Traveling through the Poisonous Concubine

Chapter 300 The Mu Family Returns

At the morning court session, Emperor Suwen sat on the dragon throne, yawning repeatedly with a slightly dazed look in his eyes. It was obvious that he had spent most of the night in the lovemaking with the empress, which made him look a little listless at the morning court session today.

Just as he was about to announce the end of the court session, he saw a figure slowly approaching the entrance of the hall. This person was none other than the old man of the Mu family, wearing an official uniform and an official hat.

The old man of the Mu family walked into the hall with steady steps. His official robe swayed slightly with his steps, which made him look more majestic and solemn. When he reached the front of the hall, the old man of the Mu family lifted up his official robe, knelt on his knees, straightened his back like a pine tree, and shouted in a sonorous and powerful voice:

"Long live the emperor! After going through untold hardships, this old minister has finally returned to the capital to meet His Majesty!" This loud shout was like a thunderclap exploding in the court, instantly perking up the civil and military officials who were still a little drowsy.

When Emperor Su Wen saw the old man of the Mu family return, he immediately showed joy on his face and said quickly:

"My dear, please get up quickly! Great Eunuch Liu, go and help my dear Mu up. My dear Mu, you have worked so hard on this expedition to the frontier. Now that you have returned safely, you can retire in peace in Kyoto. I will personally host a banquet tonight to welcome you back!"

After saying this, Emperor Su Wen cast a friendly look at the old man of the Mu family.

"Thank you for your consideration, Your Majesty. Your Majesty is very busy, so let's forget about the welcoming banquet tonight. I want to go see my granddaughter. I hope Your Majesty will understand and I will go to the palace to get drunk with Your Majesty another day."

Emperor Su Wen waved his hand and said, "Forget it, it's normal for you to miss your granddaughter. Why don't I go to the Regent's Palace tonight to join in the fun? I also miss Yun Yuxi's cooking skills. Why don't we go together? Eunuch Liu, you will go and convey the imperial edict to the Regent's Palace in a while."

"Thank you very much, Your Majesty, for your kindness. I am grateful to you," the old man of the Mu family expressed his gratitude repeatedly.

At this moment, the prime minister who was standing aside was shocked when he saw the old man of the Mu family suddenly appear in the court, and his face instantly turned pale as paper.

However, as the head of all officials, he quickly adjusted his mood and regained his usual composure. The prime minister walked up quickly, pretending to be enthusiastic and concerned, and said to the old man of the Mu family in a hypocritical manner:

"Father-in-law, when did you come back? Why didn't you send someone to inform me in advance? That way I could arrange people to greet you! You must have been very tired after traveling all the way. After the court session, why don't you come back with me to the prime minister's residence? I will definitely give you a warm welcome!"

"No need! I really cannot bear to call you 'father-in-law'! After hearing that my Wanqing passed away, my poor precious granddaughter suffered so much! Shouldn't you give me a reasonable explanation for this? I will naturally go to the Prime Minister's Mansion, but we can discuss when to go later! Humph! Don't bother me again unless it's important!" The old man of the Mu family was furious and scolded without mercy.

The prime minister was embarrassed at this moment, his face turned as dark as the bottom of a pot, and he kept cursing in his heart. However, after all, he was in the court, so he had to pretend to be respectful and filial.

"Father-in-law, please calm down! Regarding Wanqing's matter, I know very well that I handled it improperly, which led to many misunderstandings. But we are a family after all, so why should we be so clear about it? Besides, Yu girl misses you so much!" The prime minister continued to speak shamelessly with a thick skin.

Facing the prime minister's words, the old man of the Mu family didn't even bother to look at him, completely ignoring him. Seeing this, the prime minister knew that he was boring, so he had to stand aside obediently, not daring to say a word.

At this moment, the old man of the Mu family suddenly fell to his knees with a plop, as if possessed by a drama spirit, and said in a choked voice: "Your Majesty! This old minister is really aggrieved!" This sudden scene really scared Emperor Su Wen, and he muttered to himself: What is this old man doing today?

All the ministers were watching the excitement and instantly became energetic. Only the prime minister felt that he must be involved in this matter. He was silent and prepared for how to deal with any emergency at any time.

The atmosphere in the court was extremely solemn. Eunuch Liu quickly responded, "As ordered!" He then brought a chair and respectfully invited Lord Mu to take a seat.

