A hint of sourness welled up in Mei Qingxue's eyes. She had only planned to slip away secretly, never expecting that her mother would guess her intentions. If asked which of the ten lifetimes she was most reluctant to part with, it would surely be this one.
As the carriage pulled up in front of the prince's mansion, they indeed saw the family's carriage.
"Blind fools! Why don't you invite the old lord and lady in?" Du Gu Qing shouted at the guards.
"Father, Mother, come inside and talk," Mei Qingxue quickly stepped forward to support Xia Ruolan.
"Father-in-law, Mother-in-law, come in first,"
Mei Zhenguo and Xia Ruolan saw the chaos in the courtyard. "Your Highness, when is the wedding?" Mei Zhenguo asked.
"Tomorrow!" Du Gu Qing didn't hide anything. Mei Qingxue glanced guiltily at her parents.
"Xue'er, are you really that heartless and not going to tell your mother?"
Tears welled up in Xia Ruolan's eyes.
"I was afraid Mother would cry. If Mother cries, Xue'er won't be able to bear leaving," Mei Qingxue said truthfully.
"Even though my son-in-law is a prince, how can parents not worry about their children?" Mei Zhenguo looked at Mei Qingxue and gently shook his head. "Silly child!"
"Father, Mother, we don't know what the situation will be like when we leave. Brother and sister-in-law will take care of the family, so I have nothing to worry about. Father, take good care of your health and don't make Mother angry." Her mother had given birth to two children. Although they hadn't had a hard life, she had still worried about them a great deal and loved her so much that Mei Qingxue didn't know how to repay her.
In the previous nine lifetimes, she had died miserably. But in this lifetime, she had happiness, joy, family love, and love, as well as everything she couldn't bear to part with.
"Mother, are you carrying a burden because you want to go with Xue'er?" Mei Qingxue saw Xia Ruolan holding a small bag.
Mei Zhenguo gave his daughter a look. "It's all your fault. You've been picky about fabrics since you were a child. Your mother sewed some undergarments and middle garments for you to change into in the south."
"Mother..." Mei Qingxue threw herself at her mother and grabbed her knees. "Mother, it's all Xue'er's fault. I almost slipped away secretly. Xue'er really can't bear to leave Mother, Father, and Brother. Now Jiangnan is our fief. Father, please retire as soon as possible and come to Jiangnan to enjoy your old age."
Mei Qingxue's words made Mei Zhenguo shake his head helplessly. It wasn't that easy for him to retire. Not only would the emperor not let him go, but the future crown prince wouldn't either.
Holding the small bag Xia Ruolan had given her, Mei Qingxue's hands felt like they were on fire. She felt guilty. "No matter where you go, whether it's good or bad, the people who will worry about you the most are your parents. This will never change."
Mei Zhenguo rarely talked to his children about such big principles because his children were very sensible and didn't need them to worry.
The only thing in Mei Qingxue's mind was the poem: "The thread in the hands of a fond-hearted mother / Makes clothes for the body of her wayward boy; / Carefully she sews and thoroughly she mends, / Dreading the delays that will keep him late from home."
Her parents didn't have fancy words or luxurious farewell gifts, but the affection they conveyed was something Mei Qingxue would cherish for a lifetime. "Father, Mother, we will be fine."
"Yes," Xia Ruolan gently wiped away her tears. "We won't delay any longer. We just guessed that your nature would be to slip away secretly. Your father didn't believe it, but sure enough, only Mother knows her child best."
"Father, Mother, we'll set off early tomorrow. Don't worry about us. I'll always put my well-being first wherever I go. The scenery there is pleasant, and the climate is suitable. It's just right for Du Gu Qing to recuperate."
Mei Qingxue stared intently at her silent parents. The heaviness in her heart made it impossible for her to say another word. It was Du Gu Qing who saw them off. She tightly hugged the small bag Xia Ruolan had given her.
Since she was a child, her underwear had to be made of the best palace silk. Otherwise, she would feel itchy. After Xia Ruolan found out, she used the best materials to sew underwear for her by herself. She never trusted others to do it because she wasn't at ease.
"Father, Mother, I'll take good care of Xue'er. You two take good care of yourselves!" Du Gu Qing said. He watched as the two of them slowly got into the carriage. He could tell that Xia Ruolan wanted to say something but held back. He knew that Xia Ruolan actually had something else to say, but for some reason, the words got stuck in her throat.
Du Gu Qing knew that they were reluctant to part with Mei Qingxue and, by extension, him. He had never felt this way before. Watching the carriage of the prime minister's mansion slowly drive away, Du Gu Qing clenched his fists and then slowly relaxed them.
He had already said his goodbyes in the palace. His mother concubine had also looked at him with such a look, but he couldn't stay. The situation in Xanzia was getting more and more tense. He had to leave as soon as possible. He couldn't let the emperor know that he also had the ability to compete for the crown prince. What others fought tooth and nail for, Du Gu Qing avoided like the plague.
"Hubby, do you think Xue'er will like the clothes I made?" Xia Ruolan was a little nervous. She had always only made underwear, but this time there were also a few middle garments.
"She must like them. Didn't you see our daughter almost cry?"
