As her words fell, the study suddenly became quiet.

Xie Changgeng was silent for a moment and said, "Mu, when you wanted to get rid of me before, I had a little bit of my eyes? Now that I have used me, I am so kind."

He smiled, sarcastic.

"Who do you think I, Xie Changgeng, are you going to control?"

Mu Fulan said: "I did offend you in the past, but what I said just now was not a sweet word, but an insight I learned after entering Beijing."

"Today the Empress Dowager summoned me and asked me where I will go in the future. I really don't want to be held hostage in Shangjing, and I don't want to die here."

Xie Changgeng looked at her coldly. "You are aware of the current affairs. But why do I want to help you?"

"If you hadn't come to ask for a marriage proposal, my situation would not be like this now. Not to mention that so long ago, even if you came to Changsha some time ago, and when you asked me to post a book, you and I had nothing to do with you, and the Queen Mother would not have thought of summoning me to Shangjing. I was in today's situation. The reason was that the Queen Mother was worried about my Changsha Kingdom, but did she have nothing to do with Xie Lang?"

Xie Changgeng sneered and snorted: "It's all my sin."

Mu Fulan didn't hear it and continued, "You don't stop me early and never stop me late. Now, because I misunderstood my relationship with the Prince of Qi, I have posted a book for me and wanted to separate my relationship with me. If someone knows, have you ever thought that you are putting a deception and pushing me into a desperate situation?"

"Changsha is of course useless to you now. Brother Wang and I have indeed offended you for the sake of separation, but it is not considered a great hatred for life, right? Besides, my father was not very rude to you at the beginning."

She walked over and picked up the piece of paper on the table.

"Xielang, you can't help me now, but you can't treat me like this!"

Xie Changgeng looked at her tearing off the book and couldn't help but look surprised.

Mu Fulan tore up the book and walked back to him.

"There is another thing, I want to tell you. A few days ago, shortly after you pacified the King of Jiangdu, Brother Wang learned that Empress Liu wanted to use military force against Changsha. Because he had already committed suicide at that time, he had to find Zhang Ban and asked him to say something good to us from Empress Liu. At that time, he was temporarily avoiding a disaster. This time, the envoy who came to Beijing and sent me told me before leaving that he had already managed Zhang Ban and Zhang Ban promised to take care of me. Now that you are leaving, if the Empress Dowager takes me as a hostage, Zhang Ban should go to the Empress Dowager's place for me."

She looked at Xie Changgeng.

"I just hope that you can make it easier for you to plead with the Queen Mother for me in the presence of my father."

"As for letting go of me, I can do it anytime after I pass this level."

"For you, these two things are just a matter of raising hands, but for me, they are a major matter of life and death. I am grateful whether Zhang Ban can accomplish anything in the end."

After she finished speaking, she gave him a solemn thank-you gift. After the gift, she turned around and went out.

Xie Changgeng looked at the figure and disappeared at the door. He was determined to be in place. After a while, his eyes fell on the book that had been torn off by her. He stared at it for a moment.

...

Two days later, Xie Changgeng was summoned to the palace. After the salute, Empress Liu gave him a seat and said with a smile: "I will leave the capital tomorrow, is everything right?"

Xie Changgeng said: "Menghun’s care is all done and he can leave tomorrow morning."

Empress Liu sighed: "It's the end of the year, but it's not peaceful there, and you're going to go there again. I'm running around all year round, and it's really hard, and I feel very sorry."

Xie Changgeng said respectfully: "I have received the emperor's kindness and cannot repay my hatred. This is my duty and an honor. How can I work hard?"

Empress Liu encouraged him a few more words and said, "Xie Qing, do you have any arrangements for the Mu family if you want to leave the capital?"

Xie Changgeng had already learned the news that Empress Liu had met Mr. Zhang. Mr. Zhang said there was no need to be tempted. He was very eloquent, and Empress Liu seemed to be a little hesitant when he was persuaded, but he had not agreed.

He replied: "Menghou's kindness, I brought her into Beijing before. I originally planned to call her back to Xie County, but my mother at home was very disliked. The reason why she returned to Changsha was not only because of the discomfort in the country, but also because of my mother's dislike. My mother did not want to meet her, and there was no shortage of people to serve at home. Since I wanted to leave Beijing, I planned to take her to Hexi. Although the storefront of the Jiedushi's mansion was not big, there were many local greetings. It was useful if she passed by."

Queen Liu nodded: "This arrangement was originally very good. You really need a deacon. But Xie Qing, if I want to keep her in Shangjing, what do you think?"

Xie Changgeng said: "Please make clear instructions from the Queen Mother."

Queen Liu said: "You are my confidant, so I said it straight. I want to keep Mu as a hostage to Changsha. What do you think?"

When Xie Changgeng heard this, he seemed to hesitate and did not reply immediately.

"What, you don't want to?"

Empress Liu's eyes were cast on Xie Changgeng's face, with a bit of inquiry.

Xie Changgeng hurriedly said, "I dare not. If the Empress Dowager really wants to take her as a hostage to Changsha, I will leave her behind without saying a word."

Empress Liu stared at him: "Xie Qing, you are deceiving me! You clearly have something else to think about!"

Xie Changgeng hurriedly knelt down: "I am guilty! I really have other selfish thoughts just now."

"Say, I wish you were innocent."

Xie Changgeng thanked him, "I dared to say it straight. If the Queen Mother is right, can I take her with me?"

“Why?”

Queen Liu narrowed her eyes and asked.

"The Empress Dowager kept her in Beijing. Although she would not explicitly say that she was detained as a magistrate, how could the court officials not know? Everyone was talking behind their backs. The Taoist minister was able to become an official by the King of Changsha. Now that she has not been married for a year, if she is left in Beijing, she will be discussed by the world again. The Taoist minister will gain power and betrayal."

