Chapter 506: Your Majesty, the Qingzhou army was defeated and Lord Zhao returned in triumph!

Chapter 506: Your Majesty, the Qingzhou army was defeated and Lord Zhao returned in triumph!

Chapter 506: Your Majesty, the Qingzhou army was defeated and Lord Zhao returned in triumph!
wow-

On this day, at the pier outside the south gate of Beijing, a ship returning along the canal finally docked.

Before the ship came to a stop, the deck was already crowded with people, led by the "palace ladies" led by Mo Chou and Sun Lianying.

After not seeing each other for many days, Mochou had lost a lot of weight. Beside her, the old supervisor Sun Lianying could hardly hide his fatigue - for a mortal like him, this journey of escape was undoubtedly extremely tiring.

Standing to the left and right of the two empresses' trusted aides were faces familiar to Zhao Duan:

Eunuch Hai wearing a bright red dragon robe.

The team's nominal highest official was actually the Minister of Rites who served as the mascot.

The Governor-General of the Grand Canal was Ning Zechen.

Tang Jinzhong, Song Jinxi and other eunuchs served in the Wugong Hall.

As well as Zhao Duan’s elite members of the Lihua Hall, Lang Shiba and Ji Yue were also mixed in.

"We have finally arrived in Beijing," Mochou stood at the bow, facing the summer breeze, her expression solemn and serious as she glanced at everyone:

"If nothing unexpected happened, the capital would be in turmoil right now. From the court to the common people, everyone is in danger.

Since we are a Fengshan team, even though we have not been able to welcome back the emperor, our every move will inevitably be watched by countless people.

I hope that no matter what happens to you later, you will not change your color even if Mount Luo collapses before your eyes. Only in this way can you help His Majesty to defend the court in this turbulent time."

The Minister of Rites was a little excited and couldn't wait to get off the boat:

"Miss Mo has said this eight hundred times. We are not three-year-old children, so we naturally understand. Let's hurry into the city."

I have been away from Beijing for too long. Although I have been exchanging letters through the secret guards, the last communication was half a month ago. Given the current situation, who doesn't know what the situation in the city is like?

Therefore, at this moment, instead of feeling relaxed as if they were returning to Beijing, everyone was on edge, as if they were facing a formidable enemy.

"Dad, this is the capital."

Behind Ning Zechen, the round-faced girl who spoke honestly and honestly had her big eyes rolling around, and one hand was holding Madam Ning's hand nervously and excitedly.

Surprisingly, they were the wife and daughter of Governor Ning whom Zhao Duan rescued on the river when he rushed to Jianning Prefecture that day.

When the Fengshan ceremony was being held at Luoshan, Ning Zechen arranged for his wife and daughter to watch the ceremony nearby, and then they simply followed the Fengshan team all the way north.

"Hush, the capital is not like the outside world. The water in the court is very deep. Don't talk too much after entering the city, and don't lose it." Governor Ning, whose complexion was darker and rougher, held the sword at his waist and gave a serious warning.

When he turned his head and looked towards the majestic city, his brows were filled with heavy sorrow. He didn't know whether it was right or wrong for him and others to enter the city this time.

At this time, the clerks at the dock had noticed this special team and hurried over to greet them.

Mo Chou directly threw out the token and ordered someone to prepare the carriage.

When the dock clerk picked up the token, he broke out in a cold sweat and hurriedly gave orders.

"Do you want to ask these people about the situation in the city?"

In the Lihuatang team, the secretary Qian Kerou was about to take action, but was stopped by Shen Juan:
"The big shots on the ship haven't said anything, so what can we, the little soldiers, do? Besides, what can these petty officials outside the city know?"

Qian Kerou said "oh", stopped her movements, and said softly:
"I was just thinking that maybe the master has come back. I wonder how he is now and whether he is safe."

Hou Renmeng folded his arms, followed the team out, and patted her shoulder:

"With your talents, you will surely be safe and sound."

……

With heavy hearts, everyone marched into the capital city in a mighty procession.

They hurried along the main road towards the imperial palace in the north of the city - this was the destination agreed upon before getting off the ship. They would first enter the palace, then contact the Xiuwenguan, and establish contact with important officials such as Grand Tutor Dong.

In order to prevent the situation in the city from getting out of control, Eunuch Hai deliberately concealed his whereabouts during his return and did not report to the court in advance.

Going straight into the palace was also to catch those who were interested by surprise and seize the initiative.

