Zheng Biyu's heart trembled. He was stunned for a long time, then suddenly sat up and said, "Nonsense!"

Empress Xie is the daughter of a prominent family, how could she possibly have an affair with someone else?

The maid didn't dare say anything.

Zheng Biyu was absent-minded for a while, and asked, "Who else heard Rong Fei's nonsense?"

The maid replied, "Only Concubine Xue and a few maids around her heard it. At that time, Concubine Xue laughed and said that Concubine Rong was crazy and talking nonsense. But in the past few days, she quietly sent away all the maids who were present at the time, leaving only her confidants."

That confidant happened to be the maid's adopted sister, and one of the spies in the Eastern Palace.

Zheng Biyu's fingers were numb, and she ordered her maid, "Concubine Rong has gone mad. She was jealous of Princess Wen Zhao, and before she died, she deliberately said such nonsense to tarnish Empress Xie's reputation. Concubine Xue handled it very well. This matter must not be spread."

The maid bowed her head and replied.

Zheng Biyu's eyes sparkled, and she asked in a low voice, "What did Concubine Rong say?"

The maid replied, "Before Concubine Rong died, she scolded Princess Wen Zhao, saying that the emperor's sons and daughters were all tall and strong, and the daughters were all tall and plump, but why was Princess Wen Zhao the only one who was weak since childhood and couldn't get out of bed until she was three years old? Why couldn't she stop taking medicine since she was a child and had to take Ninglu Pills every month? Why was it that only Princess Wen Zhao's eyebrows didn't look like those of the Li family?"

"Concubine Xue refuted Concubine Rong, saying that it was because Princess Wen Zhao was born with deficiencies."

"Concubine Rong laughed a few times and said that Princess Wen Zhao was not the emperor's bloodline at all because she was not born to Empress Xie."

Zheng Biyu opened her mouth slightly, looking surprised.

She thought that Concubine Rong was implying that Empress Xie was not faithful to her husband, but it turned out that what she was saying was that Li Yaoying was not born to Empress Xie.

The maid continued, "Rong Fei said that at that time, everyone in the clan supported the second prince... Xie Zhongqian as the crown prince. Empress Xie's maid said a few sarcastic words to Empress Tang, and Empress Tang committed suicide in anger. His Majesty's hair turned white overnight, and he even stopped fighting. He hurried back to Weijun to take care of Empress Tang's funeral. Empress Xie was also pregnant at that time, so His Majesty did not punish her."

"Concubine Rong told Concubine Xue that Empress Xie was not pregnant at all at that time. Her wet nurse was worried that His Majesty would be angry with her, so she lied to the Queen and said that she was a few months pregnant. Empress Xie did as she was told."

Because Li De had returned to Wei County a few months ago and stayed in Empress Xie's courtyard every night, and Empress Xie rarely went out, no one suspected anything.

"Concubine Rong said that Princess Wen Zhao was definitely not a royal child. She was adopted by Duke Wei."

Duke Wei is Xie Wuliang.

Li Yaoying was close to the Yelu tribe, and Li De issued an edict to posthumously confer the title of Duke of Wei on Xie Wuliang. When Li Zhongqian succeeded to the Xie family, he would directly inherit the title of Duke of Wei - a great reputation, but no real power.

The maid finally said, "Concubine Rong said that she had long suspected the Seventh Princess's background, but she didn't dare to make it public because she was afraid of retaliation from Xie Zhongqian."

Zheng Biyu's mind raced, and he leaned back on the table, not saying a word for a long time.

Her intuition told her that what Concubine Rong said was true.

Zheng Biyu warned her maid: "Wei Changshi must not hear any news about this."

The maid replied, "Your Highness, Concubine Rong is just talking nonsense. There is no evidence. It doesn't matter even if it gets out."

Concubine Xue Guifei's position as the vice empress was obtained with the help of Li Yaoying, so she would definitely not reveal this.

Even if it was leaked, it wouldn't matter. Who would take the nonsense that Concubine Rong said before her death seriously? Without evidence, no matter how true her words were, they were just the talk of a madman.

Moreover, Princess Wen Zhao was married off as Princess Li, so even if she was not the emperor's biological daughter, she is one now.

Zheng Biyu murmured, "It doesn't matter whether others believe it or not..."

The key is whether to tell the prince about this?

The reason why the prince hated Li Yaoying was because she was Xie's daughter. If he knew that Li Yaoying was not Xie's daughter...

Zheng Biyu frowned.

After marrying into the Li family, she inquired about how Tang committed suicide.

The men of the Li family were often away on military campaigns, so Tang and Xie stayed in Wei County. Li De would go home to visit his two wives every few months.

