Chapter 59 059 Your Highness Taozhi wanted to protect me back then, and I…
Yan Lie's temperament changed drastically. He frequently drank heavily and was unpredictable in his temper. The civil and military officials of the Ghostly Realm lived in constant fear, lest they offend their lord and suffer physical pain or even lose their lives.
Fortunately, good news came from the front: General Meng had won a great victory, seriously wounding Crown Prince Lin Shen, and would soon return in triumph.
The Ghost King's gloomy expression finally eased, and he personally hosted a banquet for General Meng to welcome him home.
When A-Meng heard that her master was coming back today, she got up early to wash and dress up, and reviewed all her lessons, including magic and physical skills.
Because of the rumors, the little girl has lost a lot of weight recently. Her eyes have become even bigger, and her chin has become more pointed. Yinye felt sorry for her and reminded her, "Your Highness, even if General Meng returns today, he will have to go to see His Majesty first. He may not have time to come see you."
A-Meng was momentarily lost in thought, but quickly regained her composure.
"It's alright, if you don't come, I'll wait until tomorrow."
Yan Lie issued a curfew, forbidding the princess from leaving her palace without permission, and also set up a protective barrier.
In order to see the return of the ghost army as soon as possible, A-Meng climbed to the roof of the tallest building in Fusang Palace, hugged her knees and looked towards the palace gate, waiting expectantly from the morning dew to the sunset.
Yinye climbed up to drape a coat over the little princess and advised, "Your Highness, don't wait any longer. At this hour, General Meng will probably go straight to the banquet when he returns and won't come to Fusang Palace."
There was something else that Gin-yō couldn't bear to say.
Given the current awkward situation of the Queen and the Princess, it's hard to say whether General Meng would still be willing to associate with them.
Being a princess's tutor used to be a coveted job, but now it's become a hot potato. Having spent too long in this treacherous palace, Yinye has seen far too many sycophants and opportunists.
The little princess seemed to have accepted reality, looking somewhat listless, and prepared to climb down from the roof. However, in the next instant, her big eyes suddenly brightened again, as if the stars had been lit.
"They're back! Master is back!"
A-Meng pointed towards the palace gate and jumped up excitedly. Yin-Ye looked in that direction and sure enough, she saw a dark cloud looming over the area.
That was the army of the ghost realm.
The distance was too far to see the person clearly, and naturally, the master could not be seen either.
A Meng quickly climbed down from the roof and asked the palace servants to help her find out the news.
The Ghost King ordered the princess to stay at home, but the palace servants under the Fusang Palace inevitably exchanged messages with those outside, so soon a palace maid came to report back.
"Your Highness, people outside say that after General Meng entered the palace, he went to the Imperial Study to report to His Majesty, and then he should go to attend the victory celebration banquet."
Yinye thought to herself, "Just as I thought," and then looked at the little princess's expression.
After a moment of silence, A-Meng nodded and said, "Okay, I understand."
Watching the little girl go from being a cheerful little deer at first to being dejected and disappointed later, and then silently returning to her palace with her head down, Yinye sighed softly.
...
Inside the imperial study, the young general knelt on the ground, while the Ghost King above him read the memorial in his hand, his face beaming with undisguised joy.
"Good! This time you annihilated hundreds of thousands of heavenly soldiers and seriously injured Crown Prince Lin Shen. Well done! General Meng, you deserve all the credit for this!"
General Meng humbly replied, "It is all thanks to Your Majesty's widespread prestige, the high morale of the soldiers and generals, and the fear of the enemy that I was able to achieve such a great victory."
Yan Lie nodded in satisfaction and then asked, "I saw that you originally planned to launch a night attack three days later, why did you bring it up so many days earlier?"
General Meng paused for a moment before saying, "I think I have almost finished the lessons I left for Your Highness. In order not to delay Your Highness's cultivation progress, I would like to return as soon as possible."
Yan Lie's expression changed drastically, and he threw the memorial in his hand at General Meng, which hit him squarely in the face. However, General Meng did not dare to dodge and remained kneeling motionless.
"You're being ridiculous! How can you change the military deployment plan so easily because of a mere child?"
In fact, General Meng had also heard the rumors about the Ghost Realm.
When he learned of the princess and the ghost queen's current situation, he brought forward the original attack plan. Fortunately, he was always good at organizing troops, and this temporary change did not affect the military situation. On the contrary, because of the surprise and speed, the casualties were greatly reduced, and the outcome was better than expected.
But he couldn't directly explain the reason.
Yan Lie reprimanded General Meng for another half an hour and also halved the reward he originally intended to give him.
Seeing General Meng's humble demeanor, showing no arrogance and accepting whatever punishment his lord might give him, Yan Lie finally calmed down and softened his tone slightly: "Alright, I'll let it go this time since you haven't caused any trouble. Come with me to the banquet; it's a celebration banquet specially prepared for you."
