Yuwen Lan was struck with astonishment.
He couldn't help but glance at Yanshu, feeling extremely puzzled in his heart - how did she even know about the affairs of the Duke of Cheng'en's Mansion?
He himself wasn't even that clear about it...
Just then, he heard the Duke of Cheng'en ask, "I've heard that the Empress Dowager's health is poor. How is she now?"
Yuwen Lan snapped back to attention and replied, "Mother is resting in the palace. She's better than she was a couple days ago. Uncle, there's no need to worry too much."
With that, he invited the two to be seated.
Noble Consort Zhou straightened her back a little.
Next, other people entered the scene, such as the Three Excellencies and Six Ministries, all of whom were important court officials.
Seeing these protagonists of the drama appear in the flesh, Yanshu's eyes could hardly keep up -
[So the supposedly gay Assistant Minister of War is actually a rugged man with a full beard? And he's the bottom?]
Yuwen Lan, who was silently listening, went "???"
What did "bottom" mean?
He couldn't quite understand.
Before he could recover, he heard her exclaim internally again, [That white-haired old man who looks so upright is actually Wei Ruzhang, the Grand Secretary of Wenhua Court? Tsk tsk, you really can't judge a book by its cover! Isn't this what they call a wolf in sheep's clothing?]
Yuwen Lan: "..."
To be honest, ever since he read that book "The Charming Scholar and the Beautiful Lady" last night, he increasingly felt that Wei Ruzhang had a treacherous look.
However, the people he sent to investigate hadn't returned yet, so he couldn't do anything to him for now.
Next to enter was Linwu Marquis Sun Xiaoguang, followed by his heir Sun Zhanpeng.
— After quite a commotion in recent days, the Linwu Marquis had finally divorced his wife, but his heir remained in the household as his flesh and blood.
Yanshu, hiding to the side, tsked, [Poor man, haven't you noticed that your son doesn't look like you? You have a square face, he has a round face, you have a high nose bridge, he has a flat nose!]
Yuwen Lan: "..."
He couldn't help but silently compare the father and son, and suddenly felt that this son indeed didn't look much like the Linwu Marquis...
Could it be that he really wasn't his?
What should be done about this? Should he warn him?
But he had no evidence...
...
After that, he learned many small secrets about various people such as the Minister of Works, the Southwest Communications Commissioner, the Marquis of Guangyang, and many others.
For instance, the Minister of Works had a strange eating habit - he liked to eat writing paper while writing. Once he claimed to be sick and didn't come to court, but in fact, he had a stomach ache from eating too much paper.
The Southwest Communications Commissioner actually loved visiting brothels. Whenever he left the capital, he would seek out courtesans every night...
As for the Marquis of Guangyang, despite his outwardly rough appearance, he was actually very prone to crying and often secretly wept in his study...
After a round of greetings, the emperor's worldview was severely shaken - what kind of people did he have around him?
Were there any normal ones at all???
As the formalities were completed and everyone took their seats, the ice games were about to begin.
The first event was the ice dash.
At one end of the vast ice surface stood a banner. With the sound of a gong, more than twenty soldiers wearing specially made iron-toothed ice skates began to skate forward on the ice with all their might. They moved like shooting stars and flashing lightning, racing towards the banner, with the first to arrive being the winner.
There was also a tight drumbeat accompanying the race, making people's heartstrings tense with excitement.
Everyone watched with rapt attention, and Yanshu didn't dare to blink.
She realized that this ice dash was actually like speed skating in modern times, and just as thrilling!
There were five preliminary rounds for the ice dash. After all rounds were completed, the top three from each round were selected for the finals. This way, only the best of the best participated in the finals, naturally making it even more exciting.
It got everyone's blood pumping.
Next was the dragon turn and ball shooting.
In the center of the ice, a banner gate was suspended high, with a ball placed above and below it. Six groups of soldiers wore different colored clothes, with one person at the front of each team holding a flag of the same color as their clothes, while those behind carried bows and arrows.
At the sound of a command, the six teams began to skate in a serpentine pattern on the ice, starting from the lake shore and heading towards the banner gate.
Viewed from the viewing platform, it looked like six colorful dragons winding their way, which was quite a sight.
As they approached the banner gate, the archers began to draw their bows towards the balls on the gate, and then returned by the same route, not only demonstrating accurate archery but also maintaining their formation throughout, creating a very pleasing visual effect.
After this, there were other events such as handstands on ice, pole climbing, and ice combat, all of which were spectacular and dazzling to watch.
Of course, for Yanshu, the most wonderful part was the food on the table.
Besides various pastries and fried sweets, there was even freshly roasted pork and mutton.
It's worth noting that such hearty fare was rarely seen in the palace!
Tsk, the crispy skin of the roast pork was extremely crunchy, while the meat inside was perfectly marbled and well-seasoned. The combination of textures was truly satisfying!
The roast mutton was even better! The juicy lamb meat was still bubbling with oil, permeated with the aroma of charcoal fire down to the last fiber. It was so delicious it made one want to dance!
Savoring these rare delicacies while watching the exciting competitions outside - it was worth braving the cold!
Yuwen Lan, who had been quietly observing her, "..."
While everyone in the viewing pavilion had their own thoughts, her mind was full of gossip and food.
Ever since the dishes were served, her mouth hadn't stopped moving.
How could she eat so much without getting fat?
Though... a little plumpness might not be bad, ahem.
Seeing her eat with such relish, he couldn't help but take a few bites himself.
After the ice combat ended, it was time for today's main event - ice ball snatching.
This was the largest and most intense event of the day.
With a drumroll, two teams of soldiers entered the field, wearing red and yellow clothes respectively.
