MTL - Rebirth of the High Gate Mistress

 Chapter 1 She wants to reconcile

 Recently, in Chang'an City, everyone from high-ranking officials to peddlers and commoners have been talking about an exciting event in their spare time.

The Huns invaded the territory, and Li Ling, the prince of Zhenguo, was invincible. He repelled the barbarians and returned to the court in victory.

Today, the Duke's mansion is filled with joy, and everyone in the mansion is eagerly looking forward to the return of the prince who has brought supreme glory to the mansion.

 It is the husband who is noble and his wife who is honored. But Li Ling's beloved wife Shen stayed in her room for several months, feeling extremely sad and depressed.

Maid Danzhu came in from the outside and saw her master weeping silently at the window again. She stepped forward slowly, handed over the handkerchief, and advised: "Miss has just finished her confinement. She always cries, which will hurt her eyes."

Shen Jingshu wiped away her tears and asked, "Has the Crown Prince arrived?"

Danzhu nodded: "The army is stationed outside the city. My uncle came back with a group of personal guards and is now with the old lady."

 Li Ling attaches great importance to rules. She didn't expect him to break the rules and come to see her who had just had a miscarriage: "Help me clean up, let's go over now."

 He may not come to visit her, but as a good wife, she cannot help but greet her husband.

When Jingshu arrived at the old lady's Anxi Hall, Li Ling was indeed there, chatting with her grandmother and her father, Duke Zhen.

 Having not seen him for half a year, his resolute face has become darker and thinner, but he has become more mature and steady through experience, and his whole body exudes the unique masculinity of a military commander.

 Because he won the battle, he looked high-spirited and refreshed.

Seeing the grandson's wife come in, the old lady greeted her: "Shu'er is weak, please sit down quickly."

She had just had a miscarriage, so she was naturally weak. She felt a little short of breath after walking this distance. After seeing the ceremony, Jingshu sat down under the old lady.

When Li Ling saw his wife coming in, he only glanced at her briefly, and then continued to chat with his father about the war.

 In such a situation, Jingshu naturally did not interrupt and just sat quietly and waited.

 The Duke of Guo was the most brave general in Da Qi when he was young. Although he has retired due to illness, listening to his son talk about the war is still full of passion and endless fascination.

The father and son were chatting in a lively manner when the old lady interrupted: "You two will have plenty of time to discuss these matters later. It's getting late, so let Brother Ling go back and rest with his wife first."

After hearing his mother’s reminder, the Duke of Guo realized it later and said to his son: “You go back first, and we’ll talk later.”

Li Ling replied: "I miss my family, so I came back to take a look. Now I have to rush to the palace to meet the Holy Spirit."

 Have a country first and then a home! The Duke of Guo urged his son: "Then go quickly, don't delay at home."

Li Ling stood up and bowed to his grandmother and father before leaving.

Mrs. Li looked at her grandson, then at her grandson-in-law, and said to Li Ling, "Let Shu'er take you to the door."

"No need." Li Ling then looked at his wife, still with an indifferent face: "You go back first, I will go back after the meeting."

With that said, he walked out of Anxi Hall with long strides, and his strong and slender figure disappeared from sight in a moment.

In a hurry, he didn’t mention a word about her miscarriage.

Even if he hasn’t seen her for half a year, he won’t miss her. Although Jing Shu felt unhappy about his indifference, she would not show it at all in front of her elders. Jingshu chatted with the old lady for a while before returning to her Qingfeng Garden.

Jingshu has been married to Li Ling for five years. Everyone envies her for marrying an upright and upright man, but she is the only one who understands the feeling of living behind closed doors.

Li Ling has a dull temperament and is cold. Since marrying him, he has not been at all enthusiastic about her except for sex.

 This is not entirely his fault. She accidentally fell into the water and was rescued by Li Ling. Since then, she has lost her reputation in the boudoir. Li Ling had no choice but to marry her out of responsibility.

Although she is also the eldest daughter of an official family, she is really a step above the famous Zhenguo Palace. Therefore, since they got married, there has been a faint rumor outside that she didn't love herself at the beginning, and she didn't hesitate to ruin her boudoir and fell into the water on purpose. She just relied on Li Ling's wishful thinking.

Because of this, she couldn't hold her head high in the circle of ladies, and she felt even more guilty towards Li Ling, who acted upright. Therefore, since she married Li Ling, she has been cautious in front of him, flattering him, pleasing him, looking at his face and acting, lowering herself to the dust.

She hoped that as time went by, his heart would slowly warm up.

 Until half a year ago he requested an order to go on an expedition. Only then did she realize that she could never keep his heart warm.

 Because, his heart is not in her at all.

A year ago, the Xiongnu invaded the territory. The Holy Emperor appointed General Zhou Yi as the marshal and led an army of 500,000 to fight. Unexpectedly, the army suffered repeated setbacks in the battle. Even the victorious generals suffered defeats. People in the court were panicked for a while, and no one dared to ask for orders to go to war again. The Holy Emperor was worried about harming the country, so he agreed to make peace with the Huns in exchange for peace.

  The one I chose with my relatives was the Ninth Princess Qingluan.

 Li Ling requested the order just for this reason.

Qingluan's biological mother, Concubine Shu, who passed away, was Li Ling's biological aunt. He always took good care of this little princess cousin. Naturally, Jing Shu also heard about the rumors between the two of them: If it hadn't happened like that, Li Ling would have wanted Princess Shang Jiu.

 She was only half-convinced before, thinking that with Li Ling's cold temperament, he would not have such romantic affairs in his heart. Even if he really had the intention to be the master at the beginning, now that he has married her, with his responsibility, those things will be over.

 After all, although he is usually cold, he is always passionate about her in bed. How could he be like this if he doesn't have her in his heart?

