Qin Qiong, the Duke of Yiguo, is Zhang Wenyi's father-in-law and one of the few relatives known today, and since entering the palace, they have almost severed contact with each other under Li Shimin's deliberate interference.

After receiving the arraignment, Zhang Wenyi calmly packed the items she wanted to bring and quietly waited for Li Zhi's return.

When Shen Shi Li Zhi returned, he brought the news that Li Shimin was going to take them out of the palace to visit Qin Qiong. Seeing that Zhang Wenyi had already packed up, Li Zhi took her to Li Shimin's place to meet.

The three of them came to the Yiguo Mansion, and the prince Qin Huaiyu greeted them outside the gate. Coming straight to Qin Qiong's sickbed, Li Shimin couldn't help but burst into tears when he looked at this veteran who had made many meritorious achievements.

When Qin Qiong was falling asleep, Yuan Niang, who was serving on the side, was gently wiping Qin Qiong's forehead with a towel. Zhang Wenyi walked over and took the towel from Yuan Niang's hand, washed it in the water and handed it to Yuan Niang, Yuan Niang did not take the towel and signaled Zhang Wenyi to step forward to fulfill her filial piety. Zhang Wenyi stepped forward and gently wiped it like Yuan Niang. Qin Qiong didn't wake up for a long time, and Li Shimin saw that the time was not early, so he pulled Qin Huaiyu and asked about Qin Qiong's situation.

Li Zhi's eyes never left Zhang Wenyi's body, watching her devote herself to wiping Qin Qiong's forehead. In the end, he couldn't help but glance at Li Shimin, and then quickly turned his head and continued to stare at Zhang Wenyi. Zhang Wenyi didn't seem to make any movements, she still wiped them gently one by one.

Li Zhi didn't know that at the moment when he couldn't help but turn his head, Zhang Wenyi stuffed the prepared bag into Qin Qiong's quilt, and her hand was gently shaken by Qin Qiong.

After listening to Qin Huaiyu's introduction, Li Shimin was about to return to the palace, Zhang Wenyi stood up and handed the towel to Yuan Niang, turned around and left with Li Shimin's father and son.

Yuan Niang went out to pour water with a basin of water, and stuffed a roll of paper into her arms while others were not paying attention. When she returned to the door of the room, she saw Qin Huaiyu waving to her to avoid it.

When Yuan Niang walked away, Qin Qiong motioned to Qin Huaiyu to close the door, and Qin Qiong opened the bag sent by Zhang Wenyi. In it is her daily record about life in the palace, including a lot of Li Zhifa's complaints and the situation of the palace maids around her.

Qin Huaiyu looked at these scattered trivial matters of her daughter's family's life, and really couldn't think of any use. However, my father's face was solemn, as if these trivial matters were very important.

Seeing the eldest son's blank face, Qin Qiong unfolded these pieces of paper, pointed to a whining word from Li Zhi, and said: "Look at this sentence Li Zhi said: Your Majesty wants to give the surname Ashina and summon the Xuanwu Gate guard. The Turkic leader of the Ashina clan, the guard officer of the Xuanwu Gate, is the Khibi He Li of the Tiele Department. What does this mean? It shows that His Majesty intends to go west. Recently, Tubo Dazan sent people into Beijing to marry our dynasty, but His Majesty did not allow it, which shows that His Majesty has the intention to plot the Western Regions and Tibet. It's just that the western Xinjiang is desolate and the places of Guanzhong, Guanxi, and Hedong are full of heroes, and the production is not enough to supply Chang'an, and Emperor Gaozu has led the people of Chang'an to eat Luoyang several times. Passing through the Western Regions in this way is not enough at all, and it is a sure defeat. ”

Qin Huaiyu asked in surprise: "Your Majesty has been in a hundred battles, why did you make such a decision?" ”

Qin Qiong sneered and said, "Your Majesty is good at using soldiers to make strange plans, but I'm afraid that the drunkard doesn't mean to drink!" ”

Qin Qiong still wanted to continue, but suddenly felt chest tightness and shortness of breath and dizziness. He reached out and put his hand on the head of the bed and sighed. said: "Yizhen, the limit for my father is approaching, I'm afraid there are not a few days." Some time ago, I had some manuscripts in my study, and although they hadn't been finished yet, they already had eight or nine points. You don't want to do anything these days, read those manuscripts quickly, and don't know where to ask me. When I die, you're going to memorize the manuscript and burn it, and you have to do it quickly. ”

Yi Zhen was Qin Huaiyu's cousin, and when he heard his father say something serious, he hurriedly responded and slowly retreated.

