Mu Xiaolou snuggled up to Mu Hongjin and chatted for a while before she was called away by Aunt Tong. The maid beside her helped Mu Hongjin to stand up. She took a few steps forward and walked to the painted wall with the murals.
The hall was spacious and deserted. The only lively place was the painted wall. The market was crowded and the canal flowed. All the liveliness of Jiyang City was painted on the wall. Everyone's faces were filled with joy and happiness. She hadn't seen this kind of liveliness for many years.
After all, ever since she became the princess, the place she spent the most time in was this empty prince's mansion.
Mu Xiaolou would be sent out of the city after today. The so-called Uncle Wang's birthday banquet was just a pretense. The vassals had not interacted with each other for many years. To avoid arousing His Majesty's suspicion, everyone settled down and the world was peaceful. Now that Uto was hiding in the dark, a storm was brewing in Jiyang. As the princess, she couldn't escape. She had to stay in the city and live and die with the people who couldn't escape. This was the Mu family's strength of character. However, Mu Xiaolou couldn't stay. She was Jiyang's only hope. If … if the worst happened and only Mu Xiaolou survived, there was still hope.
"The lords have already ordered the evacuation of the people." The maid said softly, "Is Your Highness worried about the Young Highness?"
Mu Hongjin smiled and shook her head, "I'm worried about Jiyang City."
The willow tree outside the window had long branches that were soaked in the green of spring. It stretched to the edge of the pond and created small ripples. The carps in the pond fought to be the first to peck at it.
It was the same every spring. The only thing that changed was the people.
When Mu Hongjin was young, she liked life outside the prince's mansion. As the youngest daughter of King Meng Ji, when her brother was still alive, she was pampered like the innocent pearl in the palms of all the wealthy families in Jiyang. She lived a warm and lovely life. However, after her brother passed away when she was sixteen, her life changed.
King Meng Ji started to make her learn many things and set many rules. At that time, Mu Hongjin truly understood how hard her brother's life was. However, it was hard work. King Meng Ji didn't have any other children. As the person who would bear the responsibility of the entire prince's mansion in the future, it was understandable that he suffered.
However, Mu Hongjin found it hard to accept that even her marriage was controlled by someone else.
Now that he thought about it, she was used to being spoiled at that time. She was young and impetuous, so she actually dared to leave. She did not realize at all that if she left her father alone in the Prince's Mansion, how would she deal with the ministers of the imperial court who would break off their engagement? If it was the current Mu Hongjin, she would not have such courage.
The more he took on, the less freedom he would have as his "self." The courage to risk everything would only come once in a lifetime. After that age, after that time, it would never come again. Together with his younger self, they disappeared into the long river of time.
Mu Hongjin really liked Liu Buwang at first.
The young man in white had a cold and cheerless temperament. He was upright and self-restrained, but sometimes he was naive and unsophisticated. He clearly had amazing skills and outstanding skills, but he could seriously find a sheep for a farmer and not complain at all. But Mu Hongjin thought that these so-called advantages, such as kindness and innocence, were all additional. She liked Liu Buwang. At the beginning, when Liu Buwang stood in front of her with a sword under the peach blossom tree and drove away those bad guys for her, it had started.
The hero saved the beauty. In the legendary stories, many happy marriages had been created. She was determined to follow Liu Buwang. She acted shamelessly, cried, coaxed, and lied to him. She used all kinds of tricks on him. Unfortunately, Liu Buwang had always been cold and polite to her, and she didn't see any favor from him.
Mu Hongjin was a little discouraged, but on second thought, compared to others, Liu Buwang was already good to her. He earned little money, but when they ate in the restaurant, he would order a plate of apricot cake for her. When they lived in the inn, he would spend more money to add a thicker mattress for her. He put the money in a conspicuous place and turned a blind eye to her secretly taking some money to buy rouge. If it weren't for the fact that he didn't have a good impression of her, he wouldn't have tolerated her to this extent. Therefore, Mu Hongjin always felt that with one more step and a little more time, Liu Buwang would fall in love with her sooner or later.
