The imperial guards had returned to the palace, but the atmosphere was still noisy and chaotic. Groups of eunuchs were moving the firewood around the Queen Mother's Palace.
Although he still looked panic-stricken, he looked much better than before in despair. This was probably because in addition to the imperial guards, there was a row of soldiers standing in front of the palace.
These soldiers were only wearing military robes, without any weapons, and were not as tall as the imperial guards, but they stood there tall and straight, emitting a formidable aura.
This was the Qingshan Army that lifted the siege of the capital.
When they arrived, tens of thousands of Jin soldiers fled.
"Why chase?"
The Queen Mother's high-pitched voice of displeasure was heard from inside the palace.
All the concubines who were originally imprisoned in the palace have been dispersed. The empress dowager, who was sitting on the chair, looked pale and exhausted from surviving a disaster, but she seemed to be in good spirits.
"At this time, we have to send so many Qingshan troops to pursue. Isn't the capital's defenses empty again?" The Queen Mother said, somewhat annoyed. The joy she had felt earlier because the official brought a team of Qingshan troops to guard the imperial city suddenly disappeared. "What if the Jin people come back to attack again?"
"Don't worry, Your Majesty. The defense of the capital has been arranged. The soldiers from Renji Prefecture are here, and the garrisons from several other prefectures have also arrived." said an old minister.
The Queen Mother looked at him with some dissatisfaction. She said, "They had made all the arrangements before, but in the end, the Jin people almost broke into the city."
"Where's Ning Yan?" she asked.
The capital was able to be saved this time because Ning Yan stepped forward at the first moment to stabilize the people and rally the military. Of course, there was also Miss Jun, who brought the families of the Qingshan Army to strengthen the city defenses.
But now that everything has been settled and the officials have gone to the palace to report, neither Ning Yan nor Miss Jun are here.
"Your Majesty, Ning Yan said that it is inconvenient for him to enter the palace now that he has no official position or imperial edict." He said with a firm expression and a hint of approval.
This is the backbone of a civil servant. He knows what to do and what not to do, and he will not allow these women to humiliate and blame him at will.
The Queen Mother could see what he meant, and she felt a little embarrassed.
She was born in a humble family and had no support from her family. In order to give the emperor a good reputation, the empress was also from a humble family.
In the eyes of these ministers, she and the emperor were orphans and widows who had no foundation in power and no help from relatives.
That's why she always wanted the emperor to be diligent and benevolent. As long as an emperor who guards the country can do this, he will be a wise ruler trusted by his ministers. But the result... this garbage!
"I just want to ask about the defense of the city. As the person involved, he can come in even if he has no official position." The Queen Mother said patiently, "And Miss Jun, we will all be rewarded according to our merits."
The court officials were silent for a moment.
"Your Majesty, let's talk about rewards according to merit." He raised his head, "Where is His Majesty now?"
The emperor must be responsible for rewarding people according to their merits.
Even if the Queen Mother doesn't want to hear about this issue anymore, there is nothing she can do about it.
The Queen Mother's face turned ugly again, and she clenched her hands in front of her.
She couldn't take the initiative to say that she didn't know the emperor's whereabouts, otherwise it would tell the world that the emperor had abandoned her, his subjects, and his biological mother. How could such a person who had no loyalty or filial piety be considered a wise and benevolent monarch in the eyes of the world?
The image of a loyal, honest and benevolent lord that we had painstakingly created for him since he was a child was completely gone.
Although it doesn't matter if he's gone, he's still the emperor, but I'm afraid that the court officials who already looked down on him will look down on him even more in the future.
The Queen Mother was very angry when she thought of this. What made her even more angry was that this bastard treated her like this, yet she still had to protect him.
"I had someone take your majesty away," she said. "The Jin army besieged the city, and I can't let what happened to Emperor Renxiao happen again."
She emphasized the words "let him take away" to indicate that this was not the emperor's intention and that the emperor was forced helplessly.
The old minister bowed his head and replied yes.
