33 Clear

◎Not him, but far inferior to him.◎

There was silence in the study for a long while.

Clouds drifted across the sky. Lu Jing said gravely, "Has the eldest daughter of the Marquis of Nan'an still been unmarried?"

The secret guard reported truthfully: "Your Highness, that is exactly what happened."

The Ningguo Duke's mansion holds unparalleled prestige among the aristocratic families of Kyoto. Back then, the Duke prepared lavish gifts and personally proposed marriage to the Nan'an Marquisate for his legitimate son, only to find such a fate. Miss Luo, however, declared she would rather become a nun at a Taoist temple than be hastily married. The Nan'an Marquis and his wife, always cherishing their only daughter like a precious jewel, were left with no choice but to compromise. The Nan'an Marquis visited the Duke's mansion to apologize, stating that since the engagement had not yet been finalized, they could only claim mutual consent. The Xuanping Marquisate, caught in the middle, was in a dilemma.

After Miss Luo's infatuation with Lord Gu disrupted the Ningguo Duke's marriage, other noble families naturally stopped considering marriages with the Nan'an Marquisate. The Xuanping Marquisate was also uninterested, using the excuse of incompatibility as an excuse. Furthermore, at the time, the Xuanping Marquisate was focused on facilitating the marriage of their eldest daughter with the Ningguo Duke's son. The inter-marriages among these three families were truly tangled and complex.

Therefore, the matter was shameful and involved the reputation of the daughter's family. After the initial uproar, the three families deliberately suppressed it, and gradually no one mentioned it, and Miss Luo's marriage was put on hold.

However, the Marquis of Nan'an was in his prime, in good health, and the Nan'an Marquisate was small. Therefore, it wouldn't be a problem for the eldest daughter to stay at home for a few more decades.

After the secret guards left, Sun Jing was waiting outside the study.

When Sun Jing heard the summons from His Highness, he thought that His Highness wanted to summon someone from the Ningguo Mansion.

His Highness, however, spoke: "Go to the West Courtyard and ask Yuan Le to come over."

"I understand," Sun Jing replied. He wondered what crucial information the secret guards had uncovered that had upset His Highness. He sighed. But how did this matter connect to Master Gu? He hoped there wouldn't be any trouble between His Highness and Master Gu.

Sun Jing was worried, but before he even reached the study door, His Royal Highness Prince Zhao immediately changed his mind: "No need."

Sun Jing paused. His Royal Highness Prince Zhao didn't even look at him. "Go away."

Sun Jing was confused: "I will take my leave."

He closed the study door and watched the sky outside turn cloudy. In June, the weather changes in waves.

The clouds are piling up and it is about to rain.

The study became dark, and the person behind the desk did not move for a long time.

Lu Jing's knuckles turned white as he asked silently.

What was his position regarding the Nan'an Marquis's residence, and on what grounds did he summon Yuan Le to inquire? Was he a friend, a superior, or someone else?

There was sarcasm in his eyes and a self-deprecating arc appeared on his lips.

…

It has been raining for days, but the weather has not been pleasant at all. Instead, it is damp and hot, making people feel uncomfortable.

During this period of time, Sun Jing noticed that His Royal Highness Prince Zhao spent most of his time locked in his study except when he attended court or paid his respects to the palace.

The official documents had been reviewed long ago and returned in the morning. When Sun Jing entered the study to serve tea, he did not dare to linger any longer. He cleared the teacups and left silently.

His Highness had been feeling depressed and gloomy for several days, and even His Majesty had noticed something was wrong, so he summoned him privately to question him. Sun Jing had no clear answer and could only ask His Majesty for forgiveness.

His Majesty pondered for a long time, then suddenly asked, "Prince Zhao...does he have a lover?"

Sun Jing was enlightened by this remark. The prince's restless appearance did indeed seem to be troubled by love. However, he served in the palace every day, and he had never seen the prince have any contact with any girls.

"You need to pay more attention to the general affairs of the palace as the Prime Minister."

Sun Jing had no choice but to obey His Majesty's orders.

In the past few days, Sun Jing, who serves His Highness closely in the palace, has repeatedly reminded him to be extremely alert when doing his job so as not to make His Highness even more unhappy.

It is rare for the people in Prince Zhao's mansion to encounter such a situation. Although His Highness is not the type to vent his anger on others, it is best to be cautious in everything.

Amidst all the caution, the instigator was completely oblivious, continuing his shift as usual. He even asked others for the reason: "It seems to me that Your Highness has been in a bad mood lately."

