Chapter 43: Meeting After Dusk
"It's the Xie family, the Wang family, and the Zheng family. These families boast of having some heritage and have repeatedly mocked the royal family for having no talented people."
Li Yueyao laughed and said, "The Su family didn't say anything, right?"
"No." The emperor shook his head.
"The Su family doesn't say anything, and what these families say is nonsense. Don't take it to heart." Li Yueyao continued.
"By the way, how have your investigations been going these days?" asked the emperor.
"Gan Hong, go get Gan Qingcha's things and bring them to Your Majesty."
"Yes."
After a while, the emperor looked at the information in his hand and said to himself, "That means the Xirong spy is undercover beside Zhaoqing.
Taking advantage of her status to gather information and shake the foundation of our Great Jin?"
"Um."
"Hasn't their leader behind the scenes been caught yet?" asked the emperor.
"There should be results in the next two days."
"By the way, Your Majesty, the Right Prime Minister has asked me to go out to see a play this evening. It's a play about the Left Prime Minister. I plan to be there on time."
The emperor listened, and the corners of his mouth curled up slightly. He said, "Well, go ahead. Be careful."
"Well, I will bring Gan Hong and the dark guards."
The emperor placed the paper in his hand on the table and said, "The virtuous concubine asked me to promise not to enter the harem for three days. Today is already the third day..."
Upon hearing this, Li Yueyao quickly stopped him and said, "Your Majesty, please don't go yet. The Xirong spies have a hidden line in the palace, and Concubine Xian is plotting to lure this person."
If you barge in rashly, they might become desperate and act in a way that would be detrimental to Your Majesty."
The emperor curled his lips and said, "I know. I just wanted to ask how the virtuous concubine is doing with her investigation."
Li Yueyao looked up at the emperor and said jokingly, "She'll be here soon, go ask her yourself."
The emperor and Li Yueyao were having a meal together. Halfway through the meal, Li Yueyao asked, "Where is Zhaoqing? What has he been doing these past two days?"
"We're going to the Prince of Qin's Mansion."
Li Yueyao sneered: "Are you going to intimidate King Qin again?"
"She doesn't want to stay in the palace, so she has no choice but to go to the Prince of Qin's Mansion. She has nowhere else to go."
"Didn't she have the best relationship with Prince Jin when she was a child? Why didn't she go and bully Prince Jin?" Li Yueyao asked.
"Over the years, Prince Jin couldn't stand her actions, and the two of them had a big quarrel a long time ago," said the emperor.
"She really is...ah..."
After dinner, the two of them went to the west wing hall to discuss court affairs. As they were talking, the virtuous concubine arrived.
This time, the virtuous concubine looked up at the emperor and was relieved to see that his complexion was better than the previous two days.
"Your Majesty, I pay my respects to you, and to my aunt."
The emperor said, "No need to be polite."
The virtuous concubine is wearing a goose yellow palace dress today, which makes her look quite lively in this dull and bleak winter.
The head decorations also include combs and flower ornaments, making her look gentle and elegant.
The emperor thought to himself that she looked better in these warm-colored clothes.
The cool colors make her look too cold.
Seeing that the emperor was silent, Li Yueyao asked, "Why, did you catch the fish?"
“The fish hasn’t bitten yet, but I gave her a heavy bait today, so she’ll definitely take it before tomorrow.
I came to see you because there's a new discovery at Wanhua Tower."
Li Yueyao asked: "Oh, what did you find?"
"Qian Lou and Fu Shou personally went to interrogate the people in Wanhua Tower. According to the servants in the tower, the appearance of the blue moon is different during the day and at night.
In the daytime, Bi Yue looks cold yet a little fierce.
The blue moon in the night is still cold and clear, but the whole person looks like a delicate and weak beauty.
In short, he is like two different people during the day and at night.
So I wondered if he was two different people during the day and at night.
Qian Lou gave Bi Yue the detoxification pill you gave her, and then asked someone from the Imperial Hospital to give her acupuncture.
Biyue had indeed recovered, and she said that man was the leader."
"Chief?" the emperor asked.
“Well, under Qian Lou’s interrogation, the person in the daytime was their leader, and the one at night was Bi Yue.
The most important thing is that Bi Yue is a blonde, blue-eyed Hu woman."