However, as they walked along, they were surprised to find that the atmosphere in the city was much better than they had expected.

Although it is indeed not as lively and prosperous as before, the general order remains. When passing by teahouses and taverns, there are no scholars gathering to discuss state affairs.

"The city is more stable than we expected. It seems that Grand Tutor Dong still has control over the court." Mochou's eyes flickered.

Beside her, the old supervisor Sun Lianying, with white hair and fatigue on his temples, silently looked at the two sides of the street, people coming and going, but his brows were getting deeper and deeper: "Something is not right."

"What's wrong?" Mochou turned her head to look at the old eunuch.

Sun Lianying muttered, "It's too peaceful and stable. This is the biggest problem."

The Minister of Rites was walking nearby and heard the conversation between the two. He added:
"There is no point in making random guesses. The most urgent thing is to enter the palace first."

Mo Chou nodded, and the Fengshan team accelerated towards the imperial palace. Soon, a huge group of people arrived outside the imperial city gate.

Just at this moment, three figures walked out from the imperial city.

The one in the lead had a stern and sinister face, was beardless, had hands with thick joints, and had an aura that kept strangers away. He was wearing the official robe of a third-rank brocade commander.

It was Ma Yan.

Behind him, one on the left and one on the right, followed two detectives, Zhang Han and Haitang.

When the two teams met, both sides were stunned.

After days of hard work, Haitang had dark circles under her eyes. She yawned and suddenly stopped, rubbing her eyes subconsciously.

After confirming that he was not mistaken, he looked at the person in the bright red python robe in the returning team, and his face was filled with joy: "Too..."

Before the great grandfather could finish his sentence, Ma Yan interrupted him:
"Mo Zhaorong? Sun Sijian? When did you come back?!"

"Mr. Ma?!" Everyone, who had been on edge along the way, suddenly felt relieved when they saw a familiar face.

The Minister of Rites almost cried, as he felt that Ma Yanwang, whom he hated so much in the past, seemed gentle and amiable today.

The Empress's spy chief is still here, which means the capital is not in chaos yet.

"The Governor!"

"Meet the Governor!"

The Jinyi members of Lihuatang were even more overjoyed, as if they had found their organization, and they all bowed to them.

With his hands behind his back and a nonchalant look, Eunuch Hai glanced at Ma Yan and nodded slightly as a greeting. The many priests behind him clasped their fists in tacit understanding.

"We've been back for a while," Mochou forced a smile on her face and pointed at the people behind her:

"Most of these were the people who guarded Luoshan during the Fengshan ceremony. After the Eight Princes rebelled, we fought and fled all the way. Unfortunately, many of them got separated or died on the way. Fortunately, there are still these left. We hurriedly returned north just to stabilize the court for Your Majesty in case the situation gets worse."

After a pause, she said again:
"But from my observations since entering the city to meeting you here, I know that the court is still stable. I think the Grand Tutor is taking great pains to control it. I wonder if the Grand Tutor is in the palace now?"

Ma Yan faced pairs of eyes eager for answers and listened to Mo Chou's words full of complaints. For a moment, his brain froze and he didn't know how to respond.

Seeing his hesitant attitude of wanting to say something, everyone's heart sank!
The forced smile on Mo Chou's face froze, and she subconsciously clenched her hands in her sleeves:

"What's going on? Is there something wrong in the court?"

Ma Yan hesitated for a moment and nodded sincerely:

"Indeed, a great change has occurred. Li Yanfu has instigated many Li Party officials to rebel, and the commander of the imperial guards has launched a palace coup in an attempt to control the court."

what? !

Like a bolt of thunder from the blue, everyone's face suddenly changed.

Without waiting for Mo Chou to ask further questions, Ma Yan continued:

"However, Li Yanfu's coup d'état failed. Those who participated in the rebellion are either dead or thrown into prison. I just entered the palace to report on the interrogation of Li's traitors."

Your mother's heavy breathing...

The officials in the Fengshan team felt that their hearts, which had sunk to the bottom of the valley, were floating up again, as if they were pulled back from an ice cave to midsummer. Their cold limbs regained warmth and they cursed in their hearts.

"Is this true? I have seen that Li Yanfu has long had a rebellious heart, and it is true!" The Minister of Rites jumped up and cursed, raised his fist to the sky, and tears filled his eyes:

"Fortunately, God protects our Yu Kingdom, and God protects Your Majesty, and has prevented this traitor from succeeding!"

