In the days when Li Fengming was busy checking the eyeliner of the prince in the mansion, Zhan Kaiyang was also secretly investigating a matter on the order of Xiao Mingche.

Zhan Kaiyang has been instructed by Chun Yu Dai for months, and his actions have gradually become orderly.

He first asked people to search for merchants from Wei in Yongjing City, and asked about some fragmentary clues; rummaged through the palace doors of the Huai Wangfu for nearly two or three years, and extracted the news related to the Wei State; I also found a way to go to the file room of Honglu Temple a few times.

One of the important responsibilities of Honglu Temple is to be in charge of foreign affairs, so it knows a lot about the details of other countries.

In this way, it is easier to distinguish between the false and the true with the words of the merchants of the Wei State.

At first, Zhan Kaiyang didn't understand why Xiao Mingche suddenly wanted to check the news about the "late prince of Wei".

When he sent everything he found into the study of the North Courtyard, he also had an astonishing guess in his heart.

When many small elements are scattered in the details, nothing is unusual.

But when these elements are collected, screened and sorted out by those who are interested in it, they can piece together some secrets that are deliberately blurred or even hidden.

"Today, the Empress of Wei gave birth to two princesses. One is Li Yao, the sixth princess who is currently underage and has no title; The other is the late prince, the eldest princess Li Ying. ”

This is well known in the Wei State, and it is not a new secret in the Qi State, so there is nothing surprising.

Zhan Kaiyang paused for a moment to speak, and looked at Xiao Mingche, who was sitting at the table.

Xiao Mingche put his right hand on the stack of paper full of news, and thoughtfully "um", indicating that he was listening.

So Zhan Kaiyang continued: "According to Honglu Temple, the political differences between the emperors and queens of Wei have been for a long time. When the former prince Li Ying was seventeen years old, there was a fierce conflict between the imperial party and the later party, and even a court debate was launched for this, but the topic of the conflict was unclear. In that debate, in the end, the latter party had a slight upper hand......"

About ten months later, Zongzheng Temple, which was in charge of the affairs of the Wei royal family, announced to the public that "the prince is seriously ill, and Her Majesty the Empress is worried about becoming ill."

On the surface, this matter seems to be human, but it is quite subtle when you think about it, and there have been some rumors and speculations about it in Weiduluocheng.

After all, the Wei State implemented the co-governance of the emperor and the queen, and the empress was the "second monarch of the country", and she was called His Majesty together with the emperor.

The queen was worried about the prince's serious illness and retired to the middle palace to recuperate, and her authority was completely taken over by Emperor Wei.

With the Empress Wei handing over the seal and half of the seal and temporarily fading out of the court, the situation between the imperial party and the later party was naturally reversed.

In the spring of the following year, the state of Qi sent a letter of marriage to the state of Wei.

At about this time, the former prince Li Yingxue, who had been recuperating in the East Palace for more than a year, died at the age of eighteen.

Due to the need to prepare for the marriage, Empress Wei forcibly endured the pain of losing her daughter and returned to the court. She tried her best to disagree with the public, and appointed Li Fengming, the companion of the former prince and the daughter of Li Dian, the king of Yu, to be selected by her relatives, and Emperor Wei named her 'Princess Jinping'......"

This statement is consistent with the introduction of Li Fengming's identity in the book of pro-country.

But when Zhan Kaiyang said this, he couldn't help lowering his eyes, and he didn't dare to look directly at Xiao Mingche's gaze.

"According to several Wei merchants, before that, it was only known that the prince was the head of the Huizheng Academy, Su Wan."

According to the Wei system, after the coming-of-age ceremony, the prince had to select the subordinates of the East Palace to form the "Huizheng Yuan", and receive the emperor's holy decree to assist in the national affairs.

The former prince Li Ying's Huizheng Yuan only existed for about a year, and the tree fell apart with her death.

But Su Wan's identity is a bit legendary, and the head of the Huizheng Yuan is the number one minister under the name of the prince, so ordinary people are no strangers to her.

"The merchants of Wei said that Su Wan was the orphan of the late famous general of Wei, and his ancestor had married a side branch of the Li family, and barely touched the blood of the relatives of the Wei Emperor. Her parents died when she was a child, and she was raised in the East Palace because of her outstanding talent, as a companion to the prince Li Ying. After Li Ying established the Huizheng Yuan, Su Wan was appointed as the chief secretary of Wei. ”

Zhan Kaiyang took a deep breath, his heart beating fast.

"After Li Yingxue died and the Huizheng Yuan was dissolved, Su Wan refused the invitation of the second prince Li Yun, and invited herself to guard the mausoleum for the former prince Li Ying, and never appeared in public again, and no one knew her whereabouts and ending."

