PDLP Chapter 1187 Time Makes Her Grow Old
Chapter 1187 Time Makes Her Grow Old
At first, Minglang was cautious and guilty, playing outside for a year. Later, as the Empress Mother's replies gradually stopped urging her to return, she realized that her mother's replies were no longer filled with messages urging her to go back.
She had already reached the north, traveling all the way north and exploring the entire northern border. Looking at the current development of the northern border, it was hard to reconcile it with what her mother had told her a few years ago.
In the North, Bright had no need to hide his identity.
Her face, which bore a striking resemblance to her mother, was recognized as soon as she arrived in the Northern Territory.
Upon receiving the news, local officials warmly welcomed her into the city, treating her to fine wine and meat.
Minglang also saw portraits of her mother in many places, but the mother in the portraits was more heroic and majestic than the mother in her memory.
It's clearly an exaggeration based on the Northerners' preference for a robust physique.
After several rounds of drinks, the officials from the Northern Border had already cautiously probed around, but none of them had guessed what the Crown Princess had come to do in the Northern Border.
The only option was to send orders early on to put the entire city on high alert, forbidding anyone from disturbing Her Highness the Crown Princess.
"I have already arranged a guard team. Wherever Your Highness wishes to travel in the future, I will send people to protect Your Highness's safety along the way."
The northern official spoke a broken Daxia language, which sounded rather strange and amusing.
Minglang could still hold back, but Xiang Ke could tell he was already suffering from internal injuries from holding it in.
His face was already mostly red even before he started drinking.
Whenever a Northern official spoke, Xiang Ke would bury her head in her sleeves, her rounded back of her head bobbing up and down. The clear-headed man had no choice but to let her go out for a stroll and come back when she was more lucid.
Xiang Ke scrambled out of the house, and a moment later, Minglang heard Xiang Ke's even more hearty laughter coming from outside.
The child is beyond saving.
Minglang pointed to the portrait of the Queen Mother hanging on the wall and asked the local northern official.
"Why hang His Majesty's portrait on the wall? I see it in many places."
The northern official looked up at the portrait behind him, his eyes brimming with reverence.
"This story begins with His Majesty's single-handed destruction of the Northern Dynasty..."
Minglang had heard stories about his mother and the North from his grandmother, but he had never heard the version told by the officials and people of the North.
I immediately became interested.
"Tell me about it." Minglang stopped drinking and put down his chopsticks.
Seeing this, the official downed the wine in his cup in one gulp, looked at the portrait, and slowly said:
"Back then, the King of the North was callous and the royal family of the North was cruel and tyrannical. The people of the North had long since lost their way to survive. It was His Majesty who took action to destroy the King of the North and those hateful royal family members, saving the people of the North from their suffering. I'm not afraid of Your Highness laughing at me for saying this."
Before this portrait was hung up, the people thought that the capital of the Great Xia Dynasty emphasized governing the world with benevolence and virtue. They believed that by hanging up His Majesty's portrait and worshipping him devoutly, they might receive some kindness in return.
Recalling what happened back then, tears welled up in the official's eyes without him noticing:
"His Majesty is truly benevolent. Even though the northern border was destroyed, the people lived a better and more peaceful life than before, without suffering any hardship or torment. As a result, more and more of these portraits were hung up, and almost every household had one."
Minglang looked up and saw that next to the portrait of his mother was the portrait of the guardian deity of the North. The two portraits were hung together, one representing his faith since childhood, while his mother seemed to be the new guardian deity of this land.
The statues of gods may not necessarily manifest, but when the people are suffering, the Queen Mother will not stand idly by if she knows of it.
After finishing his drink, Minglang, when he was alone and quiet, began to write down this little story, planning to send it back to his mother in a few more letters.
The next day, Minglang planned to take his people for a tour of the city to see how the streets here differed from those of Daxia.
Qin Xiaosi handed over a mask.
"Your Highness, would you like to cover your face?"
Thinking of the portraits hanging on the walls of every household, Minglang did not refuse. He put on the mask and went out with his people.
As soon as they stepped out the door, Minglang noticed the guards following behind them.
He said to Qin Xiaosi, "Tell them all to leave. If the capital of the Northern Territory is so afraid of something happening, then the safety of the Northern Territory really needs to be reassessed."
After Qin Xiaosi relayed His Highness's words, not long afterward, the guards who had been secretly protecting him all disappeared.
But the people along the way couldn't help but stare at Minglang's face.
Unable to find a way to escape the gazes of the crowd, Minglang simply removed his mask, facing the astonished and shocked looks on the faces of the people.
He walked calmly and confidently down the streets of the northern capital.
"Your Highness, don't you feel uncomfortable with these people staring at you like that?"
Wherever they went, they were stared at in astonishment, making even an extrovert like Xiang Ke somewhat introverted.
Minglang: "It's my fate to be the center of attention wherever I go because I have a famous mother. I accept it."
After hearing this, Xiang Ke exchanged a glance with Xue Wan, who was walking beside her. She felt that His Highness had become more shameless since he had been out for a while.
His Highness would never have said such a thing before.
After seeing Xiang Ke's gaze, Minglang put a piece of milk candy he had just bought from a roadside vendor into her mouth.
They gagged Xiang Ke to prevent him from saying anything unpleasant later.
After traveling around, upon returning home, he still remembered to write letters to his mother and grandmother, sharing everything that had happened there.
Even though we are thousands of miles apart, my longing for you remains unchanged.
Three months later, on a spring day when the flowers were in full bloom and the cold had passed, Liang Chongyue sat in his mother's back garden, and he and his mother each opened a letter that Minglang had sent back.
Liang Chongyue: "She seems to be having a lot of fun. I'm even a little envious of her."
Knowing that His Majesty was being sarcastic, Xiang Huayue didn't respond, but instead savored the joy and other emotions conveyed in each of Minglang's letters back.
The saying "seeing the words is like seeing the person" has given me a new insight.
Liang Chongyue quickly finished reading the letter Minglang had written to her and noticed that her mother had several unopened envelopes beside her.
An idea suddenly came to mind.
Liang Chongyue: "Minglang has sent so many letters back. After reading them, has Mother found any place that you'd like to visit?"
Xiang Huayue was taken aback by His Majesty's question; she hadn't considered this possibility.
"Does Your Majesty mean you want to take me out for a walk as well?"
Liang Chongyue tilted his head: "That's right. If Minglang can go out and play for so long, why can't I take Mother out for a trip?"
If she doesn't play now, she'll get too old.
In the Great Xia Dynasty, where the average lifespan of emperors was only fifty, she was already nearly forty; time was taking its toll on her.