Imperial Capital 36. Visit to Prince Ding's Palace
Dingguo Palace
"My Lord, the Third Master Feng is here."
Hearing the guard's report, Mo Xiuyao put down the brush he was painting, frowned, and said, "Let him in."
After a while, Feng Zhiyao appeared at the door of the study room with the appearance of a dandy, and said with a smile: "You are getting married soon, and you are still sitting here?" Mo Xiuyao did not even look at him, but said lightly: "What are you doing here? It is not good for people to know that you are in contact with me." Feng Zhiyao shrugged helplessly, "It's not my intention to come here, someone wants to see you. The threshold of your Dingguo Palace is too high, so they came to me." Mo Xiuyao stopped writing, thought for a moment, and then looked up and said: "Xu Qingchen."
"Prince Dingguo is well-informed, and his reputation is well-deserved." Someone outside the door laughed, and Xu Qingchen walked in in a white robe with a graceful manner. The study suddenly seemed a little crowded because it suddenly accommodated three outstanding men with different characteristics. Mo Xiuyao looked at Xu Qingchen in silence for a moment, then sighed and said, "Thank you for your trouble, Mr. Xu." Xu Qingchen nodded with satisfaction and said, "That's not necessary. Even if it wasn't you, if it was someone else's father, he would still have to come to Beijing in person. You know, Li'er... is the only daughter of our Xu family." Feng Zhiyao raised his eyebrows, found a seat and sat down, looking at Mo Xiuyao jokingly. He said that the future Princess Ding would have a huge backstage.
Xu Qingchen obviously had no intention of being polite, so he walked to an empty chair and sat down, looking at Mo Xiuyao and saying, "I never thought that the most stunning young general in Beijing would become so... gentle and elegant now." When Xu Qingchen became famous, Mo Xiuyao was also at the peak of his fame, and the two of them had some friendship. However, one was martial and the other was literary, so their personalities were very different, so they were not close friends. Mo Xiuyao lowered his eyes and smiled bitterly, "You useless man, is it considered exposing someone's wounds by bringing up these things, Brother Xu?" Xu Qingchen raised his eyebrows and smiled, "If the prince can't even accept the current situation himself, why should the Xu family hand Li'er over to you? Besides, I don't see that the prince feels hurt." Mo Xiuyao raised his eyes with a faint indifference in his eyes, "If I feel hurt, will Brother Xu not mention it?"
Feng Zhiyao rolled his eyes at the two people in front of him, "I say, are you two going to keep talking nonsense like this?"
Xu Qingchen smiled apologetically and said, "Okay, I'm sorry. But I believe that the prince will forgive the feelings of a brother who is about to send his sister off to marry, right?"
Mo Xiuyao could only smile bitterly, "Actually, Xiuyao is quite puzzled... Why would the Xu family agree to marry Miss Ye to the Dingguo Palace?"
Xu Qingchen glanced at Feng Zhiyao, who smiled lazily at him. Xu Qingchen knew in his heart that Feng Zhiyao was someone Mo Xiuyao trusted. Although he didn't know why Mo Xiuyao would trust the son of the Feng family who was obviously pro-emperor, Xu Qingchen didn't intend to get to the bottom of it. "Because the emperor won't give us the opportunity to choose freely. Prince Li was not a good choice in the first place, and Li'er didn't like him either. What's more, the emperor actually agreed to cancel the engagement. Why didn't he agree? Although the emperor was nosy and arranged a marriage for Li'er, both I and my father trust Prince Ding more than Prince Li." Feng Zhiyao raised his eyebrows. "Prince Li is the number one candidate for husband in the hearts of the ladies in the capital." Xu Qingchen didn't care. "That doesn't change the fact that he is a fool." Is Prince Li a fool? Of course not. But Master Xu obviously didn't think so. So Feng Zhiyao could only give him a look that said "you are so cruel".
"The emperor still can't tolerate the Xu family? He tied the Xu family and Prince Dingguo's Palace together, and then swallowed them up in one gulp. Is his appetite too big?" After a long while, Mo Xiu Yao asked indifferently.
In the study, the temperature seemed to turn chilly in an instant. Feng Zhiyao couldn't help but put away his unruly smile and looked at Mo Xiuyao with a frown.
