Princess Jinyang of the Tang Dynasty

"Aye taught me the lesson." Cui Qingji's fingers holding the black chess pieces were clearly knuckles, his eyelids were half downcast, and the long eyelashes covered the sharpness of his eyes.

"You can relax for a while now, just wait, don't make any noise." Cui Qian picked up the white pieces in the endgame, and pushed the black pieces to Cui Qingji, expressing that there will be another round.

Cui Qingji smiled, "Aye still want to play?"

"It's nothing to win, but a real warrior is to fight again after losing." Cui Gan said.

Cui Qingji froze for a moment, then nodded with a smile, cleaned up the chess pieces, and continued to play chess with Cui Gan.

"I have investigated carefully, and the reason why the saint changed his attitude towards you is probably because of the list of official performance evaluations submitted by the Ministry of Officials this spring." Cui Qian said while laying his hands down.

Cui Qingji was surprised: "The performance appraisal list? What does this have to do with our Cui family?"

"There are a large number of officials surnamed Cui who have been rated as top-notch." Cui Qian explained.

Cui Qingji thought for a while, and suddenly understood, "The sage is starting to fear our Cui family."

"It's not just now, it's been like this for a long time. The performance appraisal of the Ministry of Officials happened to give him a reminder at this time." Cui Gan said.

"Then how should we deal with this kind of thing? Since the sage has fear in his heart, no matter what we do, we may not be able to change his opinion." Cui Qingji said with a frown.

"Do nothing. At this time, no matter whether you do good or bad things, you will cause trouble. That's why I asked you to wait quietly for a while, and when he forgets about it naturally, he will remember us." Cui Qian smiled, looked at Cui Qingji, immediately made a move, then raised his eyebrows, and looked at the whole chess game, "Look, I just said, the situation will change."

Cui Qingji looked at the chess game that was ruined because of his distraction, and sighed that it was because he was distracted.

"What does this have to do with me? When I play chess with you, I only need to care about winning or losing. Is it possible that I also care about your state of mind?" Cui Gan asked back.

Cui Qingji was stunned and nodded, "My son understands."

Cui Gan smiled, and told Cui Qingji to play chess quickly, even if he was already losing the game, he would play chess with him until the end of the game.

"It's natural. Even if my son loses, he must lose well." Cui Qingji calmly smiled, no longer hesitating.

Cui Gan nodded in relief, laughed a few times, and then continued to fight fiercely with Cui Qingji on the chessboard.

……

After Li Mingda accompanied Li Shimin, he went back to his room and sneezed twice.

"It's because someone is talking about your lord." Tian Hanshan said while serving tea.

"How do you say it?" Li Mingda took the tea and asked.

"I've heard a saying that one sneeze is a sneeze, two sneezes are someone talking about it, three or four are someone scolding behind your back."

Li Mingda was about to answer Tian Hanshan, when his nose felt strange, he covered his mouth with a handkerchief and sneezed two more times.

"Look, someone really misses your lord." Tian Hanshan blinked and said happily.

Li Mingda chuckled, "Where's the strange saying, go to bed early, I'm a little tired today."

Tian Hanshan agreed.

When he woke up the next morning, Li Mingda felt his head was a bit heavy. After breakfast, his headache became worse and he sneezed twice.

Tian Hanshan saw the clue, and slapped himself with self-blame, "I should have thought of it yesterday, but I—"

"Okay," Li Mingda sniffled, and sent Tian Hanxi to invite the imperial physician, "Before the onset of the disease, take the medicine early, and you should be able to recover quickly."

Tian Hanshan agreed and hurried to do it.Li Mingda also asked to invite him quietly, trying not to disturb the saint.

Half an hour later, Li Mingda drank the freshly made medicine and lay down on the couch to rest. Because he was worried about the affairs of the Department of Mirrors, Li Ming sent someone to inform him.

Liang Guogong's mansion.

Early in the morning, Fang Yizhi and Lu's mother and son shut themselves in the room and whispered.

Fang Xuanling was excluded, a little unhappy, until before breakfast, the family members gathered together, and the two of them hadn't arrived yet.

