After more than half a month of trekking, Chen Xiaoting and his entourage finally returned to the capital.

In this snowy place, although Liang Jiahui has played in the snow several times, she, a southerner, still has a great interest in snow.

"Master, you can build a snowman in the winter in the future!" Liang Jiahui was lying on the edge of the carriage window, looking at the snow scene outside the window.

Chen Xiaoting smiled and said, "That's nature!" ”

The dignified Jinyi guards commanded the carriage of the servants, naturally there was no need to queue up in the capital, and the Jinyi guards who were responsible for keeping an eye at the city gate had already cleared a special passage for the big guy.

After entering the city, Chen Xiaoting originally wanted to march in two ways, but he went directly to the palace to report the situation to the emperor, and then let the carriage send Liang Jiahui to the mansion.

But in order to avoid embarrassment, Chen Xiaoting finally decided to go all the way, and he personally brought his new little wife home later.

As an official sent by the emperor abroad, the first thing he did after returning to Beijing was to enter the palace to report the situation to the emperor.

The carriage traveled all the way north from the south gate of the capital, and it took about half an hour before it came to the outside of the palace gate.

During this period, Chen Xiaoting asked his entourage Niu Jingyun and Liu Kui to lead their teams back to the Yamen, leaving Yang Kai to lead the team to escort them.

Coming to the main gate of the palace, looking at the towering palace walls and the magnificent palace buildings, Liang Jiahui opened her mouth wide again.

"Sir, is this the palace? This is where the emperor lives? Liang Jiahui asked excitedly, she was born in a wealthy family in Jiangnan, and she is a little woman who has never seen the world at this moment.

Liang Jiahui would never have thought in her life that she would have the opportunity to visit the palace.

But her opportunity is only limited to reaching the palace walls, and it is impossible to enter the palace.

"You just don't move around in the carriage, wait for me to come back!" Chen Xiaoting said in a deep voice, then got up and walked out of the carriage.

After he got out of the carriage, he saw Liang Jiahui open the curtain of the carriage, poked his head out and said, "Master, your official hat!" ”

Chen Xiaoting then remembered that he hadn't had time to put on his official hat, and he had been thinking about things all the time.

After putting on the official hat, Chen Xiaoting walked to the palace gate, and the captains in charge of the patrol team in the square outside the palace gate of the Beicheng Thousand Households saluted after seeing Chen Xiaoting.

There was nothing to hide inside and outside the palace, so Chen Xiaoting entered the palace gate, and Wang Zhongde, the current deputy of the Thousand Households Office in Beicheng, came out with a hundred households.

"See your lord!" All the officials bowed.

Chen Xiaoting was their boss when he was in the Beicheng Thousand Households, and now he is the boss of their boss, so these people naturally have to fulfill the courtesy.

"It's all rude, what to do and what to do!" Chen Xiaoting said calmly, but he didn't even stop his footsteps, and walked directly to the depths of the palace.

Wang Zhongde waved away his hundreds of households, and then followed.

Even if Wang Zhongde's news is relatively closed, he also knows that Chen Xiaoting has made great contributions in the southeast this time, how can he not come up to flatter and stammer at this time.

"My lord, I have been to Jiangnan for so long, I can miss you in my humble position, and the brothers below also complain that I can't listen to my lord's instructions!"

Although Wang Zhongde's words gave people goosebumps, Chen Xiaoting still had to give him a chance to flatter, otherwise Wang Zhongde would not be able to calm down.

When he came to the gate of the Jade Void Palace, Wang Zhongde finally stopped, this was not the place he could enter.

After arranging the official uniform and hat, President Chen Xiao breathed a sigh of relief, and then walked up the steps outside the palace gate.

He was the commander of the Jinyi Guard, so the eunuchs on duty knew him, so no one stopped him from stepping into the palace gate.

After entering the palace gate, Chen Xiaoting could see the big hall in front of him, which was where the emperor sat in the imperial court to cultivate.

It's just that there has been a huge change in the Yuxu Palace at this moment and when Chen Xiaoting left.

If he hadn't been familiar with this forbidden palace, he would have thought that he was in the wrong place, because it looked more like a Taoist temple.