Ma Yan shook his head and corrected it seriously:
"It is not God who blesses your majesty, nor is it God who blesses the Yu Kingdom. It is your majesty who protects the Yu Kingdom."

Behind him, Haitang saw that everyone looked confused and started to explain:

“Before the Li Party’s coup, Your Majesty and Zhao Shaobao had already returned to the capital, and both of them had reached a higher level of cultivation. Your Majesty, with just one sword, swept through thousands of troops and wiped out the rebels. Now he has ascended the throne again and has been sitting in the palace for many days. That’s why the city is so peaceful.

A few days ago, Zhao Shaobao led his troops out of the city to quell the Qingzhou rebels.

By the way, before he left the city, His Majesty sent someone to the Zhao Mansion to propose marriage. Now this young protector is the emperor's husband for sure. Hey, didn't you ask before you came back?"

What? Your Majesty is back early?

Going a step further, he single-handedly launched a coup?
Zhao Duan is back too, and is now leading his troops to fight again?

Mo Chou, Sun Lianying, Ning Zechen, the Minister of Rites, Eunuch Hai and others had dull expressions and stood blankly at the city gate, trying their best to digest the huge amount of information in these words.

"Master is back..." Qian Kerou whispered softly, her expression changing from shock to excitement and admiration:
“I knew he could do it.”

Thousands of miles to protect the emperor, returning to the capital to quell the rebellion... Hou Renmeng, Shen Juan and other Jinyi of Lihua Hall were overwhelmed with emotion and lost in thought for a while:
Has my master done such an astonishing thing again?
Propose marriage... Propose marriage... Mochou stood there in a daze, the word circling again and again in her mind, her lips pale.

This imperial city is too shaky.

……

……

Outside the Imperial Study Room.

The small garden was shaded by green trees and had colorful flowers. The sun shone on the green tiles and the red-painted wooden pillars. Female officials were walking hurriedly along the way.

"Your Majesty, Mo Zhaorong has arrived."

In the study, Xu Zhenguan, who was correcting memorials with his head down and holding a red brush, heard the report outside the door. He raised his head, placed the red brush on the pen holder with his slender hands, and saw a thinner and more beautiful figure walking towards him outside the open door and the threshold.

Mo Chou, who was wearing a slightly dirty female official robe, a black veil on her head, and no longer wearing makeup on her eyebrows, bowed and said:

"Your servant, I pay my respects to His Majesty!"

"Mochou?" Xu Zhenguan put down her pen and stood up, her white dress dragging on the smooth floor. She walked a few steps to the door and caringly helped the maid who had not been seen for many days to stand up. Her fairy face was full of concern and joy:

"I am very happy to hear that you have returned. It is good that you are back. You have worked hard along the way."

"Your Majesty..." Mo Chou was helped up, raised her head, bit her lip and looked at the familiar smile of the empress. Her nose felt sore, her eyes were slightly red, and she was choked with sobs and speechless:
"Your servant...Your servant...I thought I would never see Your Majesty again."

After saying this, the tears in my eyes could no longer be stopped from rolling down.

Mo Chou had never shed tears on her escape journey northward, but at this moment, her tears burst forth like a dam breaking, unable to be contained.

The empress smiled and with a slightly doting look in her eyes, she helped the female official, who was called "the servant" but had been with her since she was the third princess and was like a sister to her, into the study and pressed her into a chair.

The slovenly female official sat weakly in the chair, almost hugging her waist and crying. The empress in white stood beside the chair, smiling and gently patting her back with her hand.

This scene is extremely rare in the imperial courts of all dynasties.

After a long while, Mo Chou expressed the emotions that had been suppressed in her heart with the help of tears. Finally, she realized her own mistake, and hurriedly broke free and stood up. She quickly wiped the tears from her eyes with both hands, and said in panic:

"Your Majesty, I have violated the rules in front of your palace. Please punish me!"

The empress just smiled, raised her hand, tidied up the messy hair on her forehead, and said with a smile:

"Okay, I'll punish you to quickly report everything you've experienced along the way."

"According to the decree..."

Mo Chou blushed and began to stutter, telling out all the key information of her experience along the way in one breath. The empress listened quietly, occasionally asking a question in the middle.

Finally, he nodded gently and said:

"Although you were not by my side, you have also performed meritorious service in protecting me. The rest of you are in the side hall? I should reward you."

