Shuo Ling followed Eunuch Li towards the palace.
Eunuch Li stopped at the door of the royal study and looked at Shuo Ling with a smile, "Master Shuo will wait at the door first, waiting for the old slave to come in and let me know."
"Father-in-law, please." Shuo Ling replied.
In the imperial study, Emperor Chu Shi Youtian was handling official business.
Eunuch Li walked gently to the emperor and said, "Your Majesty, Marquis Shuo has arrived and is waiting in front of the door for the Emperor to announce his presence."
When Master Chu Youtian heard Shuoling coming, he put down the memorial in his hand, raised his head, and moved his lips slightly, "Xuan."
Eunuch Li agreed. He squeezed Sangyin tightly and shouted loudly toward the door of the royal study, "I have an audience with Marquis Xuan Shuo."
Chu Shi Youtian's face suddenly dropped when he saw Shuo Ling. Seeing the changes in the emperor, Shuo Ling knew that the edict must be because of rumors. He could only act according to the opportunity, so he knelt down and worshiped Chu Shi Youtian.
"Wei Chen is paying homage to the Emperor. I wonder why the Emperor asked Wei Chen to come here?" Shuo Ling decided to pretend to be confused first and then act according to the opportunity.
Chu Shiyoutian looked displeased and looked at Shuo Ling angrily, "Why is Shuohou ignorant of the law? All the rumors have reached my ears. As a prince, you don't pay attention to your reputation. It's a shame." Because of the royal family’s reputation, it seems that I am still too relaxed towards you.”
"Back to the emperor, the rumors spread by the outside world are not true. I hope the emperor will investigate clearly." Shuo Ling replied calmly.
Master Chu Youtian narrowed his eyes slightly and looked at Shuo Ling who was kneeling on the ground, "Oh, it's not true? I wonder if Shuohou has found out who did it? Can he think of a way to deal with it?"
"Back to the emperor, Wei Chen is investigating who is behind the attack. As for the solution, Wei Chen will find it soon. Please, Your Majesty..."
Before Shuo Ling could finish speaking, he was interrupted by Master Chu Youtian.
Master Chu Youtian raised his voice, "Shuohou, please stop looking for me. I'm afraid the entire Dongling Kingdom will know about it when you find out."
Master Chu Youtian looked at Shuo Ling, adjusted his tone, and then said, "I see that you have already performed the crowning ceremony, but you still have no one to accompany you. It's time for a wife to accompany you."
With that said, Master Chu Youtian took out a portrait from the right side of the table and motioned to Eunuch Li to show it to Shuo Ling.
Shuoling took the portrait and looked at it briefly. The woman in the painting has an elegant temperament, willow-leaf eyebrows, ginkgo eyes, and a cherry mouth. She is extremely delicate.
"This is Yan Ruolan, the daughter of the prime minister's palace. I selected it for you from many official ladies in my spare time. This girl is well-educated and proficient in all kinds of music, chess, calligraphy and painting. Is Shuohou satisfied?" Chu Shi Youtian asked.
Seeing that Shuo Ling remained silent, Master Chu Youtian continued to ask, "With my move, the rumors in the market will be destroyed, and the beauty will be brought home. What do Shuohou think of my plan?"
Shuo Lingzheng didn't know how to reply to Chu Shiyoutian. Someone from the palace signaled Eunuch Li to go out at the door of the royal study. After a while, Eunuch Li came in and whispered in Chu Shiyoutian's ear, "Your Majesty, the person coming is from Cining Palace, the Queen Mother." I heard that Shuohou entered the palace and said that I wanted to summon him to see Shuohou."
Chu Shiyoutian thought about it and felt that the marriage was not urgent. At this moment, he wanted to go with Shuo Ling to discuss with the Queen Mother, but there were still some official matters waiting to be dealt with. Chu Shiyoutian looked at Shuo Ling and said, "Today's matter, Shuo Ling Please think carefully, the Queen Mother has summoned you, go ahead and talk to her more."