"Now that the siege of the capital has been lifted, I wonder where Your Majesty is?" he said, "We can go and greet him."
God knows where he is.
The Queen Mother clenched her hands in her lap.
"Don't worry, there are still tens of thousands of Jin soldiers near the capital. Let's wait until it is completely safe." She said.
The courtiers did not respond.
"It is precisely because it is unsafe. Please tell your Majesty where it is so that we can send troops to guard it." He insisted.
This court official really dares to speak, and he never stops talking.
The Queen Mother's brows were throbbing with veins, and she was about to lose her temper when a report from the eunuch came in from outside the palace.
"My lady, Eunuch Yuan is back."
Yuan Bao!
This treacherous villain! The emperor took him away without taking himself with him. He knew that these eunuchs who grew up with the emperor were no good.
Hatred flashed in the Queen Mother's eyes.
This time when I come back, I will never let him get out alive.
"My lady."
Yuan Bao walked quickly into the hall and knelt on the ground crying as soon as he entered.
"Hurry and save His Majesty."
The Queen Mother was startled and stood up.
"What's wrong, Your Majesty?" she asked anxiously.
Although she hated this son, he was still her son after all.
The court officials standing by were also shocked.
Yuan Bao raised his head with tears streaming down his face.
"Your Majesty has punished himself and has been lying in the imperial mausoleum, refusing to eat or drink. He can no longer bear it," he cried, "and we servants dare not conceal it."
After hearing this, the Queen Mother sat back.
Why would someone who is dying of starvation and waterlessness, and who can run away before the Jin army attacks, be willing to seek death?
He punished himself and buried him in the imperial mausoleum.
It's a shame that he dared to speak!
But although this excuse is shameful, it can be considered a reasonable excuse.
The Queen Mother was filled with resentment.
"Why is he punishing himself?" she said, "I was the one who sent him to the imperial mausoleum. Is he saying that I should punish myself?"
Lord Ning was right. The Empress Dowager must have blamed herself for the Emperor's departure.
That would make things easier.
Yuan Bao was so happy in his heart that tears flowed down his face even more happily.
"Your Majesty, that's not what you meant." He kowtowed and said, "The Jin people have caused great suffering to the people. Your Majesty feels that you have failed your ancestors and let down the people. You feel deeply sorry and guilty."
The Queen Mother sneered in her heart.
"This is indeed his fault," she said bitterly, "and because it is his fault, he should learn from his mistakes and work harder on government affairs to redeem himself from today's humiliation. What's the point of living or dying?"
Yuan Bao lowered his head and sobbed, not daring to say anything more.
Ning Xiao said what the adults should say, and the rest is just listening without saying anything.
"So His Majesty is in the Imperial Mausoleum." The courtier who had heard it all said, with a complicated expression but in the end he said nothing more, looking at the Queen Mother, "Your Majesty, please ask His Majesty to come back first. If he doesn't eat or drink like this, what if something happens..."
The Queen Mother snorted.
"Then go and get him back," she said.
The court officials responded yes.
The news that the emperor was in the imperial mausoleum soon spread.
"It turns out that the emperor has gone to hide in the imperial mausoleum."
"It doesn't seem like he's hiding, but rather going there to reflect on his sins."
"Is there such a thing as a punishment? I think it would be more sincere to meet the enemy head-on like King Hyeon and King Huai did."
"No, it wasn't His Majesty the Emperor who wanted to go there himself, but was sent there by the Empress Dowager.
People on the street were also talking about it, but the emperor did not come back immediately. Several ministers went there to persuade the emperor to come back, but failed. Then a large number of court officials rushed to persuade him, but the emperor still refused to show up and only sent out a letter of guilt.
Looking at the imperial edict that was sent out, the court officials had complicated expressions.
"If this were announced to the world, it would be embarrassing for your Majesty," a court official whispered.
That means admitting in front of the people of the world that he has made mistakes in state affairs. For an emperor, the son of heaven, admitting his mistakes would be very damaging to his prestige.
