"Thank you, Your Majesty! Thank you, Your Highness the Crown Prince and Your Highness the Second Prince!" This time, the Duke of Zhenguo did not refuse and was helped into the carriage by Xie Chang'an.
Afterwards, everyone mounted their horses. Half of the Eastern Palace Guards led the way, followed by Ye Jingchen, with Ye Jingming on his left and Xie Chang'an on his right, half a horse's length behind Ye Jingming. Then came the Zhenguo Duke's carriage, surrounded by six personal guards, and finally the remaining half of the Eastern Palace Guards. The group returned to the capital in a grand procession.
The Crown Prince's guards wore uniforms, and the capital city had no shortage of observant and knowledgeable people. When Ye Jingchen led dozens of Crown Prince's guards out of the city, they had already attracted a lot of attention.
The pomp and circumstance displayed on the way back to the capital drew the attention of everyone on the official road.
The fact that His Highness the Crown Prince personally came out of the city to greet them, and that the six guards were still wearing military armor, made it easy to guess the identities of the people in the carriage.
"The guardian deity of the Great Abyss has returned!"
Some people guessed the identity of the Duke of Zhenguo and excitedly discussed it with their companions, which then attracted even more people.
Before they even reached the city gate, a large number of people spontaneously followed behind their group.
These people met on the official road, and after learning that the person in the carriage was the Duke of Zhenguo, they followed behind him on their own.
When they arrived at the city gate, even more people followed behind the carriage or surrounded it.
At this moment, Ye Jingchen saw the old lady, the Duchess, and the Crown Prince's wife waiting at the city gate.
Unfortunately, they were already surrounded by too many people. If they stopped now, the Duke of Zhenguo would be overwhelmed by the crowd as soon as he appeared.
Moreover, it's unknown whether there are any ill-intentioned individuals among these people.
Therefore, they cannot dismount, and the carriage cannot stop.
The first group of guards from the Eastern Palace had already taken a step forward and communicated with the soldiers guarding the city gate. They were allowed to enter the city, but those following them and behind them still needed to undergo routine checks.
Although those people could not continue to follow, they could not ride horses or travel quickly in the city. Soon, many people followed the carriage again.
When they arrived at the gate of the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion, the crowd of people who had spontaneously followed them was even larger and longer, stretching as far as the eye could see. It was possible that half of the people in the capital had come.
This is the will of the people.
But if his father finds out about this, he'll probably be furious.
Everyone dismounted, and Ye Jingchen and his two companions went to the carriage, intending to help the Duke of Zhenguo down from it.
However, the Duke of Zhenguo did not allow any of them to help him down; instead, he stepped down from the carriage himself.
Six personal guards stayed by his side at all times, while the Eastern Palace Guards expanded the area of their defenses.
The Duke of Zhenguo glanced at the gate of the Duke's Mansion, wanting to see if it was still the same as he remembered, but found that more than ten years had passed and he had long forgotten what the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion looked like in his memory.
So he turned to look at the millions of people who had come for him.
He stood there steadily, his posture straight, and apart from the lack of color in his face, there was no other sign of weakness.
"Generals die in a hundred battles, brave warriors return after ten years! May He Gong return home safely!" Ye Jingchen shouted loudly.
"Congratulations on your safe return home!" The guards of the Eastern Palace were the first to respond, shouting loudly to the Duke of Zhenguo in unison.
Then, as if by telepathy, the millions of people shouted in unison, "May He Gong return home safely!"
"Congratulations on your safe return home!"
"Congratulations on your safe return home!"
Three resounding congratulatory shouts shook the heavens and the earth.
The Duke of Zhenguo bowed his head slightly and performed the most solemn salute to the people!
Although the common people did not know the meaning of this gesture, it did not stop them from imitating it and bowing to the Duke of Zhenguo.
After the ceremony, the Duke of Zhenguo strode into his mansion and returned home.
The place he has returned to countless times in his dreams!
Outside the mansion, the people who had gathered spontaneously began to slowly disperse.
Ye Jingchen instructed the Eastern Palace Guards to stay here in case anything went wrong when the people dispersed.
Inside the mansion, the women had already returned ahead of time.
The Duke of Zhenguo knelt before the old lady and kowtowed three times.
"Mother, your unfilial son has returned!"
"It's good that you've returned safely!" The old lady looked at the Duke of Zhenguo, her eyes filled with relief and sorrow, a complex mix of emotions that were hard to express.
As for the Duke of Zhenguo, his eyes were red and filled with tears, and he looked much more emotional than the old lady.
At this time, he was not the revered war god of Dayuan, but just an ordinary son.
"Madam, you've worked so hard all these years!" He bowed solemnly to the Duchess of the State again.
"I'm not tired, you're the one who's tired!" The Duchess wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes with a handkerchief before smiling and saying.
"Jingjing, you've worked hard too!" The Duke of Zhenguo said to Xu Jingjing with a kind smile on his face.
“Father, I’m not tired at all. Mother has been taking care of all the affairs in the manor. I haven’t done anything!” Xu Jingjing waved her hands repeatedly, but her eyes were bright and excited, like she was seeing the person she admired most.
"This old lady pays her respects to His Highness the Crown Prince and His Highness the Second Prince!" The old lady led her daughter-in-law and granddaughter-in-law to bow to Ye Jingchen and Ye Jingming.
Ye Jingchen quickly stepped forward to help the old lady up.
Even his father wouldn't dare accept this old man's gift, so he certainly wouldn't.
"Outrageous! Crash—" In Chengqian Palace, after hearing Sun Yan's report on the grand scene in front of the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion, the emperor was so angry that he smashed his favorite glass teacup.
"That old man... how dare he?!" the emperor gritted his teeth.
“Your Majesty, the Duke of Zhenguo’s actions have indeed overstepped his bounds. Why don’t I go to the Duke of Zhenguo’s residence immediately to deliver the imperial decree and have him come to the palace to apologize to Your Majesty?” Zhang Shunde asked cautiously.
"No!" The emperor refused without even thinking.
He didn't want to see the Duke of Zhenguo at all, and he didn't want to see the Old Madam either!
"Go to the Eastern Palace and tell the Crown Prince to come see me immediately after he returns!"
He wanted to ask the Crown Prince how he handled his duties!
Zhang Shunde hurriedly went to the Eastern Palace to deliver the message.
The emperor picked up a memorial and looked at it for a long time, but he couldn't understand a single word!
The Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion!
It's all the late emperor's fault. He was too kind to the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion, which led to a situation where the relationship between the emperor and his subjects was neither proper nor respectful!
When he was a child, in order to maintain relations with the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion, the late emperor often used absurd reasons such as "it is not safe in the palace" to send him to stay at the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion for a short time.
In order to please the late emperor, he addressed the Dowager Lady as his grandmother and the Duke of Zhenguo as his uncle in the Duke's mansion. He was very careful in front of them, for fear of accidentally offending them and incurring the late emperor's displeasure.
His childhood experiences were so humiliating that even after the late emperor passed away and he ascended the throne, he always felt that he was a generation below the Dowager Empress and the Duke of Zhenguo!
Even now, after more than ten or twenty years, he still has this feeling!
So he doesn't want to see them at all!
He especially didn't want to see the old lady who was so strict with him when he was a child, and the dragon-headed cane in her hand!
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