Yan Shang glanced at Meng Zaishi.
Meng Zaishi smiled at him very casually, and the scar on his face twitched like a vein, looking hideous and terrifying.
Yan Shang's eyelashes trembled, and he walked towards the carriage that Mu Wan was rocking.
During this time, Mu Wan kept looking at Meng Zaishi while he also looked at her. Neither of them spoke.
The officials of the Honglu Temple followed behind the Honglu Temple Minister, and did not dare to look up. Some of the minor officials, who probably only had this one chance in their lives to see the high and mighty princess, finally envied Yan Erlang for being the princess's neighbor, and could not help but look up at the canopy carriage.
From a not-so-close distance, I could see the radiant, pearl-like princess sitting in the car.
The low-ranking officials secretly marveled at the princess's beauty, but in their hearts, they began to murmur: Why does she look vaguely, seemingly, roughly... a little familiar?
I seem to have seen it somewhere.
But how could they have ever seen the noble princess?
The officials lowered their heads, not daring to think any more.
Only after the doors were closed and the carriage had driven toward the imperial city gate did the people from the Honglu Temple and the Wuman people say goodbye to each other and then disperse.
-----
Sitting in the car, Yan Shang looked at Mu Wanyao sitting opposite him.
Mu Wanyao looked a little cold and empty. He stared at her for a few breaths, and when the carriage left the imperial city gate, she seemed to remember that there was an extra person in the carriage and looked at Yan Shang.
He met Yan Shang’s eyes.
Mu Wanyao tried to act like she was normal and smiled: "What's wrong?"
Yan Shang asked slowly, "Your Highness always ignores me when he goes out, why did you come to Honglu Temple to pick me up today? Aren't you afraid of causing misunderstanding?"
After a pause, Yan Shang's eyelashes fell over his eyelids, and his voice became softer: "Or, Your Highness is not here to pick me up, but for something else, or someone else?"
Evening shakes a horror.
Then she looked at the handsome and gentle young man opposite her, and was silent for a moment, not knowing what to say.
Of course she couldn't help but want to come and see what was going on with Wuman, and of course she was upset when she heard that the King of Wuman had come in person.
She came to the Honglu Temple on the pretext of visiting the Wuman envoy, but she did not expect to see Meng Zaishi at the gate of the Honglu Temple.
The memory of the whistling incident three years ago returned, making her heart feel both frozen and burning.
But these things...she didn't want Yan Shang to know, didn't want to tell Yan Shang.
Meng Zaishi is bound to cause some trouble.
None of these Mu Wanyao wants Yan Shang to participate.
She was already very dirty, even her heart was not clean. But only the love in her heart was clean.
She loved a man with a pure heart, so she didn't want him to get hurt or know her embarrassing past. She hoped that she would have some dignity in Yan Shang's heart.
However...Yan Shang is too smart.
There were many things and many words, and maybe she herself didn't find any loopholes, but Yan Shang was likely to find out from the clues in her words. And he would never say much about uncertain things, so getting along with such a person actually required a lot of vigilance and was very troublesome.
Mu Wanyao thought that even though she was not stupid, she did not have the wisdom to hide the truth from Yan Shang.
So, after Mu Wanyao remained silent for a long time, he said coldly: "If you have guessed something, just tell me directly. Don't play guessing games with me."
Yan Shang raised his eyes and looked at her.
He said softly, "Is that Wu Man just now an old acquaintance of Your Highness? Is he...close to Your Highness?"
Mu Wan raised her eyebrows and nodded.
Yan Shang frowned, as if he still had many questions and many inconsistencies. For example, he couldn't figure out whether the person who had a grudge against her that Mu Wanyao mentioned in Lingnan that day was the person today. If so, the two of them just looked at each other without saying anything, which didn't seem like a grudge; but if they weren't grudges, the other party wouldn't have asked a question like "Who is Yan Shisheng?"
Yan Shang is too confused.
What is the connection here? Was the person that Mu Wanyao wanted to deal with originally the Wuman today?
But when he saw Mu Wanyao's wary eyes, he was stunned for a moment, then suppressed his confusion and said, "I see. I would like to ask Your Highness for a favor."
