Princess Liaodong had met the Queen Mother, and that night, the palace held a welcoming banquet for the Liaodong King and his family.

The Liaodong King was a royal relative and the blood of Emperor Gaozu. To show their respect, not only did Yuwen Lan lead a group of concubines to attend, but even the Queen Mother rarely showed up.

It can be said that this was the Yuwen family's family banquet. In

fact, since the new emperor ascended the throne, the Liaodong King and his family would come to the capital to pay tribute at the end of each year.

Therefore, there would be a welcoming banquet at the end of each year.

But Yan Shu was promoted to a high position this year, so this was her first time to attend.

In fact, she didn't really want to come.

- You know, there are not only guests at this banquet today, but now she has the responsibility of being a target, and she doesn't know how many eyes will be staring at her.

Even if she wanted to focus on eating, she couldn't eat happily!

What's the point of this banquet if you can't enjoy your food?

However, things are different now. She couldn't lie and ask for leave even if she wanted to.

So even though she was reluctant, she still came here honestly.

But speaking of it, she just ate the gossip about the King of Liaodong yesterday, so it's better to come and see the protagonist today.

At this time, the lights in the palace were shining, and the guests were all seated.

Yan Shu looked around quietly and saw that except for Concubine Ning who was still under house arrest and Concubine Li in the cold palace, everyone in the harem came today.

Including Concubine Zhou who was demoted a while ago, and Wang Zhaoyi who was in charge of night watch.

Of course, Concubine Zhou's expression was different from usual, and Wang Zhaoyi also huddled in a corner, as if she didn't want the emperor to see her. The person sitting

at the same table with Yan Shu today is Concubine Xu.

She is also a person who doesn't like to talk much. She usually doesn't participate in any of the harem's camps, so her presence is a bit low.

The emperor and the queen mother sat at the top, followed by a group of concubines, and below the concubines were the Liaodong King's family.

Yan Shu quietly looked at Liaodong King Yuwenhao and saw that he looked a few years older than the emperor. As cousins, their faces were somewhat similar.

However, the Liaodong King's figure was more robust, probably because of the Liaodong soil and water. He also looked honest, and he and his princess looked a bit like a couple.

As soon as the banquet began, Yuwen Lan raised his cup and said, "My cousin, you have traveled all the way here, you must be exhausted."

Yuwen Hao hurriedly led his wife and children to stand up and said, "Your Majesty, your words are very serious. It is an honor for my family to be able to return to the capital every year to pay respects to Your Majesty and the Queen Mother."

Then he instructed his three sons, "No matter when, even if your father is gone, you must always remember that you are the blood of the Yuwen family. During the holidays, you must greet Your Majesty and the Queen Mother and never neglect them." As soon as

he finished speaking, his eldest son and second son immediately responded in unison.

However, the youngest son, Ajing, was a little slow and waited until his two brothers finished speaking before he responded.

For a while, the baby voice floated in the hall, looking very cute.

The Queen Mother smiled and said to Yuwen Lan, "When Your Majesty first came to me, he was not as old as Ajing."

The King of Liaodong said, "This child is young and ignorant. I'm sorry to make you laugh."

The Queen Mother said, "Children are like this. Your Majesty often cried when he was a child. Now you can't see the same look as before."

As soon as she finished speaking, everyone in the palace laughed.

Yuwen Lan also smiled and said, "Thanks to your mother's careful care, I was able to grow up safely. Thank you for your hard work." The Queen Mother

said, "It is also my fortune to be able to have a mother and son with Your Majesty."

As she said this, she sighed and said, "This child can only be lively when there is a child. Your Majesty, look at how good their family is? If there are a few children in the palace, the atmosphere will definitely be better." As

soon as she finished speaking, all the concubines were quietly stunned.

The Liaodong King laughed out loud and said, "If the Queen Mother doesn't mind, I will ask the three of them to come to the palace to pay their respects to you often these days." The

Queen Mother nodded and smiled, "That would be great."

Yuwen Lan then spoke, "It's my fault for making the Queen Mother worry. I will work hard in the future."

As he said that, he actually glanced at Yan Shu.

Yan Shu, "???"

Why is this person looking at her?

