Chapter 14 Chapter 14 To fill the fortress, we must also fill it into His Majesty's eyes...
Funing Palace.
Li Dequan bowed and kowtowed to Wen Xing, "I beg your Majesty, today is the Queen Mother's birthday banquet, you must go."
Wen Xing curled up in the quilt, looking listless.
"It's cold, I won't go."
The Cold Dew season has passed and the weather has suddenly turned cold.
The begonias in the yard have all withered.
Wen Xing was thin, afraid of heat in summer and cold in winter. As soon as the autumn chill came, the chill in his bones was already stronger than that of ordinary people.
When the weather was warm, he would spend most of his time in bed. Now that it was cold, he was like a piece of window paper glued tightly with rice paste, which could not be torn off easily. However, he glued it firmly to the bed frame instead of the window frame.
Li Dequan was in a dilemma. "The Queen Mother said that a major treasury case occurred recently. To save money, we won't hold a grand birthday celebration this time. Just a simple family banquet will be enough. Those who come are all royal relatives, so there's no need for any empty ceremony or pomp."
Wen Xing remained motionless.
Li Dequan was scratching his head anxiously, racking his brains for thought. Suddenly, his eyes lit up. "Oh, right, I heard that the Empress Dowager deliberately didn't hold a normal banquet this time, saying that she wanted 'the emperor and his subjects to have fun together', and arranged games. She also said that there would be prizes for whoever won first place."
When Wen Xing heard the word "game", his ears twitched.
Seeing that he still had no intention of getting up, the old eunuch became anxious.
what to do?
If you don't even attend the Empress Dowager's birthday party, your Majesty's reputation for benevolence and filial piety will be ruined.
Since ancient times, the imperial family has governed the world with filial piety. If even the Supreme Being loses filial piety, how will the people of the world view the imperial power? How can they believe in it?
Therefore, throughout the dynasties, except for the tyrannical and incompetent emperors who lost their way and had few supporters, few emperors dared to openly disobey the empress dowager.
It seems... Li Dequan thought about it and sighed. It seems that he has to ask the little beauty for help.
He was about to go out to find a savior when he heard Xinghe say, "Game! What game?"
Li Dequan seemed to have grasped a lifeline and quickly explained, "They said they've set up a checkpoint in the Yongshou Palace gardens. There's a reward for winning. I'm not too sure about the details."
Xinghe was eager to try, "Can I play too?"
Li Dequan smiled and said, "That should be possible."
Xinghe turned to look at Wen Xing, his eyes shining, "Master! Let's go!"
Ever since he had a quarrel with Ning Wujie last time, he has never left Wen Xing's side. He stays with the emperor every day to prove that he is definitely not lazy.
As a result, he stayed in the palace for more than half a month, and he was almost bored to death.
The emperor on the bed let out a long sigh, as if he was spitting out all the boredom of the past few days.
Then the man in the quilt pupated and turned over, "Li Dequan."
Li Dequan responded with joy, "Your Majesty, are you awake?"
"Um."
The quiet bedroom immediately became lively.
*
The back garden of Yongshou Palace.
There was a stream of flowing wine cups set up in the garden, and the clan members sat around the water. The empress dowager sat on the first seat, wearing a phoenix crown. She looked graceful and elegant, but her brows were furrowed.
"Where is His Majesty?" Wang Fuwei asked the attendant beside him, suppressing his anger.
The servant said timidly, "I've urged him many times, but he hasn't gotten up yet." The end of her voice was almost lost.
Wang Fuwei's eyes turned cold when he heard this.
Seeing that the seat next to the Empress Dowager on the high throne was still vacant, the nobles looked at each other and whispered to each other.
"Your Majesty, wouldn't you even show up at the Queen Mother's birthday banquet?"
"I heard that the beauty favored by His Majesty just took down dozens of officials in the previous dynasty. Could she be busy with this matter?"
"Doesn't that mean a lot of positions are vacant? I have to quickly think of a way to send a few people to the Ministry of Personnel."
"What are you thinking? Nowadays, the appointment and dismissal of officials must be approved by the Ning family. How can you force someone in? It's not that easy."
A noble sighed and shook his head: "Things are different now. It's not like the good old days."
"You are all short-sighted. What's the point of focusing on those positions in the six departments?"
"The fortress must also be put into the sight of His Majesty."
Some people murmured in their hearts, but His Majesty is fond of men. Which good family would be willing to send the good man they have trained to the dragon bed?
Some people even had a gleam in their eyes, as if they had already made up their minds.
Amidst the discussion, everyone heard a voice saying, "His Majesty has arrived!"
When everyone looked, they saw the sedan chair carried by sixteen people had just landed.
As usual, the young emperor wore no crown, but only a gold-threaded and jade-inlaid crown, and a bamboo-moon-colored fox-collared cloak draped over his shoulders. The white fox fur moved slowly in the autumn breeze, making his superior facial features look softer and his eyebrows and eyes look picturesque.
The nobles all knelt down to welcome the emperor.
Wang Fuwei finally smiled. "Huaiyu, are you so busy with government affairs today? Why are you so late?"
Wen Xingxin said he was sleeping, so how could he be busy?
But he guessed that the Queen Mother was trying to save face by saying that his lateness was due to official business rather than neglecting her as her mother, so he was too lazy to refute and just gave an ambiguous "hmm".
The banquet began after the emperor took his seat.
Since it was a family dinner, there weren't many complicated formalities. Wang Fuwei sat beside the emperor and asked with concern, "I heard Huaiyu was assassinated outside the palace. How could such a serious matter be hidden from mother?"
Wen Xing was holding his chopsticks and paused when he heard this.
