Several of his trusted officials bowed respectfully, not daring to say anything.
Li Qitian was only complaining, so he didn't need a definite answer. He pursed his lips and sulked for a long time. Just as he was about to give orders, a burst of hurried footsteps came from outside the hall. Following that, an eunuch wearing an iron-gray round-necked sunflower gown quickly walked in. After saluting, he whispered a few words in Li Qitian's ear.
Li Qitian was originally restraining his emotions, but after hearing the eunuch's report, he was finally on the verge of exploding.
"Impudent! He dares! "
Li Qitian suddenly roared angrily, scaring several people in the hall. They hurriedly knelt down and kowtowed: "Your Majesty, please calm down!"
Several people were quite confused. What exactly was Your Majesty angry about?
Li Qitian said: "He's just an insignificant official. He went to the south to do business, so it's his duty to do well. Besides, if we didn't give him a chance to perform, how could he have made a name for himself? Now he's deliberately stirring up this kind of public opinion! "
The eunuch knelt on the ground, not daring to say anything.
Li Qitian asked again: "Is this what the common people in the city are saying?"
"Replying to Your Majesty, many people are saying this. They feel that Your Majesty didn't personally go to greet them. It's really …"
"Bullsh * t! What a big piece of bullsh * t!" Li Qitian was so angry that he cursed.
The officials who had been in the hall this whole time were all shrewd people. Thinking about the situation outside and seeing Your Majesty's angry appearance, it was obvious what was going on.
Lu Heng, in particular, secretly shook his head again. He sighed with emotion at Qin Yining and Pang Xiao's meticulous planning. They had clearly calculated Your Majesty's temperament and all the variables.
After Li Qitian cursed, his face darkened and he didn't say a word. He was worried that in his anger, he would say something disgraceful. That would be too degrading to his status as the Emperor.
However, the situation outside was too infuriating.
Could it be that no one remembers Pang Zhixi's disobedience to the imperial edict? Now, everyone was praising him for his achievements. He was just an official. Since he had done his job well, did he still need to personally welcome him as the Emperor?
"Your Majesty, what do you plan to do?" An old official asked tentatively.
Li Qitian said in a deep voice, "Zhen will wait here. Let's see how long he can delay."
"But Your Majesty, there are so many people outside. I'm afraid that even if Prince Zhongshun comes late, it's because the people are pushing and shoving." Lu Heng said.
Li Qitian's face was gloomy, and he gnashed his teeth. "He wants to use his merits to force me?"
"Your Majesty, the people are acting on their own accord," Lu Heng reminded submissively.
However, because of Lu Heng's seemingly unintentional words, Li Qitian was burning with anger!
Acting on their own accord? The people supported Pang Zhixi, and they even dared to privately complain that he was harsh on loyal officials. They even wanted him, the Emperor, to personally welcome an official! The storytellers first appeared in the city, followed by the voices of the people. Before he could do anything to suppress them, Pang Xiao came back. He was even stationed outside the city and refused to come in. He waited until he was angry and gave the order before he was willing to return to the city. When he returned to the city, he immediately caused this situation.
Li Qitian was not a stupid person. Even if he didn't realize it at the beginning, he had already figured it out. He had fallen into a trap!
"Acting on their own accord? Let's see how long they can 'act on their own accord'! "
When Lu Heng heard this, he didn't try to persuade him anymore.
In the end, after waiting for another hour, the Spies reported that Pang Xiao had already moved forward a street with difficulty, and the number of people was increasing.
Did all the people in the capital gather there?
Li Qitian finally smashed his teacup in anger.
The sound of broken porcelain was sharp and ear-piercing, and it made people's hearts tremble.
Lu Heng and the others bowed their heads respectfully again.
At this time, they all knew in their letters that they didn't need to persuade him in detail. With Your Majesty's intelligence, what else could he not understand?
However, although Li Qitian understood in his heart, that decision didn't make him feel good.
"Lu Heng."
"This official is here." Lu Heng, who was called out, knelt straight and listened quietly with his eyes lowered.
Li Qitian said, "Tell me, what should we do now?"
Lu Heng couldn't help but struggle in his heart.
If he followed Li Qitian's temper, he would naturally scold Pang Zhixi and then persuade Li Qitian to wait in place. He didn't believe that Pang Zhixi could walk for three days and three nights in such a short distance.
However, these words might be useful to Your Majesty now, but after Your Majesty calmed down, he would inevitably feel that he was being too slippery and flattering.
Thinking of this, Lu Heng calmly said, "Replying to Your Majesty, in this official's opinion, for the sake of expanding public opinion and for the sake of Your Majesty's reputation and image among the people, it would be best for Your Majesty to satisfy the expectations of the people."
What Lu Heng said was actually what Li Qitian was thinking.
However, this judgment made him feel too sullen.
Li Qitian remained silent.
Lu Heng continued to consolidate his image as a loyal official who dared to speak his mind. He said in a low voice, "Your Majesty, at this time, the people in the capital have gathered together. Regardless of whether or not chaos will occur, if you don't express your stance and allow Prince Zhongshun to enter the palace, the public opinion will definitely be biased towards Prince Zhongshun. There might even be people with ulterior motives who will secretly slander Your Majesty and promote negative opinions. This official believes that since the matter has already reached this point, we should deal with it rationally and reduce losses. "
Although Li Qitian was angry, Lu Heng's words were very pertinent. Every word was for his sake, and he also understood.
Li Qitian asked the others.
Extremely senior officials were well versed in the ways of an official and were the best at reading people's expressions. They immediately expressed the same opinion as Lu Heng.
