Yuwen Lan was truly surprised that Yanshu even knew where Wei Ruzhang was hiding someone. After all, the Imperial Guard hadn't even reported to him yet...
Just as he was shocked, he heard Fu Hai at the door say, "Your Majesty, the Minister of the Court of State Ceremonial requests an audience."
Immediately after, Yanshu said, "Then I won't disturb Your Majesty any longer. I'll take my leave."
As she spoke, she glanced at the stewing pot on the table and smiled awkwardly, saying, "I'll make another pot for you to drink in the evening."
Tsk, looking at the blackish color, it's better not to poison the emperor.
Yuwen Lan: "..."
Although he was still puzzled, he couldn't think of how to ask her at the moment.
He could only nod slightly, watching her leave with the pot of soup.
Shortly after, the Minister of the Court of State Ceremonial came in to report, "Your Majesty, the King of Liaodong has arrived in the capital and is expected to enter the city tomorrow. The welcoming banquet is set for tomorrow evening. What does Your Majesty think?"
Yuwen Lan had other things on his mind at the moment and only casually replied, "Very well."
The Minister of the Court of State Ceremonial then took his leave.
The room fell quiet. Yuwen Lan thought for a moment, then summoned the Imperial Guard and asked, "Have you found out where Wei Ruzhang is holding the person?"
The Imperial Guard replied, "We just received news that it should be at the retired farmstead of Wei Manor at the foot of Great Green Mountain in the outskirts of the capital."
Yuwen Lan paused.
She had guessed correctly again.
If the previous incidents were old stories from years ago, there was a possibility she had heard them from somewhere else. But this one had just happened.
Could it be... that she had some extraordinary ability?
As he was pondering, he heard the Imperial Guard ask beside him, "Your Majesty, should we go rescue the person now?"
Yuwen Lan snapped back to reality and said, "Make preparations first. We'll act when Wei Ruzhang appears."
After all, to catch a thief, you must catch them red-handed. There must be solid evidence to convince everyone.
The Imperial Guard acknowledged the order.
In the afternoon, a carriage drove into the retired farmstead at the foot of Great Green Mountain on the outskirts of the capital.
Wei Ruzhang, Grand Secretary of the Wenhua Court, wore a cloak covering half his face. Led by a servant, he entered a dark shed inside the estate.
At this time, a person was kneeling on the ground in the room with his hands tied behind his back and eyes covered with a black cloth. It was none other than the missing bookseller.
Hearing movement, he immediately said in panic, "I have no grudge against you, sir. Why have you captured me? If you want money, I can have my family send it. Or if you want the bookstore, I can offer it to you. I only beg you not to harm my life. I have elderly parents and young children at home. Please have mercy!"
As soon as he finished speaking, he heard someone say fiercely, "So much nonsense! Do you think our master lacks your little bit of money?"
The bookseller was startled and said with a sob, "Then what do you want?"
He heard a voice say, "This old man only wants to know who that 'Carefree Gentleman' who writes novels really is."
The bookseller cried, "I don't know either!"
"You don't know?" The other person sneered, "Wasn't that novel published by your bookstore?"
The bookseller said helplessly, "It was indeed published by my bookstore, but I've never met that 'Carefree Gentleman.' Both novels were brought by an official from the Hanlin Academy. He said he was publishing them for someone else. As for that 'Carefree Gentleman,' none of us have ever seen him..."
Hanlin Academy?
Wei Ruzhang narrowed his eyes.
Although he had also come from the Hanlin Academy years ago, not only did no one know about his past affairs back then, but now the Hanlin Academy was full of young people who couldn't possibly know about things from fifty or sixty years ago.
He lowered his voice and said, "It seems you're still not telling the truth. Then let's start the torture."
The servant acknowledged and immediately brought a set of torture instruments to put on the bookseller's hands.
In an instant, screams echoed through the shed.
A cold smile appeared on Wei Ruzhang's deeply wrinkled face.
— First there were novels, who knows if someone would come out next to testify about his past frequenting brothels?
He had been a Grand Secretary for so many years; he absolutely couldn't let a novel writer ruin his reputation!
No matter who it was, he definitely wouldn't let them off.
But just then, the door was suddenly kicked open.
Someone said coldly, "What is Grand Secretary Wei doing? Kidnapping a civilian and using torture to extract a confession?"
Wei Ruzhang was stunned. He saw that more than ten burly men had suddenly appeared at the door, all wearing uniforms with fish embroidery and carrying swords at their waists.
