Chapter 4: Severance of Ties, Leaving the Marquis’s Residence

“I only want the severance letter!” Mu Ling’s eyes turned even sharper. “Just give me a straight answer: will you give the severance letter or not?”

“Alright!” Marquis Mu agreed readily, “I’ll write the severance letter for you right now! However, you must obediently get on the sedan tomorrow. As for the dowry, we and your grandfather will certainly be able to put something together for you; just…”

Before he could finish, Mu Ling interrupted him, “I don’t want any of your dowry. I will only take what my grandfather prepared for me. Also, I will leave the marquis’s residence today and get married from the Grand General’s residence tomorrow.”

The people from the marquis’s residence wanted to hesitate, but Mu Ling turned without a glance and walked towards the door, saying as she walked, “Forget it, since you won’t write it, then I won’t marry. Whoever wants to marry can marry whoever they like.”

“You, wait a moment!” Marquis Mu reached out to stop Mu Ling. “You worthless girl, who would want to have anything to do with you? Fine! I will write the severance letter for you right now.”

As Marquis Mu finished speaking, he waved to a small servant, “Go get the writing materials. I’ll write it right now!”

In no time, the servant brought the materials over. Marquis Mu wrote it all in one go. Before he could speak harshly again, Mu Ling reached out and took the severance letter, carefully reading it over. Seeing no any issues, she secretly breathed a sigh of relief; fortunately, she finally had the severance letter in her hands.

“You worthless girl, since I’ve given you the severance letter, tomorrow you must obediently marry over. Don’t cause any more trouble,” the old lady said sharply.

Mu Ling originally thought of just securing the severance letter and leaving, but after taking a few steps, she turned her head and smiled at everyone, “Let’s make a bet. I bet that after I marry His Royal Highness, his health will improve quickly, and he will live a long life! As for whether I’m a worthless girl or a lucky star, you will soon find out the answer.”

“Xiao He, we are going to the Grand General’s residence!”

After Mu Ling finished speaking, she ignored the mocking expressions of everyone in the marquis’s residence. She knew that they would definitely not believe her, and not only would they not believe her, but they would also think she was daydreaming.

However… none of this mattered. After all, there would be plenty of time ahead, and one day they would face reality. At that time, she would just sit back and enjoy the show.

Once she left the marquis’s residence, Mu Ling quickly arrived at the Grand General’s residence. Upon hearing that his granddaughter had arrived, the old general hurried out to meet her. “Girl, aren’t you getting married tomorrow? What’s wrong? Did they bully you again? Quick, tell your grandfather…”

Seeing the kind old man, Mu Ling hurried a few steps and threw herself into his arms, tears streaming down her face uncontrollably. “Grandfather, seeing you is… really good.” She wanted to say it was good to see him alive, but fearing it might scare him, she swallowed those words.

“Girl, why are you crying? What happened?”

“It’s nothing, Grandfather, no one bullied me, it’s just…” Mu Ling took out the severance letter and handed it to the old general. “It’s just that I severed ties with them. You won’t blame me, will you?”

The old man was stunned for a moment, then burst out laughing, “Haha, good, good! Severing ties is good; tomorrow I’ll go sever ties too. Girl, your grandfather will personally send you off tomorrow. Don’t be sad; that family is inhumane, without any human feelings. They aren’t worth your sorrow.”

Mu Ling looped her arm through the old man’s and shook her head with a smile. “Grandfather, I’m not sad, and I won’t be sad for them. If I were still concerned about them, how could I have the courage to propose severing ties?! Grandfather, I… I actually have something urgent I need your help with. What do you think?”

“Silly girl, why are you hesitating when you talk to your grandfather? Just say it, what is it?”

“Grandfather, two things. One is that you quickly send someone to the marquis’s residence to bring me the dowry you prepared. I’m getting married from here tomorrow. The other thing is… can you take me to see His Majesty the Emperor? I have urgent matters.”

