As he approached, he met a chamberlain. The chamberlain was surprised to see the Duke of Zhenguo, and he quickly saluted.
In his sight, the tall figure stopped in front of him, and a deep voice sounded from above his head: "Can the Emperor be in the palace at this time?"
"Hui Guoguo, Your Majesty is not in the Yangxin Hall..." Faintly looking at the saber on the opponent's waist, the chamberlain replied nervously: "Today, Your Majesty held an early court meeting to discuss matters with hundreds of officials. He is currently in the Jinluan Hall..."
Hearing this, the Duke of Zhen frowned slightly.
What does it mean to have a morning meeting today?
Does this mean that you don’t even go to the morning court on weekdays?
The current situation is such that chaos occurs frequently, but the emperor can't even attend morning court every day. Instead, he devotes all his energy to playing tricks. The priorities are completely reversed for him!
Does this make sense for not rebelling?
"Since His Majesty is not in the palace, the Duke may as well go to the royal study to wait for a rest, and I will go and inform His Majesty." The guards following beside suggested respectfully, and secretly breathed a sigh of relief in their hearts - The Duke of Zhen is wearing a sword.
Entering the emperor's palace, no matter how you think about it, it makes people frightened...
Fortunately, His Majesty is not in the Yangxin Hall.
Under this situation, if he can be led to the imperial study room first, he can go to the Jinluan Palace to report the news.
Unexpectedly, the old man turned around and said, "No need, I just go directly to the Jinluan Palace."
It would be even more appropriate if what he wanted to do was done in front of all the civil and military officials——
Seeing the old man striding away, the guard quickly winked at the chamberlain who still didn't know what was going on, and said in a low voice: "Take the small path and go to the Jinluan Palace quickly to inform your majesty..."
The waiter was stunned for a moment, then nodded hurriedly.
Inside the Yangxin Hall, people were noisy.
If there is a good day in early autumn, it will be hot at noon. The voices of the officials in the palace are mixed and noisy, and there are occasional disputes, which makes the hot feeling rise again and again.
Emperor Qingming's face was always calm.
The reason why I went to court early today is because there are so many things going on, and among these things, none of them can be called good news...
The prefect of Mingzhou, Zhang Yunsui, who had rebelled with the victims, now occupied a city, and forces from several surrounding counties had joined him one after another. By now, a large group of forces had gathered, so much so that the imperial court sent
The imperial envoys who went to suppress it didn't get any advantage at all!
And Liu Sheng, who was sent by him to Dianzhou to attack Dongwu, encountered a setback in recruiting the troops of Prince Jing's Mansion before the war with Dongwu started. He was a loser!
Then there is the riot that occurred outside the city yesterday——
When the porridge shed set up by the imperial court was giving out porridge, they encountered a victim who was making trouble, claiming that there were only ten grains of rice in the daily bowl of porridge, and many people couldn't get a portion at all. The government's so-called porridge giving was just a show...
…The words were extremely harsh and bold.
And just when the official wanted to restrain the man, a group of victims rushed forward. In the chaos, some officials were injured, and the victims even took advantage of the chaos and robbed the rice stored in the porridge shed!
Crazy! These insatiable ants are simply crazy!
He has heard countless pieces of news like this today!
One voice after another, all asking him to make up his mind and think of countermeasures!
The voices of the ministers were pushed and squeezed in front of him accompanied by layers of heat waves, which even made it difficult for the emperor to breathe. He clutched the memorial in his hand tightly, but gradually he felt that his fingers could not use any strength at all, and there was an inexplicable pain in his knuckles.
At this time, the Minister of Civil Affairs stood up, holding a dental plaque and was about to report something - compared to the emperor who could still sit, they were really tired. They had to stand for half a day, and they didn't even have time to use their breakfast.
My stomach is empty and my ears are buzzing, but there are some things that really can't be put off. If I don't take advantage of the opportunity to discuss them today, I don't know how long it will be piled up.
No matter how bad the situation is, no matter how disappointing the emperor is, he still needs to plan things seriously for as long as he reigns.
However, before the Lord Chancellor could speak, he saw an eunuch rushing in from outside the palace, walked to the imperial steps, saluted and said: "Your Majesty, the Duke of Zhenguo has entered the palace to ask for an audience..."
There was so much noise in the palace that many officials failed to hear this sentence, but Emperor Qingming heard it clearly and his expression changed immediately.
Xu Qiwei is back?!
How could it be so fast...
And when he first returned to Beijing, he entered the palace...
And Li Ji, who was ordered to go to the Xu family to deliver the message, has not come back yet——
In just a short moment, many thoughts flashed through Emperor Qingming's mind, and his eyes changed several times. Before he could react, he saw another eunuch coming quickly and said: "Your Majesty, the Duke of Zhen is asking for an audience outside the palace.
