The middle-aged man was furious, but he couldn't curse at her.

Because Ning Yunzhao always claimed that he was protecting the emperor.

Although he hated Ning Yunzhao, a spineless flatterer, at the moment, he had no intention of becoming a subject who hated evil and only recognized the truth instead of the emperor.

He didn't think that what he said here at this moment could be hidden from the Imperial Guard. If he couldn't hide it from the Imperial Guard, then naturally he couldn't hide it from the emperor either.

The man wanted to say something but didn't know how to say it. He saw Ning Yunzhao standing in the middle of the crowd and still talking.

Who brought Ning Yunzhao in? He messed up everything.

The man looked around the room angrily.

…

"That's not very convincing."

Ning Shiyi said with a sigh.

"They have been planning for a long time, and they have naturally considered the emperor's face."

He looked at Ning Yunzhao.

Ning Yunzhao and Ning Yan sat opposite each other and played chess.

"I know." Ning Yunzhao said, smiling at Ning Shiyi, "I'll just convince as many as I can."

It would be better if there were fewer people causing trouble outside the city gate in the future.

What's the use of having a few more? The key is that this matter cannot be suppressed.

"The situation is not good." Ning Shiyi sighed and continued.

"Nowadays, the capital is calm but undercurrents are surging."

"Collecting salaries and wages to reward military commanders is unprecedented and difficult for civil officials and students to accept."

"What's more important is not how much money it is, but that this incident sets a precedent."

"Once there is a case, there will inevitably be a second one. We will not allow this to happen. We must stop it."

Ning Yan put down the chess piece in his hand and sighed.

"After all, Duke Cheng's request for merit is inappropriate," he said.

Duke Chengguo returned after the peace talks, and even though he returned from the Jin territory, he did not win a great victory but was rescued from death.

Strictly speaking, it was not a great victory, but the emperor gave such a huge reward to him, which was really hard to accept.

"Yes, otherwise Lord Huang and others would not have agreed to this award so readily." Ning Yunzhao said with a smile.

"This is to flatter him to death," Ning Shiyi said, "to push him to the forefront, and then direct the hatred of the people and officials towards Duke Cheng."

As he spoke he moved forward again, almost knocking over the chessboard.

"All officials are hostile. This has offended the entire court. It is dangerous for Duke Cheng to go to the capital this time."

As he said this, he shook his head and smiled bitterly.

"I'm afraid we can't even enter the capital."

Ning Yan looked gloomy.

"Is there no solution?" he said, "Can we just let the evil do what they want, misleading the ruler and fooling the people?"

"Not necessarily." Ning Yunzhao said, "It may not be that bad."

"You must know how bad the situation is, Brother Shi, so why do you still say such things?" Ning Shiyi said with a frown.

Ning Yunzhao smiled and picked up a chess piece.

"Because they only saw that Duke Cheng was going to Beijing, but forgot that there was actually another person going to Beijing," he said.

As he spoke, he dropped the chess piece in his hand and smiled slightly.

“I win.”

Ning Yan and Ning Shiyi looked at the chessboard consciously and saw that Ning Yunzhao's black pieces had already won the game.

"Huh? Father had the upper hand before?" Ning Shiyi couldn't help but exclaimed.

Ning Yunzhao looked at the chessboard with a smile.

"So, don't underestimate any chess piece," he said. "An inadvertent move can make you lose everything."

He reached out and gently stroked the small chess piece that was as smooth as black jade.

"What's more, this chess piece has been planned in advance, and every move is intentional."

…

"I knew it was these big merchants who were behind this."

Shopkeeper Liu whispered to Chen Qi.

"A lot of money was spent again, and a group of people were encouraged."

Chen Qi frowned.

"Then the number must be several hundred people." He said, "It's amazing that you have mobilized so many people."

Shopkeeper Liu smiled, picked up the teacup and took a sip.

"No matter what profession you go into, you're just spending money," he said. "It's clear how much money an adult gets, how much a child gets, and how much money you get for crying."

Chen Qi pouted.

"How shameless," he said.

But often the shameless ones are the most difficult to deal with. He paced back and forth in the room, unable to hide his anxiety.

