Translator: Dj2203
Editor: Dj2203
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“Go wherever you want to go.” Xu Jiao said calmly to Peng Qinyun while drinking tea, but he was thinking about the Ministry of Revenue.
Although Song Qingyuan’s mother had passed away, Song Qingyuan’s uncle and grandmother were still alive. Taking advantage of this, the Guo family formed a clique in the court and repeatedly challenged Song Qingyuan’s bottom line.
Song Qingyuan had been keeping silent all this time because his grandmother was still alive.
As people get older, they tended to become confused.
When Song Qingyuan looked at her, she often made mistakes for him, and often held Song Qingyuan’s hand and asked, “The palace is no different from other places. Has Your Majesty treated my Ah Wu well?”
Ah Wu was the maiden name of Song Qingyuan’s mother.
If it wasn’t for the purpose of consolidating the family’s power, no mother would send her daughter to the palace…
From a young crown prince to the young emperor today, Song Qingyuan had been resolute, majestic and decisive, but he was only soft-hearted towards his grandmother.
Therefore, Song Qingyuan had been patient in the court, turning a blind eye to the Guo family’s affairs. The Guo family was fine before, but recently they had become more and more unrestrained, jumping up and down in the court like a clown. She also heard from Eunuch Hui on the way back to Beijing that Song Qingyuan smashed teacups in Minghe Hall several times in the past few months, all because of the Guo family’s affairs.
Song Qingyuan’s grandmother was seriously ill and would not live long. But the Guo family not only did not keep quiet, but became more rampant, touching Song Qingyuan’s bottom line again and again. When his grandmother was ill, Song Qingyuan did not want to use too tough means to deal with the Guo family, so he transferred Lou Mingliang from the position of Fancheng prefect in order to deal with them gently.
The emperor had his own difficulties. He had people he wanted to protect, and he also had a country he wanted to protect…
While Xu Jiao was thinking this, Peng Qinyun on the side said sincerely, “Master Xu, I’m not going anywhere. I’ll go back to Beijing with you. I can be Master Xu’s bodyguard!”
Xu Jiao glanced at him casually and said, “Okay~”
Peng Qinyun was stunned. It’s… really okay?
Xu Jiao said calmly, “I’ll give you one more chance.”
Peng Qinyun immediately laughed and said, “Hahahahahaha, Mr. Xu, I’m leaving! See you later!” After saying that, he ran away, running faster than a rabbit.
Xu Jiao looked at Peng Qinyun’s back and said nothing. Peng Qinyun was like a wild duck and would not stay still without a rope. During the Lanzi Festival, he clearly discovered that she was a woman but specifically said that he must keep the Prime Minister’s hobby of dressing up as a woman a secret. He was more cunning than anyone else.
This time he clearly wanted to leave, but he said he wanted to go back to Beijing with her to be a guard.
There were so many eyes on her that he would feel like he was sitting on pins and needles. But once she exposed him, he wanted to leave as fast as possible.
“Prime Minister?” Hulu was worried that Peng Qinyun would reveal her identity.
“He won’t.” Xu Jiao was not worried.
Peng Qinyun was very shrewd, but he never mentioned anything about his family in the Fancheng prison. He kept his mouth shut because if his family knew that he was in prison for such a thing, he would probably have his legs broken.
Therefore, even the name Peng Qinyun may be fake.
Peng Qinyun was not only afraid of his family, but also afraid of her, so he would not dare to mention her. This was also the reason why she threatened to cut off his tongue, dig out his eyes, and chop off his hands when they were in Beiguan City. It didn’t matter who Peng Qinyun was. He just had to appear less in front of her in the future and not make things difficult for her…
….
The carriage journey was long, and Eunuch Hui was originally worried that they might not be able to return to Beijing before the end of June. However, Xu Jiao ordered them to travel faster, especially in the last ten days or so, and they almost travelled overnight, and finally returned to Beijing on the last day of June.
Xu Jiao felt as if her entire body was shaken apart, as if no part of her belonged to her. Da Cang and Xiao Cang were also shaken in the cage and felt a little uncomfortable, lying there in a slump.
