The seventh princess is beautiful and radiant like a spring flower.

The sons of the noble families in Chang'an vied with each other to marry her, and the young men from the seven clans and five surnames who never took the royal lady seriously fought fiercely for her.

If such a beautiful woman took the initiative to come to visit him, anyone else would be ecstatic.

Du Sinan was not happy at all.

Not only was he unhappy, but he was also filled with anger that he had no place to vent.

He looked at the Seventh Princess Li Yaoying who was smiling at the door and his eyes turned bloodshot with anger.

…

Nowadays, the distinction between the noble and the humble is strict. Although there have been continuous wars in recent years, the status of the aristocratic families has not been shaken. There is a clear distinction between the aristocratic families and the poor families.

Even though there have been many talented people from commoner backgrounds in recent years, once the world is pacified, it will still be the aristocratic families who control the court and the world.

Du Sinan was from Southern Chu. He was proud of his talent and had aspired to make great achievements since he was young. Unfortunately, he was born in a humble family. When he heard that the Northern Wei King Li De and his eldest son Li Xuanzhen were courteous to the virtuous and humble, and only recruited people based on their abilities, not their family background, he packed his bags and came to join them.

He thought that he would be able to rise to the top and show his great ambition after being recognized by Li Xuanzhen, but he didn't expect that Li Jia Qi Niang would suddenly appear and kill him halfway, which completely disrupted his plan.

He went north to seek refuge with Li Xuanzhen. As the crown prince, Li Xuanzhen already had talented people under his command, and he did not want to be looked down upon by Li Xuanzhen, so he deliberately arrived in Guanzhong before the Wei army, made friends with local celebrities, and built up his reputation, waiting for Li Xuanzhen to visit him three times.

I thought I could sit back and fish safely, but unexpectedly, Li Xuanzhen didn't catch the hook and the fishing rod was pulled into the water by Li Yaoying.

At that time, the Wei army had not yet entered the Guanzhong Plain. Du Sinan stayed at home reading every day and occasionally went out to visit friends. Suddenly, he encountered a group of bandits and was kidnapped into the mountains. Fortunately, he was rescued by a passing caravan and escaped safely.

The leader of the caravan claimed to be a servant of the Li family in Wei County. He comforted Du Sinan well, sent people to visit him every three days, and also sent maids and servants to take care of his daily life.

Du Sinan just wanted to find out about the Li family, so he interacted with the leader of the caravan for some time.

When he found out that the leader of the caravan was Li Yaoying's servant, he immediately drew a clear line between himself and the other party.

At that time, he thought that Li Yaoying was just a twelve or thirteen-year-old young lady from a wealthy family, and thought that everything was just a coincidence, so he didn't take it to heart.

Who knew that Li Yaoying was so scheming that every time he sent servants to visit him, he would have the servants carry a bag covered with red silk and parade through the streets. When someone asked about it out of curiosity, the servants would answer that they were Li Zhongqian's slaves.

Before Du Sinan could react, rumors that he had surrendered to Li Zhongqian had already spread throughout Guanzhong.

So when the Wei army entered Guanzhong and Li Xuanzhen began to look for famous scholars in Guanzhong, Du Sinan was mistaken for Li Zhongqian's man.

Du Sinan waited and waited but Li Xuanzhen never showed up. He realized that Li Xuanzhen must be suspicious of him and didn't want to have such a suspicious person as his side as an accomplice.

In the eyes of the world, Li Zhongqian saved his life and valued him very much. He sent gold, silver and other valuables to his home and took care of him in every possible way.

If he switched his allegiance to Li Xuanzhen, regardless of whether Li Xuanzhen believed in his loyalty, he would first be labeled as "ungrateful"!

Du Sinan was able to bend and stretch, and wanted to understand the causes and consequences, so he decided to do the next best thing and took the initiative to express his ambition to Li Xuanzhen.

He came to Chang'an excitedly.

At this time Li Yaoying jumped out again and visited Du Sinan in person.

Even though he avoided her, she would still hang around his door from time to time, and each time she would come with a swagger, followed by a large crowd, and march through half of Chang'an City with dozens of soldiers and slaves.

Li Jia Qi Niang was a beauty as beautiful as a flower, the most beautiful in the Central Plains. Every time she left the palace, the young men from the Five Tombs in Chang'an would ride horses and chase after her, just to get a closer look at her.

She specially went out of the palace to visit Du Sinan, and within a few days the news spread like wildfire.

Du Sinan was so angry that he vomited blood: Now Li Xuanzhen is even more suspicious of him!

What made Du Sinan even more angry was that Li Yaoying ruined his path to success, but from the beginning to the end he had no intention of recruiting him for Li Zhongqian.

She simply looked down on him. She stood nonchalantly at his door, said a few words with a smile, and then turned and left. She had no real intention of seeking talent.

