The Empire and the Kingdom

"What are you here for?" Feng Jingsu thought it would be better to talk to her about something serious, as this guy is very reliable in handling serious things.

"The 300 people led by Li Changqing are ready and ready to go at any time. Also, the group of people you trained in the mountains have already left the army. This time they will follow you secretly. The weapons have been changed according to your wishes. They have already let's go."

Recently, because of Xue Ai's health, Feng Jingsu has handed over all external affairs to Guan Xuejing. Guan Xuejing is here to report work.

Feng Jingsu nodded, "Okay, thanks for your hard work."

Guan Xuejing waved her hand, "Senior Sister, you have to be careful with the Queen. You have Xiao Ai by your side, this is definitely your Achilles' heel. It was exposed when you rescued Xiao Ai last time. If the Queen invites someone who doesn't Stupid, I will use it." Observing the situation and looking for weaknesses are the basic qualities necessary for playing chess, and Guan Xuejing is very good at this.

"I see, thank you for reminding me, I will pay attention." Feng Jingsu patted her on the shoulder.Fortunately, there is still her in the capital, otherwise I really don't feel at ease.

When Xue Ai woke up, it was already afternoon.She got up and didn't see Feng Jingsu, Meng An just came in with a special snack.

"Miss is awake, are you hungry? The princess said that miss didn't eat lunch, so she must be hungry right now." She took the handkerchief and wiped Xue Ai's hands, then stuffed a special snack into Xue Ai's hand.

"Where's Sister Su?" Xue Ai's eyes were swollen, and she looked very pitiful.

"The princess is in the study, and the servants are going to invite her?"

Xue Ai hurriedly called Mengan who was about to go out, "No need, Sister Su must have something to do, let's not disturb her." She rubbed her eyes, feeling hot and uncomfortable.

Meng An hurriedly took Xue Ai's hand, "My lady, you can stop rubbing your eyes, or it will make it difficult to reduce the swelling." She knew that Xue Ai's eyes were uncomfortable, so she blew carefully to let Xue Ai's eyes hurt. Eyes feel better.

When Feng Jingsu came in, she saw the two chattering like this.Seeing her coming in, Meng An quickly stepped aside, and retreated with Yu Yan.

Feng Jingsu saw Xue Ai's eyes, "Close your eyes."

Xue Ai knew that Feng Jingsu's body was cold, so she quickly closed her eyes obediently, and then felt Feng Jingsu's hands covering her eyes with a coolness, and her hot eyes felt much more comfortable.

"If you want to pursue the past, I will help you. If you don't want to pursue it, let's work hard for our future, okay?" Feng Jingsu's lips were pressed against Xue Ai's ear, causing Xue Ai's ears to turn red, and even his cheeks All red.

"Sister Su, I won't pursue it. I'll just repay my mother's love for giving birth. From now on, I won't let her hurt me again, because she won't be sad, she will be sad, and the only one who will love me is you. "Xue Ai pouted, she didn't want her sister Su to be sad.

"It's fine if you think about it." Feng Jingsu kept blowing hot air in her ears, making Xue Ai's whole body hot.

When Feng Jingsu withdrew his hand, Xue Ai opened his eyes, his eyes were watery, tender and tender, as if he could seduce people.She hugged Feng Jingsu's neck and kissed Feng Jingsu's lips.

Of course Feng Jingsu would not refuse, the entanglement between the two easily escalated into a prairie fire, no matter how difficult it was to control.

A few days later, the preparations for the mission were completed, and they left Beijing for the Kingdom of Li.The mission's departure from Beijing has affected the actions of many parties, and a scuffle is about to begin.

The queen's assassins had already set off ahead of time, and the news to Li Guo had also been sent out.The queen believes that Feng Jingsu and Xue Ai will not be lonely on this journey, but whether they will be able to reach the Li Kingdom is up to the question.

One day after the mission left Beijing, Concubine De quietly released the news that it was the empress who poisoned Concubine Xian, which killed the child in Concubine Xian's stomach and caused Concubine Xian to be bedridden for so many years.

As soon as the queen received the news, she immediately sent someone to investigate, and finally found out that the news came from Concubine De.The queen wondered why the concubine De, who had always been ignorant of the world, started spreading gossip?She was about to be investigated again when she heard that Concubine De severely punished the tongue-twisting court lady.There was another definite news, Concubine De heard what Chen Chongyi said, and the little palace maid overheard it.

