The 800-li Dongting Lake has boundless clouds and dreams. There has been a mountain in the lake since ancient times, named Junshan. When it is cloudy and rainy, it is shrouded in clouds and mist, and when it is sunny, it is full of clouds and rays of light.
The local people all believe that there are gods on Junshan Mountain.
After the ancestor of the Mu family was granted the title of Changsha, he built a temple on Junshan Mountain to worship the emperor. He also built a city on the east side of Dongting Lake, opposite Junshan Mountain, and named it Yuecheng, which was established as the capital.
Over the past two hundred years, after several generations of expansion and renovation by the kings of Changsha, Yuecheng today has city walls a thousand feet high in the east, west, south and north, and a population of over 100,000. Although it is far less prosperous than the Central Plains, let alone the imperial capital, the city walls are also strong and indestructible. In particular, compared with the people outside who have suffered for many years due to the endless rebellions of the vassal kings, the people of Changsha, located in the remote south, can be said to live and work in peace and contentment.
The morning of this day was just an ordinary day for the people living in Changsha. It was late autumn, and the maple leaves outside the city were as red as fire. After the city gates were opened, as the sun rose higher, the city gradually became bustling with people coming and going.
When pedestrians approached the Mu family mansion in the north of the city, which they called the "Royal Palace", they all slowed down their pace and looked pious.
They didn't know that over the past two days, the palace, which looked solemn and peaceful on the outside, was actually in turmoil inside.
Several important officials of Changsha State were all gathered in the palace at this moment, and they were all extremely anxious.
The day before yesterday, Changsha King Mu Xuanqing went out hunting with a team of guards. The young king galloped across the mountains and plains, and on a whim, he rode his horse away from his followers and rode alone. After dark, his horse returned by itself, but Mu Xuanqing was nowhere to be seen.
When the news reached the palace, Queen Lu was extremely worried. She immediately found Yuan Handing, the adopted son of the late prime minister, and told him the news that Wang had disappeared while hunting, and asked him to take people to look for him.
The search has not stopped. It started the night before and lasted for two days and nights until this morning.
But there is still no trace of Mu Xuanqing.
The area where he hunted was full of high mountains and dense forests, and the terrain was complex. Everyone speculated that it was very likely that he had an accident on the way and was now unknown where he was.
So much time has passed
Everyone looked miserable, as if they had lost their parents.
This news was absolutely a bolt from the blue for them, and it was also extremely bad news.
The young King of Changsha has not left behind a heir to the throne. If something goes wrong, Changsha may face the fate of being exterminated.
If the imperial court extends its favor, the Mu family, apart from losing their royal title, should be able to continue to reside here and keep their titles and rewards.
However, these officials of Changsha State are probably confused about their future.
A burst of hurried footsteps suddenly came from outside the hall.
Everyone turned back hurriedly.
A guard rushed in.
"What? But General Yuan has news about the king?"
Prime Minister Lu Lin was the uncle of Queen Lu. Upon hearing the news, he immediately sent people to temporarily block the area to prevent it from spreading and causing unrest among the people. He also stayed here for two nights, anxious as an ant on a hot pot. Without waiting for the guards to enter, he strode to the door of the hall and asked anxiously.
The guard shook his head, knelt down, raised his hands, presented a letter tube, and said loudly: "A messenger has arrived! He said he was sent by the princess and has an urgent letter to deliver to the queen!"
When Lu Lin heard that the letter was sent by the princess who married to Kuizhou at the beginning of the year, she was disappointed. She asked someone to pass the letter in and sent someone to inquire about Yuan Handing for the news.
Lu and Mu Xuanqing were childhood sweethearts, married and had a daughter. When she heard that her husband had an accident, she was anxious day and night. It rained again last night. She learned that the search for Yuan Handing was fruitless. She was afraid that he was in danger. She couldn't hold on for a while and fainted. At this moment, her eyes were red and swollen. She was trying to get up and go out. Suddenly, she saw a maid hurried in and handed her a letter, saying that it was sent by the princess.
Mrs. Lu and her sister-in-law had always had a friendly relationship. She didn't know what she wanted to say in the letter. She barely suppressed her grief and despair and opened the letter to read it.
My aunt's letter was very brief, just a few words.
As soon as Lu's eyes fell on the letter, her gaze froze.
Suddenly, her eyes lit up and she stood up abruptly. Under the astonished gazes of the maids around her, she ran out quickly and ran to the front hall in one breath. She shouted to Lu Lin who was pacing anxiously, "Uncle! Quickly send someone to notify General Yuan! Go to the bottom of the Eagle's Beak Stream in Xiyuan to look for him immediately! Xuan Qing might be there!"
Lu Lin and several officials were stunned and looked at each other, unable to react for a while.
"The bottom of the Eagle's Beak Stream! Hurry up and get there!"
Since this matter concerned her husband's life and death, Mrs. Lu, who had always been gentle, seemed like a different person at this moment and shouted at Lu Lin harshly.
Lu Lin came to his senses, turned around and ran out with the officials.