Li Yueyao laughed and said, "Oh, is that really the case?"
The virtuous concubine also laughed: "Not bad."
"Could the leader be a man?" Li Yueyao speculated pretentiously.
The virtuous concubine looked at the emperor and smiled meaningfully: "Yes."
Li Yueyao also smiled meaningfully: "Is this the heavy bait you gave to that fish?"
"Yes."
The emperor roughly understood that Bi Yue and her male leader shared the same identity.
The virtuous concubine is using this clue to trick someone in the harem into getting in.
So, I didn't dwell on this matter too much.
The emperor looked at Concubine Xian and asked, "Do you like the orchid headpiece I gave you?"
After hearing this, Concubine Xian said solemnly, "Thank you, Your Majesty. I like it very much."
Li Yueyao left very tactfully to make room for the two of them.
In just a cup of tea, Li Yueyao saw the virtuous concubine coming out of the west side hall and leaving in a hurry.
"Oh, this isn't done yet?"
Li Yueyao was looking at the east wing hall and talking to herself.
After a while, the emperor came out from the west side hall in a lonely manner.
Li Yueyao knew from the emperor's expression that there was still no hope for him this time.
In the afternoon, Gan Hong came to report: "Your Highness, the Chengfeng Horse-drawn Company was raided, but their leader has escaped.
The people from the Hundred Cavalry Division have already given chase."
Li Yueyao nodded, then continued, "Cuiwei, have Chen Yue contact Gan Qing. The information he has might be useful to Gan Qing."
"Yes." Cuiwei took the order and went out to pass on the message.
…
Beijing, Jixianfang, Yuqian Hutong.
Fu Shou brought his men and stood in the courtyard of Guan Quan's house and spoke to Guan Quan.
"Guan Quan, Wanhua Tower and Huji Pharmacy have both been raided, and your mother is in our hands now.
As long as you cooperate honestly, we will release your mother."
When Guan Quan saw the eunuch who was beside Concubine Xian appear in person in his yard, he knew that the situation was hopeless.
So he said dejectedly: "Okay, I will cooperate. Please don't hurt my mother."
Fu Shou glanced inside the house and said, "Your mother is inside, and I didn't touch her.
What you are asked to do is very simple, just do as you are told.
You are just a small character, and I will not implicate your old mother."
Guan Quan nodded after hearing this.
The group left the courtyard.
When Guan Quan appeared again at the Longguang Gate, the north gate of the imperial city, wearing armor and guarding the palace, Li Yueyao took Gan Qing and Cuiwei out of the palace and took a carriage to her eldest princess's mansion.
Li Yueyao walked around the house and saw that it was clean and the flowers and trees showed obvious signs of being newly transplanted.
He went to the bedroom and study and took a look. They were all decorated according to his preferences. Li Yueyao nodded to express her satisfaction.
He turned around and praised Cui Xin and Cui Lan.
The four palace maids around Li Yueyao are Cuiwei, Cuixin, Cuiyu and Cuilan. The task of tidying up the mansion is the responsibility of Cuixin and Cuilan.
The two of them looked happy when they heard this.
In the evening, Li Yueyao was about to have dinner when she heard Cuiwei come to report: "Your Highness, the Right Prime Minister has arrived and is at the back door."
"You came so early, it seems you won't be able to eat this meal."
Li Yueyao stood up, put on her cloak, and walked towards the back door.
As soon as the corner door opened, Li Yueyao saw an inconspicuous little car waiting at the door.
The car body and curtains were inky black. If it weren't for the lantern hanging in the front corner, casting a little dim light, the whole car would seem to have melted into the night.
Feng Shenyu was standing at the door, tall and graceful, and when he saw Li Yueyao, he smiled and said, "Your Highness, please come in."
Li Yueyao held Feng Shenyu's arm and got on the carriage, and Feng Shenyu followed from behind.
The carriage itself is of normal size, and with two people sitting in it at once, the space suddenly felt much narrower.
In addition, Feng Shenyu had long arms and legs, so Li Yueyao unconsciously shrank back to make more space for Feng Shenyu.
Feng Shenyu stared at Li Yueyao's expression for a long time, and finally said: "Your Highness, I'm afraid this outfit is not suitable."
Li Yueyao heard this and asked, "Why?"
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