Return of the Swallow

"Master, return to the court? Who gave him the courage! My imperial envoy has not arrived yet, and I have not given him the order yet, so he dares to come back like this!"

Li Qitian was shocked and angry, pacing back and forth with his hands behind his hands. The only sounds in the imperial study could be heard were his footsteps and heavy breathing.

After a while, Li Qitian immediately issued an order: "The cities in the north should use all their strength to intercept Pang Xiao and his party! If anyone can capture Pang Xiao alive, I will make him the Duke of the country, and I will not replace him hereditary!"

You must know that for hundreds of years, the Northern Hebei Kingdom has had a rule that all titles are migrant titles, that is, they are demoted to the title, and there are very few hereditary titles. Now that the emperor is willing to open this mouth, it can be seen that he is very afraid of Prince Zhongshun's return to the court.

Pang Xiao made great achievements in battle, and now he and Ji Zeyu defeated the Tatars. His status in the hearts of the people has already reached a new level. Even though Li Qitian tried to slander and block him in every possible way, the former prince opposed him several times, each time with great force. Being so hard to guard against, all Li Qitian's actions became a foil, which in turn made the image of Pang Xiao even taller.

Li Qitian was very worried about this because he urgently needed to control Pang Xiao.

It's just that people's calculations are not as good as God's calculations, and things turned out to be like this.

The people who conveyed the order quickly went to the northern cities.

Li Qitian was anxiously waiting for the news.

In the harem, where are the concubines who are not looking forward to the emperor's visit in person? But since the outbreak of the Tartar Station, the emperor has not set foot in the harem for several months. The concubines had nowhere to talk about their worries, so they all secretly or openly tried to find out about Li Qitian's itinerary and tried to meet him by chance.

But they never get a chance.

Today, several concubines gathered in Kunning Palace and were talking about the matter with the queen. Grandma Sun, who was beside the queen, walked in quickly from outside and whispered a few words in the queen's ear with a solemn expression.

When the queen heard that "Prince Zhongshun is returning to the court with troops, he may encounter the emperor's imperial envoys on the way", her eyes could not help but widen, and the blood suddenly receded from her proud face.

Several concubines looked at the queen's expression and knew that something big must have happened, otherwise the calm and unflappable master would not have such an expression.

"My dear, what's the problem? If you tell me, sisters can help my sister to share her worries."

"Yes, my dear, is something wrong?"

The queen's heart was pounding, but there were some things she couldn't say casually.

The harem was not allowed to interfere in politics, and she knew her husband's temperament very well. Even if his skills were inferior to others, he would not allow others to say anything wrong. If what she said here was passed into the ears of the emperor by these people in front of her, wouldn't it be her fault?

The queen then explained it away, saying that she was tired, and let everyone disperse.

After everyone left, Grandma Sun leaned close to the Queen and whispered: "My Lady, what do you think should be done about this matter? The Holy One arranged for someone to deliver the decree, but Prince Zhongshun dared to teach him before the decree arrived. Returning to the DPRK. This clearly shows that something is not right."

The queen nodded and asked, "Where is Brother Hao?"

Grandma Sun said: "His Royal Highness is studying with the master, would you like to be summoned?"

"No, let him study hard. It's just that these days..." She leaned close to Grandma Sun's ear and also lowered her voice, "Get Brother Hao's personal belongings ready. If something goes wrong, immediately bring him home." Send the child out.”

"Your Majesty, you!" Grandma Sun was shocked.

The queen's eyes were red with tears in her eyes, "There is nothing we can do about it. Although being a prince is precious, once things come to a standstill, being a prince may become a life-threatening talisman for Brother Hao! He is only five years old, and he knows how to What? Why should I be dragged down by others? I have lived for so many years and I am worthy enough. I only have Brother Hao in my life. Even if I risk the world's disapproval, I must let Brother Hao live. "

Grandma Sun's nose felt sore and tears fell down, "My dear, it won't happen, it won't be like this. You are the mother of a country, and His Highness is the only son of the Holy One. No matter what, it won't happen... "

"That's why we have to be prepared." The queen suppressed her tears and said softly: "I don't ask Brother Hao to be a famous king through the ages. I only hope that he will be an ordinary and healthy child who can be happy. Live every day and live peacefully until old age, so that your child’s journey into this world will not be wasted.”

The queen stood up, her body swaying uncontrollably. Grandma Sun hurriedly supported her.

"Empress, I understand what you mean. However, if something really happens, His Highness cannot leave alone. I will try to find a way to take care of everything. If not, you can take His Highness with you."

"Me?" The queen smiled mockingly to herself, and no longer showed her identity as the queen. She just shook her head and said, "I can't leave. Just like when the emperor liquidated Pang Xiao, he didn't even let the Qin family go. Think about it. , If anyone who opposes the emperor reaches that critical moment, will he be able to let me go?"

Grandma Sun was speechless for a moment, unable to find words to explain.

