Half a month later.

Outside the capital city, a carriage drove slowly on the official road surrounded by more than a dozen fast horses. The leaders were Pei Jie and Ye Qing, guarding both sides of the carriage.

Hu Fei and his party had been away from Beijing for more than two months and finally returned to the capital.

In the carriage, Hu Fei leaned quietly in front of the window, lifted the brocade curtain and looked at the familiar scenery outside the window, frowning slightly.

The carriage was prepared by King Yan for him when he left Beiping City. Although the poison had been cured, Zhu Di showed concern and specially prepared a carriage for Hu Fei so that he could be more comfortable along the way.

Originally, it would not take half a month to get from Peiping to the capital, even by carriage. However, Hu Fei did not return directly to the capital after leaving Peking City, but went to other places, so it was delayed for some time.

The Guo Heng case involved twelve chief secretaries across the country, but there were only six in the list given to Zhu Di by Hu Fei.

The reason why he was delayed for so long on the road was because he secretly went to the remaining six chief secretaries and took the six chief ministers involved in the case under his command.

However, he used the illusion of fun as a cover-up and secretly met with the six people. Even if he was discovered, he had a way to stay out of it.

After many days, he finally returned to the capital. Before entering the city, he felt a sense of home.

But what made him uneasy was that ever since he left the northern border, Bei Yuan's pursuit of him as he expected had never happened.

Originally this was a good thing, but he felt uneasy because Bei Yuan should not have been so inactive. The calmer he was, the more worried he was. It was very likely that Bei Yuan was plotting something and might have already begun to execute it.

But Hu Fei still can't figure out what kind of conspiracy it will be.

After a long time, the carriage finally drove slowly into the capital under the escort of Jin Yiwei and Jin Qiwei. The familiar shouts and the familiar smoke of fireworks made Hu Fei, who was sitting in the carriage, gradually calm down.

So he temporarily forgot the worries in his heart, breathed a sigh of relief, and showed a faint smile.

After passing through the familiar and lively streets, the carriage finally slowly stopped in front of the princess's mansion.

Hu Fei took a deep breath, stood up slowly, and walked out of the carriage.

"Consort?!"

"Your Highness, the Prince Consort is back!"

When the guards at the gate of the mansion saw Hu Fei getting off the carriage, they were stunned for a moment, and then they all cheered. Some hurriedly came forward to salute, and some rushed into the mansion, busy reporting to Princess Anqing.

Hu Fei smiled and signaled the guards to get up, and then slowly walked towards the mansion.

Soon, Princess Anqing, who received the news, hurried out of the mansion and met Hu Fei who had just walked into the mansion.

The moment the two people's eyes met, Hu Fei's lips unconsciously showed a gentle smile.

After Princess Anqing was stunned for a moment, she sped up and threw herself directly into Hu Fei's arms.

Hu Fei opened his arms and held Princess Anqing tightly in his arms. Half of the fatigue in his body disappeared instantly. He smelled the familiar smell of Princess Anqing and felt an indescribable satisfaction in his heart.

"You're finally back! Do you know how worried I am about you?!"

Princess Anqing leaned on Hu Fei's shoulder and said with some choking.

"sorry that I had you worried."

"It's been so long. Are you eating well? Are you sleeping well?"

Hu Fei hugged Princess Anqing and asked gently with an apology on his face.

"As long as you can come back safely, that's better than anything else. I'm fine."

Princess Anqing nodded and said excitedly.

In the past two months, she had not been worried about Hu Fei for a day, and she did not think about food or tea. However, she did not know that Hu Fei was seriously poisoned and his life was on the line, so everyone could hide it from her.

"Let me take a good look at you. Are you injured?"

Princess Anqing slowly withdrew from Hu Fei's arms and began to look at Hu Fei up and down, observing carefully.

"No, just let it go, everything is going well."

"It's been so long since I last saw you. Do you miss me?"

Hu Fei shook his head, looked at Princess Anqing, and suddenly asked as if no one was watching.

Hearing Hu Fei's words, Princess Anqing suddenly panicked. She glanced at the people standing behind Hu Fei, her face instantly turned crimson, and she glared at Hu Fei dissatisfied.

"With so many people watching, what are you talking about?"

Princess Anqing winked and said complainingly.

