At the end of winter, a large group of people arrived in the capital. On the streets, people were walking from north to south, greeting people and selling goods. It was a prosperous and orderly scene full of the flavor of the new year. Mei Niang lifted up the car curtains, revealing a thin slit, a restaurant, a pawn shop, and a jade shop.

One by one, a two-story building made of red Liang stone, with black tiles and white walls, was twice as tall as the loess wooden house in the mountains. It was not that I had never lived there before, but it actually felt a bit strange. I withdrew my hand, opened the door curtain again, and looked up.

Lin's car was in front of her. Yesterday she persuaded him to go back to Qiantang first, but he insisted on sending her to the palace and asked for the order before making plans. She sighed softly, the palace door was looming, and she couldn't help but grab her dress and let go.

, thin sweat stains, leaving traces.

After entering the Zhuque Gate, they got off the car and transferred to the inner sedan, which was divided into two routes, all the way to Chongzheng Hall and all the way to Yuquan Palace. Before getting on the sedan, Shilin glanced at Mei Niang, and just met her, the two of them

His eyes moved, the corners of his lips raised slightly, then moved away in an instant.

"Don't worry, sir, I will take good care of Miss Lu." Maid Runzhu said softly.

"Thank you for your trouble." After saying this, he saw Mei Niang getting into the sedan chair, and then he got into the sedan chair and followed the eunuch at the palace to the court room to change his official uniform.

Above the main hall, hundreds of civil and military officials stood on both sides. The new king was on a high throne with a golden throne, and the ministers were holding tablets in their hands, moving forward steadily until they knelt down in the middle to salute.

"Your Majesty, Xu Shilin, I wish you long live my emperor."

"Xu Aiqing is alive."

"Long live thanks."

"Xu Aiqing has been the number one scholar since the reign of Emperor Dezong. Following his merits in protecting the country, he was appointed to inspect the imperial censor. The late emperor was promoted, and the censor returned to seclusion for visits. For three to five years, he has fulfilled his mission. Today he returns it to me.

It is a blessing for me to go to the DPRK, and I am deeply relieved to see the blessings of all people."

"I have received great kindness from the late Emperor, and His Majesty is considerate. I will not be punished for leaving the court, and I will be allowed to travel in all directions. For many years, I have not fulfilled the etiquette of the emperor and my ministers, and I have not taken care of the worries of the people. I am especially grateful for the divine grace. Now, Jin and Liao are in chaos.

The looting and plundering made the holy heart uneasy and the people uneasy. The minister's crime deserves ten thousand deaths and it is difficult to escape the blame. I went to Beijing today to plead guilty to the Holy One. I begged the Holy One to allow me to accept the crime and perform meritorious service. I will go to the border with General Weiyuan to serve the country.

."

"Xu Aiqing's loyalty is a lesson, and he has no fault of his own. However, since he is not a warrior, he cannot go to the battlefield. But there is another way, and it must be yours."

"I sincerely ask for the Holy Spirit's clarification."

"The battle at the border was defeated, with heavy casualties. The prince-consort and others were trapped in the enemy camp and have not been rescued so far. As the lord of a dynasty, I wish I could lead the expedition myself." When the new king said this, he patted the dragon chair and stood up suddenly, frightened.

All the ministers hurriedly knelt down and kowtowed.

"Long live for nothing..." The new monarch restrained his emotions and sat down again. He waved his hand to signal the ministers to stand up, and then they stood up after being covered in darkness.

"Fortunately, peace has been negotiated, and my fourth sister is willing to marry Jin."

"Xu Aiqing."

"I'm here."

"I will give you a gold medal. If I come here in person, you can clear the customs and escort the princess to the Kingdom of Jin, complete the marriage, and then welcome the prince-in-law back to the court to resolve the dispute between the two countries."

"Long live, my lord..."

"Ahem..." Several low coughs came from the side, and Shilin paused. Seeing that Gu Zhong looked suspicious, he said nothing more.

"I obey the decree."

"Zhenyuan General Fan Kun obeys the order."

"I'm here."

"I order you to bring 30,000 fine cavalry with you and accompany Xu Yushi to see the bride off. You must bring back the consort and others without any mistakes."

"I accept the decree."

"If there is no memorial, withdraw from the court!" The new monarch waved his sleeves and left his seat, and all the ministers knelt to see him off. Shilin wanted to go to the imperial study room for further discussion, but was stopped by Gu Zhong and brought back to the mansion.

"Xiangguo... my mentor, why did you stop me?"

"Sir Xu, this matter has been decided for a long time, why do we need to discuss it again? You have just returned to the court, and the emperor thought that you have old merits, and sent you to personally escort the princess out of the customs. It is very meaningful. Such a big responsibility is entrusted to you, how can you violate the holy will again?

Are you going to cause another trouble?" Gu Zhong said unhurriedly, scratching the lid of his tea bowl.

"Teacher, I do not want to go against the holy will, but I feel that there is still room for change. Can peace be guaranteed in the future by just negotiating a peace?"

"I cannot decide what will happen in the future. You have been an official for many years and have been away from the court for many years. You do not know some of the things involved. The one who holds the military power is not you or me, nor is the Holy One."

"Teacher, you mean...?" Hearing what Xiang Guo said, his face turned pale. Although he ignored the court and had heard rumors for a long time, he still didn't believe that the emperor's uncle was seeking power.