"But I'm so reluctant to part with her!"
"Didn't you promise me not to cry?" The whole house was crying. People would think something had happened. Her son-in-law was just going to his fief in Jiangnan. It wasn't like he was going to some far - off place. Although the distance from their daughter would be a bit farther, they could still meet.
"But I really can't bear it!"
"I feel the same way," Mei Zhenguo covered his wife's hand. There was a hint of sadness in his eyes that Xia Ruolan had never seen before. "Look, I'm not crying!" This was the first time Xia Ruolan had seen her husband with such an expression.
"Lan'er, I want to retire!" Mei Zhenguo's words made Xia Ruolan's heart skip a beat with joy, but then she fell silent. "But..." The emperor wouldn't let him go now. He wouldn't let anyone go, especially Mei Zhenguo.
"Have you noticed that our Xuan'er seems a bit strange?" Xia Ruolan said. Seeing Mei Zhenguo's body tremble, she felt even more strange.
"Xuan'er, I think he wants to be transferred to a remote area," Mei Zhenguo told his wife everything he had noticed without reservation.
"Ah?" Xia Ruolan opened her mouth in surprise. Being transferred to a remote area meant either being a small official in a far - off place or guarding the border. Mei Haoxuan wanted to go to the battlefield!
"Our son has his heart set on the battlefield."
"I know, but our daughter has just left me, and now Xuan'er..." Xia Ruolan's tears finally couldn't be held back. Her children were all born after ten months of pregnancy. Now they were all leaving her one by one. How could she bear it?
"Xuan'er's matter hasn't been decided yet. Don't worry about it for now. The border is peaceful now. Xuan'er will come back after his term is up," Mei Zhenguo comforted his wife.
"Xuan'er is a Mei. I, Xia Ruolan, know exactly what he should do. I won't hold my child back. Can't I, as a mother, cry for a while without you interfering?"
Xia Ruolan started wiping her tears again, and Mei Zhenguo didn't know how to comfort his wife. His wife was reluctant to part with their children, and he felt the same way. Although their children were all married, how could parents not worry about them? How could they not miss them?
A mother always worries when her child travels far. Xue'er was truly going thousands of miles away. If Mei Haoxuan was transferred to a remote area, it would only be a matter of time. They had worked hard to raise their children, but now they were all leaving her side. It would be extremely difficult to see them.
"Let's get up early tomorrow morning and go to the city gate to see them off," Xia Ruolan took a deep breath. Her longing could only be kept in her heart. Her two children were like little dandelions flying away. Did they know how worried their mother was?
There was a moment of silence in the carriage. From time to time, there came the sound of his wife's sobs. Mei Zhenguo's hand hung stiffly in the air. He didn't know how to comfort his wife. He had to go to court early tomorrow, so he decided to let the servants take Xia Ruolan to see them off. She wouldn't be able to sit still at home waiting for news.
"Do you think Father and Mother will come to see us off tomorrow?"
Mei Qingxue looked at Du Gu Qing, waiting for his answer. In fact, she already had the answer in her heart, but she didn't want to think about it. "Let's leave early and tell the guards to stop the carriage from the prime minister's mansion," Mei Qingxue finally made a decision.
She didn't want a tearful farewell. It was just Jiangnan. She would come back to see her parents, brother, and sister - in - law. If her sister - in - law had a baby, she would also come to see the baby.
"Okay," Du Gu Qing took Mei Qingxue's hand. They had already decided to leave the city before dawn. Anyway, he had a customs clearance token. He could ask the guards at the city gate to open the gate, and they could leave early.
"Let's go!"
Du Gu Qing pulled Mei Qingxue into the carriage. The sky was still as dark as thick ink.
Xia Ruolan suddenly sat up in bed, covering her chest. "Ah!"
She let out a soft cry.
"What's wrong?"
Mei Zhenguo quickly sat up and put a robe on Xia Ruolan. Tears streamed down Xia Ruolan's face. "Xue'er... has left!"
"Maybe you've been worrying too much during the day. It's still dark outside," Mei Zhenguo whispered to comfort his wife. It was too early to leave the city, but then he thought that Du Gu Qing had a customs clearance token.
"Go back to sleep. Our Xue'er has always been assertive. How could she suffer?" Mei Zhenguo had to list all of Mei Qingxue's good qualities for Xia Ruolan.
"I know all these things. Even when our Xue'er played tricks on the two princes, I knew it clearly. But I'm just reluctant to part with my daughter going so far away. Jiangnan... is so far..."
"Wait until I retire, and we'll go to join our daughter, okay?" Mei Zhenguo said. "Retiring is just a matter of a few years. You can bear it for now."
"Yes, hubby, I understand all these things," Xia Ruolan's eyes looked into the distance. "It's just that my heart aches so much..." Her children were the flesh that had fallen from her body, the children she had carried for ten months.
"I understand. My dear Lan'er, with our son - in - law taking care of her, I heard that the palace has personally assigned a grand eunuch," "Oh?" Xia Ruolan's attention was caught. The palace assigning a grand eunuch personally. They couldn't be just monitoring them, could they? It was really not easy to be a daughter - in - law of the royal family.