Bianjing of the Song Dynasty, the Mansion of Prince Yan.
"The official decree has been fulfilled. If Princess Yan stays, I will leave first!"
After Huizong's chamberlain handed the imperial edict to Xiao Qi, he left the palace very politely.
Xiao Qi looked at the imperial edict in her hand and became a little silent. Murong Chengze on the side asked, "Mother, is my child going to study at Zishan Hall?"
"Zeer, do you want to go?" ?.?????.???
Xiao Qi asked with a forced smile.
Murong Chengze said, "My child doesn't want to stay in Bianjing, he wants to go back to Yanbei."
Seeing Murong Chengze who had realized something, Xiao Qi also felt miserable in his heart.
"This matter is not urgent. How about I write a letter to my mother and send it back to Yanbei in a few days, and let your mother and father know that they are safe?"
Murong Chengze nodded, but he knew in his heart that he could not leave Bianjing easily. Even if the Shadow Tower was behind them to help them escape from the capital, leaving the capital without authorization would lead to the charge of deceiving the emperor, which would involve the superiors. The game between them can no longer be solved by just walking away.
Fortunately, judging from Xiao Qiniang's attitude, she still cares about Yan Bei, otherwise she would not have brought their news back on the pretext of sending a letter.
Although Murong Chengze is young, his mind has matured and he knows how to react in any situation. The uneasiness he showed just now was just because he wanted to see what choice Xiao Qiniang would make. Fortunately, the result was not the same. He was not disappointed.
During this period, the mother and son were detained in the capital by Huizong for various reasons. Today, a sudden decree was issued saying that on the date selected by the Taishi Bureau, on September 28th of the second year of Daguan, Murong Cheng, the crown prince of King Yan, was ordered to Ze, accompanied by King Ding Zhao Huan, King Jia Zhao Kai, King Jian'an County Zhao Shu, and King Wen'an County Zhao Qi went to Zishan Hall to listen to the reading.
This Zishan Hall was not only a place of study for the princes of the Song Dynasty, but also a place for political discussions, a place where officials hosted banquets for ministers and the clan, and where officials organized books and lectured, which was of great significance.
Xiao Qi knew that the official order had been issued, so she had no choice but to shirk the matter. However, what puzzled her was that most princes would only go to Zishan Hall after they were ten years old.
That's it for King Ding and King Jia. King Ding is now eight years old, and King Jia is seven years old. They have both reached the age of governors, but Zhao Shu, the king of Jian'an County, is only five years old, and Zhao Qi, the king of Wen'an County, is only four years old. , it’s a little too early to start learning now, isn’t it?
For those who didn’t know, they thought these two princes were reading to Murong Chengze.
Calculating the time, it was only three days later. Xiao Qi first wrote a letter and ordered the palace steward to take it to Shadow Tower and send it back to Yan Bei.
All the housekeepers and servants in the palace are secret agents arranged by the Shadow Tower. Xiao Qi hardly has to do anything. Even if something happens, he only needs to give them orders.
Early the next morning, she took Murong Chengze into the palace.
Xiaoqi first inquired about the news from the ladies in the harem, but they seemed to only know one side of the matter. They all regarded this accompanying study as a good opportunity to get to know the prince of Yan. The biological mothers of the four princes all held their hands affectionately. Xiaoqi's hand asked Murong Chengze to take more care of him in the future and to move around frequently.
Seeing this situation, Xiao Qi had no choice but to leave Murong Chengze in her mother's Shengrui Palace and went to visit the officials alone.
Huizong expected Xiao Qi to come, but he still pretended not to know about it and received her.
Xiaoqi mentioned that she and the prince had been in Bianjing for a long time, and it was time to return to Yanbei, and wanted to ask for resignation from Huizong.
Huizong said, "I have just issued a decree to keep Prince Yan in the capital to read to all the princes. Why is Princess Yan in such a hurry to say goodbye?"
Xiao Qi said, "The prince is now outside the Great Wall. Yanbei and other places are in ruins. As the princess of Yan, Xiao Qi should go back to Yanbei to share the prince's worries. It is not appropriate to stay in the capital for a long time."
Huizong nodded and said, "Princess Yan is considerate of the people and has an upright mother-in-law. She is worthy of being a wise assistant to King Yan. In this case, I will issue another imperial edict and allow you to return to Yanbei!"
After Xiao Qi heard this, she was surprised and happy, but before she could thank her, Huizong said again, "But King Yan is the pillar of our Song Dynasty. As the eldest son of King Yan, the prince will definitely inherit his father's ambition in the future and serve for the country." I, the Song Dynasty, have devoted all my efforts, but now that the prince has reached the age of schooling, and the King of Yan has been living in the north of the Great Wall for a long time, he may not have time to come and teach in person."
"It just so happens that Prince Ding and Prince Jia have reached the age to go to Zishan Hall to study, so Princess Yan will return to Yanbei on her own and let the prince stay to accompany the princes to study. Wouldn't it relieve the two of you of their worries?"
Xiao Qi's expression suddenly changed, and she finally realized that the person the official family really wanted to keep was not herself, but Ze'er!
Could it be that just because Fu Lang had made unparalleled contributions to the Song Dynasty, and now his achievements were so great that even the officials were afraid of him?
She is not a simple princess who has lived in the palace for a long time and knows nothing. When she heard that the officials wanted to force Murong Chengze to stay in Bianjing, she knew that she was wary of Yanbei.
To put it nicely, Ze'er would be asked to serve as a companion to several princes. To put it more unpleasantly, it would be to keep him in Bianjing as a hostage in order to restrain the Yanbei army.
She originally thought that since Murong Fu's vassal territory was not within the Song Dynasty, she could avoid the royal family's suspicion of them, but she did not expect that she would still be unable to escape the intrigues between the monarch and his ministers.
"Although the affairs of the official family and Yanbei are heavy, for Yanbei, the crown prince is equally important. Xiao Qi has decided to stay in Bianjing to accompany the prince to study. I hope the official family will give me permission!"
She had always had respect for the imperial family of the Song Dynasty, but unknowingly, she had begun to waver.
Huizong frowned slightly, thought for a while and said, "If Princess Yan has made a decision, then I don't need to issue another imperial edict!"
"Thank you, Guanjia!"
Xiao Qi secretly breathed a sigh of relief. If she couldn't bring Murong Chengze back to Yanbei safely, how could she have the face to face Murong Fu and the sisters?
As Xiao Qi retreated in disappointment, a chamberlain hurriedly walked to Huizong's side and whispered something.
Huizong joked, "It's just some rumors. Does anyone really dare to ambush King Yan?"
The chamberlain officer said, "I heard that even Xixia's Iron Harrier Army was mobilized for this matter."
Huizong said, "A mere princess of Yinchuan from Xixia can actually command the Iron Harrier Army to dispatch? But the person from Xixia Kingdom personally gave the order?"
The chamberlain officer said, "It is said that it was Helian Tieshu, the general of Xixia who conquered the east, who gave the direct order. The one above did not seem to express his position."
Huizong looked deeply and said, "This is interesting. Ever since the Queen Mother of Xixia fell ill, hasn't the power of the government been concentrated in his hands? Where does this Helian Tieshu have the courage to directly send soldiers?"
"This... this slave doesn't know..."
The chamberlain just told what he knew. Regarding the internal affairs of the Xixia Kingdom, they had not yet investigated clearly.
Huizong couldn't blame them for knowing this. After ordering people to continue investigating, he waved them away.
Nowadays, Dali is the only country that is known to have issues with King Yan. As for the entry of Xixia, Huizong never expected it. It seems that Murong Fu is more difficult to deal with than he imagined.
