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Seeing that she suddenly became serious, Yuan Yu didn't understand why and replied, "Yes."
A saint should have more than one favorite minister, so there was nothing to be surprised about. However, Yuan Cixian was pretending to be calm in his heart, and when he heard this, he thought of the situation in his dream.
This time when she came to Beijing, in addition to the three key figures, the Sixth Prince, the Thirteenth Prince and Emperor Huining, she also had to find out the details of the so-called favorite minister.
She let out a long "Oh" and asked tentatively, "What kind of person is this? How can he be in such a high position at such a young age and still be so favored?"
"Why are you curious about this?"
Yuan Yu had heard the news and went out of the city to meet her. He was in a hurry and didn't have lunch. When he arrived at Lu Bridge, he saw that the Lu family was blocking her for some reason, so he came to vent her anger. He was really hungry at the moment, and without waiting for her answer, he said, "Let's go back to the mansion and talk about it. Your sister-in-law cooked a delicious meal for you today."
The brother and sister left Luting and went into the city. Yuan Cixian asked questions along the way.
Yuan Yu was so pestered that he could only say, "This man's name is 'Shi Qing', courtesy name 'Zi Shu'. He won the third place in the imperial examination at the age of fifteen and was highly regarded by the sage. He rose rapidly all the way and has been an official for seven years. Now he is the Minister of the Imperial Court. He is very capable."
Yuan Cixian nodded thoughtfully.
When she heard her brother call him "Minister Lu" before, she thought he was the second in command of one of the six ministries. Now that she heard he was a figure in the Ministry of Personnel, she realized the weight of the title "Minister Lu". In the Great Zhou, this was a very important official.
She continued to probe: "Before I left Beijing in my early years, I had some impression of the aristocratic families in Chang'an, but I don't remember any Lu family with a long history of scholars."
"Lu Zishu is not from Chang'an, and his family background is not high. The Lu family is a prominent family in the Eastern Capital. Although they are well-known in the local area, they are not comparable to the dignitaries in the capital."
"A prominent family in Luoyang, the Eastern Capital?" Yuan Cixian repeated, "So, maybe one of the Lu family's ancestors served as an official in the capital. What achievements did they make?"
It was just a brief encounter and a few words, why are you bringing up someone's ancestors
Yuan Yu looked at her suspiciously: "Yuan Cixian, tell me the truth, why are you asking about this? Could it be that after what we just did, you have developed some romantic feelings for this Lu?"
She was stunned for a moment and sneered: "Not to mention that this man has a strange temper, I dared to stick my finger into the mouth of your black dog, but this grown-up man was so scared, how could I have a good impression of him? Besides," she calculated, "he is 22 now, he should have a wife by now."
"Don't tell me, there really isn't one." Yuan Yu snorted coldly, "I don't think you look down on such a weak scholar. It's best if you don't take it seriously. Don't be like those young ladies in Beijing who are tempted by his beauty and plot against this Lu. Brother, I have a deep hatred for him, remember that!"
Seeing that he had misunderstood and gone far away, Yuan Cixian had to put the matter aside for the time being. She curled her lips and said, "You are so narrow-minded," and stopped asking questions.
…
Chang'an Yuanfu is located in Shengyefang in the northeast of the city. This area is close to the imperial city and is surrounded by many mansions of officials and dignitaries, all of which are magnificent and decorated with carved beams and painted buildings.
When the Yuan family built the mansion in Shengyefang, Yuan Cixian's father had not yet made achievements and was crowned a king. After he was crowned a king, he moved to Yaozhou to guard the southwest, leaving his only son in Beijing. Yuan Yu only got a third-rank military official because of his family background, but he had no real job and naturally no achievements. Therefore, the Yuan mansion was never expanded. The house is about 21 acres, which is not too big in this area where the powerful and the wealthy gather.
After entering the mansion, Yuan Yu ordered the servants behind him: "Take Xiao Hei to the side door."
Yuan Cixian stopped when he heard this, guessed what he meant by this, and asked hesitantly: "Is sister-in-law still not feeling well?"
Yuan Cixian's sister-in-law suffered from cough and asthma due to a snowstorm in her childhood. She has never recovered for many years and must not be irritated by the hair of such animals and dogs.
