Chapter 270 Guess
When Li Yunchu heard the news, his mind went blank.
Minglan tried to comfort him a few times, but it was of no use.
After a while, Imperial Physician Ma came over and after taking Li Yunchu's pulse, he confirmed that it was a pregnancy pulse.
After giving some instructions, he left.
It was no small matter that a concubine was pregnant. Regardless of whether Xia Ge would report it to Zhao Xing or not, he had to report it.
When Zhao Xing heard the news, he was stunned for a long time.
He had only favored Li Yunchu once, and she was pregnant?
Is it true that the chances of pregnancy are higher with force?
Isn't that what they see on TV? Most people who are raped get pregnant.
Although Zhao Xing had no feelings for Li Yunchu, he still cared about her very much because she was pregnant with his child after all.
I wanted to go over and take a look, but when I thought about what I had done to Li Yunchu before, I was worried that going there would only irritate Li Yunchu.
After hesitating for a while, I had to give up the idea.
After thinking about it, Zhao Xing sent someone to guard outside Xia Pavilion, and when Minglan came out, he would notify Minglan to come over.
After waiting anxiously for nearly half an hour, Minglan finally came over.
Without waiting for Minglan to salute, Zhao Xing asked, "How is Concubine Li?"
"Your Highness, Concubine Li has been in a daze since she found out she was pregnant. I tried to comfort her for a while, but it was of little use." Minglan said.
Zhao Xing was silent for a while after hearing this, and then said, "You should spend more time with her in the future."
"I understand." Minglan nodded and said, "I have something to tell Your Highness."
Zhao Xing dismissed the waiters in the hall and waved his hand, saying, "Come over and talk."
Minglan came forward upon hearing this, and Zhao Xing pulled her to sit beside him and said, "Tell me, what's the matter?"
"Your Highness, Concubine Li said..." Minglan told Zhao Xing what she had heard from Li Yunchu.
"She even told you all this?" Zhao Xing looked at Minglan in surprise.
Li Yunchu actually told Minglan about the fact that the former Queen Mother of Western Xia had kept a lover.
Although this matter is not a secret, it is a palace scandal after all.
Although that was not Li Yunchu's biological mother, it was shocking that Li Yunchu could tell Minglan this.
"Concubine Li seems to trust me very much. She is willing to tell me many things when I am around. Concubine Li not only talked about the former Queen Mother of Western Xia, but also about the current Queen of Western Xia." Minglan said.
"Oh?" Zhao Xing became interested and said, "Tell me about it."
The former Queen Mother of Western Xia is dead, and whether or not she kept a lover is just gossip.
However, Zhao Xing was very interested in the affairs of the Queen of Western Xia.
Don't get me wrong, Zhao Xing was not thinking about the Queen of Western Xia. After all, he had never even seen her.
As far as he knew, the original queen of Western Xia was the daughter of the uncle of the Western Xia emperor, and therefore his cousin.
But the current queen is his uncle's daughter-in-law, and the cousin-in-law of the Western Xia emperor.
It seems that because their affair was exposed, the Xixia emperor, in order to protect himself, took action against his uncle who controlled the government without sufficient preparation.
As a result, the process was unusually smooth. After getting rid of his uncle who controlled the government, the young emperor of Western Xia officially began to control the power of Western Xia.
But Zhao Xing felt that the matter was not that simple. First of all, as a powerful official who had controlled the government for many years, it would not be so easy to resolve.
Secondly, she was the cousin-in-law of the Xixia emperor after all. It was nothing to take her into the palace, and there seemed no need to make her the queen.
The most important thing is how did the two commit adultery?
You have to know that the Xixia emperor was just a puppet at that time. His uncle, who controlled the government, would definitely be on guard against him and would always arrange people to monitor him.
It is incredible no matter how you look at it that the two of them could commit adultery under such circumstances.
Unfortunately, there is no way to find out the inside story.
Zhao Xing had never thought that he could learn these things from Li Yunchu.
I just wanted to learn more about the situation in Western Xia from Li Yunchu.
I never thought that she would say this to Minglan.
Minglan told the news she heard from Li Yunchu.
Li Yunchu's account was not detailed, and it seemed that she mentioned this matter only because she disliked Queen Liang very much.
It was only said that Empress Liang had always entered the palace in the name of visiting her sister-in-law and seduced her brother.
Although the information is not much, it is very useful.
Why would Empress Liang, as the daughter-in-law of a powerful official at the time, want to seduce a puppet emperor?
Given the situation at the time, her father-in-law might force the young emperor to abdicate in the future.
Her husband is the eldest son, and if her father-in-law becomes the emperor, she will become the crown princess.
There seems no need to take such a risk.
You can't expect the little emperor of Western Xia to live a good life.
Then think about how the young Xixia emperor easily got rid of his uncle who controlled the government, and his sudden death afterwards.
Zhao Xing smelled a hint of conspiracy.
He remembered that the young emperor of Western Xia died of illness a few years after he came to power.
If the Liang family was involved in the young emperor's rise to power, then his subsequent death is somewhat intriguing.
After all, his son was not very old at that time. After his death, his son succeeded to the throne, and the government was controlled by Empress Liang, or in other words, by the Liang family.
And this was indeed the case. After Li Liangzuo died, Queen Liang became the empress dowager. The new emperor was only seven years old and naturally could not govern the country.
Empress Liang ruled the country from behind the scenes and appointed her younger brother as prime minister, and the Liang family completely controlled the power of Western Xia. So was there anything wrong with the death of the young emperor of Western Xia?
