Chapter 339

"Xiao Yu." A low voice suddenly sounded in the Great Hall. Xiao Yu, who had been staring blankly at the withered leaves outside the window for an entire afternoon, was dazed for a moment. The little palace maid standing behind her pointed in the direction of the Emperor, and Xiao Yu hurriedly replied: "This servant is here."

"Have the meal served in the Qingfeng Palace tonight." Yan Hongtian was still looking down at the memorials, and it was not hard to hear a faint pleasure in his deep tone.

Xiao Yu smiled knowingly and replied: "Yes."

What followed was another long silence, with only the rustling sound of the wind blowing leaves outside the house and the sound of memorials being turned from time to time. Xiao Yu looked at the sky and reminded him softly: "Your Majesty, it is almost the You hour."

"Mm." After finishing the memorials in his hand, Yan Hongtian stood up. It had been quite a few days since he had gone to see them. According to Qingfeng's temperament, even if she didn't say it, she was probably unhappy in her heart. Thinking that she might give him a cold face in a while, Yan Hongtian felt inexplicably good.

Cold winter had arrived, and it was about to be night; it was very cold outside. Xiao Yu picked up the outer robe and sent it to Yan Hongtian's side. Gao Jin walked in quickly: "Your Majesty, Official Dan requests an audience."

Yan Hongtian's sword-like brows furrowed slightly. His hand holding the outer robe paused for a while, then he sat down again and replied: "Summon him."

"Paying respects to Your Majesty, may our Emperor live for ten thousand years, ten thousand years, ten thousand times ten thousand years." Dan Yulan's expression was serious, and his brows were full of worry. He held a booklet in his hand. Yan Hongtian's gaze swept over the booklet in his hand, and while drinking hot tea, he asked coldly: "What matter do you have to report?"

"Regarding... the military grain case." After saying this, Dan Yulan did not say much more and handed the booklet in his hand to Gao Jin. Gao Jin held the booklet and presented it to Yan Hongtian.

"Commander Su has already counted the grain warehouses in the army, and the specific list is all in this booklet. The Southern merchants who conspired with Lin Bokang in the case belong to the Lin Family of the Southwest Territory. They have always been in the business of selling cloth and grain. Their grain is mostly sold to disaster-stricken areas or sold to small border countries, with at least several million taels of silver in income every year. They are considered quite powerful in the South." As Dan Yulan spoke, he carefully observed the Emperor's expression. As the booklet was flipped, Yan Hongtian did not have much expression on his face, but his black eyes staring at the booklet were dark and bottomless.

"Leave the booklet, you may withdraw first. After the morning court tomorrow, you and Su Ren come to the Imperial Study again."

"Yes." Dan Yulan's thoughts turned. He was surprised that the Emperor was not in a hurry to ask about this matter in detail at this moment? The booklet clearly recorded the quantity of grain shortages in each military grain warehouse and the quality of the grain varieties. After counting, many grain stocks were short, and even most of the rice and grain supplied to the newly enlisted soldiers were the lowest-grade old brown rice. Most of the soldiers were children from poor families, and they were already very satisfied to have military grain to eat, so they naturally would not care about the quality of the rice. If it weren't for this careful investigation, I'm afraid no one would ever notice.

When Su Ren gave him this booklet, even he, who had always had a good temper, was furious. The Emperor actually did not flare up. The Emperor had instructed him to dig deep into this military grain case, but he could not guess how deep he wanted him to dig for the time being.

Dan Yulan withdrew early, but Yan Hongtian sat at the desk for a long time without getting up again. Having served by the Emperor's side for many years, Xiao Yu and Gao Jin naturally knew that the Emperor's mood at this moment was definitely not as calm as he looked. Seeing the sky getting darker and darker, the two looked at each other, but no one dared to step forward to remind him.

Yan Hongtian sat like this for more than two hours. Xiao Yu, holding the soup that had been heated four or five times, bit the bullet, walked to the desk, and said cautiously: "Your Majesty, have some ginseng soup."

Yan Hongtian's black eyes lifted slightly, and his cold gaze was as sharp as a knife. Xiao Yu was so frightened that she trembled, and some soup spilled from the tray. The spoon slid from the edge of the bowl to the tray with a 'clatter', the clear sound echoing in the quiet Great Hall, and also pulling Yan Hongtian out of his own thoughts.

Seeing that Xiao Yu was already so frightened that she was kneeling on the ground, Yan Hongtian threw the booklet in his hand to the side in annoyance and said to Xiao Yu in a low voice: "Get up."

While saying this, he also picked up the ginseng soup on the tray and drank it. Xiao Yu looked up slightly and saw that Yan Hongtian's expression was normal, so she stood up and retreated to the side.

Drinking the warm ginseng soup, Yan Hongtian finally remembered that he had said he would go to Qingfeng Palace for dinner tonight. Looking up, it was already pitch black outside the hall, and Yan Hongtian's sword-like brows furrowed again.

Xiao Yu was very perceptive. Seeing the Emperor holding the soup bowl and frowning at the door, she naturally understood his thoughts and whispered: "Earlier, this servant already went to Qingfeng Palace to pass the message that Your Majesty would not be going over for dinner."

Yan Hongtian gave a low "Mm", drank the soup in the bowl, and was about to pick up the booklet again. The Emperor had been dealing with state affairs in the Imperial Study all day, and if he kept busy, he didn't know what time it would be. Xiao Yu thought for a while and said: "However... Prince Zhi seems to have caught a fever, and Imperial Physician Wang and Imperial Physician Lin were invited to treat him this afternoon."