In the following days, Qin Huaiyu spent the next few days in front of Qin Qiong's sickbed, and Yuan Niang came several times to help her husband serve her father-in-law but was refused. So she had to find someone to make iron tools according to the drawings sent by Zhang Wenyi, and make these iron tools into patterns and inlay them on the box to find a way to send them to the palace.

The things sent to the palace were first inspected by Li Shimin's father and son, and then they were sent to Zhang Wenyi's hands. Inside the box are mostly books on embroidery, but there are also some books and letters.

On the letter, Yuan Niang wrote about looking for her family some time ago with the support of Guogong, and Yuan Niang thought that her father used to go to Jiangdu often, and she felt that the family might be hiding there.

Seeing this letter, Li Shimin shook his head and said, "In the end, it is a woman, since Wen Zheng intends to escape, how can she hide in Jiangdu." He has contacts over there, and it is naturally easy for people with a heart to find out his whereabouts. ”

threw the letter into the box casually and waved his hand, signaling the waiter to tidy it up and send it to Zhang Wenyi.

Li Zhi was extremely puzzled by this, and he thought that his wife was dignified, virtuous, kind and considerate, and why his father had always been difficult to trust her.

Li Shimin smiled and said, "Pheasant slave, you underestimate your wife too much. Do you know what it means to walk 400 miles alone? If you have a guide and walk along the official road, you will encounter things like missing your stay, encountering robbers, and being blackmailed. If you miss the accommodation, you will have no food or water to drink; Sleeping in the wild at night, beware of fierce beasts and snakes and scorpions after being bitten by mosquitoes in summer, and freezing to death outside in the cold winter if you don't bring enough clothes and bedding. If you encounter robbers, you may lose both money and people. Blackmail is even more difficult to prevent. Here's an example: You're walking forward when someone catches you and says you've knocked over his cart and you're losing money on the damaged items. Maybe one article or two sentences, maybe it has always been two coherence, and the neighbors next to him will naturally help him speak. Even if you see an official, in the end, you will only lose more and pay less. If you don't pay the magistrate with money, you may be sentenced to blame. ”

Speaking of this, Li Shimin paused, glanced at Li Zhi, and saw that he was listening carefully, so he continued: "This is a situation that adult men often encounter when they go out alone. She is a young and weak girl, but she is afraid that it will be more difficult, even if ordinary people see a single young girl, they will be willing to deceive her or forcibly tie her up and sell her, and if she encounters a displaced person, she may be killed and eaten. There is also the most fundamental question, how can she recognize the road to Pengcheng. ”

Li Zhi hesitated for a while and said, "Maybe she has a map at home." ”

Li Shimin smiled and said, "Pheasant slave, you have also been to Luoyang a few times, but are you sure to go to Luoyang alone?" ”

Li Zhi almost blurted out, "I can." However, after thinking about it carefully, Li Zhi smiled bitterly and shook his head, he couldn't do it.

Li Zhi asked again: "Since my father can't rest assured of her, why did he marry her." ”

Li Shimin laughed when he heard this: "This sentence is a good question. You must know that our royal marriage has never been a simple love between men and women. Whether you are marrying, you are making friends and balancing the forces of all parties. The biggest reason why you married her is that she is the righteous daughter of the Duke of Yiguo. Who is the Duke of Yiguo, the head of the Hanmen military ministers, even if I no longer use him after I ascended the throne, but his achievements are still difficult for anyone to surpass. Even if Yiguo Bus retired to the Guogong Mansion to retire to his old age, he still had 180,000 Wagang forces in his hands. As long as he ascends to the heights, he can get 20,000 elite soldiers in an instant, and there are countless shadow followers. Such a person should have married him a long time ago, but Shubao has always wanted to stay out of the matter, and I don't want to force him. Now that he is approaching the end of the day, he has just accepted this woman as a righteous daughter, and if he does not think of any more ways to prevent the forces he is guarding from being used by those who have a good heart, it will be very disadvantageous to us. ”

Li Zhi asked again: "My father often said that the prince of Yiguo was chivalrous and loyal, why did he abandon it so far?" ”

Li Shimin nodded and said, "The pheasant slave has grown a lot recently, this question is good, and I have taken a fancy to the key points of the joints. Most of the people from poor families are born in the market, and it is easy to see small profits and forget the righteousness. It is often deceived by scholars and uses the crowd to attack them, which is the most powerful thing about scholars. If they are instigated by the scholars, what should we do with ourselves? There are very few loyal and brave people like Shubao in the cold gate, although they have the reputation of leading the group, it is difficult to control the entire cold gate. It is impossible to trust and use people from poor families, and since Shu Bao is the leader of these people, it is inevitable to suppress him. ”

