The sky was clear today. Princess Huasheng took a carriage and took Li Guangping out of the capital.
The carriage went directly to Xiao Zhensheng's hot spring villa. This villa was previously owned by a certain prince. After the current emperor ascended the throne, he gave it to Xiao Zhensheng as a reward based on his merits.
Princess Huasheng arrived at the manor's gate and was stopped by the guards from Duke Ding's mansion. "Your Highness, the Duke has instructed that you not see any guests while you're at the manor."
"I have come here specially to visit the Duke's wife and the Second Young Master on orders from my brother, the Emperor."
Princess Huasheng came down in her cloak and said arrogantly, "You slaves are so good at using chicken feathers as a token of authority. You haven't even gone to report to your Duke, so how do you know he won't see me?"
The less willing someone is to see people, the more suspicious they are.
The guards couldn't afford to offend Princess Huasheng, so they immediately sent someone in to report, "Princess, please wait a moment."
"Well, I'll wait." Princess Huasheng looked around the manor. The environment was quiet and the place was large. The emperor was really generous to Xiao Zhensheng.
She felt depressed because she, as the eldest princess, didn't have a hot spring resort. Every time she went to the royal hot spring resort, she had to report to the Ministry of Internal Affairs first.
She had long had her eyes on this hot spring villa, and was only waiting for the Fourth Prince to give it to her once the deal was done.
Soon the guard who had gone in to report came out, opened the gate of the villa, and said respectfully, "Princess, please."
Princess Huasheng snorted coldly, "Just say you dogs are using chicken feathers as a token of authority."
Li Guangping followed Princess Huasheng into the villa. He glanced at the surroundings and saw that they were indeed royal relatives, with their own hot spring villa. Such a large villa, only occasionally staying there to relax, was truly luxurious.
If he follows Her Royal Highness the Princess and can be granted a title of nobility or become a prime minister in the future, wouldn’t he be able to enjoy such wealth and glory?
The more Li Guangping thought about it, the more excited he became. He must seize the opportunity and climb up the pole.
Soon, Duke Dingguo and his wife came out to greet them. Duke Dingguo had no expression on his face. "I wonder why the princess has come here after fighting?"
After seeing Xiao Zhensheng and the Duke's wife, Princess Huasheng felt a little relieved. "The Duke has been staying at the manor for almost a month and hasn't returned to the capital. I've been ordered by my brother to come visit the Duke and see how his wife and the second young master are doing."
The Duke's wife stepped forward and bowed. "I'm deeply grateful for your concern, Princess. I've been having health issues for a long time, but being able to relax and unwind here at the farm has made me feel much better."
"That's good, but no matter how good the farm is, it's not as convenient as the capital. Don't be so complacent that you won't want to leave." Princess Huasheng warned her not to really think that she was the wife of a duke and not to forget her duties.
The Duke's wife smiled and said, "The princess is right. I cannot let my concubine delay the Duke's official duties. We should stay for a few more days and then we should return to the capital."
The Duke's wife raised her hand and said, "Princess, please come in."
Duke Dingguo entered the hall and sat for a while, then asked his wife to accompany Princess Huasheng and stood up to leave.
Princess Huasheng was even happier after Xiao Zhensheng left. She could now talk to Liu Meiling without any reservations and ask her anything she wanted. So, she asked Liu Meiling to block the servants, and the two of them began to talk.
Li Guangping went to wait outside the door and saw that most of the people in the manor were strong guards, all of whom were skilled in martial arts. Basically, they were soldiers who had followed Xiao Zhensheng to the battlefield.
Thinking back to when he was in Lu'er Town, he also thought about entering the Anchang Marquis's mansion, following him to the battlefield, and making military achievements. But because of that bitch Gu Yuanfang, he almost became a cripple.
Unexpectedly, God opened his eyes and did not let him become a disabled person. Instead, he entered Princess Huasheng's mansion through Gu Yuanfang and won the favor of the princess.
Now that he has a professional martial arts master teaching him, he will definitely be successful in next year's martial arts examination. When the time comes, the princess will promote him, and his future will be bright.
What he had to do now was to curry favor with the princess and let her know that he was useful. As for Gu Yuanfang, that useless woman, it wouldn't be too late to deal with her when the princess got tired of her. She was still somewhat useful now.
Inside, Princess Huasheng learned about Xiao Zhensheng's recent situation. Sure enough, he was staying with his wife and children, and hadn't made any other moves. The Duke's wife assured Princess Huasheng that she would return to the capital before the New Year.
Princess Huasheng reprimanded her a few times, saying she was going to see Xiao Yujian, but she just went through the motions. Finally, led by the Duke's wife, she walked around the farm before leaving.
On the way back, Princess Huasheng said to Li Guangping, "See? This is the merit of following the emperor. The emperor trusts you and you will enjoy endless wealth and glory."
"Thank you for your support, Princess. I will definitely work hard in martial arts and live up to your expectations." Li Guangping said respectfully, "Duke Dingguo is my goal."
"I don't know how many years it will take for you to succeed, but your ambition is good." Princess Huasheng said, "If you work hard, I will not treat you unfairly."
"Yes, I'll keep that in mind."
Li Guangping thought of a joke and told it to Princess Huasheng in a vivid way. It was just a country joke, but it was very funny when it came out of Li Guangping's mouth.
Princess Huasheng was in a good mood today. She was amused and laughed so hard that she fell over. She covered her stomach which hurt from laughing and reached out from the curtain to hit Li Guangping on the head.
Li Guangping deliberately said, "Thank you, Princess, for the reward."
This made Princess Huasheng happy for a while.
The eunuchs, palace maids and guards who followed and served the princess heard the princess' laughter and admired Li Guangping very much. At first they thought he was just an ordinary man who was offered as a concubine, but they didn't expect that he would gradually gain a foothold in the princess's mansion and now become the person favored by the princess.
It seems that I have to be more courteous to Li Guangping in the future.
Li Guangping was very proud, as if he could see his future glory, but he remained humble and polite to everyone in the princess's mansion.
Ah Mu was at the old priest's house, and soon learned that Princess Huasheng had gone to the manor. "The emperor had already arranged everything. How could they possibly find any flaws? If you're so scared, you'll completely expose yourself."
The old priest put down the book in his hand and said, "It's like a turtle in a jar, it can't make much waves."
Xiao Zhensheng had already arrived in southern Xinjiang, and the bombs had been delivered. He was just waiting for action from the north gate so that he could cooperate in the attack on southern Xinjiang, which was in collusion with Northern Qi.
This time the emperor was determined to not only recover the lost territory, but also to drive out all the evil spirits from the dark corners of the capital.
Those spies, following the clues of the Duke of Dingguo's mansion, have already surfaced. Xiao Zhensheng couldn't directly report the relationship between the Fourth Prince and the Crown Prince to the Emperor, so he needed to cooperate with many parties to let the Emperor's people discover it.
Of course, the contribution of the old chief priest is indispensable.
Now the emperor is playing hard to get, continuing to favor Noble Consort Shu and the Fourth Prince, letting them climb higher and fall harder. Those Noble Consort Shu and the Fourth Prince's followers will be allowed to rejoice for a while, and then they will be caught in one fell swoop.
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