Eagle-eyed and wolf-watching

Chapter 1783 Returning to the Capital!

December 27th, night
Daqian Yijing
According to normal custom, the gates of Yijing should be closed at 5 PM every day. However, since the end of the year is approaching and Yijing is the capital of the Great Qian Dynasty, there are hundreds of thousands of people in the city and its surrounding areas who need to buy supplies and goods for the New Year.

In addition, there was a curfew every night, and people could only enter and leave the city gates for a few hours during the day. As a result, the city gates were crowded with people every day, and everyone was very busy. Many goods could not enter the city in time and had to be temporarily parked outside the city, which was very inconvenient and not suitable for storage.

Therefore, after the former prefect of Yijing, Liu Ning, learned of this situation, he reported to the cabinet and Ye Mingsheng and decided to extend the closing time of the Yijing city gates from 5 pm to 7 pm for a period of one month.

This practice became a custom, and every year from the 25th of the twelfth lunar month to the 25th of the following month, the curfew in Yijing was extended to the hour of Xu (7-9 PM). Although Liu Ning has now been promoted to the position of Minister of Justice, this rule has been retained and adopted by Liu Ning, the newly appointed Prefect of Yijing.

As the hour of Xu (7-9 PM) approached, the last carriage entered Yijing City, and the soldiers guarding the city slowly closed the city gates.

However, at that very moment, a cavalry unit sped towards the city gate. Just as the gate was about to close, someone in the unit shouted:

"Wait a minute! Wait a minute!"

Despite the sudden shouts, the soldiers guarding the city ignored them and continued to close the city gates.

Soon a cavalry of several dozen men arrived at the city gate. Seeing that the gate was already closed, the leader angrily cursed:

"I told you to wait a minute! Are you all deaf, you bunch of bastards?"

The soldiers guarding the city, hearing the shouts and curses from below the city gate, responded without hesitation:
"Watch your mouth! Curfew's over now. If you want to enter the city, wait until tomorrow!"

"Wait until tomorrow? You come down here right now and open the door. If you delay even a little bit, I'll skin you bastards alive!"

Before the words had even finished, a crisp sound came from the city wall.

"boom!"

As soon as the sound came out, several people in the horse team downstairs immediately helped the father and son off their horses and protected them behind them. At the same time, shouts and curses came from upstairs again.

"You let your bastard out because your pants weren't fastened? Now you're not leaving, all of you stand right there!"

Hearing the shouts and curses from the city gate tower, Ye Mingsheng glanced at Zhang Hu beside him. The latter was also extremely embarrassed and angry. He had not expected the soldiers on the city gate tower to be so reckless as to dare to open fire directly!
Fortunately, the shot wasn't aimed at us; it appears to have been fired into the air...
Soon, a group of soldiers walked out of the city gate and approached Ye Mingsheng and his group. The leader was a squad leader who was about to say something arrogantly. However, before he could open his mouth, someone took out a token with a large "Qian" character on it.

This sentry leader was a man of some experience; upon seeing the token before him, he recognized its origin. His mouth immediately gaped open, a hint of fear flashing in his eyes. Then, Zhang Hu walked up to him, and the sentry leader, looking at Zhang Hu in disbelief, said:
"Master Zhang..."

Hearing the other person's words, Zhang Hu, expressionless, didn't waste any words and slapped them hard across the face.

"Snapped!"

The sound was so crisp that it made the sergeant see stars and stagger.

Ye Mingsheng didn't even glance at them, and led Jing Ren straight towards the city gate. Seeing this, Zhang Hu glared fiercely at the sentry and quickly followed. After entering the city gate, Ye Mingsheng instinctively wanted to head towards the palace, but after taking only two steps, he suddenly stopped and stood still.

Jingren, who had also stopped behind, asked with some confusion:

"Father, why aren't we leaving?"

After a two-second silence, Ye Mingsheng patted Jingren's head and said;
"Jingren, you go back to the palace first! Your father still has some things to do!"

Although he didn't know what his father wanted to do, he obediently nodded and then walked towards the palace under the escort of Zhang Hu and the others.

After seeing Jingren off, Ye Mingsheng, accompanied by several personal guards, headed towards the Cui residence.

There are three main reasons why he rushed back so urgently this time, even taking some trusted guards with him and leaving the main force to return overnight.

The first reason is that Cui Shao fell ill. Although Ye Mingsheng ostensibly handed over the power of governing the court to the cabinet members while he was away on inspection tours, Ye Mingsheng was well aware that the dominant power in the court was in Cui Shao's hands. Therefore, now that Cui Shao is ill, even though there are still people like Gu Sansi around, Ye Mingsheng is still somewhat uneasy.

The second reason was that Su Yi, the Minister of Rites, sent word that the Roman Empire was currently waging war in the west and fighting fiercely with the Kamans, thus reducing its support for the Golden Horde. Under such circumstances, the Golden Horde, which had not gained much advantage in the previous series of battles, was also struggling to hold on.

Calls for peace talks are growing louder within their ranks. As a result, two and a half months ago, Gao Shen, the High Commissioner for Grassland Affairs of the Great Qian Dynasty, visited the Golden Horde and met with Habib. The two sides discussed some key issues and have drafted a 35-article contract.

The contract text has been sent to Yi Jing, but because it is of great importance, Ye Mingsheng needs to make the final decision.

The third reason is that after being away for several months, Ye Mingsheng and Jingren both missed home.

So I want to get home before Lunar New Year's Eve to reunite with my family and have a good New Year!
However, before returning to the palace, Ye Mingsheng felt it necessary to see Cui Shao.

It is said that Cui Shao has not gone to work at the yamen for more than a month, and the Cui family's official statement is that he is recuperating at home.

So, for both public and private reasons, I should see him. Now that Cui Shao is definitely unable to enter the palace, I can only go to the Cui residence to visit him in person!

Half an incense stick later, Ye Mingsheng arrived at the Cui residence. His sudden visit caught everyone in the Cui family off guard. Ye Mingsheng did not care about any formalities and was led into Cui Shao's room. As soon as he entered, Ye Mingsheng could smell the bitter medicinal herbs in the room.

What surprised Ye Mingsheng even more was that Cui Shao was not asleep at this time, but was sitting in the courtyard looking at the stars. When he saw Ye Mingsheng's sudden visit, Cui Shao seemed to be a little surprised, but he immediately got up with the help of the butler to greet him.

"Third Uncle! You are not in good health, there's no need for such formalities!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty! You arrived much earlier than I expected!"

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Half an hour later, Ye Mingsheng, having received his answer, walked out of the Cui family mansion with the respectful farewell of everyone present. Looking at the grand gate of the Cui family mansion, Ye Mingsheng suddenly felt sentimental for some reason.

(The reason for the delay in updating is not because I abandoned the ending, but because I haven't figured out how to finish it. So I've been writing the beginning of my new book these past few days, and I've already come up with some ideas for the ending. I'll finish it soon!)