The shops in Tingfeng Tower are all localized, such as "Jiangnan Cloth Weaving," a shop that He Yunxiao frequents. "Jiangnan Cloth Weaving" originated from the Jiangnan region in the south of Qi State. Jiangnan is far from Yan State, making cloth transportation quite inconvenient, so there are no such Qi State shops in Tingfeng Tower in Jingtian City.
However, there are other merchants with unique characteristics of the Yan state.
For example, shops that sell Northern Plains deer hides and grassland horses.
He Yunxiao even saw a large, snow-white animal skin, and he wondered if it could possibly be a polar bear.
He Yunxiao found a barbecue restaurant in Tingfeng Tower. The restaurant claimed to be "grassland-style barbecue". He Yunxiao didn't care whether it was true or not, since it was for him to talk business with Ren Qianqian.
Upon entering the store, He Yunxiao realized that he had been narrow-minded.
This restaurant has rented out the terrace of Tingfenglou, covered it with sand, and planted grass to realistically recreate a grassland barbecue scene. Not only that, the restaurant also keeps horses and rabbits on this small grassland, truly recreating the grassland ecosystem. However, the horses are quite large and bloated, not at all like real wild horses.
He Yunxiao ordered some meat, put it on the grill, and chatted with Ren Qianqian while they ate.
The wind was strong at a high altitude. Seeing Ren Qianqian shivering from the cold wind, He Yunxiao erected an inner force barrier to block the wind. Thinking back to the first time he shielded Sister Jiang from the wind, he could only erect a barrier for two people, but now he could cover four or five. He Yunxiao couldn't help but sigh.
It turns out that time has already passed...
Oh, it's only been a little over a month...
"You saw the Emperor?" Ren Qianqian asked.
He Yunxiao nodded. "I saw her. It was a woman."
The fact that the Yan Emperor is actually a woman should be a very big piece of news, but apart from Ren Qianqian's maid, Gui, who was shocked, the rest of the group remained silent.
Xiao Xiao didn't care at all, while Nan Zhu was used to it. After all, her sister was a woman. So what if she was a woman? Couldn't she be the Emperor of Yan?
Ren Qianqian looked at He Yunxiao and said, "Aren't you surprised?"
He Yunxiao shrugged. "Surprised, but it's all in the past. She's a woman, so be it."
"But I want to marry her! I can't be as open-minded as you."
He Yunxiao nodded and said, "I know, that's why I came to you. I can help you, but you have to help me too."
Ren Qianqian asked, "How can you help me?"
"For the sake of balance, the Emperor of Yan must marry women from both the Ren and Jiang families to be his empresses, is that right?"
"yes."
"The Jiang family only has one eligible daughter, and she's not even in Jingtian, is that right?" (Biquge)
"yes."
“Princess Jiang is in my Qi Kingdom. If I don’t let her return to Yan Kingdom, the Yan Emperor won’t be able to get married, and you won’t be able to marry. Does that count as helping you?”
"Are you from the State of Qi?" Ren Qianqian's pupils dilated in shock.
"Regardless of my nationality, I'm the only one who can help you right now. Okay, you've asked your questions, now it's my turn."
Ren Qianqian bit her lip in thought, then her gaze hardened, "You say it."
He Yunxiao smiled; her willingness to answer meant the deal was successful. Sister Jiang was never going to give it to the Emperor Yan anyway, so using it to scare Ren Qianqian was a brilliant scheme to get something for nothing.
"The Emperor of Yan has a grandfather, and I want to know about him."
As the eldest daughter of the Ren family, Ren Qianqian knew far more inside information than ordinary people. After thinking for a moment, she told He Yunxiao everything about Li Xiangjun's grandfather.
Roughly speaking, Li Xiangjun's grandfather, Li Wanshi, was the head of the Li family. He also served as the Emperor of Yan when he was young. Later, according to the rules, he abdicated and passed the throne to the Jiang and Ren families.
According to Ren Qianqian's description, the Yan Emperor can only serve one term, and there is a time limit. When the time comes, he must step down and be replaced.
If Li Wanshi truly coveted power, cultivating a puppet granddaughter to rule on his behalf was indeed a good choice. At least his granddaughter wouldn't compete for power with him like his grandson did. His grandson, after all, was the legitimate Emperor of Yan and had the opportunity to vie for power, while his granddaughter, due to her status as a woman, had to present a facade and could only be controlled by Li Wanshi.
From this perspective, Li Xiangjun doesn't seem to be lying.
He Yunxiao tentatively asked, "Have you ever heard of the name 'Li Xiangjun'?"
Ren Qianqian shook her head.
The fact that the eldest daughter of the Ren family had never heard of her indicates that "Li Xiangjun" was not well-known in the Li family.
"Do you know what kind of personality the Yan Emperor has?"
Ren Qianqian shook her head again, "His Majesty never meets with me in private. He always exchanges a few polite words in front of a large group of people."
Unable to get any information about the Li family, He Yunxiao then inquired about the Jiang family.
Have you ever heard of the name 'Jiang Wuyou'?
"No."
"What about 'Jiang Wuqi'?"
Ren Qianqian nodded and said, "Jiang Wuqi is the only son of Jiang Wenhu, the third son of the Jiang family patriarch. His father, Jiang Wenhu, is a general with military merits and was enfeoffed as the Prince of Po Nan. Jiang Wuqi has good martial arts talent and ranks among the top five among the younger generation in Yan. Therefore, he is highly valued in the Jiang family."
He Yunxiao recalled Jiang Wuqi's words, saying that Sister Jiang was his "cousin".
Since she is called "cousin", it means that Sister Jiang's father and Jiang Wenhu are brothers.
"What about the other sons of the Jiang family patriarch?"
Ren Qianqian recalled, "The eldest brother of the King of Po Nan held a position in the court, but was a powerless imperial advisor. The second brother... apparently eloped with a courtesan, and that was quite famous back then..."
He Yunxiao: ...
A member of the royal family eloped with a courtesan... living a simple life of farming and weaving on the border of Qi and Yan... They had a beautiful daughter, but he never told her about her true parentage... A sudden famine struck, their wealth was depleted, and they had no choice but to sell their daughter to survive... Time has come to this, and the Jiang family needs a woman of marriageable age to become their empress... The family finds Jiang's sister's father... The royal family member who had run away couldn't withstand the pressure and had to give up his dreams to return home and inherit a vast fortune...
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