It stands to reason that the prince of a country usually does not have only one companion.

But compared with Su Wan, who is known in the ins and outs, ordinary people in Wei are very unfamiliar with the prince "Li Fengming, the daughter of King Yu".

She seems to have been known to everyone out of thin air after the death of the prince.

"Your Highness, what do you say, which is the real identity of the princess?" Zhan Kaiyang was so shocked that his voice trembled when he asked this.

Xiao Mingche was not shocked, his expression and tone were not salty, "What do you think?" ”

Although it was a rhetorical question, he had already guessed in his heart.

What Zhan Kaiyang found only made him confirm his judgment.

Zhan Kaiyang swallowed his saliva and didn't dare to say anything.

Based on the news in front of him, it is speculated that Li Fengming's true identity is probably between "Li Ying, the former prince of Wei" and "Su Wan, the former head of the Hui Political Yuan".

If the truth is the former, Zhan Kaiyang feels ridiculous just thinking about it, how dare he say it?

The prince of a country cheated to death and became a princess who went to a foreign country and made peace......

The most whimsical legend in the market would not dare to make up such a sensational plot!

Xiao Mingche didn't mean to explore in depth, but only looked at him coldly, "No matter what you think, remember to keep your mouth shut." ”

"Yes."

On the fifteenth, Li Fengming entered the palace to be taught by the queen.

When he got off the carriage in front of the white jade bridge outside the palace gate, he unexpectedly met Wenyin who also entered the palace today.

In fact, it's not just about hearing sounds.

At this moment, the white jade bridge is very lively, and there are many carriages and sedan chairs parked.

Most of the women and noblewomen with heads and faces in Yongjing City came, and everyone dressed up carefully, and the scene can be described as fragrant and sideburns, which is extremely eye-catching.

Although Xiao Mingche is one of the few princes of Kaifu today, his position in the court is a little embarrassing because he is not loved by Emperor Qi.

After marriage, a woman in Qi is a wife and a husband, Xiao Mingche is like this, Li Fengming will certainly not be too popular.

The wives and nobles of various families recognized Li Fengming's identity, and they just stepped forward to say hello.

After that, they each retreated, and asked her to go to the bridge first, without the intention of hugging and talking.

Li Fengming not only didn't care, but was in a happy mood, looking at each of them like looking at a walking gold ingot-

Her nose was bright, and she had the familiar smell of incense powder or ointment from many people one after another.

It can be seen that these are her big customers. How could she complain about her patrons?

Li Fengming suppressed the joy in his heart, greeted Mrs. Wen in a low voice, and walked in front of everyone with Wenyin.

On the Baiyu Bridge, Li Fengming whispered to Wenyin as he walked, "What's going on?" Why did you enter the palace today? ”

Wen Yin snorted muffled and tightened his grip on her arm.

"The queen suddenly ordered someone to send an order yesterday, saying that anyone who has a daughter in the family who is over fifteen years old and has no marriage contract will be brought into the middle palace to meet him today."

"No wonder I didn't get the news," Li Fengming nodded, and asked again, "Why do you want all the unmarried girls from all families to enter the palace to meet you?" It can't be the queen's whim to help so many people pull the red line, right? ”

The Empress of Qi State does not interfere in politics, except for this, Li Fengming really can't think of any other possibilities.

"Who knows? The person who came to give the order yesterday did not elaborate," Wen Yin sneered with a wry smile, "If the queen really wants to pull the red line for everyone, my mother would be desperate." ”

In terms of the standard of adulthood, the state of Qi is different from the state of Wei.

The Wei people, both male and female, were considered to be adults at the age of sixteen; The Qi people are sixteen males and fifteen females.

Wei girls from high-ranking families rarely get married when they are just adults, because sixteen or seventeen years old is a critical moment for studying and examining, and they have no time to talk about marriage at this juncture.

Qi Nu is different.

The most important thing in their lives is to get married, so most of them get married at the age of fifteen or sixteen.

Wenyin is only more than a year younger than Li Fengming, and he should be nineteen by the end of this year. She is considered an older girl in Qi Country, and of course Mrs. Wen is in a hurry.

Li Fengming squinted at her with a smile, a little curious, "Mrs. Wen, what's so urgent?" With your family background, even if you are loved by your family and plan to keep you for a few more years, you must have already been engaged to get married, right? ”

"You haven't heard anything about me?" I was surprised.

