After Liu Guan went there, there was no movement.
Xie Changgeng waited all night. At noon the next day, he felt a little uneasy. Just as he was about to send someone to ask, an attendant came back on a fast horse with a message.
Liu Guan arrived at the horse farm in the late night of last night, met the princess, and told her the situation. The princess immediately set off for the Mahe Valley. Liu Guan brought a team of people to escort her.
The attendant said that by this time, the group should have arrived.
The car that Mu Fulan was riding in stopped at the intersection leading to Mahe Valley.
Although the scene of the two armies confronting each other and arrows flying across the sky had disappeared, the roadside still had traces of charred fire everywhere. The natives had not withdrawn their precautions, and there were still checkpoints and troops at the entrance of the valley. When they learned that the wife of the governor had arrived, they spread the word that only she was allowed to enter, and no one else was allowed to enter.
Liu Guan wanted to negotiate. Mu Fulan said, "Just do as they say. I'll go in, and you guys just wait outside."
Liu Guan looked at the fully armed native soldiers at the entrance of the valley and hesitated. "My lady, please wait a little longer. I will report to the governor first."
"No need. It takes another day to go there and back. We can't waste any time. Don't worry, I'll be fine."
She took the things from her attendant, asked the native to lead the way, and walked quickly inside under the gaze of everyone behind her.
Liu Guan had no choice but to immediately send someone back to the city to report the latest situation to the governor, while he waited outside with his men.
He was so nervous that he didn't dare to leave. He waited from noon to dusk, and saw that half a day had passed and the princess hadn't come out. He was really worried, so he went to the valley again to ask about the situation. Suddenly, he heard a faint cheering sound coming from inside.
He turned his head and looked over.
The natives guarding the entrance of the valley also heard the noise and looked around.
In the Ma River Valley, outside the old chief's residence, countless natives gathered here, holding their breath and waiting. When they learned that the old chief had finally woken up from his coma, they were extremely excited, cheered, and knelt down one after another.
In the house, Bai Long was extremely happy and said to Mu Fulan, "I heard that Madam had passed away earlier, but I didn't expect that you are still alive. Today, you saved my father again. I and all the clansmen are extremely grateful. Please accept my greetings, Madam!"
He brought his men and bowed to Mu Fulan.
After working hard for a long time, Mu Fulan felt a little tired. She took a breath and asked someone to give medicine to the old leader who had just woken up. She called Bai Long out and said, "Although the old leader has woken up and is fine for the time being, the remaining poison in his body may not be eradicated by my method and ordinary detoxification medicine. His life is still in danger."
The smile on Bai Long's face froze, and he asked, "Madam, do you have any other ideas?"
Yao Weng not only practiced medicine to save people, but also studied all kinds of poisons and herbs in the world. He traveled all over the country, even to the Western Regions, and wrote notes. In the Northwest chapter, he specifically mentioned a rare plant that grew in the cracks of the ice-stained rocks in the Tianshan Mountains in the northern desert. Due to the severe cold climate, it grew very slowly, and its flowers were extremely poisonous. If they were quenched into poison, people would become paralyzed and unconscious if they got into the intestines, and would definitely die.
But this grass is very strange. Its flowers are extremely poisonous, but its rhizomes can detoxify. The two complement each other. Yao Weng named it Yin Yang Grass based on its characteristics. In his notes, he described in detail the toxicity, methods of detoxification, and characteristics of the plant, and drew a picture.
The arrowhead that shot the old leader was still there. Mu Fulan had tested the poison repeatedly before, combined with Yao Weng's notes, and the fact that the poison arrow came from the northerners active in the north of Tianshan Mountain, she made such an inference.
She pondered for a moment, explained the properties of the medicine to him, and said, "Fortunately, the poison enters the blood, so the toxicity is slightly reduced. Go to Tianshan as soon as possible and collect the rhizomes. Maybe we can give it a try."
Bai Long was excited and said immediately: "I'll send someone right away!"
"My master's notes state that after the rhizomes are harvested, they must be refined into medicine within a few days for the effect to be good. The longer it takes, the weaker the medicinal properties will be. It will take one or two months to go back and forth from here to Tianshan, right? It would be best if I go there myself and deal with it on the spot."
Bai Long was extremely grateful and knelt down again: "Madam, I have no way to repay your kindness! I will personally lead people to escort you there!"
