Her guards

Chapter 153 The Son-in-Law in the Imperial City
The quiet night passed quietly.

As the sun shone brightly, accompanied by the melodious sounds of the eunuchs announcing the end of the court session, all the civil and military officials bowed and respectfully saw off the emperor.

The last grand court assembly before the New Year has ended, and the holiday break begins.

The officials who left the court did not feel any relief; they gathered in twos and threes, whispering among themselves as they walked.

"...It seems this isn't about apologizing..."

"...Such an absurd thing, why should I apologize!"

The officials almost all knew about the Marquis of Yichun's visit to the palace last night, but the emperor did not mention it at the grand court meeting. He only reiterated that the Baima Town case must be resolved, the rampant bandits must be eliminated, and the people of Lu County should be able to have a good New Year.

In other words, the emperor did not take seriously the testimony of the servants of Jiying against the Marquis of Yichun.

"...Yes, this is too absurd. How could the Marquis of Yichun go and massacre the people of Baima Town?"

"...Several servants were fighting and talking nonsense in the prison cell. The Minister of the Court of Judicial Review should not have reported it. He was being ridiculous."

"...It's no wonder the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review is acting absurdly, after all, there's that Miss Yang in Baima Town..."

Amid the murmurs, a single sentence suddenly rang out, drawing everyone's attention.

Miss Yang.

Oh, everyone remembers now, among the victims of Baima Town was the sister of the Duke of Ding'an.

However, the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review was still too absurd. If the Duke of Ding'an had died there, it would have been enough for him to make such a fuss, considering that the Duke of Ding'an's sister had been married off for many years...

In the previous chaotic times, relatives were separated, and marriages to other people severed ties and weakened blood relations. After the new dynasty was established, the status of relatives was also very different, which was quite common.

It's not unusual for a peasant woman in the countryside to have a relative who might be a high-ranking official in the capital.

The sister of the Duke of Ding'an is actually not a big deal.

But after a few people said such things, some of the people around them stopped echoing them, and instead had complicated expressions and shifty eyes.

"Who is that?"

"Yes, that's the one."

"Ugh."

The officials who had spoken earlier were somewhat confused.

"Hey!"

"Which one?"

"What happened to the Duke of Ding'an's sister?"

But those people didn't answer, only saying it was nothing, and then walked away.

The officials left behind didn't believe it. They saw that the other officials were all military officers, and all were old subordinates who had fought alongside His Majesty...

This seemingly sudden appearance of the Duke of Ding'an's sister must have a past that no one knows about!

That definitely requires asking around.

……

.......
"His Majesty."

Marquis Yichun waited for the emperor in the Hall of Diligent Governance, bowing respectfully.

The emperor smiled and said, "Father-in-law, you can wait for me at Ah Feng's place. I'm going there too. It's so cold, don't walk back and forth."

Last night, the Marquis of Yichun entered the palace. After he finished speaking, the emperor did not allow him to return, as the journey was too tiring, and instead allowed him to rest in the palace.

After daybreak, the emperor went to court, and the Marquis of Yichun went to see the empress.

"I met with the Empress to explain things to her, so that she wouldn't cause trouble for His Majesty again," Marquis Yichun said with a smile, bowing slightly. "My actions will inevitably cause a lot of discussion, Your Majesty. I apologize for troubling you. I will take my leave now."

The emperor said with a hint of helplessness, “Father-in-law, there’s no need for such formalities.” His expression was also regretful. “I was thinking of discussing this year’s palace banquet with Ah Feng, and I would also like to ask you to join me in the discussion.”

Marquis Yichun said, "It is His Majesty's palace banquet, so His Majesty should make the arrangements." After saying this, he took his leave again.

The emperor did not try to keep him, and ordered the eunuchs to see him off.

The hall fell silent. The emperor stood motionless for a long time, and the eunuchs around him held their breath in silence. Then they heard the emperor chuckle softly.

Marquis Yichun did not come to apologize last night.

He first asked the emperor if he had seen the confession of the Ji family servants sent by the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, and then asked if the Court of Judicial Review was not allowed to question him at his home, so they sent Wei Jiao and others in embroidered robes to spy on him.
The emperor admitted to seeing the confession, but indicated that he did not take it seriously. He ordered the Dali Temple to investigate thoroughly, but not arbitrarily. Then he gave Wei Jiao a severe scolding, saying that since he couldn't sleep, he wanted to disturb others' sleep.

After hearing the emperor's explanation, Marquis Yichun nodded, then shook his head.

"Your Majesty," he looked at the emperor, his expression solemn, "that Lady Yang is not so bad that I need to take action."

Thinking of this, the emperor chuckled again and nodded.

