Beijing.
Deputy Envoy Yin's secret letter was sent directly to Emperor Yongjia.
Looking at the contents of the letter, Emperor Yongjia's brows moved slightly.
I had only heard that Zhao Tingxuan, the second son of King Liang, was weak and indecisive, but I didn't expect that he was actually a bit willful.
Are you preparing to break up with your eldest brother who is the crown prince?
Interesting, really interesting.
In recent days, Emperor Yongjia's annoyance caused by the crow's roof finally faded a bit.
He thought of a person and said to the chamberlain: "Show me the Jingyu Palace."
Jingyu Palace is the residence of Concubine Qiao.
It is said that emperors are ruthless, but if there is anyone in this harem who can be called the most favored one, it must be Concubine Qiao.
When Emperor Yongjia was still the second prince, Concubine Qiao was the one who was at the forefront of his heart. The beauties in the harem were pushed by the waves behind, but Concubine Qiao remained standing. She was the concubine when she entered the palace, and now she is The imperial concubine has three sons and one daughter, and is the one with the most children in the harem.
Although she was not a queen, everyone in the harem knew that compared to the empress Yuan who had died many years ago and the current queen who had no children, Concubine Qiao was the one that Emperor Yongjia favored the most.
Knowing that Emperor Yongjia was coming, Concubine Qiao had already been waiting in front of the palace gate early.
This was one of the reasons why Emperor Yongjia liked her. Concubine Qiao had been favored for many years, but she never relied on her favor to become arrogant. Whether in front of the emperor or the queen mother, she was always a docile and well-behaved little woman.
Concubine Qiao is not a peerless beauty who has captivated the country, but she is an attractive type, and her beauty is subtle and not ostentatious.
No matter whether Emperor Yongjia comes or not, there will always be a cup of Emperor Yongjia's favorite sweet soup in her kitchen.
Moreover, she also had the unique skill of massaging, which other concubines also secretly learned. However, if they learned it, it would be worse if they did not learn it. Not only did they fail to win the favor of Emperor Yongjia, but they felt like they were imitating others.
Now, after Emperor Yongjia finished drinking the sweet soup, he leaned on the soft couch and enjoyed Concubine Qiao's massage. After a while, he closed his eyes comfortably.
"I remember that you and Princess Liang were in a handkerchief relationship?" Emperor Yongjia asked softly with his eyes closed.
Concubine Qiao smiled sweetly and kept her hands on her hands: "It's not a handkerchief handover. At that time, she was already engaged to the Prince of Liang, and her status was high. And the concubine's father was the local magistrate, and was only in the seventh rank. Whenever There were poetry and flower parties, and all the ladies gathered around her, and they were all proud to be friends with her. At that time, the concubines did not have enough status to stand in front of her. "
Emperor Yongjia grabbed her hand on his shoulder with some distress, shook it gently, and then let go.
"What about now, you have become my woman, is your status enough?"
Concubine Qiao chuckled and leaned into Emperor Yongjia's ear: "Do you think it's feasible for my concubine to write her a letter and talk about the past when she was young?"
Emperor Yongjia sighed with satisfaction: "The one who knows my heart is Yun'er."
Yun'er was Concubine Qiao's maiden name. Ever since she entered the palace, even her parents no longer dared to call her that. The only one who could still call her Yun'er was Emperor Yongjia.
What Emperor Yongjia liked most was Concubine Qiao's understanding. Moreover, she never fought for anything for her natal family and children. While other concubines were acting coquettishly, she silently washed her hands and made soup in the kitchen.
She never competed with other concubines for favor, because she didn't have to compete. No matter how young and talented those beauties were, Emperor Yongjia's favorite was still her.
But the letter from Zhao Sheng of the Zongren Mansion was now in the hands of the prince.
The young prince had a look of ridicule on his face. He threw the letter aside and said to the staff around him: "They are all ungrateful things. As long as Zhao Tinghan is alive, he will be the crown prince of Liang and the eldest son of King Liang. That position will be held by Zhao Tinghan." It’s his, no one else’s turn.”
The staff did not know the content of the letter, but they also understood that rather than saying that the prince was talking about Liang Di, it was better to say that he was scolding his brother.
He is the only legitimate son of the current emperor. He is the only one who was born after the Yuan Dynasty. To use the folk saying, the other princes are all concubines.
But unfortunately, the emperor's favorite son was not him, and the courtiers' favorite prince was not him either.
Even his in-laws are not as good as the third prince's in-laws. The third prince's father-in-law is Feng Ke, the chief minister of the dynasty!
The more the prince thought about it, the angrier he became. In his heart, Zhao Tingxuan was already on the opposite side.
Although every emperor was wary of the Eight Kings throughout his life, who wouldn't want to be on good terms with the Eight Kings when they were still princes?
These vassal kings want power, people, money, and soldiers. However, the price for the prince to befriend them is too high. Not all princes have the courage.
The prince had enough scolding, sighed, and wanted to say something, but finally held back, turned around and walked out.
He suddenly thought of Xiao Zhen, his cousin.
