The King of Liang, the feudal lords outside the town, and the generals inside

Shangjing Imperial Palace.

Sandalwood is burning in the Boshan stove on the table, and the fragrance is faintly lingering.

His Majesty the Emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty was also a famous handsome man. He was smart and capable of both civil and military skills since he was a child.After he grew up, he had a close relationship with many sons of the veteran courtiers in the court, so he was very popular after he became the throne, and he was trusted and loved by the courtiers.

Prime Minister Shen Qing was given a seat by the emperor as usual.He is a veteran of four dynasties, but his eyes are very sharp even though he is more than seventy years old. His five-willow beard is longer than that of ordinary people, and the silver beard fluttering adds a touch of immortality to him.

The emperor rejoiced and said, "That's great, Prime Minister Shen, Chunyu Zhen really found him!"

Shen Qingdao: "Since we found it, what is the emperor's plan?"

The emperor said: "Naturally, he was brought to my side."

Shen Qinglue pondered for a while, and said: "In this case, we must send someone capable to handle it. According to the old minister, it is better to let the younger brother of the general go to pick him up in the name of Lao Jun."

"What Shen Xiang said is that Rong Ling is indeed the right candidate." The emperor quickly finished writing a secret decree, put down the pen in his hand, and said to the personal eunuch: "Go, let Rong Ling enter the palace."

Rong Ling is Yan Zun's name.

Half an hour later, Yan Zun arrived in a hurry, and the palace maid Lan Yan who was hiding in the dark outside the imperial study room quickly turned around after seeing Yan Zun's face clearly, and rushed towards the Palace of Compassion and Ning.

The emperor backed away from the left and right, motioning for Yan Zun to step forward.

The emperor gave him the secret decree, and said in a low voice: "Go to your brother's place and bring someone back for me. No matter what, you must ensure his safety, and I want to see him standing in front of me alive."

Yan Zun raised his head and said: "Dare to ask the emperor, who is it?"

The emperor said: "Go to your elder brother and give him my secret decree, and he will know it after reading it."

The emperor paused, and then added: "If you think of something at that time, don't say anything. When you leave the palace later, give this imperial decree to the sergeant of the palace gate, and tell them that within two hours after you leave, any People are not allowed to leave the palace."

"Is the emperor worried that someone will follow?"

The emperor said coldly, "That's for sure."

Yan Zun came out of the emperor's study and walked quickly to the palace gate.

Lan Yan had already got the Empress Dowager Yi to wait outside, and when she saw Yan Zun coming out, she followed closely.

Unexpectedly, the guards at the gate of the palace saw Yan Zun's badge and let him out of the palace, but stopped Lan Yan who followed closely behind.

Lan Yan held up the waist card of the Palace of Compassion and Ning and said: "Don't you even know this? The Empress Dowager ordered me to leave the palace. If something important is delayed, can you bear it?"

The guard was unmoved at all, and said: "Don't blame the girl, the emperor has ordered that no one should leave the palace within two hours after Shilang Yan leaves the palace."

"I am following the Queen Mother's order!" Lan Yan said angrily.

"Yes, the empress dowager is honorable, but girl, don't forget, the master of this world is the emperor."

It was not the guard on duty who spoke, but a woman.

Lan Yan turned around angrily, but when she saw the person coming, she had to hold back her anger and salute, "Meet the imperial concubine."

The noble concubine Jiang is the queen's own younger sister. Both of these sisters are two princesses, a concubine and a concubine, from Weiyan, a neighboring country, and their status is extremely distinguished.

The imperial concubine's complexion is very good, very moist, and she is also very graceful and charming, radiant.She said: "My aunt is in such a hurry to leave the palace, what's the matter?"

Lan Yan lowered her head and said, "The empress dowager suddenly wants to eat rose cakes from the Liu family in the south of the city, and the slaves are going to buy them."

"Oh, what is the way of this palace. There is a very good pastry chef in this palace, and it is from the Liu family. Whatever the Queen Mother wants to eat, just tell me." The concubine turned her head and ordered, "Go Tell the master to quickly make some rose cakes and send them to the Compassion Palace."

"Don't bother your lady!" Seeing that Yan Zun had gone far away and got on his horse, Lan Yan hurriedly said, "Your maidservant can just leave the palace and buy it herself!"

The noble concubine smiled and said: "Miss, I just heard from the guards that the emperor has a decree that no one can leave the palace for two hours after Yan Shilang leaves the palace. Why do you have to embarrass them as servants?"

"Don't embarrass their servants, the Ai family will embarrass you!"

The empress dowager's angry voice came from behind, but the noble concubine did not change her expression, she bent her knees and said, "The empress dowager is a thousand years old and Jin'an."

The queen mother glanced at her, and said with a sneer: "The queen mother of the Ai family wants to eat a pastry when she is free, but she is stopped by the people below. Where did Jin An come from?"

"The concubine dare not stop the queen mother. The pastry chefs in the concubine's palace are so good that even the emperor is full of praise. Whatever the queen mother wants to eat, just order it." The concubine said slowly, "It's just that the palace... The emperor has a decree, and I'm afraid it won't work within two hours."

"Don't use the emperor to suppress Ai's family!" The empress dowager slammed the gold-plated dragon-headed cane on the ground, "Ai's family is the emperor's birth mother!"

The imperial concubine smiled lightly and said: "The emperor is the emperor of the people in the world, and the world is the emperor's world."

The Queen Mother was completely enraged, pointing at her and saying, "Kneel down!"

The imperial concubine was neither humble nor overbearing, and knelt down as she said.

However, just as her knees touched the ground, a woman in a peony costume embroidered with celestial waters knelt down beside her, "I pay homage to my mother."

