Ping Zhao Lu

Faced with Wei Xian's bad behavior of not only not repenting but even making excuses to justify himself, Chu Heyuan frowned, closed his lips and said nothing.

Shi'an, who had been standing silently behind Chu Heyuan, could no longer suppress his inner anger and dissatisfaction. He clenched his fists tightly and stared at the arrogant Wei Xian in front of him, as if he was about to rush over and devour him alive, skinning him alive and pulling out his tendons.

"Heh, General Wei has been stationed at the border for many years. I believe that the flying sand and dust have blinded your eyes. You can't even see the Crown Prince wearing a dragon robe." Shi'an's voice revealed undisguised displeasure and sarcasm.

A lowly general who had yet to receive his reward dared to be so rude and arrogant to the crown prince. Did he truly believe his head was as solid as a rock, unbreakable? Or did he naively believe that our young crown prince was weak and could be bullied?

Hearing this merciless rebuke, Wei Xian paused in his gesture of clasping his fists and saluting. He then slowly raised his head and glared at Shi'an with an icy gaze. But Shi'an was not intimidated by his gaze at all, and continued to hold his head high and glare at him.

After a brief stalemate, Wei Xian suddenly spoke up, "Your Excellency, your words are a bit too harsh. I mean absolutely no disrespect. Please don't treat us, the rough warriors who only know how to wield swords and guns, with the same attitude as us."

After saying this, he knelt down in front of Chu Heyuan without hesitation, but his proud head refused to lower even a little bit. He just lowered his eyes and continued to salute, "We really have no intention of offending His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. I hope Your Highness will understand!"

There was a moment of silence.

Minister Lu and his officials couldn't help but worry for Wei Xian.

After a long while, Chu Heyuan approached with a leisurely, calm stride. He stretched out his fair, tender hands and steadily helped Wei Xian to his feet. With a bright smile, he said, "General Wei, please stand up! How could I blame you? It's you, the general, who's been traveling so hard and exhausted! You've truly suffered immensely!"

Hearing this, Wei Xian was stunned and secretly surprised.

He originally thought that the young prince would be furious because of his actions, and might even punish him severely in front of everyone.

After all, according to his original idea, if such a situation really happened, it would soon spread throughout the capital, and people would talk about how the prince was arrogant and domineering, and even openly punished the meritorious ministers of the Wei Dynasty... By then, they would unite with those ministers in the court who were dissatisfied with the prince to write a letter of impeachment, which would surely force the little prince to behave himself from then on and not dare to compete with his aunt for superiority.

However, at this moment, the prince's actions were completely beyond Wei Xian's expectations...

After Wei Xian stood up, his face still etched with confusion and bewilderment, he cautiously and stealthily examined the young prince before him. Observing him so closely, Wei Xian couldn't help but secretly blame himself for overthinking.

Looking at the child in front of me, he is just an innocent and childish child. How many complicated schemes and calculations can he have?

Just as Wei Xian was lost in thought, he was suddenly interrupted by a clear, melodious, and slightly childish voice. It was Chu Heyuan who said, "General Wei, please accompany me to the palace to pay my respects to my father."

Wei Xian immediately came back to his senses, clasped his fists and nodded, "Yes."

*

Imperial Palace, Xuanzheng Hall.

Chu Heyuan and Wei Xian, who had taken off their armor and weapons, walked into the hall with steady steps.

When they were nearing the center of the hall, Chu Heyuan stopped first. He bowed slightly, saluted, then moved sideways to the first seat on the left and stood quietly.

At the same time, Wei Xian and the others who had followed Chu Heyuan in quickly knelt on the ground, their heads lowered, not even daring to raise them to gaze directly at the emperor's face. All that could be heard was a chorus of voices shouting, "Your Majesty, we pay our respects!" The voices echoed uniformly throughout the hall.

Chu Yunxiao, sitting on the dragon throne, had an indifferent expression, making it difficult to guess his true thoughts at the moment.

