Li Qingyi asked: "There must have been a lot of twists and turns, right? Who is the other party? Are you feeling unsatisfied and will you do anything to take revenge? Was it the other party who proposed to terminate the engagement, or was it the noble person who proposed it?"
Facing Li Qingyi's series of questioning, Qin Zeng, a man who cherished words like gold, gave a detailed explanation, as patiently as a master teaching a three-year-old apprentice.
"The other party is Pan Yushi's old friend. Due to the death of his old mother at home, Ding You resigned. After that, his official career was not smooth, and now he is just a small local official. His eldest son, Mr. Yu, who had previously arranged a marriage with Mr. Liang, He suddenly became seriously ill and became dementia. His family searched for famous doctors but could not cure him. After that, the Pan family withdrew from the marriage. Not long after, Mr. Liang participated in the draft and was successfully selected into the palace. "
Li Qingyi murmured as he thought: "The good nobleman won the favor of the emperor, and soon after, Mr. Yu, who was married to her fingertips, fell ill and became stupid. It... is too coincidental."
Qin Zeng nodded: "It's really too much of a coincidence."
Li Qingyi hesitated for a moment and asked: "Who revealed the so-called emperor's interest in noble Liang? How did the Pan family know?"
"It is said that at a palace banquet, the emperor's eyes fell on Liang Guiren several times."
Li Qingyi was speechless when he heard this, "Just because of this? Among the women I have met, Liang Guiren is really not a world-famous beauty. She has no reputation for talent and reputation, and her temperament is not uncommon. How could she be noticed by the emperor at a glance?" What’s up?”
Qin Zeng's expression became a little more solemn, "This will start from another matter."
The skylight broke through the last darkness before dawn, adding a few rays of golden color between the fish belly white and azure.
Li Qingyi originally wanted to open the window to disperse the suffocating atmosphere in the room all night long, but when he heard this, he paused, retracted his hand and asked with a slight doubt: "Is there something unknown between the Emperor and the noble nobleman? Something about?"
"To be precise, he is not a good nobleman."
Qin Zeng looked out the window, watching a bird fluttering on the branch, and said: "There is a person, maybe not many people remember it, but I have seen that person's portrait. How many noble people are there?" Very similar."
Li Qingyi heard the unusual tone in his tone and asked hesitantly, "Who is it?"
"She is the personal maid who has served the emperor since childhood, Ruying."
He turned his gaze back to the room, looked at Li Qingyi who was standing at the junction of light and dark, and said slowly: "She is four or five years older than the emperor. She was previously a maid next to the Queen Mother. Because of her intelligence and carefulness, she was assigned The emperor takes care of her food and daily life. The emperor also likes her very much and is very dependent on her. Before he succeeded to the throne, Ruying has always been at his side, almost never leaving her."
"It's not surprising. The feelings cultivated since childhood are inevitably much more generous than others." Li Qingyi said, paused, and asked curiously: "Sir, you said that Ruying served the emperor until he succeeded to the throne? What about after that, she Where have you gone? Why don't you continue to serve the emperor?"
"Because the relationship was too close, the Queen Mother felt something was wrong and became wary of Ruying. Therefore, just a year before the Emperor succeeded to the throne, the Queen Mother separated the two of them."
Li Qingyi was puzzled: "She is just a palace maid. Even if the emperor values her more, she will only be a concubine at most. Why does the Queen Mother care so much?"
"The late emperor showed little care for his children and focused all his attention on government affairs. The emperor's biological mother was not born early, and the queen mother had no heirs. Among the princes, she chose the emperor to raise her by her side. It was at that time that Ruying was She was assigned to serve the emperor. She was a teenager, which is the best age for a woman. She acted as a sister, a confidant, and even a mother-like role, giving all the tenderness and beauty to the emperor. At the same time, she was the emperor's adult. The first person in the room."
When Qin Zeng said this, his expression was slightly unnatural, but Li Qingyi didn't seem to notice, and just thought about what he said.
So, Qin Zeng continued: "Such complex emotions should not appear in an emperor."
Li Qingyi suddenly felt something and said, "So the Queen Mother separated them?"
"I wonder if Princess Yuanheng has told you about the Queen Mother's behavior?
people. When the Queen Mother was young, she was obsessed with power and wanted to hold everything tightly in her own hands. In other words, if this were not the case, she would not be able to become a queen or even a queen mother. "
Li Qingyi nodded in agreement.
Qin Zeng studied Li Qingyi's eyebrows and said: "Although the Queen Mother is not the emperor's biological mother, she is also kind to the emperor. The emperor is not close to her, but is so interested in a palace maid, she will inevitably feel uncomfortable. . Just like the relationship between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law in the world, there is always a sense of competition, and the attitude of the man who is being competed for is very important." New
Li Qingyi carefully studied the meaning of his words and understood what he meant.
"Presumably the Queen Mother has not really made any plans to separate them at this time, but she must have expressed her thoughts, and even had a dispute with the emperor over Ruying's matter, but the emperor seemed not to understand the Queen Mother's feelings and blindly protected her. Ruying, this is how the Queen Mother has truly made her decision."