"I obey your order." With that said, Shuo Ling bowed and exited the imperial study.
As soon as Shuo Ling left, Master Chu Youtian changed his stern look and waved his hand to call Eunuch Li beside him.
Master Chu Youtian happily told Eunuch Li, "Look, this girl from Prime Minister Yan's family is very lovable. I have chosen so many daughters from the families of princes and important ministers, and I feel that only Miss Yan is worthy of Shuoling."
"The Emperor chose her, so of course there is nothing to say. This girl Yan is also lucky enough to catch the Emperor's eye. Lord Shuo is another talented person. If the two of them get married, they will not be the envy of others because of their talent and beauty." Eunuch Li followed. Master Chu Youtian's words continued.
"When will you, a slave, become a talker?" After hearing Eunuch Li's words, Master Chu Youtian really laughed from ear to ear.
In the blink of an eye, Master Chu Youtian put away his smile and showed some worry, "That's what I said, but I don't know if Shuoling, this kid, will blame me for being good at making opinions."
"How could it be? The emperor regards Shuohou as his own. I think Shuohou will understand the emperor's painstaking efforts in the future." Eunuch Li saw the change in Chu Shi Youtian's face and immediately comforted him.
Cining Palace.
The Queen Mother was joking with the palace people in the pavilion. When she saw Shuo Ling, the smile on her face gradually disappeared.
"Shuo Ling has met the Queen Mother, and the Queen Mother is blessed." Shuo Ling said and knelt down.
Seeing Shuo Ling perform this great gift, the Queen Mother's expression softened a little, "You child, in front of the Ai family, you don't have to pay these false courtesy. Come here, sit here, the Ai family has something to ask you."
The Queen Mother said, waving her hands to the side. The maids understood and stepped back one after another.
Shuo Ling walked and sat down next to the Queen Mother. The Queen Mother took Shuo Ling's hand, and with mixed feelings in her heart, she frowned and said to Shuo Ling, "My child, how could you, a man of seven feet, do such a despicable thing? Sorry?" When the Ai family heard the news spread outside, the Ai family couldn't believe it."
"Shuo Ling has made the Queen Mother worried. Shuo Ling deserves to die." Shuo Ling didn't know how to comfort the Queen Mother, so he could only reply like this.
The Queen Mother turned her head to the side and said, "Bah, bah, bah! What do you mean by death? The Ai family treats you more dearly than their own grandson, how can they see you being wronged? But my child, do you know that people's words can be scary?"
"You are the Marquis of Shuo Mansion. Always remember to maintain the reputation of Shuo Mansion, not only for yourself, but also for the sake of the old Marquis who died on the battlefield. I think the old Marquis was so majestic back then, but you can't ruin it here. The lintel of the Shuo family has ruined the reputation of the Shuo family." The Queen Mother said to Shuo Ling with serious words.
Shuo Ling nodded, "Queen Mother, Shuo Ling will never do anything that damages the reputation of Shuo Mansion."
"Then why are there rumors about male favors?" The Queen Mother frowned.
Shuo Ling lowered his head and thought deeply. The Queen Mother was old and had loved him since childhood. He didn't want the Queen Mother to worry about this matter. After careful consideration, he decided to tell the truth to the Queen Mother, "Your Majesty, the rumors about male favors are not true. Yang Zijin is born as a girl, and there are people behind her who are adding fuel to the flames."
Hearing what Shuo Ling said, the Queen Mother was full of surprise! "You're saying that the male favorite rumored by the outside world is born as a girl, so why are the rumors spread so badly?"
"I think there must be someone behind this matter," Shuo Ling replied.
The Queen Mother looked at Shuo Ling with a puzzled look on her face, "Are you saying that someone is deliberately using this to damage the reputation of Shuo Mansion behind the scenes? Have you found out who did it?"
Shuo Ling shook his head.
"Who on earth has such courage? Even dare to touch the Shuohou Mansion of the hero who protects the country! If anyone is found out who did it, the Ai family will be the first to not spare him!" The Queen Mother was angry.