General Meng did not rise. "Your Majesty, I request permission to visit Her Highness the Princess."
Yan Lie was about to get angry again.
General Meng took out a beautifully blooming peach blossom from his bosom and spoke first: "When I returned to the capital after my campaign, I passed by Wuwang Mountain and saw that the peach blossoms on the mountain were in bloom. I remembered that Her Highness the Princess loves peach blossoms the most, so I picked a branch. She will surely be happy to see it."
Upon hearing General Meng mention Mount Wuwang, Yan Lie, who was on the verge of exploding with rage, suddenly calmed down and stared blankly at the peach blossom branch.
Ameng loves peach blossoms the most, and among all the peach blossoms in the Ghost Realm, those on Wuwang Mountain are the most beautiful. Around this time last year, he and Zhumiao even took Ameng to Wuwang Mountain to admire the peach blossoms.
Peach blossoms, like a pink sea of clouds, covered the mountains and fields. A-Meng, being mischievous, deliberately shook the peach tree branch above his head.
Petals fluttered down, covering his head and body.
Ameng stood in the rain of peach blossoms, tilting her little head back, jumping and clapping her hands, laughing heartily.
Yan Lie closed his eyes, exhaled a breath of stale air, and waved wearily at General Meng.
"Get lost, go wherever you want."
...
A-Meng propped her head up and sighed, then sighed again.
Just then, a deep male voice was heard coming from outside the palace gate.
"At such a young age, he's already learned to sigh?"
Ameng was surprised and turned her head in disbelief, only to see a tall figure standing at the palace gate, waving a peach blossom branch in his hand.
"Master...Master?!"
Seeing the little girl's silly expression, the young general smiled faintly.
"While I was away from the Ghost Realm these past few days, has Your Highness been slacking off?" He stepped forward and noticed the tears on the little girl's face. "Oh, why are you crying?"
After her master returned to the palace, he didn't come to see her. A-Meng thought that he would be like everyone else in the palace, and would have to take a detour to see her in the future. The more she thought about it, the sadder and more heartbroken she became, and she burst into tears without realizing it.
"No way!" With her living, breathing master right in front of her, A-Meng refused to admit that she had cried. She quickly wiped away her tears, took the peach blossom branch from her master's hand, and exclaimed in surprise, "What beautiful peach blossoms! Are they from Mount Wuwang?"
General Meng nodded, took the pendant off his own neck, and put it back on A-Meng's head. In fact, on the day he set off for the expedition, he had sensed the divine aura emanating from A-Meng the moment she took off the pendant, but with the army about to depart, he could not stay.
Unexpectedly, this incident would have such serious consequences that Yan Lie would question the purity of A Meng's bloodline.
When A-Meng saw the pendant her mother had given her again, her expression turned somber, and she said sullenly, "Master...do you not like this pendant?"
After several months apart, the carefree little princess of yesteryear is gone.
The old A-Meng would never have shown such an expression.
General Meng frowned almost imperceptibly, gently placed his large hand on the little girl's head, knelt on one knee in front of her, looked into her eyes earnestly and said, "Your Highness's talisman is very effective, protecting me and ensuring my triumphant return in such a short time. How could I not like it?"
"Then why did Master return it to me?" Thinking that this was the thing that caused the falling out between her father and mother, A-Meng was still very frustrated. She felt that the pendant was not a good thing and was not worth treasuring.
She herself is not worthy of being cherished.
Just then, she heard her master say gently, "Your Highness wanted to protect me back then, and I want to protect Your Highness now."
"In my opinion, Your Highness's safety is more important than my life."
The little girl's long eyelashes trembled twice, and the pent-up grievances she had been suppressing finally burst forth, with large tears falling down her face.
"But, but they all say that I am not my father's child, not the princess of the underworld, but a bastard..."
General Meng placed his hands on A Meng's shoulders and suddenly became serious.
"They all say...? And who are they? Have they found any evidence to prove you are not His Majesty's biological son?"
A-Meng was stumped by her master's three questions in a row, staring blankly at the man in front of her.
The man's dark eyes were as deep as a pool, as if suppressing a turbulent undercurrent of emotions that inspired both fear and heartache.
“Ameng, remember this: rumors are just rumors, they don’t count and they can’t become reality. You know your mother better than anyone else what kind of person she is. Instead of complaining here and being swayed by rumors, you should stand tall, face the difficulties head-on, and seek the truth.”
"Even if one day you find out that you are not His Majesty's daughter, do not lose yourself or your courage."
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Author's Note: The time period in Chapter 57 was incorrect. It originally stated the past 20 years, but it should have been 7 years. This is a correction.
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