At noon the next day, the army set out and returned to the capital.

The situation was critical when they came, and the forced march took more than ten days. There was no time to turn back, so the army returned to Beijing at a normal speed and arrived in Beijing at the end of October.

The news of Yin Chengzhang's death had already been sent back to the palace.

After the army arrived at Wangjing City, Yin Chengyu asked Ying Hongxue and He Shan to stay in the Beijing Camp outside the city with the soldiers of the Four Guards Camp, and did not immediately let the two of them accompany him to the capital to meet the emperor.

Emperor Longfeng returned to Wangjing from Nanjing Prefecture at the end of September, and Concubine Wen and others naturally returned with him.

Now that Yin Chengzhang is dead, even though he reaped the fruits of his own actions, Concubine Wen will not let it go. At this time, it is better for He Shan and Ying Hongxue not to have too much presence.

Yin Chengyu, Xue Shu, and Marquis Anyuan escorted Yin Chengzhang's coffin back to the palace.

The funeral palace where the body was kept was located on the north side of the Yanwang Palace, and all the funeral supplies had been prepared.

After receiving the news, Emperor Longfeng and Concubine Wen rushed to the funeral palace. Emperor Longfeng looked only slightly haggard, but Concubine Wen looked much older. Her face, which had always been well-maintained, was not made up, and she wore plain clothes, with the corners of her eyes and eyebrows soaked with frost.

When the news of Yin Chengzhang's death reached the capital, she was so grief-stricken that she refused to believe it at first, and begged Emperor Longfeng to send someone to Qingzhou Prefecture to confirm the news. After waiting for a long time for the person who verified the news to rush back and confirm the news of Yin Chengzhang's death, she could no longer deceive herself and cried every day.

After waiting for nearly a month, Yin Chengzhang's coffin finally returned to Beijing.

Before the coffin was even put to rest, she threw herself on it and cried bitterly.

Although Emperor Longfeng had been using his second son to compete with the crown prince, he had always doted on Concubine Wen, and naturally had been very tolerant of Yin Chengzhang, his son, and had shown a lot of love and care. Now seeing Concubine Wen shouting with all her might, almost about to faint from crying, with her eyes slightly red, she said to the soldiers guarding the spirit, "Open the coffin, and Concubine Wen and I will take another look at Zhang'er."

The coffin had not yet been nailed shut, so the soldiers opened the lid as instructed.

To prevent the body from decaying, Yin Chengzhang's body was kept in an ice cellar for half a month. In October, the weather turned cold, and the body did not decay during the journey. However, he had encountered a landslide before his death, so even if someone had specially made up his face, it still did not look good.

Emperor Longfeng just took a glance and then looked away.

Concubine Wen lay beside the coffin and cried bitterly. Seeing her cry getting hoarse, Emperor Longfeng stepped forward, took her by the shoulders and led her away, signaling the others to close the coffin lid. He said to the officials of the Ministry of Rites waiting on the side: "Prepare the funeral of the Second Prince well. All funeral regulations should be the same as for the Prince."

Yin Chengzhang was only seventeen years old, had not yet married, and had not yet been crowned king.

Concubine Wen heard this and grabbed his sleeve, hissing, "Your Majesty, we can't bury him like this. The culprit who killed Zhang'er has not been brought to justice yet. How can my son rest in peace if we bury him like this?"

Emperor Longfeng frowned, but seeing how heartbroken she was, he softened his heart and could only coax her, "Those who failed to protect Zhang'er will be dealt with by you, okay? If you are not satisfied, let them die for Zhang'er."

"How can those people alone be enough?" Concubine Wen wiped away her tears, and her red and swollen eyes slowly scanned Marquis Anyuan and Yin Chengyu, and asked hatefully: "I heard that the prince was also in danger during the Yidu earthquake. How come someone saved the prince, but no one cared about my Zhang'er?!"

"I heard that he was fine when he was found, how come he is not well after being rescued? Maybe someone deliberately murdered the prince!" She begged with tears in her eyes: "Your Majesty, please investigate thoroughly and make a decision for us mother and son!"

