Chapter 150 Meeting the Emperor

The accident on the lantern tower was earth-shattering. The royal family lost their former glory and rushed down the stairs. Princess Taiping's hair was loosened during the run. She stood in the open space, trying to calm herself down. At this time, a loud bang came from not far away. It seemed that something was covering it when it exploded. The sound was muffled and trembling, as if the ground was shaking.

Princess Taiping turned her head and looked far behind her. There, a column of water rushed up, like a flying dragon. The royal family members around breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that everything was fine. Only then did they gradually remember their dignity.

The ladies quietly prepared their appearances, and the court officials hurried forward to greet the empress and the crown prince. In the midst of the chaos, Xie Jichuan seemed particularly calm and composed. He called the leader of the Yulin Army to firmly protect the area, arranged for the eunuchs to prepare carriages to take His Majesty and the princes back to the palace, and at the same time asked the people of Jingzhao Prefecture to evacuate the crowd and clear the way for the emperor to ride.

He spoke calmly and leisurely, neither fast nor slow. Normally, his tone sounded a little distant, but at this moment it seemed particularly profound.

When they came downstairs just now, Xie Jichuan was waiting outside for them. Later, Xie Jichuan accompanied them all the way. The Crown Prince and the Prince of Xiang trusted Xie Jichuan very much and obeyed his arrangements completely. The usually tough Queen unexpectedly said nothing. When the carriage arrived, she silently helped the lady-in-waiting to get on the carriage and returned to the palace.

After the empress left, it was the turn of the crown prince and Princess Taiping. The other dukes and marquises knew it was not their turn, so they waited calmly and even watched Xie Jichuan's excitement.

Being the first to step forward when a crisis occurs is an opportunity, but also a danger. There are people from the Li family, the Wu family, the princes and the princesses present. When the car comes, who gets on first and who gets on later? If you are not careful, you may offend many people.

Unfortunately, the scene that the nobles were looking forward to did not happen. Xie Jichuan knew that no matter what choice he made, he would inevitably offend the other party, so he simply did not make a choice. The queen left first and no one dared to object. After that, Xie Jichuan dragged out time and waited for enough carriages to gather in the back before letting the eunuch pull over. No matter Li Wu, men or women, got on the carriage together.

Xie Jichuan knew that it was not the lack of wealth that was worrying, but the inequality of wealth. Anyway, those fools had already taken the bomb away, and they would not die if they waited a little longer. The time of these princes was not worth much, so just let them stand.

The nobles saw this and were speechless, but they had to admit that Xie Jichuan was smart. With such a scheming mind and such great achievements, it was only a matter of time before he would soar to fame after returning to the court.

Those who reacted quickly had already started thinking about Xie Jichuan's marriage. They heard that the eldest son of the Xie family had not yet married, so this was a perfect opportunity to win him over. They quietly pulled their daughters, and some were happy while others were worried.

However, it was not only Xie Jichuan who made contributions today, there were also several other young men who had great potential. Jiang Anhou suddenly found that more people came to him to make friends, and they asked about Jiang Ling intentionally or unintentionally.

It was the first time that Marquis Jiang An heard good things about his eldest son from other people, and he was quite uncomfortable. He subconsciously wanted to call the rebellious son over to teach him a lesson, but when he looked around, he found that Jiang Ling was gone.

Not only Jiang Ling, but also the young people who had just rushed upstairs were nowhere to be found. They were like mysterious shadows, falling from the sky when there was danger, and when the crisis was resolved, they merged into the crowd silently and could no longer be found.

·

In fact, the whereabouts of Ming Huazhang and others were not mysterious. They were just picked up by Xuan Xiaowei.

Liao Yushan's behavior was very bad, and he was sent to the special Xuanxiaowei private prison for interrogation. Ming Huazhang and the other six people, as related personnel, also went to the secret base together. After entering the base, the six of them were separated intentionally or unintentionally.

