Xie Qing waited in front of the Liangyi Hall for a long time.

In the golden palace of Yunfu, the beast stove is steaming fragrant food.

Hearing footsteps coming from the vermilion palace gate, he immediately climbed the stone steps and stepped forward to meet them.

Yaoying staggered out of the hall with heavy steps.

She got the promise she wanted.

In exchange, Li De also got what he wanted.

Yaoying never expected that a single accusation would awaken Li De's conscience. She went into the palace immediately after leaving the Eastern Palace in order to make a deal with Li De before Li Xuanzhen entered the palace.

Marrying far away would definitely cost her life. Since she won't live long, she might as well make another deal.

The deal with Li Xuanzhen was to allow the Flying Cavalry to rescue Li Zhongqian.

The deal with Li De was a plan for Li Zhongqian's return to Beijing.

Perhaps shocked by Yaoying's decisiveness, before leaving, Li De suddenly looked at her for a long time and pointed to a worn tile in front of the dragon table: "Qiniang, look."

He looked around.

"This hall has been burned down. The concubines of the previous dynasty were imprisoned here. It was burned to ashes. Everything needs to be repaired. The tiles need to be replaced with new ones, the floor tiles need to be re-laid, and the foundation of the Taiji Hall must be rebuilt..."

Court officials repeatedly requested to renovate the palace.

Li De instructed: "Be frugal to cultivate your character, be quiet to cultivate yourself. It is not appropriate to engage in large-scale construction projects at the beginning of the new dynasty."

He practiced frugality and halted construction of palaces in various places. He only ordered the palace servants to repaint the interior of the palace before moving in. He also prohibited the tribute of rare treasures from all over the country, especially those so-called auspicious signs.

The emperor was frugal, so naturally his court officials were reluctant to spend lavishly. The newly emerging trend of extravagance and comparison among the aristocratic families was quickly suppressed.

Li De said: "Qiniang, who doesn't like fancy clothes? Who doesn't like grand palaces? I am not a monk who practices asceticism. I also like luxury and enjoyment. I also want to live in a tall and bright house."

He paused, then changed the subject: "But I am the emperor."

He was also an emperor who had just ascended the throne in an era when many heroes coexisted.

It is far from the time to enjoy himself. As a monarch, he must lead by example.

He is the emperor, he must be cautious in everything, he must be wary of everyone, and he must use all available means to balance the court.

Yao Ying said calmly, "My uncle once told me that some people are short-sighted and can only see temporary wealth, while some people are far-sighted and can see a few years, decades, or even hundreds or thousands of years from now. My uncle has been weak since he was a child and wanted to quell the chaos but failed. He and the emperor hit it off right away and shared the same interests. He said that the emperor can see a few decades or hundreds of years from now."

When the barbarians invaded the south, the noble families fled to the south to avoid the disaster. The Zhu family resolutely stayed behind, risking the danger of genocide, to protect the people who had nowhere to escape.

When the Zhu family founded the country, they were the people's choice and the people's hope.

However, this dynasty established in the midst of devastation was strong for only one generation before it rapidly declined and ultimately perished completely.

Xie Wuliang and Li De once had a dispute over this.

Li De believed that the fundamental reason for the demise of the previous dynasty was not the unrest among the people or the incompetence of the last emperor, but the fighting among the aristocratic families and the corrupt administration.

The Zhu family once tried to save the dynasty. They vigorously promoted people from humble backgrounds, reformed the civil service system, and promoted the imperial examination system. This aroused the vigilance of the aristocratic families, and there were constant infighting in the court. The royal children overthrew each other, which led to the chaos of several kings. The kings who succeeded to the throne were more cruel and stupid than the last. The world was in chaos and the reforms were all in vain.

Li De said that if he ascended the throne, he would never compromise with the aristocratic families easily. He would consolidate the imperial power, take back the military power, let the common people suppress the aristocratic families, and prevent the chaos of the previous dynasty from happening again.

The aristocratic family could no longer stop the rise of the Han clan. They should have adapted to the current situation and found other ways to protect the family's interests.

Xie Wuliang is concerned about the country and the people, and has the same long-term vision as Li De. He is well aware of the family's monopoly on power, and understands that as long as the aristocratic family takes charge of the court again, there will be a protracted secret struggle with the imperial power, and the inevitable result of the secret struggle is unrest.

When a country prospers, the people suffer. When a country perishes, the people suffer.

The new Wei Dynasty must lay a solid foundation at the beginning of its establishment, eliminate all threats, thoroughly reform the civil service, and avoid the ills of the previous dynasty.

Only in this way can we have long-term stability and allow the people to live and work in peace and contentment, away from the flames of war.

