Chapter 206: In the court, father and daughter have their own thoughts

What Xie Yao was wearing was not the sixth-rank official uniform of the Xihe Camp Captain, but the dark blue robe belonging to the Border Army Major General Gu Dao, with a silver-white light armor on the outside.

Everyone suddenly remembered that the title of Major General Gu Dao was a nickname for the general's apprentice, not a specific official title.

In fact, two years ago, Gu Dao was appointed as the fourth-rank General of the Border Army by the emperor because of his military achievements.

Her face was cold and distant, her phoenix eyes seemed to be focused on the moonlight and frost, and her light armor was shining with a cold light in the morning light.

Xie Yao glanced around, and the officials who had previously discussed her female identity all lowered their heads.

After confirming with their eyes, they knew that this was someone they couldn't beat.

Soon, Eunuch Qing's voice rang out: "The Emperor has arrived—"

The officials folded their hands in front of their chests and bowed.

Because Xie Yao had to push the prince's wheelchair, she was almost standing in front of the officials.

She glanced to her side and saw that the general who had been drinking yesterday also came to the court as promised today and stood at the head of the generals.

General Gu's cold eyes swept across the hall, and those who were stared at by him subconsciously shrank their necks.

Some people were worried and thought to themselves that the general and Princess Jingbei were indeed master and disciple, as their eyes were both equally sharp.

Prince Jingbei and General Gu both arrived, and the weather during the morning court session suddenly became a little colder.

Xie Yao raised her eyes again and saw that opposite her was Pei Jun, the Minister of Revenue, who was wearing a crimson official uniform and had a handsome appearance like a banished immortal.

Minister Pei nodded slightly to her, his smile gentle and graceful.

This is so pleasing to the eye.

Prince Jingbei suddenly turned his head, tugged at Xie Yao's fingertips, and said in a low voice, "Ayao, my legs hurt a little."

The prince has been taking medicine to treat his legs every day these days. Although he still cannot stand up, his legs have regained feeling, so he often suffers from excruciating pain at night and has difficulty falling asleep.

Xie Yao's fingers were being pulled by the prince. Upon hearing this, she hurriedly took out the pill prepared by the housekeeper from her sleeve and watched the prince carefully as he took it.

"Does it still hurt?" she asked softly, deeply concerned about her own prince who was in poor health, frail, unable to take care of himself and had difficulty walking.

"It still hurts a little. Go back and ask the princess to blow on it."

The prince said in a voice that only she could hear.

Xie Yao's ears suddenly felt hot.

Her mind couldn't help but recall that day when the prince asked her to sit on his lap and they kissed.

She looked at Xiao Yizi's lips, and couldn't help but recall the past over and over again in her mind. She could no longer pay attention to Minister Pei.

However, this was the morning court session. Why was she so obsessed with the prince's lips in such a serious situation?

As soon as the morning court began, the Minister of Personnel could not wait to stand up. He was a disciple of the Prime Minister and also a follower of the Empress Dowager.

"Your Majesty! Prime Minister Jiang is a pillar of the nation, having assisted the late emperor for many years with unwavering loyalty. Now, he is being imprisoned based solely on the general's one-sided statement. I'm afraid it will be difficult to convince the public. Your Majesty, please release the Prime Minister and investigate the truth!"

As soon as he finished speaking, several more officials came out.

"Your Majesty, the Queen Mother is the mother of a nation. The guilty minister Xie Ming'an colluded with the Queen Mother's maids to assassinate Princess Jingbei. What does this have to do with the Queen Mother? Your Majesty, please make a decision for the Queen Mother!"

"Yes, Your Majesty! The princess was assassinated. It was clearly the remnants of Prince Rui who were responsible. How can you pin the blame on the Queen Mother? Besides, the princess was not..."

The official who spoke glanced at Xie Yao and swallowed the words "Are you okay?"

Xiao Yizi sneered, his voice neither too loud nor too low: "The collusion between the maids in the Queen Mother's palace and Xie Ming'an is naturally not solid evidence. What if the leader of the assassins who tried to assassinate the princess was Eunuch Jiang, the head eunuch beside the Queen Mother?"

A cold smile flashed across his peach blossom eyes. "Eunuch Jiang is drinking tea in my palace right now. Do you need me to summon you?"

As soon as these words were spoken, the hall fell into dead silence.

Some of the Empress Dowager's followers cursed in their hearts, saying that the Empress Dowager could assassinate anyone if she wanted, but she had to send the eunuchs around her.

The key point is that not only did the assassination attempt fail, but the eunuch was not dead yet and was caught by King Jingbei.

Gu Zhaotang stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, Xie Yao is not only the Princess of Jingbei, but also the Lieutenant General of the Border Army of Dayan. She was stationed at the border, fighting bloody battles with the enemy, protecting the vast land of Dayan. Now she has been assassinated in the capital. General Su Huai'en, the Tiger Guard, found hundreds of pieces of military equipment in the Prime Minister's Mansion yesterday. Are the Jiang family's secret hoarding of military equipment a sign of rebellion?"

He paused, his eyes becoming sharper as he looked at the officials who still wanted to plead for the Queen Mother.

"Your Highness and I are protecting Great Yan and safeguarding the integrity of the court. But if the generals leading the troops in battle are being murdered by treacherous officials within the court, wouldn't that chill the hearts of all the soldiers? In the future, who would fight for the country? Who would dare to risk their lives for Great Yan?"

"I beg your Majesty! Severely punish the treacherous and bring justice to the General of the Central Army!"

"I beg your pardon! If the Jiang family and the Queen Mother are not dealt with, the border troops will be in turmoil!"

