Do you know the long song of laughter?

Chapter 480 You come and I go
"Your Majesty, I pay my respects to you!" Gu Tingye bowed and saluted.

Zhao Zongquan waved his hand, looked at Gu Tingye for a while, and said coldly: "Why do I think you are fatter?"

"Your Majesty has a keen eye. I have been at home these days mourning for my father and have not had to worry about anything. I have been gaining weight even though I have been eating vegetarian food every day, which has really troubled me." Gu Tingye said with a smile.

"You still have the nerve to say that. For your sake, I let the Queen live in Daxiangguo Temple for such a long time. Are you worthy of my trust?" Zhao Zongquan said unhappily.

He didn't have many people he could use, and as a result, Gu Tingye was also branded as the person who angered his father to death.

He couldn't even take her away and keep her.

"I remember your majesty's kindness, but I can't do anything about it. My stepmother is using this matter to force me. If I don't bear the blame, she will definitely expose this matter. I don't want to always cause trouble for your majesty." Gu Tingye said.

"So I should thank you?" Zhao Zongquan sneered.

"I dare not!" Gu Tingye said hurriedly.

"Okay, I'm too lazy to talk nonsense with you. I called you here this time for two things. Your stepmother's son has been arrested because he was involved with the rebel king. This is a big deal. This is a good opportunity. You must take advantage of it. The title of Ningyuan Marquis can only be inherited by you. You are a smart person, you don't need me to teach you what to do, right?" Zhao Zongquan said.

"Don't worry, Your Majesty. In fact, they have already contacted me again, so there will be no problem with the title." Gu Tingye said.

"That's good. Now many people come to me to beg for mercy. It was obviously the Queen Mother who instigated the investigation of the rebel party. They don't go to the Queen Mother for mercy, but come to me for mercy. They really don't know what they are talking about! When you beg for mercy, I will use a trick of inflicting pain on them." Zhao Zongquan sneered.

Gu Tingye felt bitter when he heard this. He must be the Huang Gai who was beaten in the torture.

Zhao Zongquan glanced at Gu Tingye and said, "I have an important matter for you to do."

"Your Majesty, please give your orders. As long as I can do it, I will go through fire and water and never give up!" said Gu Tingye.

"You don't need to go through fire and water."

Zhao Zongquan sighed and said, "When I first ascended the throne, the court was in turmoil. In order to stabilize the government, I asked the Queen Mother to rule the country from behind the curtain. But now that the situation has stabilized, the Queen Mother is reluctant to return the power. Although the Queen Mother is not my biological mother, I respect her very much and do not want to conflict with her because of this. Someone gave me an idea, and I need you to do this."

After saying that, Zhao Zongquan repeated his plan.

After listening to this, Gu Tingye said, "Your Majesty, I am in mourning now and have no official position or job. It is not easy for me to speak up about this matter."

"Who told you to speak?" Zhao Zongquan said, "The things in your family are still the affairs of the harem. You can go and complain to the Queen Mother. Then the Grand Master will ask to see the Queen Mother. You just need to cooperate from the side."

"Yes!"

As soon as Gu Tingye heard it, he knew that this was a tough job, but since Zhao Zongquan had asked, he had no room to refuse.

What's more, he also felt that it was not a good thing for the Queen Mother to keep a tight control on government affairs.

"You go now, the master will be there soon." Zhao Zongquan said.

"Yes, then I will take my leave first." Gu Tingye said.

…………

Gu Tingye was an outsider and had not been summoned. If he wanted to see the empress dowager, he could only go through the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

After leaving Zhao Zongquan, he went to the Ministry of Internal Affairs to make a request and stayed there waiting for news.

After waiting for about half an hour, the eunuch from the Empress Dowager's palace came and took him to the Hall of Supreme Harmony.

Now that the Empress Dowager is ruling the country from behind the curtain, the Hall of Supreme Harmony is where she handles government affairs and receives ministers.

