txolops Chapter 16 Mother's Questioning
Chapter 16 Mother's Questioning
The following day, Genghis Khan personally visited Guo Liqing.
Guo Liqing hurriedly got off the bed, intending to pay his respects, but was helped up by Genghis Khan.
"Jing'er, I heard you were assassinated last night. How are you? Are you alright?"
"Don't worry, Your Majesty, you'll be fine after a few days of rest!"
Genghis Khan roared at his personal guards, "How dare they let someone storm into our camp and assassinate us! What are you patrolling soldiers doing? Drag them all out and behead them!"
"Great Khan, spare my life!"
Guo Liqing hurriedly said, "Your Majesty, the one who came last night was Ouyang Feng, known as one of the Five Greats of the Central Plains martial arts world. He is a highly skilled martial artist and one of the strongest in the world. It's no wonder these guards couldn't stop him!"
Genghis Khan said, "I'll send more men. No matter how skilled they are, I don't believe they can stop my Mongol cavalry!"
"Great Khan, there's no need. Since this is a grudge I incurred in the martial world, let's settle it in the ways of the martial world!"
Genghis Khan nodded. "Very well. Since this is a matter of the martial world, let it be resolved within the martial world!" Then he added, "The matter of sending you to attack Western Xia can be postponed until you have recovered from your injuries!"
"Thank you, Great Khan!"
Although Guo Liqing said there was no need to send more soldiers to protect him, he clearly felt that the security around him had been strengthened after Genghis Khan left.
Guo Liqing was injured, and Hua Zheng came to take care of him, not returning home until night.
However, she wasn't worried because Guo Liqing, after being injured, had temporarily lost interest in that matter.
Hua Zheng said that she still prefers to lie quietly next to Guo Liqing, doing nothing, just lying there quietly.
Guo Liqing smiled and said, "If I weren't feeling unwell lately, I wouldn't have let you lie here like this."
……
After a long journey, the army finally returned to the banks of the Onon River, the birthplace of the Mongols.
The army returned in triumph, and a three-day, three-night celebration ensued.
Guo Liqing celebrated with the group all day and didn't return home until nightfall.
Guo Liqing didn't even know where his own home was; Hua Zheng had to take him there.
Upon entering the yurt, Guo Liqing saw a woman with a sallow complexion, bearing the marks of time.
Guo Liqing naturally knew that this woman was Li Ping, Guo Jing's mother.
Before Guo Liqing could speak, Hua Zheng ran over and called out, "Aunt Guo, look who's back!"
"Mother!" Guo Liqing called out.
"Yes," Li Ping responded, but she wasn't particularly excited.
Li Ping looked at Hua Zheng and said, "Princess, my son and I have not seen each other for a long time and we would like to say a few words. I hope you will understand."
"Okay, I'll head back now." Hua Zheng glanced at Guo Liqing, nodded, and then left the yurt.
Guo Liqing, ever the familiar type, sat down beside her and said, "Mother, why do you look unhappy? Did you suffer some injustice here?"
Li Ping sighed and said, "You are the Golden Knife Prince Consort personally appointed by the Great Khan, and I am your mother. Who dares to mistreat me here?"
"Then why do you look unhappy?"
"Jing'er, you should offer incense to your father's memorial tablet."
"Oh." Guo Liqing realized what was happening, walked to the side, and offered incense to Guo Xiaotian's memorial tablet.
He had just gotten up when he heard Li Ping say from the side, "Kneel down!"
Guo Liqing then realized what had happened, kowtowed, and prepared to stand up.
"Kneel down!"
Guo Liqing turned to look at Li Ping and asked, "Mother, what did I do wrong?"
Li Ping did not answer, but walked to Guo Liqing's side and knelt down in front of the memorial tablet.
"Jing'er, back then I fled to the northern desert alone and raised you with great difficulty. Over the years, the Great Khan has indeed treated us very well. A true man repays kindness, this is the foundation of his character! I have no objection to your marriage to Huazheng and becoming the Golden Knife Prince Consort."
But I've heard that you pledged your allegiance to the Great Khan, saying you were willing to attack the Song Dynasty for him! The Great Khan even intended to bestow upon you the title of King of Song. Is this true?
Guo Liqing suddenly realized what it was all about.
Yes, that's true.