Until Liu Buwang's junior sister came down the mountain to find him.
The junior sister was called Yushu. She was different from the shrewish women in Jiyang. She looked so weak as if a gust of wind could blow her away. Her skin was as white as a porcelain doll, like a child under the Goddess of Mercy. She was ethereal and spoke softly, which made people feel tender affection for her. But Mu Hongjin could see a hint of hostility in the girl's eyes.
At that time, she was careless and didn't realize anything. When she heard that Yushu was the daughter of Daoist Yunji, she specially came down the mountain because she was afraid that Liu Buwang couldn't deal with the worldly affairs at the foot of the mountain, so she came to help him. Therefore, she had a good impression of her and treated her as a younger sister.
Mu Hongjin didn't think it was a bad thing that two people became three people. Yushu was always obedient. Unlike her, she never caused trouble for Liu Buwang. More than a month passed in a flash.
When it was time for Liu Buwang to return to Qiyun Mountain, he originally planned to take Mu Hongjin up the mountain with him. But who knew that both inside and outside Jiyang City were investigating the missing Little Highness. The officers and soldiers were checking one by one, even at the foot of Qiyun Mountain.
Mu Hongjin couldn't go up Qiyun Mountain.
She pulled Liu Buwang into the room, looked at him seriously, and said, "I can't go back with you."
The young man thought that she was playing tricks again, so he asked, "Why?"
"Let me tell you." Mu Hongjin hesitated for a moment and told him the truth. "I'm the daughter of King Mengji. I'm the person the officers and soldiers in and outside the city are looking for."
Liu Buwang was stunned.
"My father wants to marry me to the son of an imperial court official to stabilize his position as a vassal. I don't want to, so I escaped. I didn't expect to meet you. I've been very happy this month. Liu Buwang. "She didn't call him" young hero "but directly called him by his name." I don't want to marry him, but I can't go up the mountain with you. What should I do? "
The girl was no longer as lively and mischievous as before. She looked at him quietly with complete trust in her eyes. Perhaps, there was also a little unknowingly dependence.
Liu Buwang didn't know what to say. Perhaps he had long noticed that Mu Hongjin's identity was unusual. A noble girl living in King Mengji's mansion was somewhat different from a girl from an ordinary family in Jiyang City.
Liu Buwang thought for a long time and said to her, "In that case, wait for me in this inn. After I go up the mountain and tell my master about this, I'll go down the mountain to pick you up in two days and find a way to solve this matter. "
Mu Hongjin was a little reluctant. "Are you leaving now?"
"I'll come back," the young man said uncomfortably.
On the day he left, Mu Hongjin saw him off in the open space behind the inn. There was some uneasiness in her eyes, as if she had foreseen something. She couldn't help but grab Liu Buwang's sleeve and say to him, "Liu Buwang, remember what you said. You must come back."
"Don't worry." For the first and last time, he patted her head to comfort her.
Liu Buwang and Yushu left, and Mu Hongjin waited for him in the inn obediently. She believed that Liu Buwang would definitely come back. Although Liu Buwang didn't like her yet, he was a man of his word.
Two days later, Liu Buwang didn't come back.
Mu Hongjin was still waiting in the inn. She thought that maybe Liu Buwang was delayed by something on the way. It had rained for several days, and the mountain road was not easy to walk on. Maybe he couldn't go down the mountain immediately. Or maybe Taoist Yunji had something to tell him, and he couldn't come over until he finished it.
Another five days passed, but Liu Buwang still didn't appear. Mu Hongjin began to feel a little anxious. The world was not peaceful. Could it be that he was robbed by bandits passing by? Although his swordsmanship was powerful, his heart was pure and kind. Even she could deceive him. How could he really fight against those insidious and dirty villains?
On the tenth day, someone finally came to the inn. However, it wasn't Liu Buwang, but the soldiers. The head of the soldiers stood in front of her and said in a respectful and cold tone, "Your Highness, it's time to go home."