Shuo Ling stood up and stood next to the Queen Mother, "Queen Mother, don't get so angry. Don't worry, Shuo Ling will definitely investigate this matter and get to the bottom of it."
"Check it, you must check it! But then again, why does Yang Zijin dress up as a woman? Why are you so close to her?" The Queen Mother looked at Shuo Ling and asked.
Shuo Ling replied, "Queen Mother, I suspect that this Yang Zijin...may be the daughter of the eldest princess who was lost in her early years."
Hearing this, the Queen Mother held Shuo Ling's hand tightly, trembling slightly, "What did you say?"
Seeing the Queen Mother's shock first, then the corners of her mouth raised, leaping high, and then falling down again, Shuo Ling knew that the eldest princess had been a concern of the Queen Mother for many years.
"Queen Mother, according to the clues I have found, if there are no mistakes, Yang Zijing must be the daughter of the eldest princess." Shuo Ling repeated.
When asked about the reason, the crow's feet on the Queen Mother's forehead spread out, a gentle smile appeared on her kind face, and she said repeatedly, "Okay, okay, okay, I didn't expect that the Ai family would see Suhan's daughter again in her lifetime!" "
After a while, the Queen Mother remembered to ask Shuo Ling how he knew it. Unable to conceal her excitement, she continued to hold Shuo Ling's hand and asked, "Shuo Ling, how did you know?"
"I also accidentally discovered that people from Duke Mu's palace were following Yang Zijing. I was just curious at the time, so I investigated privately. Later, I became friends with Yang Zijing, and I knew that Duke Mu wanted to welcome Yang Zijing back to the country several times. The Duke's Palace, but Yang Zijin is used to being free outside and doesn't want to be restricted and doesn't want to return to the Duke's Palace." Shuo Ling explained to the Queen Mother.
Hearing what Shuo Ling said, the Queen Mother thought of the eldest princess Chu Shi Suhan who had died long ago. Her expression became dim and she felt very sad. She opened her mouth, paused for a while, and finally said, "Who adopted Yang Zijin?" Are you having a good year? Why are you showing off in men's clothing again?"
"Back to the Queen Mother, when Yang Zijin was a child, she was picked up by the old bustard from Spring Breeze Ten Miles. The old bustard raised Yang Zijin as her own child and protected her at all times. Because she was worried that Yang Zijin would be humiliated when she appeared in women's clothing in Spring Breeze Ten Miles, she decided to Yang Zijin was made to wear men's clothes since he was a child. Even people in Chunfeng Shili did not know that Yang Zijin was a girl. Now Yang Zijin has rectified Chunfeng Shili and started serious business with the girls. The Sea of Bitterness, the most famous Peach Blossom Three Miles in the Imperial City was opened by Yang Zijin, and her management methods and methods are amazing to everyone inside and outside the Imperial City." Shuo Ling told them one by one, he felt that there was no need to hide these things from the Queen Mother.
The Queen Mother had a tense face after listening to what Shuo Ling said. No matter what Yang Zijing did in the past, now that she knows that Yang Zijing is Suhan's daughter, she will never let Yang Zijing, a girl, appear in public again.
"Shuo Ling, take the Ai family to find Yang Zijin. The Ai family will personally welcome Yang Zijin back to the house. The Ai family didn't know she was there before, but now that we know it, the Ai family will not let the royal blood be left behind. "The Queen Mother said firmly.
Seeing the anxious look on the Queen Mother's face, Shuo Ling replied, "Shuo Ling knows that the Queen Mother is eager to see Yang Zijin, but based on my understanding of Yang Zijin, her temperament is too stubborn, so this matter still needs to be done." It's better to let her figure it out on her own. It's better to wait until Yang Zijin can accept her identity and recognize Mu Guogong, and then the whole family can greet you happily, than it is better for you to come forward in person now and make Yang Zijin even more rejected by her identity. , it will be difficult to handle when it backfires!"
After a pause, Shuo Ling added: "Please give her more time, Queen Mother."