Although Concubine Wen did not mention any names, there were only a few people present, so it was obvious who she was suspecting.

The officials present all hunched their shoulders and lowered their heads, wishing they didn't exist.

"I understand that the Concubine is grieving over the loss of her son. But there are some things that can be said, and some things that cannot be said." Yin Chengyu met Concubine Wen's gaze calmly, and his attitude was not as gentle and tolerant as before. He said with a slightly sullen look, "In early August, my second brother failed to suppress the rebellion and fell off a cliff and disappeared. During this period, Marquis An Yuan had been sending people to search for my second brother everywhere. After I arrived in Dayidu, I sent more people to expand the search area, almost turning Fuhu Ridge upside down, but I never found my second brother. It was not until the fourth day after the earthquake that Marquis An Yuan found my second brother trapped under the rubble in the Xiaopanshan area of ​​Fuhu Ridge."

"Although I don't know why my second brother hid in Fuhu Ridge and didn't show up, earthquakes are beyond human control. My second brother's death was indeed an accident. Whether it was the guards who died protecting him or Marquis Anyuan who led people to search for my second brother day and night, they were all loyal people. If the noble concubine makes rash assumptions out of sadness, I'm afraid it will chill the hearts of loyal ministers and good generals."

He sighed quietly, as if he had not realized that the person Concubine Wen was talking about who murdered the prince was actually himself.

Even though Marquis Anyuan knew that he was deliberately using him as a shield, he still felt a little grateful. He failed to protect the Second Prince, and if Concubine Wen wanted to punish him, that was fine. She just hoped that she would not implicate other members of the Xu family.

Concubine Wen naturally noticed the change in the expressions of the people present, and she also knew the plot of Yin Chengzhang and An Yuanhou. However, now that they failed to plan for the crown prince, her own son lost his life instead. How could she not hate them?

She stared at Yin Chengyu angrily, her long and sharp nails digging into her palms, almost pinching them to bleed. Only then did she suppress the anger and resentment in her heart, lowered her eyes and said apologetically: "Your Highness the Crown Prince is right, it was me who lost my composure."

Emperor Longfeng, who had been silent the whole time, finally came out to smooth things over: "Now that this matter has been made clear, there is no need to mention it again in the future. The Ministry of Rites will take good care of the Second Prince's funeral and prepare all the necessary items." He then looked at Yin Chengyu and said: "The rebellion in Shandong has been quelled this time, and the Crown Prince has worked hard. Just take a good rest for a few days."

As for the reward for suppressing the riot, there was no mention at all and it was just glossed over.

Yin Chengyu was not surprised. He bowed and left.

Xue Shu did not leave with him, but followed Emperor Longfeng.

After spending some time with Concubine Wen, Emperor Longfeng returned to the Qianqing Palace.

Xue Shu also accompanied him.

After returning to the Qianqing Palace, Emperor Longfeng sat down on the Luohan bed in the middle, waved away the eunuchs who were serving him, and squinted his eyes at the young man standing in front of him.

After returning from his trip, Xue Shu looked even more powerful than before, and was no less powerful than the eunuchs like Gao Xian who had been in the palace for many years. If it weren't for Emperor Longfeng who promoted him, no one would believe that he had actually been in the palace for less than a year.

It is a useful knife, but it is a pity that this knife cannot distinguish its own master.

Emperor Longfeng took a sip of hot tea. His attitude towards him was not as friendly as before, and his tone was neither salty nor bland: "Tell me about your trip to Shandong." He emphasized: "No matter how big or small it is, please pay attention to it."

Xue Shu stood there straight, seemingly unaware of the emperor's different treatment of him.

Emperor Longfeng told him every detail, so he told him every detail about the suppression of the rebellion in Shandong, only skipping the parts about Yin Chengyu and Ying Hongxue.

"...That's all." Xue Shu lowered his eyes, his attitude was no different from before.

Respectful, but not fawning like others.

Whether in his past life or this life, he had a good idea of ​​Emperor Longfeng's personality. Emperor Longfeng was very suspicious and actually did not like people who flattered him, as he would think that such people had ulterior motives. He also liked to seize power, and what he hated most in his heart were ministers who fought for power, even if he still needed to use these ministers to suppress the crown prince.