Mu Hongjin was taken back to King Mengji's mansion. She was locked in the room. She banged on the window and shouted, "Let me out!"
No one answered.
She began a hunger strike. Her father, King Mengji, ordered people to open the door.
Mu Hongjin rushed to King Mengji and cried, "Father, how could you let them lock me up!"
"Hongjin," King Mengji shook his head and said with a smile. He put the dishes on the maid's tray in front of her, "These are your favorite snacks."
"I don't want to eat." Mu Hongjin turned her head away, "I want to leave the mansion."
King Mengji didn't get angry. After a moment of silence, he asked, "Are you waiting for that young man surnamed Liu?"
Mu Hongjin suddenly raised her head, and her eyes couldn't hide her surprise, "How do you know?"
"He won't come back."
"No, he will come back!" Mu Hongjin couldn't help but say, "He promised me, and he won't break his promise."
"Really?" King Mengji said lightly, "How do you think I found your whereabouts?"
Mu Hongjin was stunned.
The cruel words from her father's mouth instantly shattered the beautiful dream she had been deceiving herself. "It was he who told me where you were."
"He sent you back with his own hands."
Why did Liu Buwang send her back to the mansion? Mu Hongjin didn't understand this question until later. She didn't want to believe King Mengji's words, but Liu Buwang seemed to have really disappeared from her life and never appeared again.
Mu Hongjin gradually believed it later on.
If such a person really wanted to inquire about a person, how could he not find a way? She had persisted for more than half a year, and she really couldn't hold on anymore.
Half a year later, Mu Hongjin got married to the son of an important official in the court. Although she was married, she was called "Prince Wang". The position of Prince Wang was stable, but the heir she gave birth to still took the surname "Mu".
Prince Wang was not as bad as Mu Hongjin said before, but he was not very outstanding either. The two lived a respectful life. When her husband took a concubine, she gladly accepted it. She was not jealous or jealous. Prince Wang also had a sense of propriety and treated her with respect. In the eyes of outsiders, this was the most beautiful marriage in the blind and mute marriage. However, Mu Hongjin felt that her liveliness and vitality had long since disappeared on that spring day like an epiphyllum that bloomed quickly and withered quickly.
She always felt that her heart was empty, and she didn't know what she wanted. Therefore, she could only spend more time on the official affairs in Jiyang City.
A red carp jumped out of the water and stirred up the spring water. After a while, its red tail touched the surface of the water and quickly disappeared.
Mu Hongjin stared at the water in a daze.
She told He Yan that Liu Buwang didn't come to the inn to fulfill their agreement, and the two of them never saw each other again. In fact, she lied. After that, she actually met Liu Buwang again, but that meeting was really not a pleasant one.
It was the second year after she gave birth to the child. She took her youngest son and Prince Wang to the treasure temple in Jiyang City to pray for blessings. The Buddha statue Niao Niao, and the sound of Sanskrit spread far and wide. She prayed for her youngest son to grow up safely and healthily. She prayed for good weather in Jiyang City and for the people to be happy. After praying for blessings, when she was about to leave, she saw that there seemed to be someone peeping outside the temple. Mu Hongjin ordered someone to go over, and the guard caught a young woman and brought her over.
Years had passed since they parted, but that woman was still as weak and obedient as when they first met. She looked at Mu Hongjin with some fear and panic in her eyes.
Mu Hongjin was stunned. It was Yushu.
She subconsciously wanted to look for Liu Buwang. Since Yushu was here, Liu Buwang might also be here.
However, Yushu seemed to know what she was thinking and blurted out, "He's not here!"
"Oh?" Mu Hongjin looked at her and smiled meaningfully.
Time would make a woman grow up quickly. Mu Hongjin was no longer the careless and silly girl who couldn't even distinguish her love rival. Of course, she understood where the hostility in the girl's eyes came from in the past, but Mu Hongjin had never regarded her as an opponent.