Entering the hall, Gu Tingye bowed and said, "Your Highness, Gu Tingye, pays respect to the Queen Mother!"

"No gift!"

The Queen Mother waved her hand and said, "Why are you coming to the palace when you are not at home mourning for your father?"

"Your Majesty, the Gu family has suffered misfortune, and the children in the family are implicated by the Rebel King. I entered the palace to plead for them." Gu Tingye said.

The news that he had met Zhao Zongquan in the palace could not be concealed from the Empress Dowager, so he found an excuse.

"Why, the emperor doesn't agree, so you come to beg me?" The Queen Mother frowned and said, "Do you know that being a rebel is an unforgivable crime?"

"Of course I know, but at that time the rebel king had not yet plotted rebellion, and Chen's brothers were also deceived. They didn't know that the rebel king was going to rebel. Although they were wrong, the crime does not deserve the death penalty. I would like to ask for a lighter sentence." Gu Tingye said.

"Didn't the emperor agree to your request?" asked the Queen Mother.

"Your Majesty said that this matter needs the Queen Mother's approval," said Gu Tingye.

"Whether you know it or not, you are a rebel. I cannot agree to this with you." The Queen Mother shook her head.

She asked Qi Heng to stir up the storm of investigating the rebel party, with the original intention of making trouble for Zhao Zongquan.

Aren’t the officials in the court on Zhao Zongquan’s side? She just asked them to beg Zhao Zongquan.

Zhao Zongquan did not dare to show favoritism in this matter, as he would lose the support of the people if he did so.

Therefore, she couldn't open the door, otherwise those people would come to beg her.

"Your Majesty, I..."

Gu Tingye briefly recounted the grievances between him and Xiao Qinshi.

As he told the story, his eyes were red and sparkling with tears.

It seems like I feel very aggrieved.

The Queen Mother had not expected that Xiao Qinshi's reputation for virtue was all a disguise. After listening to Gu Tingye's story, she believed it to about 70 percent.

Ask yourself, if she has children, she can't treat other children who are not hers better than her own children.

At this moment, a eunuch came in and reported: "Her Majesty the Queen Mother, the Grand Master wants to see you!"

The Queen Mother frowned slightly when she heard this and said, "Let him in."

After a while, Han Zhang came in and bowed, saying, "Your Highness, I pay my respects to the Queen Mother!"

"No need to be polite." The Queen Mother waved her hand and said, "How can my Excellency have the time to come and see me?"

The Queen Mother was very angry about Han Zhang's suggestion that Zhao Zongquan call his biological father "Royal Father", and there was a hint of sarcasm in her tone.

Han Zhang said calmly, "Her Majesty, several states in Guanzhong have not seen any rain for several months. The emperor is preparing to offer sacrifices to the heavens and pray for rain, and he needs to use the imperial seal."

The Queen Mother's eyes flashed with a hint of vigilance when she heard this, and she said, "It hasn't rained in Guanzhong for several months. I have heard about it before, but now it is autumn and the weather is not hot. It has only been a few months. There is no need to pray for rain, right?"

"Now is the time to plant winter wheat. If there is no rain, the wheat will have difficulty growing and the people in Guanzhong will surely be in panic," said Han Zhang.

The empress dowager frowned slightly when she heard this. Although what Han Zhang said made sense, she was unwilling to hand over the jade seal.

"In that case, I will go with you," said the Queen Mother.

"Empress Dowager, since ancient times, it was the kings who prayed for rain. How can it be reasonable for the Empress Dowager to pray for rain? Your Excellency is just borrowing it and will return it after use." Gu Tingye said.

If Han Zhang had said this, the Queen Mother would definitely not lend it, but since Gu Tingye had asked her, she became a little hesitant.

In the Queen Mother's heart, she never considered Gu Tingye as Zhao Zongquan's man.

After all, the Gu family has been blessed by the emperor for generations. In her opinion, when Gu Tingye followed Zhao Zongquan to suppress the rebellion, he was just following the emperor's orders.

