Pang Xiao pushed open the carriage door and asked with a smile, "This eunuch should be the person who serves the Emperor, right?"
He had many opportunities to enter and leave the palace, but he only noticed the people around Li Qitian. He didn't know much about Qiu Min, but he found her familiar.
"Wang Ye, please remember. This servant is indeed you." Qiu Min bowed with a smile. Whether Pang Xiao knew him or not, as long as he knew that he was the Emperor's person, it was enough to show him respect.
Pang Xiao smiled and said, "Your Majesty sent Lord Ma?"
"Yes." Qiu Min smiled and walked closer, saying respectfully, "Your Majesty said that the weather is good, so the construction of the Imperial Mausoleum will continue. The matter of escorting the Tatan Khan will be handed over to Lord Ma. In this way, Wang Ye and Zhong Yibo can focus on the construction of the Imperial Mausoleum."
Pang Xiao was moved and cupped his hands in the direction of the capital, "This official thanks Your Majesty for your understanding."
The Empress in the other carriage also lifted the curtain, "Does Your Majesty have any orders for me?"
Qiu Min quickly turned and bowed to the Empress, "Greetings, Your Majesty. Your Majesty ordered this servant to serve Your Majesty and ask Your Majesty to follow Lord Ma and the Tatan Khan back to the capital. "
When the Empress heard this, she only smiled faintly and nodded, but her heart felt like it was being pricked by needles.
Your Majesty gave the order, so she had to go back. But she was reluctant to leave this place, reluctant to give up her freedom, and even more reluctant to leave Pang Xiao. No matter how well she hid her thoughts, it was good to be able to spend more time with Pang Xiao.
But now, what else could she do except thank him?
"I know. I will definitely act according to Your Majesty's orders. "The Empress put down the curtain after saying this.
Forget it, forget it. There were some things that she could never do, and some people that she could never get. Since there was no hope, why should she make things difficult for herself?
Pang Xiao then ordered his men to welcome Qiu Min into the team, and the group of people rushed back to Huichuan County.
Seeing Pang Xiao escorting the Empress back, naturally Lu Heng wanted to bring his family and friends to welcome them. That very day they arranged a banquet at the other courtyard. The Empress said, "Whatever Your Majesty instructs, you must do your best to accomplish. This consort will be returning to the capital tomorrow. What do Prince Zhongshun and Zhong Yibo think? "
Pang Xiao and Lu Heng both shook their heads and smiled, indicating that they would obey the Empress' orders.
Assistant Minister Ma smiled and said, "The Empress Dowager is about to arrive. Your Majesty's intention is to have Her Highness take charge of the harem. It would be best for you to return as soon as possible."
The Empress nodded her head in agreement.
After the banquet, Assistant Minister Ma personally went to the courier station to inform Tatan and the others that they would set off the next day.
That night, everyone was busy, and no one could sleep well.
The next morning, Qin Yining got up early and dressed up. After hastily eating breakfast with Pang Xiao, he hurriedly went to the city gate to see off the Empress and Si Qin's entourage.
Tatan's tribute procession was lined up outside the city. Si Qin and Ke Dun had already boarded the carriage.
The Empress also boarded the carriage and sat in it with a dignified expression. Concubine Zhuang boarded the carriage behind.
Qin Yining and Bian Ruohan went up to the left and right of the Empress and bowed respectfully.
"This subject respectfully sends Her Highness off."
The Empress then looked down at Qin Yining and Bian Ruohan, who were standing outside the carriage.
She saw that Qin Yining's expression was calm and composed, while Bian Ruohan's expression was one of patience. It was as if someone owed her something.
The Empress thought for a moment and knew that Bian Ruohan was still holding a grudge over what had happened in the past.
At the time, she had been able to confidently keep Qin Yining by her side and criticize Lu Heng's actions as a bystander.
But now, after the trip to the Thousand Buddha Temple, she had other thoughts, and her attitude naturally changed. She understood what was right and what was wrong, but she also understood how difficult it was to control emotions. She still had to abide by her own status and rules, but she understood the matter between Lu Heng and Qin Yining.
Perhaps Lu Heng had feelings for Qin Yining, while Qin Yining was only sincere towards Pang Xiao.
Or perhaps Qin Yining and Lu Heng had already communicated. But all of this was a private matter between them that they were willing to do. She was just an outsider, so what reason did she have to interfere? Even if she was the Empress, she couldn't meddle in her own affairs. Who could resolve family matters clearly?
The Empress pretended not to see Bian Ruohan's resentful and angry face. She turned and told Zhuang Pin, "Perhaps Zhong Yibo furen doesn't want to part with you, her older sister. How about ben gong let the procession wait for a moment to give you and Zhong Yibo furen time to say goodbye?"
Ever since Zhuang Pin understood that she had angered the Empress last time, she had been careful in her actions and didn't dare to make any mistakes. Now that the Empress had instructed her like this, she couldn't be as righteous as she had been in the past. She hurriedly said respectfully: "Pinqie is grateful for Empress' kindness. But if the auspicious time to return to Jing is delayed because of the matter between pinqie and tangmei, pinqie will not be at ease. Everything will be done according to niangniang's orders. "
Zhuang Pin saying this was distancing herself from Bian Ruohan.
Bian Ruohan originally had a glimmer of hope. The Empress had given the right to speak to Zhuang Pin, and Zhuang Pin would be able to stand up in front of everyone and accuse Qin Yining of being fickle.
