In Xingdeok Palace, the eighth prince was writing something. At this moment, Yu Hai walked in.
Yu Hai bowed to the Eighth Prince first, and then handed the letter he had just taken off the carrier pigeon's lap to the Eighth Prince.
"Your Highness, a letter from the paddock."
The Eighth Prince put down the pen in his hand, took the letter, opened it and read it.
Seeing the surprised look on the eighth prince's face, Yu Hai asked with some curiosity and some doubts: "Your Highness, what's wrong? Did something happen over there in the paddock?" As soon as he finished speaking, he suddenly thought that Duke Zhen was going to leave in the spring. Hunter raised his hand and said, "Your Highness, has Duke Zhen Guo already taken action?"
The Eighth Prince said with an incomprehensible expression: "It's time to take action."
After hearing this, Yu Hai's expression became a little excited: "Did Duke Zhen Guo send someone to assassinate King Dai? How is King Dai? Is he dead?" If King Dai dies now, it will not be a good thing for His Highness.
The eighth prince did not answer Yu Hai's question, but handed the letter in his hand to Yu Hai.
Yu Hai took it and looked at it, and immediately a surprised look appeared on his face.
"Your Highness, isn't this...the Duke of Zhen Guo going to send someone to assassinate the king? How can he find a woman?"
The Eighth Prince smiled with interest and said: "The Zhen Guo Gong is really good at it." He guessed a lot of Zhen Guo Gong's methods, but he didn't expect that the Zhen Guo Guo would arrange for a woman to appear in front of his father.
"Qin Xiulian, Doctor Zhongsan's daughter?" Yu Hai met Doctor Zhongsan when he followed the Eighth Prince to the East Palace. A middle-aged man with an ordinary appearance and gentle speech. There is nothing special about him. I have never heard that he has a daughter with outstanding appearance. "Your Highness, why have you never heard that Lord Qin has a daughter?"
"This daughter should not be Lord Qin's biological daughter." The Eighth Prince guessed, "She should be Lord Qin's adopted daughter."
"Adopted daughter?"
"It should be Duke Zhen who arranged for Mr. Qin to adopt him," the eighth prince said thoughtfully.
"Your Highness, so what Duke Zhen Guo wants to do on Spring Hunt is not to assassinate the king, but to arrange for Dr. Zhongsan's adopted daughter to appear in front of the emperor?" Yu Hai asked in shock.
The Eighth Prince nodded slightly: "That's right."
"Your Highness, Dr. Zhongsan's adopted daughter looks like Si Youying. Who is this Si Youying?" Yu Hai asked in surprise, "It is said that she is an old friend of the emperor, but I have never heard of this name."
"I haven't heard of it either, but this Si Youying should be more than just an old friend of my father." The eighth prince tapped the index finger of his right hand lightly on the table, "This Si Youying should be his father's lover."
"Lover?" Yu Hai said in shock.
"She must have been my father's lover when he was young, and he had a deep affection for her." The eighth prince continued to speculate, "For some reason, this Si Youying died, and then my father never forgot this Si Youying. "
"Then why did Lord Zhen Guo arrange for Qin Xiulian to appear in front of the emperor?"
"In order to make Qin Xiulian favored." The Eighth Prince smiled, "And let Qin Xiulian compete with Concubine Rong for favor."
"The Duke of Zhen intends to let this Qin Xiulian deal with Concubine Rong?" Yu Hai felt that Duke Zhen's plan was a bit naive, "Concubine Rong has been favored and favored for more than 20 years, how can this Qin Xiulian surpass Concubine Rong? Besides, Concubine Rong is The emperor’s cousin has grown up with the emperor, and this friendship cannot be surpassed by anyone.”
"Also, the former empress and empress were not as favored as Concubine Rong. Who in the former harem didn't know that the emperor loved Concubine Rong the most, and even the common people knew it."
Yu Hai added: "Everyone knows that if the Xie family had not cooperated with the late emperor, Concubine Rong would have been the emperor..." Yu Hai did not say the word "empress". "Just because someone who looks exactly like Si Youying can be more favored than Concubine Rong? Does Lord Zhen Guo underestimate Concubine Rong?"
"What kind of person do you think Lord Zhen Guo is?"
When Yu Hai heard this question, he was stunned for a moment, and then said: "The Duke of Zhen is a scheming man."
The Eighth Prince asked back: "Then do you think the scheming Zhen Guo will do something that has no chance of winning?"
"No." Zhen Guo Gong is not only cunning, but also very clever. Furthermore, every time Zhenguo Gong takes action, he will not make useless efforts. "Your Highness, do you think Qin Xiulian arranged by Duke Zhen is more favored than Concubine Rong?"
"With Duke Zhen's methods, he would never simply arrange for a person with the same appearance to appear in front of his father." The Eighth Prince said in a calm tone, "This Qin Xiulian should have been found by Duke Zhen long ago, and was Duke Zhen Guo sent someone to train her secretly. If I guessed correctly, Duke Zhen Guo trained Qin Xiulian to become Si Youying."