Li Zhi suddenly realized and said, "The child understands." There are people like the Winged Guogong, and if the scholars want to use the people, they must first pass through the cold gate. Once the Duke of Yiguo is gone, the Hanmen may be used by the scholars. Their strength is strong, and with the addition of scholars, they can influence the government. If we marry the poor, we will also hinder the scholars from taking advantage of the people. It's just that the child doesn't know how to treat Jiu'er, and asks his father to make it clear. ”

Li Shimin said with a smile: "This woman is just a righteous woman of the Wing Kingdom, if she is not involved in the Wing Kingdom Mansion, she is just a weak woman, and it will be harmless to us." If she is involved in the Yiguo Mansion, she must guard against her internal and external collusion and chaos in the court. ”

After Li Zhi and Zhang Wenyi lay down that night, Li Zhi hugged his wife and said: "I talked about you with my father today, and my father praised you for being amazing, and you were able to walk from Chuzhou to Pengcheng alone. I was still a little unconvinced, my father asked me if I could walk from Chang'an to Luoyang alone, I thought about it and felt that I couldn't do it, and then I realized that you are very powerful. ”

Zhang Wenyi leaned on Li Zhi's arms, hugged his waist, found a comfortable position, and said sleepily: "That's just forced by the situation, not as powerful as Your Majesty said." If His Royal Highness is forced to do that part, he may do better than the concubine. That journey was too hard, and the concubine didn't want to think about it until now. ”

Li Zhi smiled and said, "Then what are you thinking about now?" ”

Zhang Wenyi leaned into his arms and said, "Be your little woman, the sky will fall and you will hold it, and I will live a peaceful life below." ”

Li Zhi smiled silently, hugged Zhang Wenyi tighter, and after a while, he heard Zhang Wenyi's even breathing when he was asleep. Li Zhi smiled dumbly, thinking: It's really generous enough.

In fact, Zhang Wenyi did not fall asleep, and Li Zhi's words alerted her. thought that at her current age, marrying into the royal family should not be targeted and calculated for a few years, but being framed twice in a row made Zhang Wenyi completely sober up. As the saying goes: going deep into Houmen is as deep as the sea. Not to mention entering the royal family. From the day she confirmed her marriage to Li Zhi, the battle had already begun.

What kind of topic will Li Shimin's father and son talk about her past today? What kind of words are behind it? Zhang Wenyi was very curious about this, but years of experience in spy collection told her: never show traces of exploration. Otherwise she would be in a very sinister situation.

From today's conversation between Li Shimin's father and son, we can at least draw the conclusion that Li Shimin is somewhat wary of her. So the last time Li Shimin went to the Yiguo Mansion in person, it was by no means a simple visit to the heroes, at that time, their father and son never let themselves leave their sight. It can be seen from here that Li Shimin is always wary of himself, but why should Li Shimin be so wary of her?

From ancient times to the present, whether it is a prince or a government official, most of their marriages are political marriages, and the marriages of royal families are even more so. Then he was able to marry Li Zhi, the future emperor, mostly because of the power represented by Yiguo Gong. Of course, what the Li family father and son are most afraid of is internal and external collusion to shake the country's foundation, so they will care about their return to the public mansion. But what kind of power did Yi Guogong grasp that would make Li Shimin both jealous and helpless?

On February of the twelfth year of Zhenguan, the Yiguo Mansion was shrouded in solemnity. In the past few days, Qin Qiong has been in a coma most of the time, only occasionally waking up and looking around with a cloudy gaze. The sons of the Qin family had already received the news and rushed back, and the imperial doctor of the Imperial Doctor's Department had already instructed the Qin family to prepare for the future.

On this day, Qin Qiong woke up in a very healthy spirit, and her cheeks showed an abnormally healthy flush. He sat up and said to Qin Huaiyu, who was standing aside, "I invite the Duke of E, the Duke of Lu, and the Duke of Britain to come and speak." ”

Qin Huaiyu agreed, and hurriedly sent people to the mansions of Wei Chigong, Cheng Zhijie, and Li Ji to ask for someone.

Yu Chigong was the first to arrive, and when Qin Qiong saw him, he ordered Qin Huaiyu to hand him a small wooden box with black lacquer. Tell Wei Chigong: "This is the list of Wagang's widows, please forward it to Your Majesty." In addition, the people of the Wen family must have entered Fujian, you send someone to find them and bring them back, and tell Wen Zheng to hand over the wealth of Wagang to His Majesty with interest. Now his daughter is the princess of Jin, and handing it over to His Majesty is not considered to be in the hands of outsiders. ”

Wei Chigong hesitated and said, "Why didn't you do this second brother?" ”

Qin Qiong said: "Giving these to Your Majesty means that you have completely disconnected from the cold door, so that you can gain Your Majesty's trust." You weren't originally from a humble family, but you were only abandoned by Your Majesty when you interacted with us, and this matter can just be your advanced asset. I, a dying man, don't need that. ”

Wei Chigong looked at Qin Qiong and said with a wry smile: "Second brother is really thoughtful. ”

Qin Qiong also smiled bitterly and said, "Although you are not from a poor family, you are from the same humble background as us. In the past, in order to expand our influence, we also involved you, and the second brother apologized to you here.