——”
Already here!
Emperor Qingming suppressed the uneasiness that seemed to come from instinct: "Xuan..."
The chamberlain who was kneeling to report the news got up and retreated, wondering in his heart. He was clearly taking a shortcut. How come he had just arrived with his front foot, and the Duke of Zhen Guo had also arrived with his rear foot... With these legs and feet, he could lead two more people.
It’s not a problem to be a soldier for ten years, right?
No wonder there are occasional rumors in the palace recently, saying that His Majesty is afraid of Duke Zhen, and there is something fishy about Duke Zhen falling ill in Dongyuan City...
"Xuan——The Duke of Zhen has come to the palace to have an audience!"
The inner prisoner's loud singing silenced the hall.
Xuan...who?!
——Zhen Guo Gong?!
Did they get it wrong or did they?
The officials subconsciously cast their gaze in the direction of the palace door. The midday sun was dazzling, and a tall figure wearing black armor stepped across the palace door and walked into everyone's sight step by step.
At this moment, the hall became noisy again, even more so than before.
"The Duke of Zhen Guo has returned to Beijing?!"
"When did this happen..."
"Why haven't I heard anything about it..."
Some officials whispered to each other, and they were all surprised.
Among them, there were many who thought they had some unknown information - didn't it say that Duke Zhen Guo was dead, and the Xu family rushed to Dongyuan City to help the spirit return to the capital?!
Now this is a hell!
In comparison, Ji Xiu, who had already received the emperor's order to strengthen the defense of the capital, was not too surprised. The only thing left was that he did not understand why Duke Zhen would choose to enter the palace at this time.
"My lord, please see your Majesty."
The old man raised his hand in salute in the hall, and the bright yellow silk in his hand was particularly conspicuous.
Emperor Qingming also saw it at a glance. His mood was ups and downs, but in front of all the officials, he could only express surprise: "The Duke is back?!"
"Yes, the old minister is back." - The emperor was disappointed.
Emperor Qingming was still full of joy: "Since the Duke is returning to Beijing, why don't you ask someone to send me a message in advance, so that I can welcome the Duke in triumph together with all the ministers!"
The Duke of Zhen sneered in his heart.
Will the emperor be worried about whether he will come back or not?
But he still needs to perform this last scene completely - this is the first urgent thing he agreed to do when he returned to Beijing this time and agreed with King Yan.
"Shilang Zhou should have asked someone to send a message back to the capital. But I am eager to return to the capital, so the journey is a little faster. I think it is a step faster." The old man's voice did not sound ups and downs, but his face showed an intimidating look.
A sense of solemnity.
Emperor Qingming saw this in his eyes and said: "So that's it. It is said that the Duke is ill, so there is no need to rush on his way. By the way, I wonder how the Duke's body is doing? Is there any other discomfort?"
"Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty. I am fine."
Emperor Qingming then nodded happily: "That's good -" and said enthusiastically: "I feel very at ease that the Duke can return to the capital safely... I will hold a celebration banquet for the Duke in the Baohe Hall tonight to congratulate the Duke. The Li clan has returned with a great victory in the battle!"
If we really talk about it, in the current unfavorable situation, winning over the Li clan is undoubtedly excellent news. It can at least ensure the stability of the east for several years, and can also deter all forces and stabilize the people's hearts.
But the person who won the battle had a thorn in his flesh and came back safe and sound...
He would rather lose this battle, it would be better to let Xu Qiwei die in this battle, so that there will no longer be Xu Qiwei in the world, and there will no longer be an invincible 'Xu' family army... because only in this way can he There is enough spare power to solve the biggest hidden dangers and threats!
However, accidents happened frequently, and now he had to be cautious and cautious, trying to stabilize this dangerous beast first.
"There is no need for a celebration banquet. Nowadays, there are constant wars, big and small, and it is not appropriate to be extravagant about such things. I will set an example." As the Zhenguo Gong spoke, he held up the imperial edict with both hands, looked directly at the emperor, and said, "If your Majesty really feels that I still have some shortcomings, please take back this decree that the granddaughter of the vassal's family will enter the palace and become a concubine——"
The smile on Emperor Qingming's face froze.
Did he come to the palace this time to defy the decree in public?
As soon as these words came out, the atmosphere in the palace suddenly changed again.
The emperor actually issued a decree to grant the Xu family girl the title of concubine in the palace?!
this……
Isn't this nonsense?
The little girl should not be more than sixteen or seventeen years old this year, and she was favored by the Duke of Zhen. There were even rumors that the Duke of Zhen had told his granddaughter to choose her own future marriage - so, how could it be so? Are you willing to send the little girl to the palace?
