Chapter 131

Tang Peiyi already felt extremely guilty about He Jingyuan's death. Even though he didn't want to have anything to do with the Li Party, when he heard them demanding that Wei Yan be held accountable, he immediately lifted his robe and knelt down: "I also earnestly request Your Majesty to thoroughly investigate the matter of Prime Minister Wei colluding with the rebels, and give an explanation to the soldiers who killed the enemy on the front line and the people of the world!"

As soon as Tang Peiyi knelt, all the generals who followed him to the Golden Palace to receive titles also knelt down.

Qi Sheng rested his elbows on the armrests of the dragon chair, pressed his forehead, and looked obviously unhappy: "What are you doing? Have you all learned to force me?"

Li Taifu held the tablet, his beard and hair whitening, his eyebrows drooping, and said in a hoarse voice: "I dare not, but if the treacherous and corrupt officials are not removed and the injustice is not redressed, how can we comfort the loyal souls in the afterlife? If I don't give you advice, I am not worthy of wearing this official robe and eating your majesty's salary. It would be better for me to retire and return home!"

Fan Changyu looked at the skinny back of Li Taifu. If she had not known about the collusion between the Li family and Qi Min, she would have really thought that Li Taifu was a good official who cared about the country and the people, just like He Jingyuan.

There was a loud bang.

Qi Sheng picked up the pile of memorials on the dragon table and threw them down. He laughed in anger and said, "You can give me advice, but why is the Grand Tutor using retirement to pressure me?"

Li Taifu bent his back forward a little, "I dare not!"

In the past, the emperor and Li Taifu had always sung the same tune to suppress Wei Yan, but now Li Taifu denounced Wei Yan, and the emperor tried his best to protect him. This was the first time that the civil and military officials in the court had seen such a thing.

The smarter ones quickly thought of the previous rumors and wondered if the descendants of Prince Chengde were found to be true.

The Wei Party, which had been silent until then, noticed the emperor's attitude and immediately stood up and said, "The Prime Minister has worked hard and made great contributions. He has devoted so much effort to the country and the people of Dayin for so many years. He has become ill from overwork and is now at home on sick leave. Is this how you slander the Prime Minister?"

The people of Li's party angrily retorted: "It was the Prime Minister who recommended the people in the army to let the Chongzhou rebels go, which led to the loss of Lucheng. The captured rebels' staff also pointed out that Wei Yan was indeed in collusion with the rebels. There is evidence, what else can he quibble about?"

"Lu Dayi was ambitious and acted without following military orders. He fell into the trap of the rebels. Even if we hold him accountable, the prime minister was just wrong in judging people. You actually want to accuse the prime minister of colluding with the rebels. You deserve to be punished! Can we trust the words of the rebels' aides? What if this is a plot to sow discord among us?"

"What's the use of your words? The evidence is as strong as a mountain. You won't cry until you see the coffin!"

The two groups of people in the hall were arguing fiercely. Qi Sheng, who was sitting on the dragon chair, seemed to have a headache because of the noise. He shouted in a deep voice: "Enough!"

The court officials who had been blaming each other and wanted to roll up their sleeves to fight finally calmed down and returned to their original positions with their tablets in their hands.

Qi Sheng's face was not looking good: "What's the point of making so much noise? Do you think this throne room is a market?"

All the ministers lowered their heads and dared not utter another word.

Qi Sheng pressed his aching forehead and said, "All the witnesses in the case of Wei Yan colluding with the rebels will be temporarily detained in the Dali Temple and handed over to the three courts for trial. The court is adjourned!"

After saying this, Qi Sheng flicked his sleeves and left the Golden Palace first. The eunuch serving in front of him shouted "Dismiss the court" in a shrill voice and hurriedly trotted after Qi Sheng.

The civil and military officials at the bottom of the hall knelt down and bowed to the empty dragon throne above: "Long live our emperor!"

When Fan Changyu stood up along with other court officials, he frowned slightly and glanced at the lacquered gold dragon chair above the hall.

Will the review of Wei Yan go smoothly?

-

After leaving the hall, Master Li looked unhappy.

His eldest son followed closely behind him and whispered to Li Taifu, "Your Majesty, are you turning to Wei Yan for protection again?"