On the day Tang committed suicide, Li Xuanzhen happened to return home and saw with his own eyes his mother, who was burned beyond recognition, jumping out of the sea of ​​fire and falling at his feet.

In fact, the person who was supposed to return to Wei County that day was Li De. When he left home, he promised to go home to spend the holiday with his two wives. Later, due to the tense war, he only sent his eldest son home.

Therefore, a servant of the Tang family once secretly told Zheng Biyu that Tang Ying's original plan was to burn herself to death in front of Li De.

As a result of some strange coincidences, Li Xuanzhen witnessed her tragic death.

Before her death, she was almost insane and repeatedly asked Li Xuanzhen to avenge her.

Over the past decade, Li Xuanzhen had nightmares almost every night, in which he dreamed of his mother dying.

Zheng Biyu once tactfully persuaded Li Xuanzhen to let go of his hatred.

Although Tang Ying committed suicide in anger after an argument with the clan elders and Empress Xie's maid, her death was not caused by Xie in the final analysis. Why did he have to target Concubine Xie and her son?

He was willing to listen to advice on other matters, and even compromised on Zhu Luyun's matter, but why was he so extreme when it came to the Xie family?

Li Xuanzhen sneered and did not explain anything to Zheng Biyu.

Zheng Biyu had a vague guess in his heart.

There may be some unknown secrets about what happened back then. In order to protect Tang Ying, Li Xuanzhen concealed some things.

For this reason, although he clearly did not dislike the Seventh Princess, he hurt her time and time again.

After much deliberation, Zheng Biyu weighed the pros and cons and decided to tell Li Xuanzhen what Concubine Rong said.

The Seventh Princess is innocent.

She got up and went to the study, picked up a pen and wrote a letter to Li Xuanzhen.

After the marriage decree was officially issued, Li Xuanzhen led the Wei army to Liangzhou and attacked the He family in three directions with the cavalry of the Hu tribe. After the victory, he stayed in Liangzhou and did not return to the capital.

Zheng Biyu wrote the letter and gave it to the servant, instructing him to deliver it to Li Xuanzhen personally.

The servant responded respectfully.

…

Half a month after Qin Fei left, Yao Ying arrived near Liangzhou with the Yelu tribe.

Chief Yelu has already set out from Liangzhou, and will soon meet up with them at the riverside where the Yelu tribe stays every winter to complete the wedding ceremony according to the Yelu tribe's customs.

Liangzhou was formerly known as Yongzhou. It has a flat and vast terrain. Since ancient times, it has been a prosperous place with "people smoking and dense mulberry trees". It is an important northwestern commercial port with "carriages and horses crisscrossing and singing and playing everywhere". In ancient times, it was known as an important place that connects the vast desert and controls the throat of five counties.

During the Tang Dynasty, Master Xuanzang passed through Liangzhou when he went west to seek Buddhist scriptures. At that time, monks and merchants in Liangzhou were constantly traveling back and forth.

Until a few decades ago, Liangzhou was still one of the most prosperous towns in the north.

Later, the Central Plains dynasty declined, the country was in chaos, and the northwest was successively occupied by the powerful Tubo and various rising tribes. The previous dynasty, Zhu, failed to recover the northwest when he founded the country, and the Silk Road, which was once bustling with merchants and the sound of camel bells, had been cut off for many years.

Yaoying sat in the carriage, occasionally lifting the curtain and looking out. What she saw before her was a vast and desolate world.

There was no trace of human life within a radius of a hundred miles.

The further northwest we went, the worse the weather became. The gloomy sky gradually showed signs of wind and snow. The undulating mountain peaks on the horizon were covered with snow, like a sleeping dragon.

Where is my home when the clouds are across the Qinling Mountains? The horse cannot move forward when the snow is heavy at the Lan Pass.

The road became increasingly rugged and difficult to travel.

Although there were Hu maids to serve them diligently on the road and they did not have to sleep in the open air, it was still quite hard for Yaoying who had been pampered for the past few years.

When they needed to cross the mountains, she had to get off the carriage and ride like everyone else.

Li Zhongqian had taught her how to ride a horse and often accompanied her in horse racing, but those races were always on flat and wide fields in the sunny spring months, not on the rough and rugged mountain roads or in the chilly autumn months.

Riding on mountain trails is much more tiring than riding on flat land, and in order to avoid wind and snow and find a safe place to stay overnight before dark, they often walk for a whole day.

Yaoying's thighs were covered with bruises, the wounds had blood scabs and were then rubbed open, and her delicate fingers were covered with blood blisters from the reins.

