Wandering the Heavens

"Yu Qian, where is my son?"

Just as Jin Ying finished speaking, Empress Dowager Sun rushed into the hall with an anxious voice.

"My son pays respect to the Queen Mother."

"Your servant Yu Qian pays respects to the Empress Dowager, the Empress, and the Imperial Concubine."

"Where is my son?" Empress Dowager Sun stared at Yu Qian.

"Empress Dowager, I have not found any trace of the retired emperor in Tucheng." Yu Qian reported truthfully.

With just these words, the former empress and imperial concubine Zhou, who came with Empress Dowager Sun, burst into tears. I know that you two are concerned about the retired emperor, but can't you restrain yourself in such an occasion? You really treat yourself as an outsider.

"What's going on over there?" Empress Dowager Sun was upset by her daughter-in-law's crying.

"Your Majesty, Queen Mother. The earthen city seems to have been bombed by artillery fire. I found some traces on the mountain a few miles away. Before that, a mysterious army also joined the defense of Beijing. I don't know where they came from."

No one present knew anything. Except for Yu Qian who guessed that it was Yu Xian who did it, no one else thought that this ridiculous Earl of Xuanwu could do anything good, otherwise Zhu Qizhen would have taken almost all the nobles with him in his personal expedition but not him.

When Empress Dowager Sun heard that Yu Qian was at a loss, she was also dumbfounded.

"Your Majesty, the Duke of Xuanwu requests to see you."

When the atmosphere was awkward, a young eunuch came in and reported that Yu Xian wanted to see him.

"Announce!" Zhu Qiyu ordered quickly.

In fact, Zhu Qiyu had a good impression of Yu Xian, because the Empress Dowager would always give herself some of the things he gave to her.

"Your servant Yuxian pays respect to His Majesty, the Empress Dowager, the Empress, and the Imperial Concubine."

"Little snotty eunuch!" Yu Qian forgot that there were the emperor and several concubines in the hall.

"Top scholar, I'm glad you still remember me! On the night when Emperor Taizong passed away, he ordered me to follow the Earl of Xuanwu to deal with today's situation. I didn't expect to see you here again." Little Nose was very moved by Yu Qian, with whom he had a few encounters.

When Emperor Taizong passed away, his personal eunuch disappeared. Who would have thought that he had left with Earl Xuanwu and has been hiding until today.

"Little snotty eunuch, why did Emperor Taizong order you to follow Earl Xuanwu?" Zhu Qiyu didn't understand why.

"Your Majesty, this matter should be told by the Earl of Xuanwu, and I am a witness." Little Nose stepped aside.

"Dear Xuanwu, what are you doing here?" Queen Mother Sun asked coldly.

It's no wonder that Empress Dowager Sun felt angry when she saw Yu Xian. After all, she was fine back then, but he framed her and made her lose her virginity to Zhu Zhanji. Then she was forced to stay in the deep palace for decades. In addition, he arrested and killed all of Jianwen's old party members in the assassination case. It would be a miracle if she had a good face towards Yu Xian.

"Your Majesty, Empress Dowager, I am here to serve the emperor in compliance with his will!"

After Yu Xian finished saying this, Little Sniff opened the small box he had been holding, and inside were two imperial edicts that had never been opened.

"Your Majesty, Queen Mother, this is the imperial edict written by Emperor Taizong himself and sealed with the imperial seal before his death in Yumuchuan. It has been kept by me all these years. Please examine it, Your Majesty and Minister Yu."

Zhu Qiyu and Yu Qian looked at each other, and finally Zhu Qiyu took the lead in picking up one of the letters, removed the label on it and opened it. This was the imperial edict about Yu Xian's appointment as the commander of Beidou Guard and the left commander of the Five Military Commandery, and by the way, the function of Beidou Guard was attached. Zhu Qiyu took a look and handed it to Yu Qian. Then he picked up another imperial edict and opened it as usual. It was about granting Yu Xian the title of the crown prince's junior tutor and being responsible for teaching the crown prince. Xiao Bis's name was also in it, and he would follow the crown prince in the future.

Yu Qian felt that the world was really absurd when he took the two imperial edicts handed to him by Zhu Qiyu. He also had to sigh at the courage of Emperor Taizong, who dared to explain the state affairs in this way 25 years ago. The words seemed to reveal the prediction of the dilemma that happened today. And Yu Xian and this personal eunuch who had followed him for many years actually carried out his will.