The Queen sighed: "I know your thoughts and your loyalty. We have been master and servant. For so many years, I have always treated you as my family. The current situation is urgent. There must be a battle between the Holy Emperor and Prince Zhongshun. In the end, it is unknown who will survive to the end. I just want to ask you, when it is absolutely necessary, take Brother Hao and leave immediately, and live an ordinary life outside. By then, he will no longer be a prince, and will no longer be a prince. This is Li Hao. He is just a child from an ordinary farmer's family, and you are his grandmother. I will prepare money and a house for you. I only ask you to raise Brother Hao as a grandson and let him be an upright man. people."

At this point, the queen choked up.

Grandma Sun almost sobbed and cried.

The master and the servant wept relative to each other, but they had to restrain their tears because of the rules in the palace.

"Why is it so difficult to be a woman? I don't see much blessing. Even if you become a queen, I have never seen you truly happy. But when times of crisis come, you will be dragged down. Why is this so hard?"

The queen smiled bitterly, "This is fate. Aren't all women in the world like this?"

The queen couldn't help but think of every detail of the time when Pang Xiao and Qin Yining got along. What they experienced that day at the Ten Thousand Buddhas Temple was still a bit sweet and a bit sour in retrospect.

Qin Yining was in the same situation as her, both were prosperous and devastated, and she had been hurt by Pang Xiao several times. But Qin Yining finally got Pang Xiao's sincere love and care. Even if he died for such a man, he should be willing to do so, right?

What about her? Her husband is no longer the same person. He has no patience, no love, or even affection for her. The reason why she still sits in the queen's seat is because the emperor wants to show his emperor's dedicated style, so he did not let his wife go down.

She is cautious and cautious, and no longer expects any love. She just wants her son to grow up in peace. But now it seems that the storm is coming, and her husband can't even give her this, and she has to be mentally prepared to be buried with him.

Is it fair?

Where can fairness come from in this world?

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Lei Guoneng and Song Deqiu were ordered to lead three thousand battalions to the north to declare the order. Not long after setting off, they heard the news that the Holy Emperor had once again sent an order to officials from all over the north to capture Pang Xiao and that there would be heavy rewards.

When the scouts sent out to investigate, they discovered that Pang Xiao had already led his troops towards the capital before they could pass on the order to arrest him.

Lei Guoneng and Song Deqiu were both panicked.

"Prince Zhongshun came with Duke Ding, leading at least 300,000 soldiers and horses. We euphemistically said he brought 3,000 battalions of soldiers and horses, but the total number is more than 1,000 people. How can we capture Prince Zhongshun?" ?”

"Take it? I knew from the beginning that I couldn't take it." Song Deqiu shook his head, "This matter is really difficult to handle. We can't win with force. It's impossible to arrest people. But if we don't go, we will be resisting the order." .”

"But I'm afraid my life won't be guaranteed if I go there."

The more than a thousand people accompanied by the two men were stationed in place and were not in a hurry to move forward.

At this time, the further they went, the closer they were to Pang Xiao, and they all felt timid in their hearts.

As for Pang Xiao, he did hear the news that Li Qitian ordered officials from various places to capture him and receive generous rewards. He originally thought that just passing by the city would take a lot of trouble.

Unexpectedly, the first city they passed after coming out of the four border gates had already opened its gates and let them in before they could take action.

"The prince is our savior. Without the prince, would we be able to return to our hometown to farm now?"

"Your Majesty and the Duke of Guo defeated the Tatars, and no Tatars will be able to rush in from now on. Your Majesty's kindness will never be forgotten in our lives. I just opened the door to let you pass by, how much more trouble can there be?" ?”

Pang Xiao's army marched very smoothly. Wherever he took his troops and horses, he followed the same route that he had used to drive the Tatars out bit by bit. It was equivalent to returning the same way.

Although the emperor's decree was posted on the list, the people also saw it. The mountain was high and the emperor was far away, so they pretended not to know, so they just opened the city gate to let people pass through, and some people even stuffed food and clothes into the hands of the Huben Army and the Pingnan Army.

Such an unobstructed scene is really surprising.

When Li Qitian learned the news, his eyes were red with anger, and he immediately lost his temper at the court meeting.

"This group of people have neglected their duties! They didn't know how to stop the enemy from invading, but instead opened the door to facilitate them. What's the point of this! With my salary, I have raised an outsider!"

None of the ministers dared to say anything at the court meeting.

What can we do now?

The opponent had a large number of people, but the emperor had dispatched all the troops and horses that could go to the front line in northern Xinjiang in order to fight the Tatars. Only the Gyeonggi Guards and the Three Thousand Battalion were left in the capital.

The scary thing about Pang Xiao is that he is so prestigious in the army. Li Qitian is even worried that Pang Xiao will have a smooth journey in the remaining territory. Will he lead an attack when he reaches the capital?

If they really come in, how can they resist it?

Seeing that everyone was silent, Li Qitian became even more irritable.

He didn't know when he would become unbearable and go crazy.

Pang Xiao comes back with his troops and horses, and he will definitely not let him go easily! How could he fight against him?

"Your Majesty! A message from the former prince has been found in the city again!" At this moment, another bad news came.