"Haha... Your Majesty has a good eye." Xu Qingchen smiled, tapping the armrest lightly with his slender fingers, his gestures still infinitely graceful. "Now, they probably think that the strength of the Xu family and the Dingguo Palace is not as good as before. If they take action separately, they will inevitably alert the enemy. It is better to... catch them all in one swoop. After all, the Xu family controls the Lishan Academy, which is the most powerful in the Great Chu. At least half of the officials in the court are from the Lishan Academy. How can you let a king with great talent and strategy like today feel at ease?" For some reason, Feng Zhiyao felt that the four words "great talent and strategy" that came out of Xu Qingchen's mouth sounded more like sarcasm.
Mo Xiuyao nodded and said, "The Dingguo Palace has indeed suffered a great loss of vitality. No wonder the emperor is so confident."
Xu Qingchen smiled and said, "I don't think that Your Majesty should have such great confidence. Otherwise, how could the Dingguo Palace still exist all these years?" The Dingguo Palace is definitely a thorn in the eye today. When the Dingguo Palace suffered a great change, if it were not for the man in front of him who saved the situation despite his illness, I'm afraid that the Dingguo Palace would only exist in the memories of the people nowadays.
Feng Zhiyao looked at the two equally gentle men in front of him and couldn't help but shudder in his heart. Your Majesty, do you really hate your vast kingdom so much to make the two families you hate the most become in-laws?
"I say... can you two discuss something that normal people can accept?" He is just a playboy, why should we discuss something that is enough to get the whole family executed in front of him?
Xu Qingchen nodded in agreement, and changed his words very considerately: "Well, I always feel that there will be some changes in the marriage between Prince and Li'er. Of course, these things are far away from the capital and the Xu family is powerless. So I'll trouble Prince. Just regard it as... Prince's sincerity." Mo Xiuyao nodded, "Thank you for reminding me, Brother Xu. I know what to do."
Xu Qingchen stood up with satisfaction and said, "In that case, I will take my leave. I will tell you more when I have time."
Mo Xiuyao nodded and tapped the armrest of the wheelchair with his fingers. A young man in brown clothes appeared at the door. "My Lord."
"Send Master Xu out."
Xu Qingchen raised his handsome eyebrows slightly, and followed the young man out without saying much.
There were only two people left in the study. Feng Zhiyao looked at his friend in confusion, "A Yao, why do I feel that this Xu Qingchen is different from what was rumored?"
"Are you the same inside and outside, Mr. Feng San?"
Feng Zhiyao is silent. Everyone in this world lives with a few masks on.
"What does Xu Qingchen mean? Who in the palace really wants to wipe out the Xu family and Prince Dingguo's Palace in one fell swoop?" Feng Zhiyao asked.
"The Xu family is the leader of the literati in Da Chu, and the Dingguo Palace has held a large number of troops for generations. This is indeed a nuisance to him."
"Then there's no need to bring the two families together, right? Isn't he afraid that you can join forces and really pull him down from power?" Is he too confident or does the emperor himself have a hidden weapon?
Mo Xiuyao smiled and said, "The Xu family will not commit treason. He will just implicate the Xu family when the Dingguo Palace is in trouble. He knows very well in his heart that as long as Mr. Qingyun is alive, the Xu family will never betray Da Chu. Even if they become relatives, the Xu family will not give much help to the Dingguo Palace."
Feng Zhiyao shrugged, thinking that he didn't see that Xu Qingchen looked like a loyal subject who would swear allegiance to him until death.
"Have someone keep a close eye on Mo Jingli." Mo Xiuyao picked up the pen again to finish the painting he had just unfinished.
Feng Zhiyao waved his folding fan lazily, "Mo Jingli is very busy now. Who do you think spread those news?" When Feng Zhiyao first heard those rumors, he felt that Mo Jingli had not burned incense well this year and that was why he was so unlucky.
Mo Xiuyao said without even raising his head, "The Xu family, the Murong Mansion, the Huaguo Mansion, the Liu Mansion, the Yushitai, the Chuxiang Pavilion, and... this king."
Feng Zhiyao was speechless for a moment. Well, he shouldn't have asked. If you don't blame Mo Jingli for offending so many people, who else should you blame?