Mu Wanyao was still cautious: "What help?"
Yan Shang: "He asked me who Yan Shisheng is."
Mu Wan was stunned for a moment, then let out a soft "ah", and understood what Meng Zai Shi had found out, but he had more doubts.
Mu Wanyao looked at Yan Shang, and Yan Shang told him what happened in the Honglu Temple. Yan Shang said: "He doesn't know that I am Yan Shisheng... But I am from Lingnan, as long as he has doubts, he can't hide it for long."
Sitting in the car, Mu Wan leaned forward, put her hands on Yan Shang's knees, looked into his eyes and immediately promised: "I will mobilize the secret guards of the Princess's Mansion to follow you and protect you from now on. I will never let him hurt you."
Seeing that she cared so much about his safety, Yan Shang felt a little less uneasy.
He shook his head slightly and smiled shyly. He said, "I am in Chang'an and an official appointed by the court. I have made the stakes today very clear to the Wuman people. Even if they suspect that I am Yan Shisheng, they will not act in Chang'an.
"I am a Beijing official, and I cannot leave Chang'an without unexpected circumstances. So my safety is not a problem, Your Highness, don't worry about me.
"I am not worried about myself, but my family. I am afraid that the Wuman people cannot deal with me and will hurt my family and use them to threaten me."
Mu Wan shook his head, thinking that this was indeed a possibility.
She asked, "How do you want me to help you?"
Yan Shang: "I just need your help to put me in touch with your uncle... the magistrate of Nanhai County. Although Lord Li is not the highest official in Lingnan, it is precisely the magistrate who can fully grasp the local jurisdiction.
"I would like to ask Lord Li to send troops to secretly protect my family in consideration of my advice that day. I will also write a letter home to ask my brother to be on high alert. If my family is harmed because of me, I will be held responsible."
Mu Wan shook her hand and her fingers on his knee trembled, feeling a little sorry.
She was only worried about what Meng Zaishi would do to her, but Yan Shang's family was in trouble. It was all because of her.
So she couldn't let Yan Shang get more deeply involved in the feud between her and Meng Zaishi.
Mu Wanyao comforted Yan Shang and said, "Don't worry, since you can think of this in advance, your family will be safe. After all, the Wuman people are in my Wei territory, and they can't send letters freely now. You should trust my uncle's ability to do things."
Yan Shang nodded.
Mu Wanyao said, "Come to think of it, you've been away from home for a year. Do you miss your family too?"
Yan Shang said: "Of course I want to. But what can I do?"
He sighed, lowered his eyes, and said with some regret: "Since the day I left Lingnan, I knew that I would not have many chances to meet my father, elder brother, third brother, and youngest sister in this life. I am afraid that the fate between me and my family can only be maintained by letters.
"Because I am not the eldest in the family, I cannot bypass my eldest brother and bring my father to Chang'an. Even if I live a good life in Chang'an and have a bright future, I cannot bypass my eldest brother to fulfill my filial piety. And if I cannot see my father, how can my younger brothers and sisters let me see him often?
"They mostly compensate me by constantly sending me money and things. All I can do in return is send me money and things. No matter how much I miss them, there is no other way."
When he said this, Mu Wanyao also felt a little disappointed.
Mu Wan shook her head and said, "We two are so pitiful."
Yan Shang tilted his head to look at her.
Mu Wan raised her face, smiled at him and said, "I can see my family every day, but I don't want to see them at all, and my feelings for them are wearing away day by day; you miss your family every day, but you can't see them, and you can only maintain your kindness to them with money and things. We really are in the same boat."
Yan Shang said softly: "Don't say that. I will accompany Your Highness, and Your Highness will not be that pitiful."
Mu Wan gave a short laugh.
She whispered, "Yes."
He lowered his eyes to hide the coldness and gloom in them.
Everything will be fine once she deals with Meng Zaishi.
Yan Shang leaned against the wall of the carriage and was silent for a long time. He suddenly had a wild thought and said, "If one day, I can leave Chang'an and go to Lingnan to be an official, that would be great. When I get to Lingnan, I can see my family and take care of them..."
