Since leaving the Northern Frontier in mid-August and after more than half a month of trekking, Li Ling finally returned to Luoyang, the capital on the tenth day of September.

When Li Ling saw the familiar towering wall from afar, he breathed a long sigh. He went north to supervise grain transportation this time and almost died many times. Fortunately, everything was over, and he finally returned to Beijing safely, so he should be able to take a good rest next.

Thinking of this, his body became a little softer, and his hands were taken back from the curtains of the car. He picked up the cup in front of him and slowly drank the warm ginseng soup. After a while of recovery, his injuries were completely recovered, but in order not to leave any root cause, he still had to replenish it. After all, he was over thirty and was at the age of time to take care of it.

But he hadn't been feeling well for a long time. The carriage that was originally driving smoothly suddenly shook and stopped. Before Li Ling could ask, Li Moyun quickly came to the car window and whispered: "Young Master, there are dozens of officials in front of him to welcome him, many of whom were high-ranking officials in red robes."

Li Ling heard a little proud from his words, but he frowned slightly: "Which is this singing? I have never heard of such an arrangement before. Let me go up and ask if it is really coming for us."

Hearing the cautious meaning of Li Ling's words, Li Moyun did not dare to be negligent. He quickly stepped forward and asked in person, and came back for a while before returning to report: "They said that it was here to welcome the young master to return smoothly. Two of them were doctors from the Ministry of Rites, and one was assistant minister of the Ministry of War..."

When Li Ling heard the identities of these five or six high-ranking officials, he felt even more nervous. He just barely put on a blazing robe. How could he work these powerful high-ranking officials in the court to greet him? There must be a secret hidden secrets in this, and he must not receive such a heavy gift!

So after considering it, he said, "We will not enter the city from the north, but go to the east gate... No, go to the corner gate in the south! Also, let the accompanying team go around elsewhere and enter the city in batches!"

"Ah..." Li Moyun was really confused now. Why did the young master make such an arrangement? Isn't this offending people in person? And have you actually avoided the opportunity to show your face? However, after seeing Li Ling's solemn expression on his face, he immediately chose to obey the orders, and then gave a few orders, then protected the carriage and turned decisively, and went to the side with many other carriages and horses surrounding the city.

Although the accompanying imperial guards felt that this order was a bit inexplicable, after experiencing various incidents in the northern border, they had already developed the habit of obeying orders to Lord Li, so they lined up and left quickly, and directly could not get rid of the officials who wanted to meet up in front of them.

These senior officials in the court had already shown professional smiles, wanting to wait for Li Ling to get off the car and chat with him, say some words of congratulations, and then take the people into the city and take them to the restaurant that they had already prepared to welcome him... But as a result, before they moved much, Li Ling's team quickly turned around and left. The speed was so fast that these old officials could not react at all and could not catch up with them.

So they all stood there in a daze, without any movement for a long time, and finally looked at each other and asked the front ones, "What should I do?"

The head of the Ministry of Rites officials looked dark, and he didn't know what to do. He had never encountered such a thing in the past. As long as those officials who returned to Beijing saw their colleagues coming to greet him, they would get off the car and say something. Li Ling was too unreasonable to play the cards.

But he still did not forget his mission and snorted: "It seems that Lord Li didn't take us seriously, and he didn't even have the interest to see me. Since that's the case, we don't have to put a hot face on someone's cold butt, let's go back now."

Another official also said, "Yes, Lord Li made great contributions in the northern border this time, and naturally he was arrogant. How could he take us and other officials seriously? It is inevitable to be young and successful."

A sarcastic and sarcastic word made the officials who were excited to make friends with upstarts like Li Ling all felt unhappy, but it was not easy to get into trouble. They could only turn their heads and return to the city.

Only a few officials from the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of War looked at each other and smiled bitterly. Unexpectedly, this move failed to hurt Li Ling at all, and instead made him lose himself. How can I explain to the prince now?

"Young Master, why do we do this?" After entering Luoyang from the corner gate, Li Moyun couldn't help but ask.

Li Ling leaned against the wall of the car and said in a calm expression: "Do you think these people are waiting outside the city out of good intentions? Maybe some small officials want to make friends with me, but those senior officials are definitely not. Who am I? Can I afford such courtesy in terms of my identity and qualifications? Also, my current identity is a foreign official, and I cannot have any contact with officials in the capital before handing over the errands. It would be fine if officials do not understand these rules, but wouldn't they know about the officials of the Ministry of Rites or senior officials at the level of a doctor?

