The Evil Emperor's Favorite: The Sickly and Poisonous Concubine Goes Crazy

The Duke Zhenguo's Mansion is very lively today. Everyone in the mansion is decorating it carefully. All the attendants and servants have changed into new clothes specially awarded to them by the Third Madam Liu. It is very festive.

Except for the old lady, the other ladies and young ladies in the Duke's Mansion had made preparations early in the morning and had already gone to the city gate to welcome the soldiers from the northern border back to the court.

Every time the Su family army returned to the capital, everyone in the Su family would go to the city gate to welcome the army back.

At the gate of the imperial capital, upon hearing that the soldiers from the northern border would be returning to the capital today, people had gathered early in the morning, waiting for the triumphant return of the soldiers of the Great Zhou, and also for their relatives who had been separated for many years to return home.

Everyone was looking forward to it, gazing into the distance, their eyes full of anticipation and joy.

The people from the Zhenguo Mansion stood on the left side of the city gate. At the main gate stood the court reception officials. The Minister of Rites, who was in charge, saw them and saluted to the wife of the Zhenguo Duke. The Zhenguo Duke and his son had gone to court early in the morning and were not at the city gate.

Su Jingning stood behind his mother and two aunts, looking at the tall and handsome man in purple court robes, with an evil and enchanting face, standing next to the Minister of Rites.

He had a noble temperament, with slender, fair hands with distinct joints. He rubbed the white jade Buddhist beads on his left wrist carefully, looking into the distance nonchalantly, waiting for the arrival of the army.

Su Jingning sighed inwardly, Gu Yan'an was truly the most handsome man she had ever seen.

As if sensing Su Jingning's gaze, Gu Yan'an turned his head and looked in her direction.

Su Jingning was caught off guard and met the man's bottomless eyes, and quickly turned his eyes away.

Gu Yan'an watched her movements, a doting smile flashed in his eyes, and he turned around and stopped looking at her.

"Here it comes! The black sail and white tiger flag!"

"I'm coming!"

The people at the city gate suddenly cheered and stretched their necks to look into the distance.

In the distance, the army gradually approached, like a blue dragon returning home, majestic and domineering, extending to the end of the sight.

The generals of the Su family rode on fine horses and walked in front. The leader was General Zhaoyi Su Ming of the Western Border Military Command, the second uncle of the Su family. The black-armored general with upright and resolute features behind him was General Mingwei Su Zheng of the Northern Border Military Command, the third uncle of the Su family.

The sons of the Su family followed behind the two of them. The young generals were full of vigor and vitality, with the lapels under their iron armor fluttering in the wind. This could not hide the iron-blooded spirit of these young men who had fought on the battlefield for many years, causing the girls on both sides to blush.

"Dad! Dad! And my brother! Mom, look!" Su Luowan jumped in the crowd and cheered towards the distance, her face full of joy. She turned around and pulled Madam Su to look.

Madam Su Er nodded quickly with red eyes, tightly holding Su Luoting's hand. Their family was finally reunited.

"Fourth sister, I want to see too. Where is father?" Su Jinghuai, the seventh son of the Su family, who was held by his wet nurse, also stretched his head and tried to look into the distance.

"Huai'er, look, your father is there!" Mrs. Su San pointed at Su Zheng in the distance with a gentle expression.

Su Jingning's eyes welled up and his heart was sad as he looked at his two uncles and six brothers who had returned safely, with tall statures and high spirits.

This time, no matter what the cost, she will keep everyone in the Su family safe! No one can hurt her family!

The army soon arrived at the city gate. The leading general dismounted as per the custom and was received by the court officials.

The Zhou Emperor valued the generals of the Su family who had been guarding the northern and western borders for many years, and sent the Minister of Rites and several other second-rank ministers of the court to welcome the army.

"Su Ming, the commander of the Western Border Military Command."

"Su Zheng, commander of the Northern Border Military Command."

"Your Majesty, I am here to lead the soldiers of the Northern Frontier back in triumph!"

"Your Majesty has decreed that the generals of the Northern Frontier are brave and unparalleled, and they have a great victory over Western Liang. It is a blessing for the Great Zhou to have such generals. A celebration banquet will be held in the Taichen Palace tomorrow, and I will personally welcome the generals!" The Minister of Rites handed the imperial edict to Su Ming.

"All the generals of the Northern Frontier obey your orders and thank your Majesty! Long live your Majesty!!"

Su Ming took the bright yellow imperial edict and replied in a deep voice with all the officers and soldiers.

"Congratulations to all the generals on your triumphant return! Please follow me into the palace to pay homage. His Majesty and the court officials are waiting for you in the palace." The Minister of Rites looked respectful and gave Su Ming a light support.

According to the rules, the army was not allowed to enter the city and had to go to the military camp outside the capital. Only the generals from the main camp were allowed to come for an audience.

Su Ming and Su Zheng brought more than a dozen commanders from the Northern Frontier to the palace to meet the emperor. Although the sons of the Su family were young, they were all young heroes. In addition to the son of the Duke of Zhenguo serving as the deputy commander of the Western Frontier Army, there were now three sons serving as commanders of the three battalions.

