69novels Chapter 453
Chapter 453
The Minister of Personnel's expression changed drastically. How could this be? Didn't that person say he was in the Western Frontier?
Cao Yang and the others fell to their knees one after another. Greetings, Your Majesty. Long live the Emperor!
Su Tingyun also knelt down, but his gaze involuntarily darted behind him...
That beautiful figure was indeed among them.
Her face was rosy, and she looked to be in good spirits, except her left hand kept supporting her lower back. He wondered if she was injured somewhere...
Suddenly realizing something, a look of extreme pain appeared on his face.
The Emperor's originally displeased brows instantly smoothed out. Holding Wenjing with one hand and wrapping the other around the woman's slender waist, he said, Is the vision of my beloved ministers failing? Do you only see Us and not the Empress?
Chu Ruoyan glared at him in dissatisfaction, but catching a glimpse of Su Tingyun in the crowd, she forcibly held back.
Everyone bowed in unison. Greetings, Her Majesty the Empress. May the Empress live a thousand years!
At this time, Old Censor Yu stood up tremblingly. It is truly wonderful that Your Majesty and Her Majesty are safe and sound! He then pointed at the Minister of Personnel and the others, questioning, You all wanted to establish a new monarch just now without searching for the Emperor. What are your intentions?
The Minister of Personnel shuddered and argued, Your Majesty and Her Majesty were not in the Kunning Palace. This old minister was merely worried about the state and the country, which is why I thought of enthroning a new monarch first. I had no other intentions!
Old Censor Yu was left speechless, but Yan Zheng let out a playful laugh. Oh? How did you know that the Empress and We were not in the Kunning Palace?
The Minister of Personnel was startled, realizing he had let the cat out of the bag.
He turned around wanting to escape, but surrounded as he was, there was no chance to get away. He simply threw caution to the wind and said, Then dare I ask Your Majesty, the empire has just been stabilized, and a hundred things wait to be rebuilt. At such a critical time, you took the Empress out to travel and enjoy the scenery. Are you doing justice to the courtiers and the common people?
His words shocked everyone.
Although the officials did not dare to say it openly, they exchanged shocked glances in private.
If what the Minister of Personnel said was true, then the Emperor was indulging in pleasure and was no better than Emperor Murong of the previous dynasty!
Chu Ruoyan scolded, Insolent! Who said the Emperor took this palace out to travel and play?
She gave a look, and Nanny Zhou and Yulu quickly brought the two children over.
Look clearly, these two royal heirs are exactly the ones the Emperor and I went through untold hardships to rescue!
The entire court was in an uproar.
Everyone only knew that the Empress had a miscarriage and lost her child, but they never expected that in just over two months, they were actually saved!
Su Tingyun's face turned deathly pale, and his last shred of hope was crushed to pieces.
He suddenly understood. The Emperor knew his thoughts yet still summoned him into the Grand Secretariat and entrusted him with heavy responsibilities. It wasn't because this monarch was so magnanimous, but because he had absolute confidence that there was no possibility of him stealing her away.
But in fact... he never had a chance.
From beginning to end, her gaze had never landed on him...
Su Tingyun closed his eyes, making up his mind as he spoke up, The Emperor and Empress have continued the royal lineage for the country, a great merit to the state. The Minister of Personnel harbors malicious intentions, I entreat Your Majesty to punish him severely!
Yan Zheng raised an eyebrow, and Chu Ruoyan and Cao Yang also let out a slight sigh of relief.
He had finally thought it through...
Honestly speaking, the Emperor could tolerate him once or twice, but absolutely not in the long run.
If he continued to covet the monarch's wife like this, the ending would be hard to say.
The Minister of Personnel still wanted to say something, but Yan Zheng slightly raised his hand. We do not want to hear nonsense.
The guards on either side immediately covered his mouth and dragged him down. The Imperial Guards and the Wardens Office of the Five Cities also captured his partisans in one fell swoop.
