Chapter 23: Beauty Trap...

"I didn't expect that Master Xiao is not only a martial arts expert, but also a master of Ma Diao. Look at his fighting skills, there is not a single woman in the room who doesn't admire him..."

A young girl in a goose yellow jacket was lying beside Xiao Lin's desk, fanning herself to keep him warm and looking at him with seductive eyes. Not to mention Xiao Lin, even Song Youning, a woman, felt her heart fluttering at the sight of her.

"Miss Liu, you are so kind, so kind." Xiao Lin was surrounded by girls on a stone bench, causing a burst of coquettish complaints from those around him.

I risked my life to sneak into the backyard to spy on the enemy, and these two people were actually flirting with other women like butterflies? This is really too much.

"Master Li and Master Xiao, you are in such a good mood. I would like to join you. Would you be willing?"

Song Youning dusted off his sleeves and stared at the two of them.

Xiao Lin looked up and smiled, "Brother Song is finally here. Miss Bai was just saying that they've just opened a new hot spring in their backyard..."

"I heard that Minister Bai often invites Governor Zhou to bathe with him."

Miss Bai immediately said arrogantly, "Of course, my father is very popular with the governor..."

"What did the governor say..."

Miss Bai on the side quickly fell silent and glanced at Xiao Lin with a vague look.

Song Youning's eyes flashed, and he winked at Xiao Lin, signaling him to continue asking questions.

Xiao Lin understood and immediately took Miss Bai's slender hand, his peach blossom eyes shimmering with tenderness: "Miss Bai, the color of this nail polish is very beautiful. My younger sister's birthday is coming soon. I have tried all the nail polishes in the shop, but still can't find a color I like..."

"Miss Bai, could you tell me where you bought this nail polish?"

Miss Bai blushed and turned her head away. "Of course you can. Young Master Xiao dotes on your sister so much. You'll definitely be a considerate husband in the future... But I bought this nail polish from Caiwei Pavilion in Beijing. If you like it, I have plenty more at home and can give it to you..."

While Xiao Lin was trying to seduce her with her beauty, Song Youning turned around and left. Before leaving, she touched her chin and looked Xiao Lin up and down.

This guy might be a bit silly, but his looks and figure... She looked him up and down. He had sharp eyebrows and bright eyes, red lips and white teeth, and was born with long, slender arms and a slim waist. He was wearing a red riding coat, and his waist was tight without a trace of excess. He really had the talent to be a male concubine. No wonder the girls liked him...

"Like a butterfly, being a general is such a waste of talent..."

Song Youning walked through the corridor and saw Li Funing looking at her, so she walked straight towards him.

Song Youning walked slowly towards Li Funing, her skirt brushing against the fallen flowers blown by the wind, making a slight rustling sound, with a perfect smile on her face.

"Your Highness"

His posture when saluting was perfect, even the arc of his bend was in accordance with etiquette. Just like him, he was always restrained and polite, and no one could find fault with him.

Song Youning folded his ancient fan and said, "Master Li is quite free, enjoying the flowers here."

"I am waiting for Your Highness."

He glanced at the noisy crowd behind her, and said with a hint of meaning, "Prince Xiao... is very dedicated, so I dare to be lazy."

Song Youning raised her hand and used her folding fan to catch the falling locust flowers, her eyes following them. "Yes! I used to be tired of being forced to stay in the palace by my father, so I loved to go to Lord Li's house to pick loquats."

Song Youning gently stroked the edge of the locust flower with her fingertips and spoke casually, "Master Li, do you still remember the old six-fingered steward of the Li Mansion? When I was a child, I visited the Li Mansion and he made loquat pastries for me. I wonder if I can still taste the flavor of those loquat pastries from my childhood..."

Li Funing paused slightly. "Why would Your Highness ask this? But Butler Li retired last year. If Your Highness wants to eat it, I can find someone to make it..."

"Really?"

She suddenly turned her head, her eyes scrutinizing him. "I just saw a six-fingered man in black in Governor Zhou's dark room. I don't think it's him, is it?"

Li Funing slowly raised his eyes, his eyes seemed to be filled with a thousand-foot-long cold pond: "Your Highness, did you see it with your own eyes?"

"Of course, and there's more to it than that." Song Youning sneered.

"I never expected that Prime Minister Li would have such a relationship with Governor Zhou. Is it possible that Prime Minister Li feels he hasn't lived long enough and is looking for a way to live as long as the heavens? Why not let him take the throne as well?"

"Your Highness..." Li Funing understood the meaning of her words.

Li Funing wanted to explain but she was interrupted.

"You don't need to explain, I just like to play a little but I'm not stupid."

