0p0 Chapter 218 Are you going to make things difficult for Mao Mao?
Chapter 218 Are you going to make things difficult for Mao Mao?
Wei Jianning raised his stern eyes and looked at her, then solemnly said:
"What I mean is, we can't let Mao Mao leave the Northern Wei Kingdom. For the sake of the Northern Wei Kingdom's peace, what's wrong with letting him be a hostage? Of course, we will still treat him well as before and will definitely not mistreat him."
"No."
Lan Zhi immediately interrupted him.
"The consequences of matters between two countries should not be borne by a child."
"But the Northern Wei Kingdom is no match for the Tianwu Kingdom. If we don't come up with some special methods, we will go to war again in the future, and it will be the ordinary soldiers and poor people who will be injured."
"Momo is innocent."
“I know, I like Mao Mao very much too, and I don’t want him to get involved in this war, but we have no other choice but to stabilize the current situation.”
"Is there no other way besides using Mao Mao as a hostage? What if Hawking doesn't agree to let him stay?"
“If Mao Mao stays, thousands of lives can be saved. Even if he finds out, he will prioritize the greater good. However, you will have to persuade Mao Mao. As long as he insists on staying, there is nothing Huo Jinzhou can do if he disagrees.”
Although his words surprised and alarmed Lan Zhi, they were not without reason.
As early as fifty or sixty years ago, during the reign of the late emperor, the Northern Wei Kingdom and the Tianwu Kingdom exchanged princes as hostages to ensure that the two countries would not interfere with each other and could coexist peacefully.
Unfortunately, the prince of Northern Wei who went to Tianwu died of illness a year later, and the prince of Tianwu who lived in Northern Wei also died in less than two years because he missed his hometown too much.
Since then, the hatred between the two countries has deepened. The Empress Dowager's birthday celebration last time completely ignited the conflict between the two countries. Although the war has temporarily ceased due to Mao Mao, no one can guarantee when the war will be reignited.
If Hawking State cares about Russia, using Russia as a hostage to ensure peace between the two countries might be the most appropriate choice.
But Lan Zhi always felt that doing this would be unfair to Mao Mao...
five days later
The snow that had been falling for several days finally stopped. After the snow, the sky cleared, and a cold wind began to blow, chilling the skin to the bone.
Spring is almost here after the New Year, but it seems even colder today.
The carriage stopped at the entrance of the Crown Prince's residence. Ling Jiawei led the servants out to greet them, including Nie Yuan, whose health had fully recovered.
When Wei Jianning alighted from the carriage, everyone in the mansion hurriedly stepped forward to pay their respects.
"Welcome back to the Crown Prince's residence! Welcome back to the Crown Princess's residence! May the Crown Prince and the Crown Princess enjoy boundless blessings!"
Wei Jianning frowned slightly, took Lan Zhi's hand, and walked quickly into the mansion.
To others, he was the high and mighty Crown Prince, but after this defeat, he despised himself from the bottom of his heart. He even felt that the respect of these servants was a mockery of him.
Lan Zhi saw through his thoughts, but in order to save face for him, she did not expose him.
"Crown Princess..."
Huo Jinzhou and Huo Batian arrived at this moment. Lan Zhi was taken aback and stepped forward to ask, puzzled.
"Didn't you two agree to wait at the inn? Why did you come all this way?"
Hawking raised his hand anxiously.
"I'm eager to see my grandson, I can't wait any longer."
“But you know him as his grandson, but he doesn’t know you as his grandfather. You have to give me time to talk to him properly and let him have a process of accepting it.”
“What’s there to say? He’s from Tianwu Kingdom, so he should come back to Tianwu Kingdom with me. I can’t wait a moment longer.”
At this point, he seemed to realize something and quickly changed his tone:
"Don't worry, even if he comes back to Tianwu Kingdom with me, I will not make things difficult for Beiwei Kingdom anymore, and the war between the two countries can be temporarily suspended."
Postponed?
Based on those two words alone, Lan Zhi realized that Huo Jinzhou's withdrawal of troops was just a delaying tactic, and that he was only trying to bring Mao Mao back.
Wei Jianning had been suppressing his anger, but seeing that Huo Jinzhou had gone this far, he also snorted without any politeness.
"King Huo, although I detained your son for a month, you also used despicable means to capture me alive this time. In the end, neither of us gained an advantage. If you want to start a war, let's have a fair fight and not resort to these underhanded tactics, shall we?"
Huo Jinzhou paused for a moment, then smiled and raised his hand.
"Although we captured you alive this time, we did not harm you. Of course, you were also lenient with my son. The matter between our two countries is now settled. Now I only want to see my grandson. As long as we can ensure that he is well, Tianwu Kingdom will not invade Northern Wei Kingdom in the future. Is that alright?"
Lan Zhi glanced at Wei Jianning and then nodded helplessly.
"Okay, you guys go to the main hall and wait for me. I'll go talk to Mao Mao first. This kid is quite stubborn. If you suddenly appear in front of him, he won't be able to accept it."
After a moment's hesitation, Huo Jinzhou could only nod in agreement.
The father and son followed Wei Jianning into the Crown Prince's residence, where the guards behind them were stopped by Nie Yuan and others.
Eager to see his grandson, Huo Jinzhou dared not force his way into the Crown Prince's residence and could only order his men to wait outside.
When Lan Zhi arrived at Jingxiang Garden, she heard the clear voices of three children reading aloud in the courtyard. Hearing this, Lan Zhi felt a pang of sadness.
It's wonderful that the three children live, study, and practice martial arts together. If one of them were to leave, they would all be devastated!
A moment later, the sound of the end of get out of class came, and the three children stretched lazily. Lan Zhi called out softly.
"Kids, I'm back."
Upon hearing her voice, the three children turned around at the same time. When they saw her, they all stood up from their seats, ran quickly to her, and hugged her legs.
"Sister, you are finally back."
“We heard you were coming back and wanted to meet you at the gate, but your husband insisted it was too cold outside and he was afraid we would get cold.”
"Sister, has the Crown Prince returned? Is he alright?"
The chattering of the three children brought tears to Lan Zhi's eyes.
Tang Jun came over and greeted her at that moment.
"You're back? Is the Crown Prince back too? They were just clamoring to come out and greet you, but it was too cold outside, so I didn't let them go."
Lan Zhi nodded with a smile on her lips.
"You did the right thing. The Crown Prince is in the front yard. Go and take a look!"
Tang Jun nodded in acknowledgment, then stood up and left. She glanced at the three children, patted each of their heads, and said:
"Ming'er, Nana, you two go play for a while. I have a few words to say to Mao Mao."
Wei Ming pouted unhappily.
"We miss you too, so why are you only talking to Mao Mao?"
Lan Zhi explained helplessly.
"I'll tell you later, sweetie, go play first!"
Nana took Wei Ming's hand and reluctantly went to play on the side, while Mao Mao looked at Lan Zhi with some surprise.
"Sis, what happened?"
Lan Zhi pulled Mao Mao to sit on a low stool, looked at his fair little face, and smiled gently.
"Mao Mao, you've grown taller and fatter since you first arrived."
"Sister, what's wrong with you today? Your brother, the Crown Prince, is back. You should be happy!"
Lan Zhi sighed and shook her head, saying:
"I should be happy, but... but you're leaving me, and I'm so sad."