Xiao Jian returned to Huibinlou in a good mood. With this good mood, even the scenery along the way seemed much more pleasing to the eye, and even the bustling hawking sounds sounded much more pleasant.
Poor Meng Dan was still waiting impatiently in the private room upstairs when he heard the noise coming from the next room. He didn't care about anything else and rushed into the room.
"How is it? How is it?" Meng Dan asked impatiently, hoping to hear an answer from Xiao Jian that would satisfy both of them.
Heaven rewards the diligent; their long-awaited reward finally came. Meng Dan was overjoyed to receive Xiao Jian's affirmative answer, even though he was merely playing a subservient role in this situation.
But as long as he could rescue Hanxiang, he would do anything. He completely forgot that it was not easy for them to enter the palace with their strength. Moreover, if Xiao Jian really wanted to help him, why didn't he lend a hand when things first started? Why did he wait until things had escalated to such an irreversible point before intervening?
Meng Dan didn't consider the rationality of this matter at all. He just felt that if someone helped him, he would definitely be able to rescue Hanxiang. He even felt that his friends who had traveled thousands of miles from Hui ethnicity to the Qing Dynasty were not as good as the friends he had made during his time wandering in Beijing.
Those close friends who have returned to the Hui community: If we had known, we would have preferred to let him go by himself.
Xiao Jian had already left a message for the Fu family's gatekeeper: if Fu Erkang was the eldest son of the Fu family, he must be invited to Huibinlou when he returned home.
*
Mu Feng hesitated for a long time at the post station, unable to make up his mind. After all, this was a plot to usurp the throne. If the uprising failed and his father was still on the throne, then he would die.
Mu Sha walked in with an air of grandeur, glanced at Mu Feng who was practicing calligraphy to the side, and without even paying her respects to her brother, she plopped down on the soft couch next to her without even raising her eyes.
"Don't you have any sense of propriety? Didn't you say you'd serve me tea?" Musa started nitpicking as soon as she came in. "The servants here are really well-mannered, brother. They didn't even bow to me, let alone offer me a cup of hot tea."
Mu Feng then looked up from his writing, glanced at Mu Sha's unrestrained posture, and frowned slightly. "If you have something to say, just say it."
He didn't believe that Musa had simply come to visit him; every time, she'd either mocked him or tried to embarrass him. He wasn't in Myanmar either, so naturally he wasn't willing to maintain that superficial brother-sister relationship with Musa.
"Brother Wang is really not as well-behaved as he was in Burma. At least in Burma, he was considerate of Father and spoke politely to him," Musa said with a half-smile.
"Just say what you want to say, no need to beat around the bush." Mu Feng frowned, really unwilling to play games with his nominal sister here.
“Alright, then I’ll get straight to the point. We’ve been in the Qing Dynasty for quite some time now.” Mu Sha walked slowly to Mu Feng’s side, glanced at the words Mu Feng had just written on the table, and then gave a light scolding, “Brother, don’t let such a comfortable life distract you. Remember the mission our father entrusted to us, not that you come here to spend your old age in peace.”
Actually, the main reason was that Musa was just too tired of staying in the palace. She really didn't want to stay there. Every time she walked around, servants followed her, or guards along the way stared at her without blinking. She didn't feel free at all.
If it weren't for the mission his father had given him, he would have returned to Burma long ago; why would he be stuck here putting up with all this humiliation? But he could only watch helplessly as his father remained inactive for days.
Musa couldn't hold back any longer. She was Meng Bai's beloved daughter since childhood. When had she ever suffered such humiliation?
Even going out required consulting with her ministers, and once outside, servants followed her constantly, keeping a close watch on her. She had truly had enough. Even if she couldn't complete her mission here, she wanted to return to Myanmar as soon as possible.
“I know, I’ve never forgotten.” Mu Feng had just said that and was about to continue when Mu Sha interrupted him.
"Why bother explaining so much, Brother Wang? My sister has eyes and can see for herself. But haven't you taken any action all these days?" Mu Sha looked at Mu Feng with a mocking expression, thinking he was simply a good-for-nothing.
“But the princess has already said that she already has someone she loves. Shouldn’t I take things slowly? We can’t rush things. After all, we’re still on the territory of the Qing Dynasty. They’ve already suspected us of having ulterior motives.” Mu Feng explained to Mu Sha from the perspective of facts.
