In Qian'an Palace, Yuan Jing stood beside the throne, his expression had returned to normal.

Yuan Zhe was at the side reporting about the Yelan Country. Before he returned to Capital City from a mission in East Vietnam, he was sent by Yuan Jing to the western territory to preside over the overall situation before he had time to rest.

Yuan Jing finished listening, and sighed, "This trip has worked hard for you."

"It's just a matter of my duty." Yuan Zhe said with a smile, "Yelan Kingdom has generally settled down, and the emperor doesn't need to argue with the queen mother over this matter."

Yuan Jing said coldly, "I'm just angry. After such a good battle, I have the nerve to report a great victory."

In the rebellion of Yelan Country, Yuan Jing originally wanted to conquer it personally, but halfway through, he received a secret report of the palace ban, Prince Fu intends to rebel, and he is about to raise his troops.

There are priorities, and blessings will become elbows and armpits, and confidantes will suffer. Yuan Jing could only return hastily and rushed to Jinwu City.

After much fuss, Prince Fu's treason case was finally settled without any danger. But the rebellion in Yelan Country on the front line was not so smooth.

After Yuan Jing returned, he handed over the command of the army to Cheng Feiyu, a veteran of the Northern Wei Dynasty.

However, Hong Chongyue, the deputy general who was in charge of the West Road soldiers and horses at that time, was greedy for merit, so he rode forward lightly and rushed to the capital.

His offensive was swift and fierce, breaking through several cities in a row, and the other groups of troops he attracted were not far behind. Regardless of the original plan, they seized the credit one after another and sent troops to attack fiercely.

When Yuan Jing heard the news, he was so angry that he dispatched Hong Chongyue and several generals back to the Imperial Army in Capital City.

But it was too late, the original encirclement plan was completely shattered.

In all fairness, because of this onslaught, Yelan Country fell faster than expected, and its capital and surrounding cities were captured.

But the hidden danger left behind made Yuan Jing so angry that he didn't sleep well for several days and nights.

This matter also begins with the establishment of Yelan Country. In recent years, the Central Plains has been chaotic and wars have been frequent, and several horse thieves have sprung up in the western territory one after another. Many of these people are the remnants of the defeated warlords. They were born with strong soldiers and strong horses. They occupied dangerous locations and robbed business travelers, and quickly made a fortune.

Among them, there is a leader named Lan, who is particularly bold and reckless. Over the past few decades, he has expanded rapidly, occupied territory, and gathered a large number of wealthy men.

When the power reaches a certain level, they want to go ashore to clean up their crimes.

More than ten years ago, the country was established and became the king, and it became a legitimate country in the western territory. But the monkey has won the crown, and Yelan Country still does not change its true nature as a horse thief from top to bottom. Not only is it stuck in the business between the Central Plains and the western territory, but it is also secretly engaged in robbing business travelers.

Great Wei has fought frequently with several tribes in the north in the past few decades, and he doesn't care about this force. Until Yuan Jing ascended the throne in the last two years, the northern border was temporarily peaceful. The South Chen front won another big victory, so they thought about taking the time to wipe out the Yelan country.

The best way to deal with this kind of desert tribe who is called a country but is actually a bandit is to use a large army to form a overwhelming momentum, destroy them in one fell swoop, and leave no future troubles.

But because of Hong Chongyue's several generals grabbing credit, the overall situation of the encirclement was shattered. The territory of Yelan Country was captured, but several soldiers ran out. These people sneaked into the desert and came and went like the wind. If they want to wipe them out in the future, the imperial court will spend ten times and a hundred times their efforts.

Yuan Jing was so angry that he punished the generals who were attacking in the name of disrespecting orders, and even Hong Chongyue stopped his duties.

This morning, the Empress Dowager started to make a fuss.

She blamed Yuan Jing, why did she not reward these generals for their meritorious service after winning the battle, but to hold them accountable

"Although the Ai family is a family of women, they also know that they will not accept the orders of their rulers. On the battlefield, the situation is ever-changing. How can they follow a rigid plan? It's not just a matter of talking."

The Empress Dowager's righteous words are full of great principles. Yuan Jing didn't know how to refute.

She snatched up the excuses, and then ordered the punishment to be withdrawn immediately, and then rewarded all the generals for their meritorious service.

Yuan Jing was half dead with anger, the Queen Mother's temperament has always protected her weaknesses, especially caring for the Hong family. On the bright side, this time the battle was indeed won, so that Yuan Jing didn't know where to start if he wanted to reason with the Queen Mother. What's more, the current Queen Mother's body is not suitable for reasoning.

