Dugu Jingyao is reborn as Li Chu's beloved

Chapter 413 The Emperor's Curiosity

In order to prevent An Lushan and his companions from escaping, three iron prison carts were specially prepared for them. As expected, the return journey was unusually smooth.

When they arrived near the main camp outside Beijing, Guo Ziyi handed over the rest of An's army to the barracks to prevent An Lushan and his men from escaping. As daylight approached and the city gates opened, he led a team of men to escort An Lushan and his men into the city.

When the guard saw that it was Guo Ziyi, he saluted respectfully. Then he looked at the prison cart behind him and seemed to have guessed that it was An Lushan and others. He then put on a vicious look and watched the prison cart leave.

Guo Ziyi didn't even have time to pack before entering the palace. Seeing Guo Ziyi coming, the guard at the door stepped forward and saluted, saying, "Sir Guo, we need you to remove your armor and hand over your weapons."

Guo Ziyi knew the rules and complied. He quickly handed over his belongings, and the guards quickly let him go. Because An Lushan was still unconscious, he was taken directly into the palace in a prison cart. The others were taken over by the palace's Yulin Guards, who escorted those in chains outside the Zhengyang Palace.

It happened that it was almost time for the morning court session, so the emperor did not summon him alone.

I only heard the eunuch shout loudly: "The emperor has arrived!"

Everyone below bowed and said, "Your humble servants, pay their respects to the Emperor!"

The emperor looked down and did not see Li Chu, but he did see Guo Ziyi. He could not help but frown slightly, but only for a moment, and then said: "My dear ministers, please stand up."

The subordinates said in unison: "Thank you, Your Majesty!"

The emperor then looked at Guo Ziyi and asked, "My dear Guo, why did you come back alone? Why didn't you see the Prince of Guangping and the Prince of Yunnan?"

Guo Ziyi stepped out of the line and knelt, saying, "Your Majesty, yesterday, when I and my men were out of the city to suppress the rebels, the rebel An Lushan attacked the King of Yunnan, leaving him unconscious. The military doctor examined him and said that the King of Yunnan is not in a good condition to be moved, so we will temporarily set up camp in the suburbs, and His Royal Highness the Prince of Guangping will guard there."

The emperor was shocked and said, "What? Did the military doctor say when the King of Yunnan would regain consciousness?"

Guo Ziyi shook his head and said, "The military doctor can't be sure either. He only said that if it's fast, he'll wake up in two or three days. If it's serious, maybe..."

The emperor's heart was in his throat. He asked, "What could it be?"

Guo Ziyi lowered his head and said, "He may not wake up for a while."

The emperor was shocked. He said, "My dear Guo, after the court session, I will send for the imperial physician. You can take him to see the King of Yunnan."

Guo Ziyi was pleasantly surprised: It seemed that the Emperor still valued the Prince very much! So he knelt down and kowtowed, saying, "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your great grace."

The emperor asked again, "Has the traitor been caught?"

Guo Ziyi replied, "Your Majesty, An Lushan's family has been executed. An Lushan, his military advisor, and his deputy general have also been apprehended and are now outside the palace."

Upon hearing this, the emperor said, "Bring the man here. I want to ask An Lushan why he rebelled when I treated him well!"

Guo Ziyi hesitated for a moment before saying, "Your Majesty, An Lushan...is not awake yet."

The emperor looked at Guo Ziyi suspiciously and asked, "What do you mean by 'not awake yet'?"

Guo Ziyi reported back, "Your Majesty, when An Lushan attacked the King of Yunnan, he and the King of Yunnan rolled down the hillside and hit a rock. He is now unconscious."

Upon hearing this, the emperor felt that he deserved the punishment and said, "Forget it. Anyway, his conspiracy to rebel has been confirmed. My dear Gu, after the court session, you can take An Lushan to the death row. As for the others who assisted the tyrant, they will all be executed!" The Minister of the Dali Temple quickly agreed.

Although the emperor's expression didn't change much, his anger could be felt from the change in his tone. Everyone knelt and kowtowed, saying, "Yes, Your Majesty is wise!"

After this incident, Gao Lishi saw this and shouted loudly: "If you have something to report, please come forward. If not, please leave the court!"

Seeing no response from his subordinates, Gao Lishi exchanged a glance with the emperor and said, "Dismiss the court!"

Everyone below knelt down and kowtowed, saying, "Farewell, Your Majesty." After the emperor left, the other ministers stood up and prepared to leave.

As Guo Ziyi stepped out of the hall, he heard a familiar voice behind him: "Master Guo, Master Guo..."

Guo Ziyi turned around when he heard the voice and saw Gao Lishi walking quickly towards him. He asked, "Eunuch Gao, does His Majesty have any instructions?"

Gao Lishi calmed his breath and said, "Master Guo is wise. His Majesty invites you."