In the eyes of others, it was the noble Seventh Princess who saw the talent of the young master of the Du family and humbled herself to ask for his advice.

Du Sinan had no way to express his grievances and had to endure the jealousy, ridicule and mockery of the Beijing dandy boys.

…

All the resentment and sorrow of the past two years flooded into his heart, and Du Sinan clenched his teeth.

Li Yaoying smiled and gestured to Jianpu.

A strong servant carried several large bags of firewood, rice, mutton, vegetables and other items into the yard.

Du Sinan sneered: "No merit, no reward."

Yao Ying chuckled: "Du Lang is very talented, he deserves it."

Du Sinan's chest heaved violently, and he really wanted to spit a mouthful of blood onto the Seventh Princess' face.

"Du Lang doesn't look well and needs to stay in bed to recuperate. I won't bother you anymore."

As usual, as soon as Jianpu put down his burden, Yaoying said goodbye, tapping her palm with the whip in her hand, obviously absent-minded.

There was still a smile on his face, and his eyes were full of concern.

She is so scheming at such a young age and is so beautiful. She will definitely be a big threat to me in the future.

Du Sinan's face turned livid.

Yaoying turned around and walked down the stone steps.

The family general Xie Qing rode up to him on horseback and asked in a deep voice, "My lord, are you going back to the palace?"

Yao Ying climbed onto the horse and turned the horse's head: "Let's go to the West Market for a stroll. My second brother will be back soon. I will pick out a new saddle for him."

Soon after Li De proclaimed himself emperor, he led his crown prince Li Xuanzhen and his second son Li Zhongqian to go to war. Not long ago, they brought back a victory report. According to the distance traveled, the army would be able to return to Chang'an in five or six days.

Xie Qing nodded in agreement, turned his head to look at Du Sinan, and rode his horse to follow Yao Ying.

Yao Ying knew that Xie Qing must be wondering why she had such a strange attitude towards Du Sinan, neither using him in a high position nor simply killing him to prevent future troubles.

She couldn't touch Du Sinan.

He was supposed to be Li Xuanzhen's top adviser, and she would feel uncomfortable if she made things difficult for him.

We can only find another way to prevent him from joining Li Xuanzhen.

Now it seems that this method is quite effective, and my second brother successfully escaped Du Sinan's harm.

As for recruiting Du Sinan and using him for his own purposes...

Yao Ying shook her head.

…

Du Sinan had a sharp eye and was good at judging people. When he was still in Southern Chu, he once evaluated Li De with four words: a great leader.

The evaluation of Li Xuanzhen can also be summed up in four words: this is an outstanding ruler.

When it comes to Li Zhongqian, it can be summed up in eight words: Having courage but no strategy will make it difficult for one to achieve great things.

He had lofty ambitions and a long-term vision. He would stop at nothing to achieve his goals. He was never satisfied with being a counselor under Li Zhongqian. Even if he was forced to submit, he would not sincerely make plans for Li Zhongqian and might even secretly collude with Li Xuanzhen.

Keeping this person around is like cutting off your own retreat.

Therefore, Yao Ying cannot use Du Sinan.

It can't be killed or used, so it's not bad to just keep it under our noses and watch over it.

Li Xuanzhen admired Du Sinan's talent and was unwilling to miss such a talent, so he sent people to monitor him.

Every time Yaoying visited, the Eastern Palace would receive intelligence.

The most respected strategist in the Eastern Palace is Wei Ming from Hedong. This man is narrow-minded, holds grudges, and is jealous of talented people. Du Sinan became famous at a young age, and Wei Ming had heard of him a long time ago and was quite jealous of him.

The tip-off was delivered to Wei Ming, who would surely take this opportunity to speak out and stop Li Xuanzhen from employing Du Sinan.

Therefore, every time she left the palace, Yao Ying would visit Du Sinan's house.

I'm free anyway.

I came here today just because it was on my way to Xishi.

…

It was the busiest time of the day in the market town, with people thronging and jostling each other.

After Li De ascended the throne, he issued a decree to re-establish the City Office to manage the East-West Market trade. Due to proper management and extremely low taxes, merchants from all over the world flocked to the city.

There were shops everywhere, and the sounds of hawking could be heard one after another. People from the south, north, Tocharians, Indians, and Hu people were bargaining in their half-familiar Mandarin.

Li Yaoying put on a veil hat, dismissed the slaves, took only a few strong servants, found a saddle shop, and picked out a saddle.

The shop owner boasted that all the saddles in the shop came from Beiting. Not only were they light, simple and strong, they were also filled with sheep fat, making them less likely to rot due to rain and horse sweat.

The Central Plains was in chaos, and the Western Regions were not peaceful either. Over the past few decades, dozens of tribes, both large and small, claimed to be kings one after another. The southern and northern routes of the Western Regions were divided up by various tribes, and the Silk Road had been cut off for decades. When the Beiting caravans wanted to trade with the Central Plains, they were often robbed by tribes on the road as soon as they set off. The caravans that once frequently traveled between the Western Regions and the Central Plains were almost extinct.

