surrogate wife

After the dynasty dispersed, the emperor left behind Wen Changning and Xue Yixu to talk.

"King Qi has been expelled from the clan and demoted to a commoner. As for Li Ke..." The emperor paused.

Xue Yinian thought about Prince Li Ke's rebellious report and the act of sending someone to protect him, so he felt the need to say something nice for him, and said: "Since your majesty didn't mention it publicly at the court, I think it's not like the royal family has two rebellious princes at once. , Right now, he has absconded outside and has given up his status as a prince, if not, let him go."

The emperor smiled, "I knew you wanted to intercede for him."

Xue Yi cupped his hands in embarrassment, "I'm terrified."

"Oh? Are you panicking?" The emperor raised his eyebrows, "Why didn't I see it?"

Wen Changning smiled and said: "Your Majesty, why bother to tease him? You also know that he is not good at words. What's more, there was a lot of turmoil during the reign of the first emperor, and the identity of the king of Li Ke was sensitive. He did not participate in the army, and he has already absconded. Condemned, the people who don't know the truth will still think that His Majesty is public and revenge."

The emperor pointed at him with the booklet, "Ha, you said that he is not good at speech, but he is much more good at speech than you. Do you think he doesn't know? He is just waiting for you to speak for him."

Wen Changning touched his nose in embarrassment.

"That's all. I'm just joking." The emperor waved his hands and slumped on the chair relaxedly, "Actually, I'm quite tolerant when I ask myself, and I'm very kind to the clan, so I didn't intend to do anything to him. He couldn't let go of it himself, and even ran to conspire with that idiot King Qi."

"But since he has figured it out and plans to live in seclusion, I don't bother to argue with him anymore. If I really kill him, how can I go down and face my father?"

"Let's just leave it like this. It was announced to the outside world that Princess Li Ke died of illness. The king was too sad and became a monk. In a few years, it will be said that he died for love."

Xue Yi and Wen Changning said in unison: "Yes."

Xue Yi couldn't help thinking that the emperor said he didn't care about it, but he was still suffocating in his heart, and he had to give Li Ke'an such an unlucky ending to disgust him.

However, it is a good thing to have such an ending.

"Okay, let's not talk about them." The emperor put down the folder in his hand, sat up, and stared at Xue Yi with great interest.

Xue Yi lowered his eyes and did not meet his gaze.

The emperor raised his voice and said, "Xue Qing—"

"Junior Brother——"

The corner of Xue Yi's mouth twitched, and he cupped his hands, "What orders does Your Majesty have?"

"You know that expert, who is so sacred, isn't it, I want to thank him a little bit." The emperor said slowly.

Xue Yixin said, there is no way to miss my wife.

He said: "I'm afraid, I don't know."

The emperor pursed his lips in displeasure, "Don't be afraid of me at every turn, as soon as you are afraid, I will know that you are holding back."

Xue Yi said with a smile: "Your Majesty is very observant, and to tell you the truth, in fact, it was the master who forbade me to speak out, so I had to obey."

Madam, dare you not listen?

The emperor sighed: "Forget it, I just want to ask. In fact, I also know that even if I ask, an expert is not willing to work for me. At worst, I just walk away. I can't force it."

He is not very demanding about this matter, if it is not possible, then let it go.

"Not much gossip." He said, "Actually, I have invited you here this time because there is something else."

"I want to take back the property of King Qi and Li Ke. You are responsible for supervising this matter and making an inventory. If you see something in the middle, it's okay to take it. There are also real estate shops like Zhuangzi. Tell me which one you like, and I will give it to you." you."

He was very generous to his own people, and when he said this, he was mainly for Xue Yi's sake. These wealth were just icing on the cake for the Wen family, but they were urgently needed for the Xue family who was not yet established and came from a poor family.

In particular, some shops and real estate in good locations, as well as hot spring villages outside the city, have long been divided up by the rich and powerful, and now it is difficult to buy good ones even if you have money.

Since the emperor wants to reuse Xue Yi, he intends to solve these problems for him, anyway, it is a favor.

Xue Yi and Wen Changning agreed, and started working overtime.

It took five full days before the inventory was clear, registered and compiled, and put into storage after the emperor had a look.

On this day, Xue Yi returned home from a busy schedule, and said to Wen Yumu, "The emperor intends to reward me with something, if you don't, it will make him lose face. Think about what you want."

