Everyone turned their eyes and saw Xuanyuan Peng riding in his imperial carriage, leading a full court of civil and military officials.
Seeing that there were officials following behind, Xuan Yuanzhan took a closer look, but he did not see Zhao Ji, Liu Zheng, or the others.
Xuan Yuanzhan raised his eyebrows slightly, wondering if these people were still kneeling at the entrance of the Imperial Study.
Soon, the imperial carriage arrived, and everyone knelt down, saying, "Greetings, Your Majesty."
Xuanyuan Peng alighted from the imperial carriage and immediately went to help Bai Shi up.
Bai Shi looked at Su Xuening kneeling beside her with heartache. Only then did Xuan Yuanpeng react and said to Su Xuening, who was kneeling on the ground, "Get up quickly. Zhan'er's wife was exempted from kneeling before giving birth."
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
Su Xuening thanked Xuan Yuanzhan before he helped her up.
Xuanyuan Peng then looked at Xuanyuan Zhan and solemnly patted his shoulder, saying, "This time when you go to the North, besides providing disaster relief and suppressing bandits, remember to pay attention to safety and come back safely. Your mother, your wife, your son, and I are waiting for you to return."
Seeing the worry in Xuan Yuanpeng's eyes, Xuan Yuanzhan felt a surge of warmth in his heart. He raised the Xuanwu Sword in his hand and said, "You've given me the Xuanwu Sword, how could I not be at peace?"
Xuanyuan Peng patted his shoulder again, then said nothing more.
Before they could exchange more than a few words, Ye Yun urged them, "Your Highness, it's getting late, we should set off."
Xuan Yuanzhan glanced at Xuan Yuanpeng and Bai Shi, then looked at Su Xuening: "Ning'er~"
Xuan Yuanzhan walked to Su Xuening's side, wrapped the two of them in his cloak, and then gave her a deep kiss.
The officials and common people who were watching were all astonished by Xuanyuan Zhan's actions.
I had long heard that the Holy King doted on his Queen Consort Su, and now it seems that it is indeed true.
You know, the Holy King used to be cold as ice and aloof, and he was not interested in women. Yet he was so intimate with the Holy Queen in front of everyone.
This Holy Princess is truly capable. Not only did she become pregnant within a month of entering the palace, but she also gained the Holy King's exclusive favor. It is said that she is the only woman in the Holy King's harem, and the Holy King even publicly swore that he would only have her for the rest of his life!
However, this Holy Queen is no ordinary woman. With her celestial beauty and figure, which man wouldn't be mesmerized? Even the usually aloof Holy King was captivated by her.
After a long while, Xuan Yuanzhan reluctantly let go of Su Xuening: "Ning'er, I will definitely complete the mission and come back as soon as possible."
Su Xuening blushed slightly and said to Xuan Yuanzhan with reluctance, "I'll wait for you."
The simple phrase "I'll wait for you" melted Xuan Yuanzhan's heart, making him completely smitten.
He really couldn't bear to part with her. If he could, he would shrink her down and carry her in his arms to the North.
It's a pity it doesn't work!
After saying goodbye to Su Xuening, Xuanyuan Zhan looked at Bai Shi and said, "Take care of Ning'er for me, and take good care of yourself too."
For the first time, Lady Bai didn't look down on him and nodded solemnly, "Don't worry, everything at home is fine with me."
Xuanyuan Peng added, "Your mother is right. I will take care of the Holy King's Mansion. You don't need to worry about it. Just finish your business as soon as possible and come back soon."
"Thank you." Xuan Yuanzhan bowed to Xuan Yuanpeng, then, without further delay, leaped onto his horse.
Xuanyuan Zhan rode his horse to the 100,000 soldiers, raised the Xuanwu Sword high, and said: "Our purpose in going to the North is to provide disaster relief and suppress bandits. I hope everyone will abide by military discipline, protect the people, and bravely kill the bandits!"
Soon, the soldiers raised their weapons and shouted, "Obey military discipline, protect the people, and bravely kill the bandits!"
Xuanyuan Zhan glanced back at Bai Shi and Su Xuening one last time before leading his army to the north.
