Chapter 876: The Son of Heaven Returns, Xiao Nian Slips Away

The three coupon caves of Donghua Gate have now become the only way for Zhang Yue to enter the palace. After all, he didn't have time to pass through the left gate of Chang'an and then walk through the long section of Yongdao to enter the palace through the noon gate. In a hurry, his current responsibility is not trivial, and such a small request is naturally easily passed, so the guards on duty have long been familiar with him in and out.

At this moment, he had just come out of the cabinet room, and he was still thinking about the affairs of the ministry in his heart as he walked. I have to say that he is really not very familiar with the work of the ministry, even if he is just a transit station and a signator, he can't just stamp and forward it without knowing anything, so he has to take advantage of his spare time to take a look, so the time that is pitifully small every day is compressed a lot. Therefore, he couldn't help but slander Yang Shiqi helplessly, thinking that the Ming Dynasty's oppression of officials was really outrageous, let him act as the ministry, why didn't he know to send him a salary for the ministry?

Of course, he was barely in a good mood now, because there was finally good news from Inshou Palace. Empress Dowager Zhang is now finally out of the most dangerous period, and the emperor is also 800 miles a day to rush back to the capital.

It wasn't until he heard the sound of horses' hooves in his ears that he raised his head, and at a glance, he saw a group of people galloping from Dong'anmen. Although people were still too far away to see their faces, the dozens of high-flying red dazes were clear. Almost subconsciously, the first thought that popped into his heart was - could it be that the emperor came back first? How could he enter the city like this?

He was thinking that the group of dozens of horsemen was approaching the palace gate, but despite this, this group of people did not have the slightest intention of reining in their horses, and they seemed to be preparing to rush directly into the palace. At this moment, even if they knew that the group of people on the other side could be released in Dong'anmen, there must be nothing suspicious about their identities, and the guards in front of Donghua Gate still raised their vigilance for the first time. For a while, the horse-rejecting decorations in the door ticket hole were in place, and there were longing black shadows on the city tower in front of the city gate, until a shout came from the front.

Seeing that a group of people were brushing their horses together, someone jumped down in front of them, and I don't know who recognized the person, and shouted that it was the British duke. Knowing that it was Zhang Fu, Zhang Yueshao, who was in the Donghua Gate, had to speed up his pace, and hurried over there after verifying the entry and exit tokens. Sure enough, he only glanced at it and recognized Zhu Zhanji who was hidden among Zhang Fu's personal guards. And almost at the same time, Zhu Zhanji also saw him.

It was not the first time that Zhu Zhanji had been in such a hurry. rushed to Daning at a gallop all night to mourn for his grandfather Zhu Di; Later, his father died violently in the palace, and he rushed back to Beijing from Nanjing to take the throne for the second time. In contrast, there are a large number of elites accompanying him along the way, and there are famous generals and virtuous ministers to follow, which should be the safest, but his mood is no different from the previous two times, and he can even be said to be more anxious. Although Yang Pu and the others only said a few words, and there were many ambiguities in the inscriptions presented to them, he smelled some meaning from them. Therefore, after he met the driver and others at Xifengkou, he desperately threw off the large group of people, and rushed back with the British Gong Zhang Fu.

At this time, he exchanged eyes with Zhang Yue, and seeing that Zhang Yue quickly looked away quietly, he moved closer to Zhang Fu's head after a moment. Sure enough, after Zhang Yue stepped forward to salute Zhang Fu, he said carefully: "The British Duke was sent by the emperor to come back first?" The Queen Mother summoned Yang Ge Lao at Renshou Palace at noon, and rushed over at this time, the Queen Mother should not have taken a nap. ”

Zhang Fu naturally knew that the Empress Dowager Zhang had a sudden heart attack, and hearing Zhang Yue say this at this time undoubtedly showed that the Empress Dowager's illness had improved, and he was relieved, and Zhu Zhanji's tense face also relaxed a little. It's just that there is no time to say anything more at this time, Zhang Yue naturally won't hurry to report the details, so after checking the pass waist card, Zhang Fu actually brought four personal guards, including Zhu Zhanji, into the palace in a hurry, and the rest of the people were waiting in front of the Donghua Gate, which made the guards guarding the door strange for a while.