Whenever the team stopped to rest, she sat on the saddle, her whole body felt like it was broken and she couldn't even lift her fingers. Tali and Ai had to hold one of her arms each to help her off the horse.

That day they finally crossed several mountains and arrived at an open plain in the valley. Yaoying moved to the carriage and Ayi knelt beside her to apply medicine for her.

Xie Qing followed the carriage on horseback as usual, opened a corner of the curtain with the handle of his knife, and handed in a small porcelain bottle.

"Princess, this medicine is what I usually use. It is stronger than the ointments you brought with you. It will hurt a lot when you use it, but it will heal faster."

After saying that, he added: "It won't leave scars."

Yao Ying lay on the table, took the porcelain bottle, and chuckled: "You are very considerate."

He usually has a stern face and looks like a fool, but I didn't expect that he would take the initiative to deliver medicine to her.

The knife handle was retracted and the curtain was lowered again.

After a while, Xie Qing's voice came: "Princess... today is your birthday."

Yao Ying was stunned.

She vaguely recalled that when she was little, she went to attend her cousin's coming-of-age ceremony and was reluctant to leave until dark. Li Zhongqian came to pick her up, and seeing that she was sleepy, he didn't want to wake her up, so he carried her back.

She lay on Li Zhongqian's back, became energetic again, and chattered about how lively the banquet was.

Li Zhongqian laughed out loud: "When Xiaoqi comes of age, I will also hold a coming-of-age ceremony for you. It will be even grander and more lively than today's. The trees along the entire street will be hung with colorful lights."

Yao Ying hugged Li Zhongqian's neck and rubbed it: "I don't want a coming-of-age ceremony, I just want my mother and brother to accompany me and eat a bowl of shou noodles."

I was carefree at that time.

I never expected that when I really reached the age of 15, even eating a bowl of shou noodles became a luxury.

Yaoying was stunned for a long time, until Ayi applied the ointment on her and left, before she slowly came to her senses.

"I had forgotten all about it..." She opened the car curtain, raised her head, looked at Xie Qing, and smiled brightly, "Ah Qing, it's amazing that you still remember this."

She had long forgotten what day it was.

Xie Qing lowered his head and didn't look at Yao Ying.

"I understand why the princess didn't bring Chunru and the others to Yelu." He looked at the sandy ground covered with a thin layer of white snow under the horse's hooves. "If you brought them here, they would cry all day long when they saw how much the princess had suffered."

Yaoying smiled. From Xie Qing's tone, it seemed that he disliked Qi Chunru?

Xie Qing's fingers tightly grasped the hilt of the knife: "And they are here... they will definitely not be able to escape the clutches of the eldest prince."

Yaoying's face darkened.

The eldest prince was rude and unruly, looking at her with eyes that were not concealed at all. Perhaps because they were ultimately afraid of their father, Chief Yelu, these princes did not dare to disrespect her, but every day they dragged the female slaves in the tribe into the tent in front of her, and soon, undisguised sounds came from the tent.

A few days ago, the eldest prince even went directly to Yaoying to ask for Tali, but she flatly refused.

The eldest prince narrowed his eyes and said nothing. He sneaked into Tali's tent at night and tried to do something bad. Fortunately, Tali was alert and did not let him succeed.

Yao Ying glanced around and saw that those following the carriage were all her personal soldiers.

She whispered, "Ah Qing, the eldest prince is trying to scare me."

The delicate Han princess, who was married far away, encountered such a thing before she even met her husband. She must have been frightened and panicked - as long as she was panic-stricken, the eldest prince would most likely take action.

Xie Qing's hand holding the hilt of the knife was throbbing with veins: "Princess, I'm going to kill him."

Yao Ying frowned: "Ah Qing...you can't kill the eldest prince."

The warriors of the Yelu tribe all grew up on horseback and were skilled in archery and horsemanship. Xie Qing was no match for the eldest prince.

Xie Qing's face was tense: "What if I run away with the princess?"

Yao Ying shook her head: "Ah Qing, we can't run away..."

If she leaves now, she will break her promise, and Nanchu's spies have already penetrated deep into Chang'an. Once she leaves, the alliance will be broken, and Nanchu will definitely incite the Yelu tribe to start a war. By then, all lives will be lost, and the Central Plains will fall into war again. Her fate will not be much better than it is now - either she will fall into Nanchu's hands and become a tool for them to provoke war, or she will be captured and ravaged by the angry Yelu tribe.

Yao Ying patiently explained to Xie Qing: "We can't run away now. Why does the court have to form an alliance with the various Hu tribes? Why must it rely on the cavalry of the Yelu tribe to send troops to recapture Liangzhou?"

