The eldest princess is obsessed with rebellion, but there are six male protagonists

The third year of Tianfeng, spring.

In the third year after the empress ascended the throne, the top scholar was paraded through the streets, and the streets were deserted.

Although the newly crowned number one scholar, Mr. Xue, was born into an eunuch family, his graceful appearance did not prevent the young ladies in the capital from enthusiastically admiring him.

As Lord Xue was parading, the Imperial Street was almost flooded with handkerchiefs and hair ornaments.

Normally, these should be the treatment for a scholar who has won the third place in the imperial examination. However, this year's scholar was a woman. When she saw Lord Xue being surrounded by flowers, she was not jealous at all. She laughed at him and even joined in the fun by throwing a handkerchief at him.

Xue Yu took the handkerchief off his head and saw the pattern of Yaohua Pavilion on it. He returned the handkerchief to the third place winner reluctantly and said:

"Miss Pei is really willing to spend dozens of taels of silver on a handkerchief from Yaohua Pavilion."

The new third place winner is the cousin of Prime Minister Pei Yu. The Pei family has two third places winners, which is really the envy of others.

Three years ago, after the empress ascended the throne, Yang Ge Lao, who had served four generations of the Su family, submitted his resignation again due to his advanced age and requested to return home.

This time, Su Fengyi did not stop him. She conferred the title of Duke Dingguo on Yang Ge Lao, making it hereditary and allowing him to return to his hometown to retire.

As the first person to be granted the title of Duke during the Great Mu Dynasty, His Majesty personally saw Yang off on the day he returned to his hometown, and walked him all the way to the outskirts of the capital, shedding tears at the Ten-Li Pavilion. This shows the deep friendship between the monarch and his subject.

After Yang Ge Lao returned home, the Second Assistant Pei was naturally promoted to the position of First Assistant, ranking first among all officials.

With the Pei family's financial resources, they can still afford to spend dozens of taels of silver, but Yaohua Pavilion was founded by Princess Qingyang, and every item that came out of it is unique. It is indeed inappropriate to throw it away like this. If it is picked up by someone with ulterior motives, it may cause trouble.

The Pei family is large and has strict education. At first, Miss Pei was locked up at home to learn the rules in preparation for the talent show. Later, the wind changed and Miss Pei was locked up again to prepare for the imperial examination. It was rarely so lively.

So the atmosphere was just like that, Miss Pei thought it was funny, and in a moment of excitement, she couldn't help but throw her handkerchief. Now that she has come to her senses, she hurriedly took back her handkerchief and apologized to Xue Yu with the etiquette of a lady from an aristocratic family:

"I was careless, please don't blame me, Master Xue."

Xue Yu had always maintained a close cooperative relationship with Lord Pei, and he also had some concern for his cousin. He just smiled when he heard this.

The parade of the number one scholar was coming to an end, and everyone was about to go to the Qionglin Banquet when a fast horse with an 800-mile express flag came rushing over, ran through the crowd, and galloped towards the palace.

Look at the color of the flag, it comes from the south.

South? General Shen? What could it be?

Xue Yu has been serving His Majesty in the past few years, handling paperwork for His Majesty, so he is well aware of all the major and minor affairs in the court.

Two years ago, the vassal kings of Guangdong and Guangxi, Prince Jingjiang and Prince Huaijing, simultaneously rebelled. Commander Xie was ordered to suppress the rebellion. Due to his meritorious service in suppressing the rebellion, he was promoted to the position of general, and officially left the Jinyiwei and entered the military system.

During the rebellion of the princes, Lord Lu Qingtong took over the Jinyiwei and was promoted to the commander of the Jinyiwei because of his outstanding performance in gathering intelligence.

The chief clerk of the Ministry of Revenue, Gongsun Bai, was also promoted to the position of chief clerk of the Ministry of Revenue because of his outstanding performance in preparing military supplies.

Later, the Imperial Concubine's father, Lord Wang, was transferred to be the Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi, and General Xie took over the post of Governor-General of Liangjiang. The military and political affairs were integrated, and he was promoted step by step.

Years ago, General Xie and General Shen exchanged guard posts. General Shen went to Mingzhou to take up the post of Governor-General of Liangjiang and commander of the navy, while General Xie took over the post of Governor-General of Xuanda to guard the north for Your Majesty, which was truly worthy of his title, Marquis of Zhenbei.

Before transferring General Shen to Mingzhou, His Majesty summoned General Shen back to Beijing to report on his work. Then, His Majesty, rarely, stopped the morning court due to poor health.

General Shen has only been in Mingzhou for a few months. What urgent matter could it be that requires an express report sent over 800 miles?

Could it be that there has been a response from General Shen’s fleet that went out to sea?

Junior General Shen has been sailing with his fleet for three years. At the beginning, there was some information coming, but later there was no news. Your Majesty has always been concerned about this matter and transferred General Shen to the south for this matter.

Xue Yu was still thinking about this matter when he arrived at the Qionglin Banquet.

When he arrived at the Qionglin Banquet, Xue Yu was surprised to see that the head lady of the palace, Lady Yan Danhe, was there. He asked:

"Lord Yan, will His Majesty come later?"

