Hua Fushu and the other person had just entered the General's Mansion when they were led to Fengque Pavilion by Liuzhi who came towards them. It turned out that Gudu Lanxi had something important to discuss with Hua Fushu.
Hua Fushu was about to ask Dugu Lanxi when she handed him an invitation. Hua Fushu took a look at it and asked, "Sister-in-law, why haven't I heard of this Grand Princess? Who is she?"
Dugu Lanxi gave a brief account of the Grand Princess Anguo. After listening, Hua Fushu also had deep respect for this Grand Princess, who sacrificed her life to secure fifty years of peace for the Great Song and Northern Liao.
Gu Du Lanxi took a sip of tea and continued, "I haven't finished sorting out the accounts I have on hand, some of which are from several years ago. Once I have sorted them out, I will go to the manor downstairs to take a look. I can't go to the birthday ball party for the eldest princess. I have asked mother to let you accompany her, and mother has agreed. You like the hustle and bustle, so it would be good to go and take a look, and by the way, get to know the ladies and noble ladies of various families."
Hua Fushu hesitated for a moment before agreeing, and then asked about the taboos and non-taboos of the club, what should be done and what should not be done, and what she should prepare. Dugu Lanxi explained them to her one by one.
Ye Shiheng discussed the tea ceremony with his wife, Ruhuan tried on the new clothes sent by the clothing store, and Mrs. Xu prepared clothes for her son to wear to the ball club.
Ye Zelin was summoned into the palace by Zhao Zixu early in the morning and was now in the Wende Hall.
Zhao Zixu asked the palace maid to bring the chessboard and chess pieces. He looked at Ye Zelin who was kneeling and said, "Don't lose this time. It's boring when I always win."
Ye Zelin smiled and bowed, "I will obey your majesty's order. If I lose, you will do whatever you want. If I unfortunately win, you will beg for a great reward."
Zhao Zixu was quite interested and asked, "I wonder what reward Ye Qing wants, and how big it is."
Ye Zelin said, "Your Majesty, my wife really liked the cakes you gave her last time. If I win, why don't you give me a few more cakes to take back and please my wife?"
Hearing this, Zhao Zixu couldn't help laughing, and the palace maids in the hall also covered their mouths and chuckled.
Ye Zelin glanced at the palace maids and decided to give up on making the cakes. Zhao Zixu said to him, "The cakes made by my imperial kitchen are not for everyone to eat. Ye Qing needs to win over me if he wants to please my wife."
Ye Zelin smiled and said, "I respectfully obey your command. Your Majesty, please go in first."
Zhao Zixu picked up a white piece and wanted to place it on the Tianyuan position, but he glanced at Ye Zelin. As if he had other thoughts, he finally placed it somewhere else.
Ye Zelin placed the black piece, and the two of them stared intently at the chessboard. The competition became even more intense. In the end, Ye Zelin's area was larger than Zhao Zixu's and he won.
A thin layer of sweat formed on Ye Zelin's forehead. He took a deep breath and said, "I was lucky enough to win, Your Majesty."
Zhao Zixu laughed and said, "It was really a stroke of luck. You're such a wicked person. You actually set a trap for me. I thought about it for a long time before making that move. I didn't expect it to be such a trap."
Ye Zelin also laughed and said, "If Your Majesty had not gone down there, I would have lost without a doubt. My victory was a fluke, and it was a narrow one."
Zhao Zixu said, "Okay, I'll give you as many cakes as I want."
He casually pointed at a palace servant and told him to go to the imperial kitchen and pack some cakes.
After the palace maid left, Ye Zelin suddenly said, "Your Majesty, I have a private matter I would like to discuss with you."
He deliberately glanced at the people in the hall, but Zhao Zixu pretended not to see him and deliberately said, "Speak frankly, Ye Qing."
Ye Zelin's face was slightly dizzy, and he hesitated for a long time before he said, "Your humble servant, your humble servant had a quarrel with my wife, and she ran away from home in anger. My father sent people to look for her for half a day before she finally came back. I accompanied her, but she still ignored me. Your Majesty has several concubines in the palace, and your Majesty must have more experience with women. I thought I would ask you for some advice. My wife is not easy to coax. The more I coax her, the angrier she gets. She almost punished me by making me kneel on the washboard."
Zhao Zixu couldn't help laughing, and the palace maids couldn't help laughing either. Ye Zelin was quite embarrassed, "Everyone, don't laugh, don't laugh."
Zhao Zixu couldn't bear to see him embarrassed, so he looked at the palace maids who were laughing secretly, and they stopped smiling. Ye Zelin looked at Zhao Zixu gratefully, and Zhao Zixu also stopped smiling and sent the palace maids away, saying that he would pass on his experience to Ye Zelin.
There were only the two of them in the hall. Ye Zelin's embarrassed expression disappeared, replaced by a serious one, and he told Zhao Zixu all the news he had obtained in Luoyang.
After visiting Xue'ao Villa, he specifically inquired about why the owner of Xue'ao Villa disappeared more than 20 years ago. However, he found out that the owner of Xue'ao Villa was not missing, but was massacred by a mysterious person. The whole family was killed and no one survived. At that time, this case caused a sensation in Luoyang. Everyone was talking about it and it made people panic.
Zhao Zixu was also shocked after hearing this, and he felt that this matter was not simple. "Over a hundred people died in one night. Such a large-scale bloodbath would surely be investigated by Luoyang officials, who would apprehend the real culprit and report it to the court. I remember that in the second year of Xiangfu, Father did not receive any report on the bloodbath in Luoyang, not even the Ministry of Justice. This case alarmed Luoyang and the surrounding prefectures, but Tokyo heard nothing. The massacre of an entire family caused such a large-scale incident, it is impossible for Father not to receive a report. Either the officials in charge at the time did not report it, or if they did, it was withheld."
Ye Zelin agreed, nodding slightly. He then continued, "Your Majesty, I've also heard something. The official who presided over the Xue'ao Villa massacre was named Han Tuizhi. He hastily closed the case by picking up a few bandits and resigned shortly thereafter. I've carefully checked the files from that year, but they contain only a few words, not a single detail of the case. Han Tuizhi had been in office for less than three years and was in his prime, with no medical problems. Why would he resign so early? I believe there may be something else going on."
Zhao Zixu picked up the chess pieces and said, "If Han Tuizhi had written a report, it's very likely that the fox had seized it. Perhaps Han Tuizhi's hasty closure of the case and his sudden resignation from office were also related to the fox. In other words, the fox had been eyeing the treasure for over twenty years."
Ye Zelin continued, "Your Majesty, if Xueao Villa is truly the heir of the Plum Blossom, then could the news we received that the heir of the Plum Blossom has appeared in the world be false?"
Zhao Zixu didn't deny this theory, but he didn't quite believe it either. He said, "The intelligence obtained by the Huaiqin Pavilion that Daddy founded is highly credible. If anyone survived at Xue'ao Villa, then the woman in the portrait sent by the Huaiqin Pavilion is very likely a descendant of Meihua. Of course, we can't rule out the possibility that someone deliberately spread the rumor that Meihua's descendant has appeared in the world."
Suddenly hearing footsteps, Ye Zelin quickly swallowed the words in his throat and raised his voice, "Thank you, Your Majesty. I have learned your lesson. This woman is really difficult to deal with. No wonder the saints said that only women and villains are difficult to raise."
Zhao Zixu laughed and said, "It's a shame that everyone thinks you, the young general, are resourceful. You can't even handle a woman, and you still need me to give you advice."
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