The deliberately buried yet unforgettable name suddenly appeared unannounced, and the long-sealed memories surged tumultuously.
Li Hengyi stood up and immediately spat out a mouthful of blood.
"Your Highness!"
"My lord!"
Xie Qian, Yuanbao cried out in shock.
Li Hengyi raised his hand to signal them not to approach, "It's nothing, just let me see him!"
Some people, no matter how cold and heartless, still have a tender spot in their hearts where they keep those they cannot allow others to touch.
There are scars in their lives that can never fully heal, aching every time they are touched, every time they are thought of.
The county magistrate entered respectfully with a six-year-old girl by his side, who bore a striking resemblance to the deceased Liu Hai.
Seeing the girl, Xie Qian turned his head away with reddened eyes, while Li Hengyi clenched his fists tightly and placed them on his knees.
"This subordinate pays respect to Your Highness, may you live for thousands of years!" County Magistrate Liu knelt down and saluted.
The little girl, puzzled, followed suit and knelt down, parroting her grandfather, "This subordinate pays respect to Your Highness..."
"Mo'er, you're mistaken!" County Magistrate Liu nervously corrected her.
Liu Mo paused.
She blinked in confusion at her young grandfather.
Hadn't her mother said that whatever grandpa did, she should do the same?
"Never mind, rise!" Li Hengyi waved his hand.
He stared at Liu Mo for a long time before beckoning to her.
"?"
Liu Mo hesitated to approach, then looked at the handsome Banished Immortal before her and gave a shy smile, "Brother, you're really handsome!"
His heart suddenly ached fiercely again.
He still remembered how Liu Hai had once done the same, playfully saying, "Your Highness, you're really handsome!" and had been beaten for it, until he later acquiesced.
Li Hengyi, thinking of the past, softened a little and asked faintly, "What is your name?"
"I'm Liu Mo, I'm six years old this year!"
Li Hengyi nodded.
He still remembered how Liu Hai had excitedly said that his wife had borne him a daughter, and he had been granted two months of leave to go home and see her. Then he received another letter from home saying his wife was pregnant again, and later that she had given birth to a healthy baby boy. Liu Hai was overjoyed, vowing to earn military honors for a better future, to bestow on his wife and shade his children.
"Where's your brother?" Li Hengyi asked.
"Brother is outside, and mother too!"
Since the widow of Liu Hai had come, he felt obligated to see her.
"Yuanbao, invite Madam Liu inside!"
"Yes!" Yuanbao immediately left and soon returned with a lady in plain clothes leading a little boy.
The boy resembled Liu Hai even more, with a curious look in his eyes.
"..."
Li Hengyi suddenly stood up, then slowly sat back down again.
"Your Highness, may you live for thousands of years!" Madam Liu said softly, respectfully kneeling down.
Liu Fu, seeing his mother kneel, also knelt down, muttering "thousand years," while still staring at Li Hengyi.
"Madam Liu, please rise!"
"Thank you, Your Highness!"
After inviting them to rise, Li Hengyi hesitated for a moment before asking how they had been these past years.
"To respond to Your Highness, we've been quite well..." Madam Liu said, her eyes welling up with tears.
She and Liu Hai had grown up together, sweethearts since childhood; Liu Hai had gone to the Frontier to serve the country before they were married. When she came of age, he returned to marry her. They spent more time apart than together, yet their affection was deep and true.
Now that many people were advising her to remarry, and Liu Hai's family was pressuring her, she still didn't want to.
She intended to raise Liu Hai's two children to adulthood, finding a backer for herself to prevent her uncles from bullying her.
It was fortunate she had connected with County Magistrate Liu, her uncle; she was blessed to meet the general who had once commanded Liu Hai.
With a whirlwind of thoughts, tears streamed down uncontrollably, and she knelt once again, "I beg, I beg Your Highness to decide for us!"
"..." County Magistrate Liu looked on anxiously.
He had long known that Liu Hai had died in battle at the Frontier Pass. His niece-in-law's life in her husband's family had not been easy, but as a younger uncle who had divided from the main family, he didn't have the authority to intervene in the affairs of the main house.