Li Qitian's face was as calm as water. After a long time, he said, "Prepare the carriage. We are going out of the palace to personally welcome Prince Zhongshun back to the capital."
Immediately, the eunuchs responded and began to make preparations with great fanfare.
Your Majesty is going out of the palace in person. Naturally, the extravagance will not be small. It has to be done according to the rules, and the preparations are quite tedious. Fortunately, the Jinwu Guards and the Qianshou Guards are always on standby.
At this time, Pang Xiao was leading the troops slowly through the crowd with his horse. The people were also cordially surrounding Pang Xiao, admiring the handsome face of the great hero up close. At this time, a commotion came from the distance.
"It's His Majesty, His Majesty is coming!"
The sound of a gong opening the way came from afar. In the distance, a yellow umbrella could be seen fluttering in the wind under the light gray sky. A figure wearing a red round-necked robe with arrow sleeves was sitting upright on the shoulder of the umbrella, like the stars surrounding the moon.
Your Majesty is coming out of the palace. The people were shocked. The Jinwu Guards and the Qianshou Guards were vigilant. Even the people from the Warden's Office were so scared that their foreheads were covered in cold sweat.
Your Majesty is a descendant of the heavens. If an accident happens, even if all of them were to be beheaded, it wouldn't be enough to accompany him to the grave!
However, the people didn't think this way.
In the stories, the wise His Majesty loved the talented. In reality, everything was developing according to their expectations.
As a result, the voices that were criticizing Your Majesty for treating the meritorious subjects harshly died down. Instead, it was replaced by a cacophony of praises.
"Your Majesty really values Prince Zhongshun very much!"
"It must be because Wang Ye's contributions this time are too great. Your Majesty can't help but come out to personally welcome him! What a great honor this is! "
"That's right! Your Majesty is wise! Wang Ye, Xiao Yong! "
… …
The voices of the crowd rose and fell. The people all knelt on the ground and shouted, "Long Live Your Majesty!"
Although the cries of "Long Live Your Majesty" drowned out the initial discussions, Li Qitian could still clearly hear what the people were saying.
Although his arrival refuted the rumors of him treating the meritorious subjects harshly, it also confirmed the fact that Pang Xiao was a meritorious subject.
As a result, if he punished Pang Xiao for the crime of resisting the imperial decree, wouldn't he be giving the people a reason to criticize him? Pang Xiao was a meritorious subject. Not only did he not reward him, he even found an excuse to punish him. At that time, his reputation would definitely plummet!
What a good Pang Zhixi! What a vicious plan!
Li Qitian's heart was already burning with anger. However, he still had a very gentle smile on his face. He even occasionally waved at the kneeling people in greeting.
The people saw that the emperor was so amiable and approachable. Everyone was so happy that they were about to go crazy. The cheers sounded again, shocking everyone's hearts like a tsunami.
Pang Xiao was flattered and gave the reins to someone beside him. He walked out of the crowd and knelt on the ground, saying, "This subject greets Your Majesty! Long Live Your Majesty, long Live Your Majesty, long Live Your Majesty! "
"Younger Brother, don't be like this." Li Qitian took off his shoulder sling and helped Pang Xiao up with a smile on his face. He held Pang Xiao's hand affectionately and looked him up and down. Then, he patted Pang Xiao's shoulder and said, "You've become stronger after going to the south."
Pang Xiao smiled and respectfully said, "Replying to Your Majesty, perhaps it's because I've been in the military for too long. I didn't pay attention and became like this. Has Your Majesty always been well? "
"Zhen is very well. It's because of loyal subjects like you who do your best to work for Zhen that Zhen can handle state affairs without any distractions. You've done very well. "
"Your Majesty praises me too much! All of this is this subject's duty. I don't deserve Your Majesty's praise. "
Pang Xiao was about to bow again as he spoke.
Since Li Qitian had come, he would not leave any room for gossip. He immediately took Pang Xiao's arm and stopped him from bowing. He pulled him and said, "Come, quickly return to the palace. Zhen still has many things to ask you about the border."
"Yes."
Pang Xiao respectfully responded.
Li Qitian mounted his shoulder armor and Pang Xiao finally mounted his tall horse. With the protection of the Five Cities Warden's Office and the Holy Chariot's ceremonial guards, and with the fact that the people had gotten their wish to see the meeting between a wise ruler and a meritorious subject, they were extremely excited. Everyone retreated to the sides in an orderly manner.
The stagnant troops finally moved slowly behind the Holy Chariot.
The cheers of the people were earth-shaking.
On one hand, Li Qitian maintained his dignity. On the other hand, he had to appear amiable. He suppressed the anger in his heart and secretly clenched his fists until his knuckles turned white.
Just as the troops moved less than a hundred steps, Pang Xiao, who was originally sitting upright on the horse, suddenly swayed. He held his temples with one hand and his eyes rolled back as he fell off the horse.
"Your Highness!" The commoners were all scared silly and shouted in panic.
Huzi, Jinghu Wei, and the others beside the horse quickly caught him. They saw that Pang Xiao's eyes were tightly shut and he had already fainted.
"Wang Ye, Wang Ye!"
"Quick, find a doctor!"
The crowd was in chaos again. Li Qitian had just gotten a little more comfortable when he turned around and saw this scene again. He was so angry that his soul almost left his body.
How could a man as tall as a small mountain faint for no reason?
He was sure that Pang Zhixi did it on purpose!
But the people did not think so.
Someone in the crowd had already said, "Wang Ye must have been too tired because of Nanjiang. He must have been tired from the journey and fell sick. "
"Perhaps he suffered some injuries on the battlefield and developed a chronic illness!"
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