Although the Fuzhou soldiers were defeated in successive battles, the spies reported that the enemy camp seemed to have taken some actions in the past few days. Li Liang seemed unwilling to admit defeat.
He couldn't afford to lose. If there was another battle, he would mobilize all his forces. Therefore, Yunmeng City prepared for war and didn't relax at all.
Not only that, Mu Fulan also quickly agreed to the battle plan proposed by Yuan Handing. Instead of passively defending, it is better to launch a surprise attack while the enemy is not ready, catch him off guard, and completely disintegrate the enemy's main force. While secretly preparing for the action, early this morning, the spy sent another message, saying that last night, he saw the enemy camp from afar, retreating to the north overnight.
The next day, all the troops withdrew, and the plain where they had originally camped was empty, with only some dilapidated tents left behind by the Fuzhou soldiers before they left.
The Fuzhou troops were defeated and retreated.
For the people and soldiers of Changsha, the experiences of the past six months or so have brought them such a huge shock that it is no exaggeration to say that it is unprecedented in the past two hundred years.
After that brief period of pride and honor, they passively broke with the distant imperial court, were declared rebels, lost their king, and the war once again came to the border of Changsha without any cover.
At a time when confusion, fear and helplessness were spreading among people, this victory was like the sun emerging from the dark clouds. The light it emitted completely drove away the haze that had previously shrouded the sky over Changsha.
They lost their king, but they were not abandoned. The regent of the Mu family stepped forward and continued to protect them like her father and grandfather.
On this day, cheers rang out one after another inside and outside Yunmeng.
In the military camp outside the city, the soldiers who were happily congratulating each other on their victory saw the Regent Princess appear.
She came here shortly after the war started. In addition to supervising the battle, she personally led the military doctors and some palace ladies who had been taught by her to treat the wounded soldiers sent from the battlefield in the wounded camp.
At this moment, their noble and beautiful princess, escorted by a team of warriors in distinctive armor, arrived at the military camp in a chariot, dressed in her best attire.
She climbed onto the high platform, held up the wine glass with both hands, and toasted the countless soldiers who were neatly lined up in square formations opposite her, thanking them for their bloodshed and sacrifices for their loyalty to the Mu royal family and protection of Changsha State.
"I, Mu Fulan, swear to you today and at this moment, by the heroic spirits of my Mu clan's ancestors, that no matter when, if the enemy attacks again, I will be with you!"
"If you warriors don't retreat, I, Mu Fulan, will not leave you! We will advance and retreat together, and share the good and the bad!"
The bright and penetrating voice, sonorous and powerful, spreads with the wind.
The messengers below the stage quickly spread the word to hundreds and thousands, and her words reached every corner.
In the wilderness, the cold wind was howling, but the young soldiers who had just come down from the battlefield were all excited. Every drop of blood flowing in their veins was surging, clamoring, urging them to respond to her impatiently.
No one is born to love war, but if war is destined to happen, who would not want to protect their noble and moving regent
Yuan Handing looked up at Mu Fulan on the high platform without blinking.
At this moment, his heart was filled with turbulent and conflicting emotions.
He didn't know when it started, but she was no longer the familiar princess Mu Fulan who grew up with him.
A voice in his heart told him that she was getting further and further away from him.
But his loss was soon replaced by another outburst of passionate emotions.
He was willing to surrender, kneel at her feet, be driven by her, be her warrior, and use the sword in his hand to protect her nobility and beauty today, even at the cost of his life.
"I swear my loyalty till death, Your Highness, live forever!"
He roared, and led the thousands of soldiers behind him to kneel on one knee towards Mu Fulan on the podium, offering the most loyal response.
"I swear my loyalty till death, Your Highness, live forever!"
It was like a sudden thunderclap out of nowhere; the voices of the soldiers echoed throughout the fields and reached the sky.
The field surrounding the war camp was filled with people, and the people from the city who had come to watch the ceremony all had tears in their eyes and knelt down one after another.
Deep in the crowd, a man was looking at the figure on the platform from afar, motionless.
There were people everywhere, and no one paid attention to this ordinary-dressed man mixed in the crowd.
