Yang Cheng dismounted and walked up to Grand Tutor Cai with a smile on his face.
"Ah, what's with all this talk about entrusting the young to others? A useless scholar like me can only point fingers in the capital. How can I compare to you, Grand Commander, who single-handedly fought across hundreds of miles, wiped out the White Lotus Sect, stormed the enemy's lair, and made a name for yourself throughout the world?"
Grand Tutor Cai pulled Yang Cheng along as they walked towards the imperial city, saying, "Thank you so much, Grand Commander, for taking care of Yuwen Du this time."
Otherwise, he wouldn't have deserved so many military achievements.
Yang Cheng shook his head and said, "Don't be so polite. Yuwen Du is rough around the edges but meticulous. Over the years, he has controlled his temper and can definitely be considered a capable general."
In this campaign to eradicate the White Lotus Cult, I only beheaded the top figures; the rest of the White Lotus Cult members were dealt with by them. He deserves the credit for this.
"By the way, Grand Tutor Cai, has anything happened in the court these past month?"
Grand Tutor Cai sighed and said, "There's nothing major happening in the court, but things are rather chaotic in the inner palace. You'll see when we get to the capital."
Because Yang Cheng had annihilated the White Lotus Sect, the emperor specially held a banquet to bestow rewards upon him, and all the important officials of the court would attend.
However, when Yang Cheng followed Grand Tutor Cai to the palace, he discovered that the person sitting next to the emperor's throne was not Empress Dowager Wan Chun, but a woman in her thirties who, although beautiful, had a somewhat sharp appearance.
Meanwhile, an extra seat was added next to the chairs of the four regents, where a middle-aged man in his early forties, dressed in noble attire, sat.
Yang Cheng frowned slightly and asked, "Where is the Empress Dowager? And who is she?"
Grand Tutor Cai said in a low voice, "There's some chaos in the inner palace because the emperor seems to think that the Empress Dowager is being too strict, so there's been some conflict between them."
The woman sitting next to the emperor is Consort Zhang, the late emperor's concubine and Your Majesty's birth mother, who is now Empress Dowager Zhang.
The mother and son stood up to the Empress Dowager, which angered her so much that she had no choice but to give up and stop attending court and assisting in governing the country. Instead, the Empress Dowager took over the responsibility of governing the country.
The man sitting in the fifth chair is His Majesty's father-in-law, Marquis Anguo Zhang Xuansu, who is also Empress Dowager Zhang's cousin.
Our Emperor is quite like his father. The White Lotus Rebellion had just started when he got engaged and then married eight concubines.
"Of course, this is also because the news of your victory in capturing three cities in one day, Grand Commander, has given His Majesty a great sense of security, which is why he dares to act so recklessly."
Grand Tutor Cai's tone inevitably carried a hint of sarcasm.
The late emperor at least knew what was important; when faced with internal and external troubles, he didn't even have the mood to joke around with his concubines.
This one is something else, starting to party every night at such a young age.
However, it was not appropriate for ministers throughout history to interfere in the affairs of the imperial family. Therefore, when the emperor joined forces with the empress dowager to seize power or to get married, everyone would only discuss it in secret and not say anything.
Yang Cheng frowned slightly and said, "Isn't the Great Zhou Dynasty supposed to govern the world with filial piety? Has no one mentioned this?"
Grand Tutor Cai sneered, "His Majesty is filial to the Grand Empress Dowager, but not to the Empress Dowager? One is his biological mother, and the other is his grandmother. Which one do you think he is filial to?"
So these kinds of things are beyond our control as foreign officials.
The late emperor was soft-hearted, which is why the Empress Dowager was able to exert pressure on him.
But this Emperor seems to have a very hard heart; he seized power from the Empress Dowager in the blink of an eye. He's probably not a peaceful ruler.
Although Grand Tutor Cai was a treacherous minister, he still couldn't stand the emperor's practice of abandoning those who had served their purpose.
But as he said, these were the emperor's family matters, not something they, as officials, should concern themselves with.
Yang Cheng merely frowned slightly, without making any further comment.
He doesn't have time to deal with the messy affairs of the Great Zhou royal family right now.
However, he also felt somewhat uncomfortable.
After all, Yang Cheng was more familiar with Empress Dowager Wanchun than with the two sitting on the dragon throne.
At this moment, when Emperor Zhou Yuan saw Yang Cheng enter the palace, he immediately stood up at the signal of Empress Dowager Zhang and said, "The Grand Commander has returned from a hundred battles and has wiped out the White Lotus Sect for our Great Zhou. I am overjoyed."
Therefore, he specially attended the banquet and invited his ministers to welcome the Grand Commander and celebrate his achievements.
"Bring the banquet!"
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
Yang Cheng casually mentioned it and sat down, and rows of palace maids and eunuchs hurriedly brought out the banquet.
Then, the emperor's father-in-law, Zhang Xuansu, seemed very busy. He took the lead in praising the current emperor's civil and military achievements, saying that he had quelled the White Lotus Rebellion as soon as he ascended the throne.
Another song and dance performance was arranged; the whole thing was incredibly tedious, and Yang Cheng was starting to feel sleepy.
Instead of listening to this here, I'd rather go back to Zhenwu Hall and sleep.
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