This... this is the Imperial Guard?
He suddenly panicked — they were the emperor's men!
Early the next morning, news spread throughout the court that Wei Ruzhang, Grand Secretary of the Wenhua Court, had kidnapped a civilian and used torture to extract a confession.
The entire court was shocked.
Who could have imagined that the usually gentle and elegant Grand Secretary would do such a thing?
Only Yanshu calmly continued writing her novel.
— Good, that bookseller had safely returned home, and she could continue selling her novels.
But before she could write more than a few words, she saw Yuwen Lan arrive.
Yanshu hurriedly paid her respects, but found it strange in her heart — at this hour, this workaholic should be in the study managing state affairs, how did he have time to come see her?
Yuwen Lan heard her thoughts and took the initiative to answer her doubts, "I came to tell you that the bookseller has been found and has safely returned home."
Yanshu hurriedly put on a delighted expression, "Really? That's wonderful! Your Majesty is indeed wise and mighty, finding the person in just one day."
Yuwen Lan: "..."
Very well acted.
He looked at her and deliberately said, "He was captured by the Grand Secretary of the Wenhua Court."
Yanshu also pretended to be surprised, "Heavens! Why would the Grand Secretary do such a thing?"
Yuwen Lan: "..."
Her heart didn't even skip a beat and her face didn't change color?
He continued looking at her and said, "Didn't you say yesterday that someone took it personally?"
Seeing her ponder for a moment, she suddenly opened her mouth wide and said, "Could it be that the Grand Secretary did those despicable things I wrote about in my novel when he was young?"
"People really can't be judged by appearances! What a coincidence!"
In her heart, she thought, [Tsk tsk, now you know what kind of person your Grand Secretary is! This old bastard is full of evil schemes. He deserves to lose face in his old age and be despised by everyone!]
Yuwen Lan silently listened, then nodded and said, "It is indeed quite a coincidence. I almost thought you knew about his affairs."
Yanshu was stunned for a moment, then quickly smiled and said, "Your Majesty is joking. I grew up in Ande and then entered the palace. I've never met this Grand Secretary, how could I know about his affairs? But it is indeed a great coincidence."
In her heart, she thought, [It seems I'll have to be more careful in the future, or I might scare the emperor!]
Yuwen Lan: "..."
He couldn't get anything out of her at all?
He sighed, half-truthfully and half-falsely, "I also found it strange. I thought you had some magical ability."
Yanshu quickly laughed and said, "Your Majesty overestimates me."
Ahem, she didn't have any special abilities, she just had a belly full of gossip.
But the gossip wasn't wasted. It accidentally caused the bad guy to finally face retribution.
It seems these novels have quite a social function.
Yuwen Lan: "???"
What's with "eating melons" again?
What exactly is this "melon"?
Could it be... that she knows magic? Is this "melon" some kind of magical treasure?
But he had come here so many times and never discovered anything special in this palace.
At this moment, Yanshu, completely unaware of his thoughts, was pondering in her mind —
[What should I write about in the next novel? How about writing about Duke Cheng'en's womanizing ways, finding his fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth mistresses?]
Yuwen Lan's brow twitched.
No matter what, that was the Empress Dowager's brother. If anything happened, it would definitely affect the Empress Dowager's face.
Then he heard her think, [No, no, Duke Cheng'en is the emperor's uncle in name. Besides, there's still the Empress Dowager in the palace. If the Empress Dowager found out I exposed her brother's scandals, wouldn't she have me killed? Forget it, forget it.]
Yuwen Lan secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Fortunately, she still knew the gravity of the situation.
Then he heard her think, [How about writing about the Minister of Rites' incest scandal?]
Yuwen Lan nodded slightly to himself. This could work.
After all, he also wanted to know what exactly this was about, ahem.
However, at this moment, Fu Hai came to report from outside the hall, "Your Majesty, the King of Liaodong has entered the palace."
He paused for a moment, then had to say to Yanshu, "I'll return to Qianming Palace first. You can continue writing."
With that, he stood up.
Yanshu acknowledged and hurriedly stood up to see him off.
Watching his figure disappear into the distance, she couldn't help but wonder, who is this King of Liaodong?
He sounds quite important, the emperor left as soon as he arrived.