If it were other people's family, they would have a concubine or glory, but Duke Zhenguo has always been casual, so he would never take these things into consideration.
What's more, if you think about it carefully, it's not just as simple as it seems on the surface?
Few people in the palace are stupid.
Duke Zhenguo looked like this. He had obviously just arrived in Beijing. Before he could take off his armor, he came into the palace with the imperial edict. It can be seen that this edict had just been delivered to the Xu family...
Chosen at this moment, so urgent and sudden, is the emperor’s decree really out of ‘respect’ for the Zhenguo Duke’s government?
If the little girl really enters the palace, what will be waiting for her and the Xu family...?
At this point, Ji Xiu's thoughts were different from those of his colleagues.
The emperor wants that little girl from the Xu family to enter the palace...
The intention is certainly not difficult to guess.
But thinking about the little girl's style and aura, he always felt that...if the other party really entered the palace, I'm afraid it's hard to say whether the Xu family or the emperor would be the first to cause trouble. In the end, he couldn't tell who would be the hostage.
Thinking about it this way, Duke Zhen's refusal might have saved the emperor from disaster?
After these thoughts appeared in his mind, Ji Xiu couldn't help but feel that he was under the despotic power of the Xu family, and seemed to have been severely harmed both physically and mentally.
At this time, Emperor Qingming's expression became very wonderful.
The low voices of the officials and the vague glances made him feel as if he was being roasted on a fire.
This matter of conferring a title is done and done. It doesn't matter how people talk behind their backs——
But now Xu Qiwei confessed the matter in public and asked him to take back his will... What's the difference between this and slapping him in the face!
The unspeakable thoughts seemed to be exposed in public. Emperor Qingming was angry, but also felt uneasy in his heart - his eyes fell on the saber on the old man's waist, and he slowly straightened his lips, anger and fear boiling together.
"Your Majesty's granting of the title is a sign of great kindness - the Duke of Zhen Guo is about to resist the decree on his first day in Beijing?"
All these behaviors are due to disobedience!"
This loud question made the atmosphere in the palace become tense in an instant.
Even if the following response of Duke Zhen Guo shows any trace of the so-called disobedience, guards may rush into the palace and take him down on this pretext...
Emperor Qingming also tensed his body almost secretly, looking straight at the people in the palace.
At this moment, he had a dangerous and tempting idea in his mind...
Take the opportunity to detain Xu Qiwei and force him to hand over his military talisman!
Or... kill him directly!
Xia Tingzhen obviously had this intention as well, and her words just now were intended to provoke anger.
They were all waiting, testing whether the beast would show its sharp teeth and claws...
An invisible web seems to be closing in.
Looking at Xia Tingzhen, the Duke of Zhenguo said with dissatisfaction on his face: "A disobedient heart? If I had a disobedient heart, how could I dare to enter the palace alone today!"
Then, he turned back to face the emperor: "More than 100,000 Xu family troops are currently guarding the camps outside the capital. They have been guarding for nearly twenty years... Isn't this enough to show the loyalty of the veteran!"
loyalty……
Emperor Qingming felt a chill instantly run through his body from head to toe.
It made him feel like he had fallen into an ice cave, but he calmed down strangely.
Is it a show of loyalty or a threat?
More than 100,000 Xu family troops...
Is this a reminder to him that everything has been arranged before entering the palace?
Emperor Qingming suddenly smiled.
"Of course I trust the Duke..."
Of course he believes it.
How could the evil god who kills decisively on the battlefield not be able to kill every fish and defeat the net...
The person who deserves to die sooner or later must be killed and killed. He is the king of a country but he cannot accompany the other party to gamble in such a bad situation...
"As long as your majesty trusts me," the Duke of Zhenguo continued, "and the reason why I wear a sword and enter the palace is for no other reason than to protect myself. As we all know, Xia Shoufu is a man with hands and eyes that can reach the sky.
If he tries to kill the old minister, the old minister may not be able to fight back! He just wants to have a knife in his hand, so he can still fight to the death!"
These words were sharp and direct, pointing directly at Xia Tingzhen.
Xia Tingzhen immediately frowned and looked at Duke Zhen Guo with cold eyes.
Everything about the other party's move into the palace today was strange, and for a moment he couldn't figure out what kind of medicine was being sold in this broken gourd...!
He said firmly: "Xia doesn't understand why the Duke said this——"
Duke Zhenguo sneered: "Is Xia Shoufu really confused?"
Emperor Qingming frowned slightly, feeling a bit like looking at flowers in the fog. He remained patient for the time being and said calmly: "My lord, is there any misunderstanding in this?"
"I don't think it's a misunderstanding." The Duke of Zhenguo said solemnly: "Your Majesty doesn't know something. I didn't fall ill in Dongyuan City before, but was poisoned by someone!"
