingyi smiled slightly: "She should have succeeded already."
Qin Yinrong felt as if she had been struck on the head: "Then..."
Lingyi instructed her, "Since you've come to tell me, you must be satisfied with me as your mother. Rain is inevitable, and a man's heart may change; no one can control that. But some things, if you don't tear them down, won't leak; once you do, nothing can be hidden anymore. So this matter is between you, me, heaven, and earth; don't tell anyone else. Can you really do that?"
This meant she was being treated as an adult. Qin Yinrong nodded solemnly, then suddenly realized something was wrong, "Aren't you... sad?"
Although she was young, she had heard stories of devoted women and unfaithful men.
When my aunt found out that her uncle had a new woman, she didn't dare to say anything, but my cousin said that she cried for several nights in private.
But why is this stepmother so calm when her father has changed his mind?
Lingyi paused for a moment, then showed a sad expression. "Of course I'm sad, but there's no use being sad. If you care about me, remember what I just said: don't tell anyone about this. You absolutely cannot let anyone know that I already know."
When her stepmother was explaining things to her, she felt a little proud, thinking that she had finally become an adult. But at this moment, Qin Yinrong felt that she still couldn't quite understand.
Especially after school ended, Qin Yinrong saw her father, the king, who had come to pick up the princess.
The princess was still all smiles, but when her father helped her into the carriage, Qin Yinrong felt that she was still too young.
.
Before he knew it, the year was drawing to a close, and the Emperor ordered Prince Duan to go to Jizhou to offer sacrifices to his ancestors on his behalf.
General Qin's dying wish was to be buried in Jizhou, so that he could guard the border even in death. Therefore, after the new emperor ascended the throne, he did not move his coffin, and people were required to go back to worship his ancestors every year.
In previous years, when a new dynasty was newly established and the country was not yet stable, the emperor could not leave the capital without permission, and the ancestral worship was performed on his behalf by his clansmen from Jizhou. Now that the new dynasty is stable, this is the first time that the new emperor has performed the ancestral worship ceremony, and the person he sent was not the crown prince, but the Prince of Duan. Isn't this intriguing?
Qin Lie wanted to take Lingyi with him, but Lingyi refused. Jizhou was bitterly cold, and his trip would be rushed, taking less than a month to return. He would have to travel at high speed, and if he didn't return, someone would have to go to the palace for the New Year. If she, the Princess Consort of Duan, was not there, it would be too conspicuous.
Moreover, Qin Shuo had just gotten engaged to the second daughter of the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review last year, and they would definitely have to visit each other during the New Year. How could the mansion be left unattended?
Qin Lie reluctantly agreed after considering this.
The night before he left, he lured her to bed early.
Lingyi grabbed his collar, panting, "Why haven't you taken your clothes off lately?"
Qin Lie chuckled: "Not taking off your clothes won't stop me from serving the princess perfectly."
When Lingyi woke up the next day, he had already set off. After that, she received a letter from him every three days. There was nothing else to say, only that he had been there that day, what he had eaten, and if he had any good food, he would send it to her with the letter. There was no need to reply to these letters of reassurance. When he didn't want to write anymore, he would ask her in his letter what was going on at home.
Lingyi then had Qin Shuo and the other two write him a letter each, and she also wrote one back herself. She wrote that she liked the food he sent her very much, and that he could buy more when he came back. She also wrote that after the Little New Year in a few days, when the school would be closed, she would take the children to the estate and asked him not to write any more letters.
The letter came exceptionally quickly this time. He said he wrote the letter simply because he missed her, but her reply was so short that she clearly didn't miss him.
The letter carried a hint of resentment, so Lingyi put it away, pretending she hadn't received it, and took the child to the estate.
This time when they arrived at the estate, Huan'er had grown a year older, so it was inconvenient for her to stay with her. She also stayed in a separate courtyard.
With Qin Lie gone, they became even more unrestrained, spending their days riding horses, shooting arrows, and playing around. However, this time Qin Yinrong was clearly serious. Even though she fell behind in the competition again, she didn't throw a tantrum. Instead, she practiced shooting arrow by arrow without stopping for a single day.
Lingyi didn't go and fool around with them. In the past, Qin Lie was always by her side when she came over, but this year she was alone. She rode her horse up the mountain by herself.
There are no large mountains in the outskirts of Beijing. This mountain range belongs to the Prince Duan's residence and is not dangerous. Therefore, only two guards followed at a distance.