He narrowed his eyes slightly, his gaze slowly sweeping over the kneeling crowd below. After a long silence, he finally spoke slowly, "Please rise quickly, my lords. You have fought bravely for our Great Wei, shed your blood and sacrificed your lives on the battlefield, and only then have we achieved today's victory. Now that you have returned victorious, I am truly gratified. With loyal ministers and capable generals like you, our Great Wei will surely maintain its prosperity and enjoy eternal prosperity. I have made up my mind to appoint Wei Qing as the third-rank General of Huaihua, and grant him a mansion and a fief of 1,000 yuan. As for the others who have made contributions, they will all be promoted one level higher."

As soon as these words were spoken, Wei Xian and others who were kneeling on the ground immediately showed unconcealable joy on their faces. After thanking him again, they stood up one after another.

Especially Wei Xian, his face, which was originally quite heroic, was now flushed red with excitement and pride. The proud expression was almost uncontrollable, as if he had already seen his future glory, wealth and success.

Chu Yunxiao raised his lips, half-smiling, and said, "The palace has already arranged a welcoming banquet for you all. Please move to Baohe Hall to join the banquet."

"I will obey your orders!"

*

Fengluan Palace

Xu Zhouye was still immersed in a sweet dream and showed no intention of waking up.

Qing He stood by, her anxiety growing. The welcoming banquet was about to begin, but her master remained slumbering, showing no sign of stirring. She remained by the bed, torn between a dilemma and a dilemma. She wanted to wake her master, but then she remembered the emperor's instructions before leaving Fengluan Palace: not to wake her without permission.

Just when Qinghe was frowning and in a dilemma, he suddenly heard steady and powerful footsteps outside the palace, followed by the emperor's familiar and majestic voice: "All of you go down." The voice came closer and closer, becoming clearer and clearer.

Upon hearing the voice, Qinghe hurried forward and bowed respectfully. Just as he was about to report to the emperor that Xu Zhouye had not yet woken up, Chu Yunxiao interrupted him with a wave of his hand.

At this moment, Chu Yunxiao was still wearing a solemn court robe and a golden crown on his head. There was no trace of emotion on his handsome face, making it difficult to guess what he was thinking.

Chu Yunxiao waved at Qinghe again, signaling her to leave. Qinghe didn't dare to be negligent and hurriedly bowed again, then carefully bowed and took a few steps back before turning around and leaving.

After Qinghe left, Chu Yunxiao slowly walked towards the phoenix couch with the curtains hanging down.

Coming to the couch, Chu Yunxiao reached out and gently lifted the curtain, then sat down gently beside the couch. His eyes fell on the person who was still sleeping soundly on the bed, and a bit of tenderness in his eyes could not help but show.

Just like that, Chu Yunxiao stared at Xu Zhouye quietly. He didn't know how much time had passed before he leaned over slightly, put his face close to Xu Zhouye's ear, and called out softly in an extremely gentle voice, "Queen, it's time to get up."

However, the person on the couch seemed to have heard nothing at all, still keeping his eyes closed and showing no reaction.

"Queen?"

Chu Yunxiao raised his lips helplessly and raised his hand to lift the hair scattered around his ears. The strands of hair were as soft as silk and slid across his fingertips, as if carrying a hint of imperceptible warmth.

Still no reaction when seeing people.

He changed his address and continued to call softly, "Xu Jin."

As soon as he finished speaking, Xu Zhouye, who had been motionless, suddenly trembled, subconsciously pulled the quilt over his head, and then turned his back.

Seeing this scene, a cunning light flashed in Chu Yunxiao's eyes, and a smug smile appeared on his face.

Without hesitation, he reached out and tried to pull out the person who had huddled him tightly in the quilt. While pulling at the quilt, he teased, "It seems the Queen really likes me calling you that."

Hearing this, Xu Zhouye's body stiffened and he muttered to himself.

How can that be possible!

It was obvious that every time the two of them were enjoying the pleasure of bed, Chu Yunxiao would always call his name from time to time, and say those reckless words that made people blush and their heart beat faster.

Thinking of this, Xu Zhouye felt that his cheeks were so hot that they could almost fry an egg.

So he quickly raised one hand to cover his face, which was already red with shame.