Before he could finish his words, his knee was hit hard by Mu Wan's shaking.
Mu Wanyao rebuked sternly: "Don't talk nonsense!"
She frowned and spoke sternly: "Beijing officials are different from local officials, not to mention a place like Lingnan. If you hadn't made a big mistake, you would have been a Beijing official and would not have easily gone to a local prefecture or county. Not to mention a place as remote as Lingnan.
"The officials in the capital are the real officials. Many children of noble families, once they are not officials in the capital, will not go to the local prefectures and counties to take up posts. Among the officials in the Wei Dynasty, although the official positions are transferred quickly, the lower-level officials will always sink to the lower level and will not be promoted to the higher level easily. The official ranks in the Wei Dynasty are clearly divided into high and low levels. Once you go down, it is not easy to get up! Don't say such nonsense!
"I understand that you want to take care of your family. But you can only take better care of them in Chang'an, even if you can't see them in person. Forget about the rest."
Yan Shang somewhat disagreed with Mu Wanyao's opinion. If everyone only wanted to be an official in Beijing, what would happen to the local prefectures and counties? If everyone was dissatisfied, who would govern?
But what Mu Wanyao said was what everyone took for granted. Besides, Mu Wanyao was so anxious because she was afraid that something would happen to him, and that he would say bad things and really affect his career... Yan Shang did not refute her words, and gently comforted her: "Okay, I know, I won't say anything nonsense. I will be a good official and won't mess around. Don't worry."
Mu Wan squinted her eyes and looked at him half-believingly and half-doubtingly.
She thought, with her here, what could possibly happen to Yan Shang? Thinking of this, she relaxed and a smile appeared in her eyes.
The carriage was still moving, and Mu Wanyao gently lifted the curtain to see how long it would take to get to the mansion. Seeing that there was still some distance to go, she lowered the curtain again with a clear conscience.
Mu Wanyao raised one eyebrow slightly towards Yan Shang, with a slight smile on the corner of her lips. She gently raised her eyelids, the arc was very small, but because she looked at Yan Shang intently, her eyes that seemed to want to say something but couldn't, seemed very vivid.
Seeing her look like that, Yan Shang’s back stiffened and his scalp went numb.
Sure enough, the next moment, she came over, knelt on his legs, held his face, bent down and kissed the corner of his mouth. She whispered: "Did you miss me?"
Yan Shang's face was burning hot, and he drooped his eyelids to avoid her teasing: "...Your Highness, we are still in the carriage."
Mu Wan shook her head and smiled: "So what? A kiss won't kill you."
She bit his lips gently, and her fingers brushed his face lightly like feathers. He backed away, and when he had nowhere to retreat, he finally leaned against the wall of the car and reached out to hug her.
Yan Shang whispered: "...You come to torment me again."
Mu Wan raised her eyebrows and said, "What are you talking about? Are you not feeling well? Don't you want to be intimate with me? Second brother Yan, open your mouth."
Anyway, Yan Shang always indulged her and followed her. But the carriage was so small and not far from the mansion, so he would have to get off soon... She tormented him and didn't know how to put out the fire, so he was the one who was uncomfortable.
However, Yan Shang had no choice but to give in reluctantly under the pressure of Mu Wanyao.
Mu Wan lowered her head and kissed him. She heard his violent heartbeat and the hot fingers that were holding her waist. She lowered her eyes and looked at him quietly. She saw that his temples were a little wet with sweat and the corners of his slightly closed eyes were red. His robe was ruffled by her. He put one hand on her waist and the other hand on the table beside him.
Mu Wanyao saw that his fingers, which were holding the table, had turned white from exertion and were trembling slightly.
Mu Wanyao loved him in her heart and kissed the corner of his eyes again. She whispered, "Brother, I know you are trying to help me divert my bad mood by talking to me about your family, and that's why you are hiding under me so obediently and letting me bully you."
Yan Shang was stunned.
The word "brother" makes people's ears hot.
He opened his eyes and looked up at her.
His eyelashes trembled, and her kiss fell on his eyes, forcing him to close them again.
When Yan Shang opened his eyes again and looked at her, she smiled at him with a red face, extremely happy.