Wen Yumu said: "The farmland and the big village that produce vegetables must be the priority. The mother and sister-in-law have always been thinking about the good farmland at home. At that time, everything they wanted to eat was produced by their own farm. Unlike now, they have to buy it every day. .And I have a field in my hand, so I don’t panic.”

Xue Yidao: "It's simple, but it's not worth the money, think again."

Wen Yumu was surprised, "The emperor is so generous? Don't get me wrong."

"How can it be?" Xue Yi smiled and waved his hands, very sure, "Think about it."

"Okay." Wen Yumu thought for a while, said ah, and patted his hands, "I remembered a place that Yu'an mentioned to me. He said that the king of the county once gave him a hot spring village, where the most He likes the good hot spring water very much, but he had conflicts with the county king at that time, so he never went there again."

"He also said that he would invite me to soak in the hot springs when he had time, but that didn't come true. If he didn't ask Zhuangzi to come over, his wish would be fulfilled. And this Zhuangzi should be very valuable."

Xue Yi thought for a while, "You mean the hot spring village in Ziquan Mountain. That village occupies a vast area and is located on the mountainside. It happens to include the best section of hot spring water. Only the emperor's Yuqing Courtyard has better water than there. Feeling better now."

"These two places are quite close together, which is probably one of the reasons why the county king and his wife avoid taboo."

Wen Yumu nodded, "Is this possible?"

Xue Yi smiled and said: "It should be feasible, but this is not enough. The emperor will also compensate me with a high-grade Zhuangzi. Based on my understanding of the emperor, he will definitely feel that since he has to give it all, it is better to give me what I want the most. I want it, so as long as he doesn't promise it to others first, it should be ours."

"Isn't it just you and senior brother Changning?" Wen Yu Munahan asked, "Could it be that senior brother will fight with you?"

"That's not true." Xue Yi took a sip of tea and moistened his throat, "Although it is me and senior brother who are in charge, many honorable men in the capital are staring at these two pieces of fat. This Zhuangzi is not a secret. Property, of course, has been targeted long ago."

"If it's a courtier, it's okay. They must be tight to us first, for fear that they will follow the path of the harem."

Xue Yi spread his hands, "Don't say anything else, just say that if the empress opens her mouth, can the emperor not give it?"

Wen Yumu said: "Then you are worrying too much. The empress is very smart, and the Xu family is a family of meritorious service for many generations. The one who made a fortune in the army can be short of money? She will never open her mouth."

Xue Yi smiled and said: "That's the reason, if the empress doesn't open her mouth, no other concubine would dare to pass her by."

After the downfall of Concubine Shu, the emperor seemed to have realized that he no longer favored only one concubine, but helped three or four of them to fight in the nest first, so as not to stretch their arms too far.

Therefore, there is no favorite concubine who dares to be as domineering as Concubine Shu before, and the empress empress would dare to refute her.

Speaking of this, although Xue Yi didn't know, the emperor really poured out some bitterness to Wen Changning, "It's not easy for me. It's impossible not to have women in this harem. I agree with the nobles and the courtiers. ah."

"I wanted to pamper a beautiful concubine Shu, who has little influence in the family. She and the queen will form horns with each other. This harem will be peaceful. Who knows that the harem is still peaceful, but the idiot Concubine Shu is not."

Wen Changning said with a straight face: "The emperor can spoil the empress only. The empress is dignified and intelligent, so she can naturally overwhelm everyone in the harem."

The emperor choked for a moment and said, "Then I really can't do it. Although the queen is good, she is too dignified. I respect her, but I must have a place to relax after a tiring day."

And the queen looks a little worse than those beauties.

Most importantly, monopoly often comes with risks, especially in this court.

Wen Changning had nothing to say, "Then you are looking for trouble."

emperor:"……"

Well, there is no way to express this suffering, the senior brother and the junior brother are both lovers, so he is the one who has a heartless heart.

……

After Xue Yi chatted with Wen Yumu, he entered the palace the next day and asked the emperor for his favor.

Sure enough, the emperor didn't even think about it, so he simply gave him the village, and also gave him another [-]-acre farm, which contained fertile fields, ponds, vegetables and fruits.

In the end, he was rewarded with a box of precious stones, pearls, jade and a thousand taels of gold, which can be called extravagant.

After dealing with the property of King Qi and King Li Ke, it is considered to be the final end to this treason case.

The common people are forgetful, even the courtiers are no exception. Soon, this matter subsided, and the capital was still so lively and prosperous.