Mu Fulan asked him to get up. "I have limited knowledge, but I will try my best. I hope it works."
A man came out of the house and said that the leader invited his wife in.
Mu Fulan returned to the house.
After the old chief woke up, he slowly regained some spirit. He leaned on the pillow, smiled, and said to Mu Fulan: "Madam, you have saved our people in the past, and I am very grateful. Today you saved my life again. I heard what you said to my son just now. It is the middle of winter when we go to Tianshan. Not only is the road dangerous, but I am afraid we will be harassed by the northerners. Whether I live or die is up to fate. Madam is noble, and I cannot ask you to risk your life for me again. Madam, you don't have to go."
Seeing that his father was risking his life and actually trying to stop him, Bai Long did not dare to refute him. He was very anxious and kept looking at Mu Fulan.
Mu Fulan said: "Old leader, your words are very sincere. As long as there is a glimmer of hope, I will make this trip."
Bai Long heaved a sigh of relief, and became even more grateful to Mu Fulan: "Father, I will bring our most skilled warriors and escort Madam with our lives! Don't worry, Father!"
Mu Fulan nodded: "Besides, there are guards along the way. To be honest with you, I came here because of my husband's idea. He is also very concerned about your injury. I will explain the situation to him, and he will definitely send an order to have people take care of us along the way. You don't have to worry."
The old leader closed his eyes for a moment, then slowly opened them and said, "I cannot thank you enough for your kindness. I dare not trouble you to ask for help again. I will send a message to the governor, asking for your help along the way."
Mu Fulan didn't say much, just smiled and said, "This matter cannot be delayed. I will leave as soon as I arrange things. Liu Biejia from the Jiedushi Mansion sent me here. He should still be waiting outside the valley entrance. You can ask him to send a message back, Chief."
…
Late at night, the lights in the Jiedushi's study were still on.
Xie Changgeng was alone in the study, standing in front of the window, gazing at the night sky above the invisible Ma River Valley in the distance, when he suddenly heard the sound of running footsteps coming from outside.
"Sir! Good news!"
Xie Changgeng's heart skipped a beat. He turned around abruptly and saw Liu Guan pushing open the half-closed door. He ran to him with a look of joy on his face and panted, "Congratulations, sir! There has been progress in the matter of Mahe Valley!"
Before he could even catch his breath, he took out a letter that he kept close to his heart from his bosom and handed it over impatiently.
"The old leader was rescued by the princess! She asked me to pass this letter to the adults!"
Xie Changgeng took it, unfolded the letter, and read it quickly.
Liu Guandao said: "Sir, when the old leader woke up, he came to see me and said that in two days, when he is better, please take some time to discuss the matter of Mahe Valley."
Liu Guan was overjoyed to see that the Mahe Valley issue, which had been pending for a long time, had a hope of being easily resolved. After he finished speaking, he looked at the Jiedushi and saw that his eyes were still on the letter. He did not say a word, thinking that he was too happy, and did not think much about it. He just said, "This time the matter can be smoothly resolved, thanks to the princess."
Xie Changgeng slowly raised his eyes and asked, "Where is she?"
Liu Guandao said: "I know that you are concerned about this matter. I was afraid that you would have to wait for a long time, so I rushed back overnight and delivered the letter. Although the old leader has been rescued, he is still very weak. The princess will stay there for the time being. When the old leader's condition stabilizes, she will leave. Bai Long led people to escort the princess on the road. The old leader is very grateful to you and the princess, and I beg the soldiers along the way to take care of him. I believe the letter also mentioned this."
"Sir, Jiaocheng is going to send a batch of food and grass to Tianshan Jincheng these two days to help the soldiers survive the winter. Since we are going the same way, it would be safer to arrange for the princess and her entourage to go with the escorting army. What do you think?"
Xie Changgeng looked at Liu Guan and didn't say anything good or bad.
Liu Guan was just happy at first, but now he finally realized that the Jiedushi's reaction was a bit abnormal. He hesitated and asked, "What's wrong, sir? Do you have any questions?"
"The princess did not put forward any conditions?"
Xie Changgeng suddenly asked.
"condition?"
Liu Guan felt a little confused.
"No! The princess only said that she would leave as soon as possible. However, she did ask me to pass on a message to the Lord."