She finally reached the mountaintop. It had snowed earlier, and the snow at the foot of the mountain had melted, but the mountaintop was still covered in white snow, and her breath was filled with white vapor. She gazed into the distance, her heart filled with clarity and tranquility.
She turned around abruptly when she sensed someone approaching. She saw a man dressed as a guard standing behind her. He was tall, with thick eyebrows and a commanding presence.
She exclaimed in surprise, "How did you get here?!"
Song Pingkou looked at her with almost greedy eyes, "I'll take you away, and leave the Central Plains with Lin'er!"
At the mention of Lin'er, tears welled up in her eyes. "Is he alright? You rescued him?"
After saving Lin'er's life, she finally got Qin Lie to agree that Third Sister would take care of Lin'er, and that she would see Third Sister every six months. She hoped this would guarantee Lin'er's safety; Third Sister would never betray her, even at the cost of her own life, and would certainly treat Lin'er well. But even if Lin'er was safe, she would never see him again.
Song Pingkou reached out and wiped away her tears, saying softly, "I went to see him, but I didn't dare to alert him. I wanted to wait until I rescued you before going to find him. I'll take you to an island then. There's no snow there all year round, and tall trees grow there, bearing fruits I've never seen before. They have yellow flesh inside, smell bad but taste delicious. There's also a kind of fruit that's hard on the outside, but inside there's white juice and flesh, sweet and delicious. I'm sure you'll like it."
Lingyi paused for a moment, then said, "I am relieved that you can take Lin'er with you. But if you take me with you, I'm afraid you won't be able to escape either."
Song Pingkou pursed his thin lips. "Are you afraid you won't be able to leave? Or do you not want to leave? You killed me, but you can't bear to part with him, can you?"
He finally brought up the matter, and Lingyi asked, "Didn't you hate me for treating you like that?"
“I thought you were going to kill me, so naturally I hated you,” he said slowly. “But I don’t know why, I let you go in the end. Later, I woke up on the ship and found that I was still alive. I immediately regretted it and regretted not killing you. But this time when I came back, I passed through Zhuozhou and saw the people living in peace and prosperity there. Even though dynasties had changed, the incense in front of the Song family ancestral hall was still burning continuously, which was their daily offering. I knelt in front of the Song family ancestral tablets for a whole night and felt that you did the right thing. If you hadn’t stopped me, even if I had died, I would have no face to face the ancestors of the Song family who swore to defend Zhuozhou to the death, and I would have let down the millions of people who regarded our Song family as gods. I don’t hate you, but I should thank you. So I came and wanted to take you away.”
Lingyi gazed at him and said, "General Song said the same thing before he passed away."
Song Pingkou could not hide his shock, "You...you went to see him off?"
Lingyi comforted him, saying, "He knew you and Lin'er were alive before he passed away, and he left peacefully."
Song Pingkou's eyes reddened, and he said in a deep voice, "It is I who am unfilial."
The wind blew up the snowflakes on the ground, blinding the two of them.
Song Pingkou stepped forward and took her hand. "So, do you want to come with me?"
Lingyi looked at him frankly: "I don't want to hide it from you. All along, I have only used and deceived you. It has never been from the heart."
Song Pingkou calmly said, “I’ve thought about these things a thousand times when I was alone on the island. But what could a woman like you do in that chaotic world? When you were by my side, you were only trying to protect yourself and Emperor Chengtai. But your care and consideration for me were genuine. I don’t blame you. I’m just glad that you chose to use me. You said you weren’t sincere with me, but if you really had no feelings for me, why would you have taken such a big risk to save my life? And why would you have gone to see my father off as the Princess Consort of Duan? Besides, we still have Lin’er. If we leave here, we can forget everything and start over. You don’t need to worry about us not being able to leave. I will arrange everything. I only ask you, are you willing to come with me?”
Lingyi lowered her head: "My life has been full of twists and turns. Only when I was by your side did I have a few years of peace. I also want to leave with you and Lin'er, but I still have a child here. I have already abandoned him once, and I cannot abandon him again."
He asked, "Is it for the child, not because of Qin Lie?"
Lingyi looked up at him: "Never."
Song Pingkou breathed a sigh of relief: "That's good."
He took a step back, and at a whistle, another guard stepped forward, knelt down tremblingly, and performed a palace salute, his voice trembling with tears: "This servant Zhou Chuanyang greets the Seventeenth Princess!"
