With the city walls of Fengjing in sight, the procession unconsciously quickened its pace.
The majority of this force consisted of imperial guards, followed by the Crown Prince's personal guards and court officials.
As the army that guards the capital region, the Imperial Guards had high entry requirements.
Having a clean background is only the most basic requirement; many are also illegitimate sons of military families who are not favored, or distant relatives.
Most of them have families in Fengjing, and after such a long separation, they naturally miss each other terribly, but some don't think so.
Qin Zhaoyue's carriage was at the back, slumped lazily without any energy.
Ever since she left the Bailu County Manor, she has been like this, and she can't even muster any interest in Mo Twelve's roasted meat.
"Your Highness, we will be entering the capital soon."
Whoosh! Qin Zhaoyue sprang up instantly, finally arriving!
She reached out to pull at the carriage curtain, but Sui Mo grabbed her hand in time, saying, "Your Highness, your current attire cannot be revealing!"
Qin Zhaoyue awkwardly withdrew her hand, realizing she had almost forgotten.
Although it is already the beginning of autumn, the late summer sun doesn't care about that and remains scorching hot.
Besides, when traveling, we don't even need ice chests, so it's inevitable that we'll dress a bit too lightly.
After being served by Suimo and changing his clothes, he drew back the carriage curtain and saw the majestic city wall.
After a short while, the procession slowly came to a stop.
The palace had naturally received the news long ago and had sent people to guard the city gates.
The person who came was also an acquaintance, none other than Prime Minister Pei Laodeng of Fenggetai.
Qin Minghuang originally wanted to come and greet them personally, since Qin Zhaoqiong had done a great job this time.
Leaving aside the overt flood control and disaster relief efforts, they also uncovered a case of illegal iron casting and dealt with the consequences of minting inferior currency.
Both overt and covert achievements warrant Qin Minghuang's personal presence, and it is also an opportunity to demonstrate imperial favor and strengthen the chances for the eldest princess.
However, with the leader of the Tianyan Sect entering the capital and a sorcerer attempting to assassinate the imperial heir, the Xuanji Guard advised against leaving the palace lightly.
Clearly, Qin Minghuang listened to advice, but she still brought up the matter during court today.
The result was quite interesting; the officials argued fiercely over whether or not to welcome the guests.
The final result was that His Majesty did not come, and the Grand Secretary and Prime Minister greeted him in his place.
After the two groups separated, Qin Zhaoqiong led the officials forward.
Pei Xuanyun glanced around and saw his eldest son sitting upright on his horse.
Although there was some deliberate effort involved, his upright posture and composed demeanor showed that he was used to riding.
He's gotten darker, and seems a bit more muscular. After going out, he finally has some composure, much better than the pure scholar he was before he left.
With a fleeting glance, Qin Zhaoqiong was already close by, dismounted, and bowed respectfully.
"Your Highness has had a long journey. His Majesty has prepared a banquet in the palace to welcome back all the meritorious officials."
When Gu Tingyun left, he was the chief envoy for disaster relief and held a high position, but now Qin Zhaoqiong doesn't even bother to pretend anymore.
Qin Zhaoqiong understood her feelings after seeing Sixth Sister's behavior along the way and her honest confession after the failure that night.
If that's the case, then what needs to be fought for should naturally be fought for.
Gu Tingyun stood to the side and behind, completely calm and showing no sign of embarrassment.
Qin Zhaoyue, standing behind, glanced at the carriage and then lowered the curtain.
Ah, this old man, he's welcoming the imperial envoy on behalf of the emperor.
The Fengtai Pavilion held a superior position, equivalent to the three ministries in the imperial court, according to the history she was familiar with.
In particular, the Secretariat, Chancellery, and Department of State Affairs during the Sui and Tang dynasties constituted the core decision-making system.
The Secretariat was the source of policy drafting and decree issuance; the Chancellery reviewed, rejected, and corrected errors; and the Department of State Affairs was responsible for the execution of government orders and overseeing the six departments.
Putting the functions of the three provinces into one Fengtai Pavilion is fine; just separate the functional departments.
With clear division of powers and responsibilities, a checks and balances mechanism of "drafting-reviewing-implementation" has been formed.
But during the Taiwei era of the Great Gan Dynasty, there were none at all, except for Old Pei.
He drafted the document, he reviewed it, and he executed it.
This imperial favor lasted for fourteen years! Who could believe it?
Now Qin Zhaoyue understands.
Doing a hundred good things for your boss is not as good as doing one bad thing with him.
The Prince Rui's account books recorded everything clearly.
Since the second year of the Taiwei era, Pei Xuanyun had been taking the lion's share of the profits from the annual minting of inferior coins.
Everyone else, including those in the imperial court and everyone in Bailu Prefecture, combined, couldn't surpass him.
Did he take that money? Bullshit, he was just a middleman.
If His Majesty so desired, he could easily drag this high-ranking official of the first rank off his horse.
It is estimated that the current head of the Ministry of Civil Affairs will receive the same treatment.
After all, this money had to go through his hands to enter the national treasury; fabricating reasons and concealing the truth all required his involvement.
Who knows how many similar things are happening in secret? This is Qin Minghuang's way of controlling the court.
Qin Zhaoyue realized this and became even more determined to retire while she was ahead; she couldn't do this job.
Pei Xuanyun exchanged a few pleasantries with the officials in charge before boarding his carriage and leading the way.
His Highness's achievements in flood control have spread far and wide in Fengjing, and there are even many versions of the story of his near-death experience during an assassination attempt and his continued efforts in disaster relief.
With the return date approaching, the most popular stories told by the storytellers in the teahouse these days are all related to this matter.
In addition, there are some other little stories, such as how the Sixth Prince learned some special medical skills from ancient books and saved some critically ill patients in Mingyan County.
Unlike the Crown Prince's overwhelming praise, opinions on the story were mixed.
Well, the reality is that opinions are mixed.
The main reason is that Qin Zhaoyue's past image is too deeply ingrained in people's minds, and most people generally find it hard to believe that she could do such a thing.
The fact that such a story could circulate suggests that it had received some tacit approval.
As soon as the procession entered the city, the people lined the streets to welcome them, and cheers resounded continuously.
Pei Xuanyun sat upright in the carriage, listening to the commotion outside.
As prime minister, his primary role is to secretly help the emperor do bad things, and he has access to a wide range of information.
The Crown Prince's achievements need no further explanation; her personality dictates that she would never be perfunctory.
And the Sixth Prince... to be honest, was even more outstanding than he had imagined.
The story revolves around the purification of water resources and the treatment of patients in Mingyan County, the discovery of clues about illegally minted ironware during dredging, the subsequent covert investigation, the Crown Prince's response after being framed and poisoned, the woman's self-reliance, suggestions on dealing with the minting of inferior currency, and the changes in the Crown Prince's administration after taking over the prefectural government...
Throughout the disaster relief and flood control efforts, her presence was felt everywhere, always at crucial moments.
Without her, neither the overt nor covert tasks could have been handled so well.
Pei Xuanyun had already read the memorial from His Highness praising the prince's achievements, which contained numerous effusive compliments. In truth, the prince's contributions even surpassed those of her own.
However, he also read the memorial from the "Disaster Relief Envoy," and found very few mentions of the Sixth Prince, which is quite intriguing.
Amidst the welcoming crowds, a carriage at the back slowed down.
"Your Highness, this is not right..."
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