Xie Qing raised his head and looked straight at her face.

Yao Ying said: "Because this is their territory."

The Central Plains dynasty had completely lost control of Helong and the Western Regions decades ago. Without the assistance of the various Hu tribes, the Wei army would not even know how much power was entrenched in Liangzhou, so how could it recover it in one fell swoop?

"Ah Qing, I am now the princess of Wei, the wife that Yelu Khan is about to marry. As long as the alliance is still in place, the eldest prince will not dare to treat me with disrespect."

She raised her eyes and looked into the distance.

"If I run away, the eldest prince will catch us immediately. What will happen to a princess of the Wei Dynasty who has made a mistake and falls into his hands?"

A shudder ran through Xie Qing's body.

The eldest prince did it on purpose. He threatened the princess and made her scared, just waiting for her to make a mistake!

Xie Qing loosened his fingers and tried his best to suppress the restlessness he had felt for the past few days.

Yao Ying smiled and said, "Ah Qing, no matter what happens, I will live well."

Brother will definitely come to see her after he recovers from his injuries.

Until then, she has to live well.

She turned her head and looked towards the east. The towering mountains in the sky blocked her view. Behind those mountains was her hometown.

"Sooner or later, we will return to Central China and reunite with our families."

She wants to go back.

No matter how hard it is.

Xie Qing nodded and gripped the knife handle tightly.

No matter where he goes, he will protect the princess well.

The team continued to move westward.

A few days later, Yao Ying saw a river in the Gobi Desert that meandered along the mountains. The river had not yet frozen, and there was sparse weeds growing on the riverside. Occasionally, cattle and sheep could be seen drinking water by the river.

Tali told Yaoying: "If we follow this river for a few more days, we will reach Yazhang."

They filled their water bags at the river bank and headed southeast along the river.

The river is the only source of water in the Gobi Desert. The further southeast you go, the more cattle and sheep you will see on the road. Sometimes you will encounter migrating tribes and caravans with camel bells in formation.

Yao Ying heard the bell, opened the car curtain and looked at the caravan traveling in the cold wind.

The personal guards suddenly came up and escorted her carriage towards the hillside.

Tali took a look at the caravan, a look of sorrow appeared on her face, and she said to the bewildered Yao Ying, "Princess, the eldest prince is planning to rob the caravan."

Yao Ying was silent.

Plunder is the nature of the Yelu tribe. They grew up on horseback and do not know how to farm or weave. They were born to follow their fathers on the grasslands to plunder everything they can, including food, people and wealth.

When the carriage reached a higher place, the eldest prince reined in his horse and looked back, through the crowd, at Yao Ying, whose face was covered with a light veil in the carriage, and slowly drew out the Tibetan curved sword that he had won in a battle.

He stared at Yao Ying without blinking, his eyes sharper than the arrows flying from the sky.

Domineering, brutal, cruel, and cold-blooded.

A fierce desire to conquer came over me, mixed with hissing and roaring electricity.

A shiver ran through Yaoying's body, and her hands trembled slightly in her sleeves.

She knew that showing cowardice would only make the eldest prince more proud, so she dug her fingertips deep into his soft palm, calmed her mind, and did not move.

The beautiful face behind the veil was expressionless, noble and indifferent.

So elegant, so cool.

Like flowers blooming on the top of a snowy peak, or the moon hanging high in the boundless sky.

Precisely because she is unattainable and out of reach, she is more alluring and charming, making it impossible for people to control their desire and possessiveness for her.

I really want to tear off the clothes wrapped around that beautiful body and let this delicate flower bloom in my hands.

Make her cry, make her surrender.

Heat flowed through his body, and the eldest prince's blood dilated. He lowered his head and licked the cold blade, as if the thin blade under his tongue was the Han princess's skin, as smooth as mutton fat.

Lust and the desire to kill were intertwined, and he felt extremely refreshed. His body shivered twice and he grinned.

The sound of horse hooves was like thunder. The eldest prince took the lead, holding a curved sword in hand, and rushed towards the battlefield.

His personal soldiers followed closely behind. The nineteen of them formed a strict formation, like a bloodthirsty beast with bared fangs, and quickly tore a hole in the caravan.

The author has something to say: The sentence "known as Liangzhou..." is quoted from the original text of "Silk Road Liangzhou Agricultural Civilization".

Merchants came and went without stopping. Quoted from "A Record of the Western Regions of the Great Tang Dynasty".

The eldest prince robbed here and there, and finally robbed things that he shouldn't have robbed. Then, the monk came.