Bright Spring

"Queen Mother, do you want to summon the Marquis of Xincheng?" Ruan Zhi, the prefect of Shenglong, bowed beside him.

Empress Dowager Chen turned her head and said, "What did you say? Ask him why he used the king as bait?"

Ruan Zhi paused for a moment, thought for a while and said, "The Queen Mother is wise."

Empress Dowager Chen glanced at Ruan Zhi, and said, "Scrutinize the loyal and brave men of the day, and those who have fought to the death by the king's side will be reported to the roster, and they will be rewarded and promoted."

Ruan Zhi bowed his waist and said, "The minister leads the order."

He thought for a while, and then said cautiously, "It is reported that the Ming army in the south is still clearing up the remnants, saying that they want to recover the looted property. Besides, now that Li Li and others have been arrested, the ground is clear, and the king may continue. Southern Tour."

Empress Dowager Chen said, "Let him come back first."

Ruan Zhi responded and stopped persuading.

What the minister said was very reasonable, it is no longer necessary to let Chen Zhengyuan return to Shenglong at this time; the only reason is because the Empress Dowager Chen is afraid.Therefore, everyone can guess that the Queen Mother Chen had no prior knowledge of the large-scale rebel attack on the king's southern tour.

Empress Dowager Chen did not summon Zhang Fu, but Zhang Fu took the initiative to come to the palace to ask for an audience, and brought Li Li under escort.She returned to the palace, ordered to meet Zhang Fu and others, after thinking about it, she ordered all the civil and military ministers present to retreat, leaving only the servants in the palace.

Na Li Li claimed to be the savior of Annan Kingdom, and he might say something nasty when he met Queen Mother Chen, and Queen Mother Chen didn't want the ministers to hear it.

"Huh, huh, huh..." The sound of the iron chain being dragged on the ground first reached the palace, and the sound got closer and closer.After a while, Zhang Fu, several Ming army sergeants, and Li Li who was in shackles appeared at the door.

Li Li had disheveled hair and looked very embarrassed.Empress Dowager Chen looked towards the door, she could hardly recognize him without looking carefully, but she knew that this person was Li Li.

Zhang Fu was still wearing armor, he stepped forward first, bowed and said, "The lower officials have finally caught the Queen Mother's enemy. From then on, the Queen Mother and the King can rest easy. But in order to avoid leaking the news, the lower officials did not inform the Queen Mother of the details. ashamed."

Empress Dowager Chen stood up from her chair and said, "Fortunately, the king was safe and sound, let's just let it go. The result is very good anyway."

Zhang Fu said, "The empress dowager has a kind heart, and I admire her. I have an audience with you today, and I am here to say goodbye. As long as the affairs of Dongguan are handed over, I will escort the leader of the thief back to Beijing to offer prisoners; when I leave, I will not go forward again." Come to say goodbye. The Annan Kingdom garrison will be temporarily under the command of Li Bin, Marquis of Fengcheng."

Empress Dowager Chen said, "General Zhang has spent so much time in the past few years to settle down the affairs of the South China. I am grateful and hope there will be some time in the future."

Zhang Fu clasped his fists in worship, and answered with a sound.

Empress Dowager Chen looked away from Zhang Fu, looked at Li Li behind, and walked over slowly.

Li Li's hands were handcuffed, and when he raised his head, he could only shake his unkempt hair left and right to reveal his face.He quietly watched Queen Mother Chen.

"On the outskirts of Shenglong City, the manor has been separated for many years. I didn't expect to see each other again." Li Li took the initiative to speak, his voice was a little hoarse, but his tone was calm.

But very calm.There was still a playful and cold smile on his face.

He was speaking in Annan dialect, and Zhang Fu on the side probably couldn't understand them at all, so he could only observe the expressions of the two of them silently.

Li Li looked up and down at Empress Dowager Chen, his eyes were a little unscrupulous, which made her feel very uncomfortable, as if he still dared to covet her beauty now.

Empress Dowager Chen held a soft silk and gently pressed it in front of her nose.As she got closer, she smelled an unpleasant odor.

On the wall of the manor back then, Li Li approached with his sword. Empress Dowager Chen still remembers that scene, she took half a step back in fear.Now she took the initiative to walk towards Li Li, like a reincarnation in a trance.

"Hmph!" Empress Dowager Chen walked up to him and sneered, feeling some revenge-like joy and pride in her heart.

Li Li smiled and said, "Actually, I've always been curious, why do you make the emperor happy to serve you? It's a pity that I can't enjoy that kind of treatment now."