Slowly came to the bottom of the steps outside the main hall, where he had to stop and wait for the emperor to summon him after being courted by the eunuchs.

"Please tell the emperor, Weichen Jinyiwei commands the servant Chen Xiaoting to knock!" Chen Xiaoting, the eunuch guarding outside the main hall, said.

The eunuchs said in a calm tone with a hint of coldness: "Wait! ”

Then someone entered the main hall to make a report, and Chen Xiaoting waited at the bottom of the steps, when the sky was once again snowflakes.

Inside the palace, Liu Jinzhong walked down the aisle with a smile on his face, and he was in a good mood these days.

Because of Wang Hai's accident, the people in Dongchang were rarely trusted by the emperor, and he entered the Yuxu Palace more frequently one after another.

Now that the emperor is obsessed with cultivating and alchemy, and the number of visits to courtiers is becoming less and less, this is the perfect moment for Liu Jinzhong to approach and grasp the power.

Out of the main hall, Liu Jinzhong saw Chen Xiaoting at a glance, and the other party was standing under the steps at this moment.

Although he was unhappy with Liu Jinzhong, Chen Xiaoting still bowed and saluted: "I've seen Gonggong Liu!" ”

Liu Jinzhong sneered and said, "The emperor's command!" ”

But he didn't expect the emperor to have a will, Chen Xiaoting could only kneel in the snow and wait for Liu Jinzhong to read it.

"The emperor is very satisfied with what you have done, there is no need to report, understand your fatigue, just go back and rest first!"

Liu Jinzhong's voice stopped abruptly, and his words surprised Chen Xiaoting that the emperor didn't plan to see him.

Although surprised, it was impossible for Chen Xiaoting to doubt its authenticity, and Liu Jinzhong was not bold enough to dare to falsely convey the holy decree.

"Obey the order!" Chen Xiaoting kowtowed.

Then he stood up from the ground, saluted Liu Jinzhong again, and then turned around and walked towards the palace gate.

Looking at Chen Xiaoting's distant back, a smile appeared on Liu Jinzhong's face again.

The fewer people who saw the emperor later, the more beneficial it was for the eunuch community, because in this way they were the spokesmen of imperial power.

Therefore, suppress Dongchang as soon as possible, and then put the palm print eunuch Yu Peizhong in the air, he Liu Jinzhong is the first eunuch of the Ming Dynasty.

Compared with accumulating wealth, it is undoubtedly more meaningful to be the first eunuch of the Ming Dynasty.

Walking into this position, no matter whether it is praised or deprecated by future generations, it is an existence that can leave a name in history.

Besides, Chen Xiaoting, after he walked out of the gate of Yuxu Palace, he saw Wang Zhongde still waiting outside.

Seeing that Chen Xiaoting came out so quickly, Wang Zhongde roughly guessed the situation, so he greeted Chen Xiaoting and said, "My lord, in the past half a month, the emperor has rarely met with courtiers!" ”

With such a statement, Chen Xiaoting barely figured it out in his heart, but then new troubles came out.

Now that the two parties are fighting endlessly, the emperor himself is hiding from anyone, which makes it easier for the political struggle to go in a fierce direction.

"The three fathers-in-law of the celebrant can always see the emperor from time to time, right?" Chen Xiaoting asked casually.

The palm print eunuch Yu Peizhong, the Bingbi eunuch Liu Hong and Liu Jinzhong, and the three major eunuchs of the ceremonial eunuch.

Who knew that Wang Zhongde said: "Recently, Liu Jinzhong often goes to Yuxu Palace to accompany him!" ”

That's not good news...... Chen Xiaoting said secretly in his heart.

Even Yu Peizhong, the eunuch with palm prints, was self-marginalizing, which allowed Chen Xiaoting to find his own way of acting.

That's right, in Chen Xiaoting's view, Yu Peizhong, the emperor's confidant who has been with the emperor for decades, can only be self-marginalized now.

It is even possible that the emperor deliberately alienated this old man in order to protect him.

In Chen Xiaoting's heart, whether it is the emperor or Yu Peizhong, they are all extremely intelligent existences, and they must not be confused by appearances when they see these people acting.

So next, preserving oneself is the most important thing, and Chen Xiaoting will not mix anything blindly unless the emperor has an order.