Fang Xuanling sat in the first seat and thought about it several times, then turned to look at Fang Yize, and asked him if he knew the reason.

"Know...know what?" Fang Yi asked in bewilderment.

Fang Xuanling held his mouth in dissatisfaction, and gave him a reproachful look, "I'm at home every day, and I don't know what you're doing."

"Father, although my son is at home every day, he has to follow Mr. to attend classes, work hard every day, and study hard." Fang Yi stared at his innocent handsome eyes, and explained to Fang Xuanling boastfully.

Fang Baozhu heard this and laughed out loud.

Fang Xuanling immediately set the fire on Fang Baozhu.

"What about you? Do you know?"

Fang Baozhu nodded immediately, "I know, I know. Aye asked me, but I was asking. They must be discussing something related to Princess Jinyang."

Fang Xuanling frowned, and was taken aback for a while, thinking of the list of officials' performance appraisals that caused the saint's attitude towards the Cui family to change.He thought it was a bit of a coincidence before, could it be... Fang Xuanling got up abruptly and went straight to the door.

Fang Yi and Fang Baozhu watched from afar.

Fang Yi scolded Fang Baozhu for being confused, "You know that father cares about this matter, but you still say it."

Fang Baozhu was stunned, "So you know."

"Of course I know, big brother is so obvious. The reason why he pretended to be stupid and didn't say anything just now is because he was afraid of something like this happening." Fang Yi sighed helplessly.

"I... I was wrong. I thought my father would be happy to mention Princess Jinyang."

"It's a good thing, but we Aye will think a lot after hearing it, so it may not be a happy thing for him." Fang Yi smacked his lips and said goodbye to Fang Baozhu.

"Why are you leaving? You haven't had breakfast yet." Fang Baozhu was puzzled.

"In this situation, do you still expect to be able to have breakfast? I'd better ask the cook to make a piece of pancake for myself." Fang Yi waved his hand and left.

Fang Baozhu thought for a while, and decided to join in the fun, so she followed into the house.

When she rushed to the house, she just saw her father scolding her elder brother.Her eldest brother stood there with his eyes downcast, his face was like jade, and his attitude towards his father was respectful, but it didn't compromise his own dignity in the slightest.

Fang Baozhu felt that since she picked the matter, she was also responsible, so she yelled at Fang Xuanling coquettishly: "Aye!"

During the last celebration feast, I saw Princess Jinyang acting like a spoiled child to the sage, she just yelled, and the sage immediately laughed, pampering Princess Jinyang.

Today, in order to save her elder brother from receiving a few words of her father's lecture, she will forcefully sacrifice herself once.

After Fang Baozhu finished shouting, she stared eagerly at Fang Xuanling, her chin was ready to rise, and she wanted to wait for her elder brother to turn around and thank her.

Fang Xuanling was engrossed in getting angry with her eldest son, when she heard Fang Baozhu's cry, she turned her head impatiently, scolded her, and told her to shut up.

Fang Baozhu: "..."

"Why are you being so fierce to your daughter?" Shi Lu immediately challenged.

Fang Xuanling defended: "Who asked her to interrupt!"

"I—" Fang Baozhu felt innocent.

Fang Yizhi looked up at Fang Baozhu at this moment, "Your sister wants to act like a baby with father?"

Fang Baozhu wants to cry but has no tears.At this time, big brother must tell the truth?It would be even more embarrassing if her little thoughts were seen through.

Lu Shi asked Fang Baozhu if this was the case, and after seeing her nod her head in embarrassment, Lu Shi became more reasonable, and said fiercely to Fang Xuanling: "Look at you, my daughter is acting like a baby with you, how did you scare her into such a state? !"

Fang Xuanling stared, "I—"

"Yes, it's unreasonable for Dalang and I to do things behind your back. But every yard counts, what's your attitude towards our daughter?" Lu Shi asked.

Fang Xuanling choked, and defended, "She interrupted rudely when I was talking."

After Fang Baozhu heard Fang Xuanling's impolite words, she couldn't help it immediately, with tears in her eyes, she rushed to her mother's side in grievance, hugged her arm and wept sadly.

