The ministers begged me to ascend the throne

Chapter 513 Return of King Chu
Just when many ministers in the court were worried about their official careers and lives, the King of Chu returned to the capital with great fanfare.

In the past few days, because of Annan's complaint, the civil and military officials in the court were worried, and they were not in the mood to pay attention to the King of Chu. When King Chu returned to Beijing, they remembered that King Chu had an ulterior motive in going to the north. The ministers were worried again when they thought that King Chu's return would bring bloodshed to the court. For a time, many people were in danger.

When the King of Chu returned to the capital, he did not rush to enter the palace. Instead, he went back to his palace to bathe and change clothes. He was dusty and disheveled all the way back. It would be rude to enter the palace to see the emperor like this.

When Li Pushe and the ministers who supported the King of Chu learned that he was back, they were all very excited. If they hadn't learned that King Chu was going to the palace to meet the Holy Spirit, they would have rushed to King Chu's Mansion in droves.

After the King of Chu took a bath, he hurried into the palace.

The emperor had long known that King Chu had returned to Beijing and was waiting for him to enter the palace. When he learned that he had entered the palace, he sent Sun Kui to pick him up personally.

As soon as King Chu got off the carriage, he saw Sun Kui at the gate of the palace. Just as he was about to say something, he saw Sun Kui walking towards him.

Sun Kui first bowed respectfully to the King of Chu, and then said: "His Royal Highness, the King of Chu, the Emperor has asked his servants to pick you up."

"Thank you, Eunuch Sun."

"Your Highness, you're welcome." Sun Kui asked with concern, "Your Highness, you haven't encountered anything along the way, right?"

"Thank you for your concern, Eunuch Sun. I've had a good journey and nothing happened." Thanks to the help of his tenth brother, he was able to return to Beijing safely and smoothly.

"You don't know how worried the emperor is about you since you haven't come back. Concubine Li is also very worried about you." Sun Kui's words were half true and half false. Concubine Li was really worried about King Chu, but the emperor was not worried at all. . "Concubine Li will be very happy to hear that you are back."

When the King of Chu heard that Concubine Li was worried about him, he felt very guilty: "Eunuch Sun, how are my mother and concubine these days?" He did not dare to write a letter or send someone to send back the news for fear of being exposed by King Han. people discovered. The mother and the concubines were worried that they would be uneasy day and night when they saw that he did not come back.

"Concubine Li has lost weight. She said it was a bitter summer. I think it's because I'm worried about you."

"I am unfilial." King Chu decided to go visit Concubine Li after reporting the matter to the emperor later. "By the way, are you okay, Concubine Liang?"

"Empress Liang Bin is also worried about you." Sun Kui said in his heart, Empress Liang Bin is very good. "My queen is fine, you don't have to worry."

"That's good." Since Zhao Yao went to Lingnan, the King of Chu treated Liang Concubine as his own mother.

Sun Kui told King Chu about what happened in the court recently. Although King Chu had not returned to Beijing before, he had heard about Princess Annan's lawsuit against many ministers. Of course, they also knew that the former King Zheng was demoted to a commoner and had to be beheaded in public.

"Your Highness, the Emperor has said that when you come, you can come in directly without any notification."

"Sorry to trouble you, Eunuch Sun."

"Your Highness is serious, this is the duty of a slave." Sun Kui did not follow him into the imperial study, but stayed at the door.

Seeing his master standing at the door, Sun Doudou asked curiously: "Master, why don't you go in and serve me?"

"The emperor wants to discuss something important with His Highness the King of Chu, so I won't go in." Sun Kui still had some foresight, "I'll wait until the emperor calls me."

Sun Doudou secretly glanced into the imperial study, and then lowered his voice and said to Sun Kui: "Master, His Royal Highness the King of Chu is back. Is something going to happen again, and a big one?"

Sun Kui glared at Sun Doudou, "Are you concerned about important court affairs?" He then warned him, "Don't ask about things you shouldn't ask."

Sun Doudou smiled flatteringly at Sun Kui: "Aren't I scared?" Too many things happened in the past few days. Not to mention that the ministers were frightened, even those who served them were also trembling, for fear of bumping into the emperor's body. The gun is on.

