Her righteous and awe-inspiring actions inspired countless people, especially the soldiers here, many of whom regarded Xie Changling as their hero after hearing about his deeds.
Then a large number of people knelt down in unison, pleading, "Your Majesty, please reconsider!"
The powerful and resounding voice stirred deep emotion within Xie Changling.
He glanced around at the people pleading for him, but Xie Changling's gaze finally settled on Song Lingxi. Suddenly, he felt a will to live, instead of facing death calmly as before.
"Your Majesty, I know that I am of lowly status and less than an ant in Your Majesty's eyes. But I also know that even ants try to survive. Please allow me to say a few words in my defense."
"I have guarded the border for five years and participated in no fewer than ten battles, large and small. Among them, I served as the commander-in-chief and defeated the Northern Kingdom three times, protecting the lives of tens of thousands of people on the border."
"I cannot die. Even if I must die, I must not die at the hands of my own people. I must die on the battlefield. I beg Your Majesty to spare my life."
After Xie Changling finished speaking, he kowtowed deeply and did not raise his head again. However, he could feel that the knives pointed at him all withdrew.
From that moment on, he knew he had survived.
...
As he expected, Xiao Jin looked around and saw that all the soldiers had knelt down, and no one was willing to take up a weapon for him anymore!
Xiao Jin narrowed his eyes, finally fixing his gaze on Xie Changling and Song Lingxi, and suddenly burst into laughter.
"Hahahaha, I was just testing you. The men of my Xiao Kingdom should be brave and skillful in battle, both courageous and resourceful. Now that General Xie has achieved this, I am very pleased."
"Guards, bestow upon General Xie ten thousand taels of gold and appoint him as Grand General, granting him double the salary from this day forward, as a reward."
As soon as Xiao Jin finished speaking, Xie Changling quickly accepted the imperial decree and thanked the emperor.
Xiao Jin personally helped Song Lingxi up and led her step by step to the high position, holding Song Lingxi's hand with extra force.
Song Lingxi was already afraid of pain, and with the man holding her hand tightly, she almost cried out in pain, but she endured it.
...
The sounds of string and wind instruments gradually rose, and the rehearsed songs and dances were presented to the audience one by one. The atmosphere gradually eased, and there was no trace of the tense atmosphere from before.
"Xi'er has given me such a wonderful surprise!"
Xiao Jin still held Song Lingxi's small hand tightly, his eyes fixed on her, trying to see into her heart. Why couldn't he warm that heart of hers?
"Your Majesty, oh my—I didn't mean anything by it, I was just afraid you would kill the wrong person."
Xiao Jin still heard Song Lingxi's cries of pain. Only then did he realize that he had used too much force and must have just injured her.
He quickly let go of his hand and saw a bright red handprint. His wrist was gradually swelling up, and the red swelling was particularly noticeable on his fair wrist.
A hint of annoyance flashed in Xiao Jin's eyes. How could he have been so careless? So he wanted to summon the imperial physician to the palace.
Song Lingxi quickly stopped him and whispered, "Your Majesty, I'm fine. It's just a little scary. Don't let it interfere with important matters."
Serious business?
After Song Lingxi reminded him, Xiao Jin remembered that he should lavishly reward the soldiers on the frontier and compensate the families of the soldiers who died for the country.
Xiao Jin wanted to ask Xie Changling about the situation of the border generals, but when she looked up, she found that he was gone!
...
Where exactly did Xie Changling go?
It turned out that he had just seen Song Lingxi sitting next to Xiao Jin, the couple seemed to be deeply in love, and he still felt a pang of sadness in his heart. He drank a few more glasses of wine and then went out for some fresh air.
Avoiding the palace maids and eunuchs, after many twists and turns, they somehow arrived at a peach grove and heard the noise of two children arguing.
"Brother, brother, let's go find Mother."
"But the teacher said we have to finish practicing the calligraphy, and he will come to check it later."
"Oh dear, what's the point of practicing this 'stinky' character? Shall we go find Father Emperor?"
"No, I want to take the calligraphy I've practiced to my mother and father."
"If you won't go, I'll go by myself, hmph, you brat!"
Hearing the children's innocent voices, Xie Changling's brow twitched slightly. Judging from their titles—Father, Mother—could they be Xi'er's children?
He remembered his father's words: the Second Prince was his son, his and Xi'er's son?
Xie Changling became excited, his body trembled slightly, and his eyes were red. He was more nervous and apprehensive than ever before.
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