In fact, Yuan Jing tried to say a few words, and just started, the queen mother turned pale, covered her heart and screamed, and reprimanded her, did she dislike her for being old and nagging.

How could Yuan Jing go on talking. My stomach is full of anger, and can only hold back.

Yuan Zhe also felt a headache, changing the order day and night would greatly damage the prestige of the emperor, but at this time the Empress Dowager was seriously ill and could not disobey it, otherwise it would be more serious than changing the order overnight.

He could only comfort him with a smile, "These arrogant warriors are already hard to restrain, the emperor will teach them slowly in the future."

Yuan Jing's face was full of gloom, "I feel that this trip is not just an impulsive move by arrogant soldiers, maybe someone is testing it."

Yuan Zhe was startled, and looked up at Yuan Jing. The meaning of the emperor's words was the temptation of the Hong family, or that one

His face became serious, "Could it be that the previous actions were noticed?"

"There's no such thing as a seamless layout in this world, and there will be a day when it will be exposed after all the tricks are done." Yuan Jing said indifferently.

Yuan Zhe suddenly fell to his knees, "It's the minister's fault. He acted without authorization and missed the overall situation."

Yuan Jing immediately stepped forward and helped him up, "Third brothers are all for the sake of the world, for the sake of me, what's wrong?"

"Just taking shortcuts really won't work." Yuan Jing smiled and shook her head.

The two discussed the government affairs, and after a while, Wan Chongji quietly entered the hall.

Yuan Jing asked, "What's wrong?"

The few things he discussed with Yuan Zhe were military secrets, and no one was left in the palace to serve them.

Wan Chongji whispered, "It was the Compassionate Ning Palace who asked several times whether the emperor is going to visit the harem tonight, and which empress will serve him."

Yuan Jing's face darkened again.

When met the Queen Mother today, another thing that made him unhappy was that the Queen Mother opposed the postponement of the draft, thinking that there were no heirs born in the palace because there were too few concubines.

"Nowadays, these beauties in the palace are rarely visited by the emperor, so it can be seen that they don't like them. Only by choosing a wide range of beautiful women can they serve the emperor and extend their heirs." The queen mother said convincingly.

Since returning to Capital City, Yuan Jing has been entangled in all kinds of affairs in the court, and Yuan Jing has indeed had very few lucky concubines in the past few months. He is not a womanizer in the first place.

It was inconvenient for Yuan Zhe to intervene in the affairs of the inner palace, seeing that the discussion was almost done, he took the opportunity to leave.

Wan Chongji ordered the eunuch in charge of the dormitory to present the green head card.

Yuan Jing scanned it dully, each and every name made him lose interest. Today, he had no plans to have a concubine, and the government affairs at hand have not been completed yet. His eyes fell on a name in the corner, and he suddenly said, "Go to Bixiao Palace, Wu Guifei."

When Wu Jie heard the news from the eunuch in charge, she couldn't believe it.

Yuan Jing has an arrogant personality. After being rejected once, he shouldn't be so cheeky as to come forward again.

This doubt didn't last long, and soon at dusk, while having dinner, Yuan Jing came over. He didn't have any appetite for teasing Wu Jie either, so he just ordered coldly, "You can use your study after dinner."

It was only then that Wu Jie came to her senses that this guy came here to use her as a shield.

The dignified emperor, if he is not happy with his concubines, he can just stay in Qian'an Palace. Now he has to run to his side to pretend. In the entire palace, only the queen mother has the right to persecute the emperor.

I finally understood why had such a dull expression when met the emperor in the early morning.

It's because the chances of the Queen Mother disliking his favorite concubine are too low, but the Queen Mother probably wants the emperor to visit Concubine Hong Shu more often. come over here

Wu Jie is very satisfied with her current leisure life. Her future goal is to drink tea and read books every day, be a good mascot of the friendship between the two countries, and occasionally eat melon and watch a play. Fight the palace.

Yuan Jing was so uneasy and kind, didn't he push her to the fire.

Thinking of this, even the delicious dishes in front of me lost their taste.

After thinking about it, Wu Jie still tactfully advised, "I heard that Concubine Shu sent the emperor a handmade candied fruit this morning."

Her words were very tactful, but Yuan Jing immediately heard the meaning of tactful refusal. He silently stirred the custard in front of him with his chopsticks, drawing a few chaotic marks on the smooth surface.