Since the emperor is back, Zhang Yue doesn't have to worry about so many things, and when he returns to the military department, he handles all kinds of official affairs in an orderly manner. There is a way that when a person is forced to go to Liangshan, he will exert his full ability, and he is the same now, distracted and listening to the report while writing the inscription, and guessing the situation in the palace from time to time in his mind. When Chen Yong finished speaking, he also happened to write the last word on the paper.

"You go back and sort out all the stuff these days for inquiry. You've worked hard these days. It's just that the winter solstice has already given leave, and the court is eventful, so it may be difficult to give extra leave for the Lantern Festival in the first month. Also, I'm taking leave tonight, and you can take your place here at the military headquarters. I had already mentioned this matter to Elder Yang Ge before, and he had already agreed. ”

Chen Yong saw the ink-drenched piece of paper handed over by Zhang Yue, and his head couldn't turn around. It must be known that Zhang Yue had already made it clear to him just now that the emperor had come back with the British Duke Zhang Fu, although he didn't know what was wrong with the queen mother in the palace, but he also knew that Zhang Yue was now in charge of the military department, so he had to stay for the summons, where was the reason to hurry home? However, Zhang Yue obviously had no intention of explaining to him, and after undoubtedly giving the order, he drove the people out.

The sun sets very early in winter, and when Zhang Yue entered the yamen, the sky was still bright, and when he went out of the yamen, it was all darkened. Usually this is the time of dispersion, along the river rice lane to the east river rice lane, you can see the carriages and horses to the east and west of the city everywhere, but now it seems that there are few people and deserted. This situation began since the emperor's northern tour left, and the civil and military generals from top to bottom, regardless of their rank, were accustomed to overloading overtime, and even if they did not work overtime, they had to take into account the eyes of their colleagues and subordinates, so even if they had nothing to do, they had to stay in the yamen.

As for what happened more than ten days ago, the situation has become even worse. The chief officials of the six ministries and five prefectures and even the Metropolitan Procuratorate all rested in the yamen, and the officials below were all living in the yamen, and the officials below were naturally aggrieved and set up a bunk in the yamen, but it was a pity that the supply of firewood and charcoal in this cold day was really not complete, and even more so in the yamen with little oil and water like the Criminal Department, and the rooms could simply freeze to death at night. Therefore, the most signature sound of the yamen at all levels these days is the loud sound of sneezing and blowing nose, and even the warmest yamen of the military department has more red noses than usual.

Therefore, at this time, when Zhang Yue met the two entourages who came to meet Dexin at the gate, Leng Buding let out a loud sneeze. He wiped it with a piece of paper and got on his horse without saying anything. This way galloped out of Jiangmi Lane, he was stunned that he didn't even meet an official, until he got on Xuanwumen Street, there were more pedestrians than just now, and occasionally he could hear a burst of firecrackers. He instinctively listened attentively, and suddenly led the horse to stand, and as a result, the bull behind him suddenly ran over.

"My lord, is there a situation?"

"There's a fart situation!" Zhang Yue scolded a dirty word angrily, and when he saw Niu Dare to look at him with wide eyes, he asked, "I just thought that today is really the twenty-third year of the lunar month, and I have already started to set off firecrackers." ”

Niu Dare suddenly realized, because he smiled and said: "What is this, my lord, we also have firecrackers at home, and the storage is louder than these firecrackers." Not to mention firecrackers, even other New Year's goods, the executives' families have been ready for a long time, and everything is complete. ”

Seeing this big guy boasting seriously about his family's New Year's preparations with a serious face, Zhang Yue wanted to scold, but he felt that it was too much to reason with this brute bull, so without saying a word, he whipped a whip on the horse stock, and galloped forward like a sharp arrow. Passing through the West Fourth Archway, there are several alleys in front of him, and when he avoids pedestrians and turns into Wu'anhou Hutong, these days are always full of all kinds of unstable hearts, as if they have fallen back to the ground all of a sudden.

In order to surprise his family, Zhang Yue did not send anyone to inform him in advance of his return, so when he dismounted in front of his house, he found that the east and west corner doors and the gate were all closed. In desperation, he had to let Niu dare to come forward and knock on the door, and after knocking for a while, there was a lazy sound of agreement. Suddenly, the small window on the door of the west corner opened, and the head that poked out looked at Niu Dare for a while, and then laughed and quipped.