"Chuxi, this matter has nothing to do with you, what are you afraid of?" After Sun Kui finished speaking, he leaned against the pillar and took a nap with his eyes closed.

Sun Doudou did not dare to say anything and stood quietly beside his master.

In the imperial study, the emperor listened carefully to King Chu's report.

The king of Chu reported to the emperor everything he saw and heard on his way to the north, including what happened after arriving in the north.

While the emperor listened, he praised King Chu for his good work from time to time.

When the King of Chu reported on the disaster relief, he included some private goods and praised Zhao Yao for delivering food to the north in time. He also praised Zhao Yao for his suggestion of eating locusts. Nowadays, people in the northern border are no longer afraid of locusts, but regard them as the "God of Wealth".

Hearing King Chu praising his youngest son desperately, the emperor felt happy and amused at the same time.

"Father, the locust plague in the north was successfully resolved this time, thanks to my tenth brother. You must reward my tenth brother well." The locust plague in the north was successfully resolved, and the tenth brother made a great contribution. The King of Chu felt that the emperor could not ignore Zhao Yao's achievements just because he didn't like him.

The emperor could not understand the hidden meaning of King Chu's words, "I have already rewarded him."

The King of Chu did not hesitate to ask what the emperor had rewarded Zhao Yao, "Then the tenth brother will be very happy."

The emperor said: "You really care about him."

"The tenth brother is a younger brother. As an older brother, I should care about him."

The emperor glanced at the King of Chu and praised, "You are very good like this." After saying that, he asked again, "How are you doing in the north?"

"Second brother is doing well in the north..." King Chu did not speak ill of King Dai, but kept talking about King Dai's hard work and contribution in resisting the Huns in the north.

After hearing this, the emperor nodded slightly, and then asked: "Where is Lao Wu?"

"Father, I have something to report regarding my fifth brother."

"explain."

The King of Chu told the emperor in detail about King Han's collusion with the three princesses around Xinmaodun Shanyu. After finishing speaking, he added that he had not obtained any evidence, but it was true, and asked the emperor to send someone to investigate immediately.

The emperor listened without any emotion on his face. "It's good that you noticed."

Hearing what the emperor said, King Chu was very surprised: "Father, do you know?"

"Know something."

King Chu looked shocked.

"The matter between Lao Wu and the Third Princess is more complicated than you think." The emperor told King Chu, "This matter will end here for you, so don't worry about it."

"Yes, Father." Since Father knew about the fifth brother's collusion with the third princess, he had nothing to worry about.

The emperor praised King Chu a few more times, and then asked him to go see Concubine Li quickly.

Concubine Li also knew that King Chu was back and had been waiting for her son to come.

When King Chu saw Concubine Li, he first apologized and said that he was unfilial, which made Concubine Li worried.

Concubine Li's eyes were red, and she helped King Chu up, saying just come back.

During this period, Concubine Li had been worried about her son's safety, fearing that something would happen to her son on his way back to Beijing. She dreamed several times that her son was being hunted and his head was missing.

After Concubine Li calmed down, King Chu told her how Zhao Yao helped his golden cicada escape from its shell.

After hearing this, Concubine Li sighed: "Fortunately, King Han helped you this time, otherwise you..." Her son's love for Xiao Shi was not in vain, and Xiao Shi was grateful. "Is there any danger when you go to the North?"

King Chu briefly told Concubine Li what happened in the north. He did not say anything about King Han's collusion with the three Hun princesses. It was a secret and could not be told to others casually.

"King Dai has made great achievements in resisting the Huns this time. I was worried that he would overwhelm you after returning from the north. I didn't expect that Princess Annan sued King Dai and Marquis Xuanping for recruiting troops and forging weapons in Annan some time ago." Concubine Li was worried that when King Dai came back, King Chu would have no chance of winning. Unexpectedly, Princess Annan sent a big surprise, "Recruiting troops and forging weapons are serious crimes. King Dai's achievements in the north can only be offset by his merits."

"It doesn't matter even if he comes back with meritorious service." King Chu was not afraid of meritorious service on behalf of the king.