Originally, when Fang Baozhu was yelled at by Fang Xuanling, she didn't feel aggrieved, but after being exposed by her elder brother, her mother said so unfairly, and then she got such a reply from her father, she immediately felt sad.It's also a father to a daughter, why is there so much difference between her and Princess Jinyang.The saint is still busy, taking care of everything, and he can treat his daughter so well.

her father...

Humph.

"Aniang, you are the only one who loves me." Fang Baozhu cried bitterly.

Fang Xuanling panicked, raised her hand and froze in mid-air, after all she didn't know where to put it, and put it down again in embarrassment.He hurriedly comforted Fang Baozhu not to be sad, because he was just angry and lost his words for a while. "Aye was angry with your mother and elder brother, so I didn't have time to take care of you."

Fang Baozhu didn't listen to these words at all, and just kept crying, feeling so ashamed and embarrassed.

In desperation, Fang Xuanling tried to persuade her with good words, and promised again and again that he would not be so angry with her in the future, but it still didn't work.In the end, it was under Lu Shi's persuasion that Fang Baozhu was fine, and she left pitifully, sniffling her nose.

At this time, Lu Shi, who had been wronged, became more righteous to Fang Xuanling, "I helped you just now, and you owe me a favor, which just makes up for what happened before."

"Can this be the same, can this be offset, you two are behind my back—"

"Okay, it's a big deal. A big man argues with his wife and children over this matter, what's the point?" Lu Shi patted Fang Xuanling on the shoulder, advising him not to be angry.

Fang Xuanling felt that he had been calculated just now, and Lu Shi took the opportunity to block himself with Fang Baozhu.He glared at Lu Shi dissatisfiedly, trying to get back the momentum just now.Lu Shi immediately wanted to satisfy Fang Xuanling, and stared her back.Fang Xuanling finally succumbed to Lu Shi's fierce gaze.

Fang Yizhi immediately saluted Fang Xuanling, "The son will leave first."

Fang Xuanling glared at him, then glanced at Lu Shi over there, "Say it again, you are not allowed to have a second time!"

"Don't be angry, this is also for your son's future plan. As a father, you have the responsibility to worry about him and make some sacrifices." Lu grabbed Fang Xuanling's arm with one hand, and his attitude softened in due course, and then Fang Yi next to him said straightly, "You can go too, there are still many things for you to worry about at the Department of Mingjing and Dali Temple."

Fang Yi directly agreed before leaving.

Fang Xuanling watched helplessly that his son did not express anything special to him before leaving, and felt sullen in his heart.

"You're spoiled by him!" Fang Xuanling shouted to Lu Shi.

"Who wouldn't say yes to taking my son outside? You're just talking nonsense with your eyes open, and your own son won't praise you well." Lu Shi snorted angrily.

"You do things in my name, and I treat you well with this attitude now."

"Okay, okay, I don't care about you, it's our fault, we are not good. From now on, your husband will live a decent life by himself, leave us alone, and don't drink the princess's daughter-in-law's tea!" Lu Shi said.

Fang Xuanling was stunned and looked at Mrs. Lu, "You really have the face, you dare to say such a thing, and you don't give a shit. Your Majesty will definitely choose our family if he doesn't want the Cui family? You are too underestimating the saint's mind gone."

"I don't dare to underestimate it at all, but I really know what the saint is thinking about choosing a son-in-law. It is on Princess Jinyang." Lu analyzed, "I have long seen the saint's love for the princess, it is a real flower He's thoughtful. As long as he cares about choosing a son-in-law, he will definitely care about Princess Jinyang's wishes."

"Princess? What do you mean?" Fang Xuanling asked, and he saw that Lu Shi was so happy that he couldn't close his mouth from ear to ear, and he knew that she had a solid idea.

Fang Xuanling thought for a while, then opened his eyes wide, and immediately asked Lu Shi excitedly: "Could it be that the princess treats our son..."

"Hey," Lu Shi immediately stopped him, "it's my spoiled son, and it may have nothing to do with you."