Li Taifu had been Qi Sheng's teacher for more than ten years. He knew this emperor who had been forced to sit on the throne at a young age very well. He shook his head and said, "This is not the first time he has done such a thing."

When Qi Sheng first ascended the throne, he was just a child. All the civil and military officials in the court respected him on the surface, but in fact, no one took this little emperor who had no real power seriously.

At that time, in order to secure his throne, Qi Sheng followed Wei Yan's lead in everything.

Later, as he grew stronger, he realized that he was just a puppet emperor. In order to seize power from Wei Yan, he began to get close to Li Taifu.

Perhaps it was precisely because he had never truly mastered the imperial power that Qi Sheng could not tolerate anyone who would share power with him.

He was too impatient. Before Wei Yan fell, he was already on guard against the Li family. This eventually led to the Li family cooperating with Qi Min. He panicked and had no choice but to turn around and look for Wei Yan again.

As long as Wei Yan does not fall, the throne will still be his even if he continues to be a puppet emperor.

Li Yuanting, the eldest son of Li Taifu, showed disdain on his face: "He has plotted against Wei Yan so many times, can Wei Yan still protect him? By then, he will be nothing but a loser!"

Tutor Li paused slightly and gave his eldest son a lukewarm look.

Li Yuanting realized that he had said something wrong. He looked around and found that the ministers were leaving the palace in groups of three or four, and there was no one around them. He breathed a sigh of relief.

Li Taifu said: "No matter what time, be careful, because the mouth can cause trouble."

Li Yuanting bowed his head and agreed.

At a white marble staircase ahead, Fan Changyu, Tang Peiyi and other generals who had suppressed the rebellion walked down. Some minor officials were congratulating Tang Peiyi. The group talked as they walked, with just the right amount of polite smiles on their faces.

Taifu Li's gaze lingered for a few moments on the glamorous female general in a red robe and silver armor.

Li Yuanting already knew Fan Changyu's true identity. He lowered his voice and said, "I heard that Marquis Wu'an refused the marriage proposal for this woman and personally led the Xie family cavalry to rush to Lucheng for rescue. His father's death also intervened. He must have been possessed by a demon."

Li Taifu said nothing. After walking a few steps, he suddenly asked, "Is there still no news from Huai'an?"

Li Yuanting shook his head and said, "We have sent more people to look for him."

Master Li said "hmm" and continued to move forward.

-

Fan Changyu, Tang Peiyi and others were not Beijing officials and had no residences in the capital, so the Ministry of Rites arranged for them to live in the Jinzouyuan.

According to the rules of the Dayin officialdom, princes and dukes with fiefdoms outside the capital who were summoned to the capital were all required to live in the state residence; officials who were sent to other places to come to the capital were required to live in the Jinzouyuan.

Although Fan Changyu and others were awarded titles, they still had to wait for the emperor's edict to decide whether they would stay in Beijing or continue to be sent abroad.

If they stayed in Beijing, the emperor would grant them a residence or a piece of land to build their own house. If they were sent abroad, they would have to go to a provincial capital to take up their post.

Fan Changyu was already a third-rank official and was assigned to an independent courtyard. Aunt Zhao and her husband, Changning, Baoer and others moved in with them, and it didn't seem crowded at all.

Carpenter Zhao was now a registered military doctor. He should have been on duty in the Jizhou Army, but since there was no fighting, he felt that he was of no use in the army. Fan Changyu was going to Beijing to receive a title, so he resigned and followed him to Beijing.

During the half day that Fan Changyu had been in the palace, the old couple, accompanied by Xie Wu and Xie Qi, took Changning and Baoer for a stroll on the streets of the capital.

When Fan Changyu returned, she saw that the snacks Changning bought almost filled up the entire round table. Before she could scold Changning, Changning was already excitedly gesturing to her at all kinds of novelties she had seen on the street.

"Sister, sister, there are men with yellow beards who can spit fire on the street! There are also people who play with flower guns, people who can break rocks with their chests..." Changning's eyes were shining, and she could hardly count them on her fingers.

Seeing how happy she was, Fan Changyu couldn't bear to scold her anymore. He just pinched her rosy cheeks and said, "Don't be naughty or run around when you go out to play. You have to stay with your Aunt Zhao and Uncle Xiaowu. Do you understand?"

