knife

Chapter 169 Princess Changle
Footsteps sounded outside the pavilion. The woman who was trimming Tiele's feet looked up, quickly gathered up the odds and ends, helped Tiele put on his shoes and socks, and whispered, "The Empress is here!"

Tiele turned to the side, looking at the woman who was getting closer and closer, and a happy smile appeared on his face.

The woman who walked over had her long hair styled into a single braid and coiled up, wrapped in a pale yellow brocade handkerchief. Her forehead and face were glistening with sweat. She wore a light gray narrow-sleeved shirt, with a white shawl draped over her shoulders, and light gray trousers. She wore deerskin boots and walked with light steps. The riding whip she held in her hand swayed back and forth with her steps.

Standing next to the Tiele people, those who don't know them would most likely mistake them for siblings, and it would be hard to imagine that they are mother and son.

Princess Chang Le married at sixteen and gave birth at seventeen. Now she is almost forty, but even in this harsh northern land, she still looks as youthful as she does in her early twenties.

The palace maid still standing in the waterside pavilion was far inferior to Princess Chang Le in both skin and figure.

"Mother went hunting again today? Looks like she had a good haul!" Tiele said with a smile to the palace maid beside him, "Hurry up and pour water for Her Majesty, you really have no sense of propriety!"

Princess Chang Le smiled and sat down next to Tie Le. "You look much better. Fu Qingzhu is here. I'll send a letter to invite him to take a look at you later!"

"My son has already asked Master Fu's eldest disciple, Fu Cheng, to examine my injuries. They are almost healed, so there's no need to trouble Master Fu," Tiele said.

Princess Chang Le shook her head: "How can Fu Cheng compare to Fu Qingzhu? He's far inferior. Son, never underestimate Fa Tian. This skill is extremely insidious, comparable to your Granny Duanmu's Blood Jade Skill. If even a trace of it is left on your body, it will silently travel towards your heart without you feeling a thing. By the time you realize something is wrong, it will be too late!"

"I'm almost recovered. It's hard to invite Fu Qingzhu, and we can't use Mother's face at this time!" Tiele laughed, "Let Fu Cheng take a look first. After all, he is the next generation's Changchun Valley Master."

"Alright!" Princess Chang Le said, "You must be very careful."

"Mother, don't worry. The old nanny came to check on me a couple of days ago and said that it has been completely cleaned up and there will be no future troubles. Moreover, this time we have turned misfortune into blessing and obtained the Rejuvenation Pill. In the future, when I refine the Sea Condensation Technique, I will not have the same problems as Father!" Tiele said. "Valley Master Fu said that he has tried his best, but he can only extend Father's life by one year."

Princess Chang Le's smile faded.

Her feelings toward Yingzhuo were very complicated.

Do you want me to say I like it?

Not at all.

When she married into the family, Yingzhuo already had a wife and a son who was older than her. She was merely a tool in a political marriage between two countries.

Do you mean you don't like it?
But decades have passed, and Yingzhuo has been very good to him. A few years ago, he even allowed him to leave the palace and live with his son Tiele.

This is how my life will be.

Now that this man is dying, it would be a lie to say I'm not sad, but it also seems inaccurate to say I'm extremely sad.

"Son, do you really want to fight for it?" He reached out and pinched Tiele's cheek, which had become quite thin. "Actually, isn't life pretty good as it is now? When we have free time, we go hunting or grow vegetables on the farm! Isn't that more enjoyable? In the past two years, I've rarely seen you genuinely happy; you always look preoccupied."

Princess Chang Le looked at her son with some sadness.

Born into royalty, she had witnessed such struggles.

Those she loved and respected were all shattered to pieces in these repeated struggles.

This gave her an instinctive aversion to such things.

And his own son, without hesitation, threw himself into this kind of thing.

Tiele picked up a handkerchief and wiped the sweat from his mother's face, saying, "Mother, don't you want to go back to Chang'an to see our old home?"

Chang Le was stunned. After a long while, she shook her head and said, "I don't want to go back. I don't want to go back. I've long forgotten what my old home looks like. I've gotten used to living in Yandu. What's the point of going back? All the familiar people are dead, and the familiar places have become desolate. I won't get anything except loneliness and sadness!"

"But your son wants to go back and see what kind of place your mother used to live in!" Tiele laughed. "Of course, not as a guest, but as a host. I know your mother has always had a burden in her heart! Let your son go and help you heal that burden!"

Chang Le shook her head. "You men, each one of you so ambitious, all claiming to have the world in your hearts. Brother Anze was like that, and so was Brother Anmin. Later, Brother Anmin killed Brother Anze, but the Qin Dynasty still collapsed. Son, don't use me as an excuse. I'm just a mother who doesn't want you to wade through mountains of corpses and seas of blood. If you insist on doing it, I won't stop you. After all, we were born into the royal family. Sometimes, we just can't help it!"

