I am the stepmother of my son, and the little villain has changed into a little cotton-padded jacket

Wen Shutang looked up at the drizzle in the sky and an ominous premonition suddenly welled up in his heart.

I looked in the direction where Xiao Yizhuo left, and prayed silently in my heart that nothing would go wrong.

Only after the carriage had completely disappeared did Wen Shutang turn back to the inn and go straight up to the second floor.

The most important thing for her now is to protect her three children and let Xiao Yizhuo do things without any worries.

The carriage headed towards the palace and soon entered the palace road.

Xiao Yizhuo lifted the curtain and looked at the familiar scene in the palace outside, without any ripples in his heart.

When they arrived at the place, Xiao Dezi took Xiao Yizhuo straight to the imperial study.

Standing at the door, Xiao Dezi bowed slightly and said respectfully, "General Xiao, please wait for a moment. I will report to His Majesty right away."

Xiao Yizhuo nodded without saying anything. Mu Zhu followed beside him with the same serious expression.

Xiao Dezi turned and walked into the imperial study. When he saw the emperor, he immediately reported: "Your Majesty, I pay my respects to you. General Xiao has arrived and is waiting outside the palace."

When the emperor heard what he said, he looked up and said in a lukewarm voice, "Please bring the person in."

Xiao Dezi nodded quickly and turned to invite someone.

"General Xiao, His Majesty invites you. Please come this way."

Xiao Yizhuo stepped into the imperial study.

Seeing the emperor, Xiao Yizhuo bowed his head and saluted: "I, Xiao Yizhuo, pay my respects to Your Majesty."

When the emperor heard his self-introduction, a hint of coldness flashed across his smiling face.

Xiao Yizhuo deliberately called himself that just to remind him that he, Xiao Yizhuo, had not forgotten those things that happened back then.

The emperor felt humiliated and was a little unhappy, but he still had a smiling face.

He waved his hand, signaling Xiao Yizhuo to stand up: "General Xiao, please stand up quickly."

Xiao Yizhuo stood up straight and looked at the emperor expressionlessly.

The emperor was also looking at him. Although he was dressed simply, his cold temperament had not changed at all.

The emperor narrowed his eyes and smiled: "General Xiao is still as handsome as he was back then."

"Your Majesty, thank you for your praise." Xiao Yizhuo nodded slightly. He was already accustomed to the emperor's method of using courtesy before force.

Sure enough, the emperor's tone was filled with reprimands the next moment: "General Xiao is really hard for me to find. When the war subsided, bad news came from the border that General Xiao died on the battlefield. No one could find him alive or dead. I was really sad for a long time. I didn't expect that the general is still alive, but he didn't return to Beijing. Could it be that the general is blaming me for not sending troops to the border in time, so he doesn't want to return to Beijing? Hmm?"

The emperor raised the last word of the word, his tone tinged with displeasure.

He directly laid out what happened that year, simply wanting Xiao Yizhuo to personally explain why he did not return to Beijing. If there was any mistake, the emperor would hold on to this point and punish Xiao Yizhuo and dampen his fighting spirit.

Xiao Yizhuo's expression remained unchanged. He clasped his fists and bowed, "I am innocent. Your Majesty, please look into my conscience. When the war subsided, I was seriously injured. After I woke up, I forgot everything. Fortunately, the local people treated me and saved my life. In addition, I couldn't remember anything, so I delayed my return to the capital. I just remembered my identity recently. It happened that the eunuch came to look for me, so I set off to return to the capital immediately."

Hearing what Xiao Yizhuo said, the emperor obviously didn't believe it. He snorted and said, "Your Excellency has really gone through a lot of hardships. I sent many people to look for you, but they found nothing. It seems that this is all God's will?"

Xiao Yizhuo heard another layer of meaning in the emperor's words, but his face remained expressionless: "Maybe God wants me to recover from my injuries and come back to serve Your Majesty."

"Well, never mind. It's good that you're back. The most important thing is that you're fine, my dear."

The emperor suddenly laughed, as if the sarcastic and suspicious person just now was not him.

"Since you are back, I will issue an edict to immediately reinstate you to your original post, with the rank of second grade. I will grant you one hundred acres of fertile land, ten thousand taels of gold, and allow you to live in the general's mansion. Your title will still be Guardian of the Country." The emperor waved his hand and immediately asked someone to draft an edict and issue it.

Xiao Yizhuo had long guessed that the emperor would reinstate him. After all, he came back this time to quell the unrest on the border. If he didn't have a suitable title, it would be inappropriate for him to lead the troops.

Xiao Yizhuo clasped his hands and said, "Thank you very much, Your Majesty, for your reward. Long live the emperor."

"No gift, no gift."

The emperor waved his hand and looked at Xiao Yizhuo with a calculating look in his eyes: "My dear, do you know that the Beichen envoy is in the palace now?"

"I heard from Mr. Tang, the Junior Minister of the Imperial Academy, that this is what happened."

Speaking of Tang Fusheng, the emperor suddenly remembered that his arm seemed to have been crippled by Xiao Yizhuo. He also remembered that Tang Fusheng had told him that Xiao Yizhuo seemed to have married a country woman in a small town.

The emperor narrowed his eyes. Although he knew that Tang Fusheng would not lie to him, he could not imagine what kind of woman a man like Xiao Yizhuo would marry.

"Speaking of which, Tang Fusheng came to me to complain about you. Why did you hurt his arms?"

"I have married during my recuperation period. I am sure Your Majesty already knows this. Tang Fusheng harmed my wife and children, so I will not let him go. Your Majesty is wise and will probably understand my indignation." Xiao Yizhuo was neither humble nor arrogant, and showed no sign of regret.

The emperor just asked casually and didn't really want to seek justice for Tang Fusheng. After all, the border was still waiting for Xiao Yizhuo.

The emperor would naturally not offend a military general who could lead the three armies to protect the integrity of his country for the sake of a civil official.

"So that's the case. It seems that Tang Fusheng was too reckless. I asked him to look for you, but I didn't expect him to do such a stupid thing. Thinking about it this way, I can forgive him."

The emperor nodded and continued as Xiao Yizhuo said, "I heard from Tang Fusheng that you have married and have three sons. Is that true?"

Xiao Yizhuo was startled. He didn't expect that the emperor already knew about the existence of the three children.

Come to think of it, how could Tang Fusheng hide such an important thing from the emperor?

Xiao Yizhuo nodded slightly: "Yes."

"That's really great news. My dear minister, you have been reinstated and have now started a family. This has fulfilled one of my wishes. I originally wanted to find a good marriage for you after you return to the capital, so that the Xiao family will not become decimated. Now it seems that my worries are unnecessary." The emperor smiled even more, as if he was really happy for Xiao Yizhuo.

Xiao Yizhuo knew in his heart that the emperor was already planning on taking advantage of Wen Shutang and the three children.

Sure enough, the next moment, the emperor said, "My dear, bring your wife and young son into the palace tomorrow so that I can take a good look at them."