Two days later, the night completely enveloped the alley behind the Minister of Rites' residence.

A carriage was parked there quietly, almost blending into the night.

After an unknown amount of time, a slender figure came silently with small steps and stopped beside the carriage.

The curtains of the carriage were opened, and in the dim night, Li Mao's profile could be vaguely seen.

"What's the matter? Didn't the recommendation letter come in a few days ago? Why is there no response?"

Li Mao's voice was somewhat angry.

Ma Yan knew that Li Zhengqing was also in the carriage, and explained softly:

"My Lords, the memorial has been submitted, and the Queen Mother is pleased.

But... His Majesty suddenly got angry for some reason and burned the memorial..."

"Burned!?" Li Mao asked him with his eyes wide open.

"Didn't you swear that you knew His Majesty best? Didn't you say His Majesty wanted to get close to the Li family? How could it be burned?"

Ma Yan was flustered and felt a little aggrieved, he cried out:

“This… Your Majesty has become increasingly moody and has a worse temper in recent days.

Even I, the servant, sometimes cannot figure out what Your Majesty is thinking..."

"Waste!" Li Mao cursed in a low voice.

He lowered the curtain angrily, and soon another hand stretched out from the carriage window, with a few golden beans between its fingers.

Li Zhengqing's calm voice came from the carriage:

"It's not easy for Eunuch Ma to leave the palace. Thank you for your hard work. Please continue to keep an eye on it for us."

Ma Yan took the golden beans and thanked Li Zhengqing repeatedly. Seeing that Li Zhengqing had no other instructions, he quietly left along the way he came.

Inside the carriage, Li Mao became increasingly anxious and asked Li Zhengqing:

"Cousin, this little emperor is becoming more and more out of control. He just acts recklessly and can't even tell friend from foe!

If we continue to act like this, maybe one day it will be bad for us..."

Li Zhengqing was silent for a moment, then suddenly asked, "Is there any news from Tongzhou?"

Li Mao said, "We just got the news this afternoon that someone saw a woman with a little girl passing by on the road, heading towards Tongzhou. They should be Zhu Lan and the princess."

Seeing that Li Zhengqing remained silent, Li Mao became even more anxious and urged:

"It's already this late, why are you still hesitating? Didn't we already think of this plan?

If the young emperor really wants to deal with the empress dowager, next month's autumn mountain tour will be the best time.

Now Ayao's child is in Tongzhou, we will bring him back. When the autumn tour comes, if the little emperor really makes a big mistake, we will have a reason to help Ayao's son take the throne.

He has the blood of our Li family flowing in his veins. Isn't he more reliable than the current little emperor?

Don't hesitate, Zhu Lan is running to Tongzhou now, he must be targeting Yan Tiao.

Yan Tiao is our trump card. If it falls into the hands of that woman, all our efforts will be wasted!"

Li Zhengqing knew that Li Mao was right this time.

In the past, there was Tutor Xu by the emperor's side, who could guide and teach him "silently", and Yan Ning trusted Tutor Xu very much.

But now that Master Xu had been caught with evidence, he had no choice but to kill him to silence him.

The emperor was left with only Ma Yan, an illiterate eunuch who might be able to flatter the emperor with slanderous words, but he was still far inferior to Grand Tutor Xu.

After the death of Tutor Xu, the young emperor's character became more unpredictable, and it was unknown when he would suddenly target the Li family.

Rather than letting such an unstable person like Xi Su survive, it would be better to bring back Prince Yan Tiao who is outside Li Yao's palace.

Yan Ning will make mistakes sooner or later. When the day comes when he is completely blinded by hatred and disregards the consequences, that will be the time for me to support a new king.

"I am busy with the Ministry of Rites, this is important, you should go to Tongzhou in person."

After Li Zhengqing said this in a low voice, he took off a ring from his hand and handed it to Li Mao.

Li Mao took the ring and knew that it was a token to recruit Li Zhengqing's secret guards.

His tone was tinged with a hint of cruelty, and he asked:

"What if we run into that Zhu guy?"

Li Zhengqing's voice was indifferent:

"If you encounter them, rob them. If you can't rob them, kill them.

In any case, you must bring Yan Tiao back to the capital alive."

…

Early morning, the palace.

Yan Zheng hurriedly stepped into the Purple Cloud Palace and said respectfully:

"Your humble servant, I pay my respects to Your Majesty."

As soon as he entered the palace today, he heard that the emperor summoned him, so he hurried over from the imperial guards' quarters.

At this time, there were only Yan Zheng and Yan Ning in Ziyun Hall.

Yan Ning stood with his back to Yan Zheng and asked him if everything had been arranged for next month's autumn mountain tour.

Yan Zheng replied that people had been sent to clear the Qiushan enclosure and prepare, and that the royal family members could go to Qiushan smoothly and there was no need to worry about their safety.

Yan Ning suddenly turned around, smiled, and asked him:

"Commander Yan, how loyal are you to me?"

Yan Zheng was stunned and immediately knelt down, saying that his duty was to guard the palace and the safety of the royal family, and that he was willing to go through fire and water for the royal family.

"Are you loyal to the royal family, or to the emperor alone?"

Yan Zheng didn't understand why Yan Ning asked this and didn't know how to answer for a moment.

The Yan family has been favored by the emperor for generations, and the previous emperor also treated them with special respect when he ascended the throne.

In the past, the former commander Xiao Yuan protected the emperor. When the late emperor promoted me, he said that the safety of the royal family would be in my hands. I also kowtowed in front of my father's spirit tablet and swore to be loyal to the Daliang royal family all my life.

But what is the difference between being loyal to the royal family and being loyal to the emperor?

Seeing Yan Zheng looking a little silly, Yan Ning curled her lips and simply asked:

"If someone harms me, what will you do?"

"I swear to protect Your Majesty until my death and to kill the rebels."

"Whoever that person is?"

Yan Zheng nodded vigorously.

"Okay, I'll tell you--" Yan Ning walked to Yan Zheng and said something softly.

Yan Zheng's eyes suddenly widened.