Chang Ning nodded randomly, then hugged Fan Changyu's arm and started swinging: "Sister, when are you free? Let's go play with the pitcher. If you hit the target, you can take home a little rabbit!"

Fan Changyu asked with a smile: "Do you want to raise rabbits?"

Chang Ning nodded vigorously: "Fatten it up, feed the falcon!"

This answer made Fan Changyu laugh and cry. When Xie Wu followed her in the army, Xie Qi and Changning had always been the ones feeding Haidongqing. Later, when Xie Wu was injured and recuperating at home, they also helped feed him.

They both knew how to tame Saker Falcons. Chang Ning fed the Saker Falcon a lot every day, and Xie Qi would take it out at night to let it fly for a while.

During the days when Fan Changyu was recuperating in Lucheng, Aunt Zhao could not sit still. In order to provide nourishment for the soldiers in the wounded camp, she went to the market and bought a nest of chickens and raised them near the camp.

Occasionally, falcons would come to steal chickens to eat, which made Aunt Zhao very worried. She would sigh every day when she returned to the courtyard. Later, Xie Qi often let the Saker Falcon fly around the military camp. If it encountered other falcons that came to steal chickens, the Saker Falcon would chase them and peck off half of the feathers on their wings.

Aunt Zhao praised the gyrfalcon for its intelligence and then fed it a bunch of chicken offal.

After arriving at the capital, Xie Qi and Xie Wu did not dare to take the Saker Falcon out for a flight because of the large crowds of people, even at night. The Saker Falcon, which had been constantly fed by Aunt Zhao and Chang Ning, inevitably became rounder.

Fan Changyu said, "If you keep feeding them, your falcon will be so fat that it can't fly."

Aunt Zhao also advised: "Ning Niang, be obedient. We are still living in the government courtyard in the capital. We don't have our own place, so it's not convenient to raise rabbits. If we leave the capital later, it's easy to take dead animals with us, but it's hard to take living animals with us."

Chang Ning then lowered his head, twisted his chubby fingers and reluctantly agreed.

Aunt Zhao and her husband took Fan Changyu aside to ask him about the meeting with the emperor. The old couple had lived in a small border town for most of their lives and had never thought about going to the capital one day. When they heard that Fan Changyu had been appointed a high-ranking official, they cried and laughed, wiped their tears, and said that they would burn some paper money for Fan Changyu's parents and tell them the good news.

Changning squatted outside the door, picked up a small stick and drew circles on the ground, pouting her lips, still thinking about the snow-white little rabbit in the merchant's cage.

A pair of small golden boots appeared in her sight. Yu Baoer stood in front of her and said to her, "I will help you win the rabbit."

Chang Ning said unhappily, "You don't know how to throw the pot, and Uncle Xiaoqi and Uncle Xiaowu won't help me..."

Yu Baoer said: "Give me two days, I can practice it."

Children are very sensitive. It would be fine if no one comforted them. When Yu Baoer said this, Changning's eyes became red. It was cold, and Aunt Zhao had given her lots of clothes. She squatted on the ground, looking like a fat rabbit. She said aggrievedly, "What if someone else took the rabbit away?"

Yu Baoer said: "There will be other rabbits in the hawker shop."

Chang Ning's eyes became redder, she wiped her eyes and said, "But I just want the little rabbit today."

Yu Baoer suddenly asked, "Aren't you going to raise some to feed your falcon? Wouldn't a rabbit be enough?"

Changning hung her head and said nothing, with tears on her long eyelashes. She looked pitiful and aggrieved.

Yu Baoer stared at her for a while, then changed the topic and said, "I helped you win the rabbit today, so you have to keep it and not feed it to your falcon."

Changning thought about it and thought the little rabbit was quite cute, so he nodded vigorously.

She asked, “How do you win?”

Yu Baoer said, "Don't worry about it."

-

After talking with Aunt Zhao and her husband for a while, Fan Changyu saw the old couple out of the room and was about to ask Xie Wu how to contact Xie Zheng in the capital, but he couldn't find anyone.

She called Xie Qi, who was cleaning the yard, "Xiao Qi, where is Xiao Wu?"

Xie Qi leaned on his broom and answered, "The young master said he wanted to go out to buy some things, so he asked my fifth brother to accompany him."

