#611 - Return to Beijing
Two days later, on the eleventh day of the first month.
At dawn, the South City Gate of Danning Capital began to be under martial law, and the common people were not allowed to enter or exit.
The City Guard Army, wearing yellow armor, surrounded the city gate inside and out, with more than a hundred golden dragon flags waving in the wind, creating a spectacular scene from afar.
“Eunuch Li, how long until Young Master Wei arrives?”
Standing on the city wall, Ning Wenjun, wearing a dragon robe, turned to look at Li Huaizhong, who was attending him.
He did not address the old eunuch, who had served three emperors, as "Old Li" like Ning Yongnian did.
And Li Huaizhong's attitude towards this new master was also slightly indifferent.
“Your Majesty, Wei Daren sent a message an hour ago saying he had arrived at Shanyang County, and should be arriving soon.”
All the main officials of Danning, including him, the emperor, were currently here.
And the person they were waiting for was previously just a rebel who assassinated the prime minister.
Who would have thought that such a huge change would have taken place in Danning in just two years, it would not be an exaggeration to call it earth-shattering.
Mountains and rivers shattered like drifting catkins, life's experiences floating like duckweed.
Alas, in this era of great contention, it is truly difficult to predict one's fate.
“...”
Sighing in his heart, Ning Wenjun stopped talking and silently gazed into the distance along the official road, until a line of dust appeared in his field of vision.
“Is it them?”
“Your Majesty,”
Li Huaizhong, with better eyesight, nodded slightly: “It is indeed the Wei family's carriage.”
“Good.”
Shaking his sleeves, Ning Wenjun took a light breath.
“Let's go, all of you follow me down the city wall.”
“We will go and welcome Young Master Wei.”
“This commoner, Wei Changtian, greets Your Majesty.”
An hour later, outside the South City Gate.
In the rosy glow of the morning sun, Wei Changtian saw the new emperor of Danning for the first time.
Strictly speaking, Ning Wenjun was actually brought to power by him.
Therefore, Wei Changtian would definitely not perform the kneeling ceremony, and he didn't even bow, only cupping his hands as a formality.
Of course, Ning Wenjun would naturally not be displeased by this.
“Young Master Wei, Wei Daren, Madam, you have worked hard on your journey.”
Smiling and nodding, Ning Wenjun's gaze swept over the Wei family members, including Yang Liushi and Li Zimu, and finally landed on Wei Changtian.
And the tall city gate behind him slowly opened with a “rumbling” sound.
Like the ancient times of his previous life, the city gates of Danning Capital also had one main gate and two side gates.
On weekdays, commoners could only enter and exit through the side gates, only the army and the emperor could use the main gate.
But now Ning Wenjun ordered the main gate to be opened, which undoubtedly publicly acknowledged that Wei Changtian's status was not below his.
“Young Master Wei, please.”
Ning Wenjun slightly stepped aside, and the civil and military officials behind him immediately moved to both sides of the road, leaving a passage wide enough for several people to walk side by side.
“Thank you for Your Majesty's great kindness.”
Although he said “thank you”, Wei Changtian's expression remained calm.
He took a step forward and walked towards the wide-open city gate side by side with Ning Wenjun, followed by a group of palace maids and eunuchs holding various ceremonial items.
Wei Xianzhu and the others followed slowly from further away.
Light golden calyxes, evenly white jade petals.
The heavenly wind follows the holy carriage, blowing through the nine-layered city.
A solemn and respectful atmosphere enveloped the heavens and the earth, and at this moment, it seemed that everyone was shorter than Ning Wenjun and Wei Changtian.
If opening the main gate just now was still a roundabout way of showing respect, then now Ning Wenjun's invitation to Wei Changtian to enter the city together directly confirmed the latter's position with action.
Whether it complied with etiquette or not, no one dared to say half a “no”.
Walking side by side with the ruler of a country in a public setting, Wei Changtian was probably the first “commoner” to achieve this in ancient and modern times.