But now, Zhuang Pin didn't think of her at all. She had a cold smile on her face as she told her, "Know your place."
She was immediately dumbfounded by the shock.
Know her place? Did that mean she had to completely endure this matter?
She couldn't rely on the clan to pressure her and ask for Qin Yining to be severely punished?
Was she only able to endure when she was bullied?
The wind messed up everyone's hair. Bian Ruohan's expression was dazed and shocked. Her hair was blown even more messy.
Sun mama and Official Ma talked for a while. The Empress' procession had already started to move. Behind them was the long line of Tatan soldiers. Official Ma sat on the horse and talked to the Empress.
Seeing that the Empress' procession had smoothly set off, Lu Heng pulled Bian Ruohan to the back and didn't let her speak nonsense.
Although Huichuan County was a large county with developed businesses, there weren't many local citizens. But at this time, there weren't many citizens gathered around. They already knew that the rain in Huichuan County had stopped because the current Empress had specially eaten vegetarian meat and chanted Buddhist scriptures to pray for them.
The citizens admired such a benevolent mother of the country. At this time, they all knelt down and loudly said, "Long live niangniang, long live niangniang, your body is healthy."
When the Empress heard the cheers, she lifted the curtain and looked back. At the city gate, many citizens were kneeling and shouting, "Long live the Empress!"
Even a person with a heart of stone would be moved by such a scene, let alone a woman with a soft heart like the Empress.
She was the Empress. Her words and actions represented the imperial family and her upbringing.
At this moment, under the cheers of the citizens, the Empress was even more determined. She was reluctant to leave this place because she couldn't bear to spend time with Pang Xiao. But they definitely wouldn't have a good ending. She should be more rational now. Some things could be hidden in her heart, and it would be good for the rest of her life. There was no need to rush this moment.
The Empress and Si Qin's group were escorted out of Huichuan County by Assistant Minister Ma.
It wasn't until the figure had disappeared that the commoners returned to their homes, discussing among themselves.
Pang Xiao pulled Qin Yining's hand back to the carriage and instructed the people to set off for the residence.
Lu Heng was too lazy to pretend to get along well with Pang Xiao and his colleagues. He also instructed the servants in the residence, "Help the Mistress onto the carriage and send her back to the residence. Serve her well."
Bian Ruohan's confinement hadn't been lifted yet. It was already the result of her hard work to be able to leave this time. She wanted to put her hands on her hips and make a scene in front of the Empress, but it was obvious that she had lost this opportunity.
Bian Ruohan was on the verge of death. She was too lazy to argue with Lu Heng and quietly returned home.
In the Wang Residence, Qin Yining and Pang Xiao invited Xu Weizhi and Xie Yue to the reception pavilion in the backyard to talk.
Pang Xiao went straight to the point, "Your Majesty means that since the rain has stopped, we should start building the Imperial Mausoleum. I am the supervisor. Whether this matter is done well or not, I will be responsible for it in the future. Since the rain has stopped in Huichuan County, we should really start building it. "
"Wang Ye is right." Qin Yining narrowed his eyes and said, "Your Majesty must be anxious now. Otherwise, he wouldn't have left Zhong Yibo behind. Didn't Zhong Yibo ask for a thorough investigation of the stone materials? It won't be easy for us to move while he's investigating the stone materials. It won't be good if we disrupt his progress. "
"That's true. But this is only the first problem. "Pang Xiao said with a smile.
Qin Yining raised his eyebrows in surprise, "What? Is there something else that I don't know?"
"That's what I wanted to talk about today." Pang Xiao went to the table and took out a booklet.
"This is the record of the construction of the Imperial Mausoleum in the past few years."
Qin Yining took it and flipped through it briefly. He knew that it recorded some of the things that happened when the Imperial Mausoleum was being built. For example, how much money the Imperial Mausoleum spent, how much grain they ate, and how the Imperial Mausoleum reacted at the time.
"Just from looking at the booklet, the Imperial Mausoleum's life should be much better than when they were at home. They can eat their fill when they're building the Imperial Mausoleum, but many people can't bear to eat grain when they're at home. "
"That's right." Pang Xiao nodded, "But the weather has been clear for many days now. Lu Heng and I started recruiting Imperial Mausoleum when we left the capital, but they haven't arrived yet. "
Qin Yining was stunned when he heard this.
That's true. If the Imperial Mausoleum hasn't arrived, Your Majesty's order to start construction as soon as possible cannot be carried out. If they delay important matters, Your Majesty will blame them, and Pang Xiao will be the one to blame.
After all, Pang Xiao was the chief supervisor of the construction of the Imperial Mausoleum, and Lu Heng was just a county magistrate. Although the county magistrate should cooperate with Pang Xiao, he didn't have to bear the main responsibility. As for the previous county magistrates who were unlucky, it was all because if the supervisor wanted to embezzle money, he couldn't surpass the county magistrate, and the county magistrate would be dragged down for various reasons.
"The Imperial Mausoleum hasn't arrived yet. Do you know what the reasons are? "Xu Weizhi took the booklet from Qin Yining and flipped through it.
Pang Xiao said, "This time, the Imperial Mausoleum has been recruited from both the local and the surrounding counties. Aside from Huichuan County, the neighboring Danfu County is more prosperous and has more able-bodied men. 40% of the Imperial Mausoleum's population is from Danfu County, and the rest are from the surrounding counties. Now, these people seem to have made an appointment, but none of the Imperial Mausoleum's Imperial Mausoleum has arrived. "
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