The name that had been buried in the past was suddenly awakened. Lingyi was stunned for a moment before she remembered who this person was. — Zhou Chuanyang, the trusted eunuch of her former brother, the Crown Prince. Why was he here and with Song Pingkou?
The other party had already kowtowed on the ground: "Please, Seventeenth Princess, avenge His Highness the Crown Prince! Avenge the late Crown Prince!"
Zhou Chuanyang kowtowed until his head bled, then knelt on the ground and recounted the whole story.
Lingyi had never understood why the Crown Prince was neither skilled in archery nor fond of swordsmanship. He had studied governance under the old Grand Secretary, while leading troops in battle was the duty of a military general. As the Crown Prince and future emperor, all he needed to do was to recognize and appoint capable people.
But why did the Crown Prince disregard everyone's advice and insist on leading the expedition himself, ultimately leading to his death at Mangshan?
The question that she and Xie Yu had discussed back and forth but still couldn't understand has finally been answered today.
Zhou Chuanyang brought two letters. One was in her handwriting, and the other might be unfamiliar to many, but she recognized it.
That was Qin Lie's left-hand handwriting.
The first part of the letter, written in her handwriting, was very familiar; it was a letter she had once written to the Crown Prince, except that there was an extra page at the end.
It describes how Qin Lie doted on her and listened to her every word, and also that she had persuaded Qin Lie that the Jizhou army would henceforth obey the Crown Prince's orders.
The other letter was in Qin Lie's usual style: concise and to the point, without saying a single extra word. It described the number of troops in Jizhou, how many could temporarily leave the camp, and how many days it would take to secretly travel to Mangshan.
Zhou Chuanyang cried, “Although the Crown Prince was established as the heir apparent early on, he was always suppressed by the old chief minister. If he made a mistake, it was his own fault; if he did anything praiseworthy, everyone would only praise the old chief minister for his excellent guidance. After the old chief minister died, Xie Yu assisted the Crown Prince. Xie Yu was a man of almost supernatural wisdom. Only twice did the Crown Prince fail to heed his advice, and that's when things went wrong. Therefore, the Crown Prince was inevitably frustrated. Just then, your letter arrived from Jizhou. The Crown Prince was overjoyed and immediately contacted Qin Lie. There were a few other letters before that. Qin Lie instructed the Crown Prince to keep the matter secret. The Crown Prince wanted to make a name for himself, so he didn't tell anyone. He even followed Qin Lie's advice and burned the letters after reading them, leaving nothing behind. It was only because this servant felt it was inappropriate that I secretly hid these two letters.”
"On the day the Crown Prince arrived at Mangshan, he received a letter from Qin Lie, saying that he would arrive within five days. The Crown Prince thought that he had been suppressed before, and if he had to wait for Qin Lie's army to arrive before starting the war, he would have another person suppressing him. Therefore, he calculated the time and started the war a day early. At first, the fighting was even, and as long as it was a stalemate, once Qin Lie's army arrived, it would be like a whirlwind. But..."
He sobbed incoherently.
Lingyi continued for him: "However, Qin Lie's army was late in arriving, and the Crown Prince was unable to hold out alone. He was trapped in Mangshan until his death."
After she finished speaking, she let out a bitter laugh.
Yes, this is Qin Lie, fierce as fire, and vengeful to the slightest.
How could the mere head of the Seventh Prince possibly quell his rage?
He once said that revenge would not be complete without personally killing Emperor Chengtai, and that he would tie up Emperor Chengtai's closest relatives and kill them one by one.
In reality, how could he manipulate people's hearts to such an extent?
He caused Emperor Chengtai's crown prince to die, just like his elder brother, amidst deception and despair when reinforcements failed to arrive.
From that point on, the country was torn apart, and the Great Han Dynasty existed in name only.
There is no more perfect revenge in the world.
That year in Huangzhou, he told her that once her father and brother died and Qin Shiyan took control of the capital, the feud between their two families would be wiped clean.
In fact, he had already completed his revenge before that.
She recognized his left-handed writing and had seen him write his own words without hesitation.
Come to think of it, the time her elder brother, the Crown Prince, died was around the time she became pregnant with his child. While he was plotting to kill her brother, he was also wantonly playing with her body. Afterwards, he coldly watched her tremble with fear in order to protect her child, and she tried her best to be nice to him.
She thought she could control him back then, but in his eyes, it was as naive and laughable as a moth drawn to a flame.
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