Emperor Suwen sat on the dragon throne, his majestic eyes swept across everyone in the court, and he exuded a chilling aura. Everyone felt the emperor's anger at the moment, and lowered their heads, not daring to look him in the eye.

At this time, Prime Minister Luo stepped forward, bowed and said: "Your Majesty, please calm down. This matter still needs long-term consideration. Let's first listen to what General Mu has to say. The court will give General Mu justice." As soon as these words came out, all the ministers echoed and expressed their agreement.

Emperor Suwen nodded slightly, cleared his throat, and said to General Mu: "My dear Mu, don't be too sad. Tell me the whole story as soon as possible. I will severely punish those who dare to harm the Mu family and will never tolerate them!" As soon as he finished speaking, the prime minister on the side felt his back instantly become cold and a layer of sweat appeared on his forehead.

The old man of the Mu family suppressed his grief, stood up tremblingly, saluted to Emperor Su Wen, and slowly said:

"Your Majesty, please see! After receiving the decree, I properly arranged the handover of border defense, and then took my family back to Kyoto. Unexpectedly, I encountered a brutal ambush along the way.

It's a pity that the thirty-six members of my Mu family died tragically on the road without any clear reason. Now, only the old minister, his foolish third son, and the servant who grew up with the third son are lucky enough to survive..."

At this point, the old man of the Mu family could no longer suppress his inner grief and burst into tears.

The court was shrouded in an atmosphere of sadness. The ministers were extremely angry and knelt down to beg Emperor Suwen to thoroughly investigate the matter and give an explanation to the Mu family.

Emperor Suwen's eyes turned red, and he trembled as he stepped down from the dragon throne. He helped the crying old man of the Mu family up, patted him on the back, and said with a sob:

"Lord Mu, I will investigate this thoroughly. Anyone who dares to harm the loyal people of Great Yan will be made to pay the price. Prime Minister, I will leave this matter to you to investigate thoroughly. I will make sure to know the truth within a month, and I will send those involved to hell."

Eunuch Liu hurriedly invited the imperial physician, fearing that the old man of the Mu family was too sad and might have something happen to him.

Seeing that the effect had been achieved, the old man of the Mu family choked up and said: "Thank you, Your Majesty. All of us in the Mu family can finally rest in peace on our way to the underworld." After saying that, he kowtowed heavily.

Emperor Suwen helped the old man of the Mu family up again. Looking at the old man's white hair, he felt very uncomfortable, so he said:

"Pass on my decree, confer the first-class title on the Mu family, hereditary for three generations, 500 taels of gold, 5,000 taels of silver, 1,000 hectares of fertile land, and grant the Mu family a plaque of the Duke of the State."

As soon as Emperor Suwen finished speaking, all the ministers hurriedly congratulated him. The old man of the Mu family was also surprised by Emperor Suwen's generosity and hurriedly thanked Long En.

Only the prime minister felt extremely jealous. He had never dreamed that Emperor Su Wen valued the Mu family so much. If he had known this would happen, he would never have allowed Liu to harm Mu Wanqing.

The prime minister made up his mind that he must please Yun Yuxi in order to gain the support of the Mu family and thus gain support for the second prince.

At the morning court session, several sons of Emperor Suwen all wanted to win over the Mu family. They came forward one after another to ask about the old man's well-being, which made the old man of the Mu family very depressed.

"Your Majesty, I haven't played chess with you for many years, but I would like to accompany you today to have fun. How about going to Yu girl's place for dinner later?" The old man of the Mu family spoke, without any trace of sadness in his eyes.

Emperor Suwen hurriedly nodded in agreement. He was worrying about how to get rid of his ministers and get this matter over with.

"Then, my dear Lord Mu, the flowers in the Imperial Garden are in full bloom. Let's go to the Imperial Garden to play chess and enjoy the flowers. My dear Lords, please leave. I will accompany you today to have fun."

Yun Yuxi was yawning when the godson of Eunuch Liu came and said that the emperor and the old man of the Mu family would come to the palace for dinner tonight, and he specifically asked Yun Yuxi to cook personally.

After seeing off the little eunuch, Yun Yuxi was no longer sleepy and directed everyone to prepare for tonight's dinner.