The system immediately provided her with answers to her questions: [Yuwen Hao, the King of Liaodong, is the emperor's cousin. Years ago, the emperor's grandfather, Emperor Zhenglong, had five sons. He later passed the throne to the emperor's father, Emperor Qinglong, while the other four princes were enfeoffed as vassal kings.]
[Later, when these vassal kings died and their sons inherited their titles, Emperor Qinglong took the opportunity to demote them to commandery princes. Although they were greatly dissatisfied, they could only endure it silently.]
[After Emperor Qinglong passed away, several of them seized the opportunity to cause trouble, all hoping to compete for the throne. Of course, they were all eventually defeated by the emperor, who then either confined them or ordered their deaths.]
[Yuwen Hao, the King of Liaodong, was the only one who didn't rebel at the time, so the emperor holds him in high regard.]
Yanshu understood and nodded, [I see.]
The system said, [Hey, there's some juicy gossip about the King of Liaodong.]
Yanshu eagerly replied, [Tell me, tell me quickly.]
...
On the day the King of Liaodong arrived in the capital, he first paid his respects to the emperor. The next morning, his wife, the Princess of Liaodong, brought their children to the palace to pay respects to the Empress Dowager.
As a matter of etiquette, Yanshu and the other consorts were all present at the Palace of Benevolent Peace to accompany them.
The Princess of Liaodong, Madam Xiao, appeared to be about twenty-five or twenty-six years old, with a plump face. Her three sons, the eldest about eight or nine, the second about six or seven, looked sturdy and were well-mannered.
Only the four-year-old youngest son seemed small and thin, and very shy. When paying respects to the Empress Dowager, he was timid, and after staying in the hall for just a short while, he began to cry, making a fuss about wanting to go home.
The Princess of Liaodong, looking embarrassed, apologized to the Empress Dowager, "This child is probably unfamiliar with the capital. Please forgive him, Your Highness."
She then sternly reprimanded the boy, "Jing, have you forgotten what your mother told you?"
— In fact, everyone in the palace had heard that this third son was not born to the Princess of Liaodong, but to one of the King of Liaodong's concubines.
So it was not surprising that this child was different from his older brothers.
It was also understandable that the Princess of Liaodong didn't like him.
However, this tactic was indeed effective. Seeing her reaction, the little one immediately held back his tears and dared not make a sound.
But his eyes were still brimming with tears, looking pitiful.
None of the consorts had experience with children and didn't know what to do. The Empress Dowager, however, smiled and beckoned to the little one, her voice very gentle, "Come to your royal grandmother."
Royal grandmother?
The crowd secretly exchanged glances, each wondering to themselves — Has the Empress Dowager gone mad with longing for grandchildren? This isn't the emperor's child, how can he call her royal grandmother?
The Princess of Liaodong, also looking anxious, quickly said, "Jing doesn't dare."
But the Empress Dowager smiled and said, "His grandfather and the late emperor were brothers. If the late emperor were here, wouldn't he call him royal grandfather? So what's wrong with calling me royal grandmother?"
The Princess of Liaodong breathed a sigh of relief and finally dared to smile, "The Empress Dowager makes a good point."
She then pushed Jing towards the Empress Dowager, "Royal grandmother is calling you, hurry up and go."
The little one timidly came before the Empress Dowager, who took his small hand and looked at it, then used her handkerchief to wipe the tear stains from his face. She called for Zhu Shu to bring out some winter melon candy and honey dates, saying, "Are you hungry? Grandmother has some snacks here, have a little something to eat first."
Seeing the treats, the little one finally broke into a smile through his tears.
The Empress Dowager then said to the Princess of Liaodong, "The weather is cold, and you've come such a long way. It's normal for the little one to feel uncomfortable. Stay for a while longer this time, and return when he's more accustomed to the warmth here."
The Princess of Liaodong quickly agreed.
The Empress Dowager then asked Zhu Shu to bring out a cloth tiger and a small leather ball for the little one to play with.
The child finally settled down.
The others watched all this, feeling somewhat stunned.
The Empress Dowager even had toys for small children?
It seems she truly does love little ones.
If they could bear an heir, not only would they win the Empress Dowager's favor, but the child would surely have a bright future.
But...
Several of them, led by Consort Zhou, glared at Yanshu.
With this woman currently holding the emperor's exclusive favor, how could they have a chance?
At this moment, Yanshu was leisurely drinking tea and eating snacks.
Sensing everyone's gaze, she inwardly clicked her tongue.
What are you all looking at?
Even without me, you still couldn't bear children.
