The ministers all knelt on the ground and said in unison: "The army has returned victorious with the Emperor's blessing. Long live the Emperor."
"Everyone, stand up." The emperor's smile faded a little, and he disapproved, "It wasn't my blessing. It was General Jin and Luo'er and their group who charged forward. How can this be considered my achievement?"
The prince smiled and stepped forward. "Your Majesty, your words are absolutely right. This smooth journey is inseparable from every person who went to the border."
The emperor stood up and said, "That's all for today. I'm dismissing the court."
Eunuch Cao followed behind the emperor. When he saw the emperor turn his head, he quickly replied, "Your Majesty, today is the third day since the little princess received the letter."
The emperor looked at him with a smile, but was not annoyed.
"You answered before I even asked. I wanted you to call the Crown Prince and Prime Minister Li to the Imperial Study."
Eunuch Cao choked and said, "I know my crime. I ask the emperor to punish me."
"Alright," the emperor waved his hand, "I don't blame you, go ahead."
After Eunuch Cao left, the emperor sighed and went to the imperial study.
How come only three days have passed? He feels like several days have passed.
…
When the Crown Prince and Prime Minister Li were led into the Imperial Study, the Emperor was confirming the date of Yu Yiluo's letter.
"Greetings to the Emperor/Father."
The emperor put away the letter and asked the two to stand up.
"Lord Li, how is Min Qiu doing?"
Prime Minister Li bowed and said, "Your Majesty, we have done everything you ordered. We have someone keeping an eye on it."
The emperor nodded, "That's good. We must confirm whether there are any accomplices."
After letting Prime Minister Li leave, the Emperor looked at the Crown Prince again and said, "I called you here to discuss your wedding. I had planned to hold it last month, but this incident happened. Now that the border situation has been settled, it's time for your wedding to take place."
The prince said respectfully, "It's all up to the emperor, father."
The emperor glanced at him and said with some displeasure, "If you leave everything up to me, Luo'er will say I don't understand you."
Seeing that the prince looked unsure how to respond, the emperor continued, "Forget it, your temper is just like that."
The prince: “…”
Is there anything wrong with his answer?
"Your Majesty, it's not that you don't understand me. I know that your Majesty chose the Crown Princess for me after careful consideration."
The emperor nodded with satisfaction.
"It's good that you know. You are the crown prince. Unlike the princes, I won't stop them from marrying women as long as their family background is clean. But you can't. If you marry a crown princess who doesn't know the big picture, how can you be worthy of being the mother of a country?"
"Your Majesty, I understand your father's painstaking efforts."
The Crown Princess is the face of the royal family, and the Crown Prince did not deny the Emperor's statement.
"After you marry the Crown Princess, I will not care whether you take a concubine or not."
This would prevent Luo'er from making up stories about him, saying that she herself didn't want to enter the harem and was trying to force concubines on her brother, the Crown Prince.
The prince looked at the emperor in surprise, then returned to his normal expression and thanked him.
"Don't look at me in surprise," the emperor motioned him to sit down and said slowly, "When I was the crown prince, my father didn't love me and my mother didn't care. The late emperor made the decision about my marriage, and it wasn't my decision at all."
It was precisely because he had experienced all this that he wanted the Crown Prince to do his best to choose a Crown Princess that he was comfortable with, without having the freedom to choose.
As Luo'er said, the other sons all married the girls they loved, and sometimes he felt that he was indeed a little sorry for his eldest son.
"Thank you, Father."
The prince had a genuine smile on his face and stood up to personally serve tea to the emperor.
"I have heard from Madam Chang what happened to you, my father, in the past. Compared to you, my father, I am already very content."
Although he cannot do as he pleases in many things, his father always considers him as much as possible.
"Truth?"
The emperor looked up at the prince and asked with a smile.
The prince also responded with a smile, "From the bottom of my heart."
…
September 16th.
The emperor led a group of ministers to the palace gate to welcome Yu Yiluo and his entourage back to Beijing.
Before the person arrived, the emperor had already looked around countless times.
"Why haven't they arrived yet? Didn't they say they were entering the city?"
Eunuch Cao smiled and said, "After entering the city, we still have to go through the market before reaching the palace. It should be soon."
The emperor narrowed his eyes slightly and was about to sit down when he saw the deputy commander of the imperial guards coming quickly.
"Your Majesty, General Jin and his men are about to arrive."
Sure enough, not long after the deputy commander of the Imperial Guards retreated, the sound of horse hooves was heard in front.
The emperor looked up and saw Yu Yiluo waving happily at him among the crowd.
The corners of his mouth twitched, and then he suppressed the smile when he thought of Yu Yiluo leaving without saying goodbye.
[Why is Dad still so grim after winning the battle? Was he threatened by Min Qiu?]
[That shouldn't be the case. Isn't Min Qiu under Zi Yang and Lin Qi's surveillance? ]
emperor:"……"
Jin Ting'an and his entourage arrived not far from the palace gate, dismounted, stepped forward and knelt down to pay their respects.
The emperor waved his hand for everyone to stand up, and the ministers behind him bowed and said, "Welcome General Jin and his soldiers back in triumph."
"Thank you, my Lords."
"Alright, alright, everyone, stop being so polite," the emperor interrupted them. "You've all been exhausted from the journey. Go back and rest first, and report to me tomorrow on the relevant matters."
"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your grace."
At this time, the sound of galloping horses was heard.
Everyone's expression changed and they looked forward, only to see Min Qiu and four others riding towards them.
The horse's hooves kicked up a cloud of dust. They stopped beside Jin Ting'an, dismounted, and walked straight towards Li Yunhe.
Li Yunhe looked at his master, who was both familiar and unfamiliar to him, and greeted him politely.
"Master."
Min Qiu looked at her, with a hint of anxiety on his face, "Where's Lou Qing?"
If he had not learned from Prime Minister Li that Tianqi had won a great victory, he would not have known that Lou Qing and Tianqi had already started fighting.
He clearly said that now is not the time.
"Dead."
Li Yunhe's expression did not change at all, and he was extremely calm when he said this.
"Dead?"
Min Qiu staggered and stared at Li Yunhe, "Did you kill him?"
Li Yunhe didn't say anything, but Min Qiu already knew the answer.
"Can I ask Master a question?"
Min Qiu had not yet recovered from the news of Lou Qing's death and did not answer.
"Master, why did you help Lou Qing? Aren't you the one who hates to see war? Why did you take the initiative to provoke a war, test drugs on innocent people, and even threaten their families?"
The ministers behind the emperor who were unaware of the situation were shocked when they heard this.
Min Qiu drew the sword of his subordinate, and the people around him hurriedly shouted, "Protect the emperor."
Li Yunhe saw Min Qiu draw out his sword and still stand there. He looked at Min Qiu steadily, waiting for him to give him an answer.
Min Qiu picked up the sword and walked closer to him. When everyone thought that Min Qiu was going to attack Li Yunhe, they saw Min Qiu put the sword in Li Yunhe's hand.
"It's meaningless to say anything now, just kill me."
A wry smile appeared on his old face and he closed his eyes.
"Master, do you think I dare not kill you?"
The knuckles of Li Yunhe's fingers holding the sword turned white, and complex emotions surged in his eyes.
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