Just now, Bai Qingyuan attacked Yu Sheng under the pretext that Jing Zhe did not come to the palace to report on his duties, and Yu Sheng had nothing to say. But now, the pretext for attacking Yu Sheng found was full of loopholes, so how could he let it go?
"You surnamed Bai, I've put up with you for far too long!"
Yu Sheng roared, "President Jing only heard from people in Jinxi that the war in Liangzhou was critical, so he made the decision to go! He wasn't in the palace, and no one was there to send him messages by carrier pigeon. How would he know that Empress Yueyao had helped Liangzhou quell the war? You're just making trouble out of nothing!"
Empress Yueyao led her troops in a surprise attack on the Western Barbarians, driving them back to Shilihe. This happened four or five days ago, and Liu Jinghong sent a message back to the capital by carrier pigeon immediately, so everyone knows about it.
Bai Qingyuan sneered: "What, even President Jing can hear about the tense situation in Liangzhou, but can't he hear about Empress Yueyao driving back the Western Barbarians? Heh, I don't believe it!"
"If you don't believe me, go die! You're always babbling on and on, why are you acting like an old woman? If you're so capable, why don't you go to Jinxi? If you're so capable, why don't you go to Liangzhou? If you're so capable, why don't you become the leader of the martial arts alliance?"
"My surname is Yu. This is the imperial court, not your home! Watch your mouth!"
Recently, although he still inevitably argued and bickered with Yu Sheng every day when he went to court, Yu Sheng had become much more civilized and mostly persuaded people with reason. He rarely used foul language like he did today, which Bai Qingyuan found hard to accept.
"Clean? That depends on who you are! Someone like you, good for nothing and good for nothing, do I need to be clean for you? You call yourself Grand Tutor Bai? I think you should be called a white rice bucket, ptooey!"
"you--"
"What do you mean, 'what do you mean, 'what did I say wrong'? You're just useless at everything, aren't you? Oh, you can't even have children!"
"I... pfft..."
The inability to have children was Bai Qingyuan's lifelong pain. No one had mentioned it for so long, but Yu Sheng suddenly brought it up again. Bai Qingyuan felt his blood rush to his head, and he spat out a mouthful of blood before falling backward...
"Guards! Grand Tutor Bai is dead!"
"Hey, don't talk nonsense, she just fainted!"
"Oh, then quickly summon the imperial physician!"
"..."
Amidst the chaos, Bai Qingyuan, who had fainted due to a stroke, was carried away, causing a stir in the court.
Yu Sheng, on the other hand, was smug and pleased with himself. It had been a long time since he had been able to criticize someone so comfortably. Hmm, this was much more enjoyable!
Once the Golden Palace was quiet again, Emperor An glared at Yu Sheng and said with some displeasure, "Duke Yu, you have served in the same court as Grand Tutor Bai for many years, how can you still be so unrestrained in your speech?"
"Hehe, Your Majesty, it's mainly because he's being unreasonable that I couldn't help myself!"
"This will not be allowed to happen again!"
After saying that, Emperor An changed the subject, saying, "Let's talk about President Jing's matter after he returns. Even if it was wrong for President Jing to go to Liangzhou on his own, he made such a great contribution in Jinxi. This little thing is not enough to punish him."
"Your Majesty is wise!"
The ministers knew that since Emperor An had said so, he would not pursue the matter any further. Bai Qingyuan had most likely fainted in vain, and Jing Zhe's current imperial favor was truly enviable!
"Your Majesty, an urgent message has been sent from Liangzhou!"
At this moment, a palace guard walked in with a note, which Sui Shouren took directly.
Within Anguo, there are post roads for horses and also "post roads" for pigeons, which are actually transit stations.
When there is particularly urgent information that needs to be transmitted to Jingzhou as soon as possible, such relay stations will be activated. For example, a message will be sent by carrier pigeon from Liangzhou. The pigeon will fly at full speed for an hour to reach the next relay station, and then a new pigeon will be used to continue the delivery. The message can be sent back in less than a day.
"Urgent message?"
Emperor An was puzzled. According to the timeline, Jing Zhe should have arrived in Liangzhou by now, so why was there still an urgent message?
"General Sui, what did they say?"
"Your Majesty... General Jinghong said in his letter that Babu, the 10,000-strong general of the Western Frontier, has led a regiment of 5,000 heavy cavalry to surround Liangzhou City, and that Chief Jing and Empress Yueyao have already been taken away by them..."
After Sui Shouren finished speaking, the court fell silent instantly, and Emperor An's face was full of shock.
Why did the Western Frontier Heavy Cavalry Regiment arrive in Liangzhou for no apparent reason?
And why did they take Jing Zhe away?
He quickly asked, "What else did General Jinghong say?"
"General Jinghong said that before President Jing was taken away, she had already instructed her on how to deal with the situation. She said that early tomorrow morning... judging from the time, it should be now. President Jing will be back, and then they will engage in a fierce battle with the heavy cavalry regiment!"
"..."
Liu Jinghong only explained the situation in her letter, but did not mention requesting support. It seems that she is very confident in the solution proposed by Jing Zhe!
Emperor An sighed, "So, it was the right decision for Chief Jing to go to Liangzhou this time! General, send urgent messages to Quzhou and Yongcheng, the closest cities to Liangzhou, and request that three thousand soldiers be dispatched to provide support! Although General Jinghong did not request aid, I cannot let people's hearts be chilled!"
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
"Your Majesty is wise!"
The ministers bowed, still thinking that if Jing Zhe could really find a way to repel the Western Frontier Heavy Cavalry Regiment this time, his status in Anguo would be even more terrifyingly high...
...
After the court session, Zhu Xinning came out of the palace, and her carriage stopped outside the Wenxiang Residence.
At this moment, the entrance to Wenxiangju was once again crowded with people.
It turned out that everyone had rushed to the city gate that morning to see Jing Zhe, but only Crown Prince Su Moyan returned, which greatly disappointed the people.
So a group of people rushed back and began frantically buying newspapers, and the area outside the door became crowded again.
Seeing that she couldn't get in through the main entrance, Zhu Xinning went around to the back entrance and then went straight up to the second floor.
On the table in the second-floor room was a bronze mirror. Zhang Xiaoyu was sitting in front of it, carefully doing her makeup in front of the mirror. When she heard a noise coming from the door, she immediately stood up, her heart pounding.
Servants dared not enter her room. Usually, only Zhu Xinning and Yu Xiangrong dared to push the door open and come in, besides her.
Not long after the two women left, only one person dared to enter openly—she turned around excitedly, only to find that the person who entered was Zhu Xinning, and a hint of disappointment flashed in her eyes.
But she still asked curiously, "Second sister, how come you... came back so soon?"
He didn't come back...
Looking at Zhang Xiaoyu holding a wooden comb, Zhu Xinning felt a pang of pity for her, and for herself.
At this moment, the door opened again, and Yu Xiangrong appeared in the doorway. It turned out that Yu Sheng had gotten home even faster, and she had already received the news.
Next, Zhu Xinning recounted the story. The other two women were quite worried. Zhu Xinning held their hands and said, "We should trust him, shouldn't we?"
Both women had misty, wet eyes, but they still nodded firmly.
————
(I originally wanted to write a month-end summary, but I got so annoyed by all the trivial things in the group chat that I couldn't write anything. So, I'll leave it at that.)
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