After another two days of sailing, the boat entered the Yangtze River, went south along the river, and after a while, it returned to Changsha.
In the evening, the fleet stopped at a water inn along the way to spend the night.
It was getting dark. Mu Fulan closed the porthole, turned on the light, and stayed by Xi'er's side, watching him write.
Xier wrote a few words and slowly stopped writing.
Mu Fulan thought he was tired. "Are you tired? If you are tired, you don't need to write anymore. Go to sleep."
Xi'er shook her head, looked at Mu Fulan, and whispered, "Mother, if General Yuan hadn't come, and we were still there, would we have been locked up by the bad guys now?"
Mu Fulan's heart skipped a beat.
She smiled: "How is that possible? Besides, haven't we already come out?"
She paused.
"Why would Xi'er think of this?"
The child hesitated and said, "I had a dream last night."
"I dreamed that Lord Xie was my father. That city was full of bad people, and they locked up mother and me. At the beginning, you told me not to be afraid, because Xier's father would come to save us. I waited and waited for a long time, but Lord Xie didn't come. I asked mother when my father would come, but you didn't say anything. Later, Lord Xie still didn't come, and General Yuan came. He took me out of the city, but you were gone. I wanted to find you, but General Yuan blindfolded me and didn't let me look back. I woke up in a hurry..."
"It's just as real as it gets."
The child spoke softly, with a hint of sadness in his eyes.
Mu Fulan's heart ached, and she hugged him in her arms, holding him tightly.
"Xi'er, don't let your imagination run wild! Remember, this is just a bad dream! Dreams are fake, and things in dreams will never happen!"
"Nothing happened. We will be returning to Changsha soon."
"Thank you, sir. He is not your father either!"
She looked into the child's eyes and spoke word by word.
Xier leaned quietly in her arms, was silent for a moment, and then seemed to be relieved and smiled.
"Mother, you are right. Sir Xie is not my father, so the things in the dream are not real!"
Mu Fulan smiled and nodded.
At this time, there was a faint sound of talking outside the boat. A moment later, the maid came to call Dao Liangtuan and said that she wanted to see her for something.
Mu Fulan asked her maid to accompany Xier, and she went to the bow deck.
Liang Tuan said, "My princess, we have received news that the governor sent troops to Pucheng and attacked it thousands of miles away. Now that the siege has been lifted, I know that General Yuan has taken my princess away, so he ordered me to go back."
Mu Fulan didn't say anything at first, as if she was in a trance. After a moment, she smiled slightly.
"That's the best. I appreciate your hard work on this journey. You all have to rest well tonight. I'll ask someone to prepare some food for the journey. It won't be too late to set off tomorrow."
Liang Tuan said, "This is my duty, how can I deserve your gratitude. The rebels may come back, and the governor is injured. I will pack up and set off with my men. Thank you for your kindness."
"I will take my leave now. Madam, please say goodbye to the young master on my behalf."
He knelt on one knee and said respectfully.
Mu Fulan was slightly startled, and after a pause, she didn't ask any more questions in the end. She just nodded and said, "Okay. Wait a moment, I'll ask someone to prepare some food for you."
She turned around and was about to give orders when she saw Xier running out of the cabin door.
"How did he get hurt, sir? Will he be okay?"
Xier ran to Liang Tuan, grabbed his sleeve, looked up and asked anxiously.
Liang Tuan hurriedly comforted him: "Don't worry, young master. It is said that the governor was injured by an arrow when he was relieving the siege of the city. Fortunately, it was not a vital part..."
Xier let go of her hand and turned to Mu Fulan.
"Mother, we are not too far from there. Mother, please help the master heal his wounds first. Once he is fine, we can go back to Changsha, okay?"
His eyes were red and he kept begging.
Liang Tuan's heart moved slightly.
What the young master meant was what he wanted. However, he could see that the relationship between the governor and his wife was complicated, so he did not dare to speak rashly. Seeing that the young master spoke first, he hesitated for a moment and said boldly: "The situation in Hexi is tense now, and we can't do without you. There is a rebellion here, and you may not be able to deal with it. If the princess can wait until your injury is healed before leaving..."
He glanced at Mu Fulan and stopped.
Mu Fulan was silent for a moment, motioned Liang Tuan to wait, took Xier's hand, and led him into the cabin.
After a while, she came out again and apologized, "I'm afraid it will be inconvenient for me to go back. Besides, the military doctor has more experience in external injuries than I do. The only thing I want you to do is to tell the governor that the weather is getting hotter. Please remember to ask the military doctor to change the medicine for him in time despite his busy schedule."
She handed Liang Tuan a prescription she had just written.
"This is a prescription for internal use. It helps to remove dead tissue and regenerate new flesh from the wound."
Liang Tuan knew that she was not coming back, so he had to take it, put it away, and left.
Mu Fulan stood at the bow of the boat, watching Liang Tuan and his group disappear into the night.
She had a hunch that the man's coming thousands of miles to rescue the city might have something to do with her and her son.
so what.
At this moment, when this thought flashed through her mind, deep in her heart, she instead felt an overwhelming sense of loneliness.
It seemed as if she was alone in the world, with only the waves and the moon on the bow, like a pair of cold eyes, staring at her from below.
But even so, she didn't want them to remember the past and Xier's dream.
Just like that, the man couldn't remember, and Xier couldn't remember either. In this life, it was enough for them to be well with each other.
…
Although the rebel army of Prince Pingyang was blocked from advancing northwards, they did not dare to engage in direct battle with the Hexi army for a while, and retreated hundreds of miles and settled down.
Xie Changgeng did not continue to pursue the enemy and temporarily set up camp.
