On August 24th, at 11:00 PM, in the bedroom of the Emperor of Laifeng Kingdom, the Zichen Palace.

On this moonless night, the octagonal palace lanterns painted with auspicious phoenixes and dragons and inlaid with silk gauze and colored glaze cast a hazy gloom over the high-walled courtyard, making the ancient palace appear even more magnificent and mysterious.

The Purple Star Hall was a magnificent spectacle, supported by numerous giant red pillars, each adorned with a lifelike carving of a soaring phoenix, its wings spread wide. The palace's floor was paved with fine white jade inlaid with gold beads, a truly luxurious spectacle.

Passing through the pearl curtains in the hall, I came to the inner room. A six-foot-wide agarwood bed was covered with a precious silk tent. A tall woman in bright yellow nightgown was lying on the bed leisurely with her head supported by one hand and her long legs crossed.

Her eyebrows were towering and majestic, her nose was straight and high, and her cheeks were plump and radiant. Although she was resting with her eyes closed, her face showed a sense of majesty without anger, and her whole body exuded indescribable elegance and extraordinary bearing.

"master!"

An Yi, dressed in crimson and purple clothes and wearing a half-gilded butterfly-shaped mask on his head, was kneeling on one knee, bowing his head in front of the bed and reporting.

"how?"

Nalan Yunzhi, who was lying on the bed, opened his eyes, glanced at the leader of the secret guards below, and then continued to pretend to sleep with his eyes closed.

"My lord, I have found out." An Yi lowered his head and bowed to report.

"explain."

"Yes, Master."

"The woman my master met this morning at Jubaozhai is named Hua Qingcheng. She's sixteen years old and is from Huaqiao Village, Baishui Town, Fufeng County, Wuyang Prefecture, Qiandeng Province. She arrived in Beijing yesterday morning and is staying at the Binyue Inn. Her mother is a scholar, and her father is a peasant. They are both well-liked and well-received in the local community."

"Hua Qingcheng?"

"Huaqiao Village?"

Nalan Yunzhi slowly opened his eyes, his gaze far away.

"But what about the peasant girl who took the father-in-law in when he was homeless? And the one who opened a rather interesting snack shop, Hua Qingcheng?"

"It is she, my Lord."

An Yi reported the truth.

"Although Hua Qingcheng is just a peasant girl, she has four husbands and a confidante she has secretly betrothed to. The first husband, Mu Lige, is nineteen years old and very handsome. He was raised as a child and is now over three months pregnant. The second husband, Situ Ye, is eighteen years old and is none other than Situ Xuanye, the eldest son of the Prime Minister's Mansion."

"oh?"

Nalan Yunzhi opened his eyes as if he was interested, and looked meaningfully at An Yi who was kneeling below.

"I didn't expect that my beloved Minister Situ's eldest son would rather marry a peasant girl as a concubine than marry into the Palace of Prince Pingxi. Interesting, interesting!" Nalan Yunzhi raised the corners of his lips slightly when he heard this.

"My lord, according to reliable information, three years ago, Situ Xuanye ran away from home to escape his marriage and ended up in Huaqiao Village. He fainted from hunger at the village entrance and was picked up by Hua Qingcheng, who took him home as her second husband. Hua Qingcheng's purpose in traveling north to the capital was to propose marriage to the Prime Minister. A secret agent has reported that the Prime Minister has approved their marriage, and the wedding ceremony will be held at the Prime Minister's residence on the 28th of this month."

"oh?"

"What on earth is so extraordinary about Hua Qingcheng that she could even gain the approval of Lord Situ Aiqing, who is willing to marry her eldest son to a commoner as a concubine? Interesting."

"You just said that Hua Qingcheng has four husbands. Who are the other two husbands?" Nalan Yunzhi asked with interest.

"My Lord, Hua Qingcheng's third husband is named Han Yichen. He is seventeen years old and is also charming and beautiful. His origins are still unknown, but we know he is skilled in medicine. Hua Qingcheng found him two years ago when she was catching rabbits in the mountains."

"His surname is Han, and he is good at medicine..." Nalan Yunzhi narrowed his eyes slightly, as if thinking about something.

"As for the fourth husband, Yu Xiaotian, he's fifteen years old this year and has a fresh and handsome appearance. He was once the top prostitute at the Lanyan Pavilion in Baishui Town. A year ago, Hua Qingcheng won a bet against Yu Xiaotian, who was still a virgin, and took him back to become the fourth husband."

"Top-ranking young master?"

Nalan Yunzhi smiled knowingly, and couldn't help but feel curious when he thought of the woman who smiled back at him in the morning.

"What about my confidant, male?" Nalan Yunzhi closed his eyes and continued to pretend to sleep.

"My lord, you know this person. He is Si Chengfeng, the adopted son of General Feng Cailan and the adopted grandson of the father-in-law of the emperor."

"oh?"

Nalan Yunzhi suddenly opened his eyes, and a gleam of inquiry flashed in his bright eyes.

She also knew that nine years ago, Feng Cailan, returning from a military campaign, had rescued an eight-year-old boy from bandits on his way back to the capital, bringing him to the General's Mansion and adopting him as his son. Furthermore, she knew that boy was none other than the eldest son of the Si family, one of the four great families of Laifeng State, whose real name was Si Lingfeng.

Previously, the Qiandeng Provincial Governor, Ge Qingliu, had made a mistake in handling a case, mistakenly transporting the body of another person back to the capital as that of the emperor's father-in-law. At the funeral, she personally led all the officials to see him off, and at the funeral, she met the adopted son of the general's mansion.

I thought Si Chengfeng was handsome and elegant, with a bit of the charm of Meng Lishi, who was once as famous as Ling Yan. I didn't expect that he could be related to Hua Qingcheng. This Hua Qingcheng really is like an unsolved mystery that is becoming more and more interesting...

"Master, Hua Qingcheng will go to the General's Mansion tomorrow to pay a visit to the General and his men. Another purpose of her coming to the capital this time is to make her confidant Si Chengfeng the fifth husband of the Hua family."

"The fifth husband of the Hua family?"

Even Nalan Yunzhi, the king of a country, was somewhat surprised by Hua Qingcheng's shocking behavior.

After all, whether it was the eldest son of the Prime Minister's Mansion, the eldest son of the Si family, one of the four great families, or the young master of the General's Mansion, any of these identities were beyond the reach of a mere peasant girl. However, Hua Qingcheng had done it.

Thinking of Hua Qingcheng's face that looked exactly like Feng Lingyan, Nalan Yunzhi suddenly sat up from the bed, his eyes wandering, his thoughts drifting away...

"Your Majesty! Your Majesty! Please save our daughter! She's not dead, nor is she a monster. She's just been kidnapped..."

Sixteen years ago in the winter, Feng Lingyan, dressed in splendid clothes but unable to conceal her sorrow and haggard appearance, lay prostrate outside her Zichen Palace the very night after giving birth, begging desperately... until she finally fainted and was taken back to Bixia Palace...

"An Yi!"

"I'm here!"

"Just now you said how old Hua Qingcheng is this year?" At this time, there was no more teasing in Nalan Yunzhi's bright eyes, but full of sharpness.

"My lord, I'm sixteen years old. It is said that I was born a few days before the winter solstice." An Yi reported truthfully.

"Order people to keep a close eye on the Prime Minister's Mansion and the Grand General's Mansion. Report any unusual activity immediately. Also... thoroughly investigate Hua Qingcheng and her parents. Get to the bottom of everything, no matter how big or small."

Nalan Yunzhi clenched his fists, a deep pain in his heart. If what Ling Yan said back then was true, then this matter would be a huge one...