He watched the figure that was familiar to him but suddenly seemed so strange walk down the platform, get back on the chariot, and leave amid the thunderous cheers of thousands of soldiers. She walked farther and farther away and disappeared from his sight.
…
The Fuzhou troops retreated, and the officials of Changsha State also knew that the court, or Xie Changgeng, was now sending troops to Changping Pass to deal with the forces of the King of Qi who established the Eastern Court. In the short term, they should not have time to launch a long expedition that required crossing the river to the south.
The clouds of disaster that had been hanging over the heads of the subjects since the death of the king finally dissipated. Not only did the officials headed by Lu Lin breathe a sigh of relief, but the people were also spreading the story of the regent lady rewarding the troops in Yunmeng that day, and they were very excited. No one could have imagined that the man who had married their princess and made them hate and fear was right beside them at this moment.
There was no moonlight in the sky that night, and Xie Changgeng's figure was like a dim tree, blending into the night by the lake.
After the battle of Yunmeng ended and she rewarded the troops, she returned to Yuecheng. He ordered his men who followed him to wait outside the city for orders, and he went into the city alone. After hiding for a few days, he learned that she had left the city this evening and was now across from him, separated by the water of Dongting Lake.
Several days had passed. But at this moment, when he closed his eyes, he could still hear the roar of loyalty from the Changsha soldiers in the Yunmeng wilderness that day.
Her means of controlling people's hearts were enough to rival any general who relied on bloody killing to establish his authority. Such bright and clear sonorous words, uttered from her fragile and beautiful appearance, easily magnified this power to bewitch people's hearts countless times.
He never knew that this woman had such a side to her.
Her status was no longer the same as before. Because of her arrival, the only ferry leading to Junshan was full of guards tonight, and there was no boat around the lake that could take him to Junshan.
He stood by the lake, gazing into the distance at the blurry lake and mountain with undulating black peaks outlined by the dark night. He thought about the unanswered questions that tormented him one by one, and what she was thinking and doing at the moment. He could no longer suppress the strong thoughts that were tormenting him in his body, so he waded down, dived into the lake, and swam towards the lake and mountain in the depths of the darkness.
Dongting Lake is connected to the Yangtze River, and its waters are like the sea. When the wind blows, the waves are surging and the undercurrent is turbulent. How could he not know this
But no matter how deep and far the water of Dongting Lake is, or how turbulent the undercurrent is, it cannot stop his almost crazy idea of crossing it tonight.
The cold lake water rushed towards him from all directions, but it could not extinguish the fire burning in his heart.
He was like a knife that cut through the lake water. Driven by an instinct, he held his breath and swam forward tirelessly in this dark and cold winter night.
…
After the death of the prince, the sister-in-law was too sad. After enduring the national mourning, she fell ill. When fighting on the front line of Yunmeng, the daily state affairs in the Yuecheng Palace were all managed by Prime Minister Lu Lin. He was familiar with these internal affairs, but there were some important matters that needed to be discussed with Mu Fulan. After Mu Fulan returned from Yunmeng, he had no time to catch his breath. He was busy treating the sister-in-law and handling state affairs.
Tomorrow she will go to inspect the military base on Zheshan Island in the middle of the lake. In order to return to the city on the same day, she quietly left the city one day in advance, this evening, under the protection of Yuan Handing, and planned to spend the night in Junshan. She would set out from Junshan tomorrow morning to shorten the water journey.
She brought Xi'er with her. When they arrived at the medicine house, it was already late.
She sent Xi'er into the house and wanted to accompany him to sleep, but Xi'er shook his head: "Mom, I'm old enough to sleep by myself. Mom, you should go to bed earlier and don't have to accompany me."
Mu Fulan knew that he felt sorry for her, so she touched his head with a smile, told the maid to take good care of the child, walked out and returned to her room.
There was no one in front of her who she needed to tense up to face anymore.
She felt exhausted, and her entire frame seemed to be falling apart at that moment.
Mother Mu also came along and prepared steaming hot bath water for her.
Mu Fulan soaked in the hot water for a while and came out to sleep.
She likes Junshan. Whenever she comes here, no matter how many worries and troubles she has, she can quickly relax and calm down.
If there really is a paradise on earth, then Junshan Mountain in the middle of the lake is where her paradise is.