Jingshu deceived herself and took this as evidence that he had her in his heart.

But this time I saw that he was even willing to risk his life for Qingluan. Only then did she realize that in her husband's heart, the page about Qingluan had not been turned over, but was instead deeply rooted and irreplaceable.

She was full of sincerity, but in exchange for his disregard for others, how could Jing Shu not feel chilled?

Because she was depressed, her five-month-old baby was aborted more than a month ago.

 This is the child she has been waiting for many years to conceive, and it’s just gone! Heartbroken, she told Li Ling about this in a letter at home, but he didn't respond at all.

 The moon is rising above the willow tree, and the night is quiet and lonely. Jingshu looked at the flickering candlelight, and scenes of the past flashed before her eyes.

 She sniffed, trying not to shed tears.

It's so late and he hasn't come back yet.

 Presumably there were other things bothering him after the interview.

I heard that the Ninth Princess was extremely moved by this cousin who was so "furious" for her that she didn't even despise him for being married. Not long ago, she actually requested a decree from the Holy Emperor to condescend to marry Li Ling as her equal wife. Li Ling rushed to the palace anxiously as soon as he returned. I'm afraid he was also anxious to see Qingluan.

The Li Ling who was cold to her must be gentle to the delicate Ninth Princess, right? What would he say to her? Will he really agree to take her as his equal wife?

Jingshu’s mind was filled with images of Li Ling and Qingluan together.

The more she thought about it, the angrier she became.

Since he doesn't have her as a wife in his heart, what else is she waiting for him to do?

Jingshu pulled up the quilt and planned to fall asleep, but she tossed and turned and couldn't fall asleep.

It’s already midnight and he hasn’t returned yet!

Jingshu angrily opened the quilt and got out of bed, sat down at the table, picked up a pen and wrote the letter of seal and departure in one breath.

She doesn’t want to live with this husband who doesn’t have her in mind at all!

 She wants to make peace!

Jingshu looked at the written Heli Shu, thinking that Li Ling would be shocked if she resolutely dumped the Heli Shu to him, so she relieved herself.

She let out a long breath, finally feeling more comfortable, and lay back on the bed, then gradually fell asleep.

 In a daze, a pair of warm hands hugged her waist. Then, her whole body was picked up.

 It is Li Ling.

The resentment in Jingshu's heart was suddenly ignited again, and she fiercely smacked his hand holding her.

His little wife has always been docile and always complied with his wishes. Even in bed, he could do whatever he wanted, and she would never disobey him.

Seeing her like this suddenly, Li Ling thought she was asleep, so he leaned over and said in a low voice, "It's me."

 “Why did you come back?”

Jingshu regretted asking this question as soon as she asked it, as if she cared about him. And seeing that Li Ling had no intention of explaining to her, she became even more angry.

Jingshu struggled to get away from Li Ling, sat up, pulled up her pajamas, and said with a sullen face: "Let's make peace."

 Li Ling blurted out and asked: "Why?"

 He still has the nerve to ask why? Jing Shu turned away and did not answer.

 Because he came home late? She has always been reasonable and not unreasonable.

 That means you are in a bad mood because of the miscarriage.

 This is their first child. He can understand her anger at him because of the miscarriage.

Li Ling hugged her. His wife's originally thin body was now even thinner, and you could even touch the bones in her waist. He whispered in her ear in a hoarse voice: "There will still be children."

Jingshu was wrapped in his familiar hot breath, and her heart suddenly felt sour.

 He has no idea what she is thinking!

 She was naturally sad to lose her child, but what saddened her the most was more than that.

Jingshu whispered: "You always have Qingluan in your heart, right?"

 She finally asked what she had been holding in her heart for a long time.

 She felt Li Ling's hand holding her stiffen.

 In the dark night, she couldn't see his expression. After a long time, she heard him reply: "How could you say such a thing?"

They were silent for a while, and then Li Ling said, "If you're not feeling well, go to bed early." After saying that, he lay down with his back to her.

 Actually, Jingshu was not really determined to reconcile. Divorce will not only bring bad reputation to her, but also bring harm to her parents' family. She also has two unmarried sisters, which will inevitably affect her marriage.

She didn’t believe everything about the “equal wife” either. Li Ling was a man who valued propriety the most. It was true that he had Qingluan in his heart, but Jing Shu believed that with Li Ling's temperament, since he married her, he would not abandon her without reason, let alone hurt his integrity and accept his wife.

 She said most of these words out of anger. As long as Li Ling cared about her, explained to her, and said a few nice words to her, she would still have a glimmer of hope in him.

 But he didn’t say anything!

 Is it the default?

Looking at Li Ling who was sleeping, Jingshu felt like a fish thrown into the sand, struggling desperately, but still being mercilessly buried by the indifferent sand.

 She was so frustrated that she was suffocating.

Tears of grievance flowed down the corners of his eyes.

His indifference completely extinguished her last hope for him. She sniffed and choked, "I have already drafted the letter of separation. You can sign it tomorrow morning."

Li Lingfu stood up again, knelt down in front of his wife and looked at her. He asked in surprise: "What's wrong with you?" Then he reached out to touch her forehead.

Jingshu turned her head sideways and avoided his hand.

Even in such a blurry night, Li Ling could still feel his wife's eyes directed at him like knives, sharp and full of resentment.

The two were in a stalemate for a long time before Li Ling said: "Miscarriage has hurt your health. I will go to the palace tomorrow to ask an imperial doctor to take care of you."

After saying that, he got out of bed, hugged his quilt, and said, "You have a good rest, I will go to the study to sleep."

 He really left. He never came back that night.

Drama: Double updates every day around 1 p.m.

 (End of this chapter)