"What if not?" Another court official smiled bitterly, "Will it save face if we don't issue an edict to accuse ourselves?"
Rather than abandoning the city and fleeing under the suspicion of the people, it would be better to issue an imperial edict. Although this would hurt the emperor's prestige, the emperor's prestige has already been hurt, so it would be better to take the initiative to capture the prisoners and appease the people.
The court officials guarding outside the imperial mausoleum discussed it and agreed, and the crime was announced to the world.
"First issue an imperial edict to punish the emperor, and then reward the meritorious officials after returning to the court, and reform various bad policies to make people happy."
Ning Yunzhao said.
"In this way, God's will will return, and Your Majesty's power will be even greater."
The emperor, who looked ashamed and unhappy because he had written the confession of guilt, nodded when he heard this.
"The most urgent thing is to return to the court first," he said.
So what if the crime has been punished?
People tend to forget things, and before long no one mentioned the incident anymore.
If someone has a good memory and insists on mentioning it, let him shut up forever.
As long as he is still the emperor, who can do anything to him?
"Then I will go back when they beg me again." The emperor stood up and said.
This imperial mausoleum is extremely cold and uncomfortable to live in. Standing at the door, you can see the tomb of the former crown prince at a glance.
"Your Majesty is wise." Ning Yunzhao said, and raised his head again, "Your Majesty, why don't you reward the meritorious officials here before returning."
The emperor frowned.
"A reward now?" he asked.
"The capital is still unstable now. Tens of thousands of Jin soldiers are roaming in the eastern part of the capital, and the soldiers are fighting against them." Ning Yunzhao said, "Rewarding those who have made contributions in defending the city can both appease the people and boost their morale."
The emperor nodded.
"Okay," he said, "Summon the head of Yanshanyang County of Ning to meet with me."
…
"What do you want to achieve by doing this?"
After Ning Yunzhao went outside to convey the emperor's order to the waiting ministers, he met Lu Yunqi standing in the corridor. He did not remain silent as usual, but took the initiative to ask.
Ning Yunzhao smiled.
"It's just selfish," he said in a low voice, "for my uncle, for her, to clear her name as soon as possible."
Is that so?
Lu Yunqi said nothing more.
Is she coming soon?
She had been here only once.
This was not a pleasant place for her.
Lu Yunqi's sight was focused ahead, and a mausoleum could be seen in the distance.
The news that the emperor was going to summon Miss Ning Yanjun and other heroes who had defended the city to reward them quickly spread throughout the city. As Ning Yunzhao had said, the people had a better opinion of the emperor.
After all, he is the emperor, the Son of Heaven.
The atmosphere in Jiuling Hall was also somewhat joyful.
Mainly the joy of Liu Er and Chen Qi.
"Then our young lady will be able to become a princess this time, right?" Liu'er said.
Princess?
Miss Jun looked at her and smiled without saying anything.
…
After all, the imperial mausoleum is not the court. After Ning Yan and Miss Jun arrived, they stood outside like other waiting officials.
The emperor had not yet agreed to return to the court, so he did not see them. He only sent an eunuch out to convey his praise for what they had done. After announcing that Ning Yanguan would be reinstated and that Miss Jun would be rewarded with gold, silver and cloth, Miss Jun did not kowtow to thank the emperor for his grace.
"I don't want these rewards," she said.
The officials present, including Ning Yan, were somewhat surprised.
Are you asking for a reward? Doing so would seem a bit arrogant and overbearing.
But this time she really did a great job, and she was able to ask for what she wanted.
The court officials looked confused for a moment, and no one spoke a word to reprimand him.
This accident also surprised the eunuch.
"Then what does Miss Jun want?" he said with a frown.
Miss Jun looked at him.
"Your Majesty, I ask you to uphold the orthodoxy," she said, "and make Prince Huai the crown prince."
As soon as these words were spoken, there was a dead silence all around, followed by the sound of countless people sucking in gasps of cool air.
Everyone's eyes were focused on this woman.
What is she talking about?
What is she talking about?