Yan Shang turned his head and whispered, "Your Highness, please don't call me like that. It's not good for others to hear."
Mu Wan smiled without saying anything, rubbing the back of his neck, and said nonchalantly: "I know you have something to ask me, I will only answer once, just ask whatever you want to ask. I see that you have been holding back since you got on the car and have not asked until now. Although you are always like this, I feel sorry for you and want to answer you once. Ask it."
Yan Shang stared at her.
Thousands of doubts have been lingering in my mind, and finally came to my lips. What I really want to ask is actually only one question -
After a while, he asked, "The Wuman man with a scar on his face who looked at you at the gate of the Honglu Temple just now, is he your lover?"
Mu Wan rolled her eyes slightly and looked down at him.
The two looked at each other in silence for a long time.
Mu Wan lowered her head, kissed him on the lips again, and answered him: "No."
Yan Shang breathed a sigh of relief, and the string that had been taut relaxed.
He looked at her and said, "If you say no, I will believe you. Don't lie to me."
Mu Wan looked at him, her eyes suddenly warmed up, but she blinked them away. She leaned over with a smile, and pestered him for a kiss again. He had no choice but to give in and kiss her as she wished. However, as they were kissing passionately, Fang Tong coughed outside and said, "Your Highness, Erlang, we've arrived at the mansion."
Yan Shang's face turned red instantly and he pushed Mu Wan away.
Mu Wan glanced at his useless appearance, chuckled twice, and drank a sip of tea, not thinking anything at all, and got off the carriage. However, Yan Shang got off the carriage after a long time, and hurried back to the house to avoid Fang Tong's attention.
-----
Mu Wanyao returned to the mansion and called Fang Tong over.
Mu Wan shook his head and asked Fang Tong: "It was Meng Zaishi. He really survived the disaster and became the new Wuman King. I didn't see it wrong today, right?"
Fang Tong nodded: "Yes, Your Highness is not mistaken."
Mu Wan shook his head: "But he has a scar on his face."
Fang Tong nodded again.
Mu Wan shook his head for a while and sneered, "What if he has a scar on his face? I would recognize him even if he turned into ashes."
Fang Tong asked anxiously: "Your Highness, what should we do? If he wants to threaten you with your old relationship with him..."
Mu Wanyao: "I can't let him influence me."
She asked Fang Tong to come close to her and whispered to him to go to Hu City to find people with similar figures and looks to Meng Zaishi. She gave him this and that and ordered the guards of the princess's mansion to practice martial arts and strengthen the guard of the princess's mansion.
Fang Tong was shocked.
Guessed Mu Wanyao's plan.
He thought that this was a bit risky and the princess might be implicated.
But Fang Tong looked up and saw Mu Wan's icy profile, as if he saw again the night when they walked out of the Wuman sea of fire.
The flames flickered among the rock peaks of the tent behind him.
When the night ended and the dawn came, Mu Wanyao fled from there with the others, holding a dagger in his hand. Most of them died in the war behind them.
Mu Wanyao led them and stumbled into the border army of the Great Wei, crying for help: "I want to see my mother! I heard that my mother passed away, right? I want to see her off, I don't want to stay in Wuman anymore -
"General! Please! Let me see my mother for the last time! Let me see my father! The Wuman are in chaos, they will kill me... Let me go back - let me go back - let me go back!"
Each cry was hoarser and sharper than the last. Wuman was caught up in fire and war overnight. The new king's life or death was unknown, and the old Wuman king was deader than dead. The hoarse cries of the young princess echoed in the border army camp of the Great Wei. The dignified Princess of the Great Wei knelt at the feet of the border army general and raised a dirty and pitiful face.
Her hair was disheveled, and her sleeves were also tangled due to the fire. A few servants followed her, each of them at a loss.
The noble princess suffered humiliation, begging with her misty and charming eyes, and grasping the hem of a general's battle robe with her delicate hands.
She cried and cried, kneeling at dawn, and was finally helped up by the soft-hearted General Wei. She finally cried for a future.
That crying was fake.
The princess had stopped crying a long time ago.