"The reinforcements can reach the border in less than three days. Do we need to negotiate a peace if we can fight? It's just to delay time and exchange lives for lives."

"Then the princess goes here..."

"Hey..., don't ask any more, at any rate, you and your son will go into battle and rescue you if you can." Gu Zhong sighed one after another, causing Shi Lin's blood to be extinguished abruptly.

Yuquan Palace

"Qingyue!"

"Yu Yan!" After not seeing each other for many years, the two were extremely excited. As they hugged each other, tears filled their eyes.

"Oh, no, the common girl meets the princess." Mei Niang let go of her and knelt down to salute. After all, this is the palace and there are others around.

"Quickly, do you still need these with me?" He helped her up and pulled her to sit in the warm pavilion. In the morning, incense was burning in the room, which made her cry.

"I thought it would be difficult to see you again in this life, but I never thought it would be like this." In the sad place, Yu Yan covered her face and cried.

"Don't worry, Xiaoshan will definitely come back safely." Mei Niang came close to her, picked up the handkerchief and touched her tears, but her own were still in her eyes.

"But these days, I don't know whether he is well, whether... he has been imprisoned, whether he has enough food and clothing. I really can't imagine that he has ever suffered such a crime."

"Xiaoshan is a man of iron bones. He can endure and have a solid foundation. They can take care of each other."

"Gu'an has also implicated Gu'an. If anything happens to him, how can I be worthy of Xiaorou and Aunt Xu's family?" Thinking of this, Yu Yan couldn't hold back her tears and lay on the table crying loudly.

"Don't be like this, be stronger. Don't you still trust Mr. Xu? If Xiaoshan comes back and sees you so sad, he will be even more sad."

"I can't do anything except worry. I wish I could fly over there and suffer for him."

"Such a good wife, what more could a husband ask for..." Seeing Yu Yan's pain, Mei Niang cried with heartache, but Yu Yan raised his head and looked at her as well.

"They shouldn't have come to you, and you shouldn't have come either." She covered Qingyue's hand and shook it weakly.

"It's just to save people. It's my friend who's being saved. I'm going to go through the mountains and the sea of ​​fire. I'm coming too."

"Qingyue..."

"Princess Qi, the Queen Mother has invited you." The chamberlain came to inform. The two of them hurriedly stopped crying, tidied up a little, and then went to Leshou Palace.

"My son has met the Queen Mother." After entering the main hall, the Queen Mother sat high, and Yu Yan bowed and saluted.

"Your Majesty, no courtesy." The Queen Mother pulled her up and sat beside her, while Mei Niang stepped forward and knelt down.

"The civilian daughter Lu Qingyue meets the Queen Mother."

"Get flat."

"Thank you, Queen Mother." Mei Niang raised her skirt and stood up, lowering her face and not daring to look further.

"Raise your head and let Aijia take a look."

"Yes." Under the curved eyebrows, a pair of moving eyes touched the Queen Mother. As time went by, she still maintained her elegance, her face was full of joy, and she showed even more maternal demeanor. In an instant, she relaxed a little and smiled.

"Sure enough, you are so good-looking, I can't compare with you." Seeing Mei Niang's clear eyebrows, delicate and slender features, the Queen Mother looked sideways at Yu Yan and said jokingly.

"What the Queen Mother said is true, and I am convinced by it."

"Give me a seat." Two palace maids moved a seat. Mei Niang thanked her and sat down for a while.

"I heard that the entire Qiantang County mentioned your embroidery skills and everyone praised them. It is not easy for a young person to have such accomplishments. When did you learn it? Who did you learn from?"

"Returning to the Queen Mother, a common girl held needles when she was young. She never learned from a teacher. She is an ordinary female beauty and has no attainments."

"You are being too modest. I heard that you even opened an embroidery shop?"

"When I return to the Queen Mother, I used to do it just for the sake of the family and as a last resort. Now it is no longer run by a commoner woman, so we rarely interact with her."

"Well, a person who can run a household must be smart and skillful. Is Ai Jia right?" The Queen Mother had already looked at her clothes. Although they were not made of the finest clothes, the tailoring and embroidery were indeed fine, and she felt secretly happy. Make hope.

"The Queen Mother never praises others easily, you are the first." Yu Yan felt much relieved when she saw the Queen Mother was happy.

"The daughter of the people thanked the Queen Mother." Mei Niang stood up, her face slightly red, and the Queen Mother motioned for her to sit down and continue the conversation.

"You must already know the reason for calling you into the palace this time."

"Go back to the Queen Mother, the daughter of the people is known."

"How sure are you?"

"It's not difficult to sew, it's just..."

"You need to see the real thing before you can make a conclusion, right?"

"yes."

"You have come all the way here with utmost sincerity. The Ai family is grateful in my heart. How could you deny the foresight?"

"I have never seen that treasure. Mother, when will I let my children see its true appearance?" I have always heard that there is a fine embroidery treasure in the Queen Mother's palace, but I have never seen it with my own eyes. Yu Yan couldn't help but become curious. Dispelled the previous sadness.

"Why are you in a hurry? You will be the one to take care of it when the time comes. Please go back to Yuquan Palace to rest today, and then go to Yuxia Palace to measure the four princesses tomorrow. The treasure will be visible at night."

"Yes, the daughter of the people obeys the order."

"Yu Yan, the Ai family knows that you two have a close relationship with each other, but during this period, please don't leave the palace to avoid any complications."
To be continued...