Meeting the Emperor
"Watch less of those meaningless skits," Xie Ci sighed helplessly, thinking of the War God Returns video that Lin Shizhu had recommended to him many times, "Also, our emperor is not dead yet, so just say some things in front of me, and be careful with your words in front of His Majesty, he is not a pushover, don't cause trouble for me!"
"I, ahem, I get it!" Tong Zhenzhen responded casually, but immediately changed her words under Xie Ci's sharp gaze, secretly complaining, didn't you also speak rudely to the emperor? And you still have the nerve to criticize me? I haven't even settled the score with you for the assassination list!
Xie Ci closed his eyes and dozed off for a moment, then realized that there was no movement from the other side for the first time in his life. He was a little nervous, wondering if he had said something too harsh. After hesitating for a moment, he opened his eyes and tried to speak:
"...Um, do you want to play a game of King of Glory?"
"Come on, come on!" Tong Zhenzhen, who had just hung her head and looked upset, immediately put on a smiling face. She enthusiastically invited Yan Yue and Locke to join in, and patiently taught them how to play.
"My Lord, the kidneys in the bridal chamber are so well connected!" Locke sighed sincerely as he looked at the screen full of dazzling skills.
Xie Ci, who originally wanted to play duo with Tong Zhenzhen, frowned slightly, but quickly suppressed the gloom in his heart, rushed to the battlefield with ease, and bombarded Yan Yue's nurse role.
"Oh, Lady Goddess, look at him! He killed my character again!" Yan Yue was no match for the battle-hardened Xie Ci. He lost three times in less than half the time, which made him so angry that his face was distorted. He took the opportunity to hug Tong Zhenzhen's arm and act coquettishly.
Xie Ci saw his little movement out of the corner of his eye, but without showing it on his face, he controlled his character and ran to Yan Yue's resurrection point to prepare to snipe him.
Tong Zhenzhen sighed sadly and stroked Yan Yue's head lovingly:
"Just bear with it. I can't beat him."
As soon as she finished speaking, her character was sent back home by the blood-thirsty Xie Ci.
Tong Zhenzhen: ...Shit
Believe it or not, I will ask Sister Li to give you a beating!
Ten days later
Yuandu
The capital city of Linyuan is more prosperous than the Muzhou city located on the border. The bluestone roads are wide and winding, connecting high-rise buildings and taverns. The canals beside the streets and alleys bring gurgling water to flow through them, and the ripples seem to be looming like a few swimming fish, and finally merge into the bustling voices of people.
The priest's carriage moved slowly along the golden road in the middle. The tall buildings on both sides were filled with guests and friends. The rooms were filled with fine wine and fragrant fruits. Beautiful ladies and singers were chatting and singing. No matter whether they were princes and sons in brocade clothes or passers-by who stopped to watch on the roadside, they were all paying attention to this long convoy.
"Hey, have you heard? Xie Ci, who was banished to the frontier for killing innocent people, has returned. It is said that he has received help from the priests."
"Tsk, what a bullshit priest! I have a relative serving under the high priest, and people say they are just a bunch of charlatans pretending to be gods!"
"I was wondering, Changhao has always been at odds with Linyuan, why is he suddenly seeking peace? Could it be that he is colluding with foreign enemies to come back for revenge?"
Tong Zhenzhen raised her hand and lowered the curtain, blocking out the suspicion and malicious words from the outside world. She observed Xie Ci's expression with some worry and tried to comfort him:
"Tsk, this old high priest is really uncreative. He is waging a propaganda war again. When he sees the emperor, he will expose his collaborating with the enemy. He will be in trouble!"
Xie Ci kept his head down, his messy hair hanging down, covering his expression. Seeing that he didn't react, Tong Zhenzhen felt that he was hit by those words. Even if he acted indifferent before, how could he not be angry when being maliciously misunderstood? Not to mention being criticized by the people he risked his life to protect.
However, Xie Ci was just immersed in his own thoughts and didn't pay any attention to the outside noise at all. Although Chen Kan had sent people to deliver a message to the court in advance, explaining in a tactful way that the high priest had misunderstood Xie Ci, and explained the matter of Changhao's alliance and the priest, so that they could enter Yuandu smoothly, the situation in the court was unclear, the high priest's faction was in its heyday, and even he himself was smeared because of these party struggles. He had no choice but to sign an impossible military order to stay in the border, which also caused Xie's army to be placed under house arrest in Yuandu.
Even if the high priest's crimes were exposed, he still had so many followers. If they helped to plead for mercy, the brainless emperor might just punish him with heavy hands and then let him go with light hands.
He clenched his fists involuntarily. When he looked up, he saw Tong Zhenzhen's worried expression. He was stunned for a moment, thinking that she was nervous about the upcoming meeting with the emperor. He subconsciously put his hand on her head and gently stroked it in a soothing manner. Even his tone was much softer:
"Don't worry, I will protect you no matter what."
The man's palm was broad, and his fingers were soft and dry with thin calluses. His palm felt a little hot, and his touch seemed to touch her heart. She felt calmer for no reason, but for some reason, the warmth gradually climbed up her cheeks. She tried hard to find a reason for this strange feeling, and finally, she blurted out in a rush of excitement:
“Is this what a mother feels safe like?”
Acknowledgements: ...
His hand paused, and then he flicked her forehead without hesitation. The gentle smile on the corner of his lips disappeared without a trace, and he lowered his eyes and sighed:
"Who wants to be your mother..."
The sigh blended into the wind and drifted away with the wind. The carriage moved slowly forward and finally arrived at the magnificent palace in the center of Yuandu.
Stepping into the palace of the king of a country again, Tong Zhenzhen sighed that this was her second time in the palace. It was somewhat familiar. Unlike the nervousness when she first met Emperor Changhao, she was much more relaxed this time. She even compared the decoration styles of the palaces of the two countries. However, before she could relax for too long, she was stopped by an arrogant shout:
"Humph, you are just a little fairy, why don't you kneel when you see me?!"
Tong Zhenzhen squinted her eyes and looked towards the hall, only to see a young man about the same age as Xie Ci, wearing a bright yellow dragon robe. He did not sit properly, leaning nonchalantly on the dragon throne with his legs crossed, not caring at all about the civil and military officials below. It is worth noting that there seems to be a side hall behind the dragon throne, with a pearl curtain hanging down to block a pretty figure.
She moved a step to the left, and the young emperor's outstretched hand pointed to the left. She moved a step to the right, and his hand followed suit and pointed to the right. Only then did Tong Zhenzhen realize that he was talking about her!
She pointed at herself with one hand, her pupils trembling:
"Ah? Me?"
From the corner of his eye, he saw that except for the priests, everyone else had already knelt on the ground and shouted "Long live the emperor". Even Yan Yue and Duanmu Yu Yuli knelt down to pay homage to the emperor. Only the college students who had received socialist education stood there like sugarcanes.
The young emperor Zhao Xu nodded arrogantly, holding his chin with one hand, took a piece of sweet cake from the tray presented by the maid and stuffed it into his mouth, mumbling:
"Since you are gods, why don't you perform a magic trick for me? If you can't, I will kill all your clans!"
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