That day, after he finished discussing matters with the generals, he sat alone in his tent, his eyes falling on a secret letter in front of him.
The letter was sent from Shangjing. In addition to telling him that Empress Liu was very dissatisfied with him for ignoring the emperor's will and sending troops to Pucheng without authorization, it also told him another thing.
At the beginning of the rebellion of Prince Pingyang and Prince Lu, someone secretly reported to Empress Liu that envoys of the rebel prince had been in and out of Changsha State before, and they were suspected of secretly communicating with each other and participating in the rebellion. However, the King of Qi quickly came forward to defend the innocence of Changsha State, and Empress Liu gave up and did not pursue the matter.
The military doctor entered and saw the governor looking at the letter in his hand with a gloomy face. He said cautiously, "Sir, it's time to change the medicine."
Xie Changgeng slowly put away the letter and undressed.
The military doctor leaned over to change the bandage for him. When peeling off a piece of gauze, he accidentally tore off a piece of skin and flesh that was attached to it.
Blood flowed out.
The military doctor was startled and apologized quickly: "Please don't blame me, sir! My skills are not very good. If the princess were here, your injury would surely heal faster."
Xie Changgeng frowned and told him to hurry up.
The military doctor hurriedly sped up his work. At this moment, a report came from outside the tent saying that Liang Tuan was leading his men back to the camp.
Xie Changgeng's eyes moved slightly and he asked him to enter the tent.
Liang Tuan entered, bowed, stood aside, and reported the whereabouts of Mu Fulan and his party, saying that they should be able to reach Changsha soon.
Xie Changgeng said nothing.
Seeing that he didn't say anything, Liang Tuan glanced at the blood-stained gauze that had just been removed and thought about it.
"My lady knows that you are injured..."
He paused.
“… He was very concerned and asked me to tell you that the weather is getting hotter. Please remember to change the medicine in time despite your busy schedule.”
He took out the prescription and presented it.
"The princess left this recipe, saying it has the effect of removing dead tissue and regenerating flesh, and can help you recover from your injuries."
The military doctor was overjoyed. "Excellent! I will follow the prescription right away..."
"go out!"
Xie Changgeng suddenly said.
The two were stunned, looked at each other, and didn't dare to say anything else. They retreated as instructed.
Xie Changgeng was the only one left in the big tent.
He picked up the prescription and stared at the beautiful handwriting on it with a stiff expression. Slowly, a sneer appeared at the corners of his tightly closed lips.
He really thought he owed her something in his previous life.
As for marrying the daughter of the Mu family, he had been giving in again and again since he first saw her in Changsha.
Even he himself couldn't believe it, until today, that he would go to such lengths for a woman.
What she returned to him was just this thin prescription.
He slowly clenched his fist and crumpled the piece of paper with the prescription on it bit by bit in his palm until it was crumpled into a ball and thrown it at his feet.
…
Half a month later, Xie Changgeng arrived in Shangjing in response to Empress Liu's urgent summons.
This was his second visit to Beijing after a year.
The Shangjing Palace is still majestic and towering, but the imperial court is no longer the same as before.
All the officials in the court have been shocked and at a loss over the past few days due to one piece of news after another.
First, Prince Pingyang and Prince Lu rebelled, and emergency war reports from all over the country kept coming in. After much difficulty, they learned that Prince Pingyang's rebels were blocked in Pucheng by the Hexi army, and the southern front was temporarily safe. Before they had time to breathe a sigh of relief, another unbelievable piece of news came, like a bolt from the blue.
Liu Hu, the nephew of Empress Liu, who was sent to assist the King of Qi in resisting the rebellion of the King of Lu, accidentally learned that the King of Qi was the man behind the rebellion of the King of Pingyang and the King of Lu. His previous action of volunteering to lead troops to the east to resist the rebellion of the King of Lu was just a trick. Liu Hu was shocked and failed to escape. He was caught by the King of Qi's men and held hostage.
No one had expected that the King of Qi, who was highly respected and had always been regarded as the head of the royal family and a model of loyalty, would actually have ulterior motives and commit such a heinous act.
It was as if a huge pillar supporting half of the court collapsed overnight, and the entire court was in an uproar.
That was not all. Immediately afterwards, news came that the King of Runan, the King of Zhao and other vassal kings also followed the King of Qi in rebellion, issued manifestos to attack Empress Liu's monopoly of power and claimed that they wanted to restore the royal family.
The civil and military officials were like headless flies, in a state of panic. When they learned that Xie Changgeng had arrived in Beijing today and was going to the palace to meet Empress Liu, they all waited outside the palace gate. When they saw him appear, they rushed forward as if they had seen their backbone, vying to greet him. Some scolded the King of Qi for being hypocritical and treacherous, while others complimented Xie Changgeng on his great achievements for the court.
At this moment, none of the officials surrounding him remembered his once-criticized background.
Xie Changgeng, the governor of Hexi, became the last straw for this crumbling imperial court.
Xie Changgeng had a serious expression on his face and looked straight ahead. Without stopping, he walked through the group of officials surrounding him and went straight into the palace.
The author has something to say: Thank you little angels for voting for me~
Thanks to the little angels who cast [mines]: Wutong Qingying 3, Ranma 2, w2954c 1, Ye Gong 1, Sui Yue Jing Hao 1, Shan Yue Bu Zhi Xin Shi 1, Zhang Qian 1, Ke Bao Bao 1, sarbrina 1
Thanks to the little angel who threw the [grenade]: Elbow Cissy 1 piece
Thank you little angels for irrigating me with nutrient solution~
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Thank you very much for your support, I will continue to work hard! ^_^