Chapter 784 Reward

Not only Empress Nie and Emperor Jiazheng were in Zhaoyang Palace, but Crown Prince Wei Shiqing was also there.

It seemed that only Empress Nie kept looking at the palace door, but Wei Shiqing and Emperor Jiazheng also had their shoulders bent all the time, without any relaxation. Even when they picked up the teacups, their hands were slightly trembling.

When Queen Nie stood up and looked out of the palace gate for the eighteenth time, Wei Shiqing let out a long breath: "Mother, please come back and sit for a while. My second brother will be here soon."

Empress Nie was rarely seen wearing makeup today, and she looked extremely gorgeous. However, this extremely gorgeous beauty looked very worried: "...What if Ah Yan regrets his decision and wants to run away?"

The more she thought about it, the more she felt that this was possible.

Emperor Jiazheng looked confident of victory: "...Ayan will definitely not run away."

Queen Nie and Minister Wei Shiqing looked over at the same time.

Emperor Jiazheng coughed and said with the majesty of an emperor: "Have you forgotten? I also asked Princess Fusui to come with us."

That is indeed the case.

Queen Nie felt slightly relieved.

Her Ah Yan would never abandon Xing Xing and run away alone.

Wait……

Queen Nie thought about it and her face turned pale again: "If Ah Yan took Xing Xing with him..."

Emperor Jiazheng had a confident expression on his face, and said mysteriously, "So, I also summoned Princess Fusui's brother."

We can't run together as three people!

Queen Nie felt a little relieved.

But she couldn't help being nervous.

Queen Nie was even a little jealous of Wei Shiyu who could go out of the city to pick someone up.

Fortunately, Queen Nie did not suffer for too long, as the last eunuch who reported the news ran away quickly:

"Report! Your Majesty, Your Majesty, the Crown Prince, the Third Prince, and Princess Fusui have arrived at the gate of Zhaoyang Palace!"

Queen Nie's face turned pale for a moment, but she could no longer bear it and ran out holding up her skirt.

Emperor Jiazheng shouted "Empress, slow down" from behind and chased after her naturally.

Crown Prince Wei Shiqing was the most steadfast among them. He thought calmly, my father and mother are still so unstable even though they are old, unlike me, who is mature and steady.

Thinking of this, Wei Shiqing looked steady, but his steps were no less fast than those of Emperor Jiazheng and Empress Nie, and he ran out like a whirlwind.

…

When they were almost at Zhaoyang Palace, Wei Shiyan's steps slowed down noticeably.

He looked at the quiet palace hidden among the trees not far away, and vaguely remembered that when he was a child, he once sneaked out and seemed to be standing here, looking at his mother's residence from afar.

At that time, he heard that his mother had given birth to a younger brother, and he wanted to go and see her secretly.

Just take a look.

However, he remembered his calamity body. Anyone who approached him would become unlucky or even lose their life...

Little Wei Shiyan stopped and didn't dare to come any closer.

At this time, a palace maid passed by carrying something, and did not see the dangerous banquet behind the tree. She whispered that the Queen was such a good person, but she had been depressed and sad because of the death of the Second Prince. Now that the Third Prince was born, she would surely cheer up soon.

Wei Shiyan had always known that he had "died young" in the palace.

He also vaguely knew that this was done by his father, the emperor, and his mother, the queen, to protect him.

He was not angry when the palace maid said he "died young".

Little Wei Shiyan gritted his teeth, turned around, and quickly ran back to the cage where he was imprisoned.

He was afraid that if he ran too slowly, he would kill his mother and newborn brother.

From then on, Wei Shiyan never left the secluded palace on his own initiative again, until he took a carriage and left the palace with Qin Da Gongfeng to go to the deep mountains of Zhanchu to practice seclusion, until this moment.

He never resented his parents, nor did he resented life in general.

Just like when he accidentally came down the mountain and ran into the southern barbarians who were bullying the people of Da Xia, he rode alone to chase and kill them and never regretted it.

At this moment, this was the second time that Wei Shiyan stood outside the Zhaoyang Palace.

Wei Shiyan looked up at the sky.

The sunlight scattered through the gaps between the branches, somewhat dazzling.

Xing Xing was beside me, her voice soft and gentle: "The Zhaoyang Palace is just ahead."

Wei Shiyan looked at the sunlight falling on his palms, and his palms felt a little warm.

He clenched his palms lightly, feeling something real.

"Let's go." Wei Shiyan said.

The pace is no longer slow.

When they arrived at the gate of Zhaoyang Palace, Wei Shiyan paused for a moment and walked in without hesitation.

However, after walking a few steps, he saw a gorgeously dressed and extremely bright lady running out from the depths of the palace.

The noble lady also saw him, tears in her eyes, and she ran towards him without caring about her manners.

"Ayan!"

The noble lady cried out with sobs.

She ran so fast that she even stumbled and almost fell.

"Mother!"