"Tsk," Fang Xuanling said cheerfully, "I'm usually quite arrogant, why are you so angry now? Why is it okay, if this son didn't have me, would you have given birth to him?"

"Anyway, I gave birth to it myself. It hurts like something, and you didn't help." Shi Lu turned his head away.

"I would like to help, can I help?" Fang Xuanling smiled kindly, then grabbed Lu Shi's hand and asked her to talk to herself about how far this child has developed.

"It's just a mutual promise, what else is there, what are you thinking?"

"Cough... I didn't think about anything, I just felt hungry, should we eat?" Fang Xuanling asked.

"When are you going to eat? You're running out of time. Hurry up and go out, I'll ask someone to bring you something to eat." Lu Shi dismissed Fang Xuanling in disgust, then turned around and ordered someone to pack something casually She doesn't worry about what to eat.After thinking about it, Fang Yi went straight out without eating, so Lu ordered a few delicate dishes and asked the kitchen to make fresh and hot ones for delivery.

In fact, when Fang Yizhi left home, he had asked someone to bring something, all of which were special snacks that Fang Yizhi had found from the recipes he had collected around the past few days.According to the princess' preference, she picked out a few moderately flavored ones, and after asking the cook at home to make them, she tasted them herself, and then she asked someone to prepare them and take them to the Department of Mirrors.

After Fang Yi arrived, he asked the princess if she was here, and knowing that she was not, Fang Yi immediately asked Luo Ge to send the arrangement of these snacks to the princess's house.

To attract attention, Wei Shuyu, Yuchi Baoqi and Xiao Kai were also given a copy.

Fang Yizhi then waited in the room while flipping through the case files.

After about an hour, Fang Yizhi sent Luo Ge to ask before hearing any news from the princess.

Not long after, Luo Ge came back and told Fang Yizhi that the princess was not feeling well today, so she couldn't come to the Department of Mirrors.Fang Yizhi immediately put down his pen and asked the princess why she was not feeling well.Luo Ge shook his head helplessly, he was just a follower, of course he didn't know about this kind of thing.

Fang Yi was silent for a while, put down the things in his hands, and walked to the window with his hands behind his back.

Yuchi Baoqi happened to be in the courtyard, after seeing Fang Yizhi, he greeted him through the window.Then he happily walked up to Fang Yizhi in two or three steps, "I have already made an appointment with Ji Wang that we will go to his General's Mansion for a drink at noon today.

Fang Yi promised that since it was a visit, he wanted to bring a gift, so he ordered Luo Ge to get anything suitable and take it.

When the day was in Zhongtian, Fang Yizhi and Yuchi Baoqi arrived at the General's Mansion.

Ji Wang happily came to greet him in person.

Since he came to investigate the case, he naturally had to observe carefully everywhere. Fang Yizhi looked Ji Wang carefully, his spirits were full of energy, and he smiled very brightly.It's no wonder that Yuchi Baoqi thought he was an informal person before, Ji Wang has a simple and honest appearance, and he smiles brightly with a bit of pride. At first glance, he does seem to be a heartless and informal person.Yuchi Baoqi and Ji Wang had a good relationship before, so after the two parties met, they patted each other's shoulders and laughed and laughed, which was regarded as a small talk.But for Fang Yizhi, Ji Wang has always admired his name for a long time, so he is very polite and courteous to him.

After the three of them met each other, they made wine in the garden under Ji Wang's warm greeting.

Not long after taking their seats, Ji Wang asked Yuchi Baoqi and Fang Yizhi, "I heard that the sage set up the Mirror Department to let the princess investigate some difficult cases involving female relatives and nobles."

"Indeed."

"I also heard that many bones were found in the pond of Mingjing Division. You two are here today. I really want to know if this is true or not?" Ji Wang asked.

"Of course it is true. Apart from one rotting corpse, we also found nearly thirty skeletons in the pond." Yuchi Baoqi exclaimed in horror.

Ji Wang was very surprised, "So many bones? Do you know where they all come from?"

Yuchi Baoqi glanced at Fang Yizhi, then shook his head at Ji Wang, expressing his ignorance.

