Luo Zhiheng raised an eyebrow and smiled, deliberately tilting her head with an innocent and naive expression, "Oh dear, Mother—" Her voice was sweet, cloying, and coquettish, making the Prince of Shi beam with joy, and the Poison Saint immediately looked at her expectantly, as if he could hear a father coming from Luo Zhiheng's mouth. But Luo Zhiheng changed the subject, "This is my house, my home. Do I need to knock before entering my own home? Does that make sense? Besides, no one was home when I left. How was I supposed to know that when I came back, there would be people flirting and doing things inappropriate for children in my house?"
"Did you get my permission to come into my house? Did you get my approval? Mother, Father, this is not kind of you. You're setting a bad example for the children."
Upon hearing the word "Father," Poison Saint was truly overjoyed, content with his daughter and not caring about anything else. He immediately abandoned the World King and ran to Luo Zhiheng's side, excitedly grabbing her hand and saying, "My dear daughter, it was wrong of me to come in without knocking. I apologize to you. It's all your mother's fault. If it weren't for her, how could I have come in? My dear daughter, don't be angry. Don't hurt yourself."
Luo Zhiheng smiled shyly, deliberately pulling on the Poison Saint's arm and saying sweetly, "I know Father loves Heng'er the most, Heng'er won't be angry."
The king couldn't stand their two faces, switching between enemies and family in an instant. He said sarcastically, "That's enough, you two. I'm not dead yet. Are you trying to drive me crazy? And Heng'er, I'm your mother and he's your father. Can't you give your parents some face? Next time you hear any noise inside, could you please make a sound?"
The Queen was also puzzled. How could such a handsome, dashing, and highly skilled queen not hear her youngest daughter's movements? It shouldn't be like this. But ever since Luo Zhiheng began cultivating the body-restoring techniques from the Divination Palace, she could no longer sense Luo Zhiheng's presence or footsteps. This was strange, but it must be the magic of the things emanating from that wondrous place, the Divination Palace.
Luo Zhiheng laughed and said, "I really didn't hear anything just now. If I had, wouldn't I have heard my father cursing me to death? I can't hear it, I can't hear it, that would hurt our feelings. Right, Father?"
The Poison Saint's face flushed red and then turned pale, a truly fascinating sight. Upon hearing this, he quickly nodded and said, "Yes, yes, I shouldn't have heard that. It's all your fault. Let's see if you'll still act like a hooligan in front of your daughter."
The King was both amused and exasperated. When would Yun'er ever learn to be a little more sensible? Heng'er had just given him a way out, and he immediately turned back on himself. How could he be so adorably silly?
Luo Zhiheng teased him a few times, mainly because she was afraid that the Prince and his wife would be embarrassed. At this moment, she could no longer hold back. She quickly walked up to the Prince and held out her fair little hand. There was a hint of anxiety and unease between her brows. She smiled with her rosy lips and said, "Mother, quickly give me Yunhe's things."
The King glanced at her hand and said slowly, "Now you know you need to please me? Who was it that was laughing at her mother just now?"
Before Luo Zhiheng could speak, the Poison Saint was already furious: "Damn it, what are you pretending to be? Give my daughter the things right now!"
"Protecting your own!" The King glared at the Poison Saint and cursed inwardly, but his gaze was full of doting and amusement. Seeing that Luo Zhiheng's face was red and her hair was still wet, he couldn't bear to tease her anymore. Instead, he said, "You dare to run around outside with your hair still wet? That's ridiculous! If you continue to act like this, that mother will reduce your chance to see the crystal by one."
"Oh, Mother, I was wrong. Please give it to me quickly." Luo Zhiheng shook the Prince's arm anxiously, and even the tip of her nose was covered in a layer of sweat.
Luo Zhiheng's current constitution is like this: she gets cold very easily and is also intolerant of heat. She will sweat hot and cold sweats if she is slightly nervous or emotionally excited. Although it is very frustrating, her body has not fully recovered, so there is nothing she can do about these aftereffects.