Zhao Xing felt that there must be something wrong, otherwise everything would be too coincidental.
However, the death of the young emperor of Western Xia and the rise to power of Queen Liang were good things for the Song Dynasty.
He remembered that after Queen Liang came to power, she eliminated dissidents on a large scale and even took the initiative to launch military operations against the Song Dynasty in order to enhance her prestige.
However, it is also true that they made a mess of the internal situation of Western Xia.
If we take over the Hehuang area before that, when Western Xia takes the initiative to raise troops in the future, the Song Dynasty will be the passive party.
At that time, it will be justifiable to send troops.
After Minglan finished speaking, she sat there quietly without saying a word.
Seeing Zhao Xing come back to his senses from his deep thoughts, Minglan asked, "Is this information useful to Your Highness?"
"Haha, it's more than useful, it's very useful." Zhao Xing happily hugged Minglan, kissed her on the face, and said, "You have done a great deed. Stay tonight, I will reward you well."
Historically, Li Liangzuo died of illness. Zhao Xing had always been worried that because of his butterfly effect, Li Liangzuo would not die of illness.
During Li Liangzuo's reign, the power of Western Xia flourished, and he was considered a capable and wise ruler.
If he had not died, the situation in Western Xia would have been stable, and with the Liao Kingdom as a constraint, it would have been almost impossible to destroy Western Xia.
Zhao Xing's worries were not without reason.
After all, there was no such thing as a marriage between Western Xia and the Song Dynasty in history.
A person's trajectory will be completely different if it is just a little bit different from the original trajectory.
But now Zhao Xing has analyzed that Li Liangzuo was most likely killed by Queen Liang, so there is no need to worry about these things.
"Your Highness." Minglan said angrily with a red face.
"Haha." Zhao Xing was in a good mood. He stretched out his hand to lift Minglan's chin and said with a smile, "You don't have to try to get Concubine Li's words from now on."
"Really?" Minglan no longer cared about being shy when she heard that, and looked at Zhao Xing with bright eyes.
The more Li Yunchu trusted her, the more guilty she felt.
It is difficult to describe the torment of conscience in words.
"Yeah." Zhao Xing nodded.
Li Yunchu was just a princess after all, and her personality was somewhat similar to Rulan's. She was not very concerned about the situation in the Western Xia court.
All the sets have been taken out, and the rest are probably of no use.
"Thank you, Your Highness!"
Minglan seemed to have unloaded a heavy burden. She excitedly threw her arms around Zhao Xing's neck and gave him a sweet kiss.
That night, Minglan was unusually proactive, as if she wanted to vent the depression in her heart, giving Zhao Xing a different experience.
…………
Years ago, Zhao Xing wanted to go to a hot spring resort outside the city to stay for a few days and soak in the hot springs, but he gave up the idea because Li Yunchu was pregnant.
The main thing is that it’s not fun to take a hot spring bath alone.
Zhang Guifen was going to receive the officials' families who came to visit.
Shulan was about to give birth, and Rulan passed by to talk to her.
Minglan not only had to go to Shulan's place, but also had to go and talk to Li Yunchu from time to time.
When she didn't have time to go, she asked Yu Yanran to go over.
After Li Yunchu became pregnant, although she did not make a big fuss, she showed a tendency to depression.
Zhao Xing had no choice but to give up his original plan. Wenquan would not run away anyway, so he could just wait and see after the New Year.
With three days left until the Chinese New Year, all government offices in Bianliang were closed for the day in preparation for the New Year.
Some people whose homes were in Bian Jing but who served as officials in other places also returned to Bian Jing to reunite with their families.
Among them was Zhu Jingyu, who had not returned for several years.
Since Zhu Jingyu went to Jiangnan to take up his post, he has not returned to Beijing to celebrate the New Year for several years.
He brought his wife and children back to Bian Jing, spent a day with his parents, and the next day he brought his wife to the Eastern Palace.
Fang was taken to the harem to meet Zhang Guifen, while he was led to the study by the eunuch.
"Your Highness the Crown Prince!" Zhu Jingyu bowed.
"There are no outsiders here, cousin, no need to be polite, just sit down!" Zhao Xing said with a smile.
Zhu Jingyu is now in his twenties. He has served as an official in the local area for several years and looks much more stable and mature.
"Thank you, Your Highness!" Zhu Jingyu expressed his gratitude and sat down.
"You too, cousin. You haven't come back to celebrate the New Year for several years in a row. My aunt has often complained about me in front of my mother." Zhao Xing said with a smile.
"It's not that I don't want to go back, but the journey is too long. It will take more than a month to go back and forth. I have also talked to my mother. Please forgive me for what happened before!" Zhu Jingyu bowed.
"We are all family, there is no need to forgive or not forgive." Zhao Xing shook his head slightly and asked, "Have you been doing well as an official these years?"
"Thanks to Your Highness, everything went smoothly." Zhu Jingyu said.
Zhao Xing exchanged a few pleasantries with him and then got down to business: "You have served in Jiangnan for many years. Tell me about the situation in Jiangnan."
"Yes!" Zhu Jingyu paused for a moment, stopped talking, and said, "I have always heard about the prosperity of Jiangnan, but I have never really seen it since I went there. Jiangnan has a well-developed water system, and rice can be harvested twice a year in many places. There are also many workshops, and even those who don't have land can support their families by working in workshops. This is something that the north cannot compare to."
(End of this chapter)