Yes, she is not worthy of being dealt with by the Marquis of Yichun himself.

Marquis Yichun only needed to say a few words, and the Yang family members would cower in fear and retreat, doing things for him.

The emperor withdrew his gaze and returned to the table, looking at the scattered testimonies. The testimonies of Ji Ying's servants were indeed absurd; he had never believed them to begin with.

but……

When the Marquis of Yichun knocked on the palace gate in the middle of the night and mentioned Lady Yang, the emperor felt as if he had returned to more than ten years ago.

All these years have passed, and not only is Lady Yang unworthy of Marquis Yichun's attention, but Deng Shan is still just Deng Shan in Marquis Yichun's eyes.

The emperor reached out and threw the confession on the ground.

"Burn it," he said.

The palace eunuchs rushed forward to pick it up and put it into the charcoal stove. A faint smell of smoke filled the room, and the emperor's voice came from behind the smoke.

"Call Wei Jiao here."

……

.......
"Your Majesty, I have already seen the imperial physician, and he is prescribing medicine for me."

Wei Jiao, who was called in, spoke with a serious expression.

"The kind of person who eats and then falls into a deep sleep, so that he won't be unable to sleep and go out to work diligently, and might accidentally pass by some unapproachable people and cause trouble for His Majesty."

"Don't worry, this medicine is very potent. After taking one packet, even the Emperor himself couldn't wake me up."

The emperor glared at him. Doesn't "Heavenly Emperor" include the emperor himself?

Furthermore, what do you mean by "someone you can't afford to offend" or "hardworking"? The emperor doesn't believe he just happened to pass by the Marquis of Yichun's residence; it was all intentional! He was stirring up trouble, wanting to see things get chaotic!

But he flew into a rage just because Xiu Yi was spying on him from outside the door.
The emperor looked at Wei Jiao, stopping his rambling, and said calmly, "There's something I need you to do. After you've done it, go take that sleeping pill you're using."

Wei Jiao straightened up: "Please give your orders, Your Majesty."

The emperor glanced at the military defense map beside him and said, "Investigate the movements of the border troops over the past two years."

The border troops stationed in the Northeast were under the command of General Chai Du of Gaoyang.

Chai Du was the second son of the Marquis of Yichun.

For more than a decade after ascending the throne, General Chai Du of Gaoyang was the emperor's most trusted advisor, and he never secretly spied on him.

But after the emperor finished speaking, he did not hear any reaction from Wei Jiao, such as shock or praise. He looked over in confusion and saw that Wei Jiao seemed to be lost in thought.

……

.......
it turns out…..
That scoundrel, spouting nonsense, has really made His Majesty suspicious of the Marquis of Yichun's family?

Wei Jiao thought to himself.

Is it that simple?

"Wei Jiao," the emperor snapped, "did you hear me?"

Wei Jiao raised his head and murmured, "I heard you, Your Majesty, you want to investigate the Chai family."

The emperor kicked him: "It's not the Chai family, it's the border troops, you bastard! Those are my border troops, can't I interfere?"

Although Wei Jiao was lost in thought, he nimbly dodged the emperor's foot and repeatedly replied, "Yes, yes, yes."

Now let's look at the emperor.

"I accept your order."

But instead of turning around and leaving, he looked at the emperor and suddenly took a step forward.

“Your Majesty, I have accused my father of plotting a rebellion,” he said.

It's just nonsense, right? He can do that too.

The emperor paused for a moment, then kicked him again: "Get out!"

……

.......
Wei Jiao rolled out of the Hall of Diligent Governance, but he hadn't gone far when he heard Princess Heicheng calling him. He turned around and smiled at Princess Heicheng as she approached.

Princess Heisei did not smile; her expression turned slightly serious. "Wei Jiao, has my maternal grandfather passed away?"

Wei Jiao nodded: "Let's go." Then she stepped forward, "Princess, Your Majesty is wronged! I was just wandering around aimlessly. People can just talk about me behind my back if they see me, why is the Marquis blaming Your Majesty..."

Princess Heicheng already knew that the servants of the Ji family had testified against her, and she also knew that her maternal grandfather had entered the palace last night. She also felt that her maternal grandfather was making a fuss over nothing. Her father would not believe such an absurd thing, and her maternal grandfather should not have gone to the palace on purpose.

Before she could ask anything, Wei Jiao bowed deeply.

"I'm leaving now," he said, looking up with a bright smile. "I'm going to see my junior sister."

Junior sister, Princess Heisei was stunned for a moment, watching Wei Jiao turn around and step back.

Just like before, as graceful as dancing.

But she no longer felt the same joy as before.