Qin Zeng nodded: "Yes, the Queen Mother believes that if left unchecked, Ruying may become a huge threat. The emperor may do something against her because of Ruying. Moreover, at that time, the Queen Mother had no interest in the throne. It’s a certainty. As the future ruler of the world, the emperor should not have things or people he cares about so much. That would become a fatal weakness and is absolutely unacceptable. Therefore, the Queen Mother, whether intellectually or emotionally, cannot I am willing to tolerate Ruying’s existence.”
"The Queen Mother killed Ruying? Is that why there is a gap between the Emperor and the Queen Mother? However, no matter what the Queen Mother says, she is the one who raised the Emperor and put him on the throne with her own hands. She should not..."
Li Qingyi suddenly shut up, realizing that this was not what she should say.
Qin Zeng glanced at her and did not blame her, but said: "The emperor is not unthankful for the Queen Mother's nurturing grace, but the Queen Mother is not all for the Emperor. In other words, if another person is the Queen Mother's heir, the Queen Mother will be the same. She will raise that person and put that person on the throne. She does this to preserve her own status, not for the emperor."
Li Qingyi understood, "So, the emperor gave the queen mother status and honor, but he was not very close to her, and because the queen mother beat the mandarin ducks, he had a knot in his heart..."
If it weren't for the poor relationship between the Emperor and the Queen Mother, Princess Yuanheng would not have no one to rely on.
"I don't know how the Queen Mother dealt with Ruying in the end. In short, she disappeared a year before the emperor succeeded to the throne." Qin Zeng frowned and pursed his lips. After a while, he said, "As for Ruying , I have another guess."
"What is it?"
"I think that even if the Queen Mother has planned to get rid of Ruying, there are many ways to make her disappear in a reasonable way. But what happened back then was that Ruying suddenly disappeared one morning. It was very sudden and without reason. Without any buffer, he disappeared from the world..."
Li Qingyi was surprised: "Missed? How could it be?"
Qin Zeng shook his head, "Maybe your mother, Princess Yuanheng, will know something about the situation at that time."
When the emperor succeeded to the throne, Princess Yuanheng was already eleven or twelve years old.
"I'll ask my mother to see if she remembers it."
Qin Zeng was noncommittal, "This is just a digression and has little relevance to this case. If you are curious, you can naturally ask."
Li Qingyi rolled his eyes. Did he think she was gossiping?
Qin Zeng stood up and stood a step away from her. He looked at her awkward and dissatisfied expression and said, "So, you are going to Dali Temple today. Remember to change into men's clothes. I have something else to do, so I will leave first."
Li Qingyi was startled. He didn't expect that he would remind himself of this...
"That's natural. It's not very convenient to run around in a skirt."
The corners of Qin Zeng's eyes curled up a little, but his expression remained cold and cold, "If I have free time, I will go to Dali Temple to see it."
Li Qingyi listened to his words and couldn't think of anything else.
Could it be that he allowed himself to mind his own business just so he could see her more outside?
Li Qingyi reached out to pull his sleeve, shook it, and asked tentatively: "Aren't you afraid that I will get into trouble?"
Qin Zeng’s eyes were contemptuous but there was no shortage of smiles.
He looked at the little girl in front of him with interest and said, "I'm here, so what are you afraid of?"
Li Qingyi touched his nose, okay, what else can she say in the face of such a confident and powerful Qin Zeng?
Before Qin Zeng left, he asked again, "Is there anything going on with your second aunt?"
Li Qingyi shook his head: "Wei Baozhu didn't move at all. I thought she would do something while I was not at home, but she stayed in her yard and copied scriptures, saying she wanted to help Lin family atone for his sins."
Qin Zeng just asked casually, without making any comments, and turned around and left Li Qingyi's yard.
As soon as he left, Shia Lan immediately poked her head out and said, "This guy is really serious. He always comes to talk to girls in the dark. It's really scary!"
It was already bright outside, and the servants had already gotten up and started busy.
Li Qingyi said with a smile: "Okay, don't talk about this, hurry up and pack everything up and find me a set of men's clothes. I have to go to Dali Temple to investigate the case today. It's a very important matter, so you can't be careless."
Everyone was ordered to go about their business, and in a short time Li Qingyi was torn from top to bottom.
Just as he was about to go out after breakfast, Princess Yuanheng came. Seeing Li Qingyi dressed like a young master, he was stunned for a moment, then nodded and said, "That's good."
Li Qingyi smiled and said, "Why is mother here?"
"You are going to Dali Temple today. I'll come over and give you a few words."
Li Qingyi thought about Ruying's matter, so he endured it and decided to ask. He asked the girls to go out, closed the door himself, and said to Princess Yuanheng, "Just in time, I still have some things to ask mother."
Princess Yuanheng sat down and poured herself some tea, "What's the matter?"
Li Qingyi briefly talked about Ruying, and then asked: "Does mother still remember this person?"
