After many days, Chu Jinyao finally returned to Ciqing Palace. The palace maids in Changhe Garden had been sent back first. When they heard the noise outside, they all came out in a hurry to greet her: "Crown Princess!"

Chu Jinyao was still wearing the same clothes as before. This kind of gray cloth was out of place in the palace and could almost be considered rude, but no one in Ciqing Palace dared to show the slightest sign of abnormality.

If you dare to provoke the Crown Princess again at this juncture, you are either blind or stupid and you don't want to live anymore.

Kikyo looked at Chu Jinyao crying: "Crown Princess, I'm glad you're okay."

The situation was critical yesterday, and the fewer people Chu Jinyao took away, the better, so except for Dingxiang and Linglong, everyone else was left behind. But it was safer to be left behind at this time. Changhe Garden was so big that someone could hide anywhere.

Chu Jinyao was just taking precautions at the time, but she had guessed it right. General Hu was holding her hostage in the name of protection. When he learned that the Crown Princess was not there, he immediately ordered to chase her outside, so he had no time to torture these palace maids. Now it was a blessing in disguise. Chu Jinyao was safe and sound, and these maids were not in any trouble except for being frightened.

The best news is that no one was injured. Seeing that Chu Jinyao looked tired, Linglong immediately said, "If you have anything to say, please speak slowly. The Crown Princess has been tossed all night, so let her rest first."

Chu Jinyao was indeed in a bad mood. She had not slept all night and had experienced so many unexpected changes and shocks. She was trying to stay awake outside because she was worried about Qin Yi. Now that she was back to the familiar environment, she immediately felt a little exhausted. Upon seeing this, several palace maids immediately shut up and carefully helped Chu Jinyao to go to bed to rest. After Chu Jinyao took off her rough clothes, she didn't even bother to wash up, and fell asleep on the pillow.

She slept until the afternoon. When she opened her eyes, she saw the golden glow shining on the bed, warm and peaceful, as if nothing had changed. Chu Jinyao moved slightly, and the maid guarding outside heard the sound and quickly opened the curtain and came in: "Crown Princess, are you awake?"

"What time is it?"

"It's the evening hour."

"I slept for so long, where is Your Highness?"

"The Crown Prince came back in the afternoon and saw that the Crown Princess was still sleeping, so he told me not to disturb her rest. Not long after that, he was called away by the eunuch again."

Chu Jinyao nodded. Now the whole court was on the verge of collapse, and there were naturally many places where Qin Yi needed to step in. Chu Jinyao got up with the help of the palace maid. She changed her clothes and stood outside the bed and asked, "Crown Princess, the food has been kept warm in the kitchen. Do you want to eat first?"

Chu Jinyao originally wanted to take a bath, but she thought that she had not eaten all day, and taking a bath at this time would be bad for her health and the child. Chu Jinyao thought so and gave up her original idea. She nodded and said, "Okay, let's serve the meal."

While the palace servants were serving the meal outside, Chu Jinyao asked about other things: "How are my sister and Brother Lu?"

"My eldest aunt just sent a letter saying that they are all fine and asked the Crown Princess to rest assured and take care of the baby. The Zhao family also sent warm and nourishing things to the Crown Princess."

When Qin Yi took Chu Jinyao back to Beijing, he sent another team to send Chu Jinxian back to the Zhao family. Now Chu Jinyao learned that Chu Jinxian and her son had recovered and were not seriously ill, so she nodded with relief

. It's strange to say, Chu Jinyao had been out of the palace for more than a month, and when she came back, she didn't feel uncomfortable at all, as if life should be like this. When she just got married, she still felt that this place was depressing, and the red walls and green tiles of the Forbidden City were almost suffocating.

It turned out that Chu Jinyao's life had been integrated into this magnificent palace without her realizing it, sharing the same breath and being inseparable.

Chu Jinyao still doesn't know what changes have taken place in the outside world while she was sleeping. Putting aside the affairs of the court, the sisters Chu Jinyao and Chu Jinxian are now completely famous in the capital.

In fact, when the prince just brought the princess back to the palace, many people in the palace secretly talked about it because the princess was wearing the wrong clothes. Later, the news of last night's incident spread. Everyone in and outside the palace knew that the eldest lady of the Zhao family risked her life to lead away the pursuers, and the Crown Princess narrowly escaped death for her country. Those gossipers shut up and dared not say anything.

