Ming Dynasty: Empress Ma and I swapped clothes!

Chapter 54 Take a good look, who exactly am I?

"Young Master, Old Sun, and everyone from the Ma family, I'm truly sorry for what happened today. I will make amends to you properly for the rest of my life."

While Qianhu was speaking.

He also drew the knife from his waist.

Seeing this, Ma Xiuying's face held a half-smile: "What are you all standing there for? Hurry up and come out."

The moment the words were spoken, a series of footsteps echoed.

In the woods near the Ma family's courtyard, figures appeared in the distance. In just a few breaths, a group of people clad in armor and wielding standard long swords had been assembled.

However, they were the people secretly protecting Ma Xiuying's safety at all times.

"How dare they! They actually dared to harm my Ma family. I never imagined that this small Qingfeng County Garrison Command would have such audacity."

Ma Jin stood with his hands behind his back, slowly walking out from among the elite soldiers transferred from other garrisons.

He squinted, his face devoid of any of the gentle and unassuming demeanor he once displayed in Kunning Palace. Instead, he exuded the arrogance and majesty typical of those in power.

"Everyone, move out. Remember, capture them alive."

Ma Jin continued to give instructions.

"Yes, sir."

The elite soldiers from the other garrisons immediately replied.

They formed battle formations, in groups of three or five, and in a short time they surrounded the commander and his deputy commander. The entire operation was driven by high efficiency.

The deputy commander and the commander were barely able to resist and were captured alive while looking completely bewildered.

The soldiers bound them tightly with oil-soaked hemp ropes.

"What's going on?"

The two were completely dumbfounded, staring at the elite soldiers around them, utterly bewildered.

Ma Jin, with a smile in his eyes, walked up to Ma Xiuying and said softly, "I didn't expect that Her Majesty had already sent someone to inform you of my arrival."

"You young sir, you do have some quick wit. You actually thought of using someone else to do your dirty work, and you even anticipated that someone would secretly protect you?"

As Ma Jin spoke calmly, he was about to bend down and give the younger generation a few earnest words of advice in the tone of an elder.

The next moment.

His condescending gaze fell on Ma Xiuying's phoenix eyes, and his heart skipped a beat.

That look in his eyes... why does it look so familiar?

"Ma Jin, take another good look. Who exactly am I?"

Ma Xiuying sneered.

Although she had the body of a young boy, her every move and word seemed to carry the majesty of the greatest benefactor Ma Jin had ever met.

He swallowed hard, his throat bobbing, feeling like he was dreaming.

How is that possible?

Shouldn't the Empress be in the palace?

How did I end up here, and as a teenager?

"This little guy is definitely bluffing me."

Ma Jin's mind was filled with conflicting thoughts, but Ma Xiuying ignored them. She stretched out her right hand and took out the phoenix-patterned jade pendant from the other man's pocket, handing it to Ma Jin: "This jade pendant was exquisitely crafted by the palace craftsmen during the New Year. The character engraved on the back is not 'Ma' (马), but 'Gong' (公), which means 'public over all' (公天下为公)."

"What, can't you see it now? Are you still going to try and fool me like a child's scribbles?"

Ma Xiuying shouted again, her tone carrying an unquestionable authority.

With a "thump".

Startled by the familiar tone and the jade pendant, Ma Jin's legs went weak, and he knelt down.

At this moment, he dared not disbelieve any longer and hurriedly kowtowed: "Your Majesty, this humble subject greets you. As Your Majesty instructed, this humble subject has arrived in Qingfeng County and met this young gentleman, a member of my Ma family..."

Hearing Ma Jin's answer, Ma Xiuying frowned slightly, feeling that something was not quite right, but at this moment, it didn't matter.

"Detain these two. As for my situation, I will explain it to you properly another day. Also, pass on my order: what happened today must not be spoken of to anyone, or I will hold you accountable."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Ma Jin immediately nodded in agreement, not daring to slack off in the slightest.

At this moment, the commander and his deputy were dumbfounded again, looking at everything in front of them, wondering if they had gone mad.

"Your Majesty"?

That's a noble lady in the palace, and her surname is Ma. Could she be the current Empress?

The scene before them was so bizarre that the two of them were stunned for a long time.

At this moment, many others were equally shocked.

Ma Jin had already taken the two villains away, but the elite guards stationed outside the Ma family courtyard remained there, protecting Ma Xiuying's safety at all times.

Before I knew the other person was an empress.

They had already been carefully protecting him; now that they knew his identity, it was even more important than protecting their own lives, and they absolutely could not afford to make the slightest mistake.

This is a capital offense punishable by beheading.

Ma Xiuying turned around, a slight smile playing on her lips, her expression revealing a hint of helplessness.

She looked at the old man Ma Tianlu, her father Ma Xiulin, her mother Wang Shiyun, and that Sun Baihu.

At this moment, the gazes of his closest relatives around him became uncertain, unsure whether to call him "grandson" or "Empress."

"Ugh."

Ma Xiuying sighed.

At this point in time, many things are probably already guessed by those close to her, even if she doesn't say them. So whether she says them or not, they naturally seem less important.

"Actually, I am not Ma Wenxiang, but the current Empress in the palace."

"After waking up, I switched bodies with him. Now I am here, and the one in the palace is naturally your Ma family's real grandson."

Ma Xiuying slowly began, "I've been living quite comfortably in the Ma family's residence these past few days. However, now that my identity has been exposed, I can no longer stay in this small Qingfeng County, so I have no choice but to go back."

Ma Xiuying pursed her lips, opened her mouth as if she wanted to say something more, but ultimately remained silent.

After a while.

She spoke solemnly, "Father, Mother, and Grandpa, during this time, you have made me feel the warmth of family and the presence of my family again. I will always remember this affection and the experiences we have had."

Of all the people present, Wang Shiyun felt it the most deeply.

Her eyes welled up with tears, and she covered her cherry lips as she looked at Ma Xiuying in front of her. She was also the first one to react.

She stepped forward and hugged Ma Xiuying's small body tightly in her arms, but when she opened her mouth, she didn't know what to say, only repeatedly saying, "I, I..."

The bond between mother and child slightly overcame the unfamiliar fear, causing her to act out of control and do something she herself couldn't believe.

You must understand, the person in her arms at this moment was no longer her son, but the Empress Dowager. What right did she, a mere peasant woman, have to deserve this?

They are really not worthy.