Chapter 35
"How many people were concerned about the Queen's pregnancy at the time?"
"I'm not sure, but as far as I know, His Majesty was unaware of it. No one dared to tell His Majesty about the Queen's pregnancy until she passed away."
"Then the only people who knew the Queen was pregnant, besides those around her, were the people from the Imperial Hospital?"
"We thought so too. Over the past six months, we've secretly investigated the imperial physician who treated the empress at the time and found nothing amiss. However, we discovered that the third-class palace maid shouldn't have been among the accompanying personnel."
"It's obvious that someone planted her there on purpose!" he thought.
"It should be. I just don't know who ordered it, but it's definitely someone in the palace. Now the only way to know what happened is to find that palace maid!"
"Is there anything special about her? Like no portrait or anything like that?"
"Yes, Luo Yue informed me last night, so I brought one here today."
"This is the person." Li Fei took out a folded piece of paper from her body and handed it to him. A woman was drawn on the paper vividly.
"Okay! Give me the portrait and I'll help you find the person." Looking at the portrait, Gong Yuchen lowered his head and thought for a while.
"Thanks!"
"Oh, yes, she's from the Southern Yi. She's not tall, and she has a bean-sized mole under her ear on the right cheek. But our people haven't found any trace of her in the Southern Yi, so we suspect she might be somewhere near the Southern Yi in the Western Yi."
"Nanyi...?"
"Brother Gong Yu, what did you think of?"
"Did you know that Shu Fei's cousin is the concubine of the Crown Prince of Nanyi?"
"You mean?"
"I just thought it was a possibility."
Okay. I'll send someone to investigate the Southern Yi region. As for the Western Yi region, I'll leave it to Brother Gongyu."
"good."
"I won't bother you today. We'll be in touch if there's any new progress."
"Okay, Liefeng, go and see Li Fei off."
"Mr. Li, please."
If what happened back then was really related to the virtuous king, then they would not only want to kill the queen and the fetus in her womb, but they would probably also want to eliminate Yi Luoyue.
Gong Yuchen was stunned, feeling that something was fishy about this. He wondered if the epidemic that year was really an epidemic. Although he believed that King Cheng had no involvement, it was better not to tell him about this.
"Gale?"
"I'm here."
"Go to the princess's mansion and ask her to look after Xiaoyue for a few days. I need to be away for a few days. Remember, don't let Xiaoyue go out and get into trouble."
"Yes, Your Highness."
"Find a few trusted people to come with me. During my absence, you will be responsible for the safety of the princess and Xiaoyue'er. If anything goes wrong, I will hold you accountable."
"I obey your command."
"You mean Gong Yuchen is out?"
"Yes, Your Majesty."
"Where did you go?"
"Looking at the direction his carriage is heading, it looks like the Four Gods Temple."
"With whom?"
"As usual, just him and his personal guard, 'Gale.'"
Same as usual? Gong Yuchen would go to the "Four Gods Temple" every month to spend a day or half a day, and he was quite pious.
"If you return on time today, you won't have to follow me."
"yes."
"What has the Second Prince been doing these days?"
"The Second Prince took Liu Wen from the government office to Minzhou. But don't worry, Your Highness. Minzhou has already been arranged. Even if they go there, they won't find anything."
Yi Luoyao raised a finger to signal him to be quiet.
"It's best if nothing is found out, otherwise you will have your heads chopped off. Go and deliver this invitation to Gong Yuxian. Yi Luoyue will also attend the poetry gathering at Wencheng Mansion the day after tomorrow, so ask him to prepare." He handed the invitation to his subordinate and waved his hand to send him away.
For several days, Xiaoyue stayed quietly in the princess's mansion until the day before Yi Luoyue was invited to attend the poetry meeting at Wencheng Mansion. At the request of her dear uncle Li, she went to the palace to find Gong Mingxue.
"So, you came to my place? And it's raining so hard?"
"Auntie Xue, is it possible that I want to eat the snacks you made?"
"Xiaoyue, children who lie won't grow tall!"
"But the poetry reading must be fun, Aunt Xue, you should just go, okay?" Xiao Yue looked up at her, her bright black eyes rolling around.
"Okay, then tell me the truth, why do you have to ask me to go?"
"Ah... okay, okay, it was Uncle Li who wanted to see you. He said he had something important to tell you, but he was afraid that the stinky old... Aunt Xue's father would be angry, so he asked Xiaoyue to come."
It was indeed him! He really made the most of everything, even taking advantage of Xiaoyue. However, she hadn't seen him for a few days, and she almost never attended poetry gatherings. She wondered if her father would be suspicious.
"And Aunt Luo asked me to say that she asked me to come. Aunt Luo is a princess! Aunt Xue's father shouldn't object."
Indeed, if it was the princess's invitation, my father would not and would not dare to object to my going.
"Okay, then I will go with you tomorrow." Although he was not familiar with the princess and was not very willing, there was no other way. He had to go no matter what, so he could only reluctantly agree.
"Great! Then tomorrow, Aunt Xue will come to the Princess's residence to find us first?"
"Okay, okay. By the way, you've been at the princess's residence these days? Where's your father?"
"Daddy is busy, but he will be done soon."
Every year around this time, Yidu holds its annual poetry gathering, giving the usually secluded ladies of noble families a legitimate opportunity to socialize. Officials and courtiers with marriageable children hope to use this gathering to promote their children's beauty and talent, attracting proposals from prominent families and finding suitable partners. However, this year is different, as the Yi King's favorite, Princess Yue, will be in attendance, and numerous young men from aristocratic families are desperately trying to squeeze in.