But Musa wouldn't listen. She had only wanted to tell him she wanted to go back to Myanmar, but she just wanted him to put pressure on the ministers.
"I don't care how many days it takes you to deal with that princess. We'll be returning to Burma before the Qing Dynasty's Spring Festival at the latest." With that, Musa turned and left without looking back.
Reaching the door, he turned back with a half-smile and said, "After all, the Queen hopes that your plan will succeed, Your Highness. No matter what tricks you use, even if you learn from those prostitutes in brothels, as long as you can seduce the princess, it won't be a wasted trip to the Qing Dynasty." With that, he laughed heartily and strode away.
Mu Feng was left standing alone in front of his writing desk, his hands clenched so tightly that he broke the brush in two.
The servants standing nearby had never seen anything like this before. They panicked and tried to get as far away as possible, lest they get caught in the vortex of anger from these two big shots. The two big shots could fight each other without any problems, but if they, as small fry, got involved, they would easily die without a burial place.
Musa had really hit a nerve with Mu Feng. If it were just a simple mockery of his incompetence or a request for him to put on a show, he wouldn't be so angry. But whenever his mother was mentioned, he would react like a tiger whose backside had been touched.
Everyone knows that Prince Mu Feng cares most about his mother. If it weren't for his mother, Mu Sha, his mother's position as queen would not be so unstable.
The main responsibility lies with Meng Bai. Meng Bai wanted to make Musa's mother the queen, but the queen had not done anything wrong. So Meng Bai kept ignoring the queen and even spread rumors that if Meng Bai found any fault in the queen, he would pull her off the queen's throne and put his beloved Musa's mother on the queen's throne.
How could the Queen accept this? After all, the Queen had worked hard and supported him to get to the throne. Now that he was living a peaceful life as the King of Myanmar, she was about to be banished from the throne. How could she accept this?
From childhood, the Queen had always taught Mu Feng to be a prince with both talent and learning, so that Meng Bai would realize who his successor was.
But Meng Bai didn't care about his children at all. He even said that he only cared about Musa. The other children were just princes, and only Musa was his child.
Meng Bai even proposed the theory that women and men are equal in court. This was because he thought that if he wanted to pass the throne to Musa one day, the ministers would be prepared and there wouldn't be too many objections.
It was from that moment that Mu Feng began to understand the principles of competitiveness and temporary forbearance. Until he had absolute certainty of winning, he could only do one thing: endure.
He endured what others could not endure, and what ordinary people could not endure, and one day he would succeed. So he began to practice calligraphy, because he found that writing calligraphy could calm his mind and stabilize his emotions quickly. Every day he would write the character "忍" (endure).
This serves as a motivation, encouragement, inspiration, and reminder to myself.
But today he didn't want to hold back anymore, because it touched a nerve.
Mu Feng stood still and took a few deep breaths, then hurriedly wrote "okay" on the paper.
He tidied his clothes again and then hurriedly headed towards the Emperor's Hall of Mental Cultivation. He knew that no matter how favored the princess was, these matters would still be reported to the Emperor of the Qing Dynasty, and only an order from the Emperor of the Qing Dynasty could secure his assistance.
However, his timing was unfortunate. He had just arrived when he heard an announcement that the Minister of Works and the Emperor were discussing matters inside and that there was probably no time to receive the prince for the time being.
Mu Feng wasn't in a hurry. After all, he had already come this far and made up his mind, so waiting a little longer wouldn't matter. In any case, he would have to wait no matter where he was.
He had already endured more than a decade of hardship, so why be in such a hurry today? He nodded and said to Li Yu that the Emperor did not need to be in such a hurry, and that he could wait here for a while.
Li Yu was not one to disregard etiquette. He quickly had a eunuch bring the prince a chair, a cup of hot tea, and a hot water bottle.
Li Yu: Our family has fulfilled all the proper etiquette, so those Burmese people can't find any fault with us.
Mu Feng: I never expected to receive such treatment when I came to see the emperor of the Qing Dynasty?
Just as Mu Feng had been waiting for about fifteen minutes, An Ke arrived at the Hall of Mental Cultivation with the snacks she had made.