Seeing this scene, Pei Jie and others standing behind Hu Fei couldn't help laughing. They turned around and pretended not to see or hear anything.

But when they did this deliberately, it made Princess Anqing even more shy.

"What's wrong with the crowd? I'm not teasing a decent woman. We are a legal couple. Come on, do you think about me?"

Hu Fei waved his hand, turned his head and glanced indifferently, staring at Princess Anqing and continued to ask.

"Oh, I'm ignoring you!"

Princess Anqing's face suddenly turned red, she gave Hu Fei a slap, said something coquettishly, turned around and ran into the mansion quickly.

Seeing Princess Anqing's shy escape, Hu Fei couldn't help laughing. The haze in his heart finally completely dissipated, and he suddenly became enlightened. He smiled and walked inside.

At the same time, the news of Hu Fei's return to the capital also spread to the palace and the Prime Minister's Mansion respectively, and then everyone knew that Hu Fei was back.

After a brief reunion with Princess Anqing, Hu Fei freshened up and rested for a while. Before he could be gentle, he left the princess's residence and went to the palace to report on his duties.

...

Royal Palace.

The Hall of Nourishing Heart.

Pang Yuhai walked quickly into the hall, with a hint of overflowing joy on his face.

"Your Majesty, Marquis Jiu'an has arrived and is waiting outside the palace."

Pang Yuhai said respectfully while saluting.

"Oh? Please!"

When Zhu Yuanzhang heard this, he immediately became happy, waved his hand and said.

Soon, Hu Fei followed Pang Yuhai slowly into the main hall.

"My son and I have met our father. We haven't seen each other for many days. I miss you very much. How has your father always been?"

Hu Fei walked closer, bowed respectfully, and spoke slowly.

"Okay, okay, everything is fine, get up quickly!"

Zhu Yuanzhang stood up with a smile. As he spoke, he walked to Hu Fei and helped Hu Fei up with his own hands, with a smile of approval and relief on his face.

Hu Fei smiled and stood up slowly. He was as obedient as Zhu Yuanzhang's son.

"Pang Yuhai, please give me a seat!"

Immediately afterwards, Zhu Yuanzhang turned to Pang Yuhai and gave instructions.

Pang Yuhai agreed and hurriedly brought a chair and placed it in front of Hu Fei.

Immediately, Zhu Yuanzhang signaled Hu Fei to take a seat, and then he sat back again.

"The Northern Territory delegation, you have done a good job on this errand. It can be said that you have returned in triumph. You have preserved the majesty of our Ming Dynasty and also made Bei Yuan lose face. I am very pleased!"

"By the way, how is your health? Is the poison you've been exposed to gone away?"

Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Hu Fei, first praised him, and finally asked with concern.

"Back to my father, my son is in good health. Thank you very much for your concern."

"However, when it comes to returning in triumph, I am not worthy of it. Although the traitor has been brought to justice, due to my carelessness, a total of 14 people were killed and injured in the Golden Cavalry Guard and the Jinyi Guard. My father is satisfied not to blame me."

Hu Fei cupped his hands and said with a look of self-blame.

"This is serious. If you lead people deep into the northern border, death and injury are inevitable. No one will blame you. As long as you can return safely."

"Tell me, what reward do you want?!"

Zhu Yuanzhang waved his hand and said nonchalantly, with a happy smile on his lips.

"It is the duty of a son and minister to share his father's worries. How dare he ask for any reward? Everything is as it should be."

Hu Fei shook his head and said seriously.

He still maintained his usual style and did not plan to receive any rewards, because any reward was nothing compared to gaining Zhu Yuanzhang's trust.

But what made him a little sad was that Zhu Yuanzhang did not take the fourteen people who died in the northern border into his heart.

Perhaps, no one except him would care about those insignificant people.

"I have already said that you have contributed a lot to this trip to the north. You may not want it, but I cannot deny it."

"I know that you never ask for any reward. Others are asking for it, but you are the only one who doesn't want it even if it is given to you. But this time it doesn't work, I must say something, otherwise I will not be able to calm down."

Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Hu Fei and said seriously.

"In this case, I have something to ask of you. If my father agrees, it will be regarded as a reward to my son."

Hu Fei hesitated for a moment and said slowly.

He remembered an idea that he had had before returning to Beijing, and it was just the right time to express it...


Chapter completed!