"It's Brother Niu, you're back? What's the matter, are you thinking about the 23rd lunar month and the new year or thinking about the daughter-in-law at home? My sister-in-law made a lot of sweet cakes in the back kitchen in the morning, and my grandmother packed a lot of boxes of dishes for her to bring back...... By the way, you didn't meet the chief steward Lian on the way, he personally went to the yamen to deliver food! ”

The porter chattered while pulling the latch to open the door, but when he really opened the door, he saw a black shadow rushing in steeply, and walked in without looking back, he couldn't help but be stunned, and was about to open his mouth to drink the man, but he was pressed the shoulder, and only then did he realize that it was Niu Dare.

"Don't scream, my lord is back, even the chief steward ran away in vain today!"

Because the porter's reaction was more than a beat slower, when Zhang Yue hurried to the second door, the door was still tightly closed. When the people inside complained about opening the door and recognizing Zhang Yue in the loud knocking on the door, they opened their mouths wide, and then wanted to run in to report the news, but they were already far behind. So, when Zhang Yue, who was sweating all the way through the vest, directly slammed into the door curtain and rubbed his hands in, a table of steaming dishes had just been served, and a pair of chopsticks were stretched out in the air, but his eyes were all on him, the uninvited guest who broke in directly. Immediately after, Jing Guan jumped off the chair with a loud scream.

"Daddy!"

The rule that a gentleman hugs his grandson and does not hold his son has never existed here - or rather, because his father Zhang Ju doesn't believe in this set, so his son will not be hypocritical - now seeing the little guy's excited face, he simply bent down and hugged his son hard, and as a result, Jing Guan, who has already claimed to have grown up, smiled very happily as he did when he was a child.

Putting down his son, Zhang Yue saw Sansan also jumping over, and had to hug her again, pinching the pink little face, and then stepped forward to greet his parents, said hello to Hongluan, winked at his wife, smiled at Autumn Scar Amber, who stood up in surprise, and went to hug the other two children in the hands of the nurse. When there was an angry voice from the side, he stepped forward, but first nodded approvingly to Zhang Fu, praised his martial arts, and then gently patted his sister Zhang Jing's head.

"They are all big girls, they are about to get married, and they are still coquettish!"

"Third brother...... You did it on purpose! ”

After some laughter, this farewell is not home for more than 20 days, and now he can come back for the New Year, Sun is smiling, hurriedly ordered someone to add dishes and chopsticks, and when he sat down again, Zhang Yue saw that everyone was looking at him, but he smiled and picked up the chopsticks and handed them to the father of the head: "If you have anything to say after eating, don't let the food be cold, I'm already hungry!" ”

Originally, there was still a little suspicious and nervous atmosphere that was washed away by his words, so Zhang Zhuo naturally moved the chopsticks first. When he was like this, all the people at the table started to move, but no one could keep up with Zhang Yue's speed, and even Zhang Fu, who had become extremely appetized due to martial arts training, could only be dumbfounded, watching Zhang Yue eat this and that, and only after a while did he stop contentedly and breathe a sigh of relief.

"Isn't it almost every day that people have food delivered? Why do you still look like you haven't eaten in a few days? ”

Seeing that Sun was concerned, distressed and angry, Zhang Yue smiled and said: "I can't eat any food at home in the yamen...... If it weren't for this, plus the British Duke is back, I won't rush back today, isn't it just to relax and have a good New Year? It's not that I'm talking about discouragement, giving such a fuss, the big holiday at the beginning of the year is very likely to be in the soup, and I don't know how many days I will sleep in the yamen. ”

The Zhang family is well-informed, but it has only been less than an hour since the British returned to Beijing, so the family has just learned the news. Zhang Juan asked two questions and crossed the question, while Du Juan threw an inquiring look, seeing Zhang Yue nodding slightly, she was immediately relieved, but she had to think about what to say about something. After all, there is no evidence so far.

Just when Sun smiled and mentioned that two days later, the big festival of the British Mansion was finally presided over by someone, and the girl who served was serving a hot pot, only to hear a crackling sound outside, followed by only the two children in the swaddling clothes as if frightened, and cried one after another.

Knowing that it was not from his own home, but from the Wu'an Hou Mansion over there, Zhang Yue waved his hand without saying a word and said: "Set off firecrackers, our family will also hurry up and go out to set off firecrackers, although it is not yet time to remove the old cloth and the new, but also go to the bad luck first!" ”

Of course, it can be regarded as a celebration of the safe return of the emperor and the British Duke Zhang Fu, and the queen mother finally turned the corner, as for him...... It's about to add another cute baby sometime next year!