Mu Lingchen also bowed to Xuan Yuanpeng and the Bai family, then mounted his horse and rode off to catch up with Xuan Yuanzhan.
Xuanyuan Peng stared at Mu Lingchen's retreating figure and said in a daze, "That's Mu Wenhai's kid, isn't it?"
Bai glanced at Xuan Yuanpeng: "Mu Wenhai was wrongfully killed back then."
Back then, Marquis Dingping, Mu Wenhai, led troops to guard the northern border. When the Northern Rong invaded, Mu Wenhai was no match for them, and the northern border almost fell. General Su was on good terms with Mu Wenhai, and Madam Su was Mu Wenhai's sworn sister. When Mu Wenhai was in trouble, General Su immediately volunteered to go and support him.
The northern border cannot be lost, so Xuanyuan Peng immediately dispatched General Su to lead the Su family army to the northern frontier to support Mu Wenhai.
The Su family army was invincible, and General Su was brave and skilled in battle. Soon, the Northern Rong were defeated one after another.
Just when victory was in sight, General Su was suddenly killed on the battlefield. Although the Northern Rong army was defeated and withdrew from Eastern Chu, Eastern Chu lost a great general. In the end, it was found that Mu Wenhai had colluded with the enemy, which led to the death of General Su.
To prove his innocence, Mu Wenhai committed suicide in front of the Su family army.
However, Mu Wenhai's treason did not end there; Xuan Yuanpeng was to deal with the Dingping Marquis's mansion.
If it weren't for her persistent pleading with Xuanyuan Peng, the Dingping Marquis's mansion would probably have ceased to exist long ago.
Mu Wenhai died, but the Marquis of Dingping's mansion and Wanrong and her son escaped death.
Seeing that she brought up the past again, Xuanyuan Peng frowned and said, "Didn't I not strip them of their titles? At worst, I'll reward them according to their merits when they return from suppressing the bandits with Zhan'er."
There was indeed no concrete evidence regarding Mu Wenhai's case back then. If Mu Wenhai hadn't committed suicide, he would have sent someone to investigate. But since he died, there was no way to verify the facts, making the whole matter confusing and hastily concluded.
Hearing Xuanyuan Peng say this, Bai Shi fell silent.
After Xuanyuan Zhan led his army far away, Xuanyuan Peng looked at Bai Shi and said, "Ya'er, I will send you back to the Holy King's Mansion."
Bai understood his meaning perfectly well and nodded slightly.
Xuanyuan Peng was instantly delighted and waved to the assembled officials, saying, "Disperse, everyone."
As he spoke, Xuanyuan Peng helped Bai Shi onto the imperial carriage.
Su Xuening glanced at Bai Shi and Xuan Yuanpeng before boarding the carriage of the Holy King's Mansion.
The imperial carriage went directly to the Holy King's Palace, where officials and commoners knelt down, saying, "Respectfully seeing off Your Majesty."
There was nothing that could be done; the Emperor had been seduced by the Holy Princess Consort once again.
On the imperial carriage, Xuanyuan Peng embraced Bai Shi and said softly, "Ya'er, when Zhan'er returns from his meritorious service in the North, I want to open the ancestral hall to recognize Zhan'er."
Upon hearing this, Bai's eyes flickered slightly, then she looked up in shock: "You want to acknowledge Zhan'er back?"
Seeing that Bai Shi showed no surprise, Xuan Yuanpeng was somewhat disappointed and said with a hint of jealousy, "What? You don't want me to acknowledge Zhan'er back? Are you still thinking about Xuan Yuankun and wanting to leave him an heir? Don't forget, Zhan'er is my own son."
Seeing that he was getting agitated, Madam Bai glared at him and said, "I didn't know that Zhan'er was your biological son. I was just worried that you would be in a difficult position. Zhan'er is nominally the son of Xuanyuan Kun, and he is listed in the Xuanyuan family genealogy. If you suddenly want to acknowledge Zhan'er back, I'm afraid the officials and the relatives of the Xuanyuan royal family will not agree!"
These were the same words again, words that had bound Xuanyuan Peng for his entire life: "I don't care whether they agree or not, Zhan'er is my son, and I must acknowledge him!"
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