Chapter 225 Recapture of the Northern Territory
On Zhuque Avenue, the messenger with the red feathers shouted the news all the way to the palace gate.
The entire capital was overjoyed upon hearing this.
But only the emperor, sitting high on his dragon throne, felt as if he had been struck hard in the chest by a hammer upon hearing the news.
His face showed a mixture of sorrow and joy.
That's my son...
A child I've barely met, yet possessing both literary and martial talents...
Compared to the cheers of the court officials, the emperor's heart was filled with complex emotions, but he could not show it on his face.
He could only awkwardly utter a few perfunctory words.
The crown prince knew what was going on as soon as he saw the emperor's expression.
The emperor excused himself from illness and left quickly, leaving the rest of the matter to the crown prince.
The crown prince watched the emperor's departing figure, his back slightly hunched, and sighed inwardly.
The helplessness of imperial families, the complexities of fathers and sons—it's all hard to explain.
With the northern border secured in a single battle, the entire nation rejoiced.
Xiao Ling finally had two days of free time, staying at home doing nothing and just lazing around.
He would sleep until the sun was high in the sky, then wake up and call Xie Yunyu to prepare food and drinks for him.
In the morning, I would lie in a rocking chair and read some boring novels. After my afternoon nap, I would play chess and paint at home.
At night, he would drag Xie Yunyu to do some shameless, indescribable things.
Two boring days passed like this.
On the third day, as soon as he entered the palace, he saw the Crown Prince frowning at him.
Xiao Ling asked in surprise, "What's wrong? What happened again?"
The Crown Prince tossed the memorial in his hand to Xiao Ling.
It turned out that the Marquis of Guangping's residence had submitted a memorial requesting the replacement of the heir apparent, transferring the position to Ye Kun.
"Although we all know what happened, Ye Jing had just made a contribution, so his position as heir apparent was revoked."
What would the uninformed court officials think if they saw this?
The saying that the imperial family discarded their useful servants after they had served their purpose chilled the hearts of the soldiers.
The crown prince was quite troubled.
Xiao Ling's lips curled into a slight smile as he recalled his earlier discussion with Xie Yunyu.
"If that doesn't work, then we can bestow Chen Jiatao upon Ye Jing."
The Crown Prince stared wide-eyed at Xiao Ling: "Wouldn't this get me spitting on by those old fogies in the court?"
Xiao Ling smiled and said, "The two of them are together and they're not afraid of what people will say, so what are you afraid of?"
"What they do is none of my business. I'm just worried about how to approve this memorial."
The Crown Prince looked at Xiao Ling angrily.
"Do as you say, we can't let the soldiers' morale be dampened, so reject his suggestion."
Once it's rejected, that's none of your business.
The Crown Prince looked at Xiao Ling and said, "If the Marquis of Guangping comes looking for me, what should I say?"
"Just say you think Ye Jing is good and has made contributions to the country. Let them handle the rest themselves."
They certainly have more solutions than you do.
The Crown Prince thought it made sense, so he issued the order as Xiao Ling had suggested.
When the Marquis of Guangping saw that the memorial had been rejected, he carefully studied the Crown Prince's wording and finally put the memorial into his bosom.
After thinking for a moment, he turned around and went to the study to write a letter to Ye Jing.
On September 25th, the Northern army, leading its victorious forces, returned to the capital in triumph.
The Crown Prince led all the officials out of the city to greet them for thirty li.
However, the weather in September was already quite cool, so it wasn't too unbearable.
After a lengthy welcoming ceremony, the emperor finally met the generals and soldiers who had led the northern expedition.
The court discussed merits and rewards, and everyone was overjoyed.
Wei Qing was at the height of his power in the court.
The affairs of the court finally came to an end, and the Empress Dowager and the Emperor gradually recovered their health.
The eldest princess returned to her own residence and rested for several days without going to the palace.
Xiao Ling also felt relieved.
His job at the Ministry of Personnel was completely ruined, and he was confined to the Eastern Palace every day to assist the Crown Prince in handling state affairs.
Winter has arrived once again, and snow is falling outside the window.
When Xiao Ling woke up in the morning, he looked at the snow outside the window, mumbled something, lay back down, hugged Xie Yunyu in his arms, rested his head on her shoulder, and rubbed against her.
Xie Yunyu was woken up by being nudged.
Looking at the unusually bright sky outside, and feeling the temperature, I asked:
"Is it snowing outside?"
"Hmm," Xiao Ling mumbled.
"It's snowing, why aren't you up yet? You'll be late." Xie Yunyu reached out and nudged him.
"It's snowing today, I don't want to go."
Xiao Ling cheated.
Xie Yunyu was surprised: "You're not in the Ministry of Personnel anymore, so you can't just not go whenever you want."
All matters of national importance require your decisions.
Get up quickly, stop lying in bed.
As Xie Yunyu stood up, Xiao Ling reluctantly followed suit.
He complained, "I'll help the Crown Prince for a while longer. Once the court is more stable next year, I don't want to be this tired anymore."
After saying that, he stretched and yawned, as if he had no bones, and then reached out to hug Xie Yunyu, pressing his weight onto her.
"You have no idea how tired I've ever been in my entire life."
Ugh... this is exhausting.
Having to get up for court in the middle of heavy snow, how annoying!
Xie Yunyu turned and gave him a comforting kiss on the cheek, then gently coaxed him before Xiao Ling reluctantly got up.
There was a charcoal stove in the carriage, and his carriage could go directly into the East Palace.
He wasn't cold at all, but even so, he still didn't want to go out in this kind of weather.
Seeing his displeasure, the crown prince slapped his forehead and said:
"I forgot, you never go out in this kind of weather every year. You must be tired."
Xiao Ling continued with a sullen face, "It's not hard work, it's just bad luck."
The crown prince smiled at his temper but said nothing.
The underground heating in the East Palace was very warm. Xiao Ling took off his cloak and threw it aside before starting his work.
He was engrossed in endless official business when he suddenly heard laughter and merriment coming from outside.
When Xiao Ling turned his head, he saw Yongning and the Fifth Prince playing around.
She then turned to look at the Crown Prince, who immediately understood.
Soon the fifth prince was summoned to handle state affairs, and he could no longer smile.
Seeing the Fifth Prince's utterly dejected expression, Xiao Ling finally felt a little better.
At noon, the emperor summoned several people to lunch.
Lunch was served in the Imperial Garden, where we enjoyed the snow scenery while eating.
There are five people in total: the Second Prince, the Fifth Prince, the Crown Prince, Xiao Ling, and the Emperor.
Last year, there were still the eldest prince and the third prince, but two people are gone in a year.
The emperor was rather dejected.
The fifth prince, looking rather silly, sat beside the emperor, chatting away and talking incessantly about interesting things that happened in the palace.
This did somewhat alleviate the emperor's sorrow.
The other three chatted lightly with the emperor, talking about the children, and the meal was quite pleasant.
Finally, the emperor looked at the four men and said, "You four have worked hard this year. Let me offer you a toast."
The four of them quickly stood up, feeling extremely uneasy.
The crown prince quickly said, "How can Father Emperor respect his children?"
“That’s right, Uncle, how are we supposed to face each other if you do this?” Xiao Ling said.
The emperor said, "This cup of wine is offered to you for the sake of the country and the people."
In the past six months, there have been many affairs in the court and the palace, and my health is not as good as before.
Fortunately, you have all grown up and can support each other, managing the court in an orderly manner.
They also won wars in both the North and South, demonstrating their excellent planning.
This glass of wine is a token of the respect you deserve.
The four people were very agitated upon hearing this.
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