Return of the Swallow

The Queen let out a long breath. As long as Pang Xiao did not rebel, the Zhou Dynasty could still be saved. She considered herself not a smart woman and could not be compared with Princess Zhongshun. However, she had been in a high position for a long time and often communicated with noble women and their families. The queen also knew a little about the affairs of the court.

Whether the world is stable or not does not entirely depend on Li Qitian, but on Pang Xiao. If Pang Xiao is willing to be a minister, everything will be easy. But if Pang Xiao ever had a rebellious intention, Li Qitian would not be able to resist it. This is also the reason why Li Qitian wanted to eradicate Pang Xiao several times.

As long as there is no rebellion by Pang Xiao, they will not be attacked from both sides, and there is still hope that the current crisis can be solved.

The queen laughed and persuaded: "Your Majesty, please calm down. Prince Zhongshun has been ordered to provide disaster relief. It is also his duty to purchase food to feed the people. Don't be angry. This is a time of internal and external troubles. It requires your Majesty and his ministers to work together to fight against the Tatars." At that time, if Your Majesty misunderstood Prince Zhongshun right now, I am afraid that he would be the target of someone who is interested."

The Queen's voice was neither fast nor slow, and she carefully observed Li Qitian's expression as she finished speaking. She didn't see Li Qitian getting angry on the spot, so the Queen secretly breathed a sigh of relief in her heart, thinking to herself that the Holy Lord was also a smart person after all, and would not fail to do so at such a critical moment. Act accordingly.

But who knew that her breath might have been released too early. Li Qitian looked up at the queen with a sullen face for a long time, then suddenly grabbed something and threw it at the queen.

The two were not far apart, and the queen was unprepared. She only felt a buzz in her head, and a hard object hit her forehead. The pain caused her eyes to go black, and she even lost consciousness for a moment.

Looking at the porcelain plate that fell to the ground and broke into several pieces, Li Qitian's roar was like a roaring lion: "Okay, very good! I have actually raised someone else's queen in these years!"

The queen heard these words as soon as she regained consciousness, her heart skipped a beat, and she immediately realized that she had said too much.

Lifting her skirt and kneeling down straight, the queen kowtowed three times, not caring about the ringing in her ears and the pain on her head.

"Your Majesty, please calm down. I am doing everything for your Majesty's sake. Now is the time when we are in urgent need of resisting the Tatars. We really don't think about other times. Your Majesty is a wise king in this world. He thinks everything clearly. I am also concerned about chaos. Only then can I talk too much. I should not interfere in the government affairs. I don’t dare to do it anymore."

Li Qitian narrowed his eyes and stared at the queen's figure, his anger relieved a little.

He still knows something about his wife. This woman is just an ordinary village woman, kind-hearted and quick at work. She was lucky enough to marry him, so she got the chance to be the queen. She has kept to herself over the years and has never participated in court matters. She is clumsy in everything she does...

If you know how to behave,

Where can I intercede for Pang Xiao?

Although Li Qitian was open-minded, he still couldn't calm down and said sarcastically: "People like you are the ones who can't tell the difference between inside and outside. The ministers in the court are all in different factions and have their own considerations. I didn't expect that it would be the same with you. Really It really makes me sick!"

The Queen's whole body was as cold as if she had been thrown into an ice cave in the dead of winter.

Back then, when they were just an ordinary couple, they were still a harmonious couple, even if they couldn't be said to be sweet and sweet.

It's just that as Li Qitian climbed higher and higher, she became farther and farther away from him, and now he no longer likes her!

She is old and yellow, but there are many girls in the palace who are as beautiful as flowers. Thinking about the couple who have been married for many years, now that Li Qitian has seen all the prosperity, even the family relationship has been completely worn away?

Although thinking this way comforted herself and made sense, there was a voice in the queen's mind that denied her. Pang Xiao and Qin Yining have been married for many years, but Pang Xiao has never treated Qin Yining like Li Qitian did to her, giving in in public. She made a fool of herself, disgraced her, and even attacked her.

The queen lowered her head and pursed her lips tightly. She didn't know how to persuade Li Qitian or what else to say. She just felt discouraged and no longer had the heart to care about what Li Qitian was going to do.

Seeing that the queen stopped talking, Li Qitian felt that Kunning Palace was not interesting for a moment. Seeing the queen's appearance made him feel sick to his stomach, so he immediately got up and went out.

The emperor was furious in the queen's palace and even hit the queen with dishes. The news spread like wildfire and soon spread throughout the inner palace. When the concubines came to pay their respects the next day, they still couldn't help but look at the queen's purple forehead, and some even laughed wildly in their hearts.

The Queen sat at the head of the table with a decent smile, but her mind was no longer here.

The concubine's constant temptations in her words made the queen extremely annoyed for a while.

She simply said bluntly: "I won't talk about the war outside right now, but I think you all have heard about it. The Tatar army is overwhelming, and we are defeated. Dingbeihou has no choice but to retreat before the commander's army. Capital City.”

There was silence in the room, and the concubines seemed no longer in the mood to explore the Queen's injury.

Ji Zeyu retreated to the capital with his troops and horses, and was surrounded by Tatars outside the city walls. Once the city is destroyed, how can these people survive?

