After rebirth, the Queen and I are on the run.

Chapter 1183 Battle Report Arrives in Beijing
"You can't even speak clearly, yet you want to be a historian?"

Do you deserve it?
But I didn't dare say those three words.

Along the long street outside the Imperial College, the carriage of the Marquis of Yicheng was parked, and nearby were the Imperial Guards sent by His Majesty to protect the Marquis of Yicheng.

"Yan Xiaosi, you should speak clearly before you talk about becoming a historian!"

"You need to learn more characters, otherwise with the number of characters you know now, you won't even be able to record the death of Mr. Rong completely, hahaha!"

The children from these noble families loudly mocked Yan Xiaosi, feeling incredibly powerful. They dared to openly ridicule the Marquis, and the Marquis didn't dare to refute them.

However, before he could finish laughing, a deep yet penetrating sound of a bronze bell came from the direction of the imperial city.

Clang clang clang clang—!
As soon as the sound was uttered, those who heard it and understood it fell silent.

"My lord, please get in the carriage and return to your residence immediately to await news from the palace!" Imperial Guard Tang Xiaoqi rushed over, followed by the carriage of the Marquis of Yicheng.

"Okay." Yan Xiaosi nodded, took Tang Xiaoqi's arm, got into the car and sat down, silently calculating the time in her mind.

"Why did you leave?" Zheng Jia Xiao Liu asked the carriage, annoyed that Yan Xiao Si had left too quickly today, leaving them no time to laugh at him.

"Shut up! Marquis Yicheng is a marquis of the dynasty. You must use honorifics and address him as 'Your Excellency'!" The eldest grandson of Zheng, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice, scolded his younger cousin.

Zheng Xiaoshiliu, his eyes brimming with tears, bowed to the carriage and said, "It was my rudeness, please forgive me, Marquis of Yicheng."

“It is a great virtue to admit one’s mistakes and correct them. You should all go home quickly; it is not advisable to stay out for long today.” After saying this, Yan Xiaosi told Tang Xiaoqi, “Let’s go.”

"Yes." Tang Xiaoqi mounted his horse, led the team away, then turned back, his eyes like arrows, staring at the two sons of the Zheng family.

Zheng Xiaoliu was so frightened that he fell to the ground and almost wet his pants.

Zheng's eldest grandson was also frightened and turned pale, but thanks to Zheng Shilang's careful instruction, he quickly responded by bowing to Tang Xiaoqi.

Ha, how hypocritical.

Tang Xiaoqi didn't look again and turned his head away.

If it weren't for Marquis Yicheng saying that these little squabbles between classmates could temper him; if it weren't for His Majesty saying that Marquis Yicheng, as Kang Rong's younger brother, would have to endure some targeting from everyone before the Eastern Desert army arrived, they would have already taken action to punish these aristocratic scions!
Marquis Yicheng is just a child, yet they stab him in the heart every day.

Fortunately, the Marquis of Yicheng withstood the criticism and did not become depressed because of it.

"Get in the carriage quickly, let's go back to the manor!" The eldest grandson of the Zheng family shooed the sixteenth son into the carriage, and then said to the other young students from noble families in the Imperial Academy, "Ringing the bell in the capital is no small matter. Go back to your manor and don't wander around."

"Hmm." The students from noble families nodded in agreement. They weren't really stupid; on the contrary, they were quite shrewd. Only six-year-old Zheng Xiaoliu was somewhat clueless.

Clang, clang, clang—the sounds of horse-drawn carriages echoed along the main roads of the capital, a noticeable increase in their speed today.

Clang clang clang clang—!
Inside the imperial city, the sound of bells rang out again, all around, with intervals of a quarter of an hour.

Inside the car, Yan Xiaosi's heart was in her throat; for some reason, she felt extremely sad.

Clang clang clang clang—!
A quarter of an hour later, four bells rang out again in the imperial city.

When the nation suffers a great loss, the bell tolls four times and three times, repeating once every quarter hour.

"Tang Xiaoqi, there are many carriages now, so slow down and don't rush, lest you collide with another carriage and delay your journey." Yan Xiaosi lifted the curtain of the carriage and said to Tang Xiaoqi, who was following the carriage, his voice already choked with emotion.

"Yes." Tang Xiaoqi glanced at Yan Xiaosi and reassured him, "Don't worry, Lord Marquis, with His Majesty in charge in the capital, everything will be fine."