Concubine Li looked at her son who was not surprised by what Dai Wang and Xuan Pinghou did in Annan, and asked doubtfully: "Have you already known what Dai Wang and the others did?"

King Chu nodded slightly: "I know, Princess Annan was sent by my tenth brother."

Concubine Li was shocked when she heard this: "What are you talking about? It's the King of Han..."

"Well, when Princess Annan escaped from that beast, she met the Liang family's caravan on the road. It was the Liang family's caravan that secretly took her to Lingnan and then sent her back to Annan."

"This, this, this..." Concubine Li was shocked and speechless.

"Princess Annan wants revenge. It was my tenth brother who sent her to Dazhou."

Concubine Li was stunned for a while and said in surprise: "I didn't expect Xiao Shi to help her."

"The tenth brother is in Marsh Mansion and has business dealings with people from Annan countries. He has better information than us in Annan countries."

When Concubine Li heard this, her expression became more and more surprised: "You mean that what Prince Dai and Marquis Xuanping did in Annan was collected by Xiao Shi, and then Princess Annan was brought to sue?"

King Chu nodded: "That's right."

"This..." In Concubine Li's eyes, Zhao Yao has always been a child who will not grow up. "Xiao Shi has become so capable."

"The tenth brother has always been capable. Mother, please don't underestimate him." When King Chu mentioned Zhao Yao, his face was filled with pride.

"Xiao Shi is capable, why are you proud?" Concubine Li joked, "Xiao Shi is not your son, why are you so proud like a father?"

King Chu was a little embarrassed by Concubine Li's teasing, "Concubine, my tenth brother is my younger brother."

"It's good that Xiao Shi is capable, so that he won't be bullied in Lingnan." As soon as Li Fei finished speaking, she remembered that the ministers participated in Zhao Yao's killing of Lingnan officials. "This child shouldn't be bullied in Lingnan."

"I was also worried that my tenth brother would be bullied in Lingnan, but now it seems that it's good that he doesn't bully others."

"You'd better advise Xiao Shi not to kill all the officials in Lingnan. This will be bad for his reputation."

"Mom, my tenth brother doesn't care about reputation. Those officials in Lingnan are heinous and they deserve to die. My tenth brother killed them according to the law. There is nothing wrong with it." Since learning about what those officials in Lingnan had done, King Chu felt that Zhao Yao had killed them. Right.

Seeing the angry look on King Chu's face, Concubine Li stopped talking about the Lingnan officials and changed the subject to talk about recent events.

"Prince Jing and Duke Zhen also did those things in Annan. How do you think the emperor will punish them after the emperor sends someone to verify that they are correct?"

"If they did not transport the forged weapons back to the Zhou Dynasty, nor did they bring the private soldiers raised in Annan back to the Zhou Dynasty, then they would not be guilty of treason." The King of Chu analyzed, "If according to the laws of the Zhou Dynasty, Their crimes will not lead to death, but they will be severely punished. However, it still depends on what the father thinks. If the father does not pursue them, then they will be fine. It won’t be saved.”

"Over the years, the emperor has been dealing with aristocratic families. Do you think the emperor will take this opportunity to get rid of Zhenguo's mansion, Anyang's mansion and Xuanpinghou's mansion?" Concubine Li naturally hopes that the emperor will punish the emperor severely this time and not let Zhenguo go. Public them.

"It's hard to say." King Chu couldn't figure out the emperor's thoughts. "As for the Zhenguo Palace, something happened to my eldest brother's family last year. If my father takes action against the Zhenguo Palace again, I'm afraid my father's reputation will be ruined and people will be disappointed." I feel that my father is ungrateful. Furthermore, the government of the country is already in decline, so my father should not kill them all."

"You are right, the emperor will not let go of the Anyang Palace."

"Well, as for the Xuanping Marquis Mansion, it is considered the mother clan of the father. The emperor may not punish the Xuanping Marquis Mansion severely not only for the sake of Concubine Rong, but also for the sake of the imperial grandmother."

Concubine Li let out a long sigh: "Well, it's really impossible to get the emperor to severely punish King Dai and the Xuanping Marquis Mansion through this matter."

King Chu said calmly: "There will always be opportunities in the future."