Scarcity makes things valuable, and the shop owner happened to have acquired a batch of Beiting horse harnesses that were hard to find on the market, so he was quite pleased with it.

Yao Ying asked a few questions about things in the Western Regions.

Although she concealed her identity and wore a veil to cover her face, her manners were good and her demeanor was outstanding.

The shop owner guessed that she must be a noble lady who owned the White Dragon Fish Clothing Store and wanted to show off, so he told her everything he knew without hesitation.

Walking out of the saddle shop, Yao Ying frowned slightly.

Northern tribes often invaded the south, and large areas of land north of Chang'an had not yet been recovered.

Li De wanted to use the Hu people to control the Hu people, and with the help of the Hu tribes that had surrendered to him, he wanted to recapture the Hexi Corridor. To this end, he sent out large sums of gold and silver treasures. Several Turkic tribes agreed to submit, and the tribal chiefs and princes had already arrived in Chang'an.

Before long, Li De might send Li Zhongqian to lead troops to the Western Regions to quell the rebellion.

The Western Regions have been out of the control of the Central Plains for several decades. I heard from the shop owner that although the Central Plains is gradually stabilizing, the Western Regions are still in chaos and war, and several powerful tribes have emerged one after another. Two of them are even showing signs of sweeping across the Western Regions. How easy is it to regain them?

In the book, Li Zhongqian died in the vast sandstorm of the Western Regions.

He was reckless and impulsive, and was deceived by the treacherous people sent by Li Xuanzhen and Du Sinan. He led his troops deep into the enemy's territory alone, was surrounded, and died of exhaustion.

Li Xuanzhen refused to allow his soldiers to collect his body, and allowed vultures to eat his corpse.

After nearly ten years of fighting, the second prince, who had made great contributions to the founding of the Wei Dynasty, ended up with nothing left.

…

The nightmare that has haunted Li Yaoying for years is the scene of Li Zhongqian's tragic death in the desert.

Yao Ying rode out of the West Market Gate.

The person who really wanted to kill Li Zhongqian was Li Xuanzhen. Without Du Sinan, there would be other people who could make plans for Li Xuanzhen.

The eldest brother will not let the mother and his two children go.

When my second brother comes back, I will have a good talk with him.

As Wusunma turned the corner, he suddenly heard Hao Nu's loud shout from the front.

Pedestrians on the road avoided it.

Yaoying came back to her senses from her reverie and looked in the direction of the sound.

Several strong slaves riding tall horses broke through the crowded crowd and surrounded a canopied carriage, heading towards Yiningfang in the northwest corner.

The spring breeze blew, blowing up the soft curtains of the carriage, and a tense and pretty face flashed by.

Xie Qing had a keen eye. He stared at the carriage for a while, then drove his horse half a length forward and whispered, "My lord, it's Princess Fukang."

Yao Ying frowned slightly.

…

Princess Fukang Zhu Luyun, the daughter of the last emperor of the previous dynasty and the heroine of "Li Xuanzhen of the Great Wei", is a woman destined to be entangled with Li Xuanzhen for half her life.

A few years ago, in order to win the hearts of the people, Li De sent people to find the former princess Zhu Luyun, raised her, and immediately named her Princess Fukang after he ascended the throne.

Li De treated Zhu Luyun as his own daughter.

Zhu Luyun, however, believed that Li De deliberately delayed rescuing Zhu and caused the death of her father. She pretended to surrender to Li De, but was actually secretly plotting revenge.

The men of the Li family are ruthless and have killed countless enemies on the battlefield. They are brave and courageous, and almost all of them are brave and skilled in fighting. However, they all have one flaw: they easily fall into trouble because of women.

Li Xuanzhen's problem was particularly serious.

He and Zhu Luyun had a love-hate relationship for decades. Today you stab me, tomorrow I chop you with a sword. They broke up and got together again and again, and they tormented for half a lifetime. In the end, the two lived peacefully until old age, but the people close to them died or were injured because of them, and they had to congratulate the two for finally resolving the grievances between the two families and getting married.

In short, wherever Zhu Luyun went, there was chaos and confusion.

Crown Princess Zheng was often ill and was bedridden every now and then, partly because of the anger she had caused Li Xuanzhen and Zhu Luyun.

…

Why would Zhu Luyun, who is so proud of her status, go to Yiningfang?

Yiningfang is an area where the Hu people live.

Zhu Luyun has always looked down on the Hu people and disdained to have any dealings with them.

Yao Ying's heart moved, and she told Xie Qing: "Send someone to follow and take a look."

Xie Qing agreed and gestured to his subordinates.

The able-bodied servant leaped off his horse and blended into the bustling crowd.

The author has something to say: Fictional~