Meanwhile, at the palace.
"What did you say?"
After hearing Chu Qingluan's words, the emperor paused with his brush tip, and a ball of thick ink quickly spread on the rice paper.
"I, your son, beg your Majesty to confer the title of Princess Yi Yang on Zhixia." Chu Qingluan saluted slowly.
The corners of Emperor Chu's mouth twitched, and he was speechless.
He had also heard about the farce that happened in front of the princess's mansion the day before yesterday. He sighed at that time that the old fox Gu Tingyuan had raised the daughter of his enemy for eighteen years, but in the end, his own daughter had been a maid in the princess's mansion for eighteen years.
The cause and effect in this world is truly ironic.
Emperor Chu put down his wolf hair brush and looked at Chu Qingluan with a half-smile: "You really know how to pick the right time. Gu Tingyuan, that old fox, must have disliked you for a long time, but you insist on conferring the title of princess on his biological daughter."
Chu Qingluan raised the corners of his lips slightly: "Father, you have misunderstood. I asked for the title of Feng Zhixia not for any calculation.
"For the past eighteen years, Zhixia has been by my side, and we have become like sisters. No matter whose daughter she is, this friendship will not change. Now that her true identity has been revealed, I just feel that she is no longer suitable to be a maid in the princess's mansion."
The Emperor of Chu's eyes moved slightly, as if he was considering it seriously.
As the daughter of the prime minister, it is really inappropriate for her to continue to be a maid in the princess's mansion after finally regaining her status.
At this time, Chu Qingluan continued to add: "As for Prime Minister Gu...I really want to see, in his heart, whether blood relationship is more important or power and status are more important."
"This can be considered as giving him one last chance."
Emperor Chu pondered for a moment, then suddenly chuckled, "In that case, I will grant you your approval. I also want to see whether Gu Tingyuan will be happy or worried when he finds out that his biological daughter has become a princess."
After that, Emperor Chu thought of something, looked at Chu Qingluan meaningfully, and said, "There is one more thing, I want to hear your opinion."
"I'm sure you've heard about Xie Yunqi leaving the Xie family last night. What do you think about this?"
Chu Qingluan's expression did not change, and she replied respectfully, "Thank you, Prime Minister. This move is quite unexpected."
She met the inquiring gaze of the Emperor Chu, thought for a moment and said, "But I think this may not be a bad thing."
"Oh? How do you mean?"
"The Xie family is very close to the prince. Now that Prime Minister Xie has taken the initiative to withdraw, it is a good opportunity to break this situation." She spoke calmly, as if she was talking about today's weather.
"Besides, with Xie Yunqi's talent, if he can really be used by the emperor, why should we worry about the new policy not being implemented?"
Emperor Chu smiled and shook his head, "That's not what I'm asking."
He looked at Chu Qingluan meaningfully: "I want to know, what do you think of Xie Yunqi?"
Chu Qingluan was stunned and looked at Emperor Chu in confusion.
"Xie Yunqi is a rare and capable minister with extraordinary strategies and decisive actions. However, he is willing to destroy his own foundation and break with his family. I am curious about what kind of obsession can make a powerful minister who is so cautious in the court make such a decision that will destroy himself and his family together?"
Chu Qingluan's breathing stagnated slightly and her brows furrowed slightly.
The King of Chu picked up another secret letter and continued, "What's more, Xie Yunqi came to see me this morning and said that he was willing to sacrifice the Xie family to help me clean up the court, and what he asked for was..."
The King of Chu paused deliberately, then suddenly leaned forward, with a probing smile in his eyes, "He actually begged me not to interfere with his fate with a woman."
"Tell me... who is this extraordinary woman who could make Xie Qing so desperate?"
After these words were spoken, the hall suddenly fell into silence.
The scent of agarwood curled up in the air, and Chu Qingluan's half-closed eyes were reflected in the tea.
After a long while, she spoke, her voice so calm that no emotion could be heard: "Father, you are joking. Prime Minister Xie has always been a man of foresight. This move must have a deeper plan."
"Yeah?"
Emperor Chu chuckled and didn't dwell on this topic any further, "Maybe!"
He felt that being able to make a smart man like Xie Yunqi do such a foolish thing was the most unlikely to be fake.
Just like when he knelt in front of the late emperor's palace for three days and three nights just to marry the late queen...
——
On the other side, when Zhixia was rushing to Tingxuexuan, she happened to meet Li on the way.
In fact, it can't be said to be a coincidence. The main reason is that ever since Li knew that Zhixia was her biological daughter, she had always sent people to keep an eye on Zhixia. When she saw Zhixia riding a horse and preparing to go out, Li couldn't wait to follow her out, and they "happened" to meet by chance.
"Zhixia! Is it really you?"
Li leaned out of the carriage with a gentle smile on her face.
"Mrs. Gu, how are you?" Zhixia said in a cold and distant tone. She bowed symbolically.
Li's eyes turned red, and she said with a bit of sadness: "My dear, do we have to be so distant from each other? I..."
"I'm sorry, Madam Gu!" Zhixia interrupted her, "If you have nothing else to do, please excuse me. I have something important to attend to, so I really don't have time to catch up with you here."
Li's eyes dimmed, but she soon smiled again: "It's nothing, actually. I heard that there is an antique shop opened up ahead, and there are many treasures from the previous dynasty, so I thought of picking some and sending them to the princess's mansion someday.
Zhixia, you have followed the princess for many years, so you must be familiar with her preferences. Could I trouble you to..."
"Sorry, I..." Zhixia was about to say the word "I don't have time" when she suddenly remembered something and her heart moved.
"Previous dynasty, treasure?" She turned her head to look at Li.
Li thought she looked relaxed, and hurriedly explained, "Yes, I heard that some of them are the four treasures of the study that came from the palace of the previous dynasty."
Zhixia's eyes flickered slightly.
Wasn't the old Grand Tutor Shen, whom she was going to meet, a veteran of the previous dynasty? Intelligence said that this old Grand Tutor was particularly fond of collecting all kinds of antiques. If she could bring a gift that suited his taste...
"Since it's on the way, let's go and take a look."
Zhixia suddenly changed her mind and jumped onto the horse. "But I can only stay for a cup of tea."
Li was overjoyed and quickly asked the driver to lead the way.
For her, it was already a great thing that Zhixia was willing to stop and listen to her, so she would never mind if the time was shorter.
Soon, the carriage turned two streets and stopped in front of an antique shop called "Mo Yun Xuan".
Zhixia's eyes were immediately attracted by a small bronze tripod in the window.
The inscription on the tripod was written by the great calligrapher of the previous dynasty whom Grand Tutor Shen most admired.
"Boss, how much is this?" Zhixia asked, pointing at the small tripod.
As a result, at this moment, a rather sarcastic voice suddenly came from the door:
"Isn't this the real daughter of the Gu family who has been missing for eighteen years? Has she learned to be pretentious so quickly?"
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