The next day, during the meeting, Murong Jie stopped Lord Cui and said, "I heard from the Queen Mother that you recommended Liang Shulin as your consort, is that right?"
Lord Cui said, "Yes, Your Majesty has heard about it too? Commander Liang is a warm-hearted, honest and loyal person. The most rare thing is that he is deeply in love with the princess."
Murong Jie heard Lord Cui praising Liang Shulin and smiled faintly, playing with the jade ring in his hand, "I didn't know Lord Cui also had dealings with the Liang family."
Lord Cui was startled and waved his hands repeatedly, "Your Highness, please don't misunderstand. I have no dealings with the Grand Tutor. It's just that Commander Liang saved my life a few days ago and is my benefactor. Later, I invited him to a banquet to express my gratitude, but he couldn't refuse. It was only after I invited him again and again that he came. Later, after a deep conversation, I learned that he was not valued in the Liang family and the Grand Tutor didn't like him either. He was being suppressed."
"I saved your life? What happened?" Murong Jie asked, locking his eyes on him.
Lord Cui said, "It happened three days ago. I was on my way home when I encountered an assassin. Fortunately, Commander Liang happened to pass by and injured the assassin, saving my life. Otherwise, I'm afraid I would have been a lonely soul."
"How could such a thing happen?" Murong Jie said angrily, "How dare someone assassinate an official of the Great Zhou under the emperor's feet? Has the assassin been caught?"
"He was not captured, but ran away." Lord Cui said helplessly, "It's nothing. I'm a mean person, so I've naturally offended some people. It's not surprising that someone wants to buy my life."
"Has this kind of thing happened before?" Murong Jie asked.
"No, this is the first time, so I didn't take precautions."
"You must be more careful in the future. I will assign people to protect your safety. By the way, you said that he is deeply in love with the princess. How did this come about?" Murong Jie asked.
Lord Cui smiled and said, "I had a deep conversation with Commander Liang that night, and I learned that he had always admired the princess, but he knew that he was of low status and did not dare to propose marriage. Because he had the princess in his heart, he had never married until now, which was considered a rare sign of deep love."
"Did he ask you to recommend him as your consort?"
"No, but after hearing what he said, I asked him if he was still willing to marry the princess. He said he would love to, but he knew the Queen Mother would not like him, so he did not dare to ask. So, I wrote a letter of recommendation to the Queen Mother, which was also a way to repay him for saving my life."
Murong Jie nodded, "I see."
He then asked in detail about the details of the assassination, and after that, he had a clear idea of what was going on.
After leaving the palace, he asked Ni Rong to secretly investigate the matter.
"Your Highness, do you suspect that the assassination was arranged by someone?" Ni Rong asked.
"That's right, Lord Cui said that the assassin's martial arts skills were not very high. He didn't know any martial arts and was able to dodge several times. However, with Liang Shulin's martial arts skills, he only injured him but was unable to capture him, and he even let him run away. Doesn't this make people suspicious?"
Ni Rong said: "Perhaps, he was worried about Lord Cui, so he didn't have time to chase the assassin."
"Lord Cui is not injured and has servants to take care of him. Besides, there is no need to chase him. Liang Shulin is very good at martial arts. Three or four guards in the palace may not be able to get close to him. He can capture an assassin with average martial arts skills in less than ten moves."
"That was just a show. Lord Cui doesn't know martial arts, so he didn't see it." Ni Rong bowed, "I'll check it out right away."
It was not difficult at all to investigate what happened that night. Ni Rong first asked Lord Cui and the people who followed him that night to describe the assassin's appearance, and asked County Lady Danqing to draw it. Lord Cui said that the assassin was injured and there was no record of him leaving the city, so this person was still in the city, and if he was injured, he must find a doctor. After checking several medical clinics, they recognized the person in the portrait.
This person lives in Donglai Inn. He is from Suizhou and has been in the city for more than half a year with a pass issued by the Suizhou Household Registration Office. He goes to the government office every month to get his pass stamped and renewed, which means that he plans to stay in the capital temporarily.
Ni Rong checked and found out that he hardly worked and had no business to make a living, but he had enough expenses every month, ate and drank lavishly, and dressed richly, as if he was supported by someone.
Ni Rong informed Murong Jie of what he had learned from the investigation. Murong Jie said, "Do some more research to find out how many people like him there are in the capital."
"The prince suspects..."
"I guess there are many such people. They should have a contact person. We should find a way to find this contact person," said Murong Jie.
"Yes, I will check it out right away."
The Empress Dowager summoned Prince of Yuedong and Murong Jie into the palace to discuss the selection of a son-in-law. After Prince of Yuedong saw them, he felt that Liang Shulin was more suitable.
So, he asked Murong Jie for his opinion, and Murong Jie said, "I have no opinion."
The Queen Mother said, "Since no one has any objection, I will have to meet Liang Shulin about this matter."
The King of Yuedong said, "He is working in the East Palace, so let's ask him to come over."
"Okay." The Empress Dowager then ordered someone to call Liang Shulin.
Liang Shulin was not very old, but he looked quite mature. He was in his early twenties, but he looked like he was around thirty. However, he gave people the impression of being loyal and honest. Moreover, he was well-spoken, courteous, and did not have the rudeness of a military general at all, which satisfied the empress dowager.
"I heard that you have had feelings for the princess for a long time. Is that true?" After the Queen Mother reviewed the hardware, she began to ask the core questions.
Liang Shulin was not at all natural, "I... I know I am not worthy of the princess."
"No man in the world is worthy of her, but the Queen Mother only asks whether you have feelings for her." said the King of Yuedong.
In his heart, this little sister is the most beautiful, and no man can match her, not even Xiao Xiao.
But, we have to find a family for her. Hey, his family has been growing old cabbage for more than 20 years...
Liang Shulin immediately replied: "Yes, I have admired the princess for a long time. If I can marry her, I will spare no effort."
The Queen Mother nodded with satisfaction. "Then, if you marry the princess, you will have to live in the princess's mansion and be independent from the Liang family. You will not be allowed to have any financial or other exchanges of interests with them. Are you willing?"
Liang Shulin said: "I am willing!"
The Queen Mother smiled, "Okay, then you go back and prepare. I will order someone to draft an edict. The edict will be read out at the morning court tomorrow morning, and the wedding will be scheduled for the day after tomorrow. It's a bit hasty, but, as you know, there's nothing we can do about it."
"I don't care whether the wedding is grand or not. I only care about the bride." Liang Shulin choked up and there seemed to be tears in his eyes.
Seeing this, the Queen Mother said that he really loved the princess and sighed softly, "Okay, go ahead."
Although Zhuangzhuang doesn't like this person, he likes Zhuangzhuang, which is better than those who are after money. Zhuangzhuang is a pure person, she likes everything pure.
After Liang Shulin left, the Queen Mother looked at Murong Jie and asked, "Is this settled?"
"The Queen Mother is my aunt's sister-in-law. You and the Emperor's uncle have the final say." Murong Jie said with a smile.
The Queen Mother looked at him and said, "Your smile is strange. I always feel that you are holding back."
Murong Jie laughed loudly, "Mother, I am laughing because I am happy. My aunt is getting married."
After saying that, he stood up and left. When he walked out the door, he saw Eunuch Sun, who bowed. He stood still and looked at Eunuch Sun, "Eunuch, you watched little aunt Zhuangzhuang grow up, right?"
(End of this chapter)