"Does the young master know?" he asked, "Where on earth is Miss Jun? Does she still care about this matter?"

Having said this, he stopped and clapped his hands.

"If she doesn't come to Beijing with us, then we don't need to care. It has nothing to do with us if Duke Cheng is being bullied."

Shopkeeper Liu smiled.

"Xiao Qi, whether she is with him or not, she is tied to Duke Cheng. She saved Duke Cheng. If Duke Cheng loses face, she also loses face." He said, and then hesitated for a moment, "Don't worry, she has already made arrangements, and the young master has also made arrangements."

"If you ask me, it's very simple. Just state your identity, Miss Jiulingtangjun, and see who dares to stand in your way." Chen Qi said.

Shopkeeper Liu laughed out loud.

"Isn't that a loss?" he said, "No one dares to stop Miss Jun, and Duke Cheng can't be stopped either. These are two different things, two different honors."

He shook hands as he spoke, his expression serious and resolute.

"Not a single one can be lost."

…

On the ninth day of May, before dawn in the summer, lights were lit in Lu's house.

"The princess is here."

There was a sound coming from outside the door. Lu Yunqi, who was just taking the official robe brought by two maids, paused and looked at Princess Jiuli who walked in.

"Is it today?" she asked, "Your Excellency, why are you here so early?"

The princess and the master did not live together, and naturally she would not help the master put on his official robes and go to court. In fact, this was her first time in such a long time to come to the room where Lu Yunqi rested.

Two maids lowered their heads and helped Lu Yunqi dress.

Lu Yunqi stretched out his hands and let them do what they wanted, and just said "hmm" to Princess Jiuli.

Princess Jiuli did not say anything else, but just stood aside and seemed to be watching Lu Yunqi put on his official robes seriously.

She was not looking at him, Lu Yunqi knew it very well, and without saying anything, he quickly put on his bright red robe, put on his official hat, and went out.

Princess Jiuli stood at the door to see him off. She watched Lu Yunqi go out and was immediately surrounded by a team of Jinyi Guards, just like a loving couple.

Will she come back too?

"Sir, those merchant students have already started to move." Jiang Qianhu approached Lu Yunqi and whispered.

Lu Yunqi had a blank expression on his face.

"There is no movement from Duke Cheng's side. He is still camping outside the capital." Captain Jiang continued.

Lu Yunqi remained silent and ignored everything. He walked outside the door and looked at the Jinyi Guards standing there with their swords embroidered on their waists.

"There is still no news about Miss Jun." Captain Jiang finally said, "After the news from Jin County was cut off, her whereabouts are unknown."

Lu Yunqi jumped on his horse.

"She'll be here today," he said, looking ahead at the street, which was still pitch black. "It depends on whether they can stop her."

…

At this time, in a large camp outside the capital, the lights were also bright, and teams of soldiers were gathering. With colorful flags flying and the sound of horses' hooves rolling, they formed a neat square formation.

The armor was bright and the spears were like a forest. Because the movements were so orderly, at first glance it seemed that the people in the square were motionless. However, the entire square was moving at a visible speed, like a castle rolling over.

Seeing this momentum, the imperial guards in the military camp outside the capital could not help but gasp with pale faces.

They already knew that these troops were different from the Imperial Guards. They didn't seem to be much different from them in the past few days, but now that they were assembled into a battle formation, they realized how intimidating they were.

Another group of people moved together. It turned out to be Duke Cheng, who was riding with a group of officers and generals. He was still wearing white armor and holding a long sword in his hand.

Seeing Duke Cheng approaching the front of the battle formation, the battle formation stopped and became even more silent. Under the dark night sky, the only sound was the whirring of torches and colorful flags.

Chengguo Public Television swept across the formation.

They fought against the enemy for ten years, in the face of wind, frost and fire, all for the sake of defending the border and winning peace and happiness for the people in the rear.

Now they have the opportunity to come back and see the people they protected, see this prosperous world that was created thanks to them, and let the people they protected see these real soldiers and generals.

Duke Cheng raised the long sword in his hand

"Enter the city," he said.

The troops moved in unison, their spears raised high, the sound like thunder.

"Enter the city!"

"Enter the city!"