Soon, the Queen's attention was drawn to Chen Chongyi. "Why would Chen Chongyi talk about this for no reason? It's a taboo thing, she certainly doesn't know it, and talking about it with Concubine De, no matter how you think about it, it's wrong."

Caihe knew what happened back then, the empress was cruel and ruthless, once she made a decision, she would never hesitate at all, no one saw what happened back then except Li Jieyu, but Li Jieyu was dead, so how did Chen Chongyi know?

"Ma'am, Chen Chongyi and Li Jieyu lived together in Shenhe Palace." Cai He reminded.

The queen thought for a while, then shook her head, "No, if Li Jieyu told her, she should understand the consequences of telling her about it. And she didn't say it back then, and there's no need to say it now. I always feel that this It's a conspiracy."

Of course, Chen Chongyi also heard the rumors in the palace. She was already frightened even more frightened. Every day when the palace maid came in, she would be startled, and she dared not sleep at night.After being so trembling, I fell ill within a few days.

Princess Wen Chun was by her side. She didn't understand why Chen Chongyi was ill, and asked Chen Chongyi several times but refused to tell.

"Wen Chun, don't ask anymore. Mother's health is not important right now, the most important thing is to quickly find you a good marriage for you to marry, so that mother can rest assured."

Chen Chongyi has said this before, but at this time, it feels like a wish has been fulfilled, which sounds unlucky.

"Mother, don't worry, your body is the most important thing now, and we will talk about your daughter's marriage in the future." She has seen all the efforts Chen Chongyi has made to prevent her from getting married, but she has been tossing and tossing. If there is any improvement, Feng Jingsu is more and more valued by the emperor, so if he chooses one of the two to make a marriage, he is definitely not Feng Jingsu's opponent, and he is destined to make a marriage.

Sometimes Princess Wen Chun has to feel that no one is as capable as she is.

She really envied Feng Jingsu, originally thought that the fifth younger sister had been away from the palace for ten years, and without the support of her biological mother, she could only fight alone when she came back.But even fighting alone, Feng Jingsu insisted on playing a world.

And what about myself?Every time Princess Wen Chun thinks of this, she can only smile wryly. Apart from being able to marry and win over courtiers for Yun Kingdom and contact neighboring countries, what else can she do?But isn't that what royal princesses are all about?The only difference is Feng Jingsu.

"Wen Chun, mother's illness will be cured in a few days, don't worry." Chen Chongyi said so, but she was a little pessimistic in her heart.She knew why she was sick. The fear in her heart had reached its peak. If her demons were not eliminated, her illness would never get better.

Princess Wen Chun had lunch with Chen Chongyi, and fed her medicine with her own hands before leaving.Just as Chen Chongyi wanted to sleep for a while, the maid came in to report that the queen had arrived.

Chen Chongyi's heart was overturned.The queen came in and saw Chen Chongyi with a sick face, and reached out to stop her from getting up. "Lie down quickly, I heard that you are sick, so I came here to see you."

Chen Chongyi quickly thanked her, "Thank you, Empress, for your concern."

After the queen cared about Chen Chongyi's body, she turned her head and waved her hands to make everyone back down. Chen Chongyi knew that the queen wanted to tell her something that should not be heard by outsiders. What could it be?It must be what happened to Li Jieyu back then.

"Chen Chongyi, I remember that you lived with Li Jieyu back then, right?"

Chen Chongyi's heart sank.Her face was so pale that it was almost transparent, and her eyes were filled with horror.

The queen stared at Chen Chongyi's face, and raised the corners of her lips slightly, "Whatever you know, you have to tell me exactly."

Chen Chongyi shook her head, "Mother, my concubine doesn't know anything!" She grabbed the quilt covering her body tightly, and the fear from that year came back again. She saw the queen hand over the poison to Lu Chongrong, she recognized the poison, She was too scared to make a sound, but she made a noise when she turned and ran away.When the queen came over, she hid, just as Li Jieyu passed by, and had a face-to-face meeting with the queen, after which Li Jieyu died.She knew that it was the queen who poisoned Li Jieyu, but she dared not say it. She had kept this secret in her heart all along. Fortunately, no one knew about it for so many years.

"Chen Chongyi, I have been with you for so many years, and I have always thought that you are a person who knows the current affairs. His Majesty is talking about the draft recently. When the newcomers come in, it is necessary to mention the status of the old man, so as to balance it. You have been in the position of Chongyi for more than ten years, and you have always abided by the palace rules. I have seen it all. The position of Zhaorong is still vacant. I wanted to keep it for you, but you are wrong. To be honest, how can this palace help you?" Seducing them with profit is the most common method used by palace people.