"I'm just a friend of yours in Yongjing City. If you don't tell me about this kind of private affairs in the boudoir, where will I hear about it? ”

Li Fengming thought for a while and said sincerely, "Don't be too reluctant, don't say it if you don't want to say it." ”

"It's not a secret, everyone in the capital knows it." Wenyin's attitude was generous, and he leaned slightly closer to her ear and suppressed his laughter.

"When I was fourteen years old, the Empress talked to my mother and wanted me to be the crown princess. Later, Concubine Shu used a little trick in front of His Majesty and succeeded in stirring up the yellow. ”

The crown prince was born by the queen, and Concubine Shu was the biological mother of King Heng.

The crown prince and King Heng have always been at odds with each other, how could Concubine Shu see the Wen family becoming the help of the crown prince?

The Wen family is a scholarly family, Wen Yin's father Wen Zexi is a scholar of the dynasty, and her cousin is still Princess Heng.

With such a family background, ordinary portals don't have the courage to climb up to their in-laws. And the one who is the right person with the Wen family, which one will be the fuel-efficient lamp?

As long as the elves think that Wenyin is a girl who almost became the prince's concubine, they have to have scruples.

So Wenyin's marriage is not high or low, and it has been inexplicably delayed so far.

"When I was in the palace, Princess Heng took you with me, and the princess looked at you, and her nose was not a nose or an eye, and I still muttered in my heart."

Li Fengming patted the back of his hand that was afraid of hearing the sound, and his eyebrows were lightly raised.

"Do the math, the prince is nearly six or seven years older than you, and it's not a pity to miss it."

"Of course not." Wen Yin raised his chin slightly, and there was a bit of mystery hidden in his shy and happy smile.

Li Fengming suddenly realized: "Someone in my heart? ”

"I won't tell you." Wenyin's face turned red and pushed her to the step into the palace.

Originally, it was the queen who was supposed to teach the concubines of the imperial heirs today, but since she summoned all the unmarried girls into the palace, it was obvious that the latter was the highlight of the day.

After seeing the ceremony, the queen emphasized a few words of women's virtue and women's appearance, and then took everyone to the imperial garden to watch the lotus pond.

At this time, the little lotus shows its sharp corners, but the lotus leaves are connected to the sky, and there is indeed a scene to enjoy.

In the middle of the lotus pond, there is an open pavilion that is transparent on all sides, and more than 30 people are only slightly crowded in the middle of it, and they do not feel cramped.

"Princess Huai, come, sit here in the palace." The queen smiled kindly and called Li Fengming to her side to sit together.

Many people present were a little surprised-

The crown princess couldn't come to see the queen today, but the two princesses, the side concubines and the prince Zhaoxun are here, why is it Princess Huai's turn to be loved by the queen?

Others don't understand, but Li Fengming knows it.

On that snowy day in the Dicui Mountain Palace, in order to vent her anger for Xiao Mingche, she made a statement in front of Emperor Qi, and helped the queen regain the actual right to teach the imperial heirs and concubines without a trace, and invisibly helped the queen re-consolidate the status of the middle palace.

The queen turned her head and used some means, so that Emperor Qi agreed to send Qian Zhaoyi to the Empress Dowager's mausoleum.

This move is to express the intention of repaying Li with the Huai Wangfu, which can be regarded as inheriting Li Fengming's affection.

But everyone is a scene person, and both sides can tacitly know this kind of thing. The queen never talked to Li Fengming about this matter in the open, and she didn't mention it obediently.

This measure is handled properly, and it is very favored by the queen, so she was asked to help find the jade Rongsan before.

As the mother of the country, what good things can't the queen get? It's nothing more than an excuse to release closeness and goodwill.

At this moment, the queen raised in public, Li Fengming happily accepted it, and stepped forward to sit down according to her words.

"Look, the queen mother is radiant today, even more than ever." Li Fengming smiled and straightened her dress.

"It's just your flamboyant tongue." The queen glanced at her with a sideways smile and raised her hand to the female officer behind her.

"Why is this flamboyant? It's all from the bottom of my heart. Li Fengming's eyes and lips were bent.

As she spoke, the female official had let the palace maids on the nine-song corridor outside the pavilion infiltrate.

The palace ladies each held a tray with many scrolls on it.

The queen looked around at everyone and said with a smile, "A few days ago, King Heng advised His Majesty to advocate imposing heavy taxes on older women in the country to encourage women to get married as soon as possible and 'increase production to serve the country'. ”

The scene was suddenly eeriely silent, and many of the little girls sitting behind their mothers were even more at a loss.

Li Fengming glanced at Wenyin quietly, and saw that she was obviously a little annoyed, as if she wanted to say something, so he shook his head at her.

