How Did I Wake Up in the Capital?

Zhou Qingyan took out more than twenty sea fish from his basket and placed them on the ground.

The soldiers looked at the fish and said, "Hey! How did you manage to bring these back from the sea?"

Zhou Qingyan smiled and said:

"Naturally, your family transported it back by horse-drawn cart. We all admire you. Would you like to eat some seafood?"

If you'd like to eat it, we can make it for you.

"Of course I want to, but wouldn't it be inappropriate to take so many of your sea fish?"

"Our military discipline is strict. If General Xiao finds out we took your seafood, we'll probably be punished."

Zhou Wanwan blinked and looked at them, saying:

"Oh, we are just ordinary people, and we naturally have the utmost respect for you soldiers."

"Alright then! Consider these fish our gift to Great General Xiao Bang."

Zhou Wanwan then took out a few more bottles of wine and said, "These wines are all homemade. If you give them to him, he will definitely like them."

The soldiers nodded in agreement. Zhou Wanwan, sitting on the Old Scholar Tree, said, "Everyone says that Great General Xiao Bang very gluttonous, but we don't know if it's true or not."

Then I saw several soldiers carrying the fish up.

Xiao Bang's eyes lit up immediately. He swallowed hard and asked, "Where did you get all these fish? And they're all sea fish!"

The soldiers quickly said, "General Xiao, these were given to us by some children who were passing by. They also gave us a few jars of wine."

Xiao Bang nodded and said:

"Ha! They say that bad people come from poor and remote areas, but I think the local people are quite hospitable, don't you see?"

They even brought me fish and wine. Alright, you've all worked hard. Tell the chef to add an extra dish tonight.

Soon, the chefs had stewed the fish. Xiao Bang ate the fish and drank wine, saying, "Fresh, this fish is so fresh, it's like it was just brought from the sea. Even back in the capital, I've never eaten such fresh fish."

"And this wine, the taste is simply irresistible, I've never tasted such a delicious wine before."

Xiao Bang's men nodded in agreement.

"It's really great. I didn't expect that this small place could be so wonderful, with such outstanding people and resources!"

Delicious! This wine is really delicious.

Xiao Bang shook his head and said, "Don't you guys feel a little dizzy from this wine?"

"Yeah, yeah, I feel like I'm floating!"

I feel...

"Bang bang bang bang bang..."

Zhou Wanwan, sitting on the tree, laughed, "Finally, he's down! That Xiao Bang is really greedy!"

When Xiao Bang awoke, they found themselves tied to a pillar.

Xiao Bang looked at the grand hall and said, "My goodness! How did I end up in the capital in the blink of an eye?"

His men were dumbfounded:

"Someone like us can enter the Imperial Palace? This is the first time we've ever seen the Imperial Palace!"

I heard the ground here is paved with gold bars, I wonder if it's true or not.

Then the eunuch's voice rang out. "All officials, proceed to court..."

A moment later, the whip cracked three times.

Hundreds of civil and military officials, dressed in red and blue robes embroidered with bird and animal patterns on their chests, entered the main hall and stood in two rows on either side below.

Zhou Wanwan, dressed in a bright yellow dragon robe, slowly walked out of the hall, went straight forward, and sat on the dragon throne.

Upon seeing this, all the officials knelt down in unison, shouting, "Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor!"

General Xiao Bang was completely dumbfounded.

He stood there, his eyes wide open, and even secretly pinched himself hard to make sure he wasn't dreaming.

He looked completely bewildered and couldn't help but mutter to himself:

"What... what's going on here? Isn't this the Imperial Palace? Who is this girl?"

"When did the dynasty change? I'm fighting on the frontier, how come I didn't know anything about it?"

Zhou Wanwan looked at Xiao Bang and asked, "Do you know this person?"

Suddenly, an elderly official in a scarlet robe stepped out from the crowd, his face solemn.

Xiao Bang glanced at him and trembled, exclaiming, "Second... Second Uncle? You... how did you get here?"

This man was none other than his second uncle, Xiao Bingwen.

Xiao Bingwen frowned, his face darkening as he glared at him. "Insolence! Shouting and yelling in the imperial court, what kind of decorum is this?"

Xiao Bang rubbed his eyes hard, then pinched himself hard, feeling as if everything before him was a dream.

His voice trembled, his face filled with disbelief:

"No, Uncle, our whole family thought you died in battle long ago, and we even held a funeral for you."

"How... how did you end up standing here in the imperial palace? Is this some kind of Netherworld Underworld?"

Xiao Bingwen sternly rebuked:

"Nonsense! Who told you I'm dead?"

"I am alive and well, serving His Majesty in court. When did I become a dead man?"

Xiao Bang glanced quickly through the crowd, his face turning deathly pale.

He first saw Zhao Muyuan, then Shen Jingzhi, and then turned his head to see Qin Shan and Shen Chaoge standing there, all wearing official robes.

These were all people whom the imperial court had declared dead long ago, and whose tombstones had even been erected.

Xiao Bang's mind went blank, his vision blurred, and his legs felt weak.

You still say this isn't the Netherworld Underworld?

Zhao Muyuan, Shen Jingzhi, Qin Shan, Shen Chaoge... aren't these people all dead already?

The imperial court issued a decree stating that they had all died for their country!

He was on the verge of a complete breakdown.

"This isn't the imperial palace! This is clearly the Netherworld Underworld! Otherwise, why is it full of dead people and ghosts? Waaaaah..."

My life has been so miserable! I haven't gotten married or had children yet, and I haven't achieved anything significant!

Xiao Bingwen glared at him angrily:

"Nonsense! What Netherworld Underworld! What ghosts!"

With His Majesty here, who dares to play tricks?

Stop spouting nonsense and disturbing His Majesty's presence!

Xiao Bang looked at Zhou Wanwan helplessly and said, "Second Uncle, the Emperor is a woman? No matter what, I wouldn't mistake the gender, would I?"

Zhou Wanwan couldn't hold back any longer and burst into laughter, "Xiao Bang, you're really something! Did you enjoy the fish and wine yesterday?"

Someone suddenly recognized Zhou Wanwan and said, "Hey! Isn't this the kid who gave us fish and wine yesterday?"

"No wonder I passed out after drinking the fish and wine."

Xiao Bang's face stiffened. "That's not right! You... you're really not ghosts? Then where is this place? Is it Black Wind Mountain Stronghold?"

Zhou Wanwan smiled and said, "That's right! Welcome to Black Wind Mountain Stronghold. Aren't you going to wipe out bandits? How do you plan to do it?"

Lin Bingwen stepped forward and grabbed his ear, saying, "You brat, you've gotten quite the skills in the last few years! You're planning to suppress bandits? What kind of bandits?"

Xiao Bang immediately knelt down in the tunnel:

"Second Uncle, it hurts... it hurts so much! If I had known you were here, I wouldn't have dared to come and suppress the bandits even if I had a hundred lives!"

I had no choice but to obey the imperial decree. The capital issued an imperial edict ordering me to suppress some mountain bandits.

Our Xiao Family is doing extremely poorly in the capital right now, so I have no choice but to obey!