?

  Yuwen Yong was a very self-disciplined and tolerant person, he didn't have many desires, especially when it came to women. For him, if the relationship with Yuwen Hu wasn't handled properly, who knows when Yuwen Hu would take his life just like he did to his two brothers. So for now, beautiful women were far less important than his own life.

  After hearing Zhang Qi's words, he smiled and turned away.

  In the following days, the two remained peaceful. Yuwen Yong stayed in the wooden house day and night, and every time he wanted to take a look at some confidential memorials secretly sent by his trusted followers, he would call Zhang Qi over. He let her sit on one side, either playing the piano or singing and dancing, while he himself focused intently on reading official documents under her cover, secretly commenting on the successes and failures of historical figures. Occasionally, when excited, he would also say a few words to Zhang Qi, who always listened quietly.

  In these leisurely days, February has arrived in the blink of an eye.

  In the second month of spring, the world is as beautiful as brocade.

  Looking at Zhang Qi quietly embroidering beside him, Yuwen Yong suddenly smiled and said: "Li Ji has won my heart, but do you want a reward?"

  "What's the reward?"

  Zhang Qi turned around and looked back.

  She looked at Yuwen Yong's smiling eyes and understood that it was her recent behavior that made him feel very comfortable, so he said this.

  At this moment, Zhang Gui tilted his head and began to think deeply.

  She thought for a moment and then said softly: "Your Majesty, will you grant me anything I want?"

  Yuwen Yong burst out laughing and said: "Speak up, what is it that you want?"

  Zhang Qi blinked and said leisurely: "Me? I'm going to be arrogant because of favoritism!"

  Yuwen Yong was taken aback at first, but then burst out laughing again. As he laughed, he clapped his hands and said, "Alright, I'll let you get away with your arrogance!"

  Yuwen Hu has many shortcomings. He is unaccommodating, delegates power to the wrong people for a long time, and lacks military strategy. However, he also has one advantage, which is that his temperament is gentle and lenient.

  In other words, he is actually not a petty person. Nor is he a hot-tempered and suspicious person by nature. He just likes to grasp power too much.

  Many times, Yuwen Yong was cautious in front of him, but it was only to prevent those petty people from blowing wind in his face and saying that he was not willing to let the great power fall. And did something else.

  Such a person can tolerate an ignorant and arrogant woman who is spoiled by favoritism.

  Moreover, with an incompetent and arrogant little emperor by his side, isn't it more fitting for a normal *emperor to have a beautiful woman who is proud of her favor? As long as she controls the degree well, not to mention herself, even Yuwen Hu will be unable to ask for more. And Yuwen Hu's being practical also means that his own life has been guaranteed.

  After all, Yuwen Hu also wanted to erase the bad reputation written in history books that he "killed three dragons in three years", and let people know that he was kind and tolerant, making people think that he was respectful and forbearing towards this little emperor.

  Yuwen Yong nodded his head in approval and looked at Zhang Qi, thinking to himself: Has she also figured out these connections and is repaying me with this?

  What a clever and considerate woman!

  Yuwen Yong's joy was also Yuwen Gui's joy. She gazed at the sunrise and rainbow on the horizon, thinking quietly to herself: This way, I can do many things more easily. At the very least, I can live a life like an ordinary person, just like many noblewomen, with dignity and integrity!

  Just as Zhang Gui was indulging in his thoughts, he heard Yuwen Yong say: "Let's go."

  Zhang Qi looked up in surprise.

  Yuwen Yong smiled and said: "You're not thinking of relying on your favor to be arrogant, are you? Living with me in this small wooden house, what kind of favor is that? Let's go, we'll go to the imperial palace."

  "Alright."

  The imperial palace of Zhou Dynasty, continuing from Western Wei, was more magnificent than that of Northern Qi, but less luxurious.

  Seeing the Emperor arrive with a beauty, the officials walking on the white jade steps all paused for a moment. They bowed their heads in unison and said: "We have seen Your Majesty."

  "It's all right, it's all right."

  Yuwen Yong waved his hand casually.

  Looking at Zhang Gui walking behind Yuwen Yong, with luxurious clothes and beauty that cannot be matched by any object, the officials only took a quick glance, who dared to look straight?

  At this moment, a minister secretly glanced over and saw that when passing by a step, the young emperor stretched out his hand to gently support the beauty! The beauty then lifted her head and gave the young emperor a loving smile. The two people who were leaning against each other, in an instant, made the minister stunned.

  After Your Majesty's figure left, the official walked towards a eunuch on one side and asked in a low voice: "Who is this princess?"

  The eunuch, under the gaze of the four senior ministers, hesitantly said: "I also don't know, I only know that not long ago she suddenly appeared in Your Majesty's wooden house and has been inseparable from Your Majesty ever since."

  The ministers were also satisfied with this answer, and they left while discussing in a low voice.

  As they were speaking, a minister suddenly said: "This lady seems somewhat familiar."

  In silence, another minister nodded and said: "Indeed familiar."

  As soon as these two men spoke up, the other ministers felt even more at ease.

  That afternoon, all the information about Zhang Yi was presented to the civil and military officials of the Zhou court. Facing this new beauty who had just been favored by the emperor, the officials began to ponder how to show their closeness to her.

  Now, Your Majesty has not yet reached the age of wearing a crown and has not established an empress. In the harem, all the women are equal to being in name only. This concubine who originally belonged to the King of Lanling of Qi suddenly appeared out of nowhere, which is not good news for those ministers who intended to marry their daughters into the palace. However, it's not that bad either.