Yu Baoer's identity is sensitive. Apart from Aunt Zhao and her husband who always call him Baoer, Xie Wu and Xie Qi all call him Young Master.

Fan Changyu was worried about something going wrong and asked, "Is Xiaowu the only one following? Do you know where they went?"

Xie Qi hurriedly said, "General, don't worry. The young master said he would only go to the two streets he visited this morning. General Tang also secretly sent someone to follow him."

Fan Changyu breathed a sigh of relief, but she was not used to Xie Qi calling her General so quickly. She said, "That's good," and then asked, "Do you know... where he is now?"

Although Fan Changyu didn't say who it was, Xie Qi knew she was asking about Xie Zheng from her tone, and said, "The master came to the capital secretly, and we haven't received any news from the master yet. Although the Xie family has a mansion in the capital, the master has always been cautious and will not stay at the Xie family. The heroes who suppressed the rebellion are temporarily staying in the Jinzouyuan, so now we can only wait for the master to find us."

Fan Changyu thought of the figure he saw at the window of the restaurant on the street when he entered the city, and wondered why he was there at that time. Could it be that he had gone there specifically to watch the army enter the city?

Seeing that she was distracted, Xie Qi asked, "General, do you have something urgent to discuss with your master?"

Fan Changyu said, "It's not urgent, go and do your work."

She mainly wanted to ask what Xie Zheng's next deployment was. The emperor's grandson had temporarily disappeared, and Yu Qianqian was also missing.

The emperor clearly began to favor Wei Yan. The three courts will review the case, and it is still unknown what the result will be.

Regardless of whether the Li Party wins or the Wei Party wins, Fan Changyu feels that this court is terrible.

She returned to her room and closed the door. Just as she sighed, she heard a deep voice: "What do you want from me?"

Fan Changyu raised his eyes in surprise, and saw a man leaning against the bed with his arms folded.

She was surprised and asked, "When did you come?"

Xie Zheng replied: “I have always been here.”

Seeing that Fan Changyu was still very confused, he raised a mask in his hand for disguise.

The light was dim on the other side of the bed curtains. After he came out, Fan Changyu noticed that he was wearing the robe of a guard in the Jinzouyuan.

He actually disguised himself as a guard here!

Without waiting for Fan Changyu to speak, he took out another set of guard's robes and threw them to Fan Changyu, "Put them on and I'll take you to see someone."

Whenever officials from other places came to Beijing, countless eyes would be fixed on the Jinzouyuan. Where they went and who they met would be reported to the palace in every detail.

If you want to avoid those eyes and ears, you naturally have to disguise yourself and get out.

Fan Changyu glanced at Xie Zheng. He was not wearing a mask and his face was still handsome, but she always felt that something was wrong with him.

It should be said that she had sensed that something was wrong with him the moment she saw him in the tavern when they entered the city, and that was why she had deliberately smiled at him as she was about to pass by.

Holding the guard uniform at the moment, Fan Changyu didn't bother to ask who he was going to take him to see, and asked hesitantly: "What's wrong with you? Did your trip to Beijing go wrong..."

Before she finished her last word, she was pulled into a hard and cold embrace.

Xie Zheng did nothing but hold her tightly, his head buried in her shoulders and neck, like a drowning man clinging to a piece of driftwood with all his strength.

Fan Changyu was slightly stunned, but because her hands were still holding the clothes, she couldn't hug him back.

She tried to pull out one hand to stroke his back and ask him what was wrong, but before she could pull her hand away, she was held tighter in the other's arms.

"Don't move, let me hold you for a while."

Xie Zheng's voice was tired and hoarse.

In a trance, Fan Changyu had an illusion that he seemed fragile at this moment.

Fan Changyu couldn't explain the feeling in his heart. He just felt as if his heart was being tightly grasped by a large hand, causing a dull pain.

She let go of the guard robe and hugged his thin and firm waist. Just like she had comforted Changning countless nights after her parents passed away, she whispered to the man in front of her, her voice calm and gentle: "Don't be afraid, I'm here."

The author has something to say:

I saw a baby suggested that stupid authors put a title hint, so I'll try to write it later QAQ. The main thing is that this is really hard to think of, and it's easy to spoil the plot (fingers)