Courtyard House: A System Connecting Two Worlds, Resources for the Nation

Walking on the familiar palace road, Zhao Heng looked at the imperial guards and eunuchs kneeling all over the ground, and then saw Zhou Feng's mopping-up troops advancing in an orderly manner not far away. He suddenly felt as if he had been transported to another world.

In the past, when he appeared here, the imperial guards and eunuchs would kneel down in a sea of ​​kneeling, but today their kneeling posture was not for him.

Zhao Heng and a group of officials were led to the center of the square inside Xuande Gate, where an open space had been cleared.

Unlike him, the officials were escorted and made to kneel in a row to the side, their heads bowed.

As the emperor of the Song Dynasty, even though these Taoist priests were only loyal to Zhou Feng, they dared not do anything too outrageous to him.

The next second, several armed Taoist priests unloaded the Liao prisoners from the middle of the truck convoy.

Yelü Longxu and Empress Xiao walked at the front with complicated expressions.

They had thought they would be escorted to the Song Dynasty's palace, but they never expected to be brought in this way.

Empress Dowager Xiao staggered in a daze, and was pushed by the guards behind her to barely keep her balance.

Looking up again and seeing Zhao Heng standing in the square, the corner of his mouth twitched involuntarily, and he let out a cold laugh that was hard to decipher.

At least they were captured in the military camp and were only wearing ordinary clothes, unlike Zhao Heng, who was wearing a dragon robe and displaying the majesty of an emperor, yet his palace gates were directly breached.

Strictly speaking, the emperor of the Song Dynasty was far more miserable than those two!

The three royal families of the Liao and Song dynasties stood in the center of the square, a few steps apart from each other.

Zhao Heng glanced at Empress Dowager Xiao, and she glanced at him in return. Neither of them spoke.

Yelü Longxu lowered his head and stared at the tips of his boots, showing no intention of speaking.

After Lin Yin carefully surveyed the palace with a drone and confirmed that there was no danger inside, Zhou Feng led Chen Xiao and Tie Jianguo through Xuande Gate.

At this moment, his pace was unhurried, completely different from his previous state when he came to the palace to pay homage.

With the plan completed to this stage, all that's left is to reap the rewards.

Zhou Feng walked past the kneeling imperial guards, eunuchs, and officials on both sides of the road and arrived at the center of the square, where he stood in front of Zhao Heng.

The two stood face to face. Zhao Heng was half a head shorter than Zhou Feng, his chin slightly raised, and his eyes held a complex mix of emotions.

Before meeting Zhou Feng at such close range, Zhao Heng thought he would have a lot to ask and say, but when Zhou Feng actually stood there, he suddenly choked up.

After staring at Zhou Feng for a while, Zhao Heng suddenly laughed self-deprecatingly: "I...I...I lost."

Zhou Feng nodded expressionlessly. To be honest, when he first transmigrated, he had also imagined this scenario: he would pull the Song Dynasty emperor down from his horse and arrogantly enter the palace.

But when it came to the moment Zhao Heng conceded defeat, he found that he didn't actually feel anything special.

The victor is king, the loser is villain; it's all just like completing a predetermined task.

Zhao Heng, standing before him, was nothing more than a captured former monarch, no different in essence from Empress Dowager Xiao and Yelü Longxu beside him.

"Arrange for the Emperor, Empress, concubines, and others, along with Empress Dowager Xiao and the Emperor of Liao, to stay in a secluded courtyard and be well taken care of."

Zhou Feng turned to Chen Xiao and gave him some instructions. The latter responded and waved his hand. Several guards came up and led Zhao Heng and the others toward the side gate.

As Zhao Heng walked past Zhou Feng, he paused for a moment, tilted his head to glance at him, and although his lips seemed to be moving, he ultimately said nothing and simply continued walking.

Empress Dowager Xiao and the others left even more decisively, without even glancing at Zhou Feng.

Regardless of whether the Zhao family or Zhou Feng's Zhou family are in charge of the Central Plains, they cannot change their fate as prisoners.

only…

Having witnessed the power of the weapons in Zhou Feng's hands today, Empress Dowager Xiao and Yelü Longxu had a clear understanding of the firepower he controlled.

If this group of people were to take charge, could the Liao Kingdom really hold out?

Perhaps before long, the Liao Kingdom's palace will be no different from the Song Kingdom's, and Zhou Feng will have swallowed it up.

After settling Zhao Heng in, Zhou Feng withdrew his gaze from watching the three figures disappear behind the side door, and turned to Qian Yuan: "This is your responsibility. You know how to take stock of the personnel, incorporate the surrendered soldiers, appease the officials, and stabilize the civilians."

Qian Yuan nodded and, along with several experts from this world, immediately got to work.

Xiao Qinyan and Gao Hu quickly joined in, since they were local officials and were certainly more experienced and reliable than Zhou Feng's people in appeasing their own people.

The square quickly began to operate smoothly. Officials who chose to surrender were registered one by one, and Imperial Guard soldiers were organized into groups and taken to designated areas for centralized custody.

Chen Xiao's men set up checkpoints at various palace gates, firmly controlling the entire palace.

Lin Yin's voice came through the earpiece: "Sir, the entire palace has been inventoried. There are no suspicious persons. The Empress, concubines, princes, and princesses have all been settled in the West Garden and are being guarded by special personnel."

Zhou Feng hummed in agreement, looked up at the sky, and saw that the night was already deep, with palace lanterns being lit one by one.

He strode towards the palace gate, boarded the carriage, and headed towards the Celestial Master's Mansion.

The moment Zhou Feng stepped across the threshold, he suddenly froze for a second.

At this moment, the main hall of the Celestial Master's Mansion was wide open and brightly lit by candlelight.

Zhao Pan'er and Sun San Niang sat upright in the main seats of the hall, with two daggers placed side by side on the square table in front of them.

Zhao Pan'er placed her hands on her knees, her fingertips lightly touching the edge of the table.

Sun San Niang sat next to her, her face somewhat pale, but her back was ramrod straight, and her lips were almost pressed into a line.

Zhou Feng stood at the doorway, his gaze sweeping over the two daggers, then at the expressions of the two women, before finally asking, "What's going on here...?"

Zhao Pan'er looked up at him with a deep gaze, her tone very calm: "My lord is going to do such a big thing, there's nothing else we can do but wait here. If my lord fails... we sisters will not let others humiliate us."

As she said this, Zhao Pan'er's gaze swept over the dagger on the table, her meaning quite clear.

Upon hearing these words, Zhou Feng, who was standing at the door, suddenly felt as if something was blocking his throat.

He took a few steps forward, looked down at Zhao Pan'er, and she looked up to meet his gaze. Her eyes held determination, calmness, and endless tenderness.

In front of them, Zhou Feng reached out and picked up the two daggers from the table, placing them on a shelf to the side. Then he bent down, put his arms around Zhao Pan'er's shoulders, and pulled her into his embrace.

Zhao Pan'er obediently pressed her forehead against his chest, showing no sign of resistance.

"Now that I've accomplished what I set out to do, I'll take you to the palace tonight."

Sun Sanniang stared wide-eyed, then abruptly stood up, the chair leg scraping against the floor tiles with a piercing screech: "I...we? Go to the palace?"

Zhou Feng glanced at her, then reached out and pulled her close.

With his arms around the two women on either side, his tone suddenly became firm: "Pan'er, Third Sister, believe me, whether you are the Empress or the Imperial Concubine, in your future lives, they will just be the most ordinary identities."