The entire city of Bianjing was in an uproar. The Song Dynasty was now invincible. With the natural barrier of the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun and the capable generals at the border, the Song Dynasty no longer feared being bullied by foreign races.
People flocked to the streets and stopped to watch the triumphant soldiers returning. The 30,000 guards led by Zhao Huan had become the most elite troops of the Song Dynasty after the baptism of war.
In the Purple Palace, the ministers immediately began to flatter Zhao Huan. Voices of praise rang out, saying that Yao, Shun, and Yu were not even a fraction as good as Zhao Huan, and that the Qin Emperor and Han Emperor were not even worthy of carrying Zhao Huan's shoes. Even Meng Gu Rao, who always disliked flattery, grinned and exclaimed, "An emperor of all ages, an emperor of all ages."
The harem was even more joyous. In the Renming Hall, Zhu Lian looked at himself left and right in front of the bronze mirror, while the maids beside him were dressing up and applying makeup.
"Do I look good like this?" Zhu Lian's brows lit up with joy.
"Your Majesty, you are the most beautiful." The maid was very good at flattery.
Zhu Lian was immediately happy.
In Ciyuan Palace, Concubine Mu Xin was sitting in Mengzhu Pavilion and was also dressed up in surprise.
"Xinyue, do you think His Majesty will go to Mengzhuxuan or Renming Palace first when he returns?"
The maid Xinyue didn't dare to answer: "I don't know."
Mu Guiren immediately became unhappy: "Useless thing, you don't even know how to say something nice to comfort me."
In the Falling Jade Pavilion, Tang Wan'er was embroidering. She was a talented woman who disliked crowds. Only a young maid, Caidie, was waiting by her side.
"Empress Wan, I heard that the emperor is back today." Caidie said.
Tang Wan'er didn't even raise her head: "Yeah."
"My lady, don't you want to know where the Emperor is going tonight?"
Tang Wan'er raised her head and said, "I'll definitely go to the Queen first."
"What if the Emperor comes here? Lady Wan, you don't even put on makeup. I saw Lady Mu was very busy today."
"Your Majesty, please don't come here. It would be bad if the Empress knew about this. Let them be busy with their own things. Let's not bother with them."
"The Emperor has arrived!" The eunuch's voice was heard outside Luoyu Pavilion.
Zhao Huan walked in with a beaming smile on his face. Strangely, he was followed by a beautiful girl, Nangong Lian'er.
Tang Wan'er's heart pounded when she saw Zhao Huan, and she was slightly surprised: "Your Majesty."
"Oh, this is Miss Lian'er. I brought her here. She will stay with you tonight." Zhao Huan said shamelessly.
Tang Wan'er was very smart and immediately understood what Zhao Huan meant. The emperor had brought a beautiful woman back from abroad and was afraid that the queen would be jealous, so he hid her here first.
"Nangong Lian'er greets Talented Lady Tang." Nangong Lian'er bowed.
Tang Wan'er hurriedly returned the greeting: "You're welcome, sister. You can stay here tonight."
Zhao Huan was a little embarrassed. He wanted to leave but was too embarrassed to say: "Um, I..."
"Your Majesty, please go to Renming Hall quickly. The Empress is waiting anxiously." Tang Wan'er said.
Zhao Huan was overjoyed. Wan'er was so clever. He immediately stood up and said, "Then I'll take my leave."
On the second day, Zhao Huan came out of the Queen's Renming Hall to attend the morning court.
All the ministers came to the Purple Palace early in the morning. Zhao Huan was still yawning after a night of idleness.
"The emperor has arrived, and all the ministers are here to attend the morning court!" Cao Dongsheng's voice was still as sharp and pleasant to the ears.
The ministers began to discuss rewards. Zhao Huan said, "Although the Jin Dynasty has been defeated, refugees are everywhere in Shandong. We cannot be careless. My priority is to issue a pacification order. Any rebels who voluntarily submit to the pacification order will be exempted from prosecution and compensated so they can return to their hometowns to cultivate the land. Furthermore, Shandong is suffering from a severe drought. I have decided to exempt Shandong from taxes. Those who refuse to submit to the pacification order, or those who are the ringleaders of the rebellion, will not be pardoned."
"Your Majesty is wise!" all the ministers said in unison.
"Wang Zongchu."
Wang Zongchu stood up and said: "I am here!"
"I order you to take 5,000 imperial guards to Shandong to quell the rebellion!"
"As you wish!"
Zhao Huan stood up and said, "We will discuss other matters later. Li Gang, He Li, Chen Guoting, Meng Gurao, and Wu Ge, please follow me to the Wende Hall. The rest of you may withdraw from the court."
Wende Hall.
Zhao Huan sat on the dragon throne and said, "During the court meeting, we discussed the rewards for the meritorious service in conquering the Jin army. I, for the sake of the dignity of the retired emperor and the empress dowager, did not mention it. However, there is one person I cannot forget. That is Zhan Yunpeng, imprisoned in the Heavenly Prison. Without him cracking the Xiongzhou smuggling case, who knows how many weapons and ammunition would have fallen into the hands of the Jin thieves. Wu Ge, you must quickly go to the Heavenly Prison and release Zhan Yunpeng. I will also reward him handsomely."
Li Gang, He Li, Chen Guoting, Meng Gurao and others knelt down with a thud upon hearing this: "We deserve to die!"
Zhao Huan was very surprised: "My dear ministers, what do you mean?"
At that moment, He Li cried and told Zhao Huan about Zhan Yunpeng.
Chen Guoting angrily said, "Those old ministers of the previous dynasty are in Daojun Palace all day, and some simply don't come to court. The imperial edicts of the retired emperor are always inconsistent with the orders of our ministers. The Privy Council and the three yamen are even more confused. They don't know which edict to obey."
Zhao Huan's face turned pale upon hearing this, and his eyes were filled with murderous intent: "Someone come! Someone come! Someone come!"
The guards outside the palace rushed in hurriedly.
Zhao Huan was trembling all over, he was already beyond rage: "Call in the Palace Commander Kang Huojian!"
After a while, Kang Huojian came in with two followers, and then bowed and said, "Your Majesty!"
Zhao Huan gritted his teeth and spoke word by word, "Kang Huojian, I want you to hear every word clearly. Lead the palace guards and surround Yanfu Palace."
Kang Huojian only had eyes for Zhao Huan. He didn't even ask why, but immediately bowed and said, "As you wish!"
In fact, we can guess that the emperor is probably concerned about the rebellion in Shandong or the Zhan Yunpeng case.
"Wait," Zhao Huan called out to him, "Anyone who dares to leave Yanfu Palace will be killed, no matter who they are! I mean no matter who they are!"
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