When Ming Huachang found herself alone while walking, she calmed down. This kind of thing was a once in a lifetime experience, and she was already adept at finding a comfortable place to sit down. She had a clear conscience and was not afraid of anyone asking questions.

Ming Huashang sat obediently in the room waiting for the inspector's interrogation. She thought the others were doing the same, but she didn't know that Ming Huazhang had already passed through a special passage and entered the Daming Palace.

When Ming Huazhang finally took off the black cloth from his eyes, he found himself in the palace, with Han Jie in front of him. Han Jie looked at him with a somewhat ambiguous look in his eyes and said, "You guys are really good at keeping quiet, but when you do, you startle people. You made such a big fuss after not seeing each other for a few days."

Ming Huazhang said quietly: "There is a rebellion within the Xuanxiao Guards, intending to kill the king. I think this is your fault."

Han Jie made no comment and said, "Come in, the saint has something to ask you. Sorry for the offense."

According to the rules, Xuan Xiaowei had to be searched before the emperor and was not allowed to bring any sharp weapons, which was not surprising to Ming Huazhang. However, he had always taken off his weapons himself in the past, so this time it was a little strange, as Han Jie actually did it himself.

Perhaps because of the assassination attempt that had just taken place, the search was particularly strict this time. Ming Huazhang pursed his lips and watched Han Jie checking his waist, arms, and calves. Being touched by a man, even through clothes, was not a pleasant experience. Ming Huazhang endured for a long time, and when he could no longer bear it, he said, "How long are you going to search?"

Han Jie stood up, smiled without any real emotion, and said, "It's not that I doubt you, but it's the rule. After all, there was a rebellion just now, so I have to be cautious."

Ming Huazhang looked at Han Jie, who smiled back. Ming Huazhang's face was also calm, and he said calmly, "It should be so. The general is worried."

After the two of them exchanged a few pleasantries, Han Jie turned around and led him inside. The Purple Palace was burning with ambergris, which was rich and fragrant, with light smoke lingering around. When one entered on the first day of the first lunar month, it was hard to tell whether one was in the human world or in an illusion.

Han Jie brought Ming Huazhang and walked straight to a curtain. He knelt down in front of the figure behind him and said, "Your Majesty, the person is here."

Ming Huazhang did not try to look inside, but bowed to the empress according to etiquette: "Your Majesty, I am Ming Huazhang."

There was no sound from above, but it seemed as if a heavy gaze fell on him. Minghua Zhang was used to it, but when his eyes met the bright golden bricks of the Purple Palace, he felt a little strange.

With such a serious incident, the Flower Festival would definitely not be able to continue, and the empress would definitely be escorted back to the palace as soon as possible. However, could the carriage be so fast that it was faster than a few of them riding lightly?

Ming Huazhang's heart suddenly sank as he realized something. When he bowed just now, he saw the figure behind the curtain was half leaning, but when he rescued the empress in the lantern tower in Furong Garden not long ago, the empress's legs were clearly fine and she had no problem walking downstairs.

How could the Queen's body change so much in just a short moment? Or in other words, the one he saved today was not the Queen at all!

That was the Queen's substitute. The Queen herself never left the palace from beginning to end.

Ming Huazhang suddenly felt a chill on his back. Many fragments flashed through his mind, and finally, he stopped at Princess Taiping's words.

Princess Taiping said that after years of hard work, she was finally able to control a part of the Xuanxiao Guards, and spent a lot of effort to hide his whereabouts from the Empress. However, did Princess Taiping really "find" that information herself?

He couldn't help but have a more terrifying guess. Did the Queen really know nothing about Liao Yushan's betrayal? After Liao Yushan solved the case yesterday, the Queen had no doubts and even moved up her schedule for the Flower Festival. Liao Yushan's luck was too good.

What if this was a test from the Queen from the beginning?

The Queen did not leave the palace at all, so whether Ming Huazhang went to rescue her or not, the Queen would be fine. But if he really did not go, but planned to kill the Queen with Liao Yushan's help, then the people of the Li family would be in big trouble now, right?