This is not her problem!

Oh...

She suddenly understood a little bit. Is the emperor trying to pass on the blame?

- When Chi Chi fails to give birth to a child, he will blame her and say that she can't give birth?

Tsk, he really has a sinister intention!

Yuwen Lan, "???"

This girl!

How could he mean that? He

really wanted to show her some power on the spot!

However, he was in the main hall at that time, with so many eyes watching him, he could only endure and endure, not letting his expression show abnormality.

However, Yuwen Hao and his wife caught this scene.

The two looked at each other, and both of them were thinking in their hearts -

it seems that the rumor that Li Guiyi was the only one favored in the palace was true.

~~

After drinking the opening wine, the palace servants served the dishes one after another.

Yan Shu originally planned to just pretend like everyone else and not eat much.

However, those delicious dishes were placed under her eyes, and the sweet, sour and spicy aromas tempted her. She struggled slightly, and finally gave up and started to eat seriously.

——Well

, the poached tenderloin is crispy on the outside and tender on the inside;

the yellow croaker tofu is tender and fragrant; the sweet and sour pork is delicious.

The best thing was the snowflake chicken. When it was first served, it looked like white clouds. It was almost impossible to tell what ingredients it was made of. After taking a bite, she felt soft and tender. After tasting it again, she tasted the unique fragrance of chicken, and she realized that it was actually chicken.

Sure enough, it's a chicken-me-not, wonderful, wonderful!

After the snowflake chicken was finished, the hanging oven roast duck was served again.

The thin duck meat with skin, which is soaked in the aroma of fruit wood, is rolled into a thin and translucent cake. Don't forget to put shredded green onion and sweet bean sauce cucumber strips on it. After wrapping it carefully and putting it into your mouth, chewing it slowly, the unique mellow fragrance of duck meat fills your lips and teeth, making you extremely satisfied.

She announced that roast duck is the best way to cook duck!!!

Yan Shu was still immersed in the deliciousness of roast duck. It was not until she ate three duck cakes in a row that she belatedly noticed that there was a little guy not far away, looking at her curiously.

It was none other than A Jing, the youngest son of the Liaodong King.

Tsk, look, this little guy is staring at her mouth eagerly without blinking.

Yan Shu, "..."

Why are you looking at her? The roast duck on the table smells so good, little darling!

She couldn't bear it for a moment, so she asked, "Ajing, do you want to eat it too?"

The little guy nodded shyly.

Not to mention, the little look is still very cute. Yan Shu's love burst out, so she rolled up a duck cake and handed it over.

The little guy also reached out to take it, put it in his mouth and ate it.

Seeing this, Princess Liaodong hurriedly said, "This child, don't you have it in front of you? Why did you run to Guiyi to ask for food?"

Yan Shu hurriedly said, "It's okay, I just did it conveniently, Princess, don't blame him."

Hey, it is said that kind people are liked by children, which shows that she is very kind, and must be like an angel.

Yuwen Lan, who had been silently paying attention to her, said, "..."

- You think too much. The child just saw you eating with a savory mouth.

At this moment, someone said, "Does Li Guiyi have any exclusive secret recipe? How come even such a young boy likes you?" The person

who said this was not someone else, but Concubine Zhou, who was demoted not long ago.

Tsk, it's really hard for her to be a noble concubine anymore, but her tone is still so weird.

Yan Shu pretended not to understand and said, "The noble concubine is joking. I want you to get closer to Ajing. He just wants to play with me."

As soon as she finished speaking, Concubine Xu, who was sitting at the same table, suddenly made a duck cake and handed it to Ajing, saying, "Young Master, would you like to try my cake?"

Ajing took it immediately.

Everyone was a little surprised -

what did Concubine Xu mean

by this? Was she taking the initiative to help Li Guiyi out? Concubine Zhou laughed again, "Is Concubine Xu learning from Li Guiyi? Excuse me, you are different from Li Guiyi, I'm afraid you can't learn it."

Concubine Xu said, "I just think Jing is cute."

After she finished speaking, the king said to Concubine Zhou, "Is your alcohol tolerance not as good as before? You got drunk after just one glass?"

Yuwen Lan didn't smile, and looked a little scary.