When Li Yu saw An Ke, she exclaimed "Oh!" and then quickly ran over to Princess Yong'an.
"Oh, Princess, what brings you here on this snowy, slippery road?" Li Yu quickly glared at the little palace maid accompanying the princess, indicating that the little maid had no sense of propriety at all. It had just snowed, and she hadn't even offered the princess a cloak or anything.
If the princess catches a cold, not only will the emperor be furious, but he will also not forgive these negligent palace maids.
"It's nothing much, I just made some snacks myself, and I heard that the Emperor hadn't touched his lunch. So I came to the Hall of Mental Cultivation to bring him some snacks." An Ke had seen Mu Feng waiting on the side early on. Actually, she wasn't telling the truth. She had heard that the prince was coming to see the Emperor, so she hurriedly brought over a plate of snacks.
She also wanted to hear what the prince had to say to the emperor, after all, she was one of the parties involved, wasn't she?
Mu Feng had just seen An Ke, so he stood up from the stool next to him and put the soup neck and teacup back on the chair.
Then he strode forward and respectfully bowed to Princess Yong'an. An Ke simply waved his hand.
"Uncle, are you discussing things with the ministers?" An Ke looked at Mu Feng, who had been waiting for a long time and was covered in a light layer of frost. The Emperor hadn't sent anyone to greet him, but instead had Li Yu bring him a chair. It seemed that he had been waiting for quite a while.
"His Majesty is discussing this year's construction projects with the ministers of the Ministry of Works. They've only been discussing it for an hour." Li Yu glanced at the Burmese prince standing beside him, ultimately not revealing the full picture.
An Ke understood and didn't let Li Yu continue. Li Yu then instructed the palace maids to move the Burmese prince's chair and the princess's chair to the corridor, where the wind was less. She also had a brazier brought out and lit a fire.
They even placed a small table between the two of them, which was filled with some of the princess's favorite snacks.
Anke picked up a pastry with a smug look on her face, then slowly put it in her mouth, holding a hot water bottle in her hands. There was a brazier next to her, she was truly enjoying herself.
Looking at An Ke's relaxed and carefree demeanor, Mu Feng couldn't help but smile. Then, as if remembering something, the smile slowly faded.
Less than an incense stick's time after An Ke arrived at the Hall of Mental Cultivation, the ministers of the Ministry of Works came out of the hall one after another.
The minister first saw the princess bowing to each of them, and then noticed the Burmese prince standing to the side. Although he was somewhat surprised, he forcibly suppressed his desire to gossip, since not every piece of gossip was worth eating.
Li Yu first spoke to the princess and the Burmese prince, then hurriedly went inside to ask the emperor, and then rushed out to open the door and let the princess and the Burmese prince in.
The Emperor first smiled at his niece, "An'an, what food have you brought me this time?"
An Ke chuckled softly, "It's because Your Majesty hasn't had lunch yet. The eunuchs in your palace have already told your niece about it." An Ke slowly walked to the Emperor's throne.
"These little eunuchs are all cunning and sly. I didn't expect them to tell you all this. I was just a bit busy at noon, I didn't skip lunch." The Emperor pretended to scold the eunuchs and gave them a beating, but he couldn't hide the smile in his eyes. "So, did you make these snacks especially for me, or did your grandmother and mother also have them?"
An Ke was already used to her imperial uncle, and Lin Daiyu would occasionally ask her questions. "These were all made for you; even my imperial grandmother didn't have any."
The emperor was finally satisfied and reached out to take a pastry.
Looking at the harmonious scene between the uncle and nephew, Mu Feng couldn't help but doubt his own eyes. Then he gave a self-deprecating smile; this princess was truly pampered, unlike himself at all.
The Emperor seemed to only then notice the Burmese prince. "Oh, isn't this Prince Mu Feng of Burma? What brings you to my Hall of Mental Cultivation?"
Mu Feng didn't care about the Emperor's rhetorical question. If he really cared about everything, he probably would have been driven to his death by anger long ago.
"Mu Feng humbly requests the Emperor of the Great Qing to send troops to aid him in overthrowing my father's rule. In return, Mu Feng promises that the Qing and Myanmar will live in harmony for the rest of his life," Mu Feng said respectfully to the Emperor of the Great Qing, clasping his hands in a fist salute.
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