Wei Shiyu became anxious and wanted to go over to help.

But the lady quickly stood up and continued to run towards the dangerous banquet.

Wei Shiyan's expression was somewhat stiff.

The noble lady ran over, unable to control herself, and hugged Wei Shiyan in her arms!

"Ayan, my Ayan!"

She burst into tears.

Queen Nie cried bitterly in Wei Shiyan's arms. Wei Shiyan's body was stiff, but he subconsciously looked at Xing Xing beside him.

Xing Xing also had tears in her eyes, but she gave Wei Shiyan a big smile and nodded to him heavily as if to encourage him.

Wei Shiyan was a little stiff, but he finally reached out and hugged Queen Nie: "Mother."

He uttered a low cry.

Queen Nie shuddered violently, and she cried even more uncontrollably.

Ah Yan is willing to call her mother!

Ah Yan is still willing to call her mother!

Queen Nie cried without caring about etiquette.

Wei Shiyu watched from the side and couldn't help but turned his back and wiped away his tears.

Emperor Jiazheng and Wei Shiqing were running faster than each other at first, but when they saw Wei Shiyan, Emperor Jiazheng straightened up at once, slowed down his pace, and walked towards Wei Shiyan with the aura of a king and father.

After all, Xingxing was there, but in order to prevent his son from running away, he even called Xingxing his brother. He had to maintain some dignity of an emperor in front of his subjects!

Wei Shiqing doesn't have to worry so much.

He is the prince, half-king, but not yet a king!

Why should I show off my authority in front of my brother whom I haven't seen for more than ten years!

Wei Shiqing walked quickly forward, looking Wei Shiyan up and down deeply.

After Empress Nie calmed down a little, Wei Shiqing stepped forward and said, "Second brother!"

The blood relationship between relatives is probably so magical.

Even though they hadn't seen each other for more than ten years, when the two brothers met again, they could still feel the throbbing and bond from their blood.

Wei Shiyan smiled faintly: "Big brother."

Even though it was Wei Shiqing, he couldn't hide his excitement when he heard him call him "big brother".

"Why!"

When Emperor Jiazheng saw him, he no longer cared about the etiquette of an emperor. He walked over quickly and looked at his son, who was as handsome as jade and had some of the charm of Empress Nie when she was young. He was so excited: "Ayan!"

Wei Shiyan looked at Emperor Jiazheng.

After not seeing him for more than ten years, his father's face already showed signs of aging.

"Father."

In times of crisis, Yan wanted to bow down.

Empress Nie, however, grabbed him and smiled with tears in her eyes: "Ah Yan, let's go into the palace first."

…

Xingxing and Yu Yonggui went to the side hall and did not participate in the family's recognition banquet.

But not long after, people came to the main hall, and Xuan Xingxing and Yu Yonggui entered the hall together to meet the emperor.

Xingxing and Yu Yonggui went there obediently.

Queen Nie had obviously cleansed her face and washed off some of her makeup, but she looked even more radiant.

After Xingxing and Yu Yonggui exchanged greetings, she directly offered them a seat.

The love in his eyes when he looked at Xing Xing was so strong that it almost overflowed: "Good child, I heard something. If it weren't for you this time, I'm afraid A Yan wouldn't have returned so safely and smoothly."

Xing Xing smiled and said, "Your Majesty and the Queen are blessed with great fortune. The Second Prince is blessed by the lucky star."

Wei Shiyan was sitting on the side. He was not used to Xing Xing calling him the Second Prince, so he pursed his lips when he heard that.

Queen Nie smiled even more brightly: "Xingxing is Ah Yan's lucky star."

Xingxing felt quite embarrassed.

Queen Nie leaned forward slightly: "...Xingxing, come and tell me in detail, how did you escape? ... I just asked Ah Yan, and you know Ah Yan's temper, he can't give a straight answer. So you should just tell me."

Xing Xing couldn't help but glance at Wei Shiyan and smiled again.

Wei Shiyan looked calm.

Not only Empress Nie was concerned, but everyone in the palace, including Emperor Jiazheng, Wei Shiqing and Wei Shiyu, were concerned and wanted to know how Wei Shiyan escaped from danger.

Although it was written in the 800-mile urgent letter, it was too concise.

Of course, they wanted to hear Xingxing explain it in more detail.

Xingxing did not disappoint everyone and explained the whole story in detail.

Xingxing was not vague about the efforts they had made and mentioned them truthfully and in detail.

After all, the spies from Chaoyang Tower have been busy for this for so long, they must be rewarded - this can't be considered as seeking fame!

Xingxing is a good speaker and she was an eyewitness, so Wei Shiyan himself didn't know many of the details she described. He looked at Xingxing in amazement and lost his mind several times.

Queen Nie was even more fascinated by what she heard.

When he heard that the wife of the Anjiang prefect was so bold as to send people to disguise as bandits to kill them, he was so furious that his face turned pale!