Wu Jie watched silently, always feeling that there was a heavy cloud covering the people in front of her.

In the end, Yuan Jing still did not change his decision.

"Concubine Shu has a heart, I will go to see her tomorrow." He said simply. "I still have a lot of government affairs to be busy today. Concubine Shu is very noisy and there is no peace."

Wu Jie looked at the dark circles under his eyes, and silently swallowed back the words that followed.

After eating, Yuan Jing really got up and went to the study immediately.

The study room is next to the sleeping hall, and she doesn't like to be disturbed when she is reading, so only Chi Rui and another maid from Prince De's mansion clean up the study room.

After Wu Jie took a shower and freshened up, she also nestled on the bed with a book.

Chi Rui hesitated again and again, and finally asked, "Your Majesty, are you reading here?"

Wu Jie said angrily, "If you don't look here, where else can you look?" Who let the study be occupied by that guy.

Her study room took a lot of effort to tidy up. The room is not big, but the layout is clean, fresh, comfortable and transparent. The soft room behind the screen is especially suitable for taking a nap after reading. Even the burning white crane incense was made by herself when she was in Prince De's Mansion.

Now being occupied by that guy's magpie's nest, feel very uncomfortable.

Chi Rui paused, and said in a low voice, "Your maidservant is saying that the emperor is here. Madam, should you show your concern? For example, this cup of tea." Although Chi Rui is loyal, she doesn't fully agree with Wu Jie's idea of ​​being wise and safe in the palace.

Wu Jie shook her head, "Don't bother with that." Yuan Jing said that she was here to deal with government affairs, and she was dealing with government affairs, and she would never like to be disturbed by an idler like her. And he came here because of his cleanliness, so why bother himself.

But do you want to pretend to be courteous, disturb him, and drive him out? As soon as this idea came up, Wu Jie pressed it down, don't pretend too much, fill in yourself.

Picking up the book and looking at it twice, another thought suddenly floated in Wu Jie's mind. Seeing the tea that Chi Rui picked up, she quickly got up and said, "Wait, let me deliver it."

Yuan Jing read a few papers, his eyes were tired, so he simply stood up.

Said to be the emperor of the Ninth Five-Year, the master of this palace, who knows, is the most unfree one, even if he wants to find a place to think calmly for a while, he can't be at ease.

If we stayed in Qian'an Palace today, the Empress Dowager would definitely send someone to ask, if we simply come over here, we will feel more at ease.

The study room was furnished to his liking, and it was rare to get a good night's sleep that night. When was upset, unconsciously thought of this.

The whole room is clean and transparent, even the spices that are smoked are different, extremely light, and it smells very refreshing. Yuan Jing's natural sense of smell is sharper than ordinary people, and he hates strong smells, which are popular in the palace nowadays, and he also don't want to say more.

Since childhood, he has been used to hiding his likes and dislikes.

He went to the window and pushed it open. The cold wind of early spring poured into the room, and the wind chimes made of shells on the bookshelf behind were ringing alone.

When he came to the bookshelves, he glanced at them, and saw that they were all the Four Books for Women like Nv Ze Nv Jie, anthologies such as Tao Te Ching, and a thick stack of history books.

Nowadays, there are few women who can read and write, and it is rare to see so many books. Seeing that the backs of these books are worn, they must be read frequently, rather than displayed for decoration.

He casually took out a book of the Later Han Dynasty, opened it and glanced at it, and his eyes paused.

"The Peony Fairy opened her mouth lightly, a flash of white light turned into a sharp sword, and went straight to Taoist Qingshan on the opposite side."

Yuan Jing

He closed the book, looked at the classics of Taoism, and couldn't help but took two more Nvzhe and Lie Nv handed down. Sure enough, the so-called classics are just the cover, and many of them are written by such strange powers and gods.

Yuan Jing's brows twitched, these seemed to be brought by Concubine Wu Gui from Dongyue, look at this elegant beauty, she actually likes such things.

Just as he was flipping through the pages, Wan Chongji's voice came from outside the door, "Your Majesty, the tea is here."

Yuan Jing responded casually, "Come in."

The door was pushed open, and a slim and elegant beauty walked in slowly.

As soon as she entered the door, her eyes fell on Yuan Jing's hands, and her eyes widened in disbelief.

Yuan Jing didn't expect Wu Jie to come in, she was a little embarrassed, after all, she was rummaging through other people's things. Just looking at the seven-point shocked and three-point shameful eyes on the other side, he laughed again.

