Chapter 341

Emperor Wanli reclined on the Luohan couch, holding a book in his hand. The candle on the table had burned to the end, and the melted candle liquid caused the wick to tilt. Finally, it was extinguished by the candle liquid, and a wisp of smoke rose in spirals, dissipating in the spacious hall in just a moment.

Wan Li's hand slowly drooped down, and the flipped book gently slipped from his fingers.

"Your Majesty! Your Majesty! "

"Hmm?"

Emperor Wanli was awakened by a soft call. He opened his sleepy eyes and saw his personal eunuch, San Dezi, standing in front of him with his waist slightly bent. Behind him were two palace maids, one holding a golden basin, and the other holding a towel, honey locust, and other things.

San Dezi said in a soft voice, "Your Majesty, you should prepare to go to court."

"Oh!"

Wanli answered out of habit and sat up. Just as he moved to the side of the couch, he suddenly remembered something. He looked left and right in surprise, and because he hadn't fully recovered, he looked a little dazed. "I … slept here last night?"

San Dezi smiled apologetically. "Yes! This servant wanted Your Majesty to go back to the palace to sleep, but Your Majesty didn't agree. "

Emperor Wanli was completely awake now. He frowned and asked, "Where's Little Bai?"

San Dezi said with slight jealousy, "Little Bai … wasn't he sent to the palace by Your Majesty?"

Emperor Wanli stared at San Dezi. "He still hasn't come back?"

San Dezi bowed. "Not yet!"

Emperor Wanli was startled for a long time. San Dezi reminded him, "Your Majesty, the officials have already arrived at the Meridian Gate. You can't delay any longer."

"Oh! Oh, oh! "

Emperor Wanli came to his senses and said in annoyance, "Change your clothes and wash your face!"

"Yes!"

San Dezi quickly moved to the side and gently waved his hand. Two rows of palace maids came forward. It turned out that there were more than two people standing behind him. It was just that those palace maids were about the same height and were standing neatly, so at first he thought there were only two people.

…

Xu Boyi protected Xia Yingying's carriage and hurried to the Meridian Gate. He saw many officials standing there in twos and threes, bathing in the morning light and chatting. Xu Boyi was shocked and looked to the east, only to see a red sun about to burst out.

Xu Boyi cried bitterly in his heart. He didn't expect that after this round of torment, the sky would already be bright. He had a guilty conscience and did not dare to drive the carriage to the Meridian Gate. If the officials knew about this, they would not dare to do anything to the Emperor, but they would definitely force the Emperor to kill this treacherous official.

Xu Boyi immediately shouted, "Miss Xia, the court is about to begin. Let's leave from the back door!"

Xia Yingying was burning with anxiety. How could she listen to him? The Imperial Palace was so big. How long would it take to go around to the back door of the palace garden? Because Xia Yingying was in a hurry, she didn't close the curtain of the sedan. When she heard this, she widened her almond-shaped eyes and said, "I was also summoned by His Majesty's decree. They can enter, why can't I?"

Xia Yingying said to the driver, "Hurry up, enter through the Meridian Gate!" The coachman was a member of the Xia Family, so he naturally only listened to Xia Yingying. With a "pa" sound, the coachman cracked his whip and sped up.

It was not that one could not drive a carriage in front of the Meridian Gate. There were some elderly officials who lived far away from the Imperial Palace, so it was inconvenient for them to sit in a sedan chair. They could drive all the way to the Meridian Gate before coming down. But even a first-pin official in the imperial court would not be able to gallop without slowing down at the Meridian Gate.

There were guards standing guard in front of the Meridian Gate, and there were also soldiers patrolling the large square outside the Meridian Gate. Seeing that the carriage was traveling at a breakneck speed, even though there were soldiers of the Jin Wu Guards by the side and there was also a eunuch riding a horse behind the carriage, who could possibly be a prince, they still hurried forward to stop it.

The four soldiers pointed their spears at the carriage and shouted, "Horses are not allowed in front of the Meridian Gate, please stop …"

The Xia family's coachman only knew of the Xia family and did not know of the Imperial Court. The four horses that had rushed over from Guizhou were also used to running amok. When they saw someone blocking their way, they let out a long neigh and raised their front hooves.

The four divine horses of the Xia family had always been reckless and wild. They did not care about the Emperor. The four soldiers were shocked. If the Emperor was disrespectful, the Imperial Censor would censure them. But if they killed the horses, they would not be able to bear offending a prince. The four soldiers turned pale with fright. If the other party really behaved inappropriately, the Imperial Censor would record it down and censure him, but if he really stabbed the other party's horses to death, looking at how spirited these horses were, the owner would definitely cherish them. Offending a prince was not something a few soldiers like them could bear.

The four soldiers hurriedly dragged their spears and ran. They dodged to the left and right, and the carriage rumbled past them. Xu Boyi saw this from the side and broke out in cold sweat. He hurriedly shouted, "Stop! Stop! "

All the ministers who were waiting at the palace gates noticed the commotion and immediately looked in their direction.

The Imperial Censor Li Boxian was overjoyed. He had not censured anyone this month and could not find anything to censure. As the Imperial Censor responsible for finding fault, he felt that he had failed in his duty.

He did not expect to find fault with him during the court session. He had to censure him! Look at her, she must be a high-ranking official! Aiyo, it's a woman! There's even a eunuch beside her. Could she be a princess? Thinking of this, Imperial Censor Li trembled with excitement, "The chance to make a name for myself is finally here!"