But the heart-wrenching hatred in the crying was real.
I don't want to stay in Wuman anymore.
-----
Never go back to Wuman again.
-----
As for Meng Zai Shi, after Yan Shang left, Meng Zai Shi returned to the residence that Da Wei had arranged for him and others.
Meng Zaishi ordered his subordinates: "In the next few days, investigate Yan Shang carefully. I suspect that he and Yan Shisheng are the same person... If it is true, this is very interesting."
Kelilu, who was beaten with a stick twice in the Honglu Temple, was supported to come to the king to apologize with his dying breath.
Meng Zaishi grabbed Kelilu's shoulders and prevented him from kneeling.
Meng Zaishi smiled faintly: "What's the crime of you testing the officials of Wei for me?"
Krilu: "I, I tried the wrong person..."
Meng Zaishi said coldly: "It may not be a matter of trial and error. That Yan Erlang, while talking to me, suddenly changed the booklet to write... There is something wrong with the first booklet. Either he wanted to trick us, or he suddenly wanted to test us.
"No matter what the situation is, this person should not be underestimated. He is not an opponent you can handle. In the future, you should be more careful with this person and don't reveal your true colors."
Everyone nodded.
Meng Zaishi looked at the "fake king" who had been pretending to be him, and said lazily: "They in the Wei Dynasty believe in the crime of 'deceiving the emperor'. Now that we are here, we must abide by their rules. Temporarily, I will switch my identity with yours, and when I need you, I will let you be the 'king' again."
The "fake king" said yes.
He just hesitated: "But the Luo Xiu sent by King Ale has seen your appearance. If you suddenly disappeared, or if he saw your true face after you restored your identity, would he be suspicious?"
Meng Zaishi said slowly: "Don't worry. When you get to Chang'an, just send Luo Xiu away. He is eager to leave us and move freely. Did King Ale send him here to monitor me? What is there about me that is worthy of King Ale's monitoring?
“That Luo Xiu’s plan…I’m afraid it’s in the Wei Dynasty, in Chang’an.
"Let's wait and see what he's going to do. As long as he doesn't cause any serious trouble, we won't do anything about it."
The subordinate nodded.
Everyone said, "Should we also take advantage of this grand ceremony to renegotiate various treaties with Wei, just like other small countries that have pledged loyalty to Wei? After all, it's been a long time since the marriage, and the treatment... should be improved."
Meng Zaishi nodded.
Everyone discussed what they were going to do this time when they came to Wei.
After much deliberation, the topic finally returned to Princess Danyang Mu Wanyao.
Meng Zaishi suddenly asked: "If I want to marry the princess back, do you think the Emperor of Wei will be eager to do so?"
Everyone looked at each other in bewilderment: "What does it mean to ask the princess to come back?"
Meng Zaishi looked at them, wondering whether to laugh or not: "How is the queen?"
Everyone looked at each other again and was shocked to see that Meng Zaishi was serious. They thought that the princess had plotted against the king and almost killed him... However, Meng Zaishi's intimidation had suppressed everyone for many years, and everyone finally gave in: "We all listen to the king."
-----
An envoy from Wuman named Luo Xiu turned out to be from Wei and could speak Wei dialect. The officials of Wei were naturally very happy to see such a person.
Luo Xiu took the opportunity to ask to visit various government offices. The Great Wei had always been generous and tolerant towards small countries in all directions, so naturally, they gave him a warm welcome.
Luo Xiu heard about what kind of articles they were writing for the ceremony, so he went to the Hanlin Academy out of curiosity. During the few days in the Hanlin Academy, Luo Xiu could see a eunuch named Liu Wenji every day. The eunuch was quietly copying books in a corner every day, and the officials of the Hanlin Academy had a good attitude towards him.
Luo Xiu was surprised, because his father was from the Wei Dynasty, and he had heard from his father how much the Wei Dynasty looked down on eunuchs.
He found Liu Wenzhi interesting.
-----
That day, Liu Wenji left the Hanlin Academy and returned to the palace. At the palace gate, he met an anxious servant.