Lu's hands trembled slightly as she held the letter from her aunt tightly and read it again. Although she felt unbelievable, the flame of hope that had gradually extinguished in her heart was finally rekindled.
"Mother, hasn't father come home yet?"
A girl's crying voice came from behind.
Lu turned around and saw her four-year-old daughter A'ru running towards her crying.
Behind her, several maids who had not kept an eye on Aju hurried over and knelt down one after another: "Queen, please forgive me!"
Mrs. Lu hugged her daughter, wiped her tears, and whispered to comfort her: "Don't cry. Your father will be back soon!"
After she coaxed her daughter and asked the maid to take her back to her room, she could not sit still, so she asked someone to prepare a carriage, hurried out of the palace, and headed towards Xiyuan.
Fulan arrived in Yuecheng a few days later.
In her previous life, her elder brother, the young King of Changsha, Mu Xuanqing, unfortunately died in an accident at this time, at the age of only twenty-two.
When he was found, he had been lying at the bottom of the ravine covered by dense grass for seven or eight days. It was speculated that he fell and died of excessive blood loss.
Changsha lost its last Changsha king. Her sister-in-law and her four-year-old niece Aju also lost their husbands and fathers forever.
Although the Mu family was later granted the grace of the court and was able to continue to reside in Yuecheng, and also retained the royal palace and the taxes of Yuecheng, the Changsha State was abolished. My sister-in-law was so grief-stricken that she followed my brother and died in depression a few years later.
Fulan didn't know whether things in this world would be the same as she knew, nor did she know whether the messenger would arrive in time and whether her brother could escape the disaster.
She was extremely anxious and traveled day and night, under the stars. Finally, she entered Changsha State and was only a hundred miles away from Yuecheng.
The pedestrians on the roadside looked dressed the same as usual, and there was no sadness on their faces. There was no sign that the whole country was mourning for the king.
Fulan then felt a little relieved and ordered his followers to continue on their journey and enter the city as soon as possible.
At noon, when they were still dozens of miles away from the city, a group of people and horses suddenly came on the opposite road, getting closer and closer, and finally met Fulan's carriage and horses.
"General Yuan!"
Fulan was sitting in the carriage when she suddenly heard the loud voice of the steward in front of her. She opened the curtain and looked out. She saw a group of people riding horses towards her. The one leading the way was a young man in his twenties. He was tall, dark-skinned, handsome, and had bright eyes. He was Yuan Handing, the adopted son of the late Prime Minister Yuan. She hurriedly ordered the driver to stop the carriage and called out loudly, "Brother!"
Yuan Handing was usually taciturn, but when he saw Fulan leaning out of the carriage and greeting him, a surprised smile appeared on his face. He quickly dismounted, walked quickly to her carriage, stopped, and then respectfully called her "Princess".
"The queen said you were coming back soon. I had nothing to do these few days, so I came out to look around. I didn't expect to meet you here. How was your journey?"
Fu Lan nodded, and then asked impatiently: "Where is my brother, how is he doing recently?"
She looked at Yuan Handing nervously, waiting for his answer.
When Yuan Handing led his men down the ravine that day and found Mu Xuanqing, he had been unconscious for a long time and was dying. He was afraid that telling her everything would scare her, so he hesitated and said carefully: "Your brother had an accident while hunting a few days ago. But we found him in time and he is fine. He is recovering from his injuries these days."
The most fearful thing was fortunately avoided in the end.
Things are moving in the right direction.
Fulan's heart, which had been hanging in the air for days, suddenly settled down. She felt relieved and could no longer hold back. Her eyes turned red and she almost cried.
Yuan Handing grew up with her and was very sensitive to her emotions. Seeing that she seemed to be about to cry, he panicked and said hurriedly, "Don't be afraid. Brother Wang's injury is really not serious. He just lost too much blood. He will recover after a few more days of rest."
Fulan turned her head inside, waited until she calmed down a little, turned back, nodded and smiled at him: "I see, I'm glad it's nothing serious. Thank you for coming to pick me up, brother, let's go into the city."
Her face was already extremely beautiful, and at this moment the tears in her eyes had not yet disappeared, and her smile was even more moving.
Yuan Handing didn't dare to look at it any longer, and nodded and said, "Okay." He turned around hurriedly, mounted his horse, and led the convoy behind him towards the city.
A group of people entered through the city gate.
Most of the passers-by recognized Yuan Handing. They saw him leading a group of carriages and horses towards the direction of the palace. They saw that there seemed to be women sitting in the carriages, so they were curious and stopped to watch.
Yuan Handing had sent someone to inform Mrs. Lu. Mrs. Lu brought A-ju to the gate to greet them personally. The two sisters-in-law were extremely happy to meet each other, and A-ju was even more excited. She looked up and kept calling Fulan "Auntie".
This trip home was like a lifetime ago for Yu Fulan. Not to mention meeting Yuan Handing, her sister-in-law, and her little niece, even just now, when she saw the two silent and majestic stone lions on the left and right of the palace gate, she couldn't control her emotions and her heart was surging.
She calmed herself down, held her little niece's hand, and in a trance, she seemed to see herself and her aunt when they were little.