And other officials who were used, such as Old Censor Yu and his ilk, retreated only after repeatedly pleading guilty.
The Emperor and Empress thanked Cao Yang, and then asked about Yun Zihao's matter. Xie Zhizhou said ashamedly, This subject is incompetent. It has been more than twenty days and I still haven't found his whereabouts.
Yan Zheng, however, said, There's no need to search anymore. My father-in-law and mother-in-law have already gone personally.
Xie Zhizhou said in surprise, Father-in-law Chu has returned to the capital? After asking, he realized something was wrong.
Chu Huaishan's first wife died long ago, and the Emperor only followed the Empress in calling his second wife Lady Jiang the Younger Aunt. Where did a mother-in-law come from?
Cao Yang thought of a certain possibility, his body trembling slightly with excitement. Your Majesty, could you possibly be talking about the Prince Regent and his wife?!
Yan Zheng nodded. With a clatter, the sword in Meng Yang's hand fell to the ground.
Cao Yang said solemnly, Then there is indeed no need to search.
Under the heavens, who could escape from the palm of the Prince Regent?
Changping Alley.
The carriage drove forward steadily. The Princess Consort looked at her husband's gloomy face and asked with a low laugh, What's wrong? It's been so long, and you still can't let it go?
The Prince Regent furrowed his brows. Who can't let it go?
If you haven't let it go, why didn't you agree to go into the palace with Miaomiao and the others just now?
The Prince Regent was speechless. The Princess Consort covered his hand. The imperial city has changed hands several times. Is Your Highness afraid of feeling sorrowful upon seeing the old palaces?
There was a dead silence in the carriage. After a long time, he finally said in a muffled voice, Yunning has a weak temperament. If I had been willing to stay back then and teach him for a few more days, or pass the throne to Royal Brother Prince Jin, perhaps none of this would have happened.
The Princess Consort said, Before you left, you had already taught Emperor Yunning for a whole two months. As for Royal Brother Prince Jin, he is extreme by nature and was locked up in the imperial mausoleum for so long. He was not the best candidate to succeed the throne.
The Prince Regent remained silent, only hearing her voice as gentle as water: Your Highness, you don't need to regret. To be able to reach today, everything was the best choice.
At this time, the carriage stopped, and their son said lazily outside, Mother, we've arrived.
The Princess Consort lifted the carriage curtain to look. It was the Gu Residence.
Are there any mistakes?
Yun Lang yawned. Don't worry, Mother. Someone saw him going in and out of here with their own eyes over ten days ago. If the Baixiao Pavilion can't even gather this kind of intelligence accurately, then it might as well disband and we can all go beg on the streets!
The Princess Consort smiled, and the Prince Regent jumped off the carriage. Let's go. Hurry up and resolve the matter so we can return to Mount Mei.
The Gu Residence.
Fourth Young Master Gu's courtyard.
Madam Yue had caught a cold and originally wanted to come and beg Gu Lanzhi to let her summon a doctor, but unexpectedly saw that a doctor was already inside.
This gentleman's tendons in his hands and feet have been severed. Please forgive my incompetence, I cannot reconnect these broken tendons.
Madam Yue was stunned, only watching Gu Lanzhi dismiss the doctor and hold Xuewu, saying, My sweetheart, you heard it too. It's not that I'm unwilling to save him, it's just that your sworn brother is injured too severely...
Xuewu snuggled in his arms and said in a coquettish voice, This concubine only has this one sworn brother. If he cannot be saved, then this concubine won't live anymore!
Suspicions arose in Madam Yue's heart.
Xuewu had been in the residence for so long, and this was her first time hearing that she had a sworn brother.
She couldn't help but poke a hole in the window paper and look inside. She saw that there was indeed a person lying on Gu Lanzhi's bed, unable to move, but that face was unexpectedly familiar...
Madam Yue recalled carefully and suddenly trembled all over.
Wasn't that... wasn't that the wanted imperial criminal on the public notice?