As soon as Gu Zhaotang finished speaking, the generals in the hall stepped forward at the same time and knelt on one knee to ask for orders.

As military generals, they respected Gu Zhaotang and admired Xie Yao's achievements as Gu Dao. This had nothing to do with gender.

The Queen Mother's followers who still wanted to defend themselves were instantly silenced.

The emperor sat on the dragon throne, his expression becoming increasingly solemn.

He looked at Gu Zhaotang, then at the generals and Xie Yao kneeling on the ground, his fingers unconsciously stroking the armrests of the dragon throne.

It was only yesterday that the emperor found out that Xie Yao was Gu Dao.

But he couldn't punish him because two years ago, the general even took the initiative to send a message saying that his apprentice Gu Dao was indifferent to fame and fortune and only wanted to be a general and did not need any rewards. It was he who insisted on giving him the position of General of the Central Army.

Moreover, women from Yan State can join the army. The Xihe Camp was originally under the command of the general. The general had no children, so he accepted Xie Yao from the Xihe Camp as his disciple, not as his adopted son or daughter. What could he say?

If he had known everything earlier, he would never have let Xie Yao marry Xiao Yizi.

Things have come to this point, he can't just let them get divorced.

Xie Yao met the emperor's scrutinizing gaze and said in a cold voice, "Your Majesty, I have found out that the assassinations of Marquis Anping and the eldest princess were not carried out by the remnants of Prince Rui, but were also orchestrated by the Queen Mother!"

"You're talking nonsense!" Someone else from the Queen Mother's group spoke up.

"When the eldest princess was assassinated, the Queen Mother was in the palace. The Marquis of Anping was her own son. The Queen Mother went crazy and assassinated him!"

Xie Yao: "The Queen Mother is certainly not crazy, but she wants to put the blame on the Emperor to arouse Anping Hou's ambition and sow discord between Anping Hou and the Jade Emperor."

"Nonsense, right? I have a witness," she said with a cold look in her eyes. "The former wife of the Marquis of Anping, the Princess of Anhe County, Jiang Congyan, is outside the palace right now. She's still alive, which is enough to prove that the Western Rong who assassinated her were ordered by the Queen Mother."

"What?! The Marquis is still alive?"

"The assassins of Marquis Anping and the Princess were from the Western Rong. Does that mean the Queen Mother is collaborating with the Western Rong? This is a grave crime punishable by the extermination of nine generations of her clan!"

The hall was in an uproar again, and the officials' discussions were even louder than before. In the end, it fell into dead silence.

The Queen Mother's followers turned pale and could no longer utter a word in defense.

The Queen Mother's followers: So you are telling us that the Queen Mother attempted assassination three times but failed to kill anyone?

The emperor narrowed his eyes. Long before, the eldest princess had told him Xie Yao's speculation about the assassination of Marquis Anping, but he didn't know that Jiang Congyan was still alive.

With the evidence irrefutable, the Emperor sneered, "Well, what a good Empress Dowager! Princess Anhe is her own niece, yet she is so cruel."

At this time, a graceful figure came out.

Pei Jun stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, this guilty minister, Xie Ming'an, previously served as a fourth-rank minister alongside me, yet he was able to bribe the former Minister of Rites with a thousand taels of gold. I heard that during yesterday's house search, several account books were seized. This man once bribed the rebel Li Jun. Xie Ming'an is deeply involved with the Empress Dowager. So, is the Empress Dowager also implicated by Li Jun?"

The emperor's expression suddenly changed. Prince Rui Li Jun was the person he hated the most.

Eunuch Qing presented a stack of account books found in Xie Ming'an's secret room to the emperor.

Since the matter involved Li Jun, the emperor frowned even more tightly.

His original intention was to use Xiao Yizi and Gu Zhaotang to get rid of the Jiang family, but he didn't expect the Queen Mother to be so deeply involved.

He is the emperor, how could he listen to the words of the court officials so easily?

Although the empress dowager was not his biological mother, she was the empress dowager after all. If he deposed her easily, he, the emperor, would be known as mean and ungrateful.

A voice came from outside the palace: "The Princess of the State has arrived——"

Everyone looked sideways and saw the eldest princess, dressed in a scarlet palace dress, walking into the hall with steady steps.

Her phoenix eyes looked down upon him, her face slightly pale. "I pay my respects to Your Majesty."

"Royal sister."

The emperor stood up with a complicated tone.

He invited his sister back to Beijing to attend the court, with the intention of competing with the empress dowager.

Unexpectedly, Xie Yao was appreciated by the imperial sister and had saved her life. Xiao Ruhui, who ignored the affairs of the court, also wanted to seek justice for her. Even the great general Gu Zhaotang rushed thousands of miles back to Beijing to settle accounts with the murderer who assassinated her.

Three people who should have had no relationship with each other stood together because of Xie Yao.

Xie Yao looked at the eldest princess for a while, and then at her master.

General Gu's eyes have never left the eldest princess since she appeared.

It has been many years since I last saw this woman.

Today, I am a famous cavalry general in Dayan.

She was also a good person. The old emperor of Yong State died years ago. After her husband's death, she became the eldest princess with great power as soon as she returned to Beijing.

He, Gu Zhaotang, is no longer the Prince Gu whom she always called a waste.

Li Xiangyi is no longer the little princess who was extremely beautiful but neglected.

The eldest princess wore a jade belt around her waist, a jade pendant with a phoenix pattern, and a sachet embroidered with gold. Only she could wear such a warm and bright red color and look noble and cool.

Gu Zhaotang, however, was in the solemn court, remembering her untying the jade belt and gently kissing the scar on his chest...