"Her?"
When Xun You suddenly asked about Lan Zhi's age, Li Jue was slightly taken aback, then scratched his head, "Judging from her physical condition, she should be fifteen years old, right?"
Fifteen years old?
Hmm... it doesn't seem like it's impossible!
Xun You frowned slightly and muttered softly.
"Hehe~ Could it be that Prefect Xun has taken a fancy to this woman? But speaking of which, as a daughter of the royal family of Gaochang, she is indeed worthy of Prefect Xun!"
Seeing Xun You asking the woman's age while muttering something, Li Jue couldn't help but think of something, and then looked at Xun You with a wicked smile.
Upon hearing Li Jue's words, everyone in the hall looked meaningfully at Xun You, who was deep in thought, and a playful expression appeared on their faces.
"Ahem~ Li Sima, don't talk nonsense!!"
Hearing Li Jue's teasing, Xun You finally came to his senses and noticed the amused expressions on everyone's faces in the hall. Even with his composure, Xun You couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed.
"Why did you ask someone's age?"
Li Jue seemed unconvinced, looking at Xun You with a gossipy expression, indicating that he was quite interested in the affairs of these aristocratic disciples.
The other people in the hall had the same expression!
"In my opinion, this Lanzhi is about the same age as His Majesty!"
Seeing everyone in the hall looking at him like that, Xun You felt helpless and had no choice but to bring up the emperor.
"His Majesty?"
Upon hearing Xun You suddenly mention the emperor, everyone in the hall paused, even Li Jue straightened his posture and dared not speak nonsense any further.
Li Jue frowned slightly and looked at Xun You, "Could it be that Prefect Xun intends to offer this woman to His Majesty?"
Xun You smiled and nodded, "Indeed! I think... I think this woman's identity is extraordinary, and she may be of great help to His Majesty in conquering the Western Regions in the future!"
A young man standing nearby nodded in agreement. “That makes sense. This woman is the daughter of the royal family of Gaochang. Judging from what Li Sima said earlier, she seems to have always intended to pledge allegiance to the Han Dynasty and rely on the power of the Han Dynasty to restore her kingdom. She can be used!”
This young man was named Li Qiu, courtesy name Changfeng. He was a poor scholar who passed the examination at the beginning of the year. He and Xun You were appointed by Liu Hong to serve as the Dunhuang Postmasters.
Li Qiu never forgot the emperor's kindness in recognizing his talent and was one of the most steadfast members of the emperor's faction. Naturally, he was well aware of Liu Hong's plans for the Western Regions.
Xun You nodded, "Changfeng is right, as the saying goes, 'a cause for war must be justified'! As long as she becomes His Majesty's woman, then our Great Han will have a reason to send troops to Gaochang in the future!"
"That makes sense!!" Li Qiu echoed, a glint of light flashing in his eyes.
"Uh~"
Li Jue, who was standing to the side, listened to Xun You and Li Qiu's conversation and looked at them in astonishment. He never expected that these two people would not only plot against a country, but also scheme against the emperor.
Are all these intellectuals this bold?
Thinking of this, Li Jue couldn't help but shift his position, wanting to get as far away from them as possible.
Seemingly noticing Li Jue's subtle actions, Xun You asked with a laugh, "Minister Li, how much do you know about this Lan Zhi?"
Just then, Zhang Xiu, who had settled all the soldiers, also rushed over. After nodding to everyone, Zhang Xiu sat down in the empty seat next to Zhang Ji.
After Zhang Xiu was seated, Li Jue spoke up, "Prefect Xun, this Lanzhi is no ordinary person! She is likely more than just a princess of Gaochang!"
Xun You asked, "Oh? Please explain in detail, Commander Li!"
Zhang Xiu, standing to the side, also had a change of expression and couldn't help but look at Li Jue. When he first saw Lan Zhi today, her beautiful figure was deeply imprinted in Zhang Xiu's mind and he couldn't shake it off no matter what. Therefore, Zhang Xiu was also very concerned about Lan Zhi's affairs.
Li Jue nodded and said in a deep voice, "We found this Lanzhi in a bandit's den. Strangely, not only were her clothes neat, but her face did not look like she had been humiliated. She did not seem to have been captured and was obviously different from other women from the Western Regions."
"So, she must be connected to the bandits?" Li Qiu said, frowning.
Xun You pondered for a moment, "It should be. Perhaps she is the leader of those bandits! Or secretly controlling them! Her purpose is probably to use the bandits to restore the kingdom!"
"You two are quite right, and there's another point: most of the bandits we've been eliminating this time have risen to power in the last two years, which happens to be the second year since she fled Gaochang! The connection between them is truly intriguing!"
Then Li Jue looked at Zhang Xiu and asked, "Xiu'er, what do you think?"
"ah?"
Upon hearing Li Jue's question, Zhang Xiu paused for a moment before replying, "Indeed, this humble general also discovered during the battles with the bandits that most of them possess some military knowledge, making them quite different from the bandits of the past!"
"Could she really be the leader of those bandits?" Zhang Xiu couldn't help but wonder to himself.
Although unwilling to believe it, the analysis of the others, coupled with his own encounter with bandits, forced Zhang Xiu to accept that Lan Zhi was indeed a bandit, and possibly the biggest one at that.
This conjecture left Zhang Xiu momentarily lost in thought, and his goodwill towards Lanzhi diminished considerably.
Zhang Xiu's unusual behavior was noticed by Xun You, who was seated in the main seat.
Li Qiu said doubtfully, "If I'm not mistaken, the leader of those bandits should be Lan Zhi's former bodyguard."
Li Jue couldn't help but ask, "If that's really the case, those bandits number over three thousand. They could easily take Gaochang directly, right?"
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