Jinyi Spring

Once the group had gone some distance, another man whispered, "Second Master, the one sitting in that carriage up ahead is Miss Feng. I heard that her features look a lot like Aunt Chen's back then."

It was Guo Hei. Ming Shanyue had interrogated Xue Jicheng in the imperial prison, and Guo Hei had accompanied Ming Changqing here.

"Aunt Chen" was the name that Ming Shanyue instructed him to use in front of Ming Changqing.

Ming Changqing's bamboo hat weighed down his eyebrows, revealing only half of his weathered face. His gaze was as sharp as a hawk's, with a deep gloom in his eyes. His temples were mostly white with a few black hairs, and his brows were etched with the deep furrows of twenty years of frontier life.

He stood silently in the wind, like a sword yet to be drawn, its sharpness concealed, but still chilling.

Only when he saw the carriage did a barely perceptible tenderness appear in his eyes.

His gaze followed the carriage until it disappeared from sight, then slowly shifted away, looking towards the western horizon.

It seemed to cross thousands of lights, to cross high city walls, to cross countless years, and land on a chubby little girl with two little pigtails.

The little girl, wearing a pale yellow shirt, chased after a little boy, panting heavily, but refusing to stop.

"Brother Qing, Brother Qing..."

Her voice was crisp and clear, and when she smiled, she had shallow dimples on her cheeks and her eyes were as bright as a stream bathed in moonlight.

The little boy turned around to wait for her, and she ran even faster, pounced on him, grabbed his sleeve, looked up and laughed, laughing without a care in the world.

The scene shifts, and crabapple blossoms fall like red rain. Under the tree sits a young woman dressed in plain white, her hands resting on the strings of a zither, not playing, but with her head bowed, lost in thought.

Hearing footsteps, she looked up, their eyes met, and two red clouds rose to her cheeks before she quickly looked down again...

A smile tugged at the corners of Ming Changqing's lips.

That was the best scene he had ever seen in his life.

Fate plays cruel tricks. Because of that woman's evil intentions, his life, and her life, both took a different turn.

She entered the palace, while he went to the border.

For twenty years, he never mentioned her name to anyone, yet her image remained vividly in his mind.

He heard that she had lost weight, that she had aged, and that she had spent her hair turning white in the nunnery.

But in his heart, she was never "Empress Xiao" or "Pure Heart Dharma Master". She would always be that chubby little girl with her hair in a small bun who chased after him, and that blushing young lady who sat under the crabapple tree playing the zither.

Fortunately, fate was kind to her; she survived and completely severed ties with that man.

Ming Changqing exhaled a long breath, which condensed into white mist in the cold wind and dissipated without a trace.

"Let's go back," he said softly.

No matter how anxious I am, I cannot go to Baima Village to see her during this time. At this critical juncture, I cannot bring her even the slightest danger.

The two rode their horses off down another road, with a bird circling overhead.

The carriage traveled smoothly to the palace gate, where passengers transferred to palanquins and stopped outside the Taiji Hall.

Commander Xie strode to the front of the car and whispered, "Miss Feng, we've arrived."

Feng Chuchen stepped down from the carriage with the help of a palace maid.

Looking up, she saw that the Taiji Hall was brightly lit, with shadowy figures reflected on the paper windows. Several eunuchs stood at the entrance, and upon seeing her arrive, they hurried inside to announce her arrival.

A moment later, an old eunuch came out to greet her, bowing and smiling, "Miss Feng, His Majesty invites you in."

Feng Chuchen straightened his clothes, stepped over the threshold, and peony was blocked outside by the eunuch.

The hall was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. About ten people stood on either side. Just by glancing at their figures, Feng Chuchen recognized several of them as Prince Qin, Duke Ming, and Xiao Henian.

Emperor Jianzhang sat behind the dragon desk, his expression complex, with weariness in his eyes and something else churning within him that he couldn't quite put his finger on.

Feng Chuchen walked forward step by step, her eyes lowered, her heart pounding like a drum, but her back straight.

Reaching the center, she lifted her skirt, knelt down, and kowtowed, saying, "This commoner, Feng Chuchen, pays her respects to Your Majesty." She referred to herself as "this commoner."

A dignified yet slightly hoarse voice rang out, "Raise your head."