Such strong and loyal behavior was not even dared to be mentioned by the family that prided itself on virtue. The deeds of the Crown Princess and her sister soon spread to the officials and families in the capital. From the noble Hanlin family to the famous military commander family, everyone praised the noble character of the sisters. During the time when Chu Jinyao was asleep, the deeds of the two sisters had already spread from one person to another, and were almost compiled into a new legend of virtuous women.

Because Chu Jinxian helped Chu Jinyao divert the pursuers yesterday, Qin Yi treated Chu Jinxian very courteously. Today, he specially ordered a lot of rewards to be sent to the Zhao family, and even personally gave a name to Chu Jinxian's son Lu Ge'er. Qin Yi felt that they deserved some rewards for Chu Jinxian's care for Chu Jinyao in times of crisis.

But at this moment, Chu Jinyao was still stirring the soup in his hand without knowing anything. These were specially prepared by the kitchen. Chu Jinyao had just woken up, so it was not suitable for him to eat too greasy food. Chu Jinyao took a sip to moisten her throat, then asked, "Where did His Highness eat? What did he eat at noon?"

The palace maid looked embarrassed and said, "His Highness the Crown Prince was called away by the eunuch before he had time to eat at noon."

"How can we do this?" Chu Jinyao suddenly got angry. "You guys have been working like this while I'm away? You actually let him neglect his diet. He was exposed to the cold wind all night yesterday, and now he has to discuss state affairs with the ministers. How can he endure without eating? Quickly tell the small kitchen to prepare something warm and easy to digest, pack it up and send it to the Wenhua Hall. Prepare more, I'm afraid the ministers haven't eaten yet."

The eunuch who was delivering tea and snacks walked carefully to the Wenhua Hall. Before he entered the hall, he heard the quarrel inside. The eunuchs became more alert and walked almost without making any sound. As they slowly approached, the sounds of quarreling inside became more obvious: "...That day, this old minister tried his best to stop Your Majesty from leading the army in person. If it were not for the treacherous Eunuch Liu who spoke up for Your Majesty, Your Majesty would not have suffered such a great humiliation!"

This was no longer a question of humiliation. The emperor was full of confidence and led an army of 300,000 to lead the army in person. Many capable ministers and promising young men in the capital followed him, and even half of the court civil servants followed him. However, in the end, this was the result. The emperor was captured alive by the Oirat, the Duke of Ying and the Duke of Fu died in battle, the husband of Princess Runing, General Chai, died in battle, two marquises, five earls, the ministers of the three ministries of household, military and civil service, the right vice minister of the Ministry of Punishment, the right vice minister of the Ministry of Works, the left vice minister of the Ministry of Personnel, as well as the Hanlin Academy, the Imperial Academy, the Supervisory Office and more than 20 civil servants below, and countless noble sons, all died in the melee

. At this time, it is meaningless to investigate whether they died in battle or committed suicide. If the king was captured alive, if the ministers came back alive, they would be cursed. It is better to die on the battlefield, at least they can get the name of heroes.

No one thought that 300,000 elite troops could be defeated by a few tens of thousands of Oirat soldiers. Even if they were defeated due to improper command, it would not be so careless that they were defeated before the battle even started.

All the elite troops of the capital were lost in Xuanfu. Not only did the accumulation of the entire Great Yan Dynasty for many years fall in an instant, but now the capital has to face a more serious problem. The battlefield of Xuanfu is only 200 miles away from the capital, and the express army can reach it in one day. Now that the capital has lost the elite troops of the three armies to defend it, how can it resist the foreign enemy with only some old and weak soldiers? The situation can even be worse. When the Wala soldiers come to the city one day, the two armies face each other, and the Wala people bring the emperor to the front, will the Yan army attack or not?

Qin Yi had a headache just thinking about these problems. The capital city was now like a child with a lot of gold in his arms. The guards that once intimidated foreign enemies were destroyed overnight. The capital city was now like an empty city without any self-protection ability and could be slaughtered at will.

