Do you know: I should be fat and you should be thin!

"The bandit leader, the Prince of Yan, is dead! You all must surrender immediately!"

Zhou Ning let out a long roar and kicked a man's shield. Although the martial arts graduate was brave, how could he withstand the divine power of this kick? He tumbled several times, his tendons and bones broken, and died instantly.

He moved swiftly and unarmed, his palm strikes sweeping away the rebel army wherever they went.

Although Consort Rong's side was down to half its size and had to protect those inside the palace, with him there, their momentum was even greater than that of the Yan bandits!

The fighting went on for an unknown period of time. There were fewer people standing than lying down. Both sides suffered heavy losses. The Prince of Yan's forces were leaderless and collapsed first, surrendering en masse!

"Have the bodies dragged out of the palace, and send someone to check the Xihua Gate. If you see the Western Suburbs Army coming to the rescue, open the city gates to welcome them!" Zhou Ning ordered, seeing that Rong Xian was still alive.

Rong Xian was stabbed several times. Although he was protected by armor, he still lost a lot of blood. After giving his orders, he sat down.

Zhou Ning pressed several acupoints on his chest, including Kongzui, Yingxiang, Dadun, and Chengshan, to stop the bleeding. He got up and looked around, and saw that another official in scarlet robes was dead. He went over and looked inside, and when he saw that it wasn't Sheng Hong, he breathed a sigh of relief, took off his clothes and put them on temporarily, and straightened his clothes.

In the Great Zhou Dynasty, rescuing the emperor was a special emergency situation, and the etiquette could be simplified appropriately, but the core respectful norms still had to be observed.

Zhou Ning pushed open the door and entered the hall. He bowed to the old emperor and said, "Your Majesty's blessings are boundless. You have turned danger into safety. This is truly a blessing for the country and all the people. I could never repay Your Majesty's kindness even if I died ten thousand times."

He dared not say anything like, "If it weren't for my desperate protection of Your Majesty, Your Majesty would be in grave danger today," thus attributing all the credit for saving the emperor to himself.

The Great Zhou Dynasty valued civil officials over military ones and harbored deep suspicions about military generals. Such boastful statements would directly cross the line of the emperor's suspicions and be judged as arrogance and blackmail of the monarch. Even those who had saved the emperor's life could be alienated.

"My dear minister, there's no need for such formalities! Where is Consort Rong?" the old emperor asked.

"Your Majesty, I have settled Consort Rong in the hall. Please come down now," Zhou Ning said.

He went outside to invite Consort Rong down. Because of the knife wound in her leg, Consort Rong could only limp into the palace.

"Your Majesty! I am guilty!" Consort Rong said.

Seeing her like this, the old emperor said, "Summon the imperial physician to apply medicine to Consort Rong!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty!" said Consort Rong.

The old emperor said, "You and Minister Zhou saved my life and deserve a great reward. However, your actions were absurd and you committed a grave error. According to the Great Zhou's system of redemption for punishment, this is insufficient to atone for your crime. Considering that you rectified the situation in time and prevented a major mistake, I will grant you leniency. This time, all the rewards due to the Rong family will be confiscated, and a fine of 10,000 taels of silver will be imposed. Furthermore, Rong Xian will be demoted from Commander of the Imperial Guards to Captain of the Infantry (who can only command 100 men). Do you accept this punishment?"

"Thank you for your great kindness, Your Majesty! I accept the punishment!" Consort Rong kowtowed.

Rong Xian, who was outside the palace, saw that he did not need to take the blame, but was only demoted three ranks, and shouted "Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Although the families of the military officers and the surviving civil officials harbored resentment, they acknowledged that Consort Rong had indeed played a crucial role in their escape from death. Zhou Ning had previously been a minor fifth-rank official, whom they had not valued. But now, not only had he become a major contributor to the emperor's rescue, but they had also genuinely received his life-saving grace, so they all wisely remained silent.

Interpersonal skills are an art. Offending people is never profitable, and who can guarantee that such a thing won't happen again?

Seeing that no one objected to a lenient punishment, the old emperor breathed a sigh of relief. To insist on punishing Consort Rong at this point would have been disheartening; not only would no one else be likely to repent, but her act of saving the emperor would also be looked down upon!

Soon, Consort Rong was taken away for treatment. Before leaving, she pointed upwards towards Zhou Ning. Zhou Ning understood that she was reminding him not to forget Rong Feiyan, and nodded.

"Minister Zhou, where is the imperial edict and tiger tally?" the old emperor asked.

Zhou Ning replied, "Your Majesty! I have successfully delivered the two items to Zhao Zongquan, the military commissioner of Yuzhou. When I entered the palace, Commissioner Zhao had already set off for the western suburban camp to muster troops. He should be arriving at the palace soon to rescue Your Majesty!"