The second son of the Zhenguo Mansion, Su Jingmo, the third son, Su Jingyu, and the fourth son, Su Jingyi. They all started as soldiers on the battlefield at the age of twelve, and fought their way up to the position of the commander of a battalion.

The ladies of the Duke of Zhenguo Mansion finally put down their worries after two years of looking at their husbands and children whom they had not seen for two years. When they decided to marry into a general's family, they had to live in fear every day, fearing that if something happened, they would never see their husbands and children again. Fortunately, they all returned safely!

Looking at the people standing at the city gate to welcome the triumphant army, they were sincerely proud of their husbands and children.

The fifth son Su Jingxuan and the sixth son Su Jingze, who did not have to go to the palace to pay homage, saw from afar the people from the Zhenguo Mansion standing at the city gate to greet them.

The two young masters had similar eyebrows and handsome faces, and they were only two or three months older than Su Jingning. Su Jingxuan wore dark blue armor, had thick eyebrows and big eyes, and two dimples on both sides of his cheeks that looked like the second wife of the Su family. He smiled very cutely, but because of this, he didn't like to smile much in the army, thinking it would damage his dignity.

Su Jingze also wore dark blue armor, had handsome features, thick eyebrows, and a slightly more robust figure than Su Jingxuan. Due to having been on the battlefield in the northern border for many years, his originally fair skin had turned into a healthy wheat color.

Madam Su Er and Madam Su San looked at the two young men who had become much calmer, their eyes welled up with tears, and they wished they could take them home immediately.

But it was impossible. Their father and brothers had already entered the palace, so they had to go to the military camp first to settle the soldiers who were returning to the court. The two brothers looked back at their family members under the city wall, then rode their horses and led the army to the military camp.

The Imperial Palace, above the Golden Palace.

The Emperor of the Great Zhou was dressed in a bright yellow dragon robe and sat upright on the dragon throne with a majestic look on his face.

"Call the generals from the northern border to the court!" Eunuch Sheng stood beside the dragon throne and summoned the soldiers from the northern border who had just entered the palace.

The Duke of Zhenguo, wearing a purple robe with lion patterns, stood at the head of the military officers. The head of the civil officials was the prime minister Liu Wei, who was already in his 50s with gray hair on his temples.

Su Ming led the generals of the Northern Frontier to the palace, presenting Xiliang's letter of peace and battle report.

"Su Ming, commander of the Western Territory, led the generals of the Northern Territory to meet His Majesty and present the peace letter from Xiliang. Long live our emperor!"

"Everyone, please stand up!" Emperor Zhou looked delighted. He asked Eunuch Sheng to take the peace letter and battle report from Su Ming's hand, and asked the soldiers to stand up.

He carefully read the battle report handed over by Su Ming. The defeat of Xiliang this time was due to the contributions of the generals of the Su family. The Su family was indeed the pillar of the Great Zhou Dynasty praised by the emperor, and was a family of natural generals. They seemed to be born to be generals. This time, they defeated Xiliang and severely defeated Xiliang, and even recaptured the five border cities occupied by Xiliang in the Great Zhou Dynasty. The casualties of the soldiers of the Great Zhou Dynasty were far less than those of the Western Liang Dynasty.

Xiliang therefore submitted a letter of peace, hoping that the two countries would temporarily cease fire and negotiate peace, and would send envoys to visit Dazhou after the New Year to discuss the ceasefire and friendly relations between the two countries.

"Good, great! The great victory in the northern border is due to the contributions of all the generals. God bless the Great Zhou, allowing us to have so many brave soldiers."

"Reward! All the soldiers will be rewarded according to their merits!"

The Emperor of Zhou was delighted. He closed the letter and rewarded the victorious soldiers with a wave of his hand. After that, he looked at Su Ming, who was standing in the first place, and said in a pleasant voice:

"The Su family is indeed full of talented generals. The generals of the Su family have made great contributions in this battle. Su Ming, tell me what rewards you want."

Su Mingfu bowed, "Thanks to your majesty's favor, the Su family has the opportunity to serve the country and protect the country and the people. The Su family has three generals, which is the grace of your majesty and the highest honor. The Su family dare not be greedy."

"Every soldier has played an indispensable role in this great victory and the recapture of the five cities in the western border. I dare to ask your majesty to reward every soldier who returns safely to the capital and sheds blood on the battlefield."

Su Ming lowered his head and replied in a deep voice.

"Good! You are not greedy for great achievements. This is my Confucian general. I will listen to you and reward every soldier who returns to the capital safely."

"But the Su family also needs to be rewarded. Well, Xiliang was defeated this time, and the national strength was severely damaged. It no longer has the energy to provoke a war with the western border. Now it is almost the end of the year, and you have been guarding the border all year round. This time you should just spend the New Year with your family in peace." Emperor Zhou said in a deep voice with a look of relief in his eyes.

"On behalf of the soldiers, I thank Your Majesty!"

"Your Majesty, I have one more thing I would like to ask for your grace." After Su Ming leaned over to thank Emperor Zhou, he lifted his armor and knelt on one knee.

"What is it? Just tell me."

Su Ming took out the token commanding the Western Border Army from his arms and raised it above his head.