She tilted her head, squatted down, and stared at Yushu's face with interest. "It doesn't matter if he's not here. After I catch you, he will naturally appear."
Yushu's expression changed greatly.
Mu Hongjin stood up with a cold expression. "Just say that a female assassin appeared in the temple and intended to assassinate me. The guard has already caught her."
There was a red shadow at the corner of her eyes, which was exquisite and gorgeous. She was no longer the innocent girl with clear eyes.
Mu Hongjin didn't return to the prince's mansion. She stayed in the temple and sent away all the guards and servants. She asked her husband to leave with her youngest son and waited for that person to appear alone.
In the middle of the night, that person really appeared.
After parting for many years, he seemed to have lost the innocence of his youth and became even more cold and unfamiliar. The first thing he said when he saw Mu Hongjin was not to ask her how she had been all these years, but to ask, "Where is Yushu?"
He was emotionless, as if the two of them had always been unrelated strangers.
Mu Hongjin lowered her head and wanted to laugh. She almost suspected that those days in the spring outside Jiyang City were just her own imagination. She regarded Liu Buwang as a hero who suddenly appeared in her life, and Liu Buwang saw her as an accident that he didn't want to see.
"In prison." Her voice was also cold.
Liu Buwang looked at her.
He had changed a lot, and she was so unfamiliar with him. The girl in his memory was completely different from the girl in front of him, who was wearing a red robe and a golden crown and had a cold and arrogant expression.
"It's impossible for Yushu to assassinate you."
"Why not?" Mu Hongjin laughed sarcastically. "You can't judge a book by its cover. Besides, I don't know her."
"Let her go." Liu Buwang said, "Catch me."
The way he looked at her was cold and emotionless, and there was no longer the helpless doting or annoying concession in the past. There was only the calmness of a stranger, and perhaps a little disgust for the "bigwigs."
How ridiculous.
"Why?" Mu Hongjin took a step forward and just looked into his eyes. "She's just your junior sister. Why are you so protective of her? Do you like her?"
She was just testing him. Mu Hongjin didn't know what she was expecting. Perhaps, she was expecting him to deny it quickly, then look at her and say, "You're the only one in my heart." What a vulgar scene. Mu Hongjin would spit in disgust when she saw it in the past, but now, she was looking forward to hearing it from his mouth.
Unfortunately, a story was a story, and a legend was a fictional story. The love and infatuation in the world only increased resentment in the end. How many lovers turned against each other and how many couples disappeared?
Liu Buwang said, "Yes."
She said, "What did you say?"
"I like her."
The young man's voice was calm and direct. For a moment, Mu Hongjin felt that her fingers were trembling. Once upon a time, she also wanted to hear this sentence from Liu Buwang's mouth. For this sentence, she had used all kinds of tricks. Liu Buwang's mouth was very tight. She repeatedly got angry and felt that this person's mouth was made of Shi Tou, and she couldn't pry it open no matter what.
Now, he said it so easily.
It turned out that it wasn't that she couldn't pry it open, but that the person talking to him wasn't her.
She felt more and more ridiculous, and all the things that happened back then flashed through her mind one by one. When she was a carefree girl, she didn't see Yushu's feelings for Liu Buwang. When she was the princess of Meng Ji, she saw it, but she didn't take Yushu seriously.
It turned out that they were in love with each other, and she was the one who was overestimating herself.
What was the use of being the princess of Meng Ji? In love, she lost completely and didn't even have a chance to compete with him. And she had been thinking about him for so many years.
"Back then, were you the one who told my father about what happened at the inn?" she asked.
Liu Buwang said, "Yes."
"When you left back then, did you never think of coming back?"
"Yes."
Mu Hongjin took a deep breath, as if she wanted to see it more clearly and feel the pain more thoroughly. She wanted to uproot something in the bottom of her heart and never look at it again. She asked, "Liu Buwang, have you never had feelings for me?"
Liu Buwang's beautiful eyes stared at her, and his expression was as indifferent as a passerby's. He only said one word, "Yes."