Concubine Zhou paused and lowered her head, saying, "Yes, I was a

bit careless." The atmosphere became awkward, but the

Queen Mother spoke to ease the situation, saying, "Who wouldn't like such a lovely child?" She then personally wrapped a duck cake and called the kid, "Come here, Grandmother."

The kid ran over obediently, eating until his face looked like a bun, making everyone laugh.

The atmosphere finally eased a little, and the banquet continued.

Yan Shu tasted the delicious food while sighing in her heart, saying that Concubine Zhou had fallen so hard, but she still had no brains at all.

What's the benefit of saying sour words to hurt others in this situation?

Besides, how could Concubine Xu want to imitate her?

She was clearly just greeting Yuwen Hao.

That's right, according to what she heard yesterday, this seemingly honest Liaodong King Yuwenhao actually had a spy planted in the palace as early as the emperor ascended the throne.

And this spy was none other than Concubine Xu.

Not far away, the king, who was chatting and laughing with Yuwenhao, paused quietly in his heart.

Is Concubine Xu Yuwenhao's spy?

He actually already knew that Yuwenhao was not as obedient as he seemed.

He had also expected that he had planted a spy in the palace. It's

just that he hadn't found out who it was.

Until now, he heard what Yan Shu was thinking.

At this moment, he heard Yan Shu say, [Huh? Hasn't she practiced martial arts? How come her hands are still so delicate? What kind of hand protection does she use?]

Yuwen Lan was not surprised by this.

Any spy must have superb martial arts.

However, if the other party arranged him into the harem, he might not be just a spy.

He drank a glass of wine calmly.

But Yuwen Hao suddenly said, "I brought some gifts to your majesty, the empress dowager and the ladies when I came to Beijing this time. They are just small gifts, not respect."

Then he ordered his servants to deliver the gifts to the palace.

The gift for Yuwen Lan was a mink cloak, which was made entirely of dark gray mink and looked very expensive.

The gift for the empress dowager was Changbai Mountain, and one plant might cost tens of thousands of silver coins to buy.

Yan Shu and other concubines also got mink scarves.

Of course, the one for Concubine Zhou was of better quality to show her nobility.

Everyone expressed their gratitude to the King of Liaodong.

Yuwen Lan calmly invited Yuwen Hao to raise his glass again, "I want to thank my cousin for his concern."

Yuwen Hao smiled naively, "Your Majesty is polite, but they are all Liaodong specialties, you don't mind throwing them away."

As he spoke, Yu Guang glanced at Concubine Xu's seat, but hummed in his heart, "Useless things."

~~

Unknowingly, the banquet was coming to an end. The

Queen Mother left first, and the Liaodong King and his family also said goodbye and left the palace.

Yuwen Lan returned to Qianming Palace and immediately sent people out.

From Yuwen Hao's voice just now, he had already judged that Yuwen Hao must have made more preparations for his visit to Beijing this time.

And this group of people had just left, and then the Jinyi Guard came to report.

"Your Majesty, we have already found out that Zhang Shengkang, the chief judge of the Imperial Hospital, did learn medicine from a doctor named Xun Ji. He once opened a clinic in Beixiang, Beijing. It is said that he is a skilled doctor and there are many people seeking medical treatment."

Yuwen Lan was certain.

Yes, Xun Ji.

That's the name.

"What about him?" he asked.

Jinyiwei bowed his head, "He has passed away for many years."

After all, he had already known it from Yan Shu. At this time, Yuwen Lan was not very disappointed, and only said, "Does Xun Ji have other disciples besides Zhang Shengkang?"

Jinyiwei said, "No, but I heard that he had a son, but he disappeared after his death. We have not found any news about him yet."

Yuwen Lan said, "Keep looking, send more people, and we will find him sooner."

Jinyiwei agreed.

- Usually medical skills are passed down from generation to generation. I think Xun Ji's son should have learned his medical skills.

And after experiencing tonight, he is more and more eager to heal himself. The Queen

Mother's behavior towards the child tonight is definitely not normal.

Although the Queen Mother did not feel anything unusual, but after so many years of mother and son, he knew that the Queen Mother was not an elder who particularly liked children.

