Chapter 74: The emperor is suspicious and might as well keep a few concubines.

"My daughter is as beautiful as a fairy. The boy from the Luan family is indeed not worthy of you." The emperor's stern face softened in an instant and he laughed out loud.

"But this marriage must still be arranged. The overall situation is paramount, and we must not act arbitrarily."

The emperor sat back on the dragon throne, his fingers bent, and tapped the armrest inadvertently.

"Your Majesty, I don't want to." Princess Yuhe walked up to the emperor, gently pulled the sleeves of the dragon robe with both hands, and shook it slightly, her eyes full of coquettishness and grievance.

What's so good about getting married? Three years ago, her father wanted her to marry the newly crowned third place winner of the imperial examination.

But the illegitimate son of the Xie family was ungrateful and was demoted to Chu Huai.

Now they want her to marry a common soldier who is not from a noble family. He says he is the Major General of the North Vanguard, but he is just a reckless man who only knows how to kill people.

"Jiaojiao'er, if you're not happy with your marriage, you might as well keep a few concubines. After your husband has pacified the Japanese pirates in Lingnan, you can divorce her."

The emperor patted Princess Yuhe's hand lovingly, giving her peace of mind.

The treasury is empty and good generals are hard to find.

As Daliang was in turmoil, the princess's marriage became a bargaining chip.

Luan Shuangbai, originally an ordinary young man from a humble family, unexpectedly stood out in last year's martial arts competition. After being exiled to the northern frontier, he repeatedly achieved military exploits, proving to be a promising talent.

"Why does your surname have to be Luan?" The emperor's knuckles turned white as he gripped the armrest.

It always makes people feel apprehensive.

At this point, Princess Yuhe's wish to change her husband was dashed. Her cheeks puffed up with anger, but she did not dare to really disobey the emperor.

"I obey your command." She bowed and saluted, with a look of disappointment on her face.

Just as she was about to leave, she became increasingly impatient when she saw the eunuch kneeling on the ground for a long time due to the accumulated resentment in her heart.

While the emperor was resting his eyes, Princess Yuhe vented her anger by lifting her embroidered shoes high and stepped on the back of the eunuch's hand.

"Puchi." The fragments of the jade cup that had been broken earlier were embedded in the flesh on the back of the hand.

Bright red blood oozed from the wound, and the eunuch in charge of the pen hurriedly clenched his teeth and swallowed the screams and groans back into his stomach.

Princess Yuhe crushed the ground with her feet, then left with a cold and arrogant look on her face.

Only the eunuch holding the pen was left kneeling on the ground, trembling, with cold sweat soaking his back.

Seeing that the emperor was still meditating with his eyes closed, he knelt in greeting, stood up with his head lowered, and stepped back slowly and steadily, for fear of disturbing the quiet atmosphere.

After leaving the palace, the eunuch holding the pen curled up his injured hands, with veins bulging on the back of his hands, suppressing his inner resentment.

This father and daughter are both difficult to please.

He thought in a treasonous way.

"Eunuch, please stay." Lu Hanwen, the cabinet minister who had been sent away by the emperor earlier, appeared out of nowhere.

"What instructions does the emperor have?" asked Master Lu anxiously.

The eunuch holding the pen took a glance and saw that Mr. Lu was wearing court robes embroidered with crane patterns. He had a gaunt face, a long beard flowing under his chin, and looked respectable.

Looking at myself, my hair was soaked with sweat and stuck to my pale cheeks in a messy manner, which made me look even more eerie.

"I dare not presume to speculate on the emperor's intentions." He snorted coldly, "Examination fraud is a serious matter. If we cannot solve this problem, we will punish those who speak out."

A cold light flashed in the triangular eyes of the eunuch holding the pen, and his originally flattering face was distorted, as if wrapped in endless resentment and hostility.

Although the emperor did not say it explicitly, he was angry today and was in a bad mood.

What's wrong with threatening him, a mere cabinet minister?

The eunuch holding the pen turned around and left.

Mr. Lu felt a darkness before his eyes, as if he was struck by thunder and the world was spinning.

He could no longer maintain his composure, his lips trembled constantly, his legs became weak and he almost collapsed to the ground.

If he understood correctly, his father-in-law meant that if the problem could not be solved, then the person who raised the problem should be solved.

My life as a mere ant is in danger at any moment.

Scholar Lu's mind raced. Could it be that the Emperor was unwilling to conduct a thorough investigation? Perhaps this case was simply a scheme to buy and sell official positions, orchestrated by the Emperor?

After all, it is no secret that the treasury is empty.

Then, if I expose the cheating case, I will become the target of public criticism.

In short, the sky fell.

"Hu." Master Lu took a deep breath.

The horrific consequences he imagined completely overwhelmed his remaining sanity. Facing this disaster, he would either die unjustly and without explanation, or leave his name in history.

Even for the honor of his clan, he couldn't just sit there and wait for death.

The eunuch holding the pen did not realize that just a casual remark of his had caused Scholar Lu to imagine a big drama.

"Tell the Imperial Household Department and the Imperial Clan Court to put everything else aside. Preparing for Princess Yuhe's wedding is the top priority." He returned to the Imperial Household Department to convey the emperor's oral instructions.