"Your Majesty, the two imperial edicts of Emperor Taizong are definitely in Emperor Taizong's handwriting. During the period from the first year of Hongxi to the first year of Xuande, when I was serving in the Censorate, I went to the Hanlin Academy many times to see the revision of Emperor Taizong's Veritable Records. There are records in the Veritable Records that Emperor Taizong summoned the Earl of Xuanwu before his death. At the same time, I have also seen many memorials that Emperor Taizong personally reviewed, and the handwriting matches."

Yu Qian and Yu Xian were friends, but it was better to handle matters of this nature impartially.

"Someone, go to the harem and bring the prince over." After getting Yu Qian's approval, Zhu Qiyu simply asked someone to bring the prince over.

Empress Dowager Sun did not expect that she was framed by Yu Xian more than 30 years ago, and now her grandson is in his hands again. She cannot have any opinion, and her anger is even worse.

"Lord Xuanwu, was it you who caused the defeat of the Wala army last night?" Empress Dowager Sun still couldn't swallow this anger.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, it was I who personally led the Beidou Guards to bombard the Wala camp under the cover of night." Yu Xian acted as if this was no big deal.

"Do you know that the emperor is in the Wala army!" Empress Dowager Sun said gritting her teeth as she looked at Yu Xian.

"I don't know!" Yu Xian's face was full of genuine panic.

I don't believe you! As soon as Empress Dowager Sun saw Yu Xian's appearance, she knew he was pretending, but she couldn't produce any evidence. As for Empress Qian and Concubine Zhou, they were so frightened by Emperor Taizong's edict that they hadn't recovered yet.

Not long after, a palace maid carried Zhu Jianshen into the hall. After all, she was once a close friend of Empress Dowager Sun, so she was not shy and put Zhu Jianshen on the ground and bowed to him one by one.

"Child, come here."

Zhu Jianshen looked up in a daze and saw an old man with a kind face looking at him. He couldn't help but feel a sense of closeness and walked towards him with a unsteady gait.

Little Nose picked up Zhu Jianshen. The child felt an invisible warmth on his body from the moment he was held, and he started to giggle.

No one expected that Zhu Jianshen was not shy at all. Even his mother, Concubine Zhou, was a little jealous. This heartless child had tortured her for ten months, but who would have thought that he would stick to an old eunuch when he met him for the first time.

"Your Majesty, Emperor Taizong's will has given me full responsibility for educating the prince. I am entering the palace today to, first, show you the imperial edict, and second, take the prince to the Duke of Xuanwu's mansion for instruction. Please grant your permission, Your Majesty." Yu Xian said this in a very humble tone, but the content was aggressive.

"Lord Xuanwu, I naturally agree with Emperor Taizong's decree, but it's hard to explain to the civil and military officials in the court!"

There was nothing wrong with what Zhu Qiyu said. The officials of the Eastern Palace and the courtiers had long been eyeing the prince and would not easily let him be controlled by Yu Xian alone. At the very least, it had to be everyone's work together.

"Don't worry, Your Majesty. I will deal with the court officials!" Yu Xian wanted to do something bad again.

Seeing this, Yu Qian quickly came out to express his opinion: "Don't worry, Lord Xuanwu, Yu Qian agrees to bring the prince to Lord Xuanwu for instruction."

"This is my grandson. How can I let a count like you take him away!" Queen Mother Sun couldn't bear it.

"Empress Dowager, the current times are turbulent. I have no choice but to resort to this last resort. I must temporarily take the Crown Prince to the residence of the Earl of Xuanwu for protection. Please let him go!" Yu Xian really didn't want to deal with this Empress Dowager Sun, but with her status, she simply couldn't get away with it.

"You mean that the Xuanwu Marquis' Mansion is safer than the Imperial Palace?" Empress Dowager Sun got furious on the spot.

"I don't know. I'm just worried that something like what happened on August 23 will happen again. Besides, the last time I obeyed Empress Xiaozhao's order to purge the inner court was more than ten years ago. It's hard to say what kind of people are inside now."

As soon as these words came out, everyone present was upset. The Zuo Shunmen Incident was a shadow that no one could get over. Not to mention a child like Zhu Jianshen, even adults like Yu Qian and Zhu Qiyu could not bear it. If Yu Qian had not woken up in time, the situation would have been out of control. No one could predict how it would develop later. Anyway, it is always right to think of the worst.

If it were to happen again...

"Marquis Xuanwu, I will entrust the crown prince to you!" Zhu Qiyu didn't want to continue the fuss and quickly expressed his position.

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

The situation is stronger than the person. Many years later, Empress Dowager Sun found again the feeling of oppression she felt at Tingyuxuan on the banks of the Qinhuai River here with Yu Xian. She secretly hated why this man hadn't died yet!