"Your concubine is really well-read, which is amazing."

"There is no emperor who has a wide range of hobbies." It is nonsense to say that borrowing a study room for busy government affairs is really busy, so you will come here to read biographies of women. Reading other people's books without authorization, I really thought it was my own place

Wu Jie was full of anger, but she couldn't reveal it. He was the master of the court, and even himself was his property, not to mention these books.

She could only bow her head and say, "I made the emperor laugh."

Yuan Jing put the book back, and said with a smile, "Where did your concubine find these many scripts, the contents are strange and chaotic, but it is different from the popular ones nowadays, and has a special taste."

Yuan Jing also knows a thing or two about these stories. Nowadays, most women read stories about wits and beautiful women, unlike this bookcase full of murderous looks and swords and swords.

Wu Jie was speechless. Is it the routine of those talented men and beautiful women meeting each other happily? The prime minister's daughter would like to promise her body when she sees a young man who is a student. Joking.

"The concubine is tired of reading those clichéd stories, and thinks it's not as good as this kind of storybook. It's fresh to read." Wu Jie said casually.

Yuan Jing nodded, "Yes, what kind of heartbreaker, what kind of grievances and grievances, can be wiped out with a sword, and people will be happy. It would be great if the injustices in the world can be solved in this simple way."

Wu Jie was startled, this guy can't read minds

Her expression was too revealing, Yuan Jing looked at it amusedly. From just now, he noticed that Wu Jie was actually angry at him for flipping through the book without authorization. Although the expression was well controlled, the grievance floating in those big bright eyes was clear. The subsequent response was probably to prevaricate himself. I don't know how many needles I have poked in my villain.

She was standing by the door, wearing a long light blue dress, the candlelight shone on her cheeks, she was as crystal clear as snow jade, even without makeup or hairpins, she looked as smart as a new rain in the empty mountain, just like this study room, A sense of comfort and warmth. She should be a woman who understands taste and life very well.

Is such an outstanding person just a maid?

Yuan Jing couldn't help but have such doubts. His eyes fell on the teacup she placed on the table, and he asked with a smile, "It's fine for the servants in the palace to serve you, why do you have to come here in person?"

When asked this sentence, was vaguely expecting to hear a change of heart.

Wu Jie came to her senses, recalled the arduous task of this trip, and immediately replied along the pole, "Although there are many maidservants in the palace, they are all new contacts. Some of them are maidservants of Prince Fu's Mansion. The ones in the government office helped me to choose, which is not as convenient as my own."

She came here specially to chat with Yuan Jing today, just to make things clear in advance. It shows that the maids sent in from Prince Fu's mansion are not very familiar with her. In case that guy Chen Jiao does something earth-shattering in the future, it has nothing to do with her, it's all the fault of the Jinwu City Government Office. She was an innocent victim

Feeling a little disappointed in my heart, Yuan Jing responded flatly, "If you don't like it, call the people from the inner palace tomorrow and replace them all for you."

Wu Jie quickly waved her hands, and said with a smile, "It's a small matter, don't bother, anyway, some crude work in the yard needs to be done by someone. Besides, I'm afraid that the servants who are despised are going out"

The loyalty of servants in this era is extremely high. Once they are rejected by their masters, they will never have decent jobs waiting for them. Most of them are assigned to dirty and tiring places.

Yuan Jing couldn't help but look at her more, remembering that she was also born as a slave, that's why she was so considerate of other people's difficulties.

Thinking of this, my mood softened a lot, and I smiled and said, "Just look at the arrangement, after all, it's just some trivial things. If you need to change it, just find someone to talk to the head of the inner palace."

After coming out of the study, she finally let go of the important matter on her mind. Wu Jie was in a very good mood, and her expression was particularly relaxed and joyful.

Just returned to the dormitory, but saw Chi Rui talking to Chen Jiao.

That person's bright eyes cast over, Wu Jie was startled.

Seeing Chen Jiao at this time, couldn't help feeling a little guilty.

Chen Jiao glanced at her, "Is there anything happy?"

"Cough, no, I'm just getting ready to rest, you still have something to do"

Chen Jiao said with a straight face, "Nothing." After finishing speaking, he turned and left.

Wu Jie was puzzled, and turned to ask Chi Rui, "What is she doing here?"

Chi Rui was still surprised by Chen Jiao's rudeness to Wu Jie, she came back to her senses, and replied in a daze, "I don't know, I heard that the empress went to bring tea to the emperor, so I have to wait here."