The rain cleared in the afternoon, and the weather was unusually cool. Coincidentally, the palace had sent some fresh fruit, so Sun Jing tried to ask His Highness if he wanted to host a small banquet in the palace gardens.

His Highness agreed and did not say not to invite Lord Gu, so Sun Jing invited all the guests as usual.

In the Square Pavilion, Gu Ningxi, Wei Fan, Zhen Yuan and Xie Qian arrived one after another. His Royal Highness Prince Zhao had not yet appeared, so Gu Ningxi took the opportunity to ask the other three questions.

Xie Qian was unsure: "I was just about to ask Master Gu if he knew what happened."

The two exchanged wry smiles. Zhen Yuan pondered for a moment and said, "Perhaps the Turkic envoys have arrived, and Your Highness must be worried about this."

Gu Ningxi pondered for a moment, feeling that what he said made sense. In the past, to maintain peace in the northern borders, the Great Jin had been forced to submit to the Turks. At the time, His Royal Highness Prince Zhao was young and energetic, and His Majesty rarely allowed him to interfere in Turkic affairs.

While they were discussing, they saw the figure of His Royal Highness Prince Zhao. They stopped talking at the same time and stood up to greet him.

"Long live Your Highness."

Fresh fruit and snacks were placed on the stone table. Lu Jing habitually looked at the man in the turquoise official uniform. He looked normal, chatting with others as usual. When their eyes met, he even smiled at him.

Lu Jing was a little annoyed, and stopped looking at him, lifting his robe and taking a seat. Gu Ningxi touched the tip of his nose. The weather was nice today, but why did His Royal Highness Prince Zhao seem even more unhappy?

The maid made tea, and Lu Jing said calmly, "What were you talking about just now?"

Wei Fan smiled and said, "Your servants are discussing the affairs of the Turks."

Recently, Turkic envoys came to Beijing to discuss the annual tribute with the Jin Dynasty, accompanied by His Royal Highness the Prince of Huai.

There were many lustful and greedy people in the delegation who had been coveting women from the Central Plains for a long time. They slept with prostitutes everywhere and acted recklessly.

The music houses and opera houses in Kyoto were suffering terribly, but they did not dare to offend these troublemakers and could only hope that they would leave the capital as soon as possible.

Since the Turks were mentioned, the topic continued. Ever since the last conversation with His Highness, Zhen Yuan and Xie Qian had been thinking about tactics to deal with the enemy.

There were all kinds of maps in Prince Zhao's mansion. Lu Jing wanted to send someone to get them, but then he thought of Gu Ningxi.

They were talking about military affairs, which Yuan Le was not good at, so he would probably find boring.

But when he looked over, Yuan Le's eyes were serious and he was listening very attentively.

Zhen Yuan was talking about the improvement of bows and crossbows. In order to deal with the cavalry on the grassland, the bows and arrows currently used by the army lacked penetrating power and it was difficult to gain an advantage.

Xie Qian mentioned re-training the military formations, using spears to protect the infantry and deal with the Turkish cavalry charges.

He drew a formation, but during the rehearsal, Zhen Yuan quickly found a flaw in it, which made it easy for the cavalry to break it up.

Amidst the discussion, someone suddenly spoke up: "Why do we have to force this?"

The pavilion suddenly became quiet, and everyone looked at Gu Ningxi, who had been silent until now.

There was a map hanging in the pavilion. Although it was the first time Gu Ningxi saw it, he somehow felt extremely familiar with it and could easily find the place name he wanted.

She said, "The Great Khan of the Turks sits in the center, with three lesser khans under him, each managing the eastern, western, and northern territories." Gu Ningxi pointed out each one on the map. "The Turks worship the sun, and the east, where the sun rises, is the most revered. Therefore, among the lesser khans, the eastern khan holds the highest status and is the tacitly recognized heir apparent within the Turks."

She continued, "However, the eastern territories lack abundant grass and water, and there are few people and livestock, so their power is not prominent. In contrast, the western khan, who is at the bottom of the list, controls a vast territory in the west, and his power is growing day by day."

Struggles for power and profit between the khans were common, and any external force could accelerate these internal conflicts. When the Central Plains was in turmoil, the Turks supported various regimes in an effort to exacerbate internal friction and hinder unification in order to seek greater benefits.

Now, give back in their own way.

Gu Ningxi said: "Divide and conquer, defeat them one by one."

The pavilion was silent, and there was a mixture of surprise and admiration in Zhen Yuan and Xie Qian's eyes.

And Lu Jing's eyes never left the person who was talking from beginning to end.

After the words fell, Gu Ningxi, who had regained her composure, was also taken aback. The words had flowed so smoothly, as if they had flowed naturally from her heart, without any need for reflection.