"In the future, when the Empress Dowager wanted to remove Changsha, Changsha had a conviction of corruption. I was loyal to the court and broke the Mu family with one sword. No one could tell me that the minister was not good. But now, if I ignore it, it would be no different from Xiu's, and it would become a stigma."

"I am a humble person and what I have sought in my life is to be loyal to the court and the queen mother, and the second is to be loyal to the family and to glorify my ancestors. People are afraid of their words, but I have been carrying a lot in recent years. Although I am not afraid, I am also afraid of affecting my ancestors' reputation."

"I deserve to die for ten thousand times. I am not loyal to the Queen Mother, and I have selfish intentions. Please punish the Queen Mother!"

He kowtowed to the ground and could not get up for a long time.

When Empress Liu heard that he did not agree with his deduction of Mu in Beijing at first, she was surprised and unhappy. She was even more suspicious, wondering whether he had heard Mu's instigation, so she spoke for her. After hearing his crime, she suddenly realized that she had not just disappeared, but also became angry and said angrily: "The court has those officials who cannot solve problems for me when encountering problems. If I give you a little reward, my eyes will turn red and slander you! It's really hateful!"

After she finished speaking, she couldn't help but hesitate.

Xie Changgeng had already expressed his concerns like this. If he insisted on keeping Mu's family in Beijing as a magistrate, he would be suspected of losing his face.

I remembered that Zhang Ban had advised him before, saying that since he was to put comfort first and the national strength of Changsha, there was no need to keep hostages, so as not to arouse Mu Xuanqing and the people of Changsha to be vigilant against him and more enemies. If he was more prepared, it would be detrimental to his future actions.

Now that Xie Changgeng cherishes his reputation and has such concerns, it is better to go with the flow and show his kindness to him.

It goes without saying which is more important than the threat from Changsha.

Empress Liu pondered for a moment, then made a decision soon and said, "Xie Qing, I'm going to tell you that I originally wanted to keep Mu's family in Shangjing to avoid trouble in Changsha. But since you have such concerns, I will naturally put you first. You should take the people there."

Xie Changgeng solemnly kowtowed and thanked him, saying, "Even if the Empress Dowager dies, I will not be able to repay one of the graces of the Queen Mother!"

Empress Liu smiled and said, "Forget it, let's calm down. Last time you quelled the rebellion of King Jiangdu and made such a great contribution, you just gave your mother an imperial edict. I think it's a little bit too small, which is also a reward for you."

Xie Changgeng respectfully and thanked him again, and then he stepped out.

...

At dusk, Mu Fulan leaned against the window, looking out the window at a cluster of banana leaves that had withered in winter, and felt a little restless.

Tomorrow morning, Xie Changgeng will leave the capital, and at this moment, his whereabouts are still unknown.

News came from Zhang Ban during the day that he was persuading Empress Liu, and Empress Liu's attitude had loosened. Even if he couldn't tell her to change her mind immediately, wait for him to slowly make suggestions and say a few more times, sooner or later, and ask her to wait patiently.

Although Zhang Ban passed the message like this, Mu Fulan was a little worried. If he could not convince Queen Liu in the short term and talk for himself again and again, it would probably lead to Queen Liu's suspicion. Once Zhang Ban realized this possibility, even if he wanted to capture Xie Changgeng's evidence, he would not risk being suspected by Queen Liu and become a lobbyist again.

Although there is hope, there are also great variables, and she can't feel completely at ease.

As for Xie Changgeng, he had no reaction in the past two days. He still went out early and came back late. When he came back at night, he seemed to be unable to see himself in the room, sleeping on the couch alone.

It seems like nothing has happened.

But according to Mu Fulan's guess, after a conversation with him in the study that day, he should not be so crazy that he would do something to obstruct Zhang Ban's lobbying from Empress Liu.

When Xie Changgeng leaves tomorrow, I hope Zhang Ban can successfully lobby as soon as possible so that he can get out of Beijing.

It was getting darker, and the maid came in with the lights and the room was lit.

The wind blew in from outside the window, and the lights kept flashing.

"Master Weng, the wind is strong, be careful to freeze."

The maid came over and closed the window and whispered.

The governor of Xie Jie will leave Beijing tomorrow morning, but the emperor is very likely to be left by the empress dowager as a hostage.

These days, everyone has been in a very depressed mood and is even more careful when walking and speaking than usual.

Mu Fulan suppressed her messy mood and turned around and went inside. The door was suddenly pushed open by someone. It was Mu's mother who walked in quickly with a smile on her face.

Since the time when the Master Weng married into the Xie family at the beginning of the year, the maids have never seen her smile on Mom Mu's face. They can't help but stop and look at her.

"Master! Good thing! Good thing!"

She ran towards Mu Fulan and grabbed her hand excitedly.

"Just just now, the governor said something from the Jiedushi. I will take the master to Hexi tomorrow morning and ask us to pack up our things!"

Xie Changgeng took the Weng Lord to Hexi, which means that Empress Liu changed her mind and no longer took her hostage.

The maids reacted and breathed a sigh of relief. They were all happy. They suppressed the atmosphere for many days and suddenly became relaxed.

"Get packed up!" said Mu Mama.

Everyone responded and became busy.

Mu Fulan watched Mu's mother and the maids busy packing their clothes for the morning morning, and then she felt confused at first, and gradually realized something.

Zhang Ban had already met Queen Liu today, and it was unlikely that he would go to the palace to lobby for the same thing. But now, such news suddenly came.

She pondered for a moment and slowly let out a breath in her heart.
Chapter completed!