Seeing Wang Yue stunned for a long time, Changsun Ji even suspected that he had misread the contents of the letter.
However, after reading it again and again, the content of the letter remained unchanged, but his shocked emotions kept fluctuating and changing.
The young man heard his heart beating almost disorderly in his chest, and thoughts in his mind surged like huge waves.
While Chang Sun Ji was in a state of shock, Wang Yue's expression had returned to normal, as if he was just considering his words. At this moment, he smiled mysteriously and said, "The envoy has not yet announced it to the public, so please forgive me for not saying more."
To Chang Sun Ji, these words were tantamount to his consent.
After a long time, Changsun Ji finally regained his senses. He folded the letter carefully and neatly, put it solemnly in his arms, and stood up to say goodbye to Wang Yue.
Wang Yue personally escorted the person out of the governor's mansion. He looked calm all the way and enthusiastically introduced to Chang Sun Ji some elegant places in Jiangdu city.
After seeing off the guests, Wang Yue turned around and returned home.
The snow on the corridors in the mansion had been cleared, but Wang Yue seemed not to be paying attention to the road at all and fell into the flower bed beside the road.
Seeing Mr. Wang mysteriously fall down in the snow, the clerk following behind him was horrified and hurried forward to help him up.
Wang Yue's face was covered with snow foam, but his expression was still dazed and confused, with his eyes slightly widened. He looked like an actor in a theater with his face covered with white powder. In this actor's mind, there was the timely sound of loud and booming drums.
Wang Yue, his mind full of the sound of drums, walked towards the study room in a daze. Halfway there, he met Yao Ran who had just returned from the Seventh Hall.
Yao Ran held a stack of brochures in his hands. He stopped and nodded to Wang Yue: "Mr. Wang."
"Ms. Ran..." Wang Yue suddenly approached Yao Ran, grabbed a corner of Yao Ran's sleeve, and pulled her aside.
"Sir?" Yao Ran was stunned and puzzled.
"Madam, do you know..." Wang Yue lowered his voice and tried his best to make his tone sound less abnormal: "Madam, do you know that the envoy's surname is Li?"
He had to find someone to share his shock so as not to hurt his brain. Looking at the entire Jiangdu Governor's Mansion, Ms. Ran was the one who enjoyed the most trust from the envoy... There was no one more suitable than her!
Hearing this, Yao Ran's fingers holding the booklet tightened slightly, but there was no change in his expression. He asked calmly, "May I ask where did you hear this statement, Mr. Wangshan?"
"The letter written by the envoy..." Wang Yue looked around and made sure that no one was approaching before he said, "It is the letter that asked me to pass on to the head of the Changsun family!"
Yao Ran asked sternly, "Did the envoy inform the head of the Changsun family of this matter in the letter?"
Seeing Wang Yue nod, Yao Ran calmed down and said, "Since it is what the envoy said, it must be true."
Yao Ran looked so confident that Wang Yue had no idea whether she knew about this in advance.
Just as he was about to ask again, he heard Yao Ran say, "Sir, we don't need to be overly surprised by the truth. As for the rest, we will wait for your instructions tomorrow."
Hearing her slightly emphasize the words "the truth", Wang Yue was startled and nodded hurriedly: "Wang understands..."
Yao Ran took a step forward and continued walking towards the study room. From an angle where no one could see her, she stared ahead with shining eyes and silently exhaled a long puff of white mist.
Chang Sun Ji returned to the inn in silence. He did not talk to his tribesmen, but locked himself up.
It was not until it got dark that several uncertain tribesmen went to knock on the door again, and Chang Sun Ji finally opened it.
The tribesmen walked into the dim room, lit the oil lamp, and asked in a low voice: "...What did you say? Who did Chang Suining choose? Was it not King Rong?"
Chang Sun Ji, who was sitting cross-legged behind a low table, had not even taken off his cloak yet. He said, "No."
“It’s not…”
Those members of the Changsun clan were not surprised.
On the way, they heard the news that Chang Suining had recaptured Luoyang, and naturally they did not miss the "Letter of Confession" from Fanyang King Li Fu. As the ultimate beneficiary of the Battle of Luoyang, Chang Suining destroyed King Rong's plan and made it public... This was obviously not an attitude towards supporters, but a clearly hostile stance.
At this moment, what they care about most is: "Who did she choose?"
Chang Sun Ji looked at his clansmen and said, "What the Chang Jieshi chooses is the Chang Jieshi himself."
Several people were stunned for a moment, and soon someone showed an angry look of being fooled: "...I have long guessed that she was just playing tricks! What she said in the reply was just to trick the head of the family to come to Jiangdu!"