Yan Xiaosi nodded and smiled, "I believe in Your Majesty."

Just like trusting her brother. The Imperial Academy wasn't too far from the Marquis of Yicheng's residence; it only took a little over three-quarters of an hour to get there.

"Yan-ge'er!" When Madam Kang saw him, her heart finally calmed down. She pulled him into the house and told him, "Don't think too much. Eat something and go to sleep right away, lest His Majesty summons you and you can't sleep all night... Don't be afraid, my son, don't be afraid. The Duke of Yan will protect you."

"Mother, I'm fine. I wasn't frightened. If I go to the palace and face the officials, I know how to speak." Yan Xiaosi looked at Kang Lishi and smiled, "Just tell the truth."

It's very simple, not complicated at all; it's adults who make it too complicated.

"You child." Madam Kang Li felt both heartache and relief, patted his head, and nodded, saying, "My son is insightful and absolutely right. You are still young, so you don't need to understand or say too much. Speaking frankly is the best thing to do."

Dangdang Dangdang!
Outside the mansion, the long street echoed with the sounds of gongs, horses' hooves, and shouts from the soldiers of the Five Cities Garrison: "By imperial decree, the Eastern Desert bandits have invaded the northeastern state of our Great Wei, slaughtering tens of thousands of our Wei people. In the Battle of Dingmangtai, our 50,000 Wei soldiers fought to the death, severely damaging the Eastern Desert bandits and upholding the prestige of our Great Wei... Today, the bells are rung as a warning. From this day forward, the Emperor and all the people of Wei shall observe a 27-day mourning period to mourn the loss of the Wei army and people and to remember the evil of the Eastern Desert bandits!"

The shouts echoed throughout the entire capital city.

The families of nobles and officials, especially the Marquis of Yicheng, also received mourning items sent from the capital.

The young eunuch delivering the gifts said, "His Majesty has decreed that all nobles and officials must wear white robes to court tomorrow."

Many members of the imperial family, nobles, and officials are not required to attend court, but tomorrow, they all have to go, not one can be missing.

"Your subject obeys." Yan Xiaosi accepted the gift from the Emperor with both hands.

The eunuch continued, "The Duke of Yan asked me to tell the Marquis of Yicheng that there is no need to be nervous or worry. Just eat well and sleep well, and make sure you are in good spirits so that you can face the ministers tomorrow to discuss the affairs of the Northeast Prefecture."

"Yes, please rest assured, Duke Yan, I have a good speaking ability and can explain it clearly," Yan Xiaosi assured him.

Young eunuch: “…”

You're only a little taller than my waist, just a tiny kid. I hope you can explain it clearly.

The young eunuch didn't dare linger and quickly took his leave to return to the capital to report.

"Mother, put these things away, I need them for tomorrow morning." After handing the things to Kang Li Shi, Yan Xiao Si actually started doing his homework.

Madam Kang Li: "...Yan-ge'er, you have to go to court tomorrow, so you don't need to go to the Imperial Academy or rush to finish your studies."

Yan Xiaosi shook her head, her clear eyes looking at Madam Kang Li: "Mother, historians have to face countless important events every day. If they panic and stop writing when faced with important events, how can they be historians? How can they record the true history for future generations?"

Mrs. Kang could not refute him and could only watch as her son continued to write and do his homework.

After finishing his homework, Yan Xiaosi took out a thick booklet, opened the pages, and wrote: "July 25th, 4th year of Wuxing of the Great Wei Dynasty, battle report from the Northeast Prefecture arrives in the capital..."

……

On the main streets of the capital, soldiers from the Five Cities Garrison were still shouting announcements to inform the entire population about the mourning for the Wei soldiers and civilians who had died in battle.

The Zheng family, along with other families who had mocked Kang Rong for threatening to kill themselves before even seeing the enemy, were all terrified.

The ladies in charge of the household opened the storeroom and took out various valuable items to send to the Marquis of Yicheng's residence as an apology to the Marquis of Yicheng.

But after preparing the gift, he dared not send it out.

Now that everyone is in mourning, if they were to send lavish gifts to the Marquis of Yicheng's residence, they would be courting death!

But we can't just do nothing.

At last……

"Take the eldest son and the sixteenth son to the courtyard and make them kneel until tomorrow when the court session ends!" Master Zheng ordered.