Yuan Yu touched her head through her futou: "That's it, you don't have to worry about the past."
She nodded, but soon stopped thinking about it: "I want to eat gourd chicken. The chefs in Yaozhou never make it authentic."
"We have as many as you want."
…
Yuan Cihan had a good appetite and was having dinner with his brother and sister-in-law. At that time, the situation at the Lu Mansion in Yongxingfang was not very optimistic.
After Lu Shuangyu returned to her room, she could no longer hold back her tears and threw herself into the quilt, crying loudly.
In fact, she had some hope, but when Yuan Yu came and saw the peach blossom eyes that were almost identical to Yuan Cixian's, and remembered that the King of Southern Yunnan had a son and a daughter, she really gave up. Just now at Luting, she had kept silent for the sake of her brother's face, but now she was so sad that she refused to eat.
Lu Shiqing was not much better off. After the court session, he heard someone report that his sister had gone to Luqiao to "wait for the rabbit by the tree", which made his mother furious. She did not even return home and went to arrest the person herself. When Lu Shuangyu sent someone to invite him to meet the so-called brother-in-law, he was almost at Luqiao.
After a whole morning of tossing and turning, and feeling depressed because of Yuan Yu, he had no time to care about his troublesome sister. As soon as he entered the room, he ordered the servants to report the whole story to his mother, and then returned to his room with a cold face.
Lu Shiqing didn't have time to eat. He took a shower in a hurry. He gritted his teeth and showered for almost an hour before he felt that the smell of the animal was gone from his body. After that, he dealt with official documents for the whole afternoon and rested at dusk.
He rubbed his brows and dismissed the attendants. When the door was about to close, he suddenly said, "Ask Zhao Shu to come over."
Zhao Shu is the son of Zhao Bo, the steward of the Lu residence. He usually takes care of chores for Lu Shiqing.
Soon, a young man who was less than 20 years old came and stood respectfully in front of the table: "What do you want, sir?"
Lu Shiqing held a scroll in his hand, without even looking up, and said nonchalantly, "Go check on that Yuan family girl."
Zhao Shu nodded, pulled out a small booklet with a navy blue cover from his wide sleeves, and presented it to him with both hands: "My dear."
He looked up and glanced: "What is it?"
"This book records the life and deeds of the Lancang County Lord so far."
He choked and blamed, "Who told you to investigate on your own initiative?"
"My dear, you have been keeping a close eye on the Yuan family recently. This morning, my young lady was involved with the Princess of Lancang County. I know that you have this need, so I spent several hours compiling it into a book. Although it is not perfect yet, you can take a look at it first."
Lu Shiqing didn't take it. He frowned and looked at the thick booklet: "Not yet complete? You think there is too much ink in your house and you can't use it all, right? A princess of a different surname, at this age, what kind of rich and colorful experience should you have to be able to write a booklet?"
He might have written about even the smallest things, and written a biography for someone!
Zhao Shu said innocently, "This Lady of Lancang County is indeed very worthy of mention..." Seeing that he was unhappy, he quickly changed his words, "Of course, to put it bluntly, it's just something insignificant. My dear, you are busy with official duties, so I can pick out some important points and talk to you briefly."
Lu Shiqing said "hmm" with a cold face, motioning him to speak. He slowly turned a page with his bony hands and continued to read with his eyes lowered.
Zhao Shu shook the spine of the book, cleared his throat and said, "If you want to know where the title of Lancang County Lady came from, it has to start from a scandal that shocked the world two years ago. It is said that in that year, Miss Yuan, who had no title yet, was out for a spring outing in the wild and happened to meet a group of foreign visitors. The leader was the crown prince of Nanzhao who was in disguise."
"After this meeting, the Crown Prince of Nanzhao fell in love with Miss Yuan, and later sent a secret letter to the King of Diannan, expressing his desire to marry her. The King of Diannan sternly refused, citing the Zhou law's prohibition on intermarriage. The Crown Prince of Nanzhao was unwilling to give in, and a few months later, he led his troops to invade the southwest!"
Lu Shiqing's eyes were always on the book, and it was unknown whether he had listened or not. He quickly turned another page.