He flicked the whisk in his hand lightly, making a crisp "pa" sound.

"Don't worry, godfather." The godsons responded with their heads bowed.

Some filial and clever ones would come forward to serve tea and massage the shoulders of the eunuch in charge of writing, and at the same time, they would find out more inside information to avoid making mistakes when doing things.

"Godfather, in your opinion, is His Majesty satisfied with this Prince Consort?"

The eunuch holding the pen had a stern look in his eyes and glanced at everyone, revealing an unquestionable majesty.

Although he couldn't criticize the royal family, the people before him were his trusted subordinates.

He gently lifted the lid of the teapot with his dry fingers, blew away the foam on the surface of the tea, and said thoughtfully, "The surname Luan is not a good name..."

As the tea takes a sip, bitterness spreads across the tip of your tongue.

The eunuch holding the pen looked through the mist and looked at the war between the six countries a hundred years ago.

At that time, the founding emperor and the general fought side by side, clearing the world and pacifying the Central Plains. The general's hard work and great achievements made him worthy of being granted the title of king of a different surname.

In order to maintain the centralization of power in Daliang, the late emperor promised to give the general half of the national treasury treasures and give him the surname of the emperor to stabilize the army.

"Since General Liang died in the battle against the horse bandits in western Hunan, there should be no descendants of this lineage." The young eunuch rubbed his shoulders attentively.

The technique is neither light nor heavy, but steady.

"Hmph." The eunuch holding the pen relaxed his shoulders and uttered a comfortable hum from his throat. "The original surname of the General Jinglüe is..."

"Luan!"

What if there are still some members of the side branch who have escaped the net and are still alive?

In this palace, the emperor's suspicion is like an invisible giant net, covering every corner.

If it touches a sensitive nerve, it is better to kill by mistake than to let the person go.

"Nominally, he's the consort." The eunuch holding the pen made a slight, crisp sound as the tea lid in his hand collided with the tea bowl. "In reality, it's just a different way of surveillance."

Just like the emperor once wanted to monitor the Xie family.

Princess Yuhe is just a handy tool.

The eunuch holding the pen had a sharp and shrill voice, and a sinister smile appeared on his face.

As the sun set in the west, the outline of the palace gradually blurred in the afterglow.

The palace wall was cast a long oblique shadow by the setting sun. The playful evening breeze circled around and finally stopped at the backyard of Guiji Braised Food Shop in Changxingfang.

With a "choo", the young man suddenly raised his head and his body trembled slightly.

The area around his eyes was red, his nose was twitching, his mouth was slightly open, and after taking a long breath, he sneezed a few more times.

General Luan, who fought the enemy in battle without batting an eyelid, immediately surrendered.

"You don't need to break all the dried chilies. Leave a few whole so they look better." Miss Gui didn't care about the secrets of the palace. She only cared about whether today's spicy stew was delicious.

Luan Shuangbai picked up a chili pepper resignedly. It was dry, hard and crisp.

Gently hold both ends and bend them with a little force. With a "click" sound, the pepper will split in the middle, revealing the shriveled seeds inside.

The spicy smell spread instantly, irritating the nasal cavity.

Luan Shuangbai's eyes were filled with tears from the spicy smell, and he looked a little embarrassed.

"So the process of making a pot of braised food is so complicated." He looked at Gui Zhi'er's skillful movements with envy, "Where are the two new apprentices the young lady hired?"

"We work one day and rest one day in the shop." Guizhier replied.

She picked out a handful of crescent-shaped tangerine peel and gently scraped off some nutmeg powder with a knife. Braised food has many ingredients, and even the slightest mistake can produce subtle differences in flavor.

"A family selling fruits and vegetables in the West Market hired a kitten, and all the girls and boys came to watch the fun," she explained.

In Jiangnan, hiring a kitten also requires a simple ceremony.

The new owner will bring freshly pickled, fragrant dried fish as a betrothal gift, and then put a collar woven with colorful silk threads on the cat to firmly tie good luck.

It is very attractive to teenagers.

"Uh, now that we've peeled the peppers, is there anything else I can help with?" Luan Shuangbai asked honestly with a pair of red little rabbit eyes.

It felt like ants were crawling in his heart.

It was obvious that they had met on a rainy night last time and parted on bad terms, but at this moment Guizhier acted as if nothing had happened.

He was the only one who was anxious and secretly clenched his fists.

A chili seed got stuck in the cracks of his fingernails, causing him so much pain that he let go of it in an instant and pretended to put it behind his back casually.

Ask me quickly, ask me what I am doing in the capital, and what is my relationship with Princess Yuhe...

"Not for now." Gui Zhier saw that General Luan was anxious, but she didn't ask.

She put the processed chicken feet, duck necks and other ingredients into the pot with cold water, then tilted the bottle of Huadiao wine and slowly poured the wine into the pot along the edge.

As the braised food heats up, blood foam gradually rises to the surface.

Gui Zhier held the ladle steadily in one hand, gently scooped up the blood foam, and brushed it aside. She was neither impatient nor anxious, her movements were calm and composed, not caring at all about General Luan's tangled state of mind.