The emperor's reign is short-lived; Zhang Zhongwei is the most experienced in this regard.
Before long, the emperor would call him, and he would have to wait for the emperor to send the little palace maid away and serve the emperor water before he could rest.
He counted silently in his mind, and had already reached fifty. It should be soon, so he immediately ordered someone to prepare water.
The young eunuch ran over from afar and saw that the lights in the emperor's bedroom were indeed on.
Upon arriving at the entrance of the Emperor's sleeping quarters, they saw Chief Eunuch Zhang standing guard at the door. The young eunuch bowed and cautiously asked, "Eunuch Zhang, has His Majesty retired for the night?"
Zhang Zhongwei gave him a disapproving look. Couldn't they hear him shouting so loudly in the bedroom?
This palace maid is really good at getting things done; she knows perfectly well that the emperor doesn't...
Sigh, and they're still cooperating so well.
Zhang Zhongwei whispered, "Don't you even know what time it is? His Majesty needs to rest after he's done. Don't you know His Majesty hasn't been sleeping well these past few days?"
The eunuch turned pale with fright and immediately knelt down, not daring to utter a sound.
As they were talking, things quieted down inside.
"Zhang Zhongwei," the old emperor called from inside.
Zhang Zhongwei pushed open the door and went in, then ordered the eunuchs who were carrying water to quickly carry the water in.
"Your Majesty, let this old servant wipe your body."
The old emperor's breathing had calmed down, but there was still sweat on his forehead and a lingering sense of satisfaction behind his ears.
He hummed in agreement and glanced at the little palace maid huddled under the covers, her exposed arms and neck covered in red marks.
He pinched her.
Very satisfied.
He said, "You can come and serve me again tomorrow."
The young palace maid timidly replied "yes," put on a robe, got up, and left through the side door.
She should have known better than to shout so loudly. She was just a young virgin, and she hadn't even felt anything before the emperor finished.
Zhang Zhongwei dared not look up, focusing only on wiping the old emperor's body and dressing him in his undergarments.
Outside the palace, the young eunuch was extremely anxious, pacing back and forth and peering inside, but the door to the emperor's sleeping quarters was closed by Zhang Zhongwei.
The old emperor frowned when he saw the silhouette of a figure swaying back and forth in the dim light reflected on the palace gate: "Go out and see if Liang Zhiyun has returned."
Zhang Zhongwei rushed out and kicked him angrily: "What is it?"
The young eunuch endured the excruciating pain in his knees. For some reason, Eunuch Zhang had been in a particularly bad mood lately, constantly scolding and hitting them: "Prince An, Prince An is here. He wants to go to the palace to see the Emperor."
Prince An? In the dead of night, could something have gone wrong during the bandit suppression?
"Have you seen Lord Liang of the Five Cities Garrison?"
The young eunuch immediately shook his head: "No, I didn't see him. Only His Highness Prince An and his two guards."
"Let Prince An in," the old emperor's voice came from inside the hall.
Zhang Zhongwei kicked the eunuch again: "Did you hear me? Hurry up and go."
The poor little eunuch had been kicked in both knees and couldn't run away after getting up, but he didn't dare to delay and limped toward the palace gate despite the pain.
Lu Xiaoyun stood tall and proud, not moving an inch at the palace gate. The imperial guards, who were usually dozing off, straightened their backs without realizing it.
The palace gates opened wide, and Lu Xiaoyun quickly stepped inside.
The smell inside the imperial bedchamber had long since dissipated.
Inside, an underfloor heating system was running, and the old emperor, dressed in his undergarments, sat on the edge of the bed.
After entering the palace, Lu Xiaoyun warmed herself up at the entrance before stepping forward and saying, "Your subject greets Your Majesty."
The old emperor adjusted his half-open robe: "Hmm, coming to the palace so late at night, is there something you need?"
Lu Xiaoyun believed that the old emperor couldn't possibly be unaware of her trip to Xizilin with the guards from the Prince An's residence to suppress bandits.
She said, "Yes, there were more than 2,300 bandits in total. 1,221 of them were killed. The rest are guarded by the Prince An's guards. Your son has come to ask for your decree on how to deal with these bandits."
"The guards of Prince An's mansion? Where is Liang Zhiyun? Where are the men from the Five Cities Garrison?" The old emperor's cloudy eyes scrutinized Lu Xiaoyun.
"Your Majesty, I arrived late. By the time I found out, Lord Liang and all the soldiers of the Five Cities Garrison had already died in battle."
"Killed in battle!" The old emperor sat bolt upright. "Zhu Yu, you're saying they all died in battle?!"
Lu Xiaoyun stood up straight and said without any guilt, "Yes, Father, they all died in battle, not one was spared."
The old emperor's gloomy eyes fell on Lu Xiaoyun's face, staring intently, as if trying to discern some other trace from her expression.
"Zhu Yu!" The old emperor's face was ashen. "If there is even the slightest falsehood, then he is deceiving the emperor!"
"Yes, Your Majesty, I would never dare to deceive you. It is only natural that Lord Liang and his men were no match for the large number of bandits."
"A bunch of rabble, how could they possibly kill Liang Zhiyun? Do you even know he was the top martial arts champion back in the day!"
Lu Xiaoyun naturally knew this, as there were records about Liang Zhiyun in the study.
"Thirty years have passed. Lord Liang is getting old and has been confined to Shengjing for so many years, neglecting his training. It is normal that he is no match for him now that he has met his opponent."
Lu Xiaoyun spoke in a consistently indifferent tone.
The old emperor's gaze swept over Lu Xiaoyun several times before he said coldly, "And you, didn't you say you couldn't use force for the next two or three years?"
Lu Xiaoyun gritted her teeth. Ha, what a good father.
She said, "The bandits robbed the people and killed the innocent. Although I was injured, it is my duty to share the burden for Father. Therefore, I was also injured. The guards and secret guards of Prince An's mansion suffered heavy losses this time, and they risked their lives to protect me."
The old emperor's gaze fell on her arm, noticing the thick bandages wrapped around it, before he said, "So, not long after Liang Zhiyun and the others died in battle, you arrived with the people from the Prince of An's mansion?"
"yes."
The old emperor looked into Lu Xiaoyun's eyes and slowly said, "You timed it well. Those bandits had just fought with the Five Cities Garrison and were exhausted. Fourth brother, you know how to pick your time."
Lu Xiaoyun gritted her teeth. If this man wasn't a dog emperor, she would have slapped him. She didn't know how, of all the sons of the late emperor who fought alongside him to conquer the country, only this one son was left, allowing him to sit on the dragon throne without any suspense.
Hearing the father and son talking like that, Zhang Zhongwei was so shocked that cold sweat broke out on his back. He looked at one of them and then at the other, feeling uneasy.
Your Highness Prince An, if you just soften your stance, say a few nice words to the Emperor, and flatter him, this matter will be over.
Learn from His Highness the Crown Prince and His Highness the Third Prince.
"I will have someone investigate this matter thoroughly."
"Father, what should be done with the more than one thousand bandits who surrendered?"
The old emperor's gloomy eyes were fixed on Lu Xiaoyun's face: "Do you have to ask me for permission for such a small matter? How did you deal with those prisoners when we were on the northwestern border?"
Lu Xiaoyun was speechless. The surrendered prisoners were soldiers of the enemy country, so naturally they were used to exchange for cities and compensation. But these were bandits, who were, after all, subjects of the Great Zhou.
She took a deep breath: "Report to Father Emperor, exchange cities, exchange for compensation, if all else fails, kill them."
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