"What?"
"The princess asked me to tell you that after she leaves, please take good care of the young master."
Xie Changgeng was silent for a moment, then said, "I see. You have done a great job. You have worked hard. Go down and have a rest."
…
Two days later, Bai Long and the soldiers who set out from Jiaocheng were ready. There was no time to waste, and Mu Fulan would set off early the next morning.
She left her maid to take care of Xier and only took a maid from the stable with her.
That night, the room was warm, and Mu Fulan accompanied Xier and helped him fall asleep.
Xier couldn't sleep.
"Mother, they said you were going to a very far place..."
He hesitated for a moment and asked in a low voice: "Master Xie, will he protect you, my mother, and go with you?"
Mu Fulan said: "He is very busy and has more important things to do. Mother has been escorted and will be safe."
"But I'm still worried..." The child grabbed her sleeve stubbornly.
"Thank you, sir, what important matter does he have?"
Mu Fulan whispered, "Xi'er, do you like the horse farm?"
"like."
"Master Xie wants to protect the horse farm, and there are many places like the horse farm. If there is trouble and the bad guys come to attack, the horse farm and those places will be taken away by the bad guys. Little Dragon Horse will have no home, and Xier will never be able to come here again. Do you want this?"
The child immediately shook his head.
"So you say, is Mr. Xie's matter important or not?"
The child suppressed his sadness and let go of his mother's sleeve.
"I understand. Mother, Xi'er will miss you."
Mu Fulan kissed his little face and said, "Go to sleep."
The child in my arms finally fell asleep slowly.
Mu Fulan had a lot of thoughts in her mind and couldn't fall asleep.
She put on her clothes, stood up and went to the outer room, checked again the things she would take with her tomorrow, stopped in front of the window, pushed it open, looked at the night sky, and then she discovered that snowflakes had been falling in the dark night sky without her knowing.
She looked up for a moment, then stretched out her hands like a child, caught a few flakes of falling snow, and stared at the snow in her palms as it slowly melted into water.
A cold wind blew, and she seemed to feel cold. She blew some hot air into her palms and then closed the window.
In the room, the sound of light footsteps gradually faded away from my ears.
Xie Changgeng just stood by the window, in the dark corner where he had just retreated to avoid her, motionless.
The world was quiet, and everything was silent. The snowflakes fell sparsely at first, then gradually grew larger and larger, piling up on his shoulders, forming a thin layer.
He felt a little confused.
Contact with the natives is progressing smoothly.
Tomorrow, she will also be on her way. Regardless of whether she can cure the old leader or not, even if the old leader really dies in the end, it should not affect the overall situation.
Now, everything was going very well, beyond his expectations.
He didn't know why he came to this place tonight.
He was so close to the little woman that he stood by the window, listening to her whispering with the child on the bed. When she opened the window just now, if he had not dodged quickly, he would have almost bumped into her.
Even at this moment, there were only four or five steps between him and her, a night of snow, a window frame, a door, and a wall, that was all.
However, he could only stand in this dim corner, feeling the cold wind, letting the snowflakes slowly pile up on his shoulders. He was unable to take a step to complete the short four or five steps, let alone lift his hand to knock on the door that was so close.
As the night deepened, the snow piled on his shoulders grew thicker.
Xie Changgeng finally turned around slowly, stepped on the snow, and walked towards the gate of the courtyard.
There was a slight creaking sound behind him, and the door behind him was opened.
Xie Changgeng slowly stopped and did not look back.
Mu Fulan stood in the doorway, looking at the lonely, thin man in the dark snow. She was silent for a moment and said, "Wait for me to come back. I want to go back."
A cold snowflake fell on Xie Changgeng's eyelashes.
He closed his eyes and said, "Okay."
After he finished speaking, he continued walking forward, and soon walked out of the quiet white courtyard. He took the reins from the attendant waiting outside and mounted the horse.
He had already anticipated such an outcome and was prepared for it.
The only difference is the order.
He thought that she would first ask him to promise to let her return to Changsha on the condition of saving the native leader.
He had already decided to agree.
As long as you are not confused, you don't need to think too much about the importance of such things.
Just a woman, insignificant.
So be it.
The man rode away against the cold wind and snow blowing in the dark night sky ahead, and said to himself in his heart.