After the incident, Xue Yi officially took up the post of Minister of Honglu Temple.

Honglu Temple is waiting to be rebuilt, and the previous Shaoqing also lost one, Xue Yi moved his mind, and from the Hanlin Academy who had shown his kindness to him before, his fellow explorer Lin Yizhi was transferred to serve as Shaoqing , It can also be regarded as cultivating one's own confidant.

Lin Yizhi was still in the Hanlin Academy for his qualifications. This year, he will be promoted to the sixth-rank junior servant, and he will catch a lot of them in the Imperial Academy.

He never thought that the pie would fall from the sky, but it fell on his head, and he became the fourth-rank Shaoqing and the second-in-command of Honglu Temple in a blink of an eye.

The other Shaoqing was also very friendly to him and did not dare to offend him easily.

To be able to pass the Tanhua exam, Lin Yizhi naturally has real talents and learning, and he is from the capital. Although his family is not a high-ranking official, there have been several officials of the third and fourth ranks, just like the Wen family, he can be called a sentence The family of poems and books is just not as brilliant as the Wen family.

He is well-connected, smart, and capable. The daily work in Honglu Temple is also simple. He has experienced a vast amount of clerical experience in the Imperial Academy, and he quickly got started here.

This is especially true for Xue Yi, for him, the work in Honglu Temple is much simpler than his work in the Hanlin Academy.

The only depressing thing is that he has to get up early every morning to go to court.

On this day, at night, Lin Yizhi took a few checklists to Fu'en Hall where he worked.

"Qingzheng, here is the list of tributes paid by all the subjects and countries this year. The tributes have arrived in the big warehouse of our yamen. Would you like to check it yourself?"

Generally speaking, after the inspection of the subordinates of this kind of work is completed, Shaoqing will review the signature, and then hand it over to the chief official to play. Lin Yizhi didn't dare to neglect, so he came here to ask.

Xue Yi took the list, scanned it again, raised his brows slightly, and there was a bit of sneering coldness in his eyes.

Lin Yizhi has been in contact with him for a long time, and has learned to observe his emotions a little bit, so he asked, "What's the problem?"

Xue Yi took out a list and gave it to him, "Look."

Lin Yizhi took it and saw that it was Yu Liguo's tribute list.

Yuli has few people and a widow, the land is full of forests, and it is difficult to live together. There are five tribes in total, one royal tribe is the most powerful, and the other four tribes are loyal to the royal tribe, but they each live in their own territory.

If there is anything special about Yu Liguo, it is that he is just in the middle of Daqi and Nanyue, not in the middle, but a little bit off. At the same time, it borders part of the border between Daqi and Nanyue, and the other side is the sea.

The land area of ​​Nanyue Kingdom is only one-third of Daqi, but it is backed by a long coast, the sea transportation is developed, and it is very rich. The land is not as unlucky as Yuli. There are only forests, but many plains and hills.

Nanyue has always been eyeing Daqi, but because his army is not as strong as Daqi, coupled with the buffer of the forest and Yuli, he barely maintains peace.

Yu Li has always surrendered to Da Qi, but recently there has been a change.

Lin Yizhi looked at it carefully for a while, and then said angrily, "A white wolf skin is missing!"

The forest white wolf is Yu Li's totem symbol, and the white wolf skin will only be dedicated to the most powerful monarch. Yu Li, as a token of loyalty, will donate a white wolf skin to Da Qijin every year.

But this year, the rest of the property remains the same, but only one piece of white wolf skin is missing.

His face turned red with anger, "What a savage country, how dare you be so provocative!"

Xue Yi was also annoyed, and said coldly: "Follow me to the warehouse."

When they arrived at the warehouse, they found that the white wolf skin was there, but it was just hidden under a box of gems as a cushion.

Lin Yizhi: "What does Yu Liguo mean? Are you playing with us?"

Xue Yi smiled, "Xiaoguo is like this. He wanted to test me, Daqi, and was afraid that he would really annoy us, so he secretly left a way out for himself."

But even so, it's a signal.

Xue Yi stretched out his hand, Lin Yizhi was stunned for a moment, then quickly reacted and handed him the list.

"Order someone to take care of these things, and hide this white wolf fur so that no one will find out. I will go to the palace to meet His Majesty." He accepted the order and said.

Lin Yizhi didn't understand why, but he still nodded, "The subordinate understands."