Chapter 798 Xiao Yan is not in the palace
As reports of the Beiling battle arrived one after another, the festive atmosphere in the capital, which had not yet ended, gradually faded away. Everyone in the court was in a panic, but the palace remained the same.
The Empress only thought that His Majesty was ill and unable to attend court, so she ordered the six ministries to perform their duties without slacking off. She only allowed Cao Dejiang and Liang Guangyi to come to the Imperial Dragon Terrace for an audience, and then brought out the palace's decree to arrange various matters during the war. His Majesty still never showed up from beginning to end.
Old Prince Ying's face turned grim. "Prime Minister Cao, recently only you and Prime Minister Liang have been in and out of the Imperial Dragon Terrace, and the entire court has been left to you two to manage. But now that war is raging and the northern border is almost lost, His Majesty has yet to show up. Has something happened in the palace?!"
"Yes, with such a serious incident, even if His Majesty hasn't fully recovered yet, he should have summoned the court officials to the palace to discuss and reassure the people. However, since the eighth day of the first lunar month, when the battle reports from the northern border reached the capital, it has been over ten days now, and His Majesty has not appeared yet. What is going on?!"
The surrounding court officials all looked at Cao Dejiang and the others, and the royal family members surrounded them.
Among the court officials from the aristocratic families, there were officials from the Fan family who pressed the issue.
"I heard that years ago, the troops stationed at Munan Pass suddenly attacked Southern Qi without informing the court in advance. Your Majesty has always only talked about going to war with Beiling, but never mentioned Southern Qi. Previously, he only mentioned sending Yin Bao to Munan Pass secretly to guard against Southern Qi, but now he has suddenly started a war with Southern Qi."
"Now Beiling is marching south, and the flames of war are raging in both the north and the south. The court is unable to mobilize its troops, and His Majesty has not appeared in public for a long time."
The Fan family official stared at him intently.
"Prime Minister Liang, tell us the truth, is His Majesty not in the palace?"
Wow——
Everyone in the hall erupted in shock, many expressing doubt and confusion. Someone anxiously asked, "Master Fan, what do you mean by this?"
Elder Fan said in a deep voice, "I just feel that things in the palace have been very strange lately. Your Majesty has always been in good health. He didn't show any signs of illness during the coronation ceremony before the Lunar New Year. Even if he really caught a cold during the Lunar New Year, it wouldn't have lasted so long that he couldn't even summon us."
"It has been over ten days since the Beiling battle report reached the capital. The people of the capital are in a state of panic, and yet His Majesty, who should be calming the people, has been unwilling to show up."
"Back when the deposed emperor was on the throne, Your Majesty, in order to seize control of the Dragon Court Guard and the Zhen'an Army, feigned serious injury and fled to the northwest for a few days before secretly returning to the capital to plan. This scene today is so similar to that time."
As he spoke, he took two steps towards Liang Guangyi, full of coercion: "Your Majesty is not in the palace at all, right?!"
"What?"
Everyone around was panicking.
"Why is His Majesty not in the palace? Where did he go?"
"Your Majesty is not in the palace, so those imperial decrees that have been issued during this period..."
"Prime Minister Liang, you are a pillar of the court and the backbone of your family. We trust you without a doubt, but how could you hide such a big thing from us?"
"You and Lord Cao knew long ago that His Majesty was not in the capital, yet you helped to conceal it. Were your visits to the Imperial Dragon Terrace all this time just a show?"
"Lord Cao, please say something!"
There were frequent voices of questioning in the hall, and some even almost approached Cao Dejiang and the other two.
The battle in Beiling was already alarming, and now everyone knew that even the emperor, who had the final say, was not in the palace. Panic and anger were on everyone's faces.
Seeing that the surroundings were about to get out of control, Cao Dejiang frowned and was about to speak when he suddenly heard a female voice coming from outside the hall.
"It was this palace and His Majesty who asked Lord Cao and Prime Minister Liang to help conceal this. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask this palace."