Sure enough, before Xiao Yu's voice fell, Yan Hongtian immediately turned back and stared at her, asking: "How is he?"

"No major issues."

"What time is it now?"

"The third quarter of the Hai hour."

Yan Hongtian suddenly stood up. Xiao Yu seemed to have known that he would go out, and immediately picked up the outer robe placed on the side and put it on him. Yan Hongtian straightened his collar and strode out of the Imperial Study. Gao Jin followed behind Yan Hongtian, and when he went out, he gave Xiao Yu a thumbs up. Xiao Yu rolled her eyes at him, secretly letting out a sigh of relief in her heart.

It was night again. Ming Ze was used to being on duty at night, and he also liked being on duty at night; it was quiet. However, ever since he discovered the presence of men in black last time, he had been extra vigilant, and any slight movement could attract his attention. Just like now, on the quiet palace road, there seemed to be someone walking quickly in the darkness. Ming Ze gave a low shout: "Who?"

The person did not answer. Ming Ze's hand slowly gripped the long sword at his waist. The black shadow gradually approached, and it seemed to be two people. Ming Ze narrowed his eyes and looked. With the help of the still-bright moonlight, he finally saw clearly that the person who came was... the Emperor?

It was almost the third watch of the night. Why would the Emperor come at this time, and without letting anyone pass the message? Ming Ze was puzzled in his heart, but he did not talk much, only silently kneeling halfway on the ground to pay his respects.

Yan Hongtian was very satisfied with his vigilance, only slightly raised his hand, and without saying anything, he entered Qingfeng Palace.

The winter night was too cold, and it was late. The little eunuch on night duty sat by the stone steps, leaning against the railing to avoid the wind. Hearing footsteps in the courtyard, he looked up. At this look, he was so frightened that he hurriedly knelt on the ground: "Em-Emperor!" Thinking that he hadn't told the people in the room to receive the Emperor, the little eunuch hurriedly wanted to go and knock on the door, trembling.

"Withdraw." A cold, deep voice sounded from behind. The little eunuch retracted his hand and hurriedly retreated to the stone steps.

The one on night duty tonight was Fuling. She had been investigating all night last night and was busy all day today, so she was also very tired. She did not hear the small commotion outside the door until the knocking sounded, and Fuling was startled awake. Fuling was puzzled for a while, but still opened the door very quickly.

Opening the door, the person standing outside in a black robe was the current Emperor. Fuling could not help but be shocked: "Em-..." Yan Hongtian shook his head, and Fuling immediately fell silent.

There was only a small oil lamp lit in the flower hall inside the room, and the light was very dim. Fuling hurriedly lit the lamp, and when she looked back, Yan Hongtian had already entered the inner chamber.

Fuling took the oil lamp and walked to the side of the screen, and saw the Emperor standing by the edge of the bed, looking at the big and small figures on the bed. Fuling thought for a while, but in the end, she did not walk in, only placed the oil lamp on the low cabinet outside the screen, and then quietly retreated.

The bed was very wide and large, but the mother and son were leaning tightly against each other. Qingfeng was sleeping on the outside, lying on her side, one hand gently resting on the child's feet. The little guy was wrapped tightly, with only his face exposed, and his two small hands were curled up beside his face, his head also leaning in the direction of his mother in his sleep.

Yan Hongtian stared blankly at the two sleeping in each other's arms on the bed, and a warm current flowed slowly through his heart. Sitting on the edge of the bed, Yan Hongtian raised his hand and gently touched the little guy's forehead. It was a bit hot, but the temperature was not very high. It was just that he had walked all the way here, and his hands were too cold. At that touch, the little person on the bed trembled, and the two small hands curled in front of his chest moved unconsciously.

Looking at the small hands gently clenched into fists, Yan Hongtian could not help but think of the scroll with his small handprints and footprints still left in the Imperial Study. With a move of his heart, he lightly and carefully grabbed a small hand and placed it in his palm to compare. His small palm was not even as long as one of his fingers. Yan Hongtian's mouth corners lifted unconsciously, holding that small hand in his palm; it was warm and incredibly soft. Yan Hongtian was immersed in this warm and soft palpitation, but the little guy seemed to be a bit impatient and moved in his sleep. Yan Hongtian was afraid of waking him up, so he had to let go and help him tuck in the quilt. The little guy waved his small hands in the air twice more and finally became obedient. Yan Hongtian actually felt a sense of relief.

Yan Hongtian looked down at the woman sleeping peacefully beside him. He had been here for a while, but she was completely unaware and sleeping very deeply. Under the warm candlelight, her complexion was still not very good, and the dark circles under her eyes were very striking. Even though she was asleep, one could feel her exhaustion. Yan Hongtian gently brushed the hair covering her face behind her ear. She was sleeping on her side, and the two scars on her face were reflected straight into his eyes. On weekdays, whether she was angry or laughing, Yan Hongtian did not pay much attention to the two scars on her face. Now that she was sleeping quietly, those two scars looked particularly ferocious, ruining Qingfeng's face that should have been perfectly beautiful.

Staring at those eyesore scars, he could not help but sigh that this woman was really ruthless and never soft on herself, and would never beg for mercy even if she died. But when facing her sisters and her son, she had ten thousand kinds of tenderness. He was unwilling to admit it, but he had to admit that such a her made him a bit fascinated, and he wanted to grasp her tenderness in his hands.

Fuling thought that the Emperor would rest here tonight, but she did not expect that after less than half an hour, the Emperor came out. Fuling hurriedly greeted him.

(End of chapter)