The princes did not dare to make friends with the prince in Beijing as they pleased, but Xiao Zhen was different. He was the son of a princess and was far away from the center of power, so they often called Xiao Zhen to play with him.
A hint of gloom flashed in the prince's eyes. If it hadn't been like this, Xiao Zhen wouldn't have died.
Was that really an accident?
Who knows?
In that incident, Xiao Zhen died, and the fourth prince is still bedridden. He was even carried to the Ancestral Temple to pay homage to his ancestors.
If this incident was not an accident, it must have something to do with the fourth child. The fourth child was taken advantage of and almost cost him his life.
The prince shook his head. He could make the fourth man fight for his life. Who is the person behind this was almost revealed.
The prince did not dare to think about it anymore, so he ordered: "Aunt Jiayi is not in good health. Please send me the century-old ginseng I just got a few days ago."
At this time, Xiao Zhen, who was being cherished by the prince, was choosing a human skin mask.
He had a hard time getting these human skin masks in his previous life.
After being reborn, Xiao Zhen effortlessly asked Jiang Ping to find Yan Bie, who made these human skin masks.
Yanbie's ancestors learned from Hua Qianbian, a master of disguise in the previous dynasty. Yan's ancestors also used what they learned to serve the imperial court. Later, the dynasties changed. By Yanbie's generation, disguise had already become a hobby of the Yan family that was unknown to outsiders. .
In his previous life, Xiao Zhen tried his best to get Yan Bie to use him, but there was nothing he could do. Yan Bie had a lot of money and no ambitions, and he was not interested in anything other than disguise. Xiao Zhen wanted to throw himself into Yan Bie. None of it is easy.
Fortunately, later, by chance, Xiao Zhen accidentally saved Yan Bie. In order to repay his kindness, Yan Bie gave him some human skin masks.
Relying on these human skin masks, Xiao Zhen was able to remain calm and at ease during the years when he was wanted.
This time, he wrote a letter and asked Jiang Ping to deliver it to Yan Bie. A few days later, Yan Bie found Jiang Ping and gave him these human skin masks. In that letter, Xiao Zhen reminded Yan Bie not to cross the river on the eighth day of June, otherwise his life would be in danger. If you don’t believe it, just give it a try. If you avoid disaster because of this, as a thank you, please send Yan Bie A few gadgets he made with his own hands.
After reading this letter, Yan Bie was dubious. He didn't believe that he would be involved in danger, but on the eighth day of June, he did have something to do and had to cross the river.
When that day came, Yan Bie thought about it and finally didn't go.
On that day, a Jianghu man got on the big boat, and his enemy happened to be on the boat. The two of them used knives on the spot. The Jianghu man first killed the enemy, and then wanted to kill the people on the same boat. Jump into the river to escape.
In his previous life, Yan Bie was on that boat. Others did not dare to jump into the river to escape, but the murderer almost killed him when he saw him. Thanks to Xiao Zhen, he arrived in time and saved his life.
In this life, Yan Bie did not get on the boat. The next day, he learned that a murder had occurred on the boat. People on the boat jumped into the river one after another. The current was fast. Two people jumped into the river and their whereabouts were unknown. No one was found alive and no body was found dead.
Yan Bie was shocked. He didn't know how to swim. If he had been on the boat at that time, he would never have dared to jump into the river. Then wouldn't he have become a ghost under the knife?
Therefore, Yanbie followed what Xiao Zhen said in his letter and picked out a few human skin masks that he thought were well made and asked Jiang Ping to hand them over to Xiao Zhen.
In addition, he also wrote a letter to Xiao Zhen.
Yan Bie felt that Xiao Zhen must be an expert in pinching and calculating, so he asked Xiao Zhen to help find someone, who was his niece. At the same time, he also told Xiao Zhen that his niece grew up in the Yan family and had Yan. According to family history, it was only now that she was old enough to get married that she returned to her home. Unexpectedly, something happened at home and her niece's whereabouts were unknown.
In his previous life, although Xiao Zhen knew Yan Bie, his relationship was not deep and he did not know that Yan Bie had a niece whose whereabouts were unknown.
Please...you...Collect_6Ⅰ9ⅠBookⅠ(Six\\\Nine\\\Book\\\!)
Or, in the previous life, nothing happened to the niece?
Many things have changed in this life, so Xiao Zhen is not sure whether Yanbie had a niece in the previous life, and whether anything happened to the niece.
However, what Xiao Zhen can now determine is that Yanbie entrusted this matter to a stranger like him who had never met before. He must have reached the point where he was at his wits' end, and then he sought medical treatment.
However, when the words "Auspicious Inn" jumped into his eyes, Xiao Zhen was still startled.
He remembered this inn.
On their way to Beijing, Princess Jiayi and her party suddenly had a whim and stayed at an inn. That night, Xiao Zhen had no place to stay and could only sleep on the carriage.
That inn is called Jixiang Inn.