Guo Ziyi said, "Okay, let me have a few words with Master Gu."

Gao Lishi nodded slightly, and Guo Ziyi took a few steps and called out to the Dali Temple Minister: "Master Gu, Master Gu, please wait a moment."

Upon hearing this, the Dali Temple Minister asked the others to go first. He turned around and walked a few steps towards Guo Ziyi. The two of them saluted each other. The Dali Temple Minister asked, "Master Guo, what is the matter?"

The emperor was still waiting for Guo Ziyi, so he naturally spoke briefly: "This is what happened. The emperor just asked Lord Gu to escort the people back to the Dali Temple. To be on the safe side, I brought a team of personal soldiers with me before entering the palace. This is my badge. Show the badge to those soldiers and tell them that I will be leaving the palace later. Ask them to help escort An Lushan and others back to the Dali Temple. I will go to the Dali Temple to find them after I leave the palace." After speaking, he took out the badge and handed it to Lord Gu.

Guo Ziyi's words came like timely rain, solving Lord Gu's urgent problem. He said, "Thank you very much for your help, Lord Guo." After that, he took the badge, and then together with the Yulin Guards, he escorted An Lushan's prison cart and several other people out of the palace and put them on the prison cart.

Outside the palace, Lord Gu took out Guo Ziyi's badge and repeated what Guo Ziyi had just said to the leader of the group of soldiers. The soldier agreed and, together with Lord Gu, escorted An Lushan and others back to the Dali Temple and put them in the death row. Lord Gu then asked the group of soldiers to sit in front and wait for Guo Ziyi.

After Lord Gu left the palace, Guo Ziyi returned to Gao Lishi and said, "Please let Eunuch Gao lead the way."

Gao Lishi made a "please" gesture and led Guo Ziyi all the way to the Shangshufang. Because of the emperor's instructions, Gao Lishi took Guo Ziyi directly into the Shangshufang.

Guo Ziyi followed him in and bowed, saying, "I pay my respects to the Emperor and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."

The emperor raised his hand and gestured: "No need to be so polite, please stand up." Guo Ziyi stood up after thanking him.

Just now in the court, the emperor suppressed his curiosity, and now he is curious about what happened. Logically speaking, Dugu Xin should not be so easily ambushed by An Lushan, so how did both sides suffer losses?

The Emperor asked, "Lord Guo, please explain to me and the Crown Prince exactly what happened. How did both the King of Yunnan and An Lushan get injured?"

Guo Ziyi then recounted the entire incident, leaving the Emperor and the Crown Prince trembling with fear. After hearing the story, the Emperor said, "So that's how it is. It seems An Lushan is desperate and has resorted to extremes."

The prince also said with great regret: "If it were on flat ground, I believe the King of Yunnan would not be so easily injured."

The emperor agreed deeply and said, "By the way, Gao Lishi, go find Imperial Physician Gao and have him accompany Minister Guo out of the palace to treat the King of Yunnan."

Gao Lishi agreed and left, but because he was old, it was impossible for him to do everything himself, especially since it was an urgent matter, so he sent a young apprentice to deliver the message.

The eunuch knew the urgency of the matter and did not dare to delay, so he ran all the way there. When Imperial Physician Gao saw that he was out of breath, he knew it must be an urgent matter and thought that something had happened to the emperor.

As a result, I followed him all the way to the Shangshufang, only to find that the emperor was not in trouble, it was just a false alarm.

However, when he heard Gao Lishi say that he wanted to leave the palace to treat Dugu Xin, the great hero of this battle, he was very willing to do so. If it weren't for Dugu Xin's help, he didn't know whether he could still be alive!

Gao Lishi then brought Imperial Physician Gao into the Shangshufang. After Imperial Physician Gao saluted, the emperor repeated his instructions. After Imperial Physician Gao agreed, the emperor said, "Alright, my dear Lord Guo, you must be tired after a sleepless night. After you take Imperial Physician Gao to treat the King of Yunnan, you should rest up. And Chu'er, let him rest up as well!"

After expressing his gratitude, Guo Ziyi took Doctor Gao out of the Shangshufang. The two had the same goal and spontaneously quickened their pace.

After leaving the palace, Guo Ziyi asked, "Doctor Gao, can you ride a horse?"

Doctor Gao nodded and said, "I can ride a horse."

Guo Ziyi then had his attendant bring another horse over and said, "Doctor Gao, you can ride this horse. Let's go directly to see the Prince of Yunnan and His Highness the Prince of Guangping."

Doctor Gao agreed, and the two men mounted their horses. Before leaving, Guo Ziyi turned back and instructed his attendant, "Go to the Dali Temple and bring back the soldiers, along with my badge. Take them back to the barracks. Then go back to the mansion and tell my wife I'll be back later."

The attendant agreed, and then Guo Ziyi and Doctor Gao rode away at a speed that was as high as a cloud of dust.