Chen Chongyi doesn't have much thought about the position of Zhaorong now, and even if he thinks about it, it's not what he should think about now.

"Thank you for your kindness, my concubine, I dare not lie to my mother, what I say is the truth." After all, Chen Chongyi had been in the palace for many years, and at this moment she forced herself to calm down, but she settled down.

"Really?" The smile on the queen's lips turned cold, "In that case, it's useless for me to say anything." She stood up, and stood in the sunlight at the door before leaving, "Chen Chongyi, I don't like disobedient women , and I don’t like women who talk nonsense.”

After the queen left, Chen Chongyi almost collapsed on the bed.The queen must have suspected her, and this matter must have been passed on by Concubine De.She couldn't explain why, but she just felt that the person behind this was Concubine De.

In Antai Hall, Concubine De received news from the queen to visit Chen Chongyi.She stood on the porch, watching the maids packing up the stuff that had been stuffy for the winter, sweeping the dust and ventilating.

"Your Majesty, the Empress should know that it was you who released the news. Will the Empress do you any harm?" The maid Le Xin was always worried.

"Don't worry. The hole the empress dug for herself is enough to bury her. If I don't hurry up and the empress falls down, don't you want me to deal with Chen Chongyi?" She looked down at the gold-painted peony pattern on her clothes, "Originally, there is nothing but Chen Chongyi, but I don't want to get my hands dirty, and Ke'er doesn't like to see Bengong do bad things."

Li Ke is Li Jieyu's maiden name.

The undercurrent in the harem was raging, and a storm was brewing in the previous dynasty.A few months ago, someone among the courtiers wrote a letter, requesting the emperor to establish a prince as soon as possible.The emperor kept all such memorials and did not publish them. However, in the last half month, there have been more memorials requesting the crown prince, and the emperor had to pay attention to the opinions of the courtiers.

In the early morning court, the emperor asked the courtiers for their opinions on establishing the crown prince.Mr. Sun, Minister of the Ministry of Rites, was called to answer the question. He quoted the scriptures and said a lot. The conclusion is that in ancient times, the crown prince was established, one is to establish a chief, and the other is to establish a heir. Just choose one.

Everyone understands this truth, so it basically means not saying it.

The emperor asked a few more people, and everyone was talking nonsense, and no one dared to name the candidate he advocated.The emperor was simply playing tricks on the ministers. At this time, whoever stands clearly under the name of the prince will have his neck washed and sent to be chopped off.

The emperor asked for a long time and no one spoke, so he didn't bother with this matter, and went directly to discuss the next matter with the ministers.

After the early court, the emperor called Xue Xiang to the Palace of Qinzheng. The two monarchs and ministers have been together for many years, and many things can be said in private.

"Xue Qing, do you have any suggestions about the Prince Chu?"

Xue Xiang cupped his hands, "Your Majesty, although the establishment of a crown prince is a major national event, in the final analysis, it is still your majesty's family affairs. The candidates for the crown prince are all princes, so naturally your majesty knows best. Your majesty is wise, and I believe that your majesty will choose a suitable crown prince." , there is no need for others to comment."

The emperor looked at Xue Xiang, "You, you are an old fox!"

Xue Xiang was not nervous either, and said with a smile, "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your compliment."

The emperor asked Xue Xiang to sit next to him, "Xue Qing, the choice of the crown prince is related to the foundation of the country. The death of the former crown prince has hit me hard. Although he is not a very good crown prince, he is still qualified. My sons, Saying that they are incompetent is wronging them, but one by one, I see that there is something wrong in the end."

Xue Xiang said: "Your Majesty, the princes know how to avoid suspicion, which just shows that they are all smart people."

The queen raised her eyebrows slightly when she heard this, "You are right. I established a crown prince early on, so the princes all avoided suspicion and did not dare to show themselves too much, so the second child is fine. Now, I will not appoint a crown prince for the time being. Let them show their strength, if you want to sit in this position, you have to show some skills."

Xue Xiang's heart trembled slightly. The meaning of the emperor's words was that he neither establishes a leader nor establishes a heir. Does he want to establish a virtuous person?He tried not to show the shock in his heart, but the emperor knew that Xue Xiang would understand what he meant without looking.