Only Eunuch Hui looked happy.
“Hey, what’s going on with Da Cang and Xiao Cang?” On the way back to Beijing from Fancheng, Eunuch Hui had become familiar with Da Cang and Xiao Cang.
Xu Jiao replied sullenly, “What else can it be? They are about to fall apart~”
Eunuch Hui smiled and said, “When we return to the palace, take a good rest.”
Xu Jiao felt a little uncomfortable and did not respond.
Eunuch Hui liked Da Cang and Xiao Cang very much. After all, there were only a few living creatures on the way back to Beijing, and Da Cang and Xiao Cang were the most lovable. Eunuch Hui took the initiative to take on the responsibility of feeding them, so Da Cang and Xiao Cang came to know that Eunuch Hui was their breadwinner and they became familiar with him.
Xu Jiao closed her eyes and dozed off for a while.
….
As dusk fell, the carriage slowly arrived at the city gate. With Eunuch Hui there, they entered the capital quickly.
“Prime Minister, we have reached the capital.” Xu Jiao hadn’t woken up yet. When Eunuch Hui called her, she still looked sleepy.
“Sir, will the Prime Minister go back home first or go to the palace first?” The carriage stopped on the side of the road, and no one knew which direction to go.
Xu Jiao reached out and lifted the curtain. The familiar streets of Beijing that she had been away from for several months came into view, and a sense of familiarity immediately surged into her heart.
Of course she missed Ms. Cen~
But today was Song Qingyuan’s birthday, and it had only a few hours left. She was almost torn apart because she wanted to rush back to the capital today. If she returned to her house, she would not be able to celebrate his birthday.
If she didn’t go, some people were afraid that they would get angry again.
“Go to the palace first.” Xu Jiao then ordered Hulu, “Hulu, go home first and tell my mother that I will go to the palace first and leave after seeing His Majesty later.”
Hulu should be okay.
The carriage went quite far when Xu Jiao suddenly remembered that she had forgotten to ask Hulu to take Da Cang and Xiao Cang back first and they were still in the carriage!
Eunuch Hui was teasing Da Cang and Xiao Cang with a happy look on his face. Xu Jiao thought again that it would be okay to give it to Ms. Cen after she came out of the palace.
From dusk to nightfall, the carriage finally reached the outer palace gate. The palace was already lit everywhere, and from a distance it looked magnificent and solemn.
The palace was different from other places. Even with Eunuch Hui present, carriages entering the palace were still subject to routine inspection. The imperial guard lifted the curtain and took a look inside the carriage. He froze, “Prime Minister…Prime Minister?”
[F**k, the Prime Minister is back!]
“Yeah.” Xu Jiao glanced at him.
The imperial guards quickly lowered the curtains and notified everyone to let them pass.
The carriage slowly drove in, and the imperial guards mouthed to the imperial guards on the other side, “The prime minister is back~”
Several imperial guards looked towards the carriage, their eyes almost popping out.
The Prime Minister has entered the palace?!
….
The carriage stopped at the Central Palace Gate.
Except for the dragon sedan, all other carriages had to stop in front of the Central Palace Gate. Officials entering the palace had to go through an inspection before they could walk to the Inner Palace Gate.
The imperial guards and eunuchs on duty at the Central Palace Gate couldn’t help but blink when they saw Xu Jiao lift the curtain and get off the carriage.
[Did I see that wrong?]
[Oh my god, he is really the Prime Minister!]
[Today is His Majesty’s birthday, and the Prime Minister has rushed to the palace at this time!]
“Eunuch Hui, please help me look after Da Cang and Xiao Cang.” The carriage could not enter the central palace gate, and the hamster cage was still in the carriage, so Xu Jiao asked Eunuch Hui for help.
Eunuch Hui should be fine.
Xu Jiao was very familiar with the routes in the palace. She didn’t need any palace servants to lead the way. All the way from the Central Palace Gate to the Inner Palace Gate, the palace servants and patrolling imperial guards saluted her when they saw her.
There were also court officials coming out of the palace at this time, and they were still discussing the audience with the emperor today. When they saw Xu Jiao coming towards them, they all nodded and greeted him without noticing anything.
