Her guards

Chapter 271 Good News

In the late summer and early autumn of Beijing, a rain shower dispelled the last vestiges of the sweltering heat.

The imperial city became clear and high after the rain.

A magnificent carriage stopped in front of the imperial city gate. Before the carriage had even come to a complete stop, Yang Luo jumped down.

"Princess, please slow down," the palace maids and servants outside the carriage called out.

Officials coming and going saw him and hurriedly bowed, hearing a greeting of "Your Excellencies have worked hard," before he passed by like a gust of wind.

They stood up and looked back, seeing the princess walking upright and striding inside, followed by eunuchs and maids running behind her.

"This princess doesn't have the air of a princess," an official chuckled softly. "She's more like a prince."

In the past, these words might have been somewhat disdainful, mocking this princess from the common people for lacking dignified and elegant manners. But now, they carry a different meaning.
What this princess did was something even the King of the East Sea couldn't do.

“Just received news,” another official whispered. “Wei Cui is now surrounded in Gangu.”

"Your Majesty—Wei Cui has not disappeared—"

Yang Luo walked to the outside of the Hall of Diligent Governance, bypassed the welcoming eunuchs, and went straight into the hall as usual, while shouting loudly inside with a big smile on his face.

"and--"

As she spoke, she stepped into the hall, then stopped a moment later, her joy fading from her face.

"The fallen petals have arrived," the emperor said with a smile.

The Marquis of Yichun, standing inside the hall, gave a slight bow: "Princess."

Yang Luo looked at him quietly, neither returning the greeting nor speaking.

The atmosphere inside the hall became strange.

The emperor coughed lightly.

Marquis Yichun hurriedly bowed to the emperor and said, "Your subject will take his leave now."

The emperor nodded: "Please take care, my lord."

Marquis Yichun slowly approached the door. Yang Luo watched him until he got close, then nodded slightly and said, "Please take care, Your Excellency."

Marquis Yichun smiled and said, "Thank you, Princess."

After saying that, he walked past Yang Luo and went outside.

"Luoying, come, sit down and let's talk," the emperor beckoned.

Yang Luo did as instructed, but did not sit down. She frowned and asked, "What is he doing here? Is he here to slander me?"

The emperor chuckled: "You're quite the blunt child..."

Other children might have questions in front of him, but they would hint at them indirectly. She, on the other hand, just said it directly.

Moreover, his expression made no attempt to hide his wariness and displeasure towards the Marquis of Yichun.

"He's only being polite to me because of His Majesty; in reality, he wishes I were dead," Yang Luo said coldly. "But I have His Majesty's face to save, so why should I be polite to him?"

The emperor laughed again: "Alright, don't be angry..."

“Your Majesty, I’m not angry.” Yang Luo interrupted him, her expression serious. “I’m just telling you my thoughts frankly. I’m not putting on airs in front of you, and you don’t need to comfort me.”

The emperor nodded seriously: "Alright, I understand. I will not ask you to reconcile with him." He paused, then continued, "He came to me to talk about the war in Longxi and wanted to revive Chaidu, but I have already refused."

As soon as he finished speaking, Yang Luo's face lit up with a smile: "Your Majesty is wise."

The emperor chuckled again: "You, your face has become..."

Yang Luo smiled and said, "I wouldn't dare to change my expression in front of you at any time; life would be too tiring." After saying that, she looked at the emperor and said, "Your Majesty, you have too much in this world, and you are also subject to more restrictions, so you don't need to think too much in front of me. Please relax."

The emperor sighed and slowly nodded, "I know." Then, smiling, he pointed to the map, "Luoying has come to tell me good news, hasn't she? The Wuyang army has already surrounded Gangu, and the Nanyang army is breaking through Wei Cui's army's defenses..."

"Not only that," Yang Luo said with delight, "but we've also heard news about my maid, Asheng!"

The emperor said, "Really? Didn't they say they lost contact with him? I thought..."

“I originally thought she had died in battle,” Yang Luo said. “It turns out she escaped into the canyon and shook off Wei Cui’s pursuit.”

He finished speaking with an arrogant expression.

"I knew it! She was the bodyguard my mother had carefully trained for me. How could she have died so easily?"

The emperor nodded with a smile.

Yang Luo stepped forward and pointed to the map.

"She has reunited with Huang Chengling and others, and led them to Gangu West to join forces with the Wuyang Army to attack Wei Cui from both sides."

"Your Majesty, Wei Cui is doomed this time!"

"Then it seems I can write a letter of surrender," the emperor said with a smile.

Yang Luo smiled and said, "Your Majesty, you should write quickly, otherwise by the time it is sent to Longxi, Wei Cui will no longer be able to hear it."