Even when Lord Cheng'en brought his grandson into the palace to pay respects to the Queen Mother, she had never been so eager.

Moreover, Yuwen Hao's child had no blood relationship with her at all.

~~

After bathing and changing clothes in Qianming Palace, Yuwen Lan still came to Ganlu Palace.

It was late, and Yan Shu had also finished washing up, so the two went to the couch.

Yuwen Lan was not sleepy for a moment, and subconsciously put his hand on Yan Shu's belly and asked, "If you have your own children in the future, do you want a son or a daughter?"

- Although she often made him lose his mind, based on her performance to the child tonight, he felt that she would be a good mother in the future.

Yan Shu was stunned and said, "...Your Majesty, please forgive me for not thinking about this question. But sons and daughters are good, as long as they are given by God, they are the best."

Yuwen Lan hummed, "That makes sense."

But he still looked heavy-hearted.

Yan Shu observed his words and wondered in her heart, [Why did he suddenly ask this? ]

[Could it be... that he saw that the three boys from the Liaodong Wang family were stimulated? ]

[Tsk, what a poor emperor, and the empress dowager said that tonight, he must be under a lot of pressure. ]

[Just imagine, if his illness has not been cured, wouldn't he have no children? ]

[Tsk, tsk, this is a big deal! ]

[Just like when the previous emperor passed away, the royal family is ready to make a move, and then there may be another bloody storm! 】

【Oh no, the late emperor did have two children, but the emperor has none, so it will be even more tragic then. 】

Yuwen Lan nodded silently.

This girl finally figured it out a little.

——Then Yuwen Hao can't wait now, let alone if he still has no children?

Therefore, this matter is extremely important to him, and he is indeed facing a lot of pressure.

At this moment, she thought to herself, [But then again, is this disease hereditary? The late emperor also had few children. 】

Yuwen Lan immediately rejected this possibility in his heart -

in fact, the late emperor just had few surviving children.

Before he was born, the late emperor already had two sons and two daughters, but unfortunately, three of them died one after another, and only the eldest princess Yuwen Yan lived to adulthood.

However, since he was born, no brothers or sisters have been born in the palace.

He thought about it and wondered if the previous emperor became addicted to elixirs. He wondered if this had any impact on fertility.

But in any case, he had not taken any elixirs, and he had always been normal before. It was only after he ascended the throne that he inexplicably gradually lost that ability.

At first he thought it was due to the heavy workload and fatigue of state affairs.

But then he suddenly acquired the ability to read minds, and he couldn't help but wonder, was this a joke from God?

Or was it a test?

He had to pay this price in exchange for the ability to read minds in order to be a good ruler.

However, this seemed impossible, because he was now showing signs of improvement.

Every night when he came here to sleep, he would change the next day.

This change must be related to her.

Thinking of this, he subconsciously stroked the top of her head, his movements were very gentle.

But she said in her heart, [It’s not that there is no way.]

Huh?

Yuwen Lan paused, what way?

[I can cheat and change the day!]

Yuwen Lan didn’t understand, what does cheat and change the day mean?

But she continued, [First pretend to be pregnant, and then adopt a child from outside the palace when the birth comes, and then say that it is the emperor’s flesh and blood!]

After all, this is how it was played in the bloody TV dramas in the past.

Yuwen Lan, "???"

Why would she have such an idea? ? ?

[No, no, first of all, this requires the cooperation of the emperor, but he certainly can’t cooperate with me. Because once he knows that I know his secret, he will definitely kill me first! 】

Yuwen Lan, "..."

Tsk, he has known this for a long time, but still didn't do anything to her.

And she was still thinking, [Besides, his child will inherit the throne, how can a child outside the palace be allowed? It's not good to separate flesh and blood, it's too heartless! 】

Yuwen Lan listened silently, and couldn't help but want to laugh -

is she writing this for a storybook?

Why is there so much chaos in her mind?

Just at this moment, she heard her say, "By the way, Your Majesty, I plan to write a storybook, and I would like to ask for your advice."

Hmm?

Yuwen Lan found it novel that she actually wanted him to give her opinion?

Although it was unexpected, he decided to wait and see what she was up to.