When he passed by them, several people suddenly realized, was that the Prime Minister?
It seems so…
There’s no mistake, that look, that walking posture…
Oh my god! The Prime Minister is back!!
Several people stood there in a daze for a long time.
….
When she arrived outside the Minghe Palace, the eunuch saw Xu Jiao and quickly stepped forward, “My Lord, how are you?”
Xu Jiao looked tired, but still smiled and said, “Thanks to the eunuch, everything is fine.”
When Xu Jiao was the prince’s companion in the East Palace, the eunuch was also serving Xu Qingyuan. The eunuch took care of Xu Jiao from then on, and Xu Jiao also remained close to the eunuch.
“Your Majesty is meeting someone. I will go and tell him about your arrival, the Prime Minister should go to the side hall and wait for a while,” suggested the eunuch.
Xu Jiao agreed.
Seeing the eunuch return to the Minghe Hall, Xu Jiao also went to the side hall.
The eunuch asked her to go to the side hall, which meant that Song Qingyuan was meeting someone very important and it would take a while for him to finish the meeting, so the eunuch asked her to wait. Xu Jiao did not ask who the emperor was meeting. When she walked to the side hall, a eunuch came forward to serve tea.
After days of traveling, Xu Jiao had not slept well in the last few nights. When she came to rest in the side hall of Minghe Palace, she felt really sleepy. So she yawned slightly, and her eyelids couldn’t help but droop.
Inside the main hall, Song Qingyuan was talking to Shen Ling when he saw the eunuch coming in.
The chief eunuch was the most sensible person in the palace and would not enter without reason.
“Your Majesty, the Prime Minister is here.” The eunuch bowed.
Song Qingyuan’s gaze paused for a moment, and then he hummed softly, as if it was a small episode, and continued to say to Shen Ling, “Go on.”
Shen Ling understood.
The eunuch also left the hall, not daring to disturb them.
It looks like Your Majesty will need some time here.
The eunuch went to the side hall to see Xu Jiao, who had fallen asleep on the table. The eunuch smiled, knowing that Xu Jiao must have been tired from the long journey and had entered the palace without returning home, so she must be sleepy now.
The eunuch instructed the eunuch on duty outside the side hall, “Watch carefully, don’t disturb the prime minister.”
….
When Xu Jiao woke up in a daze, she vaguely heard the sound of sleeves brushing against the table and the sound of flipping papers.
Xu Jiao would sometimes take a nap in the side hall of Minghe Hall. At this moment, she sat up from the desk. One side of her cheek was red from being pressed down while sleeping on her stomach. The outline of the pattern on her sleeves was also printed on it. She looked lazy, as if she was half asleep and half awake, as if she wanted to sleep a little longer…
“Awake?” The emperor’s voice was gentle but majestic. His eyes were fixed on the memorial in his hand, without looking at her. As soon as he asked this, he seemed to have just finished reading the memorial, so he put it down and wrote on it with his red pen.
“Yeah.” Xu Jiao rubbed her eyes. She wanted to take a closer look at him, but her peripheral vision just happened to notice the sky outside the window. Xu Jiao was stunned. It was already the middle of the night…
“Give it to me?” Song Qingyuan glanced at the cage on the table. His mellow voice sounded nice, but it also reminded Xu Jiao. Xu Jiao was shocked to find that Da Cang and Xiao Cang were actually here.
Suddenly, Xu Jiao realized that she seemed to have forgotten to mention to Eunuch Hui that Da Cang and Xiao Cang were gifts for Ms. Cen. Eunuch Hui must have thought that she had brought them all the way from Beiguan City for Song Qingyuan. So when she asked Eunuch Hui to help look after Da Cang and Xiao Cang earlier, Eunuch Hui naturally misunderstood and directly brought Da Cang and Xiao Cang’s cages to Minghe Hall.
But this was what she wanted to give to Ms. Cen…
Xu Jiao was embarrassed. She was thinking about how to explain this misunderstanding to him. She actually bought him a dagger as a gift. But Song Qingyuan turned his eyes to her and said in a gentle voice, “I like it very much.”
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