Xier is her child.
No matter what, she could not let go of that piece of flesh and blood.
Mu Fulan stared at the man beside the bed, who was looking down at her, motionless.
Xie Changgeng stared into her eyes.
Her two empty eyes, which originally contained some pain as if coming from a nightmare, gradually became clear.
Finally, as if he finally recognized who he was, he didn't say a word. He just slowly relaxed his body, turned inward, closed his eyes again, and seemed to fall asleep again.
As soon as he came in, he heard a low moan coming from her in the bed. The sound was full of suppressed pain and sadness, like crying.
He walked over and saw that she was having a nightmare. Her brows were furrowed, her forehead was covered in sweat, her eyelashes were trembling, and she was hugging her body with her arms. She was curled up tightly on the bed and looked extremely painful.
Although he knew that she hated him, he couldn't bear to see her like that, so he called her and finally woke her up. However, he didn't expect that she would suddenly call out such a name when she was about to wake up.
Xie Changgeng stared at her silent back as she turned towards him, his expression slowly turning cold.
He didn't ask any more questions, stood up, turned around and left the house.
He went to the study and came back in the middle of the night. After closing the door, he took out a quilt from the cupboard and spread it on the couch opposite the bed.
The couch is designed for sitting, not long enough, just barely enough for sleeping.
He lay down.
No words were spoken that night.
In the next few days, Empress Liu frequently summoned Mu Fulan to the palace to accompany her. When the wives of officials in Beijing learned that the Changsha princess Mu, whom Xie Changgeng married, had arrived in the capital, they inevitably visited her one after another.
Mu Fulan was busy dealing with various people during the day, and at night she lived in the same room with Xie Changgeng, sleeping on separate beds. He also went out early and came back late, so for the time being, they were living in peace.
In a few days, it was the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month.
In recent years, Empress Liu gradually became enthusiastic about gods and Buddhas. She not only made many good fortunes, but also frequently performed Buddhist rituals in the palace where she lived. On the two days of Buddha's birthday in April and the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, she would leave the palace and personally go to the imperially built Huguo Temple to worship Buddha.
Today is the day when Empress Liu goes to the imperial court to build the Huguo Temple and worship Buddha.
From the palace to the Huguo Temple outside the city, the accommodation along the way could not be neglected. The task of escorting the trip fell on Xie Changgeng, who was in charge. To show her piety, Empress Liu wanted to set off at five o'clock in the morning. Xie Changgeng had already left at three o'clock in the morning.
When Empress Liu worshipped Buddha, she naturally brought her attendants and ladies-in-waiting with her.
Mu Fulan was among those accompanying the emperor.
After Xie Changgeng left, Mu Fulan stayed awake all the time. At four o'clock, she got up, washed, dressed, ate a few bites of breakfast, took two maids, and went out in the carriage.
Xie's house is very close to the imperial palace, just across two streets.
When Mu Fulan arrived, it was still dark, but outside the west gate of the palace where Empress Liu was going to leave was bright as day. The imperial guards in armor had already lined up on both sides of the palace gate. One after another, luxury carriages, with the endless rumbling of wheels rolling over the ground, carried a group of women with the most noble status in the capital and gathered here. Under the command of the eunuchs in charge, the servants of each family parked the carriages at designated locations according to their positions and lined up to welcome Empress Liu out of the palace.
The Jiedushi was an external official, of the second rank. According to the hierarchy, Mu Fulan's carriage should have been in the back, but when the eunuch in charge saw Xie's carriage arrive, he immediately greeted it with a smile and led it to the front, near the palace gate, and stopped it.
The weather was extremely cold, and they had to go out early and wait here for Empress Liu to leave the palace. This was very hard for these ladies who were usually pampered. However, getting the opportunity to go to the Huguo Temple with Empress Liu to worship Buddha was an honorable thing to be boasted about. The ladies from all families and mansions not only did not consider it a hardship, but instead competed to take it as an honor.
Everyone knew that Xie Changgeng was favored by Empress Liu. Even his wife, who was rumored to be the Changsha princess Mu, was summoned to the palace by Empress Liu several times after only a few days in Beijing. The love for the house extends to the people in it, and the great favor can be seen. This morning, when he went out to worship Buddha, he arranged for Mu to accompany him, which was even more proof.
Mu Fulan was sitting in the carriage, knowing that she had become the focus of everyone's attention.
She took the warm cloth handed to her by the maid in the same carriage, and when she closed her eyes and leaned back in her seat, she heard the steward of Xie Mansion say outside the carriage: "My lady, the Princess of Qi asked someone to send you a fur cap."
Mu Fulan opened her eyes.
The maid opened the car door.
A steward stood in front of the carriage with a fox fur coat in his hand, bowed and said with a smile: "My princess said that it is very cold here in the capital. The princess is used to living in the south. The princess remembered that the princess was afraid of cold when she was young. She happened to have an extra one in the carriage, so she asked me to hand this to the princess."
Prince Zhao Long of Qi was one of the royal family members who had the closest relationship with the emperor among the many vassal kings. He lived in Shangjing for a long time in his early years. After Empress Liu came to power, his relationship with the royal family became strained, so he returned to his fiefdom, but still advocated peace. He had been dealing with Empress Liu and many vassal kings, and was considered highly respected. In recent years, in order to show her kindness to the Prince of Qi, Empress Liu allowed the Prince of Qi to come to Beijing every year to participate in the annual sacrifices at the ancestral temple.
The Princess of Qi should have also arrived in Shangjing in the past few days.