His attitude as a loyal minister who is respectful but not fawning is what makes Emperor Longfeng most at ease.

In his previous life, he relied on the trust of Emperor Longfeng to defeat Gao Xian and Gong Hongfei step by step, take control of the East Factory and Jinyiwei, and strengthen the West Factory.

However, Emperor Longfeng's attitude towards him now clearly showed that he had heard something and was becoming suspicious again.

While he was thinking, he heard Emperor Longfeng ask casually, "I heard that the prince was in danger this time. Did you risk your life to save him?"

"Yes." Xue Shu's expression remained unchanged. He neither denied nor defended himself.

"You are quite close to the Crown Prince." Emperor Longfeng sighed in an unclear tone.

Xue Shu said calmly, "Your Highness the Crown Prince is the king. If the king is in trouble, I will save him with my own body."

"I never thought you would be so loyal to the Crown Prince." Emperor Longfeng's expression darkened, and he was already angry: "In this case, you don't have to worry about the affairs of the West Factory and the Horse Guard. Go to Ciqing Palace and serve the Crown Prince!"

He looked at Xue Shu coldly, determined to teach him a lesson so that he would know clearly who he should be loyal to!

However, Xue Shu did not beg for mercy or show any fear. He just bowed and said, "I will obey your majesty's order."

Emperor Longfeng smashed the teacup in his hand at him and shouted angrily, "Get lost!"

Xue Shu retreated without hesitation.

Emperor Longfeng did not hold back that time, the teacup hit him hard, the hot tea wet his clothes and flowed down the hem of his clothes.

Xue Shu looked at the dark-dyed clothes and frowned slightly. Just as he was about to change into clean clothes, he was stopped by the smiling Gao Xian.

Gao Xian had long disliked him, but he had no choice because Emperor Longfeng favored him and could not easily move him. Now that he had heard the news, he knew that he had angered Emperor Longfeng, so he came to see him and said, "What did Supervisor Xue do to anger the Emperor? Do you want me to say a few good words for you in front of His Majesty?"

Xue Shu hurriedly changed his clothes and went to Ciqing Palace. He was impatient to waste time arguing with him, so he asked casually, "Why didn't you see Governor Gao?" After he finished speaking, he seemed to have just remembered and said, "I forgot that Governor Gao had been sent to prison by His Majesty."

His tone was concerned, but his expression was mocking: "Now that there is no one in charge of the East Factory, Gao Zhangyin is the only one taking care of the Imperial Household Department and the East Factory. How can he be so free?"

Gao Yuan had previously used his power to fabricate charges and tortured several scholars into confessing. However, he did not expect to backfire, forcing the Sun family to file a complaint, which aroused the anger of countless scholars.

Yin Chengyu personally supervised the case and had already made a decision before he left Beijing for Shandong.

However, a rebellion broke out in Shandong at that time, and Gao Yuan was the emperor's man, so they went to Shandong without waiting for Emperor Longfeng's decision.

After he came back, he learned that Emperor Longfeng was furious when he heard about this. In order to calm the anger of the literati, he directly beheaded Gao Yuan and displayed his head to the public.

Gao Xian had several capable adopted sons under him, so he didn't feel bad for this brother. But I heard that he later recommended his adopted son to replace Gao Yuan, but not only was he not approved, but he was also reprimanded by Emperor Longfeng.

Now the position of the East Factory Supervisor is left vacant.

Gao Xian came to see Xue Shu's joke, but was stepped on twice by Xue Shu.

He looked at Xue Shu gloomily: "You are a very good person. I just hope that the prince can use you. Otherwise, if you fall into our hands in the future..." You will suffer the consequences.

Xue Shu glanced at him and brushed past him with a disdainful look: "Then don't bother Master Gao about it."

The corners of his mouth curled up slightly. There were many ways that His Highness could use him.

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Big Dog Gou: I am a top-notch bed warmer, the prince can spoil me, you know nothing (rolling eyes.jpg

Your Highness:?