"Thank you for your understanding, Mother!" Tiele hugged Chang Le's arm and said, "My greatest wish is to unify the world. At that time, you will be the most honored woman in the world!"

“Throughout history, countless people have made such grand ambitions, but how many have actually succeeded? Your father toiled his whole life, and all he managed was to allow the Great Yuan to gain a foothold!” Chang Le shook her head and said, “Look at the injuries on your body. You were plotted against once, and this is how you ended up. If it weren’t for Granny, you wouldn’t even have survived!”

Tiele's face flushed red: "That damned Li Dachui is plotting in the shadows. He won't have such an opportunity again. And Mother, my actions were betrayed by certain people, which led to this result. Such a thing will not happen again!"

“If you walk down this path, countless people you don’t know or recognize will plot against you from the shadows.” Chang Le sighed, “How can I be at ease? I’m just pretending to be indifferent on the surface, but deep down I’m worried about you.”

“Now that we’ve embarked on this path, there’s no turning back!” Tiele said firmly. “The third brother betrayed me once, and he knows I know about his actions. Do you think we can still have brotherly affection in the future? If he wins, and his son goes to the Western Sea to herd sheep, that would be considered magnanimous of him.”

"Even if you win, you'll wipe out his entire family, won't you?"

"Yes!" Tiele replied without hesitation. "Didn't all those uncles who fought with Father Emperor end up like this?"

Chang Le nodded: "Since you've made up your mind, then you'll just have to go all the way. By the way, didn't you tell me that Li Dachui would definitely come looking for you? If he really comes, let him come and see me! Sister Qingqiu actually has an orphan. When Duanmu told me about this, it really shocked me. She's really amazing."

“If she were really that powerful, she wouldn’t have died!” Tiele scoffed. “If I had her skills, I would never have lost my life for that bastard Li Dachui back then.”

Chang Le reached out and grabbed Tie Le's ear, twisting it hard. Tie Le dared not struggle and cried out in pain, "Mother, be gentle, be gentle!"

“Son, you don’t understand a mother’s heart. If I had to give my life for yours in the future, your mother wouldn’t hesitate for a second!” Chang Le said slowly. “Besides, I won’t allow you to talk about Sister Qingqiu like that. If it weren’t for her, I would have died long ago, and there wouldn’t be a brat like you here. I wouldn’t be able to live such a happy life like this for so many years. You’ll never understand how I felt back then when I heard that I was going to marry an old man in Yandu!”

"Mother, I will never let you fall into such a situation!" Tiele shouted. "I heard from Granny Duanmu that Li Anze back then was not cut out for great things. I am different!"

“Brother Anze is a good person!” Princess Chang Le sighed.

"A good person?" Tiele chuckled.

Princess Chang Le released Tie Le, stood up, and looked at him seriously, saying, "This Li Da Chui, is he now your enemy as well?"

"Of course!"

"Then why did he still come to see you?"

“In the long run, we are definitely enemies, but in the present, we are both facing temporary survival difficulties, so we need each other,” Tiele said. “So let’s support each other now, and we’ll deal with the future when the time comes!”

"If you have the chance to kill him in the future, will you hesitate?"

“Mother, did he hesitate even for a moment when he plotted against me this time?” Tiele said, “I almost lost my life to him! If he comes, I will have him come to see you, and you can ask my cousin the same questions. I guarantee he won’t hesitate for a moment.”

Chang Le nodded sadly.

"Son, there's something I must make clear to you!" Chang Le said. "After the Chang'an Incident, those who fled to the Yuan Dynasty through various means, if they want to go back and follow Li Dachui, you cannot stop them, much less harm them. They were all Anze's old subordinates, and it's only right that they go back to help their young master!"

Tiele nodded: "Mother, don't worry. I have the mind to do this. Even if they all go back, the total number of people, young and old, is only ten or twenty thousand. They can't influence the overall situation. But people like Qunshu will never abandon me."

"It's their choice; you can't force them to make it!"

“Yes, Mother!” Tiele nodded.

Princess Chang Le sighed softly as she looked at Tiele, who was standing there with his neck stiff, and turned to leave.

Inside the large medical clinic, Fu Cheng looked at the visiting card in his hand, then turned to look at Li Dachui behind him. Seeing Li Dachui nod slightly, he smiled and said to Gao Qunshu, "Thank you for your high regard, Second Prince. Please tell you that I will definitely attend the meeting on time!"

(End of this chapter)