Zhao Shu became more and more excited, and said in a loud voice: "The Nanzhao army has invaded, and the border battle is stalemate. Our Great Zhou is unable to defend and has to retreat frequently. At this time, the prince of Nanzhao said that if the Zhou emperor ordered the only daughter of the King of Southern Yunnan to go to marry, he would be willing to withdraw his troops, give up the city that is within reach, and conclude a Qin-Jin friendship with our Great Zhou!"
"The enemy is strong and we are weak. If we don't respond, it may endanger Jiannan. Although Miss Yuan is not of the royal family surname Zheng, her grandmother is a princess of the same generation as the late emperor. It is a good idea to let her marry Nanzhao in the name of a royal daughter. Just when the court officials were asking the saint to endure the humiliation and seek peace, the King of Diannan sent an urgent report back to the capital, begging the saint to give him fourteen days, saying that he would definitely defeat the enemy, and if he failed, he would die to apologize."
When he spoke of this, he became very emotional and his face flushed. In his excitement, he grabbed the ruler on the table and said, "Guess what the result was?" After that, he slammed the ruler on the table, with a crisp and loud "pop".
Lu Shiqing was so shocked that he raised his head, his eyes narrowed into slits, and he almost looked angry.
Zhao Shu's heart skipped a beat and he quickly returned the King of Hell's ruler to its original place with trembling hands.
Lu Shiqing stared at him and said, "As a result, the King of Southern Yunnan defeated Nanzhao. In the spring of the following year, he was ordered to go to the capital to receive rewards. The emperor was very happy to see the daughter of the Yuan family. He demoted the title of princess that he intended to confer on her for the purpose of marriage and conferred her the title of 'Lancang County Princess'..."
He slowed down his speech and asked word by word, "Zhao Shu, what are you doing here? Why are you telling me something that is known to everyone in the court?"
As soon as he heard the beginning, he knew it was nonsense. As he was concentrating on the book in his hand, he didn't bother to interrupt. He thought he would finish in a short while, but he didn't expect that the boy would talk for a long time like a storyteller.
Zhao Shu said calmly, "My dear, you are right. But on the day when the county lady came to Beijing, you went south on official business and returned several months later. You may not know the rest of the story."
Lu Shiqing glanced at him and said, "If you can't get to the point in three sentences, get out."
Zhao Shu shu shuddered, and said, "It is said that on the day of the enthronement ceremony, the ninth prince of the court also fell in love with the county lady at first sight, and he repeatedly begged the saint to grant the marriage, but the saint not only refused, but also quietly suppressed the matter."
Lu Shiqing curled his thin lips and sneered, not knowing what he was thinking about.
Zhao Shu said in surprise: "My dear, I am curious, is the Princess of Lancang County really as beautiful as the rumors say? People outside say that this young lady is a disaster for the country..."
After he asked the question, he felt that the atmosphere was not right. He thought that he had spoken too much and overstepped the line again, so he swallowed nervously.
Lu Shiqing gave him a warning look: "The Ninth Prince is still young, and his mind is unstable. It's not surprising that he likes this one today and that one tomorrow. As for the Crown Prince of Nanzhao... Do you think he is mentally retarded, or has he really never seen a beauty? Or do you think that the King of Nanzhao is just sitting there doing nothing and letting his son do whatever he wants? Besides, go out and try, can you meet the Crown Prince of another country?"
Zhao Shu thought that with his ordinary appearance, he would be useless when he went out, so who would come to plot against him? He then calmed down and flattered him: "My dear, you have a sharp vision. I must learn from you."
Lu Shiqing put down the book, took a sip of tea, said "hmm", and his expression looked better.
"By the way, what you are most concerned about is the sudden visit of the county lady to the capital. I have found out that the King of Southern Yunnan originally sent a team of his trusted followers to escort the county lady all the way from Yaozhou, but for some reason, the county lady sent these people back halfway."
Lu Shiqing narrowed his eyes slightly and placed the joint of his index finger under his lips, not knowing what he was thinking.
"As for whether the county lady's visit to the capital was accidental or for some other reason, I am still investigating..."
"No need." Lu Shiqing interrupted him, "Don't alert the enemy, I will do this myself."
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