The King took out a handkerchief and carefully wiped away Luo Zhiheng's fine sweat. The Poison Saint then brought a cloth to wipe Luo Zhiheng's hair. Despite being a woman who had been a man for decades, the King's movements were not rough at all, and the Poison Saint, a grown man, wiped Luo Zhiheng's hair with ease and gentleness, without hurting her in the slightest.
They acted with such naturalness, as if they had performed countless transformations. It was as if Luo Zhiheng truly was their daughter, and only through their meticulous care from childhood could they have such tacit understanding and warmth today.
Luo Zhiheng was deeply moved, and her anxious heart gradually calmed down. She knew that these two people were pampered and that their skillful care was something they had honed over the past six months. Luo Zhiheng was extremely grateful for their meticulous care and concern. She couldn't refuse their kindness because of her own impatience, so she patiently waited for them to finish taking care of her.
Then, Qi Wan's panting voice finally came from outside: "Oh dear, I'm exhausted. Master, are you in your room?"
"Seven bowls? Why are you panting so much? What happened? Where is the master?" The wet nurse's anxious voice followed.
Luo Zhiheng's lips curled up, and she quickly called out in a sweet voice, "Nanny, I'm in my room, it's alright."
The wet nurse was terrified by Luo Zhiheng's numerous brushes with death. Ever since she learned that Luo Zhiheng was indeed Luo Zhiheng, she had stayed by her side every step of the way. She would become extremely anxious at the slightest sign of trouble. Only in the last few months had she begun to recover slightly. Furthermore, the wet nurse harbored a deep-seated fear of the Silver Moon Kingdom and said she didn't want to return. However, this time, because the old man said that returning to the Silver Moon Kingdom would be particularly beneficial to her health, the wet nurse immediately followed him back without hesitation.
Luo Zhiheng is destined to owe many debts of gratitude in her life, but these debts are all earned through genuine exchange and cannot be replaced by anything. They are family.
The wet nurse rushed in and saw that both the Prince and the Poison Saint were taking care of Luo Zhiheng. Relieved, she quickly and respectfully walked over to take the handkerchief from the Prince's hand: "Your Highness, let me do it."
The King raised an eyebrow, and the wet nurse immediately understood and took a step back. The King said softly, "It's not tiring for me to wipe my daughter's sweat. But you, wet nurse, need to rest. You've been working hard lately. Loge and Awu have to go back; the army and that country need them. The King and Queen can't always be with Aheng, so I'm sorry to trouble you and Qiwan."
Qi Wan followed in, just in time to hear this, and together with the wet nurse, said, "It's all what this servant should do."
Qiwan chuckled innocently, "I belong to my master. I can only be well if my master is well. I hope my master will be happy and joyful for the rest of his life, so that I can have enough to eat every day."
A response so honest it was almost laughable made everyone laugh genuinely and kindly.
The King couldn't help but marvel at the diverse array of people surrounding Luo Zhiheng. There were those as clever and forthright as Murong Qianxue, as warm and sincere as Nan Yu'er, as responsible as Elder Tong and General Murong, and the loyal protectors like these close associates before him. Truly, character shapes destiny. Not one of these people abandoned Luo Zhiheng and Mu Yunhe during their most perilous and difficult times.
Isn't this also how Mu Yunhe and Luo Zhiheng treat others?
"Alright, another straightforward girl. Remember not to let your emotions fluctuate too much in the future, understand? Here you go." As he spoke, the Prince carefully took out an exquisite jade box from his bosom. It was about ten centimeters long and wide, but very thin.
Luo Zhiheng excitedly took the box and went back to her room. Her heart was pounding, and she was filled with anticipation that Mu Yunhe would be different from yesterday, yet also afraid that the changes would be too drastic for her to keep up. She wondered what Mu Yunhe would say, whether he would simply repeat what he said yesterday.
In short, there is a great deal of expectation and urgency.
But once she had the item in her hands, Luo Zhiheng was reluctant to open it. She knew that in order to conserve resources and save on image consumption, no one had seen this item since it was brought back from below, just so that she could see it one more time.