The Imperial Guard Commander, holding a leather ball, came to the viewing pavilion and bowed to the emperor, saying, "Your Majesty, please start the game."
This was the ball that the two teams would be fighting for.
A dragon was painted in vermilion on the golden leather ball, requiring the emperor to personally dot its eyes to show its importance.
This had been the custom of the dynasty for generations. Yuwen Lan had already done this twice before. He once again picked up the brush to dot the eyes and handed it to the Imperial Guard Commander.
The Commander took the ball and went down, and the ball-snatching battle began.
The red and yellow teams fought fiercely for the ball, creating a spectacular scene. The audience in the pavilion watched the match intently.
Influenced by Yanshu, Yuwen Lan idly started eating roast meat again during his free time.
The rich flavor of the roast meat made him unable to resist having a few more sips of wine.
As he reached out to pick up his cup, he exposed his left hand, revealing faint dark red marks on the side, seemingly traces of an injury.
Beside him, Consort Ning immediately glanced at the Princess.
Princess Yuwen Yan spoke up, "Has Your Majesty injured your hand?"
Yuwen Lan showed no unusual expression and simply said, "It's nothing."
However, the Princess continued, "Your Majesty must not conceal anything from us. Your body is worth ten thousand in gold, any injury is no small matter."
She then turned to Fu Hai and scolded, "How are you doing your job? Quickly tell us, who exactly harmed His Majesty?"
This startled Fu Hai, who hastily said, "Your Highness, please calm down. His Majesty accidentally injured himself while practicing swordsmanship a couple of days ago."
Yuwen Yan snorted again, "Don't try to fool me! His Majesty has practiced martial arts since childhood, when has he ever injured himself? Moreover, His Majesty clearly got injured in the middle of the night, how could it be from sword practice? Who exactly was it, you slave, why are you covering for someone?"
Fu Hai dared not speak anymore.
Yuwen Lan's brows furrowed.
Very well, even the fact that he was injured in the middle of the night was known?
Just then, another official spoke up, "His Majesty's body is of utmost importance. If he was indeed harmed by someone, that person must be severely punished!"
As soon as these words were spoken, several others chimed in, "Someone actually dared to harm His Majesty? Who was it? We implore Your Majesty to bring them to justice!"
...
To the side, Yanshu inwardly exclaimed, "Oh my, I guessed right."
These people were trying to make a big deal out of the emperor's injury, probably thinking he got hurt while favoring her, so they wanted to force him to punish her?
Unfortunately, that wasn't the case at all.
Yuwen Lan's ears suddenly became filled with noise.
He could hear Consort Ning thinking nearby, [With so many people speaking up, surely His Majesty won't protect that harlot anymore! Hmph, we must get rid of her this time.]
Noble Consort Zhou was thinking smugly, [Consort Ning is quite clever, knowing to have the Princess speak up. Only that foolish woman would do such a thing. It's a good thing I listened to Consort An's advice, I'll just watch the show today.]
Consort An was thinking, [With so many people speaking up together today, His Majesty will surely have to give an explanation.]
...
He had known that some people were restless and wanted to use his injury to cause trouble. Sure enough, they all came out today.
He said, "I should thank my elder sister for her concern, but my injury has nothing to do with anyone else. It really was self-inflicted."
Then, he turned to look at the Minister of Communication and Chief Censor who were kneeling on the ground, saying, "I have already spoken to you about this matter. Are you joining in the commotion today because you're deaf or because your memory is poor?"
The officials quickly replied, "We wouldn't dare, Your Majesty."
Yuwen Yan hurriedly chimed in, "Your Majesty, they are all senior officials who only want the best for you. Please don't shield the main culprit!"
As she spoke, she glanced at Yanshu from the corner of her eye, thinking to herself, [Li Yanshu? Isn't she the one who's always eating? What's so great about a country bumpkin that you'd reject Consort Ning whom I chose for you? How shortsighted! The power in the harem must not fall into others' hands!]
Yuwen Lan sneered, "Is my elder sister trying to force me to admit to something that didn't happen?"
Yuwen Yan said, "I wouldn't dare, Your Majesty."
Yuwen Lan scoffed, "You wouldn't dare? Then how did you know about my injury? Who told you?"
Yuwen Yan replied, "I saw it with my own eyes. Didn't Your Majesty just show your hand?"
Yuwen Lan gave a cold laugh, "The hand I showed just now was my left hand, but my injury is on my right hand."
Princess Yuwen Yan was stunned and glanced at Consort Ning.
Damn it, this girl hadn't told her which hand the Emperor had injured!
Consort Ning was also taken aback, wondering how she could have gotten it wrong. Wasn't the color on the side of his hand from a scar?
Yuwen Lan spoke coldly, "The color on my left hand is paint from the leather ball earlier."
What? It was just discoloration from the ball!
Princess Yuwen Yan and Consort Ning exchanged glances, both feeling somewhat flustered.
Yuwen Lan asked Princess Yuwen Yan in a stern voice, "I want to know who planned this farce today and even invited my royal sister to participate?"
The Princess hesitated, then quickly said, "I wouldn't dare, Your Majesty. No one planned anything. I was simply too worried when I heard Your Majesty was injured."
Yuwen Lan said "Oh," then asked, "Then who told you I was injured in the middle of the night? Why is it that even the slightest movement in the palace is known so clearly outside?"
These words carried significant weight, and Yuwen Yan's face changed. She hurriedly said again, "Your Majesty's words are too severe. I truly wouldn't dare."
As she finished speaking, Fu Hai suddenly addressed Yuwen Lan, "Your Majesty, this foolish servant only discovered yesterday that there was a sneaky little thief in Qianming Palace, secretly reporting Your Majesty's movements to others."