Emperor Jiazheng had already thought of several ways for the Anjiang prefect and his family to die.

Attempting to murder the prince and the princess, and colluding with the people of Xiyi, all of these are capital crimes punishable by the extermination of nine generations of the clan!

In the middle of the crisis, Yan interrupted the conversation once with a frown and handed a glass of water to Xingxing.

Xingxing's mouth was dry from talking, so she took the water and drank it all in one gulp. Wei Shiyan took the empty cup back and put it on the small table next to him.

Emperor Jiazheng was stunned.

There is also a hint of envy.

Good fellow, Ah Yan hasn't even served him tea yet...

Empress Nie was all smiles as she watched, and she wished that Emperor Jiazheng would immediately decree a marriage for the two.

By the time Xingxing finished her story, it was almost dusk. After hearing about the hardships and difficulties of the journey, Empress Nie loved and cherished Xingxing even more.

Emperor Jiazheng even spent a large amount of money to add 3,000 households to Princess Xingxing's fief.

A fief of three thousand households!

This is comparable to the fiefdom given to a favored princess!

When rewarding people for their merits, Emperor Jiazheng did not treat Yu Yonggui unfairly.

Yu Yonggui was even given the title of Earl of Zhengnan.

Yu Yonggui was stunned.

Does this make him an uncle?

Even though it's a nominal position, it's still a legitimate title after all!

Xingxing was naturally very happy for her fourth brother.

This is the first title of nobility for their Yu family!

When the imperial edict reached the Yu family, the entire Yu family was in an uproar!

Ever since the Yu family received the news that Xingxing and Yu Yonggui had arrived safely in the capital, everyone in the Yu family has been waiting.

As a result, I waited and waited, from day to dusk, but no one came back from the palace.

Yu Yonghuai was so anxious that he rode out to find his superiors to inquire about the news.

As a result, the superior who was in charge of the imperial guards in the palace only knew that Princess Fusui and Yu Yonggui had entered the Zhaoyang Palace and had never come out, and he knew nothing else.

When Yu Yonghuai heard that it was Zhaoyang Palace, he knew that this was the palace of Empress Nie, and he felt relieved a little.

After all, it was common knowledge that Empress Nie doted on Xingxing.

The family waited and waited, but before Xingxing and Yu Yonggui left the palace, they received the imperial edict of reward.

The imperial edict highly praised Xing Xing and Yu Yonggui.

The 3,000 households of fiefdom that Emperor Jiazheng gave to Xingxing was included in the imperial edict.

Moreover, this fiefdom is in the extremely wealthy Suyang area!

Before everyone could recover from this surprise, they heard the imperial edict conferring the title of Earl of Zhengnan on Yu Yonggui!

Yu Yonggui's mother Bai Xiaofeng was so happy that everyone was dumbfounded.

She never thought that she could become her uncle's mother in her lifetime!

After seeing off the father-in-law who announced the imperial edict, the Yu family members did not hide their joy at all.

Several sisters-in-law congratulated Bai Xiaofeng in unison.

Bai Xiaofeng laughed so hard that her mouth stretched to her ears.

Mrs. Wei was even more delighted!

Although she was happy that her granddaughter had a fief of 3,000 households, she was also happy that her grandson was made an earl.

But what made her happiest was that all her grandchildren returned safely!

These days, she takes her whole family to various temples and Taoist temples every now and then to pray to the gods and Buddha and to donate money. She is very generous in her spending, just to pray for blessings for her grandchildren.

Currently, Mrs. Wei is already a distinguished guest of honor in all the major temples near the capital.

Not only that, when Mrs. Wei heard that Jiao had set up a small Buddhist temple in the mansion and prayed for Xingxing's safety every day, she thought about it and thought that this was also possible. She also brought a golden statue of Bodhisattva back home, burned three incense sticks every day, and offered melons and fruits every day, just to pray that Xingxing and Yu Yonggui would return safely.

One time, Xu Ge'er was naughty and ran into the house, accidentally knocking over a plate of offerings. Although Mrs. Wei did not blame Xu Ge'er, she always felt very uneasy. She did not sleep at night and knelt in front of the Buddha for most of the night, chanting scriptures.

Ah Wu learned that Xu Ge'er had knocked over the offerings, and heard that her mother-in-law was so worried that she stayed up all night, so she immediately forced Xu Ge'er to come over and accompanied Mother Wei in chanting sutras for most of the day.

Now that Xingxing and Yu Yonggui have returned safely, and have been rewarded by the court, Mrs. Wei thought of the half day that Xu Ge'er had accompanied her in reciting scriptures, and she especially praised Xu Ge'er, saying that after Xu Ge'er finished reciting scriptures with her that day, the heavy feeling in her heart dissipated a lot, which shows that Xu Ge'er also had a share of the credit.

Xu Ge'er was so excited that he patted his chest and promised that he would go to the small Buddhist temple to fast and chant Buddha's name for one day every month to pray for the whole family!