She gradually came to believe that Mu Yunhe had truly returned. Although she still harbored doubts and anxieties, those were merely the panic she felt when she hadn't seen him. But with such vivid and profound images, and given the crystal's miraculous ability to transmit images, surely restoring a complete soul shouldn't be too difficult, right?
The days and scenes in the video change every day, they are all new, and Mu Yunhe is also clear, but it seems that something has changed, probably his tone and attitude when he speaks.
Although he called out "Aheng" aloud, his eyes no longer held the deep affection and longing of the past.
This was what made Luo Zhiheng most uneasy. But she couldn't let her mind wander; she had almost gone mad several times and failed in her cultivation, and she couldn't let herself be put in danger again.
She took a deep breath and carefully opened the jade box. Inside, a small crystal, no bigger than a palm and half an inch thick, lay quietly. As soon as the crystal was removed from the jade box, Mu Yunhe's image began to appear. She reached out and took the crystal out.
Suddenly, a flash of purple light appeared in the crystal, followed by a clear scene: a courtyard with two tall cherry trees, a wooden house, and a small courtyard. The wooden house was built on the water, but the water was not deep. Goldfish lived in the water, and a small wooden arched bridge connected the courtyard to the ground. The cherry trees were in full bloom, and the petals fell gently, some in the air, some dancing, some swirling, and some landing on the water, creating a dreamlike and beautiful scene. The whole courtyard was very unique and beautiful.
This scene lasted for a long time. Although Luo Zhiheng liked the scene, where was Mu Yunhe? She frowned anxiously, but then the scene flashed, and a man in a blue robe slowly walked out of the wooden house. The man's beautiful face was elegant but slightly aloof, and his eyes had a mischievous and somewhat wicked charm. He sat lazily cross-legged outside the wooden house, pointing to the fluttering petals and casually saying, "Aheng, do you like it? This is a gift I specially prepared for you. When you come back, I will give this place to you, okay? Although I don't know if this is the home you are looking forward to, it is something I carefully created. I hope you like it."
In the scene, Mu Yunhe's long, slender fingers held a pink cherry blossom petal, slowly bringing it to his lips. His eyes were lowered, his thick eyelashes trembled slightly, and his rosy lips, beneath his straight nose, suddenly pouted mischievously. With a gentle blow, he sent the petal fluttering down from his fingertips. He blinked, then suddenly looked up and smiled at the person directly in front of him. Amidst the falling petals, his exquisitely charming and captivating face was frozen in this playful yet wicked expression.
That appearance is truly both lovable and endearing!
Luo Zhiheng's smile widened, and the glistening light in her eyes gradually turned into mist as she murmured with longing and infatuation, "Yun He, I miss you so much..."
"Aheng, do you miss me?" In the scene, Mu Yunhe suddenly tilted his head and asked teasingly, resting his chin on his hand.
Luo Zhiheng froze, almost jumping up in disbelief! Her eyes widened, speechless for a long time. Only one thought occupied her mind: Could he see me? Did he really see me?! Was he face-to-face with me right now?!
In the scene, Mu Yunhe rested his chin on his hand, gazing ahead with a dreamy and slightly melancholic look. He sighed with endless sorrow and said, "I... miss Aheng. I miss her so much..."
Luo Zhiheng's tears fell in a torrent, and she cried out uncontrollably, "I miss you too! Yunhe, Yunhe, I'm here, can you see me? I miss you so much, I miss you so much... so much..."
No matter how hysterically and heartbroken she cried, Mu Yunhe in the scene remained oblivious, so Luo Zhiheng knew that Mu Yunhe couldn't see her!
She let herself cry her heart out. Having suppressed her emotions for so long, the constant anxiety and fear of loss made her even more tense and neurotic. She was on the verge of collapse. The immense torment of this stark contrast between outward happiness and inner turmoil was driving her to the brink! Mu Yunhe was her only cure, her sole source of strength!
People paced anxiously outside the door, not daring to disturb Luo Zhiheng. It was rare for her to cry so bitterly; perhaps letting it all out would dispel the pain and unhappiness she had been suppressing. Luo Zhiheng's cries and words were so heart-wrenching, so infectious, that it was inevitable to shed tears and feel sorrow upon hearing them.