He deliberately concealed the assassination for no other reason than to avoid trouble.
When they heard that the emperor had been assassinated, the whole palace was in chaos for a while, especially the empress dowager and some relatives and old ministers, who would definitely come to ask about the emperor's well-being to show their sincerity.
He likes quietness and hates people coming to Funing Palace every day.
However, such a big thing would eventually become unconcealable, but I didn’t expect the Queen Mother to find out so soon.
"Huaiyu, are you okay?"
The Queen Mother truly looked concerned, but Wen Xing couldn't tell and simply shook his head. "No problem, just a bunch of bandits."
Wang Fuwei looked astonished. "There are bandits in the capital, too? What are the troops stationed in the three camps doing? How are they doing? Have they been wiped out?"
Wen Xing glanced at her and said calmly, "They've been wiped out."
Wang Fuwei felt relieved. "It's better to leave the palace less in the future. But was it Xinghe who teased you again?"
Xinghe, who was hiding on a high branch with her arms folded, pouted in dissatisfaction when she heard this.
The Queen Mother spoke earnestly, speaking with the demeanor of an elder: "Your Majesty should realize the importance of your status and stop talking to this ignorant servant..."
"Mother." Wen Xing interrupted sternly.
He put down his chopsticks and swept his sharp eyes over, "I don't need your mother to worry about the people around me."
Wang Fuwei received that gaze, and although his expression remained unchanged, his sharp armor dug into his sleeves, wrinkling the cuffs.
Ever since Wen Xing fell seriously ill, his attitude towards her seemed like a different person. He used to be respectful to her and obeyed her every word, but now not only does he not even see her, even when he does, he is perfunctory in his dealings with her, and even worse, he would argue with her.
The uneasy feeling of gradually losing control burned more and more fiercely in her heart.
But she suppressed her anger, put on a kind and motherly demeanor, and said softly, "It's the Queen Mother who's too strict."
"Didn't you say there was a show?" Wen Xing was not interested in small talk and went straight to the point.
Hearing this, Wang Fuwei's eyes lit up with a smile.
"Yes, it has been arranged. We are just waiting for you, Huaiyu."
Wen Xing looked in the direction Wang Fuwei pointed, and saw that downstream of Qushui Liushang, there were rows of rockery and arch bridges, with pavilions and corridors interspersed among them.
The Queen Mother announced the rules: "There are six checkpoints in the pavilion, each with a question setter. If you pass a checkpoint, you will receive chips from the question setter. If you collect four chips, you can ask for a reward from me."
Enshangwenxing was not interested, he just wanted to see what was in those levels.
After all, life in the palace is really boring.
He had to play this ready-made level-breaking game.
Wen Xing stood up and walked over.
Seeing the emperor stand up, all the nobles followed in groups.
The door of the first room was wide open, and inside stood a handsome young man in a green shirt with a bright face.
Seeing that he had stopped, he hurried forward and bowed deeply, "I am the second son of the Marquis Zhongsu, Jin Ziyu, and I pay my respects to Your Majesty."
Before he finished speaking, a relative from behind Wen Xing came forward enthusiastically and said, "Your Majesty, this is my son. In terms of seniority, he should call you cousin."
Without waiting for the emperor's response, the Duke of Zhongsu began to talk about his son like he was counting his treasures: "My son has just reached the age of twenty, and he is handsome and handsome. He is also a student at the School Supervisor..."
Wen Xing frowned slightly, showing no interest in making friends. He asked Jin Ziyu directly, "What's your question?"
Jin Ziyu had been waiting for his father to pour out all his compliments, but this sudden interruption left him visibly startled. He glanced nervously at Wen Xing's expression before quickly stepping aside, his ears slightly reddened and his voice lowered. "Please... Your Majesty, please come in and take a look."
Wen Xing turned around and said to the group of royal relatives, "You won't participate?"
Everyone shook their heads and waved their hands, "No, no, no, Your Majesty, please."
Wen Xing was puzzled. Is the empress dowager's reward so unattractive?
Without giving it much thought, he stepped into the room.
Xinghe flew in and followed, "Master! What's the question? Let me take a look!"
*
Ning Wujie had just returned from the imperial prison. He took off his blood-stained robes, washed up in the bathroom and changed into casual clothes before going to Funing Palace to report to Wen Xing on the progress of the case.
Li Dequan came out and said amiably, "Your Majesty has gone to attend the Queen Mother's birthday banquet and will not be back for a while. Please go back first, Lord Ning."
Ning Wujie said "Oh" and was about to leave on tiptoe, but then stopped and asked worriedly, "How many people did Your Majesty bring with him?"
As he spoke, he glanced at the courtyard and quickly noticed the shadow guards he had left behind.
Everyone is here.
He frowned slowly.
The old eunuch smiled and said, "Just bring Xinghe."
"After all, this is the Queen Mother's palace. It's not good to bring too many guards."
Those who didn't know would think that the emperor was worried about his mother and brought a bunch of guards to protect her.
As if seeing his doubts, Li Dequan said again: "Don't worry, Lord Ning, the security in Yongshou Palace is no worse than ours. Besides, we still have the Galaxy, so nothing will happen."
Ning Wujie thought for a moment and called out, "Jupiter."
The shadow guard appeared in response and knelt on one knee in front of Ning Wujie, "Sir."
Ning Wujie lowered his eyes to look at the shadow guard in his black suit, and uttered three words from his thin lips: "Take off your clothes."
The shadow guard looked up:?
Li Dequan was completely bewildered:???
The author has something to say:
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5j (sinister): Honestly, what were you doing? A blind date? (clenched fist)
Tyrant Emperor: Hmm? Isn't this the courtroom version of escape room?
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