As soon as the voice fell, Pan Xi raised his voice.
"The Queen has arrived!"
Tang Ning walked towards the palace wearing a scarlet and red brocade phoenix robe. The queen's court dress made her originally petite figure look more majestic. Her black hair was combed into a bun on her extremely beautiful face, revealing her smooth forehead. The tail feathers of the nine-phoenix golden hairpin in her hair swayed gently as she walked.
Everyone knew that the queen had a great appearance, but she had lived in the rear palace in the past. On the day of the coronation ceremony, all the court officials were standing at the steps outside the palace, and many people could only vaguely see the queen's figure.
Later, when the emperor and empress got married, Xiao Yan never showed up, and Tang Ning never left the palace.
Although the female members of the family had often spread rumors about the queen's beauty during the two days of the court visit, the people in the court had only heard about it. It was only when they saw it up close that they realized it.
The Queen is more than just a beauty.
Everyone in the hall was captivated by Tang Ning's expression for a moment, until Pan Xi frowned, coughed softly, and said again in a loud voice, "The Queen has arrived", then everyone came to their senses and knelt down quickly.
"Your Highness, I pay my respects to Her Majesty the Queen."
"Long live the Queen."
Tang Ning walked straight through the crowd and only turned around and spoke when he reached the front of the hall.
"Everyone, get up."
All the court officials stood up and subconsciously looked outside the hall, but there was no sign of the emperor. Everyone's heart sank to the bottom in an instant.
Prince Ji had been standing quietly in the hall, but at this moment he couldn't help but speak.
"Empress, may I ask His Majesty..."
"You have all guessed it just now. His Majesty is not in the palace."
Everyone in the palace couldn't help but change their expression after hearing the queen's straightforward words.
His Majesty is really not in the palace? !
Tang Ning looked at the court officials with different expressions, and without waiting for them to ask, he said directly:
"Before the coronation ceremony last year, Your Majesty discovered that Beiling and Southern Qi were secretly colluding, intending to join forces to attack our Great Wei before the end of the year. Beiling wanted to use the power of Southern Qi to divide our Great Wei territory and erode our national strength."
"The rebellion of the vassal kings had just been quelled, and the southern land was devastated. If war broke out simultaneously between the north and the south, the court would have been unable to cope. Therefore, after the coronation ceremony, Your Majesty secretly traveled to Munan Pass and, together with General Yin, led the troops to attack Southern Qi. The intention was to capture the Qi capital and cut off Beiling's hope. In addition, they could use Southern Qi's strength to supplement the needs of the Great Wei army."
"To prevent this from leaking out and alarming Beiling and starting a war prematurely, Your Majesty and I staged a scene together, and then ordered Lord Cao and Prime Minister Liang to help stabilize the court and conceal the truth. Now that it can no longer be concealed, there is no need to question Lord Cao and Prime Minister Liang. They were only following orders."
The court officials in the hall looked at each other in bewilderment.
After the coronation ceremony, His Majesty went to Munan Pass. Doesn't that mean His Majesty has been away from the capital for over a month? During this time...
Someone asked directly: "Since Your Majesty is not in the capital, what are the political affairs during this period?"
Tang Ning said, "Before His Majesty left the capital, he asked me to take charge of the government affairs, assisted by the two Prime Ministers."
"Your Majesty, you are confused!" Prince Ying shouted, "How can you let a woman make the decisions on important matters at court? This is simply playing with the country!"
Tang Ning tilted her head slightly and looked at him: "This concubine is the Rong family's Taifu, appointed by Taizu himself. I am the head of Rongsheng Academy and the legal wife of Your Majesty."
"Before Your Majesty ascended the throne, I received his personal instruction. This time, before Your Majesty left the capital, he handed over the Imperial Seal and Imperial Seal to me. With Lord Cao and Prime Minister Liang assisting him, how could he possibly be playing with the country?"
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