In addition, Gu Tingye was rejected when he asked Zhao Zongquan for mercy, so he must be angry.

Therefore, it is unlikely that he would speak for Zhao Zongquan.

She was also worried that if she didn't lend the seal, she would be known as someone who was pursuing power.

After hesitating for a moment, he said, "This concerns the people. You should take the imperial seal to the emperor and ask him to pray for rain as soon as possible!"

"I obey your order!" Han Zhang replied.

The Queen Mother asked someone to bring the imperial seal and gave it to Han Zhang.

After Han Zhang got the imperial seal, he said goodbye and left.

"Erlang." The Queen Mother looked at Gu Tingye and said, "I sympathize with your plight, but you have no evidence. I have no basis, and it is difficult for me to punish your stepmother. As for your brothers, you should go and ask the emperor for help."

"Yes, I will take my leave first." Gu Tingye bowed.

"Go ahead." The Queen Mother waved her hand.

Gu Tingye retreated out of the Cining Palace and saw Han Zhang waiting at the palace gate. "Are you waiting for me, Grand Master?" Gu Tingye asked.

"Haha, I'm old and my legs are slow, so I can't catch up with you young people." Han Zhang said with a smile.

"My dear husband, your legs are slow, but he is becoming more and more thoughtful." Gu Tingye said with a smile.

Han Zhang walked forward slowly, shook his head and said, "I am about to retire, how can I have any ulterior motives?"

"Can the great lord accomplish today's task alone?" Gu Tingye said.

He thought it would take some effort, but he didn't expect the Queen Mother to agree as soon as he opened his mouth.

He realized at that moment that even if he didn't say anything, Han Zhang would have a way to convince the Queen Mother to agree.

"I can do it, but it will be difficult to finish it later." Han Zhang said with a smile.

Gu Tingye said unhappily, "So the Grand Master asked the Emperor to let me come over to help, in fact, he was just waiting for something to happen later so that I could vent the Queen Mother's anger?"

"This is good for you." Han Zhang said with a smile.

"Good thing?" Gu Tingye said unhappily, "Why don't you want this good thing, my dear husband?"

He naturally understood what Han Zhang meant. Zhao Zongquan intended to use him, but he ran into problems because of personal matters at the critical moment.

Zhao Zongquan was somewhat dissatisfied with him.

The most important thing is that he is not a true descendant of Yuzhou. Only after he was beaten by the Queen Mother did Zhao Zongquan truly trust him.

Even though he knew it, he still felt a little unhappy.

"This idea was not mine, so you can't blame me if you want to," said Han Zhang.

"Who came up with this idea?" Gu Tingye frowned.

"Li An, the editor of the Hanlin Academy." Han Zhang said, leaving Gu Tingye standing there in a daze.

"This old guy said that he is not fast when he is old. Isn't this very neat?"

Gu Tingye muttered as he looked at Han Zhang's back.

…………

Zhao Zongquan was so happy when he got the imperial seal that he kept delaying the ceremony of offering sacrifices to heaven.

The problem in Guanzhong is not actually serious. Only a few counties have not had rainfall for several months.

There is no need for the emperor to come forward to offer sacrifices to heaven and pray for rain.

This was just an excuse made up to steal the imperial seal.

The Queen Mother waited for a few days and felt something was wrong, so she urged Zhao Zongquan to offer sacrifices to the heavens and pray for rain.

Zhao Zongquan had no choice but to offer sacrifices to heaven and pray for rain.

Although this was just a fabricated excuse, it was like borrowing the imperial seal and not returning it.

If you don't do it, it means you are trying to steal the imperial seal, which is a completely different concept.

After the rain-praying ceremony, the empress dowager waited for Zhao Zongquan to return the imperial seal, but he was nowhere to be seen. She went to look for Zhao Zongquan, but he was hiding.

The Queen Mother also realized at this time that she had been deceived by them.

He ordered someone to find Han Zhang.

Zhao Zongquan could hide from the Queen Mother, but Han Zhang could not.