Li Ping's expression darkened, and she shook her head, saying, "Guo Jing, do you even remember who you are?"
In this conversation, Li Ping didn't call him "Jing'er" at all, but directly called him "Guo Jing"!
Guo Liqing, however, didn't seem to care, saying, "Of course I remember!"
Li Ping suddenly shouted excitedly, "You are a citizen of the Great Song Dynasty! You have Han blood in your veins! How can you betray your master and help the Mongols to conquer the land of my Great Song Dynasty?"
How can you face your father after doing this? How can I face him after I die?
Guo Liqing looked at Li Ping, whose gaze revealed a complex mix of emotions: confusion, excitement, and regret.
Guo Liqing said, "You have no objection to me becoming a Mongol prince consort. But now that I've become a Mongol prince consort, how can I possibly remain uninvolved? The Great Khan wants me to attack the Song Dynasty, and I said no! How can I continue to survive here then?"
Li Ping looked at Guo Liqing and said, "Are you like Yang Kang, willing to disown your ancestors for wealth and status?"
Guo Liqing didn't know how to explain it for a moment. As a time traveler, he didn't need to explain what he was doing.
Moreover, one of his reasons for doing this was that he did not want Guo Jing's mother to commit suicide!
Seeing that Guo Liqing remained silent, Li Ping's expression suddenly darkened. She said weakly, "So be it! You're all grown up now. You've learned martial arts in the Central Plains and have your own ideas. Your mother can't control you anymore."
"You can leave now!"
Guo Liqing got up, preparing to leave, when he suddenly noticed that Li Ping had one hand inside her sleeve, which struck him as odd.
He grabbed her and pulled a dagger out of Li Ping's sleeve.
"What are you doing?" Guo Liqing asked, both angry and confused.
"I failed to raise my son well, and I can only atone with my death! I hope your father, if he knows this in the afterlife, will not blame me!"
Guo Liqing sighed and said, "Mother, why did you have to die..."
Guo Liqing originally wanted to reveal that his purpose in attacking the Song Dynasty was to save the Han Dynasty.
But then he suddenly realized that Li Ping's choice to die to prove her loyalty meant that her blind loyalty might have reached a deeply ingrained level.
Guo Liqing thought for a moment and prepared to help Li Ping up.
"Mother, please get up first, I'll explain it to you in detail!"
Li Ping shook off Guo Liqing's hand and said, "What do you want to say? Now that you've made your decision, do you expect me to watch you lead the Mongols to kill my Great Song people?"
Seeing that Li Ping was unwilling to get up, Guo Liqing simply knelt down beside her and said, "Mother, to tell you the truth! After we captured Samarkand, I dreamed of an old deity..."
Guo Liqing was also helpless.
When he persuaded Huang Rong, he could use "filial piety" as a reason, but when facing Guo's mother, he could only tell her about what would happen in the future.
"The old sage showed me a glimpse of the future. Do you know what the future is like?"
"An old immortal?"
Women like Li Ping, living in the feudal era, only felt awe towards the concept of gods.
"In the future that the old immortal showed me, the Great Khan ordered me to attack the Song Dynasty, but I refused! He then captured my son and me and used our lives to threaten me! I have martial arts skills, so they can't do anything to me, but I am powerless to save you!"
In the end, to uphold my loyalty, you took your own life!
I fought my way out and escaped Mongolia!
Li Ping's expression changed drastically, but she quickly accepted it. This was the ending she could imagine, and the ending she accepted.
In her heart, even if she died, she couldn't bear to watch her son help the Mongols fight against the Song Dynasty!
"Later, I fled to the territory of the Song Dynasty and informed the Song generals that the Mongols were about to invade."
In the entire general's mansion, no one listened to me; they all treated me like a joke!
They said, "The Mongols are now allies of our Great Song Dynasty, how could they possibly invade?"
I held a knife to the general's neck before he agreed to build fortifications!
Later, I guarded Xiangyang alone for more than ten years!
It was all thanks to me leading a group of martial arts practitioners in the fight against the Mongols.
In the end, I also died in Xiangyang.
The Mongol army marched south and swallowed up the land of the Song Dynasty!
The Song court fled south all the way, pursued by the Mongol army all the way to the South China Sea!
The Song Dynasty emperor led 100,000 soldiers and civilians into the sea!
Thus, the Song Dynasty perished!