But in reality, this was just a small scene for him.
So what if he's the emperor?
He had not only personally killed an emperor, but also had an empress calling him “master”.
If this were to spread, it would probably cause an uproar throughout the world...
Shaking his head, stopping these messy thoughts, Wei Changtian turned to look at Ning Wenjun, who seemed a little nervous.
“Your Majesty.”
After pondering for a moment, he withdrew his gaze and said lightly: “With a great enemy at hand, there is really no need for you to make such a fuss.”
“This...”
Ning Wenjun was obviously did not expect Wei Changtian to say this, but he reacted quickly, and after a slight daze, he smiled and replied:
“What Gongzi says is true, I will definitely pay attention next time.”
“...”
Good fellow, you are quite flexible, are you also planning to pull a 'lying in firewood and tasting gall'?
“Your Majesty, you should understand what I mean.”
He cursed in his heart, but the expression on his face was still calm.
Wei Changtian turned to look at Ning Wenjun and said slowly:
“Danning still belongs to the Ning family, not the Wei family.”
“As the Emperor of Danning, you don't have to be so humble to me, and you don't have to worry that I will seize the Ning family's millennia-old foundation.”
“If I really wanted to do that, you would already be dead, wouldn't you?”
“...”
The dragon robe trembled slightly, Wei Changtian's words without any foreshadowing made Ning Wenjun's steps falter, and the smile on his face became extremely forced.
Although he was brought to power by the Wei family, and the current Danning court was basically controlled by the Same Boat Society.
But which emperor would be willing to be a puppet for the rest of his life?
Therefore, Ning Wenjun definitely had greater plans, but he did not dare to show them because of his weak strength.
But at this moment, Wei Changtian directly exposed his thoughts, and seemed to be encouraging him to do so?
“Gongzi Wei, I don't understand what you mean.”
Replying with some difficulty, Ning Wenjun's aura was already much weaker than Wei Changtian's.
“If you don't understand, then so be it.”
Wei Changtian glanced at the new emperor, who was far inferior to Ning Yongnian in all aspects, and suddenly changed the subject.
“Your Majesty, I killed Ning Yongnian, do you hate me?”
“...”
“Gongzi, you are joking.”
Ning Wenjun should have expected Wei Changtian to say this, and he had already prepared an answer.
But the tense atmosphere at this moment still made his voice tremble a little.
“Gongzi killed the tyrannical ruler, which is a good deed to eliminate evil for the world, I, I am grateful, how could I possibly...”
“But he is your father after all.”
Staring into Ning Wenjun's eyes, Wei Changtian interrupted: “There is a saying that the hatred of killing one's father is irreconcilable, has Your Majesty never thought about revenge?”
“...”
In the original answer, Ning Wenjun should have said something about “righteousness obliterating family ties” at this time.
However, when he saw Wei Changtian's eyes, he suddenly felt that these words were meaningless, so he did not say them after all.
For a time, the scene fell into a brief silence, with only the distant sounds of ritual music echoing in the wind.
“Your Majesty.”
Not letting this silence last too long, Wei Changtian turned to look ahead.
“Do you know what your father's last words were before he died?”
“...”
Ning Wenjun suddenly raised his head, his eyes incomparably complicated.
And Wei Changtian, in this gaze filled with various emotions, softly asked and answered himself:
“He begged me to protect Danning at all costs.”
“I agreed.”
“So Your Majesty, I will help you defend Liang Province and repel the invading enemy.”
“Before that, I don't want you to have any small thoughts, and we can work together to resist the enemy.”
“As for after repelling the enemy...”
“If you still want to take revenge on me, I am at your service at any time.”
“...”
The morning glow sprinkled golden light, and Ning Wenjun's breathing became more and more rapid.
But as the two walked over the drawbridge of the moat and entered the capital through the main gate, he gradually regained his composure.
“Okay, I understand.”
The word “I” was heavier than before, as if only at this moment did Ning Wenjun truly become the Emperor of Danning.