The emperor laughed heartily.

……

“Every time the princess comes, His Majesty is so happy that he eats an extra bowl of rice.”

The eunuchs brought in tea and snacks, and seeing that the emperor's smile hadn't faded even though Yang Luo had left, they chimed in.

The emperor smiled and took the bowl and chopsticks: "To be a parent, having a child you love and cherish is a joy that lasts forever."

As he spoke, his smile paused slightly. Instead of eating heartily as usual, he looked at the map, seemingly deep in thought.

The eunuchs were all adept at reading people's expressions, and they immediately fell silent.

The hall fell silent. It seemed like a long wait, yet it also felt like only a moment, before the emperor's voice came from above.

"...The crispy fish is delicious today. I'll send some to Princess Luoying so she can have a taste as well."

The eunuchs immediately sprang to life, loudly agreeing and vying to deliver the dishes. Two lucky eunuchs managed to get their hands on the food and went out excitedly.

"You startled me just now," a eunuch whispered as they walked outside the hall. "I thought Marquis Yichun was here to speak ill of the princess."

Another eunuch scoffed, "His Majesty no longer trusts the Chai family. He won't believe anything they say."

Actually, His Majesty didn't believe it before, he only believed it on the surface. Now that he no longer needs to maintain appearances with the Chai family, he naturally believes it even less.

The eunuch nodded and said with a smile, "I was overthinking it. Let's hurry and take the princess's meal."

……

……

Yang Luo was already sitting in the restaurant, eating heartily.

After leaving the palace, she did not return to the Duke of Ding'an's residence, but went directly to the restaurant.

Seeing Yang Luo put down her chopsticks, Peach Blossom, who was standing by the window, smiled and said, "Finally, I can eat."

Yang Luo let out a long sigh: "I knew Ah Sheng would be alright."

Her eyes reddened again as she spoke.

Just yesterday, news that had been cut off for so long finally arrived again, and to put their minds at ease, Mo Zheng even wrote a letter herself. Yang Luo finally felt relieved.

Yang Luo sighed and looked at Tao Hua: "I have requested permission from His Majesty to send troops to reinforce Gangu. You should go with her too, as she doesn't have many people left with her."

Peach Blossom hesitated. She had actually wanted to go for a long time, but...

“Now that the message has been sent, let’s ask the young master. We’ll go after he agrees,” she said.

Just as Yang Luo was about to say something, Tao Hua suddenly turned her head and looked out the window at the street. There was a commotion coming from there, as if someone was arguing about something.

"How can you arrest people so arbitrarily!"

"...Wei Jiao is gone, yet Xiu Yi is still so arrogant?!"

"...That's the Academy of Chinese Studies!"

Yang Luo hadn't paid any attention at first, but when he heard this, his hand holding the teacup paused.

Chinese Academy?
At the same time, the door was pushed open, and Hong Lin walked in, saying in a deep voice, "The Chief Minister has been taken away by Xiu Yi."

The chief priest? Wang Zaitian?

Yang Luo and Tao Hua asked in surprise, "Why?"

Hong Lin shook his head: "I don't know yet. Besides the Chief Instructor, Ling Yu and his disciples were also arrested suddenly. The National Academy is in chaos now."

Peach Blossom said, "Wei Jiao is gone, has Xiu Yi gone mad?"

Even she knew that scholars and intellectuals were not to be trifled with. Previously, His Majesty dealt with the Li family slowly, using the Marquis of Yichun as a means, precisely to avoid being resented and slandered by scholars.

Now they're actually going directly to the National Academy to arrest the chief priest.

Before Hong Lin could say anything, Yang Luo spoke first.

“Xiuyi isn’t crazy. Everything Xiuyi does is at His Majesty’s behest,” she said, her expression somber. “The Grand Master of Ceremonies was personally invited by His Majesty for the sake of the people’s literary pursuits, which is why we routinely treat him with the respect due to a disciple.”

“So, even if the Chancellor has made a mistake,” Hong Lin continued, “the Emperor would only question him privately, not make such a public spectacle by using the Embroidered Uniform Guard to arrest him directly. This means…”

Peach Blossom murmured, "It means that the Imperial Priest has committed an unforgivable crime in the eyes of the Emperor."

What serious crime could a scholar and teacher like the Chief Minister of the Imperial Academy commit?
Could it be...

Is it related to the young master?

Peach Blossom's face turned pale.

"I knew it," Yang Luo murmured in a deep voice. "There must be something strange about the Marquis of Yichun's meeting with His Majesty today."

(End of this chapter)