"It will take at least two or three years for the corpse to completely rot into bones. But two or three years ago, Qi Ming's family was still living there." Yuchi Baoqi said, "So we infer that these bones probably existed long ago. Well, maybe it was left over from the previous dynasty, after all, it is an old house."

"Yes, yes, it is an old house. I have the impression. Hearing what you said, I also think that these bones may have been left during the chaos of the previous dynasty. They were probably buried in the ground and later rebuilt into a pond. The soil has been accumulated for many years. Soaked in water, it turned into sludge, and the bones gradually floated up."

"Yes, yes! Brother Ji really deserves to be my confidant, I think the same as you." Yuchi Baoqi laughed.

Ji Wang smiled reassuringly, then looked at Fang Yizhi, "What do you think about this matter?"

"I agree with what you said. Apart from this, I'm afraid there is no other reasonable explanation." Fang Yizhi agreed.

Ji Wang patted the table and said cheerfully: "I didn't expect that I would be able to solve the 'case' one day. I'm happy, so happy. Come, come, let's drink."

After Yuchi Baoqi and Ji Wang drank several cups together, they were both slightly tipsy.

Fang Yizhi dragged the conversation to his old friend like a chat, and Yuchi Baoqi immediately slapped the table and became angry.

Ji Wang was stunned, puzzled and asked Yuchi Baoqi why.

"Suddenly I remembered something. Thinking about it, I still feel bored. How could I have been so stupid at that time? I was laughed at for nothing but didn't refute it." Yuchi Baoqi immediately told his experience of being ridiculed before Ji Wang said angrily, "But I don't know what's wrong, I just can't get over this hurdle in my heart. And when this matter is mentioned, I still feel very angry."

Ji Wang hurriedly asked Yuchi Baoqi to tell him what had happened.

Yuchi Baoqi explained to Ji Wang the story he and Fang Yizhi had made up earlier.It was Yuchi Baoqi who was timid and was laughed at by her peers.Because Yuchi Baoqi's father, Yuchi Gong, was a more famous general than Ji Wang's father, so when Yuchi Baoqi told him that he was angry, Ji Wang felt the same way and slapped the table angrily, complaining for Yuchi Baoqi, " There are always people who are shameless, and when you deal with this kind of person, you must give him a slap in the face, and this will definitely relieve your sulk."

"But how to fight." Yuchi Baoqi was worried, "The other party's status is not ordinary now, so it's not good to offend casually."

"It's easy. If you say you are timid, you are so bold that he will regret it! But there is no need to fight face-to-face with red faces. We only need to know in our hearts how capable we are, so there is no need to Compete with those shallow and ignorant people." Ji Wang said.

Yuchi Baoqi nodded, "Hearing what you said, my heart immediately opened up. Brother Ji is very wise, because I have really benefited a lot, thinking that all the books I have read over the years have been wasted."

Received Yuchi Baoqi's compliment, Ji Wang burst out laughing from ear to ear, and then he patted Yuchi Baoqi's shoulder, "I'm just talking nonsense."

"This is even more powerful. Brother Ji can talk nonsense, and he can say something that makes me suddenly understand. If this is serious and serious, then it's okay?" Yuchi Baoqi was always sweet-mouthed, but now she wants to compliment Ji deliberately. Hope is naturally more powerful.

Ji Wang was so happy that he couldn't close his mouth with a smile, and kept humbly saying that he was not that powerful.

"How did brother Ji realize these principles? Come and teach me." Yuchi Baoqi continued.

Ji Wang was stunned, "It's nothing, it's just that I had the same experience as you when I was young, but it's all over, and I don't care about it."

"It's not interesting for us to drink." Fang Yi sighed, "Why don't we have something interesting?"

"Of course, how do we come?" Ji Wang asked.

"I saw Cheng Erlang's collection of precious knives before. Although I am a literati, I also like these shiny things. I wonder if General Ji also has such a hobby?"

"Of course, which general doesn't love these? Swords and beauties are the most indispensable." Ji Wang's eyes moved, "Speaking of beauties, I almost forgot, I'm going to introduce one for you today."