Because he had seen this person so many times, Liu Wenji recognized that this person was the servant of the adopted son of Cheng Gonggong, the chief eunuch of the emperor's inner court. Cheng Gonggong's adopted son often sent people to the palace to ask for money from Cheng Gonggong, and every time there were many eunuchs rushing to curry favor with him.
It was the first time that Liu Wenzhi met this person on his way to the palace.
His heart skipped a beat, and he bowed carefully and asked, "Are you looking for Eunuch Cheng? He has been on duty recently, serving His Majesty, so he may be very busy. If there is anything, maybe I can help you?"
The servant was very anxious, but when he saw that it was a eunuch, he felt relieved and thought that the eunuchs were all his own people.
The servant said, "Please help pass on a message to this eunuch! My husband and a steward of Mr. Guo's family were fighting for a farmhouse and accidentally beat the steward. My husband is begging eunuch Cheng to save his life..."
Liu Wenzhi raised his eyebrows.
Question: "Mr. Guo, is this Mr. Guo from the Hanlin Academy?"
When the servant saw that the other party actually knew it, he was very excited: "That's right!"
Liu Wenji smiled and said slowly, "As I said before, Eunuch Cheng has been busy these days, and we, the little servants, can't see him."
Seeing the other party's despair, Liu Wenji guessed that the other party had been waiting here for a long time, and most of the other eunuchs answered in the same way. That's why such a good thing could fall on his head.
Liu Wenji said, "However, I happen to know this scholar Guo. If you can wait, why don't I help connect the two families? Have a meal and drink some wine, and talk this out. It's just a farmhouse, who can't afford it? Just treat it as a small misunderstanding."
The servant was delighted: "That's right! Thank you very much, eunuch! What's your name? How can we contact you in the future?"
Liu Wenzhi said this and that and sent the man away.
After everyone left, Liu Wenzhi silently returned to the Ministry of Internal Affairs to respond to today's affairs.
It's too cold.
He curled up, hunched over, and lowered his head, walking slowly on the palace road.
I think it's going to snow soon.
Prepare more charcoal.
I heard from someone in the Imperial Household Department yesterday that a young eunuch didn't make it and died here. He was dragged out on a straw mat.
Liu Wenzhi didn't want to die like that.
It's nothing more than flattering the big shots with a smiling face, it's nothing more than asking for favors and trying to please people everywhere... He is getting more and more used to this.
It’s just... it’s really cold.
Shivering, Liu Wenzhi walked faster.
-----
On New Year's Eve, Mu Wanyao entered the palace early in the morning to prepare for tonight's ceremony.
The envoys from various countries entered the palace, led by officials of the Honglu Temple who were of the fifth rank and above. All officials of the fifth rank and above had to attend the ceremony, while officials below the fifth rank began to take a long vacation.
Yan Shang first visited the teacher arranged by his father for him, and then went to Liu Xianggong's house to meet his real teacher.
Prime Minister Liu felt sorry for Yan Shang because he was alone in Chang'an and had no family on New Year's Eve. Before entering the palace to attend the ceremony, Prime Minister Liu asked Yan Shang to stay at the Liu Mansion today and celebrate the New Year with the Liu family.
In the evening, Yan Shang stood alone in the courtyard of Liu's mansion, watching the dusk fall.
Liu Ruozhu quietly came up from behind and saw Yan Shang standing in the corridor for a long time. She coughed lightly, and Yan Shang came back to his senses and smiled at her.
Liu Ruozhu blushed and asked, "Why is Erlang standing here alone? Are you uncomfortable?"
Yan Shang said: "No, Master's wife has done a good job. But you came at the right time. I suddenly remembered something and wanted to say goodbye to Master's wife, but I was embarrassed. Please help me say it."
Liu Ruozhu was stunned.
She said in panic, "You're leaving? Why? Did we do something wrong to make you lonely?"
Yan Shang naturally said no, and said: "I just thought of someone at the last minute, I... want to celebrate the New Year with others."
He just watched the sky darken in the evening, stood in the corridor, and suddenly thought of someone.
I remember what she said, "At dusk, the boat rocks in the evening."
All I think of every night is you.
...I couldn't wait to see her and spend the New Year with her.
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