That day, Luo Zhiheng locked herself in her room and wouldn't come out. She cried until who knows how long, repeatedly gazing at the beautiful scene and the beautiful Mu Yunhe, whom she longed for day and night. Only when she was completely exhausted did she fall asleep in extreme fatigue.
The next day at noon, after Luo Zhiheng woke up, she ate, exercised, and took her medicine as usual. Everyone was unsure of her mood, and no one dared to speak up easily. However, after dinner, Luo Zhiheng took the initiative to say, "Mother, Father, and Nanny, I want to go back to the Mu Dynasty."
Without needing to listen carefully or confirm repeatedly, everyone could hear the firmness and unquestionable nature in her words. She was simply telling everyone her decision, not discussing or pleading.
The wet nurse quickly looked at the King, her anxiety evident in her eyes. Luo Zhiheng's current physical condition truly prevented her from leaving Silver Moon Kingdom. Who knew what dangers and hardships she might face upon returning? How could they be at ease until her health was fully restored?
The Prince understood this as well and tried to persuade him, "Although the old man said you can go back after a year, he also said it would be best if you could wait until three years. Anyway, Mu Yunhe is there, your father, brother, and your master are all watching over him, so he can't run away. Why don't you rush back?"
“That’s right, didn’t Mu Yunhe say that you shouldn’t go back until you’re healed? He wants a healthy Aheng,” the Poison Saint quickly said.
Luo Zhiheng shook her head, her attitude resolute but her voice gentle, and said, "I can't wait any longer. Every time I wait for the crystal to arrive, it is the day I look forward to the most, because I thought that would ease my longing for him. But every time I see Mu Yunhe's image, I know I am wrong, because I can see him but I can't touch him or feel him, and I miss him even more."
“Every day I miss him so much that my heart aches. I don’t know if you can understand that feeling. I’m even afraid that one day I might die from heart pain before I even see him again. That would be too terrible. I really can’t wait any longer, Mother, Father, please grant your daughter’s wish. I promise I will be safe and sound, I will take good care of myself, and I will take my medicine and exercise on time as usual. Please let me go back.” Looking at them pleadingly, Luo Zhiheng gritted her teeth to keep herself from crying.
Poison Saint couldn't bear to see Luo Zhiheng like this and subconsciously wanted to give in. He was stopped by the Prince: "This matter needs to be discussed with your grandmother. After all, your grandmother treats you like her own life. If anything happens to you, your grandmother will definitely not be able to live either. You can't just think about yourself and ignore your grandmother's life or death."
Luo Zhiheng nodded, but before she could speak, she heard the Empress sigh helplessly from outside the door: "If I say I disagree, will you even hold a grudge against your grandmother, Aheng? Fine, I won't stop you, but before you leave, I will give your mother justice!"
560 The Secret History of the Silver Moon: The Past of the Emperor and Empress, and the Mystery of Qin Yinheng's Origins!
Updated: 2014-01-16 18:51:53 Word Count: 7628
Luo Zhiheng's mother, Qin Yinheng, was the most legitimate legitimate princess of the Silver Moon Kingdom, the most rightful heir to the throne, and the Empress's only child. However, many years ago, a scandalous incident occurred in the Silver Moon Kingdom. The incident happened suddenly, and various factors collided, coupled with the malicious plots and sabotage of some people, resulting in an irreparable tragedy that left Her Majesty the Empress living almost the entire life in regret and pain.
Upon learning that the Empress wanted to discuss her mother's affairs, Luo Zhiheng set aside all her worries and listened attentively. She looked intently at the Empress and asked the question that had long troubled her: "Grandmother, I don't know the details of what happened back then, and the only one who knew was my wet nurse, who was very young at the time. However, she remembered many things. You carried my mother for ten months and gave birth to her; how could you not know if this child was your biological daughter? Why were there later doubts about her lineage? Even if someone maliciously framed and sabotaged the relationship, the child was yours; didn't you know that?"
