In a short while, Su Moyan entered under the escort of the palace guards. As for Feng Lianru, the Crown Prince's guest, he went directly back to the East Palace. Su Moyan could handle the matter of attending court and reporting on his duties by himself.

Compared to before he left, Su Moyan looked much more weathered. It wasn't because he had done a lot, but mainly because he had traveled all the way from Jinxi back to Jingzhou. It was normal for him to look weathered.

He deliberately didn't go back to the Eastern Palace to tidy up first, so that he could present himself in this most primitive state in front of the civil and military officials and Emperor An, so that people would know how hard he had worked.

"Your subject pays respects to Your Majesty!"

This was the longest Su Moyan had ever been away from Jingzhou in over a month, and the time spent on the formalities was also longer.

"Mo Yan, rise!"

After saying this, An Di looked around and then asked curiously, "Mo Yan, where's President Jing? Did he go home first?"

Emperor An asked the question that the other ministers had wanted to ask, and after hearing his question, they thought it was quite possible. After all, Jing Zhe was never one to play by the rules; it was entirely possible that he would go home and get some sleep before returning to Jingzhou…

"..."

Su Moyan glanced around and felt a pang of sadness, because he noticed that everyone's reaction was similar to Emperor An's; it seemed that no one was paying attention to him, and everyone was waiting for news from Jing Zhe.

He gave a wry smile, knowing that Jing Zhe truly deserved to make them wait, and quickly composed himself.

"Your Majesty! This is outrageous!"

At this moment, Bai Qingyuan spoke first: "President Jing has been away from Jingzhou for so long. The first thing he should do upon returning to the capital is to go to the palace to report on his duties. Instead, he went home on his own. Doesn't that show a lack of respect for His Majesty?"

As the saying goes, a leopard can't change its spots. Jing Zhe will definitely not be able to change his habit of criticizing him when he comes back, so Bai Qingyuan is going to dig some pits for him before he starts criticizing him.

Moreover, what he said was perfectly reasonable. If Jing Zhe had gone home instead of entering the palace, he would have committed a serious offense. At that point, even Yu Sheng and Zhu Xinning couldn't speak up for him.

“Father, Chief Jing is indeed exceptionally capable and has done much for the court. However, if he becomes arrogant and disdainful of the court because of this, it would be going too far. I hope that Father will not tolerate this!”

This time, Su Mowu did not let his confidant fight alone. Instead, he stood up and questioned Jing Zhe together with Bai Qingyuan. Although it was a bit like kicking someone when they were down, no one could find fault with it.

More than a month ago, when Emperor An arranged for Su Moyan to accompany Jing Zhe to Jinxi, Su Mowu felt immense pressure, because he knew that if Su Moyan and his group went smoothly, Su Moyan's prestige would greatly increase, both in and out of the court.

In the past month, the messages sent back by carrier pigeon from Jinxi have all indicated the success of this trip, which is the last thing Su Mowu wanted to see. He naturally couldn't miss this opportunity, and it would be best if he could eventually bring it to Su Moyan!

Thinking this, he glanced sideways at Su Moyan's reaction, only to find that he was not nervous at all, but was actually smiling.

laugh?

Could it be that he had a conflict with Jing Zhe, which is why Jing Zhe went home, and he wanted Jing Zhe to be held accountable?

Upon considering this possibility, Su Mowu suddenly became excited.

Emperor An was somewhat troubled, inwardly cursing Jing Zhe. Why did he have to mess things up at this crucial moment? Why couldn't he go home at any other time? Why did he have to give them a handle to use against him now?

But with so many ministers in front of him, he couldn't show favoritism, so he could only bite the bullet and ask, "Mo Yan, what's going on? Has President Jing really gone home?"

"Father, no."

Su Moyan glanced at Su Mowu and smiled, "Your subject parted ways with President Jing in Jinxi. Your subject returned to Jingzhou, while President Jing went to Liangzhou. He heard in Jinxi that the barbarians of the Western Frontier had launched another large-scale attack, and the war in Liangzhou was critical. President Jing was concerned about the safety of the people of Liangzhou, so he went to check on them! Because President Jing left in a hurry, your subject forgot to tell Father Emperor in the letter. Please punish me, Father Emperor!"

"..."

Emperor An looked at Su Moyan and narrowed his eyes.

Was Jing Zhe leaving in a hurry?

Even if it's urgent, it won't stop Su Moyan from sending another message by carrier pigeon, right?

However, he did not pass on the message, and did not even report it to the Golden Palace. Instead, he waited until Su Mowu and Bai Qingyuan jumped out to criticize him before suddenly revealing it, thus slapping them in the face.

Su Moyan would never have thought of such an operation before, but he knows it now. Does this mean that he learned this method during his trip to Jinxi with Jing Zhe?

Thinking of this, Emperor An felt somewhat gratified.

A ruler of a country should be benevolent, but he also needs to be shrewd and resourceful. Su Moyan was too benevolent and lacked cunning. Emperor An sent him to follow Jing Zhe, largely because he hoped that Su Moyan could learn a little bit of Jing Zhe's skills.

In retrospect, the benefits are significant!

Emperor An was very pleased and thought that he should let him learn more from Jing Zhe in the future.

Then he laughed and said, "So that's how it is! I knew it! President Jing has never been such a reckless and impolite person. How could he do something so rude?"

After saying this, Emperor An felt it necessary to send a message to Jing Zhe by carrier pigeon, instructing him to come directly to the palace upon his return—because he knew Jing Zhe was indeed capable of all sorts of disrespectful acts…

Su Moyan nodded and smiled, "Father, your son and I gained a lot from our trip to Jinxi. Most importantly, the court had previously struggled to establish contact with the major sects, but this time, President Jing directly secured the position of Martial Arts Alliance Leader and promised..."

So Su Moyan recounted everything Jing Zhe had done in Jinxi, and the officials listened with amazement.

Winning the title of leader of the martial arts alliance is impressive enough, but Jing Zhe can also immediately come up with the idea of ​​cooperating with major sects through the integration of newspapers, Wenxiangju, and wineries. It has to be said that this is very Jing Zhe. Within the vast An Kingdom, apart from him, the ministers can't think of anyone else who can do such an amazing thing!

"Excellent, excellent, excellent!"

Emperor An said "That's right" three times, his heart filled with joy.

When Jing Zhe founded the newspaper, he was already amazed by his talent. If he did it well, it would surely bring about earth-shattering changes to education in Anguo. Now that he has been able to contact the major sects, if this can be accomplished, what will Anguo have to fear from foreign enemies in the future?

Bai Qingyuan was the most annoyed that he had not only failed to discourage Jing Zhe, but had instead showered him with praise.

No sooner had Emperor An finished speaking than Bai Qingyuan stood up again: "Your Majesty, there is no longer any fighting in Liangzhou, so where does this talk of a tense situation come from? Chief Jing is definitely using the pretense of caring for the people of Liangzhou to satisfy his own selfish desires! He has not only deceived His Highness the Crown Prince, but also Your Majesty and all the officials. Your Majesty, he should be punished!"

"..."

————