Mo Chou shook her head quickly:

"I dare not take credit for it. It is just my duty as a subject. As for protecting the emperor, I heard that Zhao Shaobao escorted His Majesty all the way back to the capital. The day before yesterday, Your Majesty also... proposed to him?"

When asking this last question, Mo Chou's voice changed a little, and there was some resentment in the look she gave the empress.

Xu Zhenguan smiled and nodded, as if he didn't notice the little maid's resentment:
"He... is indeed the husband I have chosen."

Mo Chou was speechless for a moment, having countless questions to ask.

For example, she wanted to ask what happened between Zhao Duan and the Empress during their escape, but she felt that she was not qualified to ask, so she could only say dejectedly:

"I don't know if Zhao Shaobao is now..."

"He went to the border of Qingzhou Road to quell the rebellion." Xu Zhenguan replied. When she brought up this topic, she couldn't help but sigh softly:
"After only being gone for two or three days, many people in the court were dissatisfied."

"Zhao Shaobao has no experience in leading troops in battle," Mochou was stunned for a moment, but her mind was very active and she immediately realized:

"Could it be that the military officers of the Privy Council and the Ministry of War felt that it was inappropriate?"

Xu Zhenguan nodded slightly, stood up and paced, saying:
"That's right. These past few days, these people have been asking me to replace Zhao Duan to fight. I have even grown calluses on my ears."

As soon as the voice fell, a female official came out of the door:
"Your Majesty, the officials from the Privy Council and the Ministry of War are here again, and they want to see Your Majesty."

Xu Zhenguan showed some helplessness on his face and wanted to chase him away, but after hesitating for a moment, he said:

"Bring them here."

……

After a while, about three or five people were brought over. The leaders were the old Minister of War and the "Deputy Privy Councilor", the highest official in the Privy Council.

"My lord, please see your Majesty!"

Before entering the door, several people bowed in a familiar manner.

"No need to be so polite." Xu Zhenguan's cold voice came out.

All the military officers stood up and looked into the study. When they saw Mo Chou standing quietly beside the empress, they were all stunned. The old minister of the Ministry of War was the first to laugh and say:
"I, an old minister, just entered the palace and heard that Mo Zhaorong and the others have returned. This is cause for celebration."

Xu Zhenguan, sitting behind a bright yellow desk, raised his hand to interrupt him, his expression indifferent:
"What do you want to say? Just tell me."

He looked like he was too lazy to exchange pleasantries or beat around the bush.

This... Several military officers looked at each other, and the tall and thin Deputy Privy Councilor stepped forward and bowed, saying:
"Your Majesty, we are here to advise you to replace Shao Bao Zhao to deal with the war in Qingzhou Road."

He took out a letter from his sleeve and held it up with both hands:

"This is a joint petition signed by all the generals in the army in Beijing. We implore Your Majesty to revoke your order and hand over this battle to the Privy Council. We will fight to the death to repay Your Majesty's grace!"

Xu Zhenguan stared at the group of people quietly. Mochou glanced at the letter, hesitated for a moment, then walked over, picked it up, and handed it to the empress.

Xu Zhenguan picked up the thick joint letter with his two slender white fingers, but did not open it. He just threw it on the table and said lightly:
"Li Yanfu has revolted, two commanders of the imperial guards have rebelled, the princes have been in turmoil, and military officers like Zhao Shixiong and Wei Xianzong have also rebelled against the court. Logically, they are all subordinate to you. Now, you are fighting for military power again. Do you want to put down the rebellion, or do you have other intentions?"

As soon as these words came out, the faces of several people changed, and they all knelt on the ground:
"Your Majesty, we are loyal to you, and the Privy Council (Ministry of War) has no second thoughts! Although Zhao Shaobao is not a military commander, he has never led an army. For the sake of the overall situation, we..."

Xu Zhenguan said calmly:

"Who says he can't win a battle because he has never led an army?"

Mo Chou glanced at her sideways and thought to herself, Your Majesty, your partiality is too obvious.

"This..." Several military officers were unable to refute for the moment, so they could only stiffen their necks and remain motionless, with a clear attitude.

Just as the emperor and his ministers were at a stalemate, suddenly, another eunuch rushed in from the corridor outside the door. Before he arrived, he shouted in a shrill voice with joy:

"Congratulations, Your Majesty! Congratulations, Your Majesty! The Qingzhou rebels have been defeated, and the rebel king Heng Wang has been escorted out of the city. Lord Zhao has returned in triumph! In triumph!"

……

Layout is updated first and then modified
(End of this chapter)