"Even if Qin Xiulian is trained to become Si Youying, she may not be more favored than Concubine Rong." Yu Hai still thinks it's impossible, "That's Concubine Rong."
"There is only one reason why Duke Zhen Guo is so confident, and that is that Si Youying is very important to my father, and more important than Concubine Rong." The eighth prince continued, "My father should have been grieving over Si Youying's death back then. Yu Huai has also never forgotten this Si Youying. Now that a person who looks exactly like Si Youying appears, what do you think my father will do?"
"Of course it's a good compensation..." Yu Hai said this with a look of shock on his face, "Your Highness, is this the plan of the Duke of Zhen?!"
"Yes, this is the plan of Duke Zhen." The Eighth Prince told Yu Haidao, "Go and investigate Si Youying." The name Si Youying is a bit unfamiliar, but he has some impression of the surname Si, as if he has seen it somewhere. .
"My slave will be there soon."
Yu Hai went out for a while and then came back.
"Your Highness, do you think this Qin Xiulian will really be more favored than Concubine Rong?"
The Eighth Prince crossed his hands and held his chin, smiling meaningfully: "It depends on how important Si Youying is in my father's heart."
"I feel that Lord Zhen Guo made a mistake in his wishful thinking this time." Yu Hai said, "Perhaps Si Youying was very important when the emperor was young, but after so many years, he has gradually become less important. Furthermore, Concubine Rong has been by the emperor's side all these years, and Si Youying cannot be more important than Concubine Rong."
"Yu Hai, who do you think is the most important person in my father's eyes, Concubine Rong or the First Empress?"
Yu Hai said without thinking: "Of course the first queen."
"Why do you think it's the former Queen?"
"Because the emperor respects the late empress the most. When the late empress died of illness, the emperor stayed away from court for three days for the late empress. This year, on the anniversary of the late empress' death, the emperor stayed off court for one day for the late empress. And..." Yu Hai said in one breath. Emperor Wu of Zhou valued many things about the first queen.
"The reason why my father values the late queen so much, apart from the things you just said, there is another most important reason."
Yu Hai asked doubtfully: "What is the most important reason?"
"The most important reason is that the late Queen is no longer here."
"The Queen is gone?" Yu Hai said with confusion on his face, "I don't understand."
"A living person can never be compared to a dead person." The Eighth Prince raised the corner of his mouth and showed an intriguing smile. "The dead will be remembered forever, and they will only remember the good things they did during their lifetime. Do you understand?"
After hearing this, Yu Hai finally understood. Just like him, if his good friend died, he would never forget it, and he would always remember the goodness of his good friend.
"This slave has been taught a lesson."
The Eighth Prince chuckled and said, "It's a good show."
"Your Highness, if Qin Xiulian is really more favored than Concubine Rong, then..." Yu Hai still couldn't imagine Concubine Rong falling out of favor.
The Eighth Prince said in a deep tone: "Next, we just have to watch the show carefully."
"What His Highness is saying is..." Yu Hai suddenly thought of something else, "Your Highness, you previously ordered that when Duke Zhen Guo takes action, let our people take the opportunity to take action against the third and fifth princes. Now Duke Zhen Guo has not If we start to assassinate the King, will our people also assassinate the Third Prince and the Fifth Prince?"
The Eighth Prince thought for a while and said, "Do it."
"Your Highness, Duke Zhenguo did not send anyone to assassinate him. Wouldn't it be too dangerous for us to do it?" Yu Hai was very worried. "Didn't you say before that the emperor already suspected that the person behind the assassination of the prince was in the capital? Isn't that right? Those aristocratic families in Yangzhou. If we assassinate them rashly again, will they be exposed?"
"No." The Eighth Prince said, "As long as we don't assassinate the King and the Crown Prince, we won't be exposed easily."
"But, Your Highness, why do we insist on assassinating the third prince and the fifth prince?" Yu Hai asked in confusion.
The Eighth Prince smiled slightly: "Of course it's for fun."
"Fun?" Yu Hai's scalp felt numb when he saw the interesting smile on the corner of the eighth prince's mouth. He didn't dare to ask any more questions and said respectfully, "I'll make arrangements right now."
"Go ahead."
In the paddock in the eastern suburbs, Zhao Yao had finished lunch with the fourth prince. After returning to his tent, he called Ling Yun over.
Before he returned to his tent, he whistled. This was his way of summoning Ling Yun.
"Laifu, what happened to Qin Xiulian?" When Emperor Zhou Wu went hunting in the morning, Ling Yun followed Emperor Zhou Wu. Of course, he witnessed what happened in the morning. "Who does she look like?"
Ling Yun has been following Emperor Zhou Wu, and Zhao Yao guessed that Ling Yun should know who Qin Xiulian looked like.
[While the master was hunting in the morning, he encountered a pack of wolves. Then Qin Xiulian suddenly appeared and joined the master in dealing with the wolves. ] Ling Yun said, [Suddenly a wolf attacked the master, and then Qin Xiulian stood in front of the master and was bitten by the wolf. 】
It’s pretty much what Zhao Yao guessed, because that’s what the storybook says.
"Who does this Qin Xiulian look like?"