Yan Bie said in the letter that his brother-in-law was the owner of Jixiang Inn. Not long ago, his brother-in-law and his family suddenly hanged themselves in the inn. The dead were his sister, brother-in-law and their eldest daughter. The whereabouts of their younger daughter Xiu Xiu is unknown.
After an investigation, the government concluded that the brother-in-law had huge gambling debts and was desperate, so he committed suicide with his wife and children, and the case was solved.
The brother-in-law did have a bad habit of gambling. Yan Bie did not doubt the cause of his death, but he was worried about Xiu Xiu. He secretly searched for Xiu Xiu, but there is still no news.
Yan Bie also drew a small portrait of Xiuxiu with the letter. The painting was very casual. Xiao Zhen was sure that if he looked for people based on this portrait, he could find ten similar ones in one day.
Xiao Zhen wrote down this incident and told Jiang Ping and others to spread the news and find the daughter of an inn owner.
He picked a human skin mask and put it on his face. Looking at himself in the mirror, Xiao Zhen secretly marveled that as long as he was willing to spend a lot of money, he could buy human skin masks on the market, but those human skin masks couldn't match his appearance at all. Compared to this one on his face, it was so different.
This one is almost as fake as the real thing. He can make any expression, and the mask fits snugly, as if it is on his face.
Now, he is not Xiao Zhen, but Mr. Zhen.
In the past, Mr. Zhen was just a title. Now, he can walk in front of people without worrying about being recognized.
"Dazhuang, let's go to Qishixuan to try our luck."
Stone gambling has only become popular in the aristocratic circles of the capital in the past two years. If you want to gamble on stones, go to Qishixuan.
The apparent owner of Qishixuan is a southerner named Chen, but in fact, the real owner of Qishixuan is Prince Chu.
This secret was only revealed a few years later. Before that, everyone thought that the real owner of Qishixuan was the Second Prince, because the boss named Chen was very close to the Second Prince, and the people under the Second Prince , and also attracted many stupid and wealthy guests to Qishixuan, so everyone thought that Qishixuan belonged to the second prince.
The entrance fee to Qishixuan is three thousand taels of silver, and these three thousand taels can be exchanged for a brand.
As long as you have this brand, you are a distinguished guest of Qishixuan.
Not only can you go in and out of Qishi Xuan and participate in stone gambling, but every time Qishi Xuan gets a new stone, you will get the news in time and you will not miss any opportunity to gamble.
Now, Mr. Zhen is here to give away these three thousand taels of silver.
Passing Qishixuan, Mr. Zhen walked in front of others for the first time.
His family owned more than a dozen large ships and made a fortune in the shipping business. However, this business was too risky. As the most favored son in the family, his parents were reluctant to let him do this kind of business, so he came to In the capital, you can enjoy the wealth and life of the capital, while also making friends and accumulating contacts. Of course, if you have money, everyone can make money together.
Within ten days, Mr. Zhen's inside and outside, as well as his eighteen generations of ancestors, were all thoroughly investigated.
Bullshit businessmen, the Zhen family started out as pirates, and later switched to the upright business. The so-called upright business is also half bandit and half businessman. To put it bluntly, it means that officials and gangsters collude to make money together, and the Zhen family also uses this to clear their name.
Now the Zhen family has indeed transformed into a wealthy businessman on the sea.
On the surface, the Zhen family is already a legitimate businessman, but in fact, when the pirates see the old man of the Zhen family, they all kneel down and kowtow respectfully.
So, do you still need to ask what the identity of the Zhen family is?
Mr. Zhen has Wu Duo, so he is known as Zhen Wu Duo.
More money, more ships, more brothers, more women, more sons.
It is said that there are so many of these five things that even Mr. Zhen himself cannot count them.
Mr. Zhen believes that having more sons is a blessing. As long as the woman he sleeps with has a son, it doesn't matter whether the son is his. As long as the son is held in front of him, he will recognize them all, give them a sign, and use their surname from now on. Zhen, you can come to him for money every year based on this brand.
There are also brothers who have followed him. If they die, he will regard all the sons left by the brothers as his own sons, treat them the same as his own sons, issue cards, and receive money.
When Mr. Zhen turned out to be his fortieth birthday, there were more than fifty sons who wished him a birthday, including biological sons and godsons. When Mr. Zhen turned out to be his fiftieth birthday, the number of his sons had increased to more than one hundred, including seven or eight. I don’t know if the one who is still in swaddling clothes is Mr. Zhen’s biological child.
The year before last, Mr. Zhen had his 70th birthday, and a hundred and fifty people came back to celebrate his son’s birthday. Those who couldn’t come back in time, there were five or six beautiful women like flowers, with big bellies and a lot of stuff in their bellies. He is Mr. Zhen’s unborn son.
No matter whether he is Mr. Zhen’s son or not, as long as his surname is Zhen and he has the Zhen family brand in his hand, even if he is asked about Mr. Zhen, Mr. Zhen will say that this is his son.
Therefore, there is no problem with Master Zhen’s identity.
In the eldest princess's house, Prince Consort Xiao, who was having an affair with the eldest princess, never dreamed that his eldest son would find a new father for him. (End of chapter)