The old emperor coughed a few more times, and Empress Cao advised him to rest, but he refused.

"Minister Zhou, come forward and speak!" the old emperor said.

Zhou Ning took a few steps forward.

"Come closer to me!" the old emperor said.

Zhou Ning walked up to him.

The old emperor touched the bloodstains on his official robe and asked, "My dear minister, are you injured? This must not be taken lightly; summon the imperial physician!"

Because Zhou Ning was wearing the scarlet robes of a dead man, the bloodstains were not obvious, and the old emperor only noticed them at this time.

"Thank you, Your Majesty, I am unharmed. I... I borrowed this official robe from a martyr who died for his country. I failed to save all the martyrs; I have truly failed Your Majesty's grace!" Zhou Ning said with remorse.

The civil officials looked around, thankful they had run fast, wanting to see which unlucky fellow had died!

The old emperor said, "You were entrusted with a critical mission and risked your life to deliver the message, which is already a great merit in saving my life! This time, you also persuaded Consort Rong to see the error of her ways and dared to be the first to risk her life to save my life. All rewards and honors will be bestowed upon you in front of all the officials at the morning court tomorrow."

"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Zhou Ning knelt in gratitude.

The old emperor was unwell and dismissed everyone to return home.

Zhou Ning lightly leaped onto the Funing Palace, picked up Rong Feiyan and landed, telling her that the Rong family was fine, only fined 10,000 taels of silver, and Rong Xian was demoted three ranks!

Rong Feiyan wept with joy. The two went to the uniquely decorated wedding bed to find their wedding clothes that they had taken off and changed into before leaving the Funing Palace.

Sheng Changbai had been waiting for a long time. When he saw the two of them come out together, he didn't scold Zhou Ning in front of Rong Feiyan. Instead, he said, "I'll come to your residence to find you after court tomorrow!" After saying that, he and Sheng Hong went back first.

I was filled with fear all day, so I had to hurry home to let my family know I was safe!

At this moment, the Duke of Ying and others poured in through the Xihua Gate and learned that the rebels had surrendered and the Prince of Yan was dead. They secretly regretted missing out on a great opportunity.

The military officers comforted the frightened families, and led by the Duke of Yingguo, they accompanied Zhao Zongquan and other members of the Yuzhou group to offer their condolences to His Majesty.

Zhou Mansion!

After the army entered the city to rescue the emperor, the families of the Zhou and Sheng families returned to their respective residences.

Zhou Ning massaged Yu Yanran's "Shenfeng" acupoint to release blood, and then shared the good news with everyone.

Yu Yanran was a little angry. Ever since Zhou Ning learned this superior acupoint striking martial art from her, he has been bullying her like this all the time!

But since her husband returned unharmed and even apologized, she let it go leniently. After all, she had to uphold her lord's dignity; husband and wife were bound together by fate, for their fortunes were intertwined.

"Ning Lang, it's good that you've made a great contribution, but we must be wary of the bigamy issue, as it's inevitable that it will be brought up by those with ulterior motives," Wei Zhi said to Rong Feiyan.

Rong Feiyan, at a loss, said, "The Emperor only regarded it as a plan to save people. Although it was absurd, he did not punish us."

"The Emperor isn't questioning you because he can't question you right now, but that doesn't mean he's pardoning you. Among the officials, there are many self-proclaimed upright scholars who, relying on their scholar-official status, aren't worried about being executed. You two got married under the Emperor's witness; whether it's a scheme or not depends on what you do! If you compete with the First Wife for the position of principal wife, Ning Lang will be sentenced to imprisonment in an instant. According to the laws of the Great Zhou, all three of you will be forced to divorce," Wei Zhi analyzed, recalling Zhou Ning's words.

Yu Yanran burst into tears, saying, "What can I do? My husband never listens to me. He knows that if things get out, this will happen, yet he still insists on doing it his way." Zhou Ning comforted her, saying, "It's not that bad. If all else fails, you can atone for your sins. Besides, we can always get back together after we've divorced!"

"I'm content with this wedding. Let's sign the employment contract, as long as I become a concubine and the procedures are legal. Then the plan is a plan, and no one can use it to impeach Ning Lang!" Rong Feiyan said firmly.

Zhou Ning saved his sister and took responsibility for her. The key point is that the two of them got married and consummated their marriage in front of everyone. How could she possibly harm herself and others? They should get a divorce together.

Wei Zhi nodded. Everyone was happy that Rong Feiyan thought this way. Compared to herself, she was already very lucky to have a wedding witnessed by everyone, even though the process was a bit rushed.

Zhou Ning knew the importance of the matter, so he took the writing materials, wrote out a contract for hiring a concubine, changed into her auspicious clothes, and went to Kaifeng Prefecture to register the contract!

......