Gurgle~ Her stomach growled.

Su Xiaoxiao groaned: "Maybe... I'm hungry."

Wei Ting took a deep look at her belly. Could this baby also be a troublemaker?

Impossible, she must be a cute little girl.

Wei Ting got off the carriage and went to a nearby place to buy her a box of osmanthus cake. Just as he was about to get back on the carriage, another carriage drove over.

"General Wei, please stay!"

Wei Ting frowned slightly, turned around and saw Eunuch Quan got off the carriage with a smile on his face. He bowed to him and said, "I pay my respects to General Wei."

As he spoke, he looked at the sweet-scented osmanthus cake in Wei Ting's hand, then glanced at the carriage, and asked with a smile, "Mrs. Wei is also in the carriage, right?"

Wei Ting asked calmly, "What's the matter?"

Eunuch Quan smiled and said, "Your Majesty summoned General Wei and Madam Wei to the palace."

In the imperial study, Xiao Duye, who had rested for a whole night and barely recovered some energy, reported the battle situation at the border to Emperor Jingxuan with great joy.

Although Emperor Jingxuan was in the capital, battle reports came from the border from time to time. What Xiao Duye said was basically consistent with the battle reports. At least Xiao Duye did not lie about Northern Yan launching the first attack and several important battles.

Emperor Jingxuan's expression showed no sign of sadness or joy, which made Xiao Duye feel puzzled. He had fought so hard to achieve such great military exploits, and almost lost his life. Why didn't his father look as happy as when he pacified the southwest? Could it be that the credit for defeating Northern Yan was not as great as that for pacifying the civil strife? That couldn't be right...

The civil unrest is a minor disturbance, but Northern Yan is an enemy country.

Xiao Duye couldn't figure it out.

Emperor Jingxuan asked, "Did you really order the attack on Northern Yan?"

Xiao Duye bowed his hands and saluted, and said solemnly: "Northern Yan is so arrogant that it allowed Tuoba Lie to lead a hundred thousand troops to break into Suibei Pass, invade our border, and seize our city. It would be ungentlemanly not to avenge this. Moreover, I am the prince of the Great Zhou, so I must defend the rivers and mountains of the Great Zhou and protect the people of the Great Zhou!"

Emperor Jingxuan asked again: "Why not use Leng Kui?"

Leng Kui was used, wasn't he killing enemies on the battlefield? Xiao Duye quickly realized that his father meant that Leng Kui should not be used as the commander-in-chief of the three armies.

Father, is this... an accusation or an inquiry?

Xiao Duye was unsure of what Emperor Jingxuan meant, so he could only tell the truth: "Father, when Leng Kui was the commander-in-chief, he made many mistakes, not only allowing Tuoba Lie to attack Suibei Pass, but also losing the border city. The morale of the soldiers plummeted, so I recommended Qin Canglan as the commander-in-chief."

Emperor Jingxuan asked, "What's going on with Leng Zhao and Leng Jue?"

Xiao Duye said: "Leng Jue fled from the battlefield, causing the soldiers to die in vain. Jing Yi was captured, and it would be difficult to shock the army if he was not killed! As for Leng Zhao, he was seriously injured in the battle against Tuoba Lie, and he was unconscious. He ran out and fell into the well and drowned."

When Leng Zhao died, he was sleeping in the tent and only heard the news the next morning.

Everyone said that he drowned himself, and there was no evidence that someone else had murdered him, so that was the final conclusion.

Emperor Jingxuan picked up a memorial calmly and said, "Why did I hear that there is something strange about this matter?"

"Strange... yes, there is." Xiao Duye told the rumors truthfully, "He said a lot of nonsense when he ran away, saying... that he was the one who leaked the whereabouts of Wei Xu and his son, causing them to be ambushed by the Northern Yan army. In this battle against Northern Yan, he also revealed Wei Ting's battle plan to Helian Ye, causing Wei Ting to be ambushed. Rumor has it... he committed suicide out of fear of punishment."

"Enough." Emperor Jingxuan put down the memorial.

Xiao Duye said nothing more.

Eunuch Quan came over and reported that Wei Ting and the other two had arrived.

It has only been two months since we last saw him, but Emperor Jingxuan has changed a lot. His eye bags are swollen and his complexion looks rosy, but he is actually a little weak.

I heard that Emperor Jingxuan has been becoming more and more obsessed with the art of immortality recently, taking elixirs sent by the imperial teacher every day. Two concubines in the harem are pregnant, which makes Emperor Jingxuan believe more and more that he has regained his former youthful vigor.

"I heard that you were injured. Are you feeling better now?" Emperor Jingxuan said.

Wei Ting bowed and said, "I'm fine now. Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty."

Emperor Jingxuan smiled and said, "You have done a good job in Helian Ye's affairs. I heard that you two also went to the battlefield and conquered some troops at the border. It is said that those troops are very brave and do not seem like ordinary scattered soldiers."

Su Xiaoxiao glanced at him.

This emperor cannot live without being wary of the Wei family for even a day.

He had clearly pretended to be magnanimous and returned Wu'an Jun's military token to Wei Ting when dealing with King Nanyang, but now he is investigating the issue of their incorporation of troops.

Wei Ting said calmly, "Your Highness Prince Liang was besieged by Northern Yan, and General Leng abandoned Jia County, not caring about your Highness's life or death. My wife and I had no choice but to gather some troops at the border. It's strange to say that many of those people were soldiers of my court, who had been on the battlefield and killed the enemy, but were expelled from the barracks for no reason, and even received no compensation. I think there is something fishy about this matter, please order a thorough investigation, Your Majesty!"

This was telling Emperor Jingxuan that if he had not recruited the troops, his son would have died long ago.

And you said they were brave, but weren't the old soldiers of the imperial court brave? It was the Leng family who turned them into guerrillas, why don't you deal with the Leng family first? Emperor Jingxuan was caught off guard and was speechless.

He glanced at the two of them and said calmly, "Alright, I'm not here to call you two to task. You have done a great job in killing the enemy. If I treat you unfairly, wouldn't it chill the hearts of the soldiers and civilians at the border? Now, what do you want?"

Wei Ting said: "It is my duty to serve Your Majesty, and I will not take credit for it."

Emperor Jingxuan looked at Su Xiaoxiao again: "What about you?"

Su Xiaoxiao said: "Oh, I don't take credit for it either."

Emperor Jingxuan felt relieved.

He didn't want to give the two of them any rewards, but at the same time, he expected them to ask for something, because only by asking for it would it be a sign of arrogance due to their achievements.

"But your majesty." Su Xiaoxiao took out a list, "Please reimburse the soldiers' military pay. The Leng family didn't provide food and silver, so I paid for it first. You are the king of a country, you won't owe me a debt for a little girl, right?"

Emperor Jingxuan: “……???”

…

Su Xiaoxiao left the imperial study first, and Wei Ting stayed. Emperor Jingxuan still had some questions to ask him, and it just so happened that he also had something to discuss with Emperor Jingxuan.

Not long after Su Xiaoxiao came out, she ran into Princess Hui'an who was walking towards her.

Princess Hui'an wore a goose yellow palace dress with a light pink cape on the outside. She was adorned with pearl hairpins and rings, and was as beautiful as a peach or plum. She was extremely beautiful.

She lifted her skirt and walked over quickly with light steps like a swallow: "Little follower!"

Su Xiaoxiao smiled and bowed: "Princess Hui'an."

Princess Hui'an looked her up and down and asked, "I heard you went to the war. Are you injured?"

There is one more

(End of this chapter)