Seeing Qin Feng looking so sad, Shi Muyuan suddenly regretted what she had just said.
"If you really want to serve in the court, I'll show you a way. The entire Great Liang is the emperor's territory, and the common people are also the emperor's subjects. As long as the emperor gives his consent, no one in the world will oppose you."
Finally, these words moved Qin Feng. Since he had already decided to stay, he was ready to accept all kinds of tests.
"Then you guys go back and see the emperor later. I'm ready for any test."
Just like this, the group returned to Changjing City.
Naturally, the people in Changjing City noticed the extra people. They started whispering among themselves.
"Hey, I remember the empress dowager didn't take this person when she left. He's a new face. I wonder where he came from. Could he be a refugee the empress dowager brought back from Jiangnan City?"
"I don't think so. Haven't you heard the news? The people in Jiangnan City have already been resettled. Where would the refugees come from?"
"You're right. But how did this person manage to get into the entourage?"
Shi Muyuan sighed and simply lowered the curtain to block out the outside noise.
Xiao Xiao glared directly at someone. If the things this person was going to do next were known by these common people, I'm afraid the empress dowager and the emperor would be even more criticized.
Thinking of this, she wished she could kick this person out immediately.
Of course, Qin Feng didn't miss the dagger - like look from his beloved, but he didn't take it to heart at all.
One day, Xiao Xiao would surely look at him with new respect.
Soon, Ji Heng received the news and rushed to the palace gate. When he saw that figure approaching from afar, his eyes instantly welled up with tears. At this moment, he didn't care about his status. He just wanted to be a child.
"Mother!"
The little fellow threw himself directly into her arms, which made Shi Muyuan a bit stunned, but she quickly reacted.
"Your Majesty, there are outsiders here."
Ji Heng refused to raise his head no matter what, and his voice was a bit choked when he spoke.
"I almost... almost thought you guys wouldn't come back."
This was actually what everyone was thinking. When the news from Jiangnan City came, anyone would probably think so.
Shi Muyuan smiled helplessly and gently coaxed the little fellow in her arms.
"Your Majesty, it's okay. I've come back safely. By the way, this time, I want to introduce a new person to you. Let's go inside and talk."
Hearing this, the little emperor looked up blankly. Soon, he saw a magnanimous figure behind her.
When he saw the face clearly, he was stunned and didn't react for a long time.
Before he ascended the throne, the national master had already brought him portraits of important figures from various countries. Qin Feng was naturally one of them. But he didn't expect that after the two countries had been at war for so long, he would see this man on his own territory one day.
After he came to his senses, he almost instinctively wanted to order someone to arrest Qin Feng, but his hand was grabbed.
"Mother, do you know that he's a general from the enemy country? For him to suddenly appear in our Changjing City like this, we don't know what other motives he has. Guards..."
Before he could finish his words, Shi Muyuan had already pulled the little emperor to the side, and the two whispered to each other.
"Your Majesty, don't be in a hurry. I brought him here today just to give him a chance. Now he sincerely wants to join our Great Liang court. I hope Your Majesty can take him in."
As soon as these words were out, several officials not far away all heard them. The leading Minister of War reacted strongly.
He deliberately raised his voice so that everyone at the palace gate could hear.
"Empress dowager! He's a general from the enemy! How could you bring him back? And you still want to let him serve in the court!"
Shi An shot him a cold look. The Minister of War felt the danger and shrank his neck, turning his head to the side.
However, even so, all the other officials still heard it, and even some of the common people who had followed to the city gate heard it.
These people were stunned and almost thought they had misheard. After a while, one of them was the first to react and asked in surprise.
"Empress dowager! Are you really going to let this man who once killed our relatives serve in the court?"
"Yes, we absolutely won't agree. Back then, he led so many people over the corpses of our relatives. It took us so long to heal those wounds. Now he wants to be a courtier of Great Liang openly. Why?"
Although he had already been mentally prepared, Qin Feng still felt a bit annoyed when facing the anger of these common people.
He had originally planned to announce it after the little emperor's consent, but now all his plans were disrupted. He suddenly didn't know how to proceed.
Finally, it was Cui Qizhou who stepped forward to take charge.
"Everyone, please calm down. His Majesty and the empress dowager will surely give us a fair deal. Please go back and wait for the news."
After he finished speaking, his sharp eyes fell on the Minister of War: "Before that, there's another matter. How about we settle it here?"
The Minister of War's heart skipped a beat. He suddenly had a feeling that the matter the national master was going to settle here might be related to him. Could it be that the people he had sent to assassinate had failed and had confessed him?
Thinking of this possibility, he couldn't sit still anymore.
"National master, didn't you just say that we should discuss it another day? The empress dowager has been tired from the journey today. Let's talk about other things next time."
"No need. I'm in good health. I'm not that fragile. Thank you for your concern, Minister."
It was obvious that he was being forced into a corner. Now, no matter how much the Minister of War wanted to say, he had to hold it all back.
After Cui Qizhou waited until almost everyone around had gathered, he slowly took out a stack of envelopes from his body.
"Minister of the Supreme Court, read out the contents here in front of everyone."
The Minister of the Supreme Court stepped forward blankly and opened it. After he saw the contents clearly, there was surprise in his eyes, but he still read it out word by word according to the national master's order.
As the Minister of War listened to those words, his face became increasingly ugly.
The moment the Minister of the Supreme Court finished reading, he immediately knelt down and shouted grievances.
"Your Majesty, Empress dowager, this is absolutely a slander. I've never done such a thing. Besides, I'm a person in Changjing City. How could I know the whereabouts of the empress dowager? It must be someone with ulterior motives trying to slander me."
The Minister of the Supreme Court's eyes darkened slightly, and he noticed something special in the lower - right corner of the envelope.
"Your Majesty, there seems to be the private seal of the Minister of War on this."
Those who had originally wanted to speak up for the Minister of War suddenly stopped in their tracks.