What's more, she seemed to feel that she had been dealing with the Turks for decades.

The others, however, hadn't raised any doubts. They had already discussed Turkic internal affairs. Lord Gu had been at court for three years, and the Eastern Palace was likely keeping an eye on Turkic developments. It wasn't surprising that Lord Gu knew all this.

Gu Ningxi looked at the circle of His Royal Highness Prince Zhao on the map and immediately understood what he meant.

To the north, there were the Uighurs and Xueyantuo, and to the east, the Khitans. They had long been oppressed by the Turks and held deep resentment.

By dividing from within and encircling from without, we will eventually eliminate the Turkic border threat.

The afternoon passed in a flash. After finishing his shift at dusk, as soon as he left Prince Zhao's Mansion, Gu Ningxi ordered someone to go to Meng's Mansion to deliver a message.

Her cousin was on vacation in Beijing, and she needed his help with something.

…

The sun was bright and clear. In the imperial study, the letter of apology submitted by Duke Ningguo had been on the imperial desk for a long time.

Emperor Mingde ignored him. Of course, he favored his son over his cousin. Sixth Prince of the Ningguo Mansion, of no rank, dared to ride his horse recklessly in the streets and even collided with Qi'an's carriage. He deserved a lesson.

Qi'an handled the matter very appropriately, and Emperor Mingde did not intervene in the matter any further.

He invited Lu Jing, who had come to the palace to pay his respects, to have some tea with him. The newly arrived Mengding yellow tea had not yet been distributed to Prince Zhao's mansion.

During the conversation, Lu Jing mentioned the habits and styles of the children of the aristocratic families in Kyoto, which gradually became arrogant and extravagant.

Emperor Mingde agreed with this. The Jin Dynasty had only been established for six or seven years and its foundation was still unstable. This situation must be curbed.

The Crown Prince's methods of control were still too gentle. Emperor Mingde and Prince Zhao were in agreement on this matter. The Emperor had already issued a decree to the Jinwu Street Envoy: past incidents will be forgiven, but anyone who lets their horses harass the people again will be severely punished.

Lu Jing took a sip of tea. Lin Yang's incident was indeed a good opportunity to make some adjustments.

After discussing government affairs, Emperor Mingde turned to talking about family matters.

He ordered Sun Jing to fetch a portrait: "Yesterday at lunch, the Queen specifically mentioned that she had requested the third daughter of the Marquis Xuanping's mansion to be a concubine for Chengyu."

Emperor Mingde had already agreed, and a new idea came into his mind.

The painting on the scroll depicts the fifth daughter of the Marquis of Xuanping's mansion. The two sisters are one bright and beautiful, the other gentle and graceful, with beautiful looks, and can be called the two beauties at the banquet.

The selection of Princess Zhao naturally needs to be carefully decided, but a concubine can be appointed first.

The fifth daughter of the Gu family is one of the most beautiful in Kyoto, and her family background is worthy of Qi'an.

The court painter carefully embellished the painting, and the woman in the painting is wearing a long green hibiscus dress, her cloud-like black hair piled up into a Wangxian bun, and embellished with several jade hairpins, which is pure and beautiful.

Lu Jing looked at the person in the painting, and found that his eyes and eyebrows were somewhat similar to his.

But it's not him, and it's far inferior to him.

Lu Jing was speechless. When he understood everything in an instant, he smiled sarcastically to himself in his heart.

The tossing and turning in the past few days, the person's seeming proximity and distance, and the fluctuating emotions, all had answers in an instant.

Emperor Mingde originally wanted to ask Qi'an if he was willing to establish a concubine first, but seeing the expression in his eyes, he couldn't help but feel more certain.

It was time to make things clear. Emperor Mingde said, "Qian, you have someone you love."

Regardless of his family background, as the king of a country, he can always make decisions for his son.

The answer he got was a long silence, or rather, acquiescence.

Emperor Mingde had never seen him like this. Qi'an, who he had personally raised, had always been open and honest about his requests and requests. Sometimes, even if he didn't agree, Qi'an would fight for it himself, instead of being so secretive as he was now.

Who did he fancy?

Lu Jing finally said, "Father, I have no interest in the fifth young lady of the Gu family."

Emperor Mingde waved his hand. Now it was no longer a matter concerning Miss Gu Wu. An absurd idea vaguely emerged in his mind.

Could it be that Qi An is attracted to a married woman?!

【Author’s words】

Xiao Lu: Dad, it’s going to get a little bit worse.

P.S. Xiao Lu will not tell anyone about his own chaos.