"The Kingdom of Li is already too powerful. If there is no wise monarch, the Kingdom of Yun will be in danger." The emperor turned his head and patted Xue Xiang on the shoulder, "You and I are both old, and this country depends on young people .” Speaking of this, the emperor suddenly became upset, “Why do you look so much younger than me?”

Xue Xiang was expressionless, "Your Majesty, you are older than Weichen." You are not in the same age group, but you are forcibly aged, how shameful?

The emperor nodded as if he just knew about it, "Yes, you entered the official career too early, and you made great progress all the way. You worshiped the prime minister before you were full. I forgot that you are still in your prime." The emperor said again. Dissatisfied, "You old fox, why didn't you give birth to a little fox? When the time comes, let your son assist my son, and it would be great to continue the story of the monarch and his ministers."

Xue Xiang was angry, it was rare that the emperor was willing to let go of the majesty of the emperor, and it turned out to be so dishonest.Who doesn't want a son?The key is that he has to have it.

The emperor continued to pat him on the shoulder, "Xue Qing, you have to work hard. Otherwise, I will give you a few..."

As soon as Xue Xiang heard what it was called, he quickly cupped his hands, "Thank you for your majesty's kindness, I don't dare to worry about your majesty's family affairs." Don't you think his house is not messy enough?Moreover, isn't a large part of the reason for this chaos caused by marrying the royal family?

After some conversation, Xue Xiang understood that the emperor did not want to establish a crown prince for the time being. In the future, he must cooperate with the emperor in the court. This is the tacit understanding between the emperor and his ministers.

Not everyone can have a tacit understanding with the emperor, such as the Cheng family.The past year has not been easy for the Cheng family.First, the prince died unexpectedly, which made all the efforts of the Cheng family to assist the prince in vain, and then the queen insisted on killing Zhuang Ruoshui, making the Cheng family and the Zhuang family turn against each other. It's not bad, the alliance has long since collapsed.Later, because the empress and concubine Wang Guifei were fighting for power, the Cheng family and the Xiangguo government were on fire again. They had hoped to assist the seventh prince again, but the seventh prince broke his leg again, and even the marriage was postponed.

Mrs. Cheng's Mrs. Zhuang has gone to the Cixin Nunnery to ask for the blessing of the Bodhisattva many times. Seeing that the Zhuang family has slowly turned around because of the emperor's deliberate compensation, the Cheng family still has no improvement.Recently, in order to stabilize their position in the imperial court, the Cheng family married Cheng Fangjing, the eldest concubine's concubine, to Hou Libai, the son of Duke Dingguo's eldest son, as a concubine.Unexpectedly, Cheng Fangjing didn't do her homework well when she entered the house, and violated the taboo of her mother-in-law, Princess Minghui. Hou Libai is a dutiful son, and it was originally a political marriage. Hou Libai directly detested Cheng Fangjing and left her in the yard without paying attention.

Cheng Fangjing came back to her natal family to cry, but she was just a concubine, and the Cheng family married her as a pawn to win over Dingguo's mansion. Now that the pawn is useless, who cares about the pawn's feelings, they just complain that the pawn is useless.

The decline of the Cheng family is obvious to all, but the queen is still there, and the Cheng family will not fall in the end. However, those who were eager to marry the Cheng family are now avoiding them.

Leaving aside the complicated situation in the capital, let's just say that the Yunguo mission set off for Liguo.Because the time was a bit rushed, the mission was in a hurry along the way. Although it was hard work, it was definitely not enough to stop and enjoy the scenery.

Xue Ai has walked this road, and the scenery along the way is very dear to her.

"You remember it after going through it once?" Feng Jingsu felt a little unbelievable.

Xue Ai stretched out two fingers, "Twice, this is the third time." After returning to Beijing, she read a lot of geographical county annals, and learned a lot about Yunguo.

"It's rare for you to come out. When we come back, let's take a detour and take a good look at the scenery." In April, Feng Jingsu occasionally rides a horse, and Xue Ai also wants to ride, so they ride the same horse and sometimes run to the big In front of the troops, sometimes behind the large troops.

Meng'an is a life of worry, always worried that his lady will be in danger, didn't the Seventh Prince break his leg because he fell from his horse?

Yushu Yuyan heard her worry, smiled and held her down, "The princess is here, what are you worried about?"

Xue Ai followed Feng Jingsu, feeling extremely happy, and the corners of his mouth were raised along the way.