Feng Chuchen slowly raised her head, her eyelids still drooping.

Emperor Jianzhang's gaze traveled from her eyebrows and eyes to the cinnabar mark between her brows, and from the cinnabar mark to her figure and bearing.

So alike. Absolutely. Those eyes are strikingly similar to those of Empress Xiao from back then. And the heroic spirit between her brows, the sharp angles of her jaw, bear a resemblance to the late Empress Shengde…

Emperor Jianzhang's hand trembled slightly, and a touch of tenderness touched his heart.

At this moment, he had no choice but to believe that this was his biological daughter—the child who was framed at birth, and who had been protected by countless people who risked their lives and gone through many twists and turns to finally return here.

Unfortunately, Xiao died tragically before the major case was solved, without even getting to see her biological daughter one last time.

A complex emotion flashed across his eyes—guilt, pity, and a deep-seated pain.

He beckoned to Feng Chuchen and said in a deep voice, "Child, come here."

Feng Chuchen stood up, walked step by step to the dragon desk, glanced at Emperor Jianzhang, and then lowered her eyes.

Qin Wang, Ming Shanyue, her mother, and Old Madam Ming all gave her advice on how to deal with this father.

The advice was surprisingly consistent: show him respect and obedience, make him feel guilty, and win him the greatest possible sympathy for the brother and sister.

Emperor Jianzhang silently gazed at the girl who was approaching gracefully.

Tall, beautiful, and slender, with a unique charm, her eyes exuded a calm and composed demeanor, without a trace of timidity. Even in simple clothes, just a slightly worn light blue cotton jacket, her extraordinary elegance could not be concealed.

She also bears a slight resemblance to him.

Previously, Emperor Jianzhang had heard Shangguan Ruyu and Ming Shanyue say that Miss Feng was elegant, beautiful and otherworldly, far surpassing many noble ladies.

He didn't believe it. Growing up in the countryside, she might be pretty, but to say she was elegant and otherworldly was probably an exaggeration.

But now she looks even better than they described. Not to mention those noble ladies, even the other princesses in the palace can't compare to her in terms of poise and bearing.

Doctor Feng truly lived up to her title of "Mother of a Thousand Infants," raising this child exceptionally well.

Emperor Jianzhang reached out and slowly grasped Feng Chuchen's hand. Her small hand had distinct knuckles, and thin calluses remained on her thumb and forefinger—marks left from practicing the Divine Needle technique. It was also unusually cold; he assumed it was from sitting in the carriage for a long time and feeling the chill.

He held on for a good fifteen minutes before letting go, and his eyes welled up with tears.

“My child, you have suffered all these years.”

Feng Chuchen felt that he was not genuinely repentant, but rather putting on an imperial act.

Anyone can act.

Feng Chuchen looked up, her eyes suddenly reddening, but she held back her tears. Her tearful eyes, like black grapes soaking in water, looked at Emperor Jianzhang with reverence.

She gently shook her head and whispered, "I don't feel bitter. It's those who died protecting me who suffer. And my mother, I heard she..."

At this point, tears finally welled up in her eyes. "I've never met my mother. I heard from Lord Ming and Young Master Shangguan that she is gentle and virtuous, extremely beautiful, and plays the zither beautifully..."

She sniffled, her voice becoming even more choked up. "I've known since I was little that I was adopted, and I've even heard people call me a wild child. I dream about what my biological parents look like, and whether they abandoned me because they couldn't afford to raise me."

"In June of this year, Lord Ming told me about my background, saying that my father was the emperor, the most honorable person in the world. I was forced to live among the common people, and my mother became a nun, both of whom were harmed by villains. Aunt Cai and General Wang sacrificed their lives for me, one bravely dying and the other suffering half a lifetime."

“They are doing everything they can to seek justice for us. I've been hoping every day that this major case would be solved quickly, that the evildoers would be punished, that the dead would be comforted, and that I could see my biological parents again… Finally, that day has come, but my mother… she…”

Feng Chuchen couldn't continue speaking. She covered her face with her hands, burst into tears, and her thin shoulders trembled violently.

The loyal prince's eyes also reddened, and he knelt down with a thud, his voice hoarse, "It's all my fault. I failed to protect my mother above and my sister below." (End of this chapter)