Xuanxia

Chapter 534 The Emperor's Chariot

Imperial city, Zixiao Palace.

Zixiao Palace is naturally the bedroom of Concubine Zi.

It was already late at night and the palace was silent. Only the lanterns in the corridors were flickering, swaying slightly in the cold autumn wind.

Suddenly, the sound of hurried footsteps broke the silence.

That was Concubine Zi’s personal maid, Tian’er.

She held a piece of paper in her hand, with joy in her eyes that could not be concealed. She walked quickly through the corridor, came to the door, and knocked gently.

"My Lady, My Lady?"

Tian'er called carefully.

Inside the room, Zifei, who was lying on her side in the quilt, slowly opened her eyes.

But before she could get up, an arm came from behind her, hugged her slender waist, and rubbed her silk bellyband.

"Your Majesty~"

Zi Fei pouts and pats the hand gently: "Stop it."

Zhao Yuan still closed his eyes and said vaguely: "It's so late, your maid is too ignorant."

"It's so late, there must be something important." Concubine Zi turned over and pecked Zhao Yuan on the face: "Your Majesty, please continue to sleep. I will go and take a look."

"What important matter can you have?" Zhao Yuan frowned, his eyes still closed, and said dissatisfiedly: "Isn't it just about the women in the harem..."

"Women's affairs are also affairs."

Concubine Zi laughed and said, "Your Majesty, you are concerned about the affairs of the world, and we little women are naturally concerned about little women's affairs."

Zhao Yuan was quite satisfied with what he said. His brows relaxed, his eyes slightly opened, he stretched out his hand sleepily, and rubbed Zi Fei's body again: "You are not small--"

Zifei giggled, took Zhao Yuan's hand away, and crawled out of the quilt like a loach.

Zhao Yuan's hands no longer felt that slippery feeling. He turned over with some boredom, and soon his breathing became even again.

Zifei lazily picked up the clothes beside the bed and put them on, covering her snow-white upper body. She walked to the door barefoot, swinging her long legs, and opened it leisurely.

"Miss!"

Tian'er was outside the door, looking at her with sparkling eyes.

"Go out and talk. Don't disturb the emperor's rest." Concubine Zi glanced at her, and without caring that she was barefoot, she walked out of the room and closed the door.

The cold wind in late autumn blew her long hair, but she showed no sign of fear. She leisurely came to the stone table in the courtyard and sat down. She yawned with her hand on her cheek and said, "Tell me, what's the matter that makes you dare to disturb me and the emperor?"

Tian'er grinned, handed over the note in her hand, and whispered, "Outside the palace, your nephews brought it in."

Zifei took the note and saw only a short line of small words written on it.

"The boat is in danger, Heng is waiting urgently, Bai should know."

After reading these nine words, Concubine Zi's eyes lit up.

As one of the closest people to the emperor, she certainly knew that Zhao Yuan was studying at the Sword Academy under the pseudonym Bai Xiaochuan. She also knew that he had recruited Yue Heng under his wing some time ago.

"Miss."

Tian'er lowered her voice and said, "We have been keeping the evidence of Concubine Jing's affair with an outsider, waiting for an opportunity. We didn't even say anything when something happened at Jinchan Temple. Aren't we just waiting for such an opportunity?"

"That Yue Heng wants to find the emperor through us. We can take this opportunity to get on the same chariot with the emperor! After this, no matter what evidence we produce, the emperor will take a serious look at it!"

Zi Fei curled her lips slightly and nodded gently.

She had not told Zhao Yuan about the affairs of Huiyuan and Concubine Jing before. The reason was very simple - the harem was not allowed to interfere in government affairs.

Similarly, Zhao Yuan did not like the women in his harem to fight too fiercely. It was okay to be jealous occasionally, and he quite enjoyed the scene of several women being weird for him, but if they really had to fight to the death, Zhao Yuan would definitely not like it.

And how could Concubine Zi know about Huiyuan and Concubine Jing since she has been in the palace? Concubine Jing is backed by the Yuan family, and isn't there a big sect behind you, Concubine Zi? Are you ambitious to use this to argue?
Therefore, she always kept her thoughts well hidden and was not in a hurry to reveal them.

This is also the reason why Zhao Yuan likes her and always wants her to sleep with him - with Concubine Zi, Zhao Yuan will not hear any bad things, and will always have the gentle comfort of a caring big sister.

But now, Fu Qingzhou is in danger, and his good brother Yue Heng wants to ask the emperor for help, but he can't find the emperor, so he can only contact him through the relationship of Ziqi Xianfeng Temple...

I helped pass the message to Zhao Yuan, which means I knew about this matter. Then, when Zhao Yuan was doing something, couldn't I also do something?
No matter what Fu Qingzhou was investigating or what danger he encountered, Zifei guessed that it was nothing more than the trivial matter in Jinchan Temple. Couldn't she just hand over the evidence in her hand?

She rolled her eyes and suddenly raised her voice: "What did you say? Something happened to Fu Qingzhou?"

Tian'er had served her for a long time and was very familiar with her style. She immediately understood and raised her voice, responding hastily, "That's right! The sisters and brothers from Ziqi Xianfeng Temple sent a message, urgently asking for help from the queen!"

"Really..."

