First-rank palace maid Su Jixiang

Chapter 397 Wei Ling Returns to Beijing

The two of them were getting closer and closer, and it was unclear whether he approached first or she took the initiative.

Nangong Rui could feel Zhao Xiuwan's breath surrounding him. She had a pleasant fragrance on her body, which was a mixture of several kinds of perfume that she bought from the store. It was a unique fragrance, sweet and noble.

Zhao Xiuwan could also feel the heat coming from Nangong Rui. Although he was wearing a long coat, the masculine aura that belonged to a man could be seen from under the not-so-good-quality fabric. It was particularly attractive and made her heart beat faster.

The atmosphere between the two people became charming and ambiguous. Zhao Xiuwan even forgot that her tears were still hanging in the corners of her eyes, and she also forgot the anger and resentment that Su Jixiang and Qu Wanning could return to Beijing...

Just when the two people were almost touching each other, there was a knock on the door.

The sudden sound made the two people suddenly wake up and quickly separate.

Zhao Xiuwan's face flushed instantly. Nangong Rui didn't dare to look at Zhao Xiuwan again. He lowered his head and walked quickly to the door, and asked in a deep voice, "Who is it?"

"Boss, it's me!" Zhao Ergou's voice came from outside the door. He was the chef of Hongyunlou. He was weak and sickly since childhood. The reason why he was called Ergou was that his mother heard from others that he was given a cheap name so that he would be easier to raise.

When they heard Zhao Ergou's voice, Nangong Rui and Zhao Xiuwan both breathed a sigh of relief in their hearts!

Zhao Xiuwan walked quickly to the backyard. When he heard her footsteps gradually fading away, Nangong Rui opened the door from the inside.

"Hello, boss." Zhao Ergou stood outside the door and greeted Nangong Rui with a smile.

Nangong Rui looked at the sky and found that without him noticing, a red sun appeared in the east, accompanied by gorgeous and rich morning glow. It was dawn!

"It's quite early today!" Nangong Rui said with a light cough.

"Yes. The shopkeeper said that someone had booked a table today and asked me to come early." Zhao Ergou said with a smile.

Nangong Rui then remembered that all the rooms in Hongyun Tower were booked for a family reunion banquet.

He smiled and said, "The boss bought some vegetables. You can clean them up first. Someone will bring them over later."

"The boss is here?" Zhao Ergou asked with a smile, "The boss came so early today, it seems that he also attaches great importance to the reservation!"

Listening to Zhao Ergou's words, Nangong Rui nodded, and a huge weight lifted off his heart. Zhao Ergou didn't think there was anything wrong with it.

That's good, that's good!

Wei Ling and his entourage returned to the capital very quickly, and basically made no unnecessary stops on the road. Even the carriage that Su Jixiang and Qu Wanning rode was a light carriage that she had improved, with shock absorbers. So even though the carriage was not so luxurious, it was actually more comfortable than any other carriage that could be found in the Daxie Dynasty, and it was extremely fast.

The carriage was pulled by four horses, and its speed was not much different from that of a fast horse. If other carriages were pulled at such a speed, people would inevitably be shaken to the point of vomiting their internal organs. However, the carriage improved by Su Jixiang would not have such a problem. Not only would people not feel too many ups and downs, but it was also very stable and not likely to overturn!

So the journey that was originally planned to take a month was basically completed in just over ten days by Wei Ling and his group.

When Wei Ling arrived in the capital with five thousand Black Tiger Guards, even the Emperor was shocked!

He didn't expect Wei Ling to come back so soon, nor did he expect Wei Ling to dare to bring 5,000 elite soldiers back this time!

However, he personally appointed the Black Tiger Guard to Wei Ling. In order to win over Wei Ling to do business for him, he also promised that the Black Tiger Guard, as Wei Ling's personal guard, could have a structure of 20,000 people.

Now that Wei Ling has returned with five thousand Black Tiger Guards, it can be said that he has not crossed the line.

But he once again witnessed the speed of the Black Tiger Guards, which was completely different from the feeling he had when he let Wei Ling lead the Black Tiger Guards to enter the capital and the palace first for him.

At that time, I just hoped that Wei Ling could be faster, but now I am really scared of Wei Ling's speed in transporting troops!

No one in the Daxie Dynasty had a faster army than Wei Ling and his Black Tiger Guards.

Even though he was shocked and angry in his heart, the emperor remained low-key on the surface. Wei Ling stationed 4,000 men outside the capital and only brought 1,000 men into the capital, which was already a great respect for him as the emperor.

If he still used this kind of thing to talk, he would be too afraid of Wei Ling.

The current Prince of Chenliu is growing stronger and stronger. In the past few years, he has been entrenched in places like Jiangnan and has not paid tribute every year. He has more and more money and grain in his hands, which is different from the situation four years ago when he was competing with me to enter the capital.

On the other hand, after he ascended the throne, various places have been hit by floods, snowstorms or droughts. In the past few years, every year has been a disaster year. Taxes could not be collected, and the court had to provide disaster relief everywhere.

Originally, he took over the mess left by the deposed emperor. The treasury was empty. He always thought that he would have some money after a few years of recuperation. He didn't know that he lived worse than the deposed emperor! At least the deposed emperor could collect taxes from Jiangnan, but he not only lost the most important tax revenue in Jiangnan, but also had to spend money everywhere!

Although it was he who proposed the Empress Dowager's birthday banquet, he also had to bite the bullet and go ahead with the birthday banquet.

He had two purposes. One was to divert the voices of the court against the succession. He had not decided on an heir yet, and the court was quite dissatisfied with this. The idea of supporting the successor was rampant, and there were many different opinions on who to support, which caused an uproar in the court. The second was to trick the Prince of Chenliu to come to the capital during this Qianqiu Banquet. If he came, the emperor would find a way to keep him in the capital and not let him return to his fiefdom!

As long as Prince Chenliu stays in the capital and cannot return to his fiefdom in the south of the Yangtze River, most of his worries will be solved!

The orders he gave to other people were all handwritten instructions, but the one he gave to Prince Chenliu was an imperial decree!

If Prince Chenliu does not come, it would be tantamount to disobeying the imperial order!

This was the reason why he could punish the King of Chenliu.

Although he couldn't do anything to Prince Chenliu now, he at least found a breakthrough point.

Even if there is another war or dispute in the future, it will be the fault of Prince Chenliu for disobeying the order.

It wasn't that he wanted to suppress the princes and get rid of them.

Therefore, compared to the Prince of Chenliu, Wei Ling's grand return to the capital with so many Black Tiger Guards did not seem to be so irritating to him.

As soon as Wei Ling came back, he summoned Wei Ling in order to appease Wei Ling first.

The emperor and his minister talked for a long time in the study, and Emperor Longchang praised Wei Ling for his service in guarding the north for so many years.

When Wei Ling came out of the palace, his rewards to Wei Ling came one after another!

In the eyes of outsiders, Wei Ling is now in the emperor's favor and has won the emperor's heart.