Upon hearing that his granddaughter wanted to see His Majesty the Emperor, the old man frowned. Did she want to call off the wedding?

Seeing the old man’s strange expression, Mu Ling knew he must have misunderstood her. She looked around and then whispered, “Don’t guess randomly. The reason I want to see His Majesty is about the Crown Prince’s illness. Grandfather, do you know? The Crown Prince isn’t suffering from a severe illness; he was… he was poisoned by the First Prince, that is, His Royal Highness Ling Wang. I can cure this poison! I just… I want to see His Majesty because I have a few things to tell him. Can you take me into the palace now?”

“What?!” The old general exclaimed, “You mean His Royal Highness was…”

“Shh… Grandfather, don’t speak so loudly,” Mu Ling said, feeling a chill run down her spine. What if someone overheard?

The old man quickly nodded, lowering his voice so that only the two of them could hear. “You mean Ling Wang poisoned His Royal Highness? This… how is that possible? No, wait—did you just say you can cure poison? Tell your grandfather, when did you learn medical skills?”

“Grandfather, while I was at the village, I met an old man with white hair. He said he was a divine physician and insisted on taking me as his disciple because we had a connection. Of course, I was willing. However, he set a condition: I couldn’t let anyone know I could heal, including my closest ones, until my wedding, so I didn’t tell you for the past two years. Now it’s fine; I can show my medical skills, and in the future… I can use my skills to help others.”

Mu Ling rambled on, not caring whether the old man believed her. She just finished her story.

What she didn’t expect was that the old man would believe her words wholeheartedly!

“Alright, your grandfather will take you into the palace right now,” the old general agreed without hesitation. The grandfather and granddaughter quickly boarded their own carriage and wasted no time heading to the palace.

Inside the carriage, Mu Ling was seriously searching her memories of the Emperor. In her previous life, they hadn’t spent much time together, but she knew he was a benevolent and loyal ruler who treated her very well.

As for other details… Mu Ling tried hard to remember the Emperor. Although he had a bad temper, he was undoubtedly a kind ruler. There were no concubines in the harem, only the side consort, Consort Qin, whom he married when he was still the Crown Prince—she was the mother of the First Prince, Ling Wang.

Later, she heard that the Emperor, at a palace banquet, met the only legitimate daughter of the Zhen Guo Marquis’s family, Chu Xi, and it was love at first sight. From then on, he would marry no one but her.

The Emperor got his wish and married Chu Xi as his Crown Princess. Later, when he ascended the throne, Chu Xi became the revered Empress.

From the day he married Chu Xi, the Emperor truly devoted his life to her.

However, the Emperor didn’t neglect Consort Qin, as she bore him a long son and was named Noble Consort. Yet… after marrying Chu Xi, the Emperor never set foot in her chambers again.

Chu Xi was also gentle and did not compete with others. She maintained harmony with the Empress and was quite tolerant of Noble Consort Qin.

The Emperor had three princes and two princesses. The First Prince, Ling Wang, was born of Noble Consort Qin, while the second prince was Jun Mohan, the current Crown Prince, and the third prince was Jun Mochu. They, along with the little princess, Jun Wanqing, were all the biological children of the Empress.

As for the two princesses… one was the first princess, Jun Wanting, born of Noble Consort Qin, and the other was the Empress’s beloved little princess, Jun Wanqing.

The first princess was two years older than the Crown Prince and was already married with children.

Originally, the Empress thought that both the harem and the princes and princesses were peaceful, but they never expected that Noble Consort Qin was not only ambitious but also ruthless!

She and Ling Wang had never given up on the position of Crown Prince.

Recalling the previous life, Noble Consort Qin had not only harmed the Empress and the Crown Prince but also destroyed the Grand General’s residence and the Empress’s maternal family, the Zhen Guo Marquis’s family. The hatred in Mu Ling’s heart surged uncontrollably. This time, she would not let Noble Consort Qin succeed and would protect her love ones!