"The queen is also here to join in the fun?" Although the queen mother was not as angry as before, her expression was still cold.

The queen kowtowed and said in a slow voice: "I don't know the reason, so I don't dare to talk. I only know that my sister got angry after offending my mother. It is right for the mother to beat and punish her. It's just that my sister is pregnant, and my son, as a queen, I am willing to be punished on behalf of my sister."

The queen mother was startled, and said: "Is the imperial concubine happy?"

The queen said: "Yes, it has been more than two months. My son is going to report to the emperor. For the sake of the emperor's heir, please calm the queen mother."

The queen mother stared at the imperial concubine's belly for a while, and said: "Forget it, the noble concubine, get up. In such a cold day, the empress is just out of confinement, and she can't kneel."

The queen pulled the imperial concubine to stand up, bent her knees and said: "My son thanked the queen mother."

The Empress Dowager didn't say much, and took Lan Yan to the Palace of Compassion and Tranquility with restraint.

The imperial concubine stroked her chest, as if she was really frightened.She smiled and said: "Sister came here in time, otherwise I would really have to kneel in this ice and snow."

The queen glanced at her, and said angrily: "You too, just tell the queen mother that you are happy, and you must make the queen angry!"

The imperial concubine took the queen's arm and said: "Sister, I really don't blame me for this matter, listen to me telling you..."

After looking for bad luck at the gate of the palace, the queen mother was blocked by the Jiang sisters' happiness and couldn't say anything, so she went to the emperor again in anger.

"This is the queen mother?" The emperor brought tea to the queen mother himself.

"The Ai family came to tell you that the noble concubine is happy." The queen mother said.

"Really?" the emperor was overjoyed and said, "That's great, the second princess of the empress has just reached the full moon, and the noble concubine is happy again. It's really double happiness."

The queen mother took a sip of tea and said: "It is a good thing that the emperor's heirs are prosperous, and you should be happy. Your father also has more than a dozen brothers, all of whom are not small. It's just that some people can keep their own place, and some people, such as Zhaowu back then The king is the traitor who deserves to be killed. In the final analysis, it is because King Zhaowu's biological mother's family is very powerful, which makes King Zhaowu give birth to so many wolfish ambitions that should not be there, and commit chaos."

There was something in the Queen Mother's words, the emperor couldn't hear it, but he didn't want to argue with the Queen Mother, he just smiled and said: "What the Queen Mother said is true."

The queen mother didn't want to skip this topic, "Emperor, do you still remember where the imperial concubine's natal home is?"

"Of course I remember. The empress and imperial concubine are both Weiyan's first princesses."

"The emperor understands in his heart, and the Ai family is relieved."

On the surface, these words were to remind the emperor to beware of the natal families of the empress and concubine, but coupled with the previous paragraph, it became very obvious what the empress dowager meant.

Yan Xun's father, Yan Jun, Duke of Yongming, also married the daughter of Prince Regent of Weiyan, Princess Chunyi.

The emperor only answered "yes" lightly, then turned his head and began to peel the oranges.

"In the Yan family, Yan Jun is the highest hereditary title in the Zhou Dynasty, and Princess Chunyi is a first-rank wife; Yan Xun was named General Zhengxi by you, and he controls nearly half of the soldiers and horses in the Zhou Dynasty; Yan Zun is the Ministry of Punishment. Minister, but you don’t let him go to the Ministry of Punishment, you send him directly, relying on him like a confidant; Yan Fu, the eldest daughter of Yan Jun, married the eldest son of the Marshal of Weiyan Bingma’s family.”

The Empress Dowager finished speaking in one breath, and patted the table bitterly, "Emperor! The Yan family is powerful, the end must be broken, and the tail cannot be lost! This truth is understood by all the women in the Ai family. Why can't you figure it out!"

The emperor bowed his head and did not speak, eating oranges on his own.

"Emperor!" The Queen Mother yelled angrily.

"Mother, when I first ascended the throne, King Zhaowu conspired against me and joined hands with the commander of the imperial guards to kill me directly. Who brought all the soldiers to rescue me, and who was shot in front of me with arrows? , Desperately beheaded and killed King Zhaowu, ordered the rebels to return, was seriously injured and almost died, and was demoted by the mother afterward?" The emperor said with pain, "My mother, Yan Xun grew up with me, and I treated him like My dear brother. I trust him, he will not do anything wrong to me! If he wanted to harm me, he would not have risked his life to save me in the first place!"

The queen mother was unmoved, and said: "Aijia did not deny his achievements in saving you! Maybe he was indeed loyal to the emperor at the time, but that was before he gained such great power! Emperor, people will change. Now He is sitting on half of the world's soldiers and horses, who knows that he will not have a different heart?! King Zhaowu is a lesson from the past! He also grew up with you and is your cousin!"

"You don't need to say anything more, Empress Mother." The emperor stood up, "No matter what I say, Empress Mother is determined not to believe me or Yan Xun. Forget it, Empress Mother, please go back to the palace to rest. My son is going to review the memorial."

The Empress Dowager's face was full of pain, her chest heaved violently with anger, her hands were trembling on her knees, and she couldn't say a word.

The emperor opened the door and went out, Lan Xi and Lan Yan hurried in to support the queen mother.The queen mother was so angry that she repeatedly slapped the table, "This Yan Xun is really hateful! What kind of ecstasy soup was given to the emperor, so that the emperor didn't even listen to Aijia's words!"

"The empress dowager calm down." Lan Xi persuaded her kindly, "The emperor's state affairs are heavy, so it is inevitable to be impatient."

After getting angry, the queen mother gradually calmed down, her breathing became a little dignified, "The Ai family must not let Yan Xun go on like this!"