Lord Yao nodded, and Li Xue continued.

"Currently, the Great Northern Dynasty is not in a peaceful and prosperous era. It can be said to be beset by internal and external troubles. It cannot continue to be disrupted. The only one who can save the Great Northern Dynasty is the young prince. I wonder what Lord Yao thinks about this."

Li Xue's words startled Lord Yao, as they essentially represented the sentiments of most members of the royal family.

“I understand what the princess means. This is a matter for the royal family, and I dare not comment on it. But for the future of the Great Northern Dynasty, it is a different matter. Please give me your instructions, princess.”

"Li Guang is currently in exile, weak and isolated. If we don't help him, he will only be able to farm for the rest of his life and will be unable to gain any influence to contend with the Crown Prince."

Lord Yao, do you have any ideas on how to help Li Guang so that he can fully utilize his intelligence and talents to revitalize the Northern Dynasty?

Li Xue's intention was very clear, and Lord Yao was well aware of it. After a moment of contemplation, he spoke firmly:

“I have remembered what the princess said. I will definitely find an opportunity to help the young prince.”

Just as Li Xue was about to leave, Lord Yao suddenly remembered something and said:

"There is something I have never understood, and I urge Your Highness to pay close attention to it."

"Lord Yao, please feel free to give any instructions. There's no need to be polite."

“In the western suburbs of the capital, there is a teahouse called ‘Listening to the Rain Pavilion’. I heard that many officials of the imperial court like to go there to enjoy tea.”

Their reason for going to the tea house was only partly because there were many beautiful women there, including some from the Western Regions.

The women there are talented and beautiful. They sit in the teahouse, chatting and drinking tea with guests, reciting poems, composing songs, and playing music.

These women are understanding and considerate, and some officials from the imperial court are frequent visitors here. Some officials even have female confidantes here, and they stay here all day long, enjoying themselves so much that they forget about home.

The prices here are high, but that doesn't stop some wealthy young men and bigwigs from Beijing from coming here. Although it's located in the western suburbs of Beijing, business is still pretty good.

This is actually quite normal, but there's one phenomenon that makes it seem a bit different.

Lord Yao's words piqued Li Xue's interest, so she asked:

"Please tell me what exactly happened, Lord Yao."

"No official, regardless of rank, is charged when he or she comes here to drink tea."

As a result, more and more officials came to patronize the teahouse. Sometimes, the teahouse was so busy with officials that it couldn't accommodate other guests, which naturally reduced its revenue.

But the teahouse owner doesn't seem to care, so here's the problem.

Hosting so many officials without generating any revenue is clearly a losing proposition, so why would the teahouse continue to do it?

Of course, this happened a few months ago. I've been sick lately, so I don't know the current situation there.

Since it involves the privacy of officials of the first or second rank in the imperial court, it's really difficult to investigate. Does the princess have any way to investigate and uncover the true nature of this teahouse?

“There must be something fishy going on here. Lord Yao is right. I’m going to take some time to investigate this matter.”

After Li Xue finished speaking, she left the Yao residence.

After returning home, Li Xue began to think that the purpose of running a teahouse was to make money, but this teahouse was free for officials.

These officials ostensibly went there to drink tea, chat, and listen to music, but that wasn't the case at all.

Lord Yao said that most officials who went there became so happy that they forgot about home, and some even had their own confidantes.

It's obvious that the teahouse uses women to lure these officials; what is the real purpose behind this?

Li Xue dared not think any further; the more she thought about it, the more terrifying it became.

Finally, it was time for dinner, and Li Xue asked the Fourth Prince.

"Does Father know of a teahouse called 'Listening to the Rain Pavilion' in the western suburbs of the capital?"

"I haven't heard of it. Why is Xue'er asking this? I have no interest in going to teahouses. It's much more comfortable to brew a good pot of tea at home. Why would I want to go to such a place?"

"It's nothing, Xue'er was just asking."

It seems that not every official in the capital knows about "Tingyu Pavilion," and Li Xue begins to consider how to investigate this matter.

After thinking for a while, she came up with an idea. She looked at the Fourth Prince and said:

"Father, could you help me get a waist badge, preferably one for a third or fourth-rank official?"

"What do you need that for? Making a fake waist tag and impersonating a government official is a capital offense."

“If Father helps me get one, it won’t be considered a privately made waist token. Besides, I’m going to use this waist token to do something important for the court. Don’t you trust me?”

"I trust Xue'er to do things, but I wonder what important matter she is planning to undertake."

"Heavenly secrets cannot be revealed. Father will find out in a while."

"Alright, then I'll get Xue'er a waist tag tomorrow. Of course, this waist tag must be genuine; the imperial court requires it to be registered. You mustn't use this waist tag to do anything illegal."

"Father, rest assured, Xue'er understands."

The next day at noon, the Fourth Prince returned from court and handed a waist token to Li Xue, saying:

"I've made you a waist tag. You mustn't lose it. Give it back to me immediately after you're done using it, because I need to return it to them."

Those bastards, if I don't get angry, they simply don't want to give it to me, afraid of offending their superiors.

Li Xue took the waist tag, glanced at it, and immediately became excited.

"Haha, a fourth-rank official in the Grand Council, that's quite a high-ranking position."

At this moment, the Fourth Prince's expression turned somewhat serious, and he asked:

"Who is this waist tag for?"

"Of course I'll use it myself. Why would I give it to someone else?"

"All the officials in the imperial court are men. How can a girl like you use this badge? It's obviously fake. Aren't you just making a fool of yourself?"

"Father, rest assured, Xue'er has her own way. I will not let anyone know that I am a girl."

"Ah, you want to dress up as a man?" The Fourth Prince was astonished.

"What's the big deal? Last time Xue'er went to Yuanxi, she disguised herself as a merchant, a woman dressed as a man, and even discussed business with jade. They couldn't detect it at all."

This time I wasn't disguised as a merchant, but as a government official, and they still couldn't tell.

In the afternoon, Li Xue dressed up as a young man and chose a servant in the prince's mansion to be her attendant.

This person is very intelligent and eloquent.

The Fourth Prince glanced at Li Xue's attire, knowing she was about to go out, and asked:

"You're going out like this?"

"Yes, dressed like this, when I go to a teahouse, no one will be able to tell that I am a princess."

The Fourth Prince immediately understood and said:

“I know where Xue’er is going. You mentioned that teahouse called ‘Tingyu Pavilion’ yesterday. Is that where you want to have tea?”

"Father immediately realized that Xue'er's trip there for tea was only one reason; her main purpose was to investigate some matters."

After Li Xue finished speaking, she left the house with her servants before the Fourth Prince could speak.