"Hmph, I want to use such despicable means to harm me, but they can do it. Since they dare to do this, I naturally don't mind not saving face for them."

Only then did Li Moyun realize that there were so many twists and turns in it, and he said astonished: "These officials are too sensible, but why do they do these?"

"Of course someone asked them to plot against me. As for the person behind the scenes..." Li Ling sneered, "Since it was the head of the Ministry of Rites, it was our crown prince. He obviously couldn't swallow his previous breath."

Li Moyun then realized that he cursed the prince with some dissatisfaction, and then the vehicle continued to move forward. When he came to a crossroads, he asked again: "Young Master, should we go to the yamen or go home first?"

"I originally planned to go home directly..." Li Ling sighed softly. After half a year away from home, Qingxiao gave birth to a daughter for himself. When he knew about this, he wanted to fly back to his family. "But judging by those people's despicable methods, I have to hand in the work first today, otherwise I will only give them a handle. Now, there should be a lot of eyes staring at me, just waiting for me to reveal my flaws."

Li Moyun nodded when he understood the place, and then he made the coachman turn and head straight to the imperial city. This time he wanted to hand over to the yamen, it was naturally the Transport Department, which was inside the imperial city.

But when Li Ling's carriage arrived outside the imperial city, he found that the sky was dark and the sound of the drums in the dong dong had begun to sound. Obviously, they overestimated their speed and realized that it was impossible for them to successfully hand in the transaction today. In desperation, Li Ling and others who could not go home before handing in the transaction could only turn their heads again and go straight into the nearest inn to rest.

Fortunately, Li Ling is no longer the local official who came to Beijing last year. His status as a fourth-rank Beijing official can be obtained to a large enough courtyard. In addition, the documents for going out for business work have made the inn only flattering themselves.

So, on the first night of returning to Beijing, although Li Ling was in the same city with his family, he could only stay in the inn for a while, but he couldn't even ask someone to send a letter to his wife and report a safe voice - because he believed that someone must be staring at him and waiting for him to make a mistake.

And that night, the Li family did make all preparations to welcome the master, but they did not see Li Ling back until midnight. This made Yue'er feel very wronged. However, Yang Qingxiao, as his wife, expressed her understanding of this and believed that her husband was delaying it outside.

...

When the drums that rang throughout the city stopped, Lu Zhen finished processing the official document in front of him, slowly stretched, and sighed: "I'm so old, my energy is getting worse and worse." As he said that, he stood up and was about to end his official duties today. I think he would return home in the past two years, not long after dark. In the past, he could work overnight until late at night before leaving the Political Affairs Hall.

When he came out, there were people from the mansion who were waiting for him and helped the old man out. There were two lanterns in front of him illuminating the road, making the road ahead clear. It was also under the light that Lu Zhen saw Tang Qianwen walking in at a glance, and smiled and said, "Why haven't you left yet?"

"I've met Lu Prime Minister." Tang Qianwen gave a tribute in a regular manner, and then said with a smile, "There are still some errands left on the Xiaguan side, so we have to do it today. By the way, the Xiaguan just heard from someone that Li Shaoqing has already returned."

"Li Shaoqing..." Lu Zhen was stunned for a moment, then remembered who he was talking about, and laughed, "Li Wenzhong, right? Where is he now? But have he returned home?" When asked the last sentence, the old man frowned slightly. If this is true, Li Ling would be impeached again.

Although the rules are different from the rigorous laws decades ago, emphasizing the rule that foreign officials have to hand in their jobs before they can go home when they return to Beijing, this one still exists. If someone really grasps this mistake, it will be a headache, and at least one or two months of salary will be fined.

But Tang Qianwen shook his head: "No, he moved into the inn."

"Oh?" Lu Zhen nodded and smiled with satisfaction. Li Ling was indeed good if he was so careful.

"By the way, before that, there was a joke outside the city. Some officials didn't know what they thought, but they actually went to greet him. However, Li Shaoqing ignored it at all and even led people to change their minds, making them look disappointed and returned in disappointment..."

"Is there such a thing?" Seeing that the other party was gloating and said these things, Lu Zhen did not smile, and his eyes flashed slightly: "Do you know who it is?"

Tang Qianwen reported the names of the major officials, which made Lu Xiang's face look even more serious, and finally he hummed: "So that's it. This situation is too small, and he even used such unbearable means. Alas... By the way, how about you and I will impeach them tomorrow, and at least let these people learn a lesson?"
Chapter completed!