Chen Huai'an adjusted his breathing, a gentle smile on his face, and rode his horse forward slowly until he arrived in front of the welcoming crowd outside Yongding Gate of Longcheng.
"Welcome back to Longcheng, Your Highness Prince Jin!"
"Long live the Prince of Jin! Long live the Prince of Jin! Long live the Prince of Jin!"
In an instant, the welcoming crowd knelt down.
Only Xu Ruoyun, Liu Xinwu, Chen Longxiang, and the two princesses showed Chen Huai'an other courtesy as a way of greeting him.
"Gentlemen, no need for formalities!"
With that, Chen Huai'an dismounted and went straight to Xu Ruoyun to pay his respects, saying, "Your subject greets Your Majesty!"
Um!
Xu Ruoyun nodded with loving eyes, looking at her eldest son, who was becoming more and more mature and experienced, and increasingly resembled her deceased husband Chen Polu. Her heart was filled with mixed feelings.
She said softly, "My son, it's good that you're back, it's good that you're back!"
"Go back to the manor. Your mother has instructed the servants in the Prince's kitchen to prepare your favorite dishes and wine."
Chen Huai'an replied crisply, "Okay!"
At this moment, Prince Liu Xinwu of Wuning greeted Chen Huai'an with a smile and said, "Nephew, congratulations! You have returned from your southern expedition, and there will be no more war in the Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun!"
"I have heard that the newly appointed martial arts champion of the Great Xin Dynasty, Wu Sanjia, was defeated by my nephew outside Mozhou City and forced to flee in panic overnight."
"They even abandoned Yingzhou City, which was easy to defend but difficult to attack, and led the remnants of the Tiger Army southwards, heading straight for Jinan Prefecture."
Cough cough!
Chen Huai'an coughed twice and said with a smile, "Uncle, you may not know this, but there's more to the story than meets the eye regarding Wu Sanjia's inability to escape with his troops!"
oh?
Upon hearing this, Prince Wu Ning raised an eyebrow and looked at Chen Huai'an with a puzzled expression.
Chen Huai'an said, "Uncle, let's talk as we walk!"
"Let's talk as we walk!"
As they spoke, Chen Huai'an and Liu Xinwu boarded the carriage, surrounded by their entourage, and then entered Yongding Gate to return to the Prince of Jin's residence.
Chen Huai'an was so engrossed in talking to Liu Xinwu about the war on the front lines and the turbulent situation of the Great Xin Dynasty that he didn't notice two pairs of resentful eyes watching the two men's departing backs, wishing they could tear two ounces of flesh off their backs.
snort!
Princess Bhikkhu Yue Qiluo snorted coldly, turned around and left angrily.
That woman who wished she could tear two ounces of flesh off Chen Huai'an with her eyes was her!
As for Liu Shujun, when she saw the man she had been longing for, she felt both excited and worried. She wanted to step forward and talk to Chen Huai'an several times, but in the end, she lacked the courage.
It wasn't until Chen Huai'an and her father left one after the other that Liu Shujun realized what was happening, and looked at their departing figures with a resentful gaze.
She was also secretly blaming her father for not understanding her feelings at all. How could a girl like her take the initiative to ask for help in such a matter?
What's more, there was another princess from the Western Regions present as well.
Eh—
Liu Shujun finally sighed to herself, and then, with the help of her maid, boarded the carriage back to the city.
After the welcoming party returned to the city, only Chen Longxiang, the "fish that slipped through the net," remained outside the vast Yongding Gate of Longcheng.
Chen Longxiang, who was hiding behind, had seen everything his two sisters-in-law did.
The precocious little fellow immediately burst into a loud, old-fashioned laugh, saying, "Haha, my brother's going to have a tough time from now on! How fun, so much fun!"
Then, Chen Longxiang snatched the reins of the Prince of Jin's yellow horse from Xiao Po, the commander of the Imperial Guards, skillfully mounted the horse, and said to Xiao Po:
"Commander Xiao, you should go back. I'll give this yellow horse to my brother to ride back!"
Hmm-hmm—
The yellow horse, which had recognized its master, seemed unwilling to let Prince Chen Longxiang ride on its back, and immediately snorted and raised its front hooves in protest.
This action enraged Chen Longxiang, who was already seething with anger because his sister-in-law from the Western Regions had twisted his ear and scolded him.
He lay sprawled on the back of the yellow horse, his hands naturally wrapping around its neck, tilting his head and growling, "Hey!"
"You beast, don't force the young prince to throw you down when he's most furious!"
drive!
drive!
drive!
After saying that, he suddenly spurred his horse on its belly and rode the yellow horse to the bustling market of Longcheng to show off!
At noon that day, the Prince of Jin's residence was bustling with activity.
Civil and military officials from the fiefdom of the Prince of Jin, as well as envoys from the thirty-six kingdoms of the Western Regions who had traveled thousands of miles to Longcheng, gathered together to welcome Prince Chen Huai'an of Jin back from his southern expedition.
At the banquet, Chen Huai'an and his family naturally took the seats of honor.
The only ones qualified to sit at the same table with him were Prince Liu Xinwu and his daughter, and Princess Yue Qiluo, who spent her entire life traveling alone to the Central Plains of Han China.
With two princesses and two beauties by his side, Chen Huai'an, the protagonist, did not feel any joy of having two wives. Instead, he felt like he was sitting on pins and needles.
The atmosphere at the banquet was quite awkward and strange.
Ultimately, it all comes down to not breaking through that thin layer of paper!
As a result, Chen Huai'an, who was full of worries, had to frequently clink glasses with Prince Wu Ning, Liu Xinwu, in an attempt to cover up his embarrassment.
After several rounds of drinks and five courses of food,
At this moment, Wu Ningwu and Liu Xinwu suddenly asked Chen Huai'an, "Nephew, on the way back to the palace just now, you said that the Great Xin Dynasty is currently in the midst of a political upheaval and turmoil."
"On the one hand, Chancellor Qin Ruhui supported Zhao Lingzhan, the son of the Prince of Fu, as the new emperor;"
"On the other hand, the deposed Emperor Lingwu, Wu Sanjia who marched south to the capital to defend the emperor, and Prince Guangxin Li Zongmin and Prince Pingxi Mu Rongfu were also stirring up trouble."
At this point, Liu Xinwu deliberately lowered his voice, looked around, and then continued, "Nephew, everyone here is an insider. Please tell your uncle the truth—"
"When exactly do you plan to declare yourself emperor, ascend the throne, and establish a new country?"
Forehead!
Faced with the probing questions from Prince Liu Xinwu of Wuning, Chen Huai'an was truly stumped!
He had never really thought about when he would ascend the throne and become emperor.
The only thing Chen Huai'an was certain of was that when he ascended the throne and became emperor, it would be a prosperous era with all nations paying tribute, rather than a self-indulgent period of peace in a corner of the country.
He was well aware that Liu Xinwu's question stemmed from the fact that the arrival of Princess Yue Qiluo from the Western Regions had alerted Liu Xinwu and the interest group he represented to a crisis.
They were probably afraid that Yue Qiluo would seize the position of Empress of the new dynasty before Liu Shujun.
Therefore, Liu Xinwu took advantage of his drunken state to probe Chen Huai'an's intentions!
Seeing that Chen Huai'an remained silent, Liu Xinwu continued, "Nephew, if you are worried that declaring yourself emperor will arouse public condemnation, your uncle has a plan to silence the criticism!"
"I don't know, my dear nephew, would you like to hear it?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com