"I see." She murmured, and her eyes were a little hot, but she still raised the corners of her mouth and said, "Since you only love your Junior Sister, then you are willing to do anything for your Junior Sister?"
Liu Buwang looked at her. "What do you want to do?"
Mu Hongjin's fingers stroked his shoulder little by little, and her tone was ambiguous and frivolous. "If you become my lover, I will let her go."
Liu Buwang was very calm from the beginning to the end, and his expression didn't change. Only at this moment, as if he had been stung by something, he quickly took a step back and avoided Mu Hongjin's touch.
Mu Hongjin's body stiffened, and the corners of her mouth curled up mockingly. Her tone was deliberately contemptuous. "What, you don't want to? It's not everyone's good fortune to be the Princess's lover. "
Liu Buwang stared at her. His white clothes were spotless, and the sword at his waist was shining. He was as noble as the first time they met. It was impossible for such an elegant person to accept such humiliation.
She just wanted to humiliate him. Why did she take it to heart for so many years, but he could pretend that it didn't happen at all? What Liu Buwang couldn't do for her, he definitely couldn't do for Yushu.
Otherwise, what would she, Mu Hongjin, become? A touchstone to prove their true love?
Then, she saw Liu Buwang slowly kneel down in the dim temple hall and answer calmly, "Okay."
Mu Hongjin's heart suddenly ached, and she almost couldn't breathe.
What else did he want to prove?
Enough, this was enough. She had asked clearly. Those doubts that had troubled her for many years and the results that she couldn't get, no matter whether they were good or bad, happy or sad, had all been answered. The women of Jiyang dared to love and hate, and they were able to let go. The Princess also had her own pride. She had the entire Jiyang City, so why would she risk her life for a man?
It was just an ill-fated relationship.
She raised her chin and said coldly, "But I'm not willing."
"How can a person like you stand by my side?" Every word she said was like a knife cutting her heart. Even Mu Hongjin herself was surprised. It had only been a month, but why did she have such deep feelings for Liu Buwang? When she personally cut off this ill-fated relationship, she actually felt so reluctant to part with him.
"Take your sweetheart and get out of Jiyang City," she said.
"Thank you, Your Highness."
His voice was as calm as ever, and Mu Hongjin's tears fell in the darkness.
"You and I will go our separate ways. Liu Buwang, from now on, you and your little Junior Sister can never enter Jiyang City. Otherwise, I will kill you every time I see you. "
The corners of the red robe drew a bright and brilliant ray of light in the dark night. It was like a clear boundary, indicating that the two of them would have nothing to do with each other from now on. It was also like the petals under the peach blossom tree when they first met. They spread all over the ground, dazzling people and making them lose themselves in spring dreams, unwilling to wake up.
But there was always a time when one would wake up from a dream.
She let Yushu go and returned to the Prince's Mansion, as if nothing had happened. She and the Prince's husband were still in harmony, and the years were peaceful. However, even though they were married, it was still hard to calm down.
A few years later, Prince Meng Ji passed away. Mu Hongjin gradually began to get busy. A few years later, the Prince's husband also passed away, so she spent all her energy on her youngest son.
Later, her son also passed away, leaving only Mu Xiaolou and her to rely on each other.
Mu Xiaolou was very much like her when she was young. So she always doted on Mu Xiaolou, just like how her father doted on her when her brother was still alive. Mu Hongjin knew very well that once she took the position of the Princess, the bright little girl who would sneak out of the mansion to play secretly would disappear one day. So before she disappeared, she wanted to take care of her and keep her alive for a while longer.
She hoped that Mu Xiaolou could have her own story, and not be like her, who had wasted many years in vain in someone else's story.
The apricot flowers on the branches bloomed in a lively and dense manner. The girls in the garden mistakenly entered the depths of the forest flowers and had a long and beautiful dream. This beautiful dream contained both happiness and sadness, but in the blink of an eye, it seemed like a lifetime had passed.
Her spring day had died a long time ago.
Perhaps, it had never come.
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