The sky was gray, cloudy and cold, and occasionally a few birds chirped from the grass and trees with the morning dew. I don't know when, the yellow has been quietly spread on the ground, sparse and sparse.

It has been a few days since Su Jinxi and the lawsuit returned to the house, and it will be the "cold dew" in a few days, although the weather is gradually getting cooler, but in the early morning, the house slaves and servants in the various mansions in the imperial city still get up early before dawn today, take care of the affairs in the house, and are busy with the masters.

The sycamore leaves swirled on the side of the road, and a few more fell between a few teas, but this did not affect the dignitaries passing by, and it was swept away along with the dead leaves on the ground before dawn.

Today, the task of the servants in the backyard of the Shangguan Mansion is to clean up the dead branches in the garden, apply the pre-flower fertilizer of the loquat trees, and do a good job of thinning the buds, thinning the flowers, whitening the trunk and preventing the number of frost.

Ling'er came to the door early in the morning, and today she was going to Babaozhai to buy rock candy and white honey for her master. Recently, the weather has been cold, and the young lady's throat is also a little uncomfortable, thinking that a lot of loquat is planted in the backyard, and it is just right to make some loquat paste. So I went to buy some materials needed to make loquat paste. After all, it's an entrance thing, and it's not easy to hand it over to others casually, so I came by myself.

"Hello Miss Ling'er, are you going out?" The doorman was very kind to the maid beside Mrs. Hou, and occasionally greeted her politely.

"Yes, I'm going out on errands, and I've already said hello to the steward." Ling'er stepped into the carriage with a delicate basket in one hand and a skirt in the other. Babaozhai is some distance from Shangguan Mansion, so it can't be delayed.

Suddenly, a gust of wind soared, and a fast horse kicked up dust, galloping all the way from the distant city gate to the street. Ling'er lifted the curtain in a panic, who dared to be so presumptuous in the imperial city, and rode the horse so fast, not afraid of accidentally injuring pedestrians.

"Smack-" There was a whip in the air, the galloping horse neighed, and the speed was a little faster, looking in this direction, it was actually running towards the palace!

"Eight hundred miles expedited! The gold medal is given, the obstructor dies, and the rebel dies! The postman on the horse yelled.

When the coachman calmed the slightly frightened horse, Ling'er was already frightened in her heart. The slender jade hand clenched the sleeve tightly, and I didn't know what came to mind.

"Miss Ling'er, do you still want to go to Babaozhai?" The old coachman looked at Ling'er, who seemed to be very restless behind the car, hesitated for a moment and asked.

"Ah...... Go, please go. "What the hell is going on? The eight-hundred-mile rush could it be that there was a war at the border? Calm down, I want to be calm, no matter what happens, stabilize in advance, and at present I can only do the things in front of me. You have to be steady, don't disturb Miss first.

The green tent carriage slowly drove away from the Shangguan Mansion, without rolling up the dust in front of the court, nor attracting the attention of others, only the slow turning sound of the wooden cart and the bell from the brass bell hanging in the corner of the carriage slowly walked away.

Royal Palace, inside the main hall. When the son sat on the dragon chair with his hands down, the ministers knelt down.

"Long live my emperor, long live, long live, long live—"

"Flat." I can't hear the joy and anger, but I should be angry.

The ministers got up, but no one dared to speak, and the official who was in the position of the marquis stood and did not speak, and the face of Bai Chenghao, the prince of the dynasty, was gloomy. After making eye contact with the courtiers who had already passed the news, they all secretly had a bottom in their hearts.

"Today, the arrival report that was urgently submitted at the border gate for 800 miles, everyone knows about it, right?"

"The ministers already know."

"Oh, the Huns are coming, the border pass is lost, and they all know that I have lost two cities in a row overnight, so I will tell you something you don't know." The king was furious, but he did not go mad on the spot, but poured out one eerie sentence after another in a gloomy voice.

"Defending the city is too guarded by Cui Xuan, colluding with Wang Bingquan, embezzling grain and grass, and deducting military salaries......" The emperor glanced at Bai Chenghao, whose face was pale and broke out in a cold sweat from time to time, and sneered and continued: "The two of them, the Hun army came to attack, and they surrendered without a fight. Abandoning the city and fleeing alone, Liangcheng was slaughtered, and more than 30,000 unarmed people in the city survived. ”

In the main hall, except for the voice of the Son of Heaven on the seat, the rest are as quiet as a cicada. Every time the emperor said a word, there was more panic in his heart, and the Son of Heaven was angry, how could he not be afraid. I was afraid of being angry, and I had a ghost in my heart, and my legs were about to kneel down on the main hall at this time.

At this time, the lawsuit that was still standing straight and solemn in the hall was particularly eye-catching.

"Shangguan Hou, I ask you how to deal with this matter."

"Back to the emperor, traitors should be punished, and all officials involved in corruption should not be exempted. King Cui and his two sins are unforgivable, but now it is necessary to find out whether there are still spies colluding with the enemy, and this matter should be thoroughly investigated. "The lawsuit is calm and calm, and the emperor can still reply under the pressure. And the answer is reasonable, and the expression is sincere.

"What Shangguan Hou said is extremely true, to spread my will, the criminal minister Cui sued Wang Bingquan for treason against the enemy and punished the nine clans, and there is no need to escort him back to Beijing. Su Qing, I appointed you as the envoy of the border city, and watched the border war for me. "As for who will fight and regain the lost territory...... the emperor glanced at Shangguan Shen with a smile, "Shangguan Hou, let you take office, I will only give you 30,000 Red Feather Army, can you do it?"

"Commandment." Whether it is the official Si Shen or the current envoy of the border city of the former General Su, they have no objection to the emperor's arrangement.

"So, retreat." The bright yellow sleeved robe was flicked, and the Son of Heaven left without looking back. The eunuch who served the emperor was stunned and immediately followed, and the chief eunuch did not move, and calmly did not forget to pronounce a sharp and lofty voice

"Retreat—"

"Long live my emperor, long live, long live."

After the ministers retreated, the court meeting was over. In the past, after the early dynasty, the ministers present would always talk to each other, or shush and ask for warmth, or sneer. Today, however, it will not be, and after a hurried farewell, they all left one after another.

The day has broken and the sky is bright. Because there is no noise in the huge palace, it is extraordinarily quiet, and the entry and exit of the civil and military palace servants and guards cannot break the solemnity and tranquility here. The official Si Shen and Su Jiedu looked at each other, and in the end, it was Master Su who spoke first: "Please come to the mansion to talk about it." ”

"Shangguan Hou and Master Su stay." When the two were about to leave, a father-in-law wearing a purple robe and over half a hundred years old came to them and saluted respectfully. The person who came was the chief eunuch. "The emperor invites the two adults to come to the imperial study immediately to discuss important matters." The chief eunuch's voice was calm, conveying the emperor's will without delay or urgency, which was completely different from just now.

I said how to retreat from the court, I was waiting here. It seems that the emperor still has something to explain in private......