At this time, outside Wen Cheng's mansion, there was a commotion among the crowd, and a gorgeous carriage appeared in front of everyone. Judging from the specifications, it should be a carriage for royal family members to ride, but no one knew which famous lady was riding in it. Everyone was curious and stepped forward to take a look.
When the carriage stopped in front of the mansion gate, Li Fei, who was riding a horse, dismounted and walked to the side of the carriage.
"Hey! Isn't this the second son of Wu Cheng's family?" Everyone whispered when they saw Li Fei. It should be said that he is handsome, rich and from a noble family. Even if he does nothing every day, he is still the first choice for the husband of a daughter of a prominent family. It's a pity that no one can compete with the "Princess Yue"!
As the car door curtain opened, a graceful figure emerged first. Li Fei reached out and helped her down. This woman wasn't exactly stunningly beautiful, but the next girl, about seven or eight years old, was incredibly beautiful, a beauty so stunning she could easily outshine the moon. She was sure to be a crowd favorite in the future. The last woman to emerge from the car was dressed in gorgeous attire, her hair adorned with pearls and jade, her face covered by a veil. While her features were unclear, her graceful figure captivated all the men present. Just by looking at her attire and her beautiful figure, one could imagine how wealthy and beautiful this woman was.
Common people and princes all focused their attention on this girl, hoping to catch a glimpse of her face and satisfy their aesthetic pleasure.
"Princess Yue is here." When everyone heard the guards calling out her name, they suddenly realized that the person with the veil covering her face was Yidu's most beautiful woman, "Princess Yue" Yi Luoyue.
The son of "Wen Cheng", who had been waiting at the door for a long time, walked forward quickly and greeted him respectfully.
"Welcome, Her Royal Highness the Princess."
"Please stand up."
"Please follow me into the mansion."
As soon as she entered the house, the restless Xiaoyueer looked around everywhere.
"Something seems to be happening up ahead. I'll go take a look first." Xiaoyueer looked ahead. The commotion in the crowd caught her attention. After she finished speaking, she immediately took Baishuang forward to check.
"Xiao Yue'er..." Forget it, Yi Luoyue looked at her cheerful steps. He had been holding her back for several days, so he just let her do what she wanted today.
Coming to the back of the crowd, petite Xiaoyue craned her neck to look, but the heads gathered in front blocked her view, so she said to Baishuang:
"Let's go a little further."
"Miss, what do you want to see?"
"How do I know what it is if I don't take a look?" After saying that, he squeezed forward along the crowd.
"Huh? Miss, where are you going?" Bai Shuang chased after the young lady who was about to disappear into the crowd.
"Tsk, why is it him!" Xiaoyue pushed through the crowd and saw Gong Yuxian at a glance.
It turned out that what the crowd was watching was a square waterside pavilion, where some young men and women from aristocratic families were competing in poetry and talking to each other. Gong Yuxian, who was standing in the center of the pavilion, looked at the ladies and celebrities around him with shining eyes and great interest, causing them to lower their heads shyly.
Oh, I didn't expect him to be such a playboy! He's just a pretty face, not as handsome as Daddy and Uncle Li! He's not even worthy of carrying their shoes. Humph! Just a lewd look, and those ladies are actually embarrassed by it?
"Look! Lord Zhao's daughter is here too."
"Look! That's the prince of Xiyi. He's truly an extraordinary nobleman." A woman next to him pointed to the front.
"I heard that he is a popular candidate for the imperial consort."
A sneer of dissatisfaction appeared on Xiaoyue'er's lips. Are they blind?
"Miss, what are you looking at?" Bai Shuang squeezed over with great difficulty.
"Looking at garbage!"
Bai Shuang was completely bewildered by the young lady's words. Anyway, she would never understand what the young lady was thinking.
But who was that woman with Gong Yuxian? She stared at the pink-dressed woman with curiosity. She was very special; it was not easy to pull off pink like that. And that face of hers… Although her mother had said not to judge a person by appearance, it wasn't her fault that she was plain. But flirting and making alluring glances at her was unacceptable!
Seeing this scene, Xiaoyue curiously asked others about it.
"Sister, who is that person?" She pointed at the woman in pink.
The woman next to Xiaoyue'er looked her up and down before speaking.
"You kid, are you from out of town? How could you not recognize the famous Lady Wenjin?"
"County Master Wenjin? Who is she?"
"She is the eldest prince's cousin, and her sister is the concubine of the Crown Prince of Nanyi."
She looks like this! Would the Prince of Nanyi's concubine be like this too? Xiao Yue'er quickly shook this horrifying image out of her head.
"She looks like this, and she's so arrogant. She's almost twenty and still can't get married. Even if her family pays her a fortune, no one wants to marry her."
"Haha, now that you mention it, I remember that she once obsessed over the prince of Xiyi!"
Listening to the two gossipy girls next to me continue to discuss the gossips of the Dong and Li families.
It was her!! Xiaoyueer kept looking down on her and pulled Baishuang back. She couldn’t stand it any longer and couldn’t listen to it any more. She wanted to go back to see her aunt and Uncle Li to clear her eyes.
"Auntie." He turned around and found Yi Luoyue and the others.
"Auntie, let's not go over there. There's too much garbage."
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