"Master... since Chang Suining is not here, we should leave as soon as possible!"
"No, it's not a lie, it's not a lie..." Chang Sun Ji said, "The candidate for the Li family mentioned by Envoy Chang Jie is indeed a real person... and that person is herself."
The room was silent for a moment, and only the young man could be heard saying clearly, "Envoy Chang Jie claims that her surname is Li, and she is from the royal family, and she is the youngest daughter of the late emperor."
"...The late emperor's youngest daughter?!" A tribe member almost lost his voice and said, "How is it possible?"
"How old is she?"
"The late emperor passed away many years ago, and I have never heard of a princess wandering around..."
Their first reaction was that this was a fake. Chang Sun Ji had already picked up the letter and said, "Please take a look at it first, uncles."
Several tribesmen came forward and read the contents of the letter together, with varying expressions.
Such a major event naturally cannot be resolved based solely on Chang Suining’s one-sided statement.
Especially the theory of royal bloodline. The late emperor has passed away for many years, and if we want to prove his identity, we need witnesses.
What attracted the attention of the Changsun clan members was that Chang Suining listed in the letter a list of people who knew the matter and could prove it, and among them were the Dali Temple Minister Yao Yi, Grand Tutor Chu and others... and even the name of the late Crown Prince Xiao!
The importance of the late Crown Prince Li Xiao is self-evident. However, the late Crown Prince is no longer alive, so naturally there is no way to verify it in person. However, Master Chu and others are still alive...
Although the Changsun clan was exiled to Qianzhou, their basic connections are still there, and it is not impossible for them to verify the matter directly with the "insiders" on the list.
The character of Master Chu is about 80% trustworthy. They will know whether what Chang Suining said is groundless or not after they find out.
Several members of the Changsun clan slowly calmed down, temporarily suppressed their doubts, and turned to think about another question: What happens after the investigation? If Chang Suining is really the daughter of the late emperor, what will they do?
Several people subconsciously looked at Changsun Ji, and someone couldn't help but say: "Even if she is a woman..."
"There was a precedent of a princess becoming the emperor in Dasheng." The young man said with a blazing look in his eyes, "At that time, someone from my Changsun clan also served as the right prime minister, which can be regarded as a wise ruler and wise ministers."
"When my grandfather entrusted us with this before his death, he never excluded women from the group."
As Chang Sun Ji was speaking, he stood up and frankly confessed his intentions: "My fellow uncles, if this is true, I would like to support Envoy Chang Jie as the new ruler of Da Sheng on behalf of the Chang Sun family!"
The wind blew in through the window, and as the candlelight flickered, one could see an astonishing look of determination between the young man's brows.
The room was silent again.
After a while, a clan member said, "Master, this matter cannot be taken lightly—"
"We have been waiting and watching until now, how can we say it is rash?" Chang Sun Ji said: "I have always had many doubts in my heart when facing the recruitment of Prince Rong... And on this way to Jiangdu, I often wondered who the Chang Jieshi would choose to really convince me? After thinking about it, I couldn't find the answer."
"Until my nephew saw this letter..." The young man looked at the letter in the tribe member's hand, and then suddenly raised his eyes, his expression becoming more and more determined: "I felt a sudden enlightenment!"
The problem that was originally almost unsolvable suddenly had such an unexpected answer... He was shocked at first, but then all his doubts disappeared, leaving only great joy!
"I have been sitting here quietly for a long time, and I feel something in my heart... The reason why Changsun has been waiting and watching until now may be that he is being guided by the spirit of my grandfather in heaven!"
The young man's eyes turned red: "Uncles, this may be the key to reviving the glory of the Changsun family!"
For a young man of this age to say such things seems to be too passionate and not cautious enough.
But this passion that suddenly burst out in the midst of a world full of decay and decay is so touching.
Several tribesmen stood there, not moving for a long time.
Chang Sun Ji looked steadily at the elder who had the most say among them.
The tribesman clenched his fist, took two steps back, raised his hand and said, "I'll send someone to check it out."
As he spoke, he glanced around and said, "Take good care of the master of the house!"
After the accident at home, this child who seemed to have grown up overnight, showed such childishness today, and acted weird... It's really worrying to see him!
The tribesman took two steps, then sighed and said, "...let him eat something first!"
The remaining two tribesmen agreed.
The tribesman stepped out of the door and when he raised his hand to close the door, he saw that his palms were full of sweat.