She held Aju's little hand tighter, followed her sister-in-law, and walked inside.
A few days ago, Mrs. Lu had someone clean up her residence, which was her boudoir before she got married.
Mrs. Lu accompanied her into the house. Fulan asked about the prince, and Mrs. Lu said that he had taken medicine and was asleep. Then she said, "Lan'er, I was lucky to receive your letter that day, so I was able to find your brother in time. Otherwise..."
She recalled the scene at that time. Although it had passed, she was still frightened. She sent the maid to take her daughter out first, and she held her sister-in-law's hand tightly.
"Sister-in-law doesn't know how to thank you. Lan'er, no matter what happens in the future, just ask. As long as we can help, your brother and I will definitely help you."
She was very excited and grateful, and tears glistened in her eyes as she spoke.
Fulan smiled and said, "As long as my brother is safe, it will be my greatest blessing. I will go to see my brother later."
She knew that her sister-in-law would definitely ask her how she knew this, so before she could open her mouth, she took the initiative to say, "I was lucky enough to be able to help, and it was also God's blessing on my brother. I had a dream that day, and I dreamed that Emperor Junshan gave me some instructions. I remembered it clearly when I woke up. Just in case, I sent someone to deliver the letter back. If my sister-in-law wants to thank someone, she should thank Emperor Junshan."
Lu was extremely surprised and nodded immediately: "Okay! Okay! Tomorrow I will prepare the sacrifices and go to Junshan to thank the gods!"
Fulan said, "I'll go too."
Lu agreed and chatted with her sister-in-law for a few more words, then asked her what her mother-in-law in the Xie family was like and how she was doing.
Fulan responded vaguely.
Seeing that she seemed reluctant to talk about the Xie family, Lu advised her: "Your brother-in-law left you on your wedding night to quell the rebellion of King Jiangdu. He really wronged you. But in recent years, the vassal kings in the country have been in chaos, wars have continued, and the borders have been in turmoil. This is also an urgent summons from the court. Even if he is unwilling, he has no choice. Don't blame him. A few days ago, I heard that King Jiangdu was losing ground. I believe he will be able to pacify the situation soon, and then you can meet."
While Lu was trying to persuade him, a maid came to report that the king had woken up. He was very happy to know that his sister had returned and wanted to see her.
Fulan hurriedly got up and went to see the prince with Lu.
The Mu family members all have outstanding looks. Mu Xuanqing has the noble temperament that is unique to the children of the royal family. He accidentally fell into danger while chasing prey that day. After being rescued, he was nursed for a few days. His injuries have healed a lot, but his legs and feet are still a little inconvenient. At this moment, the brother and sister are very happy to meet. He was a little scared and secretly regretted being blamed by his sister. When he heard her say that she planned to stay here first after returning this time, he nodded without thinking.
"Sister, you can stay as long as you want! Changsha will always be your home!"
…
This year's winter seemed to come especially quickly.
Half a month after the Mu family daughter left, it was only the end of October, and the weather was getting colder day by day. It was rainy and cold, and it kept getting into people's collars. In the afternoon, Xie's mother had dinner and felt sleepy, so she was taken to sleep in the house. Qiuju was hiding in the outer room, eating melon seeds, when the housemaid named Amao ran in in a hurry, her footsteps stomping.
From the inner room there seemed to be the sound of Xie's mother turning over after being startled.
Qiu Ju dropped the melon seeds, got up in a hurry, stepped out of the door, raised her hand and grabbed Ah Mao's ears, pulling them hard, and scolded in a low voice: "Where are your ears? How many times have I told you to walk more quietly! The old lady is sleeping!"
"no no!"
Ah Mao ran out of breath, covering his ears while explaining: "It's our master who has returned! Everyone is at the door!"
Qiu Ju was startled, let go of her hand, and hurried out. After running a few steps, she hurried back, opened the mirror box, looked at her face, and hurriedly picked up some rouge with her little finger and applied it on her lips. Seeing that her temples were rough, she desperately rubbed rosin oil on them.
As she was busying herself in front of the mirror with her head tilted, she heard a sound of footsteps outside, as if they were walking on water. She quickly closed the mirror box, turned around and hurried out to greet them.
In the courtyard, a shadow of a man in a straw raincoat was walking.
A man, wearing a green bamboo hat and an old raincoat, like a figure in a painting of mist and rain, walked through the continuous autumn rain in Badi, his feet breaking through the rainwater accumulated in the depression in the courtyard, and was striding towards this side.
The man was tall, with a handsome face, thin eyebrows and bright eyes under his bamboo hat. If there was a servant following him, at first glance, he would look like a young scholar who had just returned home after taking an exam.
He climbed the steps and stopped under the eaves.
The rain dripped along the edges of his bamboo hat and raincoat, falling at his feet and soon soaking the surrounding ground.
This man was Xie Changgeng, 22 years old, the youngest military governor of the dynasty, guarding Hexi.
He took off his bamboo hat and hung it on a nail on the wall. He glanced at Qiu Ju, who had just run out of the house with a blush on her face, and asked, "Where is my mother?"