However, in such a critical situation, the ministers below were still thinking about quarreling and blaming each other. A good court was destroyed overnight. No minister could bear this shock. They were furious and the more they shouted, the more excited they became. Some even cried bitterly. The crying seemed to be contagious. Qin Yi watched helplessly as the ministers who were usually well-dressed beat their chests and stamped their feet, crying bitterly. He had a more and more headache and pressed his eyebrows in unbearable pain.

Some people cried without caring about the dignity of a minister, and the rest of the irritable and belligerent people became more and more excited. One person said, "The emperor had no intention of leading the army in person, and it was all because of those greedy people who flattered and deceived the emperor and tricked His Majesty into leading the army in person. Now the front-line command has failed, and they are to blame."

There were many voices echoing this, and Eunuch Liu, who first proposed to lead the army in person, naturally became the target of everyone's criticism. Eunuch Liu's adopted son was pulled over at some point, and the first person kicked him to vent his anger, and more and more people followed, and gradually the situation became completely out of control.

Qin Yi's face was completely frozen. They couldn't hear anything he said at this time. The guards of the East Palace quickly protected Qin Yi and stood somewhere else to prevent the prince from being affected by this group of out-of-control officials. Qin Yi looked at the farce in front of him coldly and was angry, but he also knew that these officials were holding back their anger. If they were not allowed to vent their anger, no one would be able to calm down and think about what to do next. Because of this, Qin Yi did not forcibly stop the fight in front of the palace, which was so disrespectful, but just stood aside and endured it.

This disaster came out of nowhere. If it was a natural disaster or a war, even if it was a man-made disaster, the ministers would feel better. But it was this inexplicable reason, this inexplicable defeat, and the accumulation of many years was overturned overnight. No one could accept it.

In addition to Qin Yi, the people of Zhenbei Marquis Mansion also stood far away. It was better to hide than to stand. They were evasive and didn't dare to make a sound, for fear of attracting other people's attention and being angered.

It was true that Eunuch Liu was the first person to persuade the emperor to lead the army in person, but it was Empress Xiao Qi who really made the emperor make up his mind.

As Empress Xiao Qi's family, Zhenbei Marquis Mansion was like sitting on pins and needles at this moment, unable to even stand.

Unfortunately, the Zhenbei Marquisate tried hard to cover it up, but other officials were not so forgetful. The officials wanted to tear Eunuch Liu into pieces, so how could they forget the other "meritorious official" who had dealt a heavy blow to the emperor? However, the Zhenbei Marquisate was of a different status after all, and Empress Wenxiao was also surnamed Qi. The officials were concerned about the prince's face, so they did not take action against the Zhenbei Marquisate.

But as the saying goes, a death sentence can be avoided, but a living crime cannot be escaped. If Empress Qi did not pay any price, she would be too disrespectful to the 300,000 elite soldiers who died innocently, as well as the century-old foundation of the entire Great Yan Dynasty.

The officials were extremely excited, and they knelt on the ground in unison, begging the prince to support the government and punish the treacherous. Seeing that the situation was not right, Zhenbei Hou hurriedly stepped forward and asked to resign. However, before he finished speaking, a minister of the Supervisory Office spat at him: "Zhenbei Hou is so proud that he can be reinstated after resignation. But can the 300,000 troops in Xuanfu and the two officers who died in the battle of the Supervisory Office be resurrected?"

Zhenbei Hou looked embarrassed and could not speak anymore. Qin Yi knew in his heart that if he did not make a statement today, these crazy ministers would not let it go.

Qin Yi also felt sorry for the heroic spirits of Dayan. It was not enough that the vicious woman Xiao Qihou had harmed the harem, and now she even indirectly killed 300,000 soldiers. The lives of 300,000 people, this is not just talk.

Qin Yi paused and said, "The Queen has made irresponsible remarks about state affairs and has colluded with Liu's party to cause chaos and go beyond the rules. She has lost the virtue of a queen and is unworthy of holding the Phoenix Seal and commanding the six palaces. Now I will seize the Queen's Phoenix Seal, stop the

imperial concubines from paying respects to her, and order her to live in seclusion in Kunning Palace to reflect on her mistakes." Seizing the Phoenix Seal means losing the power to govern the harem, and stopping the imperial concubines from paying respects to her means that she can no longer maintain the etiquette of the queen, the last layer of face. A queen who has been deprived of all control over domestic and foreign affairs is no different from a deposed queen except for the title of queen.