She turned around and looked directly at him, completely shedding her previous indifference. "Although I was a little suspicious when I first came out of the secret passage, Xiao Lin was able to get some information out of me just now, and now I understand."

"Li Yingxiang has been framed by someone, you don't have to be nervous." Song Youning raised her hand slightly, signaling him to be at ease.

"In that case, you should thank Xiao Lin more this time!" Not long after he finished speaking, Song Youning returned to his original laziness.

"What did Prince Xiao find out?"

Li Funing turned his head to look at Xiao Lin, who was the center of attention among the women in the distance, and asked.

"Miss Bai's father, Minister Bai, is on the surface close to Prime Minister Li, but I suspect he is a member of Grand Tutor Chen's staff."

Li Funing's eyes were hazy. "Why do you say that, Your Highness?"

Song Youning smiled and said, "Lord Li has been in the imperial court since he was young, so he doesn't know much about the trivial matters of the mortal world, but I am very familiar with them..."

"The nail polish that Miss Bai bought from Caiwei Pavilion is not a common item. Although I am not particularly interested in these women's items, I know that if you want to make this nail polish with bright color and rich fragrance, the indispensable ingredient is Jade Dragon Grass."

Li Funing frowned: "What does this Jade Dragon Grass have to do with the Grand Tutor?"

Song Youning explained slowly, "This Jade Dragon Grass is precious and extremely difficult to cultivate. If we only make it into Kou Dan, it would be too extravagant..."

"So shops inside and outside the palace have long since replaced it with cheaper pearl spirit grass. But most people certainly don't know the difference in fragrance between the two. I've done some research on this before, looking for romance, and I even wrote about the difference in detail in 'Da Gan Fengwu Zhi'."

"And because Pearl Spirit Grass is so cheap in Dagan, no one has planted Jade Dragon Grass anymore." She changed the subject and smiled, "Except for one place..."

Li Funing's pupils trembled, and his lips opened slightly: "Grand Tutor's Mansion"

“That’s right!”

She added, "Not only can Jade Dragon Grass be used to make Kou Dan, it also has another function, which is to refine medicine. It is expensive and useless to ordinary people, so most people would not grow it. But only one person is willing to spend so much money and energy to grow it... Although there is a possibility that others will grow Jade Dragon Grass..."

"But this Caiwei Pavilion was opened by a disciple from Grand Tutor Chen's residence..."

Song Youning's eyes sparkled, and he exuded a kingly aura. "So, this Minister Bai and Grand Tutor Chen must be related..."

"Although Governor Zhou ostensibly works for Prime Minister Li, he actually has close ties with Minister Bai. You're saying that Prime Minister Li and Grand Tutor Chen are at loggerheads in the court, yet their subordinates are secretly interacting with each other. Is that possible?"

"Furthermore, the woman in the dark room kept saying that it was Li Xiang who imprisoned them. She also mentioned the identity of the six-fingered man in black, Li Hai. Everything pointed to Li Xiang. She wanted to condemn Li Xiang to death and bring him down, leaving only one person to benefit. With such irrefutable evidence, it seems to me that someone deliberately did this..."

"So either someone is trying to get the best of both worlds..."

She sneered and looked up at Li Funing, "Or someone deliberately framed me, leaving such an obvious flaw!"

Li Funing's expression froze slightly. After a moment's silence, he slowly spoke, "Your Highness, I understand that the old steward of the Li Mansion has indeed retired and returned home, but I do not know where he went after leaving the mansion."

He paused, thinking for a moment, his eyes calm and composed, "I never expected that he would appear in Governor Zhou's secret room."

Song Youning stared at him, trying to find a flaw in his eyes, but Li Funing's gaze remained as calm as water, without any evasion.

She suddenly sighed softly, the corners of her lips raised slightly: "Li Funing, do you know what I hate most about you?"

Li Funing raised his eyes and said, "I am stupid."

"I hate it most when you treat me like a child."

Li Funing's eyes moved slightly, as if there were some ripples rising, but soon returned to calm.

He whispered, "Your Highness, this matter has far-reaching implications. Grand Tutor Chen has been planning this for years, and it is definitely not something that can be dealt with by one person. I simply... do not want to involve Your Highness..."

Song Youning chuckled: "So, you plan to carry it alone?"

Li Funing was silent.

"Li Funing."

Her voice was as cold as ice. "Do you think I'm incapable of cleaning up your mess?"

Li Funing raised his eyes and met her eyes burning with anger.

He suddenly realized that the princess in front of him was no longer the little girl who followed him and asked for candy. Now she was the empress who was about to succeed to the throne.

"I dare not."

He knelt on one knee, his skirt sweeping across the fallen petals. "But Steward Li is someone that Grand Tutor Chen values ​​very much. If Your Highness were to intervene rashly..."