"Your Majesty, did the Holy One tell us how our sisters should be settled?" A concubine asked boldly.

The queen smiled slightly, looked at the young woman who was as beautiful as a flower, and said gently: "You and I are the concubines of the Holy Emperor. If you say something that doesn't please me, if such a day comes, you and I will naturally observe the festival for the Holy Emperor. .”

So if they, the concubines, are really defeated in the war, they will collectively wipe their necks?

Some of the young ones turned pale with fright, and some even cried on the spot.

The queen said: "We haven't progressed to that stage yet, and we won't be defeated like a mountain. But I am saying this here to give you sisters a warning. Please think about it more these days, and what regrets do you have? , it’s too late, if you miss your family, write a letter to contact them as soon as possible, if such a day comes, I will not allow anyone to betray the Holy One.”

The queen glanced at everyone with squinted eyes and said solemnly: "Do you remember clearly?"

"Yes." All the women stood up and saluted.

The queen nodded, told everyone to disperse, and then ordered the nanny beside her to go to Leng Palace: "Go and tell the maid in charge of Leng Palace. Concubine Shun should also take care of it."

"Yes, slave, go right away."

The queen's arrangements made all the concubines panic, and they didn't know what to do for a while. Some people cried loudly under their blankets when they returned home, while others hurriedly wrote letters home, hoping to find a way out for themselves.

For a time, there was a tremor in the palace, and even the Queen Mother and Li Helan heard the news.

The two of them had no time to blame the queen because they were also trapped in fear.

The Queen Mother was older, but she was not very calm. When she thought that as the emperor's mother, she had nowhere to go, she couldn't help but feel sad, and she cried one after another holding Li Helan in her arms.

On the contrary, Li Helan acted more calmly.

She is Ji Zeyu's wife. If Ji Zeyu dies in battle, she will definitely be captured and raped by the Tatars. If that happens one day, as the queen said, they may all die on a piece of white silk.

After understanding this, Li Helan calmed down. The important thing at this time was not to worry about his own future, but to think of ways to help Dazhou survive this crisis.

Li Helan told the Queen Mother his analysis and thoughts, and the Queen Mother immediately ordered people to find Li Qitian.

Li Qitian is very busy, how can he find the time to come to Ci'an Palace to pay his respects? The Queen Mother couldn't see anyone, so she had to ask her chamberlain to send a message to Li Qitian: "Just tell the emperor what the Ai family said. The most important thing right now is how to protect the country of Great Zhou from being trampled by the Tatars. Pang Zhixi has been on the battlefield for a long time. If he and Ji Lan's cooperation will surely defeat the Tatars, and let the emperor think carefully and take a longer-term view."

The chamberlain's forehead was filled with sweat after listening to the Queen Mother's words. He didn't want to go, but he didn't dare to go against the Queen Mother's wishes. But if he goes, he also has a bad feeling, and the Holy Emperor may not let him go. This situation is basically a dead end.

But the chamberlain had no other choice but to go to the Imperial Study Room, remove the edge from the Queen Mother's words, and paraphrase the meaning.

Li Qitian sat behind the paulownia table in the royal study, and gradually tightened his hands to grasp the bright yellow brocade table cover, "You dog slave, is this what the Queen Mother said?"

"Go back to your Majesty, it is indeed the Queen Mother who ordered the servants to say this." The servant kowtowed repeatedly, feeling that his life was at stake.

Li Qitian sneered coldly, "I can't help you when it comes to matters in the court, but I never delay in causing trouble."

The waiter didn't dare to talk to him, wishing he could pretend he didn't exist.

"Go tell the Queen Mother and ask her to be ready. If the Tatars really break the city, the Queen Mother must set an example. Could it be that the Queen Mother, who has been wise all her life, is not as knowledgeable as the Queen?"

This is clearly to prepare the Queen Mother to "hit the road".

The chamberlain bowed timidly and retreated.

Returning to Ci'an Palace, she explained the instructions from the Holy One. As expected, the Queen Mother suddenly stood up and said angrily: "Nonsense! How could the emperor talk to the Aijia like this? Could it be that you, a cheap slave, just made it up!"

"The Queen Mother clearly knows that even if I have the courage, I would not dare to falsely convey the imperial edict. That is indeed what the Holy One said."

The Queen Mother was so angry that she was dizzy and furious. If it weren't for her status as Queen Mother, she was no longer the village woman she used to be. She would have cursed everything dirty and smelly.

The Queen Mother is so panicked, let alone others?

From top to bottom in the entire palace, no one was not panicking. Looking for ways to survive.

Although Li Qitian was worried about court matters, he had heard several versions of the rumors in the palace.

Before he even reached the capital, someone had already concluded that he would be defeated.

Is he really not going to get over this hurdle this time?

When Pang Xiao had everything ready and the army was ready to go, it was already three days later.

Qin Yining held an exquisite Shuangliang carved hand warmer and was carefully supported by Pang Xiao as he walked out of the Qin Mansion's inner house. He left the side door in a carriage and headed all the way to the gate of the old capital.

Pang Xiao's horse Wu Yun was following the carriage, and the other guards were guarding the carriage in front and on the left and right.

Unexpectedly, as soon as everyone came out of the city gate and saw the scene in front of them, they were all stunned.