Zi Fei slapped the stone table and gritted her teeth, "Senior sister asked me to take care of this junior, but I live deep in the palace, how can I help? You only think of looking for me when something happened. Do you really think I am a god?"

As she spoke, she had already pricked up her ears. As expected, long before she called out the name "Fu Qingzhou", there was a rustling sound coming from the bedroom behind her.

The corners of Concubine Zi's mouth curled slightly, but she still pretended to be worried and asked, "Tian'er, do we have anyone we can use right now? Are there any magic weapons in the palace? Tell me about it."

Tian'er pondered and said, "There are several Taoist temples in Beijing, all of which are affiliated with your master, Madam. If you say a word, they will probably be able to..."

“They can’t help.”

Zi Fei interrupted her: "Even if those people were tied together, they would not be enough for Fu Qingzhou to fight alone. That kid is in danger, why are we looking for some useless Taoist priests?"

"That, that..."

Tian'er looked at her expression and said in embarrassment: "Madam, Tian'er doesn't know... We do have some magic weapons, but if we don't have people to use, it won't work..."

At this moment, the door of the bedroom suddenly creaked open, and Zhao Yuan raised his eyebrows and walked out slowly.

"Oh."

Concubine Zi was "startled" and quickly stood up: "Your Majesty, why did you get up?"

After that, she glared at Tian'er fiercely and said, "What crime should you be punished for disturbing the emperor's rest?"

Tian'er was so frightened that her face turned pale and she fell to her knees with a thud.

Zhao Yuan didn't care. Instead, his eyes sparkled with excitement and he grinned, "It's okay, it's okay, Concubine Zi, I want to ask you, do you know Fu Qingzhou?"

"Ah? Yes, yes."

Concubine Zi acted as if she was bewildered. “This young master Fu has some relationship with my master. He came to the capital this time, and my master sent a letter asking me to take care of him…”

"Haha, I see... Now that this guy has come after you, it seems like there's really nothing we can do."

Zhao Yuan laughed and said, "I asked him to take me with him, but he refused. Now he is begging me for mercy."

The look on Zi Fei's face became even more bewildered: "What? Young Master Fu, you also know the Emperor?"

Zhao Yuan smiled proudly: "Don't worry about it, but how can I help with this matter? It's really a bit troublesome..."

Concubine Zi blinked: "Your Majesty?"

"He went to investigate Wuli Village."

Zhao Yuan put his hands behind his back and slowly walked into the courtyard. He sat down at the stone table and glanced at Tian'er: "I'm thirsty."

Tian'er responded immediately, stood up swiftly, and went to the bedroom. In less than a moment, she returned to the courtyard with a set of tea set.

Zifei originally thought that Fu Qingzhou was investigating the Jinchan Temple, but she inexplicably heard the name Wuli Village. This time, a look of confusion appeared on her face.

She personally poured Zhao Yuan a cup of tea and asked, "Wuli Village, what kind of place is it?"

"A legendary place. I have never heard of it before."

Zhao Yuan sipped his tea and said solemnly, "But a manor near the capital city, which also employs many scoundrels and does dirty work, is unknown to anyone. The person behind this manor must be something extraordinary."

Concubine Zi was shocked: "Your Majesty means that the owner of this manor might be..."

"A certain senior official in the court, or even a member of an aristocratic family."

Zhao Yuan said in a deep voice: "If I act rashly, I am afraid that it will leave opportunities for some people to take advantage of me. It is best to wait until Fu Qingzhou finds out something."

Zi Fei pretended to be innocent and asked, "Your Majesty is the most powerful person in the world. Even if the other party is a senior official in the court or even a member of an aristocratic family, so what?"

"What do you know?"

Zhao Yuan's tone was somewhat pretentious, but also quite serious: "These aristocratic families have accumulated over thousands of years, and their foundations are deep. They cannot be shaken overnight."

"The noble families have great wealth, and their family businesses are spread all over the country, which has a profound impact on the country's economic lifeline... Whether my treasury is full or not is closely related to the economic activities of these noble families. Their business exchanges directly affect the tax revenue of the court, and thus are related to the stability and development of the country."

"Not to mention, the noble families have deep roots and influence in the local area! Their family members are spread all over the place, controlling a large amount of resources and connections. Whether my policies can be successfully implemented in the local area depends largely on the attitude and support of these noble families... If they pretend to obey my policies, then my authority will be greatly reduced, and the stability of the country will also be affected."

"Therefore, even though I am now firmly seated on the throne, I have no choice but to maintain due fear and respect for these noble families."

At this point, Zhao Yuan couldn't help but sigh softly, with a glimmer in his eyes, and it was unknown what he was thinking.

Concubine Zi's eyes sparkled with intelligence: "So that's how it is. But Fu Qingzhou who went to investigate is in danger...I wonder if Your Majesty needs my help?"

"hehe."

Zhao Yuan grinned and said, "Since you know this, of course you have to help. However, we need someone to do it."

"The person who performed the operation?" Zi Fei was stunned.

"is not that right?"

Zhao Yuan smiled and said, "We happen to have such a person. He is in my employ and is also a good brother of Fu Qingzhou. He has a noble family background. Most importantly, he knows nothing about these twists and turns and has a pure heart. This is the best time for me to promote him and make use of him!"

(End of this chapter)