"What if I intervene?"

Song Youning sneered and lifted his chin with his fingertips.

"Did you know..."

She leaned forward, her eyes piercing. "I'm not some frail woman who needs your protection. I'm the future Empress who will rule the Great Gan. Even if I'm notorious and infamous, I'm still the future Empress of the Great Gan! I'll protect you. Who dares to say no?"

Her eyes shot out like sharp blades, and her tone was cold.

Li Funing's pupils shrank slightly, and he sighed:

"Butler Li was a secret agent planted by Grand Tutor Chen twenty years ago. Even my father was unaware of this, and I only learned about it in recent years. After Li Hai left the mansion, my father was afraid he would continue to be ostracized, so he ordered me to send someone to protect him and find him an unassuming job in the countryside. Who could have known that after Li Hai returned home, he would never be seen again..."

"I will not borrow your help, Your Highness, because..." He looked up at her.

"I originally thought this was my own family affair, and I didn't dare trouble Your Highness... but I forgot that husband and wife are one. I said I wouldn't be Your Highness's subject, but I unconsciously placed myself in the position of a subject..."

"I am confused"

His brows furrowed, but his tone was relieved: "Since I am going to marry His Highness, this family matter...is naturally also a matter of state. It shouldn't be hidden from one person."

Song Youning gave him a deep look: "It should be like this..."

Before he finished speaking, Xiao Lin came over. He turned his gaze to the two of them and said jokingly, "Hey, Master Li, did you... make His Highness angry? Then this prince will be robbing you!"

Song Youning rolled his eyes at the unruly Xiao Lin and said, "You've come at the right time. Have you found anything new with your beauty trap?"

Xiao Lin came forward eagerly, leaning close to Song Youning's ear, as if he had discovered something important, and whispered in a low voice: "This time, this prince has made a great sacrifice. Your Highness must remember this prince's kindness..."

Then he leaned against a nearby pillar in a serious manner, twirling a round fan he had taken from some young lady. "Those girls are more talkative than I thought. Maybe it's because this prince is too charming..."

Song Youning: ...

Li Funing: ...

"The guests invited to this birthday banquet are either Governor Zhou's lackeys or the fence-sitters he is trying to win over."

"And these people..."

Xiao Lin looked up at her with a rare serious expression.

"They just happen to be relatives of the candidates who failed the imperial consort exam... I heard they are secretly slandering Your Highness, waiting for Your Highness's reputation to be completely ruined, so that Your Majesty can pass the throne to a son of the royal family."

Song Youning sneered, "Prime Minister Li and Grand Tutor Chen have been competing against each other in the court for many years. Now that I have been appointed Crown Princess, my father has chosen Li Funing as his consort..."

Her eyes glared, "Grand Master Chen has no children, and seeing power slipping away, how can he not be anxious?"

"No wonder the rumors about me have been getting more and more intense in the market recently. It turns out that they were all the work of Grand Tutor Chen." Song Youning sneered.

Xiao Lin leaned against the pillar, playing with the tassels around his waist. "Grand Tutor Chen not only spread rumors, but also secretly wooed court officials, intending to nominate the Prince of Zhao as the heir."

Li Funing coughed lightly, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes. "I've checked. The last time I went to Zuixianlou with Your Highness for a drink, the rumors that Your Highness was spreading rumors about the princess at Zuixianlou originated from the retainers of Grand Tutor Chen's residence."

"What……"

"You two are drinking behind my back?" Xiao Lin frowned, and the tassel in his hand fell to the ground.

No one paid any attention to him.

Song Youning thought for a moment after hearing this, and a cold light flashed in his eyes: "Since Master Chen wants to play this trick..."

She bent down to pick up the tassel that Xiao Lin had dropped, patted it and handed it to Xiao Lin, saying nonchalantly, "I'll play a big game with him."

Xiao Lin took the tassel and frowned, contrary to his usual expression. "What does Your Highness mean?"

"I just discovered a group of women who were seven months pregnant in that dark room. One of the young women was filled with righteous indignation and said that they were ordered by Prime Minister Li to take their placentas to make elixirs."

She turned to Li Funing and said, "I think that Grand Tutor Chen wants to make the placenta into an elixir again, but he doesn't want to give people a chance to criticize him, so he's using Prime Minister Li's name to arrest people. Whether the plan fails or not, Prime Minister Li won't gain any advantage. He can get away with a smooth exit and ruin the marriage between the royal family and the Li family. What a plan that kills three birds with one stone!"

Li Funing's long eyelashes trembled slightly, and his body under his robe was as tense as a string.

Seeing him like that, Song Youning's heart suddenly tightened. She suddenly grabbed his cold hand and held it tightly: "Don't worry!"

"You believe me!"