But tonight, she couldn't fall asleep. She got up, opened the window, looked out at the dark night, and gradually became absent-minded.
Mother Mu gently pushed the door open, and seeing that she was still awake, she sighed, came in, urged her to go to bed, closed the window herself, and gently massaged her legs and feet.
Mu Fulan lay on the pillow, closed her eyes for a moment, and let her mother Mu go to rest.
Mother Mu looked at her tired face and said softly, "My princess, although the Fuzhou soldiers have retreated, are you still worried that they will come again? Relax your mind and don't think too much. If they really come again, we will fight them. I heard that the soldiers respect you very much and will fight with all their strength."
Mu Fulan knew that she was actually worried about herself, and couldn't bear to see her worrying all day, so she said, "Mother Mu, I'm not worried. You don't have to worry about me either. The Fuzhou soldiers won't come again. If I'm right, Li Liang's sudden withdrawal must be related to Xie Changgeng. At least, before he can eat up the Qi Wangdong court, he shouldn't go out of his way to deal with us anymore."
Mother Mu suddenly realized it, hesitated for a moment, and asked, "Could it be that he was grateful to you for saving his mother, so he let us go?"
Mu Fulan opened her eyes, shook her head, and smiled: "Mother Mu, you are wrong. It's not that he is grateful to me, but he is calculating."
"He is an ambitious man, just like the King of Qi, who wants to be the emperor. He is also selfish and cold-hearted, but he is a filial son. The one person he really cares about is his mother. He is cautious in everything he does and is unwilling to take risks. Previously, Zhao Xitai captured his mother. I can imagine how anxious he was when he learned the news. But if he sends troops to attack and rescue his mother, even if he rescues her, he will have to pay a huge price."
"Before that, he had already suffered losses because of my brother's dispatch of troops. If he had to pay a new price to save his mother, it might affect the great cause he had been planning for a long time. At that time, I helped him send his mother back. It is not an exaggeration to say that I was helping him in his time of need. He naturally understood that I was asking for his favor."
"After I made peace with him, I let the spy go and took the royal seal that was split in half by my brother. He is so smart, how could he not know that I was telling him that the Mu family of Changsha is not without blood. If I can't make peace with him and he still refuses to let me go, then even if it means fighting with an egg against a rock, I will fight him to the end."
"Mother Mu, even though he is a bad person, he has one good thing. He knows how to do things and is not a perverse person. I have already asked for his favor and given him such a favor. Now that the incident with my brother has happened, why should he continue to be against us? We have abundant fish and rice, no shortage of food and grass, and we can still fight a few battles. If he really forces us to surrender to the King of Qi, what good will it do him?"
Mother Mu stared at Mu Fulan, her eyes gradually turning red.
"You are a princess, a daughter of a rich family, you should be cherished and pampered, but now you have to bear such a heavy burden, not to mention being worried all day long, and feeling so tired. When you were in Yunmeng before, the young master was worried about you every day."
She wiped her eyes.
"Mother Mu is being too nosy. I really don't understand. When that man came to propose marriage, weren't you happy? How did he offend you later that you hated him so much? Why would you rather lose your virginity and bear the stigma to provoke him to divorce you when he came to Yuecheng to pick you up?"
Mu Fulan was startled and frowned slightly: "Mom Mu, don't talk nonsense. It's late, you should go to bed too."
Mother Mu couldn't help it any longer and said, "My Lady, do you think I don't know? The night he came, you were bathing, contrary to your usual behavior. You didn't want anyone to wait on you, and you took such a long time to come out by yourself. You thought you were fine at the time, but I saw it clearly. You turned pale. I also heard some of your conversation with him later when I was outside..."
Her tears fell and her voice choked.
"How much pain would that have to cause? It makes me sad just thinking about it, but you don't spare yourself at all!"
Mu Fulan's face was pale. She closed her eyes and was silent for a moment. She said softly, "Mom Mu, I'm tired and want to sleep."
Mother Mu whispered, "It's my fault. I was rude to the princess. I won't dare to mention it again. Princess, you should have a good rest. I'm leaving now."
She wiped away her tears, carefully covered the woman on the bed with the quilt, blew out the light, and tiptoed out of the room.