Wei Chigong didn't dare to say anything.

Qin Qiong continued: "Although you have broken away from the Hanmen. But your influence is still there. Therefore, if you can gain the trust of His Majesty and not openly oppose the Hanmen, then it will also be a help to the Hanmen. ”

Wei Chigong took the box and said, "I must do my best to live up to the trust." ”

After a while, Cheng Zhijie strode in. Seeing that Qin Qiong was in good spirits, he glanced at Wei Chigong in surprise, and immediately understood that this was Qin Qiong's return to light.

Qin Qiong beckoned to him, and Cheng Zhijie hurriedly walked to the bed. Qin Qiong said to him: "Ah Chou, I'm leaving, and I'll leave the matter in the cold door to you to deal with." If necessary, there will be no mercy! ”

Cheng Zhijie exclaimed: "Is it so serious? ”

Qin Qiong said with a wry smile: "I also realized this. Originally, we all thought that with our status, we would be able to suppress those people in the cold gate who did not know the height of the sky, but in fact, we were all wrong. The current Hanmen is like a giant beast that has broken the chains, and it may set off a monstrous wave under the encouragement of the scholars. If we can't make a decision right away, we are afraid that the jade will be burned. ”

Cheng Zhijie frowned and said, "Why don't you cut through the mess quickly, and now you will be in trouble?" ”

Qin Qiong asked: "You and I both started out of recklessness, you will kill the butcher knife to the cold door now, do you consider the consequences of doing so?" ”

Cheng Zhijie smiled awkwardly, bowing his head and being silent. After a while, he sighed: "This is too difficult." ”

Qin Qiong said: "Discuss with your heirs in case of trouble, this child is brave and strategic, but he has less experience." ”

Cheng Zhijie rubbed his big hands and said, "Second brother, listen to you." ”

As he was talking, Menzi reported that the British Duke Li Ji had arrived, and Qin Qiong motioned for the two to leave first.

The three of them met in the corridor, Cheng Zhijie patted Li Ji's shoulder and said, "Why did you come, second brother ......"

Li Ji smiled bitterly: "My mansion is a little far from here, and I rushed here immediately after receiving the news." ”

Cheng Zhijie patted Li Ji's shoulder again, shook his head, sighed, and walked away.

came to Qin Qiong's study, and saw that Qin Qiong was changing clothes, Li Ji wanted to quit. Qin Qiong hurriedly stopped him and told everyone who served to retreat.

Qin Qiong sat down on the edge of the bed, pointed to the chair next to the table and said, "Mao Gong, please take a seat." ”

Li Ji was stunned when he heard Qin Qiong's words halfway through. He sat down after a moment's intent. He said: "Second brother, no matter what you think of me, I still recognize you as the second brother." ”

Qin Qiong smiled and said tiredly: "Mao Gong, aren't you tired of stepping on two boats like this?" ”

Li Ji stood up from the chair when he heard the words, and said excitedly: "Second brother, although I, Li Ji, was born in a wealthy family, I was abandoned by my family since I was a child, you know all this. I am no different from you, and I am no worse than others in terms of loyalty, so why can't neither Your Majesty nor you trust me? ”

Qin Qiong said calmly: "Mao Gong, we have never given up on you, it's just that you have always been unwilling to take out your heart. In Chuzhou, you made eye contact with the Wang brothers in front of you, and asked if you wanted to take the Wen family daughter as your daughter-in-law. At that time, you already knew that the Xie family was already involved, right! ”

Before Li Ji could argue, Qin Qiong shook his hand and said, "I don't have much time, you can listen to me." ”

Saying this, Qin Qiong leaned back on the bed and said, "Mao Gong, you and I live and die together, and I have a few words to say to you in the end." When it is Your Majesty's world, it is natural that there is no room for half-heartedness with Your Majesty's eloquence. ”

Li Ji's expression darkened, and he said, "Second brother, don't worry, I, Li Ji, will definitely not spoil your business." ”

Qin Qiong couldn't persuade Li Ji, so he had to say, "In that case, you should be careful." ”

Hearing Qin Qiong say this, Li Ji's tears of emotion almost fell. In the end, he was ruthless, said goodbye to Qin Qiong, turned around and walked out without looking back.