The Empress was already showing signs of aging; her hair was streaked with gray, which she could no longer conceal, as she walked along the quiet, deserted path. Luo Zhiheng's words made her body stiffen abruptly. She slowly looked up at the sky, the vicissitudes and scars in her eyes particularly evident in the dappled shadows of the trees.
"It's true that I gave birth to this child, but the person who orchestrated this was incredibly cunning and malicious. I was too careless to fall for it." The Empress sighed through gritted teeth and continued walking with Luo Zhiheng. She didn't say where she was taking Luo Zhiheng, and Luo Zhiheng followed along.
"Granddaughter wishes to hear the details." Luo Zhiheng showed no excitement or anger, and calmly walked beside the Empress, taking her arm in a friendly and natural manner.
The Empress's voice also seemed to have aged considerably, filled with resentment as she said, "After I gave birth to your mother, my health was poor, and I often fell into a coma. I had no choice but to entrust everything to the Empress, your grandfather. Admittedly, I trusted your grandfather very much, but I am the Emperor, and I also have the suspicion of an emperor, and not only that, but I have a lot of it."
"I originally thought it was just postpartum weakness, and that I would recover after a period of rest. Besides, I was indeed quite old when I gave birth to your mother. I never want to experience that feeling again in my life. I spent three months in bed feeling weak and dazed. During those three months, everything fell on your grandfather's shoulders. Men in the Silver Moon Kingdom are as delicate as women in the secular world, needing to be cared for and protected. Your grandfather came from a military family, but he did not have any of the imposing manners of a military son. Instead, he possessed the kind of gentleness and delicacy that women in the Silver Moon Kingdom admired."
"Furthermore, your imperial grandfather's health was poor from a young age, so his family naturally showed him a great deal of favoritism and pampering, which fostered your royal family's fierce and intolerant character, and also made him intolerant of any wrongdoing. His cautious and meticulous nature meant that entrusting him with the management of court affairs would have been foolproof. But my mistake was forgetting this aspect of his personality, as well as the wolfish ambitions and covetous eyes of others!"
As the Empress spoke, Luo Zhiheng, looking from the side, could almost see the throbbing veins on the Empress's neck, which were half-exposed under her collar. The hand holding the Empress's arm also felt a weight and tension. She knew that the Empress was still regretting the mistake and oversight she had made back then, and still hated the person with the wolfish ambition.
The Empress continued, "Your grandfather was the mother of the nation, the Empress. He already controlled the entire harem, and my harem has always been a place where a hundred flowers bloom. He already had to be careful to deal with those men, and now he also had to manage the entire court. All the big and small matters fell on his shoulders. He could manage for a few days, but he simply couldn't handle it in the long run."
"Moreover, with more power comes more control, and given his personality, he is prone to offending people and causing resentment. He is also afraid that I will worry and be unable to recover properly, so he doesn't tell me anything and just endures and tries to find solutions on his own. He is wholeheartedly devoted to me and the Silver Moon Kingdom, but the ministers at the time became increasingly wary of him, fearing that he might also want to overthrow me like other emperors and become emperor himself."
Luo Zhiheng said angrily, "How could that be?! Although I have never met my grandfather, I can tell from my grandmother's words that he is definitely not a power-hungry person!"
The Queen gave a bitter smile: "You, a child who has never even met him, can distinguish right from wrong and firmly believe in him. It's laughable that I, who have shared a bed with him for so many years and have always said that I love him and believe in him, have hurt him at the most crucial moment."
Luo Zhiheng frowned, hesitated for a moment while supporting the Empress's hand, but did not let go, and cautiously guessed, "What happened to Grandfather, Grandmother? Did you believe someone who slandered you?"
To her surprise, the Empress nodded. Luo Zhiheng's eyes widened in astonishment. For a moment, she didn't know what to say to the Empress.
The Empress's voice was hoarse as she said, "A minister secretly came to the palace to see me, listing many of the Empress's crimes and indiscretions, and also expressing his worries and speculations. At that time, I... almost felt that I was truly terminally ill. How could I be bedridden after just having one child? I even suspected that the Empress really had some unspeakable secret, that she had planned everything, that she had betrayed my trust, betrayed our child, betrayed everyone, and that's why we have all come to this."