Ming Huazhang was both shocked and terrified. He was shocked by this woman's control over the court and also by her cruelty.

The emperor was fake, but the two Zhang brothers, the prince and others were real. The empress could watch her children go to a dead end that she knew was coming, just to test their loyalty. If they made any mistakes, they would all be killed by gunpowder.

The coldness followed the floor tiles and slowly climbed up Ming Huazhang's limbs. He rested his forehead on the back of his hands, still kneeling straight on the ground. He looked at his blurry self in the floor tiles, knowing that he had just saved the lives of the Ming family, the Xie family, and even everyone in the Li family.

Whether these lives can continue to survive depends on the next conversation.

The person behind the curtain slowly spoke, his voice was calm and mature, but no one dared to underestimate the importance of his words: "Tell me, who are you?"

Ming Huazhang's heart sank, but he was not surprised. His guess was right, she had known about it for a long time, and he didn't even know when he was exposed.

Ming Huazhang withdrew his hand and slowly stood up. Standing up without hearing the emperor's grace was disrespectful, but no one in the hall reprimanded him. Han Jie stood quietly one step away from him. Ming Huazhang was sure that if he made the slightest move, Han Jie would stab him in the back without hesitation.

Han Jie had been very generous in his guidance over the years, and he would nag him like a nanny before every mission. Ming Huazhang had learned martial arts since he was a child, but he learned his real combat skills from Han Jie. Sometimes, Ming Huazhang even had the illusion that Han Jie admired him.

He thought Han Jie was his guide, his unspoken teacher. However, at this moment Ming Huazhang knew that Han Jie had only been the commander-in-chief of Xuanxiaowei from the beginning to the end.

Ming Huazhang's brows were calm, and he said calmly: "It depends on who you are."

You are so bold to address the emperor. Han Jie was still in a state of meditation, as if he had not heard anything. From above came the empress's deep laughter, which suddenly became fierce: "You are so bold, you dare to play tricks under my nose, deceiving the emperor, your crime is unforgivable."

Ming Huazhang said: "If the monarch is wise, the subjects should be loyal and tell you everything they know without reservation. But, are you really a wise monarch who is trustworthy?"

Han Jie was calm and composed. Hearing this, he slightly opened his eyelids, glanced at the straight and tall figure in front of him, and lowered his eyelids silently.

I told him so many times, but he didn't listen at all. Han Jie shook his head in his heart. Ming Huazhang was still too young. He only saw black and white and couldn't tolerate any grain of sand. Some things should be known in your heart. What's the point of exposing them?

As expected, the queen was enraged. She held onto the imperial chair and said in a dignified manner, "What did you say?"

"These are just some of my thoughts." Ming Huazhang did not evade, staring directly at the person behind the curtain, and said, "I often don't know how to evaluate you. If you were a mother, you forced your own son to death, and not long ago you beat your grandson to death with a stick. Princess Yongtai died of fright when she was only one month pregnant. If you were an emperor, you killed all your political enemies for the sake of the country, I would have nothing to say, but if you want to seize power, you should seize it to the end. You should be a wise ruler of the Zhou Dynasty, instead of using cruel officials, promoting treacherous ministers, trusting male favorites, and using terror to suppress different voices."

The Queen narrowed her eyes slightly: "Do you think I did something wrong?"

"Whether you are right or wrong should not be judged by me, but by the world." Ming Huazhang looked at her with burning eyes and asked, "Your Majesty, do you dare to ask the people of the world and the history books, are you a good emperor? If you have a clear conscience, I, a remnant of the previous dynasty, am willing to surrender in exchange for the stability of your country. If you can't do it, I will definitely overthrow the tyrant for the people. Even if I die, the flame of resistance will be passed on. A spark will eventually become a prairie fire."

The Queen sneered, not out of anger, but out of a sense of ridiculousness: "Only you?"

