After the death of the previous emperor, the Empress Dowager became arrogant

Chapter 131 Confessing the King

Wen Cheng'an left all the attendants outside the courtyard. He lifted his robe and walked in. When he saw Yuan Qing, he bowed first, "How is mother?"

"Everything is fine. We've been waiting for you." Yuan Qing stood up and pulled him. "Why did you suddenly become king?"

"It's an imperial decree issued by His Majesty himself." He turned around and called the eunuch.

The eunuch who announced the decree stepped forward respectfully and said, "Your Highness, His Majesty has ordered me to change into ordinary clothes and stay up all day long. I must ensure that His Royal Highness Prince An takes office before the incident in Yuzhou."

He held up the imperial edict, "This is the will of His Majesty."

Yuan Qing took the imperial edict, read it carefully, nodded and said, "I understand. Please rest in the inn first. I will handle it with the prince and will not delay His Majesty's business."

After sending off the eunuch who announced the decree, Yuan Qing placed the imperial edict on the table.

She had not wanted to be so high-profile before, but since Wen Chengyu had handed her the knife, she had to make a big move and turn Yuzhou City upside down.

"Has the Yuzhou prefect arrived?"

The servant who delivered the message said tremblingly: "Reply...Reply to your Majesty, I have already sent someone to the He Mansion, but...but..."

Yuan Qing looked at him and said, "If you have something to say, just say it."

Seeing that the Concubine Dowager was not angry, the servant became a little bolder, "But the servants of the He Mansion actually closed the door and refused to see us. They even beat the people who went to summon us, saying that if we disturbed their master's rest, they would tie us up and punish us, Madam!"

"Don't slander me!" A man ran in disheveled, sweat dripping from his forehead. "I rule very strictly. How could there be such an arrogant person as you say?"

Yuan Qing turned his eyes away calmly, "Pay attention to your image, Lord He."

He Guangcheng then remembered to tie his official robes and said repeatedly, "Yes, yes, yes, please forgive me for my impoliteness, but I always couldn't sleep well at night, so I asked the servants to light some calming incense. I slept more deeply and didn't hear any noise."

If I didn't hear anything, how could I wait until things were settled?

The He residence is not far from here. Such a big fuss was made tonight. Who would believe him if he said he didn't hear any rumors?

But she finally met the legendary He Guangcheng.

This man was the number one scholar chosen by Emperor Yuan Heng during his reign, and was also a descendant of the famous He family in the capital.

The He family has a deep foundation and is now connected to Concubine He and the two princes. Concubine He is also on good terms with Concubine Gui, so the He family is considered to be a family that openly supports Sixth Master Wen Chengxuan.

She remembered her father once said that He Guangcheng was not actually the original candidate for the top scorer, but something went wrong during the palace examination that year, and Emperor Yuan Heng was so angry that he removed the names of several people who were ranked at the top, which allowed He Guangcheng to take advantage of the opportunity.

He family, Cheng family.

She remembered that it was also mentioned in the original book.

At that time, my father was the invigilator and he highly praised the son of the Cheng family who came from a poor family. Although Emperor Yuan Heng was dissatisfied, he did not show it openly.

As for how she later became entangled with the He family, she had no idea, and the book did not describe much about this.

She only knew that all the candidates involved were investigated, and the first two among them were Cheng Jiazi and He Jiazi.

The Cheng family was convicted according to the law, some were exiled, some were enslaved, and they were scattered everywhere.

The He family was demoted and sent away, suppressed by their opponents, and no longer as powerful as before.

It seems that there are quite a few twists and turns here.

Thinking of this, she glanced at He Guangcheng.

The He family suppressed the direct line and allowed a member of the side branch to take the position. What is the He family planning?

He Guangcheng tidied up his appearance, and now he looked like a noble man from the imperial court.

Apart from his initial panic and rudeness, his every move was exemplary of a scholar, and Yuan Qing really couldn't find any fault with him.

She raised her hand, "Master He, please take a seat."

He Guangcheng took a seat with his robe folded up, "Thank you, Madam."

Yuan Qing laughed secretly in his heart.

He Guangcheng is really extremely cunning.

An'er, who had been crowned a king, was also sitting here. The imperial edict also clearly pointed out that he would assist in the state affairs, but he never mentioned King An and instead directed his criticism at her.

Are you trying to sow discord?

Or do you think that she and An'er are only mother and son in name only, and that An'er is young and easiest to control?

Wen Cheng'an and Yuan Qing looked at each other and understood what she meant from her eyes.

He pretended not to understand the hidden meaning in He Guangcheng's words, thinking that he was a junior and it was inconvenient for him to interrupt, and looked up at the two of them in confusion.

He Guangcheng suddenly felt a toothache, drank some tea to relieve it, and then looked at Yuan Qing again.

Yuan Qing placed his hand on the imperial edict, "Master He, do you know the contents of this imperial edict?"

He Guangcheng looked up in confusion.

This imperial edict came suddenly from the capital, so how could he know its contents?

The little girl in front of him looked weak, but she should not be underestimated as she was able to force that man away from Yuzhou.

He secretly became more alert, thinking that he must not let her succeed.

He quickly cupped his hands and said, "I don't know."