"It cannot be denied that a seed of doubt was planted in my heart back then. From then on, I dared not easily trust the Empress. I even dared not use the food, clothes and incense that the Empress sent me. But in those years, I did not throw those things away or test whether they were poisonous. I dared not do that, nor did I want to do that. I still believed in my heart that the Empress would not harm me."
"Later, when I recovered, I took back all the power from the Empress. I thought everything would be over and things would return to normal, and the Empress would still be the kind and loving man I loved. But things were different after all! In less than half a year of taking over the power, the Empress's intelligence and talent were able to develop and flourish. She was not a stupid person, and her family was a military family. Her literary and military talents were by no means inferior to ordinary people. In less than half a year of acting as her successor, she was able to uncover some loopholes and bad habits in the army, and she used an iron fist to stop and strictly control them."
The Empress revealed a nostalgic expression and said, "Even I have to praise those achievements, saying they were wonderful and impressive! You can imagine how capable my Empress was back then. And all the reforms she implemented in the military benefited the army immensely, earning her an extremely high reputation and deep affection within the military!"
"Is that why Grandmother was even more wary of Grandfather?" Beneath Luo Zhiheng's calm gaze lay a chill and sorrow.
Throughout history, those who achieve great merit and threaten their rulers have inevitably become suspicious of anyone, even their most beloved, leading to a series of tragedies.
The Queen's eyes reddened. This past event, which she never wanted to mention in her life, was her greatest shame and pain. She had been wise all her life, but she had made a moment of folly, which led her to commit an irreparable mistake.
"Yes, I have doubts about him. I have even begun to truly fear him. I love him, yet I hurt him at the same time. I dare not get close to him, I ignore him, I am unwilling to personally forbid the army from loving him, but I use the method of ignoring him to tell everyone not to respect or love him, because he is someone I do not like."
"At that time, some people cried out for his innocence, but none of that mattered to me. Perhaps in those years, the throne was the most important thing to me. Everything else was just fleeting. The Empress didn't cry or make a fuss, and she wouldn't even come to see me. She just stayed in the palace every day, coaxing our daughter. I thought he was guilty, but later I realized that he just trusted me. He just had a clear conscience and didn't want to argue."
“We kept our distance like that for a year and a half. That was the most painful time for me before I lost him. Every time I wanted to see him or our daughter, I couldn’t muster the courage. It was as if I had done something wrong. But the more indifferent the Empress was, the angrier I became. Her indifference and calmness made me seem narrow-minded and despicable.”
The Empress said in a hoarse voice, "After we gradually drifted apart, the rumors about the Empress gradually disappeared. I lowered my guard and stopped paying attention. But later, when we finally reconciled, all sorts of rumors about the Empress resurfaced. There were even whispers that the Empress was immoral and had secret rendezvous with a guard. They even said... that the child wasn't actually mine!"
Luo Zhiheng's eyelids twitched violently, her heart aching at the twists and turns of the situation, and utterly bewildered by the absurdity of it all: "How could there be such rumors? Your daughter is your own child, don't you know if she's yours? Can't you tell who she looks like? You don't actually believe it, do you?!"
After asking those questions, Luo Zhiheng was stunned, her expression changing repeatedly.
Yes, if the Empress hadn't believed it, then the tragedy of that year wouldn't have happened. If the Empress hadn't believed it, then my mother wouldn't have been living among the common people for decades, and my grandfather wouldn't have died young.
Luo Zhiheng felt a chill in her heart. She suddenly couldn't see clearly the Empress Dowager in front of her, who was willing to pay such a huge price so that she could live peacefully and resolutely. The kind and gentle Empress Dowager, how could she have been so narrow-minded and incapable of distinguishing right from wrong back then?
The empress, her face contorted with bitterness and despair, suddenly stopped and looked at the palace gates that were now faintly visible at the end of the path, her eyes filled with endless longing and remorse.