Traveling through the emperor, overthrowing the empress dowager at the beginning

Chapter 547 The anxious representatives of the powerful families!

Outside Chang'an City, around the camp.

On the banks of the Weishui River.

Zhang Caiwei, wearing a conical hat, came to the river with several women from the Zhang and Dong families.

The river water is crystal clear, yet it is slightly chilly, like tiny ice needles touching the delicate skin.

The stones by the river are covered with moss and are slippery.

Zhang Caiwei squatted by the river and took out her clothes slowly.

Beside her, the women skillfully soaked, beat and rubbed the clothes.

Zhang Caiwei held the clothes with her slender fingers and swayed them in the water, but her movements seemed a little clumsy.

She was from a wealthy family and had never done such rough work.

At this moment, some broken wood suddenly floated down the river.

One piece of wood caught the attention of the women. One woman calmly held it and quietly handed it to the person behind her.

In this way, the wood was passed from one person to another and finally reached Zhang Caiwei.

Zhang Caiwei looked around calmly, put the wood under the washed clothes, and continued washing clothes as if nothing had happened.

But in fact, the clothes in her basin were washed by the women around her.

After all the clothes were washed, Zhang Caiwei returned to the camp and got on her carriage.

She lifted the curtain and looked around the carriage. Seeing that no one was paying attention, she secretly took out the wood.

She carefully pressed the two ends of the wood, and with a little force, she actually separated the wood. Inside was a letter wrapped in oil paper.

She unfolded the letter, looked at the contents, the corners of her mouth slightly raised, and a look of pride appeared in her eyes.

Then, she looked towards Zhang Ru, who was also in the carriage, her face full of confidence and joy. "Brother, everything went smoothly. The emperor must be extremely worried right now. We'll see how he responds tomorrow. With this bargaining chip in our hands, the emperor will have to think twice if he wants to summon the children of the noble families for a showdown."

Zhang Ru smiled and nodded: "Sister Caiwei is indeed very smart. After this success, we don't have to do anything. We can just hide behind the scenes and let those untouchables who can't afford to eat go to the emperor."

Zhang Caiwei chuckled and said, "Humph, he thought he could easily deal with those aristocratic families, but he didn't know that we were well prepared. In the end, we have the final say in Chang'an City and Guanzhong."

Hearing this, Zhang Ru nodded heavily, with a look of confidence on his face.

The next morning, Ye Chen stepped into the palace in Chang'an City.

This ancient palace carries the lingering charm of the previous dynasty, and its majestic figure displays an ancient and majestic aura in the morning light.

Although time has left its mark on it and it looks old compared to the luxurious and magnificent palaces in the capital, the main hall, Weiyang Palace, is still tall, majestic and magnificent.

Ye Chen walked steadily towards the Weiyang Palace, his steps like a dragon and a tiger, and the aura of an emperor emanated from him.

He sat down on the dragon throne and began to handle government affairs.

At this time, Shen Qiu hurried over, bowed, and began to report: "Your Majesty, I have found out that there is a serious problem with the exchange of goods around Chang'an. Many merchants who were originally going to Chang'an, for some reason, changed their routes to the capital and Yingchuan at the same time."

Ye Chen frowned slightly, and a cold light flashed in his eyes.

After a moment's thought, he understood the reason.

"Those aristocratic families must be behind this, hoping to starve the people of Chang'an City, causing them to riot and force me to submit."

Ye Chen pondered for a moment, then decisively issued an order: "Qiu'er, pass on my decree. Order the commander of Tongguan to strictly forbid the merchants from leaving. They are not allowed to go to the capital. They must come to Chang'an."

If merchants were not allowed to pass through Tongguan and did not come to Chang'an, the goods would be piled up. At a time when refrigeration technology was not yet popular, meat and vegetables would rot and could not be sold, which would definitely result in huge losses.

But even so, Ye Chen understood that these traveling merchants could still confront Ye Chen. After all, behind these traveling merchants were those aristocratic families, and they didn't care about short-term losses at all.

Shen Qiu took the order and left.

Not long after, Shen Qiu returned, and Ye Chen asked again, "Have any of the nobles from various places come to Chang'an?"

Shen Qiu replied, "Your Majesty, there are only six of us here now, but the children of the Zhang and Dong families have already arrived."

Ye Chen was not surprised when he heard this.

After all, it was clear that these aristocratic families would not give him face.

If the Zhang and Dong families had not been placed under house arrest by him a long time ago, representatives from these two families would definitely not have come.

"Hmph, if the representatives of the noble families haven't arrived by noon, there's no need to wait any longer. Let those who have already arrived come to see me."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Shen Qiu took the order and left again.

At noon, the sun shone brightly among the palaces.

The twelve representatives of the powerful families walked towards the Weiyang Palace with trepidation.

Several of them looked pale, with sweat on their foreheads, and their steps were unsteady, appearing very uneasy.

Many of them actually came to test the waters.

If the emperor killed them in anger, they would have no choice but to accept their fate.

Zhang Ru, as the representative of the Zhang family, was also walking among them. He raised his head slightly. Compared with others, he seemed calm and composed, with even a faint smile on the corner of his mouth.

The unrest among the people in Chang'an City was orchestrated by his Zhang family. He believed that he had a trump card in his hand to check and balance the situation. Unless Ye Chen wanted to cause unrest in Guanzhong and Chang'an, he would never touch him.

So, he was not afraid.

When these people arrived at the Weiyang Palace and paid their respects, they did not hear Ye Chen asking them to stand up, so they all knelt on the ground and did not dare to get up.

Ye Chen sat on the dragon throne, his eyes sweeping over the people like lightning.

At this moment, Ye Chen had the majesty of an emperor, his face was expressionless, and his eyes were like knives.

Zhang Ru's heart skipped a beat and he lowered his head involuntarily.

Then, he heard Ye Chen's unhurried voice.

"Don't be afraid. I'm here with you today to discuss something."

"Be flat."

Ye Chen said so.

There was no emotion in his tone.

Zhang Ru and the others stood up one after another, but they were still nervous and confused.

What does the emperor want to discuss with them?

Both parties have come to this point, what else is there to discuss?