He met the Queen Mother, who, while asking him to return the imperial seal, hinted that it was time for her to withdraw from the political arena and return power to her.

The empress dowager was so angry that she was furious. Fortunately, she still had some reason. She scolded Han Zhang and drove him away.

After Han Zhang left, the Queen Mother became more and more angry. She thought about the day when Gu Tingye spoke up for Han Zhang and realized that this matter was also related to Gu Tingye.

Han Zhang is the eldest son and it is not easy to punish him, but the same cannot be said for Gu Tingye.

He ordered people to call Gu Tingye into the palace, and after scolding him, he was still not satisfied, so he had him dragged out and beaten with dozens of boards.

The Queen Mother was filled with rage as she listened to Gu Tingye's screams outside. She came outside the palace and scolded Gu Tingye, but when she saw Gu Tingye's back covered with scars, her anger subsided for the most part.

The Queen Mother thought that the scars on Gu Tingye's back were from the time he suppressed the rebellion and the last expedition.

Otherwise, how could he, a son of a marquis's mansion, have so many injuries on his body?

Although the Queen Mother did not agree to send troops, Gu Tingye's body was covered with scars because they were left for the Song Dynasty and for the late emperor.

"Stop fighting." The Queen Mother waved her hand and said, "Go!"

Gu Tingye didn't know that the scars left by his father beating him since childhood made the empress dowager mistakenly believe that they were left by the blood and injuries shed for the previous emperor of the Song Dynasty.

He thought he would be beaten half to death this time, but he didn't expect that the Queen Mother would let him go after only a dozen or so strokes.

Although I didn't understand the reason, I thanked him and left.

After Gu Tingye left, the Queen Mother became more and more angry.

It was clearly Zhao Zongquan who took the initiative to ask her to rule the country from behind the scenes, but now that he has established his foothold, he wants to drive her away.

How could the Queen Mother tolerate Zhao Zongquan's behavior of crossing the river and destroying the bridge?

If this were recorded in history books in the future, wouldn't she be portrayed as someone who was greedy for power and was eventually driven down?

However, she couldn't fall out with Zhao Zongquan because of this matter.

Because when it came to returning power, most people supported Zhao Zongquan.

After all, she is just the empress dowager. Unless she can be like Wu Zetian, she will have to return power eventually.

The officials in the court were also aware of this, and no one would stand against Zhao Zongquan on this matter.

"Zhu Neiguan!"

"The old slave is here."

"Little Zou is a concubine, but she doesn't stay at home properly. She often shows up in public and even talks back to the wife. You should go to the Weibei Marquis's mansion and slap her thirty times to teach her a lesson." said the Queen Mother.

Asking Nei Guan Zhu to beat Xiao Zou was not only to vent his anger, but also to slap Zhao Zongquan in the face.

This marriage was arranged by Zhao Zongquan. Now the daughter of the Duke of Yingguo was being suppressed by a concubine and had long become a joke in Bianjing.

However, this matter was discussed in private and no one dared to bring it up.

She did this to bring up the matter.

"Yes!" Zhu Neiguan replied.

…………

Zhu Neiguan received the order and went directly to Weibei Marquis Mansion.

After Shen Congxing learned the news, he did not dare to stop it and could only delay while sending people to the palace for help.

However, Nei Guan Zhu did not give him any chance to delay time. He asked him to call out Xiao Zou, and had people hold Xiao Zou down while he carried out the execution himself.

Although Zhu Neiguan looks like he is about to die, he is quite powerful when he strikes.

The beaten little Zou cried loudly and shouted for help.

Shen Congxing couldn't bear it any longer, so he stepped forward and protected Xiao Zou behind him.

Because he rushed out too quickly, Zhu Neiguan was bumped by him and fell to the ground.

This frightened Shen Congxing, and he quickly helped Zhu Neiguan up.

This person was sent by the Queen Mother, and he represents the Queen Mother when he goes out.

(End of this chapter)