If he were to submit a memorial to the Emperor and accuse the Princess of being disrespectful, it would be a glorious achievement! If he were to fail, he would be beaten and sent to another place. Then he would be rich! Not only would he be famous, but he would also be rewarded for his entire life. In less than two years, he would have a meteoric rise. In the future, with his experience of being caned and touching the Emperor, he might even be able to rise to the position of Imperial Censor of the Left. That was the highest aspiration of an Imperial Censor!

Li Boxian lifted his robe and shouted, "How dare you ride a horse in front of the palace! Stop! "He shot forward and blocked the path of the galloping horses. He puffed out his chest and raised his head, his eyes blazing with anger.

The officials at the side were shocked. Imperial Censor Li was standing too close to the front. Even if the coachman tried to rein in the horse, it would be too late. The coachman would definitely crash into him. Someone immediately shouted, "Get out of the way! The carriage can't stop!"

Xia Yingying was shocked when she saw this from the car. She hurriedly ordered, "Stop!" The coachman had reined in the horses before she had given the command, but the four horses were galloping on, and could not now be stopped.

Li Boxian was not stupid. He knew that he would be hit by the horses and might even be kicked by the thick hooves. But this was the effect he wanted. If he did not get injured or bleed, how could he call himself an upright official?

The Imperial Censor of the Great Ming Dynasty, under a special cultural atmosphere, had a strange tendency towards self-abuse. Other officials were afraid of getting into trouble and protecting themselves was the way of the king. However, the Imperial Censor of the Great Ming Dynasty was afraid of not getting into trouble. As an Imperial Censor, he was not afraid of getting into trouble.

In the blink of an eye, the steed was about to collide with Li Boxian. Censor Li smiled and closed his eyes, waiting for the moment to soar into the clouds. Puffing out his chest, he shouted, "Fly! Fly! I want to fly higher … "

Censor Li really flew up. His long whip was like a black dragon coming out of the water. Just as the horse's head was about to collide with his body, the whip wrapped tightly around his waist. With a forceful tug, his thin body was sent flying into the air.

The carriage galloped forward for another twenty feet before it was firmly pulled back by the coachman. Imperial Censor Li was lifted into the air. He flew half a circle in the air and accurately smashed into a few palace warriors who were closing in on him. The few warriors were agile and quickly threw away their weapons to catch him. The four of them reached out in unison and allowed Imperial Censor Li to safely land on the ground.

Xia Yingying heaved a sigh of relief and lightly patted her chest. She said, "Scared me to death. Scared me to death. This official must be crazy. He actually took the initiative to lean forward."

As she said this, Xia Yingying bent down and got out of the carriage. The carriage could not go any further. She had to get out of the carriage to enter the palace. She also had to thank the hero who saved her. Otherwise, if someone really died, no matter how naive she was, she would know that it would be a big problem.

Xia Yingying did not wait for her subordinates to put down the pedal and jumped down from the carriage. At this moment, she saw clearly that the person holding the long black whip was actually a woman. She wore a large blue robe embroidered with gold. The robe was collarless and sleeveless, with no lapels at the front and a longer waistcoat at the back. The lapels were embroidered with bright flowers and decorated with colorful sequins, shining with luster.

She had a pair of braids and wore a hair cover. There were tassels in front and tassels on the side. Her hair was decorated with gold and silver ornaments. She was very beautiful and tall. Yingying estimated that she was about the same height as her Brother Xiaotian. However, she looked more muscular than Ye Xiaotian. However, even though she looked muscular, this woman did not look fat at all.

Her face was round like a full moon. Her lips were voluptuous and sexy. Her forehead was wide and fair. She was completely different from the definition of a beautiful woman in the Central Plains. However, no matter how you looked at her, she did not look ugly. She was a beauty in a completely different sense. Her full and towering chest made even Xia Yingying, whose chest was not flat, willingly admit defeat. It was really … too majestic.

"Hahaha …" The tall and beautiful woman laughed heartily. "Who said that women in the Central Plains are soft and weak? Compared to us Mongolian women, this lady is much more forthright."

Xia Yingying was very curious about the appearance of such a woman in front of the palace gate. However, she did not have the time to chat at this moment. She only thanked the woman and said, "Thank you sister for your help. May I know sister's name?"

The Mongolian woman was slightly stunned and said, "Sister? Sister? Haha, good! Good! Sister's name is not easy to remember. You heard people say that it is Third Lady. That must be sister. "

Xia Yingying was from the southwest border. If she did not say it herself, she would not have known that she was dressed like a Mongolian. Of course, she had never heard of the famous Third Lady. Xia Yingying only smiled and said, "Third Lady, this name is easy to remember. This little sister will remember it. This little sister still has urgent matters to attend to. I will thank sister later!"

Finished speaking, Xia Yingying lifted the hem of her skirt and ran in the direction of the palace gate. As she ran, she shouted, "I have urgent matters to attend to, I have urgent matters to attend to. Uncles, please make way!"

"Oh! This girl is beautiful … "

Yingying's beauty caused the eyes of the officials in front of the palace to brighten. Hearing her call them uncles, they found it funny and couldn't help but have the self-awareness of an elder.

These civil officials were originally the most difficult group to deal with. However, in front of a beauty like Yingying, they became reasonable. The ministers and assistant ministers all made way for her, allowing her to smoothly reach the Meridian Gate.

Inside the palace, Emperor Wanli had finished washing up and dressing up. He got on a carriage and was carried out of the Gate of Heavenly Purity. He was rushing towards the Hall of Supreme Harmony with a sullen face, as if all the civil and military officials owed him money.