"After all, this palace is just a woman's family, and I don't know anything about national politics and court affairs. All I can do is help you little girls plan ahead and choose a good son-in-law as soon as possible. Otherwise, after a while, the whole country will rush into a mess and be in a hurry to say that they must not choose the wrong person. ”

The Queen's words were by no means alarmist.

The southern and western borders of Qi were not peaceful, and wars were frequent for more than 40 years. As a result, young and strong men are constantly being consumed in large quantities.

If the imperial court really issued a new decree according to King Heng, most of the families in the country who had unmarried daughters of appropriate age would be eager to marry their daughters in order to avoid being heavily taxed.

In Li Fengming's memory, there were similar absurdities in the history of Wei more than 100 years ago.

The dizzy heads of the family were busy and married their delicate daughters to beggars, and such shocking anecdotes are recorded in the history books.

Her mind was spinning rapidly, but there was nothing on her face, and she was full of interest to accompany the queen to look at the portraits of men.

The queen didn't mess around, most of the men picked out had a decent appearance, each with a style, and they all deserved the words "young talent".

At the end of the day, Li Fengming looked at nearly fifty portraits of handsome men, which was a feast for his eyes.

At sunset, she returned to the Huaiwang Mansion, didn't want to eat, pulled Xin Wei to hide in the study of the small courtyard, and happily described what she had seen and heard today.

“…… There is a man named Zhao Qing, who is very good-looking! When I looked at the portrait, all I had in mind was the words 'lady and gentleman'! ”

"There is another one who was born on the same day, the same month, the same year, the same year, surnamed Wu, I forgot the name. It is said that he is a well-known scholar in Baoshan County, who is really open-minded and open-minded, and he is ...... tsk."

Every time she said someone, Xin Wei's eyes lit up, and she would let out an exclamation of "wow", and asked a few more details from time to time.

"Your Royal Highness is saying that the queen will also take the opportunity of 'gathering hope' to arrange for the nobles to see the real people with their own eyes when Xia Wang is taking the scholar?"

"That's right! You can only wait outside the palace today, it's a pity. When the time comes, I will take you to enjoy the beauty and make up for your regrets! Li Fengming was overjoyed.

Xin Wei laughed: "Your Highness, don't use me as a cover." Look at your posture, a hungry wolf looks like fresh meat. ”

Li Fengming didn't mind her teasing herself like this at all, but she said it more and more, and she was so excited that she was so excited.

"If you want to say that the most tender and delicious person in the audience today, it should be a person named Cen Jiashu! At first glance, it looks a bit like Zhan Kaiyang, obedient; The eyes are like jade squares, the kind of eyes with starlight! There is also a dimple on the left side of his face. Well, in this position, like A-Ning, it is like honey. ”

She put her index finger on her hot left cheek and smiled so hard that she couldn't see her teeth.

"His portrait is smiling, like a handful of sugar in the spring breeze! It's so sweet in my heart that it's ...... Belch? Ahem, ahem. ”

The window of the study was opened from the outside, Xiao Mingche's cold face suddenly appeared, and Li Fengming was so frightened that he hurriedly stopped his mouth.

Xin Wei turned his head suddenly, also shocked.

She was so fascinated by what Li Fengming said that she didn't notice that someone was standing between the windows and eavesdropping.

Li Fengming coughed several times in a row, and then stood up and squeezed out an uncomfortable smile at Xiao Mingche under the window. "When did you come?"

"When you praised Zhao Qing as a 'lady gentleman'." Xiao Mingche looked at her expressionlessly.

That's pretty much the end of the course.

Li Fengming endured the embarrassment and pretended to be calm, "Since you are here, what are you doing hiding outside the window?" It just so happens that I have something important to talk to you about, so come in and talk about it. ”

"The important thing is that Zhan Kaiyang is obedient, or the jade fang with stars in his eyes, or A-Ning who can hold honey in his dimples?"

It was rare for Xiao Mingche to say such a long list of words in one breath, but unfortunately his expression was too condensed, and it sounded a little unkind.

"Or is it the Cen Jiashu who is the culmination of these people and is so sweet that it goes deep into your heart?"

Li Fengming's face was so red that he was about to get congested, "Xin Wei, pull me a little." ”

Xin Wei was confused and confused, "Huh? "You stand so well, what am I pulling you for?

"If you don't pull me, I'm afraid that if I have an impulse, I will hit the pillar and die on the spot."

His Royal Highness Li Fengming still has to show some face.

grew up to almost twenty years old, and he hid behind people to commit such a nymphomaniac, but Xiao Mingche heard it clearly......

—————

Or for a group of strange men who only saw the portrait but did not see the real face.

It's so embarrassing that I almost suffocated.

。