Although the Qionglin Banquet is hosted by the imperial court, the emperor usually asks a first-rank minister to preside over it and will not attend in person. However, Lady Yan is his majesty's personal female official and serves his majesty at all times. If she is present, his majesty will most likely come.

Dangui is now the first female official before Su Fengyi, and also the first female official in the palace to reach the fourth rank.

In the past few years, Dangui has been learning how to handle documents from Xue Yu. There is a teacher-student relationship between the two, so Dangui is very enthusiastic towards Xue Yu:

"That's right. Your Majesty will personally present flowers to all the new scholars. I was just about to leave when I was stopped by an urgent report from Mingzhou that arrived 800 miles away. So I will be here later."

Xue Yu asked carefully:

"I wonder what it is? Sir Yan, can you tell me?"

Dangui smiled happily:

"Of course, of course. This is great news! General Shen and Lord Yan are coming back!"

……

On the day when Dingyuan Marquis Shen and Major General Shen, Honglu Temple Secretary Yan Ziqing and Lord Yan brought tribute envoys from various vassal states back to the capital, the capital was once again deserted, and it was even more lively than the day when the top scholar was paraded.

Su Fengyi received envoys from various countries and the returning Shen He and Lu Qing in the Golden Palace.

After the meeting, a banquet was held in the palace to entertain all the ministers and guests from afar.

After the palace banquet, Su Fengyi summoned Lu Qing and Shen He separately in the Yangxin Palace.

After not seeing each other for many years, Lu Qing is more cheerful than when I left, but also a little more calm than when I left.

Lu Qing also presented Su Fengyi with a book called "Ceremony in Southeast Asian Countries", which was a true record of what Lu Qing had seen and heard in various countries over the past three years, detailing the customs and people of each country, as well as the power conflicts.

Lu Qing knelt down and said:

"I have been ordered to measure the width of the heavens and the earth for Your Majesty, and to see the vastness of the world. Fortunately, I have fulfilled the order. All the countries in Southeast Asia are subject to Your Majesty, and all the lands illuminated by the sun and the moon praise Your Majesty's reputation. I am hereby presenting this book for Your Majesty to review."

Su Fengyi took the book written by Lu Qing and flipped it open at random. Lu Qing's book was rich in pictures and texts, and the words were vivid, which showed his attentiveness. So he smiled and said:

"Lord Yan has done a great job on this matter. Lord Liu retired years ago and left the Honglu Temple without a leader. Now that you are back, you will take on the position of the Minister of Honglu Temple. You must have had a hard time on this journey. Go back and have a good rest. I will call you to talk to you another day."

Lu Qing happily bowed and left. Dan Gui saw Lu Qing out and saw Shen He waiting outside the study. She smiled and said:

"I was just about to go and tell the general, why isn't General Shen waiting in the side hall?"

Su Fengyi was a benevolent and considerate emperor. Anyone who was summoned would be led to a side hall to wait with good tea and water before the audience. There would be braziers in winter and ice in summer, instead of making the subjects stand under the eaves in the wind and sun.

So just now Su Fengyi summoned Lu Qing first, and Dangui ordered the female official serving in the imperial court to take Shen He to the side hall.

Shen Heyi had been gone for three years. The noisy boy had grown into a mature and steady man from the inside out. Hearing this, he did not explain but just smiled and said:

"Thank you for your consideration, Your Majesty. I wonder if Your Majesty has summoned you now?"

Lu Qing had been working with Shen He for three years and knew what he was thinking. She smiled and said to Dan Gui:

"How can he sit still and wait when His Majesty summons him?"

Dan Gui understood what he meant and winked at Shen He.

"General Shen, His Majesty is waiting for you. There is no one else in the palace. Go quickly."

Shen He thanked Lu Qing and Dan Gui, then pushed the door and entered the study room of the Palace of Tranquil Longevity.

Su Fengyi was reading the book written by Lu Qing. When she heard the door open, she looked up and smiled:

"I haven't seen you for many years. Young General Shen has changed a lot. Did Young General Shen gain anything from this long journey?"

Shen He knelt down and bowed to Su Fengyi, then smiled:

"But Shen has gained something."

Su Fengyi put down the book and asked curiously:

"What did you get? I want to hear the details."

Shen He stood up and walked towards Su Fengyi step by step with a smile.

During the journey of 18,000 miles and more than a thousand days and nights, he witnessed the devastating tsunami and was almost buried in the sea. He was also enshrined in a temple by local residents for his suppression of pirates. He almost died in a foreign land due to malaria and high fever. He was also almost forced to stay and become the local king because he helped a country quell a rebellion.

But none of these could keep him.

Because, after he had seen the world, life and death, fame, and wealth, what he wanted most in his heart was still:

His moon.

His flowers.

His Majesty.

……

End of the full text.

(Everyone has their own bright future. I have finished what I wanted to write, so I think the story should end here. Of course, their stories will continue, not in my writing, but in their own world. There may be extra chapters randomly dropped later, maybe.)

……

Thanks to everyone who has read this far, thanks to big data for bringing us together, and we’ll see you next time.