Joyful Motherhood in a Rural Family-Chapter 1084 - 1083: Can you call me mom?

Through the dense trees, looking up at the window on the fourth floor, time seemed to intertwine at the moment.

Liu Sisi felt as if she had returned to those years once again.

Back then, just like now, she raised her head to gaze at the high-rise dormitory on the fourth floor, there, was the college dormitory where she had lived for four years.

Even as time had passed, the voices and smiles of her classmates were still engraved in her heart as if they had just said goodbye yesterday.

"Time stands still..."

Liu Sisi blinked her misty eyes, murmuring uncontrollably.

"What did you say? I didn’t catch that, can you say it louder again?"

Beside her, Lin Xiner saw Liu Sisi’s lips move and thought she missed something, so she quickly asked.

"It’s nothing."

Her call brought Liu Sisi back from her confusion; she turned her head to look at Lin Xiner, but her eyes caught Elder Xu and others hurrying over from the school.

Vice Principal Xu and Principal Xia were walking side by side. From the way the two men were carrying themselves, it seemed that the initial tension between them had eased, although it was unclear how the two were doing at the moment.

A group of more than a dozen people arrived and gave their greetings.

After a round of greetings, Principal Xia’s face was full of smiles, "It’s rare for the Princess to visit; please, come inside."

"There’s no need to go inside; I was passing by and thought to take a look, so I stopped the carriage."

Vice Principal Xu’s face beamed with a smile, "Is the Princess planning to admire the flowers on Black Dragon Mountain? The plum blossoms have withered by now, I’m afraid there won’t be much to see."

"It’s alright, I’m just going to take a look."

Liu Sisi glanced back at Lin Xiner behind her but did not elaborate further. Instead, she inquired about the state of the academy from the two.

"I heard the two of you became sworn friends a few days ago; I found it quite strange. Now that I see you treating each other with mutual respect, I can let go of the big stone in my heart. There’s no longer a need to worry about the affairs within the academy."

When the matter was raised, Xia Hongyuan’s face flushed in waves, and he smiled awkwardly, "The Princess jests! Initially, it was my misplaced arrogance; not until I met Elder Xu did I realize that there is always someone better. I sincerely admire him."

Vice Principal Xu also quickly responded, "I too was the same initially; joining the academy was a matter of necessity for me. Only upon arriving here did I understand how ignorant I was, and it was embarrassing indeed."

"It is the elder..."

Seeing that the two were about to argue, Liu Sisi quickly interrupted them, "Enough, let bygones be bygones. Let’s all look forward and hope that tomorrow will be a better day!"

As she said this, she looked again at Xia Hongyuan, "Initially, I promised to introduce you to His Majesty within three years, but then we encountered a military chaos. At present, the world is peaceful, and His Majesty has even come to Macheng County. Would you like to return to the capital city? If you wish to go back, I will surely help you find a way."

Xia Hongyuan responded with an open and straightforward fist greeting.

"Thank you for your kind intentions, Princess. But over the years, I have grown accustomed to a life as leisurely as the clouds and wild cranes. The days of fear and caution in the capital are no longer suitable for me. I will gratefully accept the Princess’s good will."

"Are you sure you have thought it through? Once this chance passes, there may not be another like it!"

"I have indeed made up my mind!"

"Since you are resolute, so be it! I will not insist any further."

Liu Sisi couldn’t express how she felt inside.

Teaching and educating others in the academy, passing on one’s lifetime of learning to the next generation, both deans are doing well.

It wasn’t until Liu Sisi had once again boarded the carriage, continuing her journey towards the Black Dragon Mountain, that she pondered the question throughout the trip, thinking about how the spirited demeanor of the past had transformed into today’s calm and tranquility, confirming that indeed, the environment can change a person.

"We’ve arrived, let’s get off."

Lin Xiner’s call pulled Liu Sisi out of her thoughts, and seeing Lin Xiner step out of the carriage, she hurriedly followed her.

There were no plum blossoms in the plum grove any longer. Lin Xiner walked silently among them, moving slowly as if reminiscing about the past. She would linger for a moment before almost every plum tree, and only after a while sighed.

"Things remain the same, but people have changed... sigh!"

"Things are the same, really? Shouldn’t it be otherwise? Aren’t the plum trees here thriving with dense foliage, much better than they were in the past?"

Liu Sisi just couldn’t stand to see her happy and retorted immediately.

"Indeed, they are now flourishing beyond measure."

Lin Xiner smiled, gazing at Liu Sisi, "How did Zhao Dun die?"

"You haven’t investigated it?"

Liu Sisi raised an eyebrow and shot back, hardly believing her.

"Because I have already looked into it, that’s why I am asking you. Did he say anything before he passed? Did he leave any last words?" Lin Xiner asked hesitantly.

"When his time came, his mind was not clear, he had a stroke and was twisted in the face. I had originally gone to seek revenge, had sworn to personally avenge my mother. But when I truly saw him, I no longer had the impulse to draw my sword against him. So I turned around and left. The next day, news of his sudden death came out."

"Whether this is true or not, I have no way of knowing. However, according to news from the palace, he did indeed die of a sudden illness. Whether it’s true or not, I really don’t know anymore."

"So it is..."

Lin Xiner’s gaze turned exceptionally complex, and after she finished that statement, she became immersed in her own thoughts.

It wasn’t until they were descending from the mountain and nearing the city that Lin Xiner spoke softly.

"Not long ago, your brother Nan Tianzong came to me, willing to replace you and depart Zhao Country with me, assisting me in taking over the kingdom. What do you think? Would you like to leave this place with me and head to Xixia?"

Her brother had actually reached such an agreement with her; no wonder the later developments were so strange and had escaped normal control.

Liu Sisi glanced at Lin Xiner beside her, "I do not know what you and my big brother have said to persuade him, but what I do know is that my brother is definitely not someone you can command."

Even Zhao Dun with his status as the former Crown Prince couldn’t control him, let alone her!

Lin Xiner did not reply to her, but instead asked with a curious look, "Why can’t I? Your words are strange. Wouldn’t taking your big brother back to Xixia be better for him than staying in Zhao Country?"

In Zhao Country, Nan Tianzong was considered dead, but in Great Xia, his identity would be that of an heir—wasn’t that far better than staying in Zhao Country?

Even if Liu Sisi wanted to argue, she felt that Lin Xiner was actually correct.

"What of it? If he doesn’t want to go, you can’t force him!"

"Do you think I could force him, Sisi?"

Lin Xiner let out a sigh, "Si Er, you misunderstand your mother too deeply!"

Liu Sisi pursed her lips, saying nothing further.

Seeing that their destination was close at hand, Lin Xiner suddenly reached out and took hold of her, "Si Er, could you call me ’mom’ just once?"

From beginning to end, she had never called her ’mom’.