Late at night, Chang Sun Ji took out the family seal left by his grandfather and placed it respectfully on the table by the window. He stepped back a few steps, knelt down with red eyes, bowed solemnly, and kowtowed deeply.
The bright moon hangs high outside the window, the night sky is quiet, and the stars float above.
Yao Ran, who had just finished all his official business, was now reading through his father's previous letters.
Looking back now, Yao Ran seemed to understand the source of the inquiry implied in his father's previous letters...
And my father's previous statement of "looking for a daughter for an old friend" seemed to have suddenly taken on a clear and surprising direction...
Even the ambiguous attitude of my father when facing Madam Chang in the past, which was once ridiculed and mocked by others, finally had a reasonable explanation at this moment.
Yao Ran firmly grasped the somewhat messy letters that had been flipped through, and an answer gradually emerged in her mind: her father had been hiding a huge secret all along!
Yao Ran began to spread the paper and grind it. His fingers trembled slightly as he moved.
Her expression was trembling slightly with excitement.
In her eyes, as long as her family likes a surname, she can just pick it and use it.
Following Chang Suining all the way here, Yao Ran was destined to be different from others. The authenticity of her royal bloodline was not important to her. In her opinion, the dignity of an adult did not need any status blessing at all...
What she cares about is that if this is true, and is a truth that can stand up to scrutiny, then her master will have more bargaining chips and a better chance of winning in this great struggle for the world!
She wanted to verify this with her father and make sure to convince him to get ready as soon as possible! Yao Ran wrote, holding the pen tightly, but her handwriting was also trembling, as if it was blown by the strong wind in her heart, but she didn't want to care about these anymore, and just kept writing.
After writing the letter, Yao Ran walked to the window, opened it and looked toward the northwest.
The sky gradually brightened, and the stars and the moon slowly disappeared.
In the northwest direction, Chang Suining led his troops to successively recapture Xiangzhou, Weizhou and Xingzhou, which were occupied by the remnants of the Fanyang army or the rebel army.
When they arrived at Xingzhou, Cui Lang and his clansmen returned to Qinghe. Looking around, they saw that most of the people were in ruins.
When Duan Shiang entered Xingzhou, he had people guard the ancestral home of the Cui family in Qinghe, and sealed up the ancestral books that the Cui family members had not taken away in time. But after the news of Duan Shiang's defeat in Luoyang spread, his former subordinates stationed in Xingzhou fled after hearing the news, taking away most of the Cui family's property.
The rest were divided up by the rebel army or fell into the hands of some rioters.
In addition, soldiers and civilians who had long been dissatisfied with the Cui family set fire to the house, resulting in the current dilapidated scene.
Cui Lang watched everything in front of him quietly. The tribesmen around him knelt down on the ground and burst into tears.
They all knew very well that the Qinghe Cui family of the past was gone forever.
"Since we are gone and cannot return, we should just keep our heads held high and move forward!" Cui Lang suppressed his tears and said to everyone, "Since we are safe here, how can we know that the road ahead will definitely be different from before!"
After he said that, he turned around and walked away.
A chubby boy wiped his tears and quickly followed.
"Sixth brother..." the chubby boy asked with a sob, "Will the future really be better?"
“Who cares?” Cui Lang threw his sleeves and put his hands behind his back: “Just walk!”
Another dandy young man also imitated Cui Lang and swung his sleeves, put his hands behind his back, grinned and responded: "Listen to Sixth Brother, let's go!"
The other young people also held back their tears and followed suit: "Let's go!"
The young men were either standing tall or showing an unruly air; some were walking alone with their hands behind their backs, while others were walking arm in arm with each other. With an optimistic determination to not be afraid of anything, they walked out of this ruined place together.
That night, Chang Suining led a team of light cavalry, took Cui Lang and others, secretly left Xingzhou, and headed west towards Taiyuan, Bingzhou.
In Taiyuan during the twelfth lunar month, the air is dry and cold.
Fortunately, the weather has been fine these days, with the warm sun always dispelling some of the cold.
In the Bingzhou Grand Marshal's Mansion located in the southwest of Taiyuan, Lu paced back and forth holding a hand warmer, and asked the maid to go to the front yard to inquire about the news from time to time.
Several maids took turns running back and forth for several times. This time, they finally said breathlessly: "…Madam, we're here, we're here!"
Hearing this, Cui Tang, who was standing by, ran out quickly.
Mrs. Lu, who had just sat down in the chair, suddenly had her eyes light up, and she quickly stood up and walked quickly to the front yard.
Chang Suining has dismounted outside the Bingzhou Grand Commandery. (End of this chapter)
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