So he said, "Tell me about it."

Then she cleared her throat and said, "Once upon a time, there was a rich family. The head of the family was very wealthy and had five sons. Before the first head of the family died, he passed the position of head of the family to one of his sons. Later, when this son got old, he passed the position to his son."

Yuwen Lan was a little confused at first.

Her story this time seemed to be different in style from the previous ones?

But she added, "It's just unfortunate that the rest of the old patriarch's children and grandchildren died one after another in accidents. After a few years, only this young patriarch and his cousin were left in the family."

Hearing this, Yuwen Lan finally understood -

yes, she was talking about him.

The old patriarch was the great-grandfather, his grandfather, and the second patriarch was the late emperor.

The young patriarch was naturally him.

And Yuwen Hao was that cousin.

Sure enough, she said in her heart, "[I'm talking about you, did you hear that?]

Yuwen Lan nodded with a smile and said, "It's really unfortunate. What happened later?"

She added, "It's natural for the current patriarch to inherit the family business, and he usually takes good care of his only remaining cousin. It's a pity that human greed made this cousin have evil intentions, so he sent a spy to be by his side to find out important information from him. 】

At this point, she looked up at Yuwen Lan, "Your Majesty, do you think that the cousin should choose a beauty or a man to get close to the head of the family?"

Yuwen Lan pretended to think for a moment, and then said, "I think it should be a beauty. A man will definitely not be able to get close to the head of the family easily."

Yan Shu nodded hurriedly, "I think so too,"

Yuwen Lan deliberately asked, "Then, did the head of the family fall into the trap of the cousin?"

Yan Shu hurriedly said, "The head of the family is not an ordinary person, he has always been very vigilant. In order to successfully send the beauty to the head of the family, this cousin specially found a way to change the identity of the beauty so that she could not tell that she was his person."

Yuwen Lan nodded seriously, "This person is really cunning. What happened later?"

Yan Shu thought to herself, what happened later?

Don't you realize that this is you?

You are the enemy head of the family, and Yuwen Hao is the evil cousin!

Although we still don’t know what Concubine Xu is going to do, Yuwen Hao has no good intentions, you have to be careful!

Yuwen Lan listened silently, feeling both funny and warm in his heart.

So she racked her brains tonight, actually wanting to remind herself.

So, she still cares about him very much.

He looked at her with a smile, and saw her say, "Your Majesty, I just want to ask you, do you think this head of the family can find out the beauty trap or not? After all, men’s minds are very difficult to guess."

Yuwen Lan raised his eyebrows, "Men’s minds are difficult to guess? I think you are probably wrong, women’s minds are difficult to guess."

Just like her, she usually appears to be greedy, gluttonous and timid, but in fact, she cares about him the most in her heart, isn’t it?

Yan Shu didn’t want to waste time on this issue, so she just said nonsense, “Your Majesty, what you said makes sense, but you have to answer my question first.”

Yuwen Lan nodded, “I think he should be able to find out. After all, this family head is wise and brave, how could he be easily deceived by such a pair of tricks?”

Yan Shu nodded meaningfully, “I think so too.” She

was shouting in her heart, [I have said so much, do you understand??? 】

It was hard for her to make up such a story. Yuwen Lan felt warmer in his heart. After thinking for a while, he said, "But the master of the family is so wise and brave. It is not a good idea for him to be alone. He should be arranged with a beautiful and intelligent woman to share his worries and difficulties, have children, and spend the rest of his life with him..."

Before she finished speaking, she heard her screaming in her heart, [What the hell, a beauty? ]

[I took the trouble to make up this story to remind you, why do you want a good bicycle? ]

Yuwen Lan, "???"

What is the "Zi-shaped car"?

Why didn't he understand again? She

hummed in her heart, [Sure enough, men are the same, no matter whether they are capable or not, they only know how to like beautiful women, scumbags! ! ! ]

Yuwen Lan, "???"

What is "no matter whether it is capable or not"? ? ?

Moreover, he became... a "scumbag"?

He still remembered that this "scumbag" referred to people like Chai Weizhong who deceived women.

But why did they call him that?

Isn't it okay to like beautiful women?

Isn't she a beauty?