After leaving the palace, Mu Chen bowed and thanked Li Yunhe.
"Thank you, Master Li, for speaking for me just now."
Li Yunhe raised his eyebrows slightly and said in a gentle voice, "Your Majesty already had this intention. Editor Mu, there is no need to thank me."
After saying that, he turned around and got on the carriage.
The carriage sped away in a cloud of dust. Mu Chen withdrew his gaze and got into the carriage with Qingyuan Hou.
The two were silent for a while, and Mu Chen spoke first.
"Uncle, it is indeed me who has caused trouble to the Marquis' Mansion this time."
My uncle has been working diligently these years, fearing that the Marquis' Mansion would become a target of gossip. As a result, because of my cousin's incident, the Marquis' Mansion almost became the target of public criticism.
Marquis Qingyuan sighed and patted his shoulder.
"Now that it has happened, there's no point in blaming yourself. You should thank the Emperor for his wisdom."
Yes, if it weren’t for the emperor’s wisdom, this matter would not have been exposed so easily.
Mu Chen raised his eyes and looked at Qingyuan Hou, "I will not let the emperor down in tomorrow's assessment."
"Do you really understand the emperor's intentions?"
Marquis Qingyuan withdrew his hand and leaned back towards the carriage. "Then do you understand why the emperor knew about this in advance, but allowed Xu Xiaoxiao to continue doing this?"
This question stumped Mu Chen. He thought for a while and shook his head.
"I don't know."
"Firstly, even if this didn't happen, if you actually passed the exam, others would still question you about your relationship with Master Shi."
“Secondly, for those who achieve great things, the people around them are also crucial.”
Mu Chen pursed his lips and said, "Thank you, uncle, for your advice. Once this is over, I will send Xiaoxiao back home. My parents have already agreed."
As they were talking, the carriage had already arrived at the Marquis's Mansion.
"My Lord, there are many people gathered outside."
The driver stopped the carriage and spoke.
Marquis Qingyuan lifted the curtain of the sedan chair and got off the carriage with Mu Chen. As soon as they got off the carriage, the noise at the door reached their ears.
"The person is back."
Someone in the crowd shouted, and everyone looked towards the two of them.
"They are from the Beijing Defense Camp."
Mu Chen glanced at the people gathered at the door and recognized that the leader was Lin Shan, the leader of the Beijing Defense Camp.
Qingyuan Hou sneered, "Yan Fan and Lin Shan are really impatient."
Unfortunately, you can’t eat hot tofu in a hurry.
Lin Shan noticed the two of them and strode towards them.
"My Lord," Lin Shan walked up to Marquis Qingyuan and gave a perfunctory bow, then stood up without waiting for him to speak.
Marquis Qingyuan raised his eyes and glanced at the people gathered outside the mansion. He asked knowingly, "You brought so many people to the mansion, but do you have something to ask me?"
Lin Shan's face was filled with astonishment. "It's already been spread around the world that the Marquis's nephew bribed Lord Shi, who set the exam questions, before the test. Did the Marquis really not know about this?"
He finished speaking to himself and laughed.
"It doesn't matter if you don't know, Your Majesty. I will explain it to you slowly."
Although he called himself a subordinate, there was no sign of respect on his face.
"Oh," Qingyuan Hou said, his tone drawn out, without getting annoyed. "So the people from the Beijing Defense Battalion are here to ask if I'm alright? I thank you all for your concern."
The people following Lin Shan exchanged glances with each other, all with confused expressions.
Didn’t Chief Lin tell them that he would take them to accomplish great things and restore the Beijing Defense Camp to its former glory?
Could it be that what Chief Lin meant by doing something big was to bring them here to please Marquis Qingyuan?
Everyone in the Beijing Defense Camp knew that they had only one master, and that was King Yan Fan of Liang, the one who allowed them to walk all over the capital.
Since the Beijing Defense Camp was handed over to the Marquis of Qingyuan, they could no longer walk around the capital, let alone approach the imperial palace.
Seeing that Qingyuan Hou was still playing Tai Chi with him, Lin Shan simply stopped pretending.
"My Lord is a smart man. There's no need to joke around at this time."
Marquis Qingyuan smiled slightly, then looked surprised.
"If you didn't bring the people from the Beijing Defense Camp to comfort me, what do you want to do?"
"According to the laws of Tianqi, your nephew is suspected of bribing the examiner, and you should also be interrogated to determine if you are involved in this matter. While the matter is being thoroughly investigated, you have no right to control the brothers in the Beijing Defense Camp."
Lin Shan stared at Qingyuan Hou and raised his chin slightly.
"My Lord, am I right?"
"The Emperor hasn't made a final decision on this matter yet. You, the Beijing Defense Battalion, are being a little too anxious."
Mu Chen couldn't stand it anymore and retorted.
"Is it true that your wife went to the Shi Mansion?"
Lin Shan glanced at Mu Chen and said quietly, "Although our Capital Defense Camp no longer controls the capital's security, we cannot allow a marquis of such bad character to take over."
He turned and looked at the other members of the Beijing Defense Battalion behind him, and said loudly, "Everyone agree, don't you?"
The people behind him had always listened to Lin Shan, and when they heard what he said, they spoke up and agreed loudly.
"Yeah, I don't agree."
"My Lord," Lin Shan raised his hand to signal everyone to stop, and said with some pride: "Look, no one wants you to continue to be in charge of the Beijing Defense Camp."
"Not to mention that the Beijing Defense Battalion disagrees, even we ordinary people can't stand it."
I don't know who among the people took the lead in saying this, and the others who were watching the fun also started shouting loudly.
"Marquis Qingyuan is not worthy of being in charge of the Beijing Defense Camp."
This was the scene the prince saw when he came with the imperial guards. The imperial guards isolated the noisy people on the street and brought the leader before the prince.
"Your Highness, this person was the first to start shouting."
The prince looked at the middle-aged man in front of him.
"Take the person down first."
After saying that, he walked towards Qingyuan Hou and his men.
"Greetings to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."
The group knelt down and saluted, saying in unison.
"Everyone, get up. No need to be so polite."
The prince said as his eyes fell on Lin Shan.
Lin Shan felt his scalp tingling under the prince's scrutinizing gaze. He lowered his eyes slightly, wondering why the prince had come.
Could it be that the prince is here to deal with the matter of Mu Chen bribing Lord Shi?
"Lin Shan, you led the people from the Beijing Defense Battalion to gather and cause trouble in front of the Marquis's residence. Do you know what your crime is?"
When the other people in the Beijing Defense Camp saw the prince appear, they all shut their mouths in disappointment. After hearing what the prince said, some of the timid ones even moved back.
It seemed as if he wanted to distance himself from Lin Shan.
Lin Shan took in the actions of these people, cursed in his heart, and said:
"Your Highness, I am not gathering a crowd to cause trouble. According to Tianqi's laws, Your Highness can no longer lead the Beijing Defense Camp. It is neither morally nor logically appropriate."
"It seems that you are very familiar with the laws of Tianqi," the prince's voice was gentle, making Lin Shan unable to guess whether the words were a compliment or an insult.
He lowered his head slightly and replied, "Everyone should be familiar with the laws of Tianqi."
The prince nodded in agreement and asked, "Then tell me, who is suitable to take charge of the Beijing Defense Camp?"
"I don't know."
"I don't know?" The prince said calmly, "Let me think for you." "What do you think of General Jin?"
Lin Shan was stunned. Isn’t General Jin in Yueqing?
Is he back?
They staged this act because they calculated that Jin Ting'an was not in the capital, with the purpose of letting King Liang take over their Beijing Defense Camp.
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