After hearing this, Empress Dowager Chen felt ashamed and angry, and there was a trace of restrained anger on her face.But she held back quickly, and still looked at Li Li coldly.

Li Li said again, "You chose the ship bandits, but after all, you are nothing but a running dog; without the ship bandits as your backing, you are nothing. After thousands of years, you are just a sinner to be cast aside."

Empress Dowager Chen finally said, "So you mean, I should take refuge in you? Let you use my title as queen to enrich yourself, and watch you kill my son, and then become your prisoner and lowly maidservant, so that I can be regarded as Noble man?"

Empress Dowager Chen didn't scold him back, but what she said made Li Li speechless, and he couldn't answer for a while.

The smile on Li Li's face had completely disappeared. After he was silent, he shook his head and said, "A woman in power has no righteousness in her heart. It is really a tragedy for the country."

Empress Dowager Chen asked coldly, "What is the righteousness you are talking about?"

Li Li said, "Get rid of the slavery of the ship bandits and rejuvenate Dayue."

Empress Dowager Chen smiled and said, "Do you want to hear my righteousness?"

Li Li nodded curiously.

Empress Dowager Chen said, "Peace, treat with kindness."

Li Li shook his head and said, "A woman's opinion. Dai Viet will soon attack Champacho, and then you'd better ask what happened to the Dai Viet army from Hue to Vijayaguiren."

Empress Dowager Chen frowned at Li Li.Her emotions were a little out of control, and she said in a strange voice, "The monarch was murdered back then, and the country was in chaos. The Hu family searched for our mother and son everywhere, and the ambitious wealthy families of all parties were also looking for it, but they wanted to use me and then get rid of it. We are precarious and fearful every day. Who cares about the situation of our mother and son? The ship bandits you speak of have protected our mother and son for many years, and handed over the royal power to us; Study and be taught with the prince."

She paused, and said coldly, "'Kou' can still do this, why are you so cruel to me? Who is the enemy and who is the friend?"

After the Empress Dowager Chen finished the call, she didn't want to listen to Li Li's words anymore. She turned her head to face Zhang Fu, and said in Chinese, "The Marquis of Xincheng wiped out the traitors in one fell swoop. This is the good fortune of both Ming and Annan."

Zhang Fu said, "May the queen mother be well, and the country of Annan be safe and peaceful. I will take my leave."

... Ruan Jingyi returned to the Annan Governor's Mansion in Thang Long after a few days, and he had already received Zhang Fu's promise.Soon after, Ruan Jingyi will be the Tongzhi of the Annan Governor's Mansion, which is an official of the Ming Dynasty; at the same time, he will be the Youshangshu of the Ministry of War of Annan Kingdom and the prefect of Qinghua.

These promises must be approved by the Ming court before they can be implemented.Because Zhang Fu did not have the power to appoint officials, he could only show merit and make suggestions.

Not

Guo Ruan Jingyi felt that all rewards were certain, sooner or later.

In the next few days, some news spread in the Dudu Mansion one after another.Through the guidance of Ruan Jingyi and the leadership of the rebel captives, the Ming army wiped out several rebel stronghold villages, arrested some people in Li Li's manor, and recovered some stolen goods.

Today, suddenly a general of the Ming army came and asked Ruan Jingyi, "General Ruan, do you know Ruan Lanfang, sister of the traitor Ruan Jian?"

Ruan Jingyi nodded and said, "I know."

The general said, "She said she wanted to see you, how do you respond?"

Ruan Jing thought for a while, and said, "Please introduce me, General."

Led by the generals of the Ming army, Ruan Jingyi walked to a courtyard in the Dudu's mansion and walked to a locked door.The sergeant guarding the gate unlocked the iron lock and opened the door.

The general of the Ming army said, "After General Ruan has finished speaking, tell the guards to close the door and leave."

Ruan Jingyi thanked him and walked into the room.

Lan Fang was arranging her hair in a panic, she glanced at Ruan Jingyi, and then came up to salute respectfully.

Ruan Jingyi saw that there was a bed and a stool in the room, so he found a stool and sat down by himself, saying, "Miss Ruan, sit down and talk."

Lan Fang said a little embarrassedly, "I treated General Ruan badly before, are you not angry?"

Ruan Jingyi shook his head.

Lan Fang said softly again, "In retrospect, General Ruan treated me very well...it was my fault, I shouldn't have treated you like that. General Ruan, can you intercede for my elder brother and others?"