  After all, Your Majesty is still just a nominal ruler controlled by the Grand Chancellor. Marrying his own daughter into the palace would be an unsettling move, and she might even become a thorn in the eye of the Grand Chancellor.

  Then, all the ministers received news that on the first day His Majesty returned to the palace, he issued an imperial decree, first granting the newly acquired beauty Li as Xianfei, and then rewarded her with 30 or 40 pieces of gold, jade and silk.

  They got the news that after Your Majesty obtained this beauty, they were inseparable from dawn till dusk, and even the books they used to love reading were put aside. What's more, once a palace attendant vaguely heard Li Fei ask to be made empress, but instead of refuting her, Your Majesty gently coaxed her.

  Upon learning of this news, the various ministers had their wives enter the palace to offer precious gifts to try to curry favor with her. Li Ji accepted them all without refusal. Even the officials who were close to Yuwen Huaji also seemed to have received tacit permission. Through their wives' offering of precious jewels and treasures, they tried to curry favor with Emperor Gaozong's newly favored concubine, Consort Li.

  The new favorite concubine of His Majesty, Concubine Li, not only loves wealth but also has a fondness for medicinal herbs and frequently summons the imperial physician to inquire about related matters. After making some discreet inquiries, people found out that they were all kinds of beauty and skin care herbs, and then they just laughed it off.

  Zhang Qi was indeed looking for medicinal herbs, but what she was seeking wasn't beauty-enhancing or skin-whitening herbs, but rather shape-shifting medicine. What disappointed her was that under her probing and questioning, many of the imperial physicians only said that in this world, there is no such thing as shape-shifting medicine. Some of those things were just herbs that changed one's skin color, and most of them had severe side effects.

  Zhang Yi was disappointed, and could only get some of the skin-darkening powder that the woman from the Xiao Mo faction had used to disguise her when they were in Bei Shuo Zhou. It's unclear whether Xiao Mo was being cautious or if the woman only had a limited amount of the powder on hand. The stolen powder was used twice before running out, and it couldn't be bought again until arriving at Chang'an City.

  In fact, the powder is also quite undesirable. Because it can't get wet, even if a few drops of rain fall on it, the makeup will smudge immediately and become unusable.

  Divider line

  As they gazed at the towering city walls gradually appearing in their field of vision, the group reined in their galloping horses.

  One of the guards looked ahead and saw the prince dazed, rode forward and asked: "Your Highness, do you want to wait for everyone to gather before entering the city together?"

  He wore a suit of black clothes, and the handsome and unparalleled five senses were even more striking due to his haggardness. The King of Lanling shook his head and said in a low voice: "Change all the uniforms, remove the signs and enter the city immediately."

  "Yes."

  After a brief pause, the team set off again, with twenty or thirty people mixed in the surging crowd, entering Chang'an.

  The king of his own county has been worried for a long time, and the guards did not speak, but quietly followed behind him.

  After walking for a while, Langling Wang pressed down on his bamboo hat and said, "Let's go find an inn to rest."

  "Yes."

  The wine house was soon found, and under the leadership of the guard, King Lanling stepped onto the loft.

  A group of travelers had been on a long and arduous journey, now feeling both tired and hungry. Under the urging of their guards, in no time at all, three tables of wine and dishes were set out before them.

  Looking at the sumptuous food in front of him, Langling Wang picked up his chopsticks and began to eat with a taste similar to chewing wax.

  After eating half full, he waved his hand to summon the waiter, threw out a small ingot of gold, and asked: "What's new in Chang'an City? Tell me about it."

  Unexpectedly getting such a piece of gold, the little servant was so happy that his voice trembled. "Good! Sir, you don't say, there are many fresh things happening lately. The first thing is that the second daughter of the Da Yuan Chai family has been granted the title of princess."

  The little servant paused, seeing the King of Lanling with an eager expression, and continued: "That's right, there's another great joyous event. Our emperor has just obtained a new Li Niangniang. The favor she receives is simply like holding it in his mouth for fear of melting, and placing it in his hands for fear of dropping it. You don't know, our emperor has always been not fond of women. But to tell the truth, that Li Niangniang is truly beautiful, oh, too beautiful."

  At this point, a guard next to him asked coldly, "Have you seen it?"

  The little servant was taken aback and smiled somewhat awkwardly: "I also heard it from someone else."

  "Alright." Langling Wang interrupted him and asked directly: "Have you ever heard of Su Wei?"

  "What's Su Wei?" The little servant thought for a moment and shook his head: "Never heard of it."

  One of the guards added on one side: "I heard that it was decided by the daughter of Daizong Chai's family."

  The little servant thought for a moment, furrowed his brow and shook his head, "Really haven't heard of it."

  "Alright, go down."

  After getting rid of the little servant, the guard whispered to Langling Wang: "Your Highness, is it possible that he didn't come to Chang'an?"

  "It's impossible." Another guard chimed in, "According to the news we've gathered along the way, it seems he has indeed arrived at Chang'an." Suddenly, this guard spoke again, "Su Wei is a member of a noble family. For people like him, asking a small servant is useless. Your Highness, do you want me to go?"

  The King of Lanling nodded and gave a low command: "Tonight, go to the residence of Yuwen Hu and capture one person to interrogate."

  "Yes."

  The King of Lanling had lost his appetite, he put down his chopsticks, walked down with his hands behind his back, leaned against the railing, and gazed at the bustling traffic below, motionless for a long, long time.

  ##

  Starting from tomorrow, the Southern Dynasty will have two more updates. Please reward Lin Jia Cheng with your fan votes for his hard work. Also, it's already the end of the month, and there are only a few days left. If you don't use up your fan votes now, they'll go to waste.