She started as a talented person, and her enemies included the noble ladies such as Queen Wang and Concubine Xiao Shu, the powerful ministers such as Zhangsun Wuji, the great aristocratic families, the royal family, and the iron iron of authority built by generations of men for thousands of years. But now, they have all turned to dust. How could Ming Huazhang, a young man without any soldiers or power, have the confidence to challenge her?

Ming Huazhang was looked down upon, but he was neither angry nor self-abased. He still straightened his spine and said, "I don't have the wealth of Lu Buwei, nor the strategy of Zhang Liang. What I have is nothing more than the two words 'benevolence and righteousness'. I believe that there is benevolence and righteousness in the world, so after learning about Liao Yushan's plan, I tried my best to go to Qujiang Lake to save people; also because I believe in benevolence and righteousness, so I will definitely fight to the end against your foolish and cruel rule. Emperor Zhou, I also want to ask you, what do you want? If you want everyone in the world to be afraid of you, then you can continue. If you want to be a capable monarch, then what you are doing now is completely wrong."

Ming Huazhang's words were plain and simple, and his views were ordinary. Compared with those exquisite memorials, they were extremely easy to refute. But the queen remained silent for a long time, because she could tell that those memorials with sharp views and beautiful words were just beautiful words, while these were what the young man in front of her believed sincerely.

The queen couldn't help but think along the lines of what he said, what exactly did she want?

She had fought all her life and was really tired. Life and death are irreversible. She had reached the end of her life. She just wanted to live happily in the remaining time and make up for the happiness she missed in the first half of her life. She was enthroned on Mount Tai, founded a dynasty, and was a woman who ascended the throne. No one could deny these achievements. However, there was no successor to Wu of Zhou, and the return of power to Tang was also a foregone conclusion. What was the point of her suppressing and angering again?

She had already personally sent away her eldest daughter, eldest son, second son, and eldest grandson, and she really didn't want to kill another grandson. How long has it been since they started to take revenge? They are political enemies, but also relatives. It's almost time to stop this revenge.

The queen sighed, as if she had suddenly lost all her strength. She leaned back on the couch wearily and said, "You can go out."

Ming Huazhang said in one breath, or rather, after scolding the empress, he was ready to die and wait for a storm, but he didn't expect that it would end with just a gust of wind and without even a thunder. Ming Huazhang raised his eyes and quickly glanced at the blurry old man, knowing that he had made the right bet.

Although the Empress used cruel officials, imposed harsh punishments, and encouraged informants, she actually hated informants. Once, in order to please the Empress, a minister wrote down a friend's conversation at the dinner table in a secret memorial. The next day, in front of the civil and military officials, she threw the memorial in his face and denounced the informant as a shameless villain. His friend invited him to eat beef, but he went to talk behind his back. The reason why Di Gong and other loyal ministers of the Tang Dynasty were able to survive was because the Empress respected and admired such upright and strong people from the bottom of her heart.

She was the best at judging people. She killed Li Xian's entire family. Could Ming Huazhang have no resentment at all? Instead of trying to curry favor with the emperor and begging for mercy, it was better to be open and honest about the hostility. Ming Huazhang believed that the first female emperor in history should be tolerant.

As it turned out, his bet was right.

If the Queen let him go, it meant that she had no intention of taking his life. If she didn't even kill Ming Huazhang, then the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion would not be implicated. Ming Huazhang was finally able to relax his tense body since he came in, and he stood up and left without saying a word.

Han Jie also left the hall tactfully. When he walked into the sunlight, Han Jie looked at him with a half-smile and said, "Your Highness, the Prince has done a great job in saving the car. Congratulations."

Since the empress knew that Ming Huazhang was Li Xian's son and did not intend to kill him, she would not allow him to bear someone else's surname. It was foreseeable that Ming Huazhang would soon change back to his original surname and be granted a fiefdom and become a king.

Ming Huazhang also looked at him calmly and said, "General Han has his eyes and ears alert. I dare not take credit in front of you."

Han Jie smiled, cupped his hands slightly, and said, "We are loyal to the emperor and we serve him. We are just helping the court to share its worries."