"I have long heard that Lord He loves the people like his own children, and is a good official praised by all the ministers and the people." Yuan Qing softened his tone, "Your Majesty has entrusted me with such an important matter as Yuzhou, which really made me feel uneasy. Now that I have seen Lord He, I can finally put my mind at ease."

He Guangcheng became even more confused.

What does she mean?

Yuan Qing coughed a few times at the right time, "I'm sure Lord He has heard about my condition. I've been taking medicine since I was a child, but my condition hasn't improved at this age. I'm afraid I can't help An'er govern Yuzhou."

Only after hearing this did He Guangcheng understand.

He immediately pretended to be frightened and replied, "My lady, please do not worry. It is important to take care of yourself."

"Master He is right," Yuan Qing's panicked expression eased a little, "but it's a national affair, and it's not easy for me, a member of the harem, to interfere. An'er is young and inexperienced, so many things still need Master He's advice."

He Guangcheng no longer pretended to be confused. He stood up and said respectfully, "I don't deserve this. In my opinion, although His Royal Highness Prince An is young, he is very prudent and methodical. He is a rare genius. In time, he will not disappoint Your Majesty."

"I hope so," Yuan Qing leaned forward, almost unable to hold back his intimacy, "This is a matter of state, I hope Lord He will put the overall situation first and not refuse."

This time He Guangcheng did not refuse.

This was originally the purpose of his coming here, but he didn't expect that she would actually deliver it to him personally. It was really effortless.

She is still a little girl after all.

Although she was summoned into the palace to be a concubine by the previous emperor, she was still young and had never experienced the twists and turns of the palace. She was ridiculously naive.

He remembered the instructions the man gave him before he left today and couldn't help but smile.

I think that person was too paranoid.

The emperor sent these two young boys to compete with him for the power of Yuzhou. It was obvious that he had no other choice.

This matter is not worth worrying about.

Yuan Qing personally escorted He Guangcheng out of the house.

When she was discharged from the hospital, she saw Gao Yi and Gong Lan standing under the eaves whispering, so she didn't go over.

Gong Lan was the first to see the person in the distance. She quickly left Gao Yi and walked towards Yuan Qing.

Yuan Qing stood there without moving.

She had met Gong Lan when she lived in the Gong family as Gong Bin. She had heard that she was engaged to someone, but she didn't expect it to be Gao Yi.

The two of them standing together are quite pleasing to the eye.

Yuan Qing pretended to be meeting her for the first time and nodded, "Madam."

Gong Lan came before her and bowed, "I have something to tell you, Your Majesty. Please move aside."

Yuan Qing nodded and followed her to a secluded place in the yard.

Gong Lan took out two letters from her sleeve. "These two letters are from Lord Lu and my elder brother. Before leaving, Lord Lu told me to personally hand these letters to the queen."

Yuan Qing opened the letter in the moonlight and read it.

There was nothing important to say, just asking her to leave early and meet at the agreed place.

Lu Zhao had not mentioned before where this agreed location was. Yuan Qing did not have time to think about it for the time being and turned to read the letter from Gong Xuan.

Gong Xuan also put it very simply in the letter.

Apart from asking her to look after Gong Lan and the Gao family, they only sent Gong Chan and the sick Gong Bin.

After putting the two letters together, Yuan Qing understood the meaning.

This meant that she had to change her identity in Yuzhou, and rush to the capital as "Gong Bin" as soon as possible, taking the official road, and Lu Zhao would definitely be waiting for her somewhere on the way to the capital.

What's more, with Gong Chan around, she doesn't need to worry about the killer in the dark affecting her schedule.

Yuan Qing made a rough estimate in his mind.

Normally, if we exclude external factors such as heavy rain killers, it would take at least ten days to reach Beijing just by traveling normally.

If we save some time for eating and resting, and ride a faster horse, the time can be shortened to about five or six days.

Pingjin Prefecture is a little further away than Yuzhou, and it took Gong Lan and her companions about three days to reach Yuzhou.

In order to arrive in the capital at the same time, or arrive earlier, Lu Zhao must have left Pingjin Prefecture before sending the letter.

By this calculation, she must set off tonight to catch up with Lu Zhao.

Time is very tight.

Yuan Qing accepted the letter and said to Gong Lan, "I already know what Patriarch Gong meant. Thank you, Madam."

"This is about the palace family and state affairs, and this is what a common woman should do."

When Yuan Qing saw Gao Yi standing in the distance waiting, he said goodbye to Gong Lan and left this place to the couple.

Gao Yi strode over, held his wife's hand, and asked, "Is everything done?"

Gong Lan blushed and pushed him away, "It's all settled."

"I didn't want you to come at first, so I asked you to take the child back to your parents' home," he tightened his grip, "Yuzhou is in such a tense situation now, the Gao family's involvement is inevitable.

I am not afraid of being alone, I sent you and your daughter away early because I was afraid that it would affect you, but you..."

He knew his wife's heart, so even though he was angry, he could not say any words of blame.

Gong Lan led him to the tree and comforted him softly, "Husband and wife are of one mind, how can a wife abandon her husband in danger and avoid disaster alone?

Don't worry about the child. I have asked someone to take good care of him.

Brother Yi, although I cannot compare with other disciples of the Gong family, as a man of martial arts, chivalry comes first. How can I stand by and watch the villains in power and do nothing?

This time I brought a dozen of my fellow apprentices to help. With them here, I wonder who would dare to make things difficult for the Gao family!"