Regardless of the turmoil that happened in the previous life, during the six months when Mu Fulan lived in Shangjing when she was young, her aunt had a good relationship with the Princess of Qi who lived in the capital for a long time, and the Princess of Qi often came to the palace to accompany her. At that time, Mu Fulan did often see the Princess of Qi in the palace, but later her aunt died and she returned to Changsha, and there was no contact since then.
Mu Fulan thought for a moment, asked the maid to take it, asked the steward to thank Princess Qi on her behalf, closed the car door, asked the maid to cover it, and sat back as she did before.
After a while, the palace gate slowly opened, and the eunuch's drawn-out voice was heard from inside: "The Queen Mother has left the palace—"
Before the eunuch finished speaking, the two rows of imperial guards lined up outside the palace gate knelt down. The ladies also hurriedly got off the carriages and knelt on the ground to greet him.
Although there were many people, it was quiet all around.
Mu Fulan got off the carriage with the crowd and knelt beside it. She saw Empress Liu, surrounded by a group of ceremonial guards, riding in a sedan chair. When she arrived at the palace gate, she was helped by eunuchs into a six-horse carriage.
Xie Changgeng also showed up, leading a team of guards, riding in front, and setting off with the imperial carriage.
Under the dark sky at five o'clock in the winter, this group of people and horses marched in a long line, passed through the empty streets of Shangjing, went out of the city gate, and headed for the imperially built Huguo Temple outside the city.
Mu Fulan sat in the carriage with her eyes closed, as if in a trance.
There is an eminent monk in the Huguo Temple. It is said that by chanting Buddhist scriptures with Sanskrit chimes, the souls of the dead can be freed from sins and grievances.
In his previous life, after becoming emperor, Xie Changgeng built a Mingtang behind the pagoda forest of the Huguo Temple for his empress who died at the hands of the enemy, and asked the monks in the temple to chant sutras for her day and night to pray for her soul.
However, her soul wandered for several times, and was ultimately unable to give up the last ties in this world.
For ten years, she never went, and watched him posthumously confer the title of Empress Yuan on her, give her a bunch of nice posthumous titles, build a mourning hall for her in the palace, build a Mingtang for her in Pagoda Forest, pray for her soul, and even kill Qi Lingfeng later.
But all he did was just deceiving himself and others, which was ridiculous and hypocritical.
As we got closer to Huguo Temple, the sky gradually brightened.
Mu Fulan opened her eyes, quietly lifted a corner of the warm curtain, and peeked in front of her.
Xie Changgeng led the guards and always walked close to Liu Hougong's carriage, looking loyal.
Eunuch Yang and several of his apprentices rode on horseback behind him.
Mu Fulan knew that Xie Changgeng would not stay in Shangjing for long. In addition, the Hexi border under his jurisdiction was not peaceful at the moment, and the northerners were always eyeing him covetously. It was estimated that he would return to Hexi by the end of the year and the beginning of next year.
Mu Fulan was worried about where she would go after he left.
If they were an ordinary couple, it would be clear where she was going.
If a husband loves his wife, he will take her to Hexi to take up the post.
If filial piety is the most important thing, she would return to her hometown in Xie County and serve his mother.
But now, both of these destinations are obviously impossible.
Mu Fulan believed that her behavior after arriving in the capital would not arouse excessive suspicion from Empress Liu.
She was thinking about the third scenario that her brother had also worried about: that she would be kept in Shangjing by Empress Liu under some pretext and become a hostage of Changsha.
If possible, she urgently needed to get someone by Empress Liu's side so that she could learn of Empress Liu's movements in time and take precautions in advance.
Not only is it urgently needed now. If we can get through this, and have our own spies in the palace, it will also be helpful when we return to Changsha.
Mu Fulan's gaze lingered on the back of the eunuch named Cao Jin for a moment, and then she lowered the curtain.
When she arrived in Shangjing, from the moment Cao Jinlai delivered the message, she recognized that this young eunuch was the senior eunuch who served Xie Changgeng ten years later. Mu Fulan guessed that it was very likely that he was now Xie Changgeng's spy beside Empress Liu.
Xie Changgeng was a cautious person by nature, especially after he became emperor. During the ten years, Mu Fulan witnessed with her own eyes that he was extremely distrustful of others.
He knew how to use people and had countless capable ministers under his command, but there was not a single one he could completely trust, including his old subordinates.
This is even more true in the harem.
He did not allow Empress Qi to enter his bedroom, and was extremely cautious about food and drink. He was diligent in government affairs, reviewing memorials every night until late at night, but there was always a sword lying on his desk. He also hid a dagger under his pillow when he slept. As for concubines, they were sent away after the emperor finished having sex with them, and were not allowed to stay overnight.
For nearly ten years, without exception.
Only Cao Jin is different.
Not only did Xie Changgeng only eat food that Cao Jin had tried, he also allowed him to stay in the palace and be close to him when summoned.
If they didn't have a previous relationship, how could a eunuch left over from the previous dynasty gain such trust from him
The carriage he was riding in suddenly jolted and slowly stopped.
From the direction ahead, there was also a faint sound of people arranging carriages and horses.
"My lady, we have arrived at the Huguo Temple."
The steward's voice sounded outside the car.
Mu Fulan lifted the curtain again and looked outside.
Ahead is the foot of the mountain, with morning mist lingering in the mountains. A straight staircase more than ten feet wide leads to the middle of the mountain, connecting the gate of the Huguo Temple with the foot of the mountain.
The morning sun had just risen, shining on the majestic gate of the temple. A group of monks were walking quickly out of the gate to welcome Empress Liu.