Ling Yun said: [Si Youying. 】
"Si Youying?" Zhao Yao has never heard of this name. "Is this person my father's old friend?"
Ling Yun nodded and said: [Yes, he is the master's old friend. 】
"It's true." Zhao Yao's expression instantly became very excited, his eyes sparkling, "Tell me the story of Si Youying and his father."
[Si Youying is the master’s savior. 】
"Savior?" When Zhao Yao heard these four words, he instantly smelled the smell of adultery. "Let me guess."
【you guess. 】
"I guess my father was seriously injured during the war, and was saved by this Si Youying. Then the two of them got along day and night, and they fell in love with each other and made a lifelong commitment."
【That's almost it. The owner was seriously injured that time and almost died. Fortunately, he was saved by Si Youying. 】
"What is Si Youying's identity and how did she die?"
[Si Youying is a bandit. 】
Zhao Yao exclaimed: "Bandit, female bandit?" This was a little different from what he thought.
[Well, she is the bandit leader, but she also became a bandit to protect the villagers. Ling Yun said, "You also know that the world was in chaos at that time, and there were bandits and rebels everywhere. These bandits and rebels burned, killed, looted, and committed all kinds of evil. Si Youying was forced to become a bandit and built a stronghold. 】
[She not only protected the villagers, but also took in many fleeing people. She is a good person. Later, she listened to her master's suggestion and turned the people in her village into soldiers and joined her master and them. From then on, she led her soldiers to quell the rebellion. 】
"Then she is a powerful female general."
[Well, she is a very powerful female general. She leads troops very well in battles and almost never loses. 】Ling Yun said, 【She fought side by side with her master and settled a lot of chaos. Everyone said she was a perfect match for her master. The master also took her home to meet the master's parents and the late empress, saying that he wanted to marry her. 】
"At that time, my father had already married the first queen?" Zhao Yao thought that Emperor Zhou Wu and Si Youying met before marrying the first queen.
[Married, but the master had not yet married Concubine Rong at that time. ] Ling Yun said, sighing faintly, [At that time, the master's family and Si Youying's family had already reached an agreement. I didn't expect that Si Youying would die on the battlefield. 】
"Wait a minute, are you saying that my father and Si Youying were already engaged at that time and had agreed on when to get married?"
[The master and Si Youying were not engaged. They originally planned to get engaged six months later. Unexpectedly, Si Youying died in the battle three months later while putting down the chaos. 】Ling Yun continued, 【Si Youying died, the master was very sad. 】
Zhao Yao asked: "Father, do you like Si Youying very much?"
[I like it very much. The master and Si Youying have endless things to say when they are together, and they have a very tacit understanding. 】 Ling Yun said, 【Everyone says they are a match made in heaven. Si Youying was also very kind to me and even specially caught prey for me to eat. 】
"That's not right. There is no minister named Si in the court, and there is no soldier named Si." Zhao Yao said with a strange look on his face, "Si Youying is dead, where are her family members?"
【All dead. 】
"All dead?"
[Well, some died in the battle, and some were killed by bandits or rebels. 】
Zhao Yao was silent for a moment. Although he had not experienced that turbulent and chaotic era, after listening to Ling Yun's words, he could imagine how cruel the situation was at that time.
"Si Youying almost got engaged to my father. Why didn't he posthumously grant her the title after he ascended the throne?" After Emperor Wu of Zhou ascended the throne, he posthumously consecrated many of his old friends, but among the people he posthumously granted, no one with the surname Si was heard of.
[After all, Si Youying is not married to the master, and it is not easy for the master to posthumously make her his concubine. 】
"As a female general, she should be posthumously conferred upon her death, right?"
[The one who was granted the title by the master’s father seems to be some kind of general. 】
Zhao Yao nodded lightly, and then asked: "Father, has he never forgotten her?"
[I don’t know, I haven’t heard my master mention her in these years. 】
"Ah? Does your father go to pay homage to her every year?"
[No, the place where Si Youying is buried is far away from the capital, and it is impossible for the owner to go to pay homage. 】
"Even if you can't go to the grave to pay homage, you should set up a memorial tablet for her in the temple. Does your father have one?"
【No. 】
"This is wrong." Zhao Yao said, "According to the script, my father should set up a memorial tablet for her and then go to pay homage to her every year. Why hasn't he done anything?"
【I don’t know that. 】
"Does Father really like her?"
【I guess I like it. 】
Zhao Yao was still young and didn't understand the relationship between men and women, so he was too lazy to ask if he liked such things.
"That Qin Xiulian really looks exactly like Si Youying?"
[Really, I thought Si Youying was alive. 】
"Qin Xiulian was arranged by the Duke of Zhenguo?"
[The master said so. ] When Emperor Zhou Wu and Shen Hu were discussing matters, Ling Yun was in the discussion tent. [The master said he would let her into the palace and pamper her. 】
After hearing this, Zhao Yao intuitively felt that Emperor Zhou Wu was planning something bad.
I went out to do some errands this morning and only had time to write a chapter.
There will be another update in the evening.
Finally, I humbly asked for a monthly ticket! ! !
(End of chapter)