Xie Wuliang was physically weak and could not go to the battlefield to kill the enemy like his ancestors, but that did not affect his active efforts to quell the chaos.

As long as he can help the people live a prosperous and happy life, he doesn't mind assisting others.

He met one local hero after another, and finally met Li De.

Xie Wuliang has high hopes for Li De, believing that Li De is a man of great talent, foresight and will be the wise leader who will end the chaotic world.

Therefore, even though he knew Li De's true nature very well and even though he foresaw that he would be abandoned after his death, Xie Wuliang still chose to give Li De a chance to cooperate.

He was not afraid of being trapped, he just asked Li De to treat his sister well.

Yaoying looked at the brilliant light that was streaming into the hall from the layered screens, without a trace of emotion on her face.

"Your Majesty, my uncle treated you as his confidant. Even though you ignored the Xie family to warn other families, he never complained... Unfortunately, he didn't recognize you at all. He thought you would remember your promise to him and take good care of my mother."

Yao Ying lowered her voice, "Uncle certainly didn't expect that you couldn't even fulfill this simplest promise. You also have selfish motives. You can't face the death of Queen Tang, and you can't resolve your elder brother's hatred, so you're angering my mother and my brother."

The Eastern Palace was targeting Li Zhongqian, could it be that Li De was unaware of this?

He knew.

He did not intervene.

Li Xuanzhen was trapped by the revenge for his mother, and Concubine Xie and Li Zhongqian, mother and son, were the whetstones that Li De used to sharpen Li Xuanzhen.

He can't hide his cruelty to those around him.

Li De was silent.

Yao Ying continued, "I took in refugees in Jingnan, opened a library, and published books so that more poor children could afford to read... But I dared not let His Majesty know this, because I knew that even if what I did was beneficial to the country and the people, His Majesty would not reward me for it. He would only suspect that I had ulterior motives and then suspect my brother."

"Your Majesty, although I am a woman, I also understand the importance of my country and my family. However, I do not agree with your injustice to my mother and brother. I do not agree with your use of the loyal and brave Xie family as a warning to other families."

A king of this generation even schemes against loyal and brave men, leaving them to die with hatred in their graves. How will the people of the world treat these heroes?

Heroes who sacrifice themselves for the public good should not be treated with such disrespect.

Li De is not worthy of being her and Li Zhongqian's father.

I am not worthy of thanking my countless friends.

After Yaoying finished speaking, she walked out towards the bright light without looking back.

As soon as I walked out of the hall, all the strength I had gathered disappeared like the tide, my legs became weak, and my head felt heavy.

Yaoying couldn't help but shudder slightly.

Xie Qing held her arm through her thin clothes and said, "My lord, I will support you."

Yao Ying calmed herself down and, with the help of Xie Qing, walked down the stairs step by step.

The square was filled with blazing sunlight, and the sound of wind whistling past brought with it the clear sound of bells ringing on the eaves.

"Ah Qing, I'm going to marry into the Yelu tribe."

Yaoying raised her head and looked at the clear blue sky with no clouds in sight.

"I will write a letter of recommendation for you. You can join the army. The army is in need of talents. You are a great martial artist. You will surely stand out in the army in the future."

Xie Qing supported Yao Ying, and said respectfully and expressionlessly, "I am the princess's bodyguard. Wherever the princess goes, I will go."

Yao Ying raised her eyes to look at him: "Aren't you afraid that you will never come back? The Yelu tribe is a nomadic tribe that makes a living by wandering and plundering. If I leave this time, I will never come back in my lifetime."

The grasslands are more turbulent and barbaric than the Central Plains. Tribes kill each other. The Yelu tribe is strong now, but in the blink of an eye it will be defeated by the iron hooves of other tribes and disappear completely.

She was prepared for the worst.

Xie Qing's face remained expressionless as he said calmly, "Then I'll leave and never come back."

Yao Ying smiled.

After leaving the square, Yao Ying was shaking even more violently, with sweat covering her face and her teeth chattering.

Without saying a word, Xie Qing picked her up, wrapped her from head to toe in his cloak, held her in his arms, and escorted her back to the palace.

When Changshi saw Yaoying shaking in pain, tears flowed down his face.

Yao Ying grabbed Changshi's hand and said incoherently: "Uncle Hu... I'm fine... I'll be fine in three days, send someone to bring my mother back..."

Changshi nodded while crying.

"It's all right..." Yao Ying curled up into a ball, "It will be all right soon... Mother and brother will be safe from now on..."

She fell into a deep sleep with the corners of her mouth slightly raised.

The author has something to say: Thank you for your concern~ Tomorrow's update will also be at 21:00 pm, and it will be fixed in the future~