The emperor would rather have a

Chapter 66 Chai Rong is critically ill! ?
In the next two days, Li Yi never saw the sisters Fu Er and Fu Liu again.

It seemed that the encounter that afternoon was just a dream and did not really exist.

However, the banquet hosted by King Wei Fu Yanqing was held as scheduled.

Li Yi finally met the King of Wei in person.

"It's been over half a month since we last met in Luzhou. I'm so glad that Envoy Li still remembers an old fellow like me!"

Fu Yanqing personally walked out of the hall and stood on the steps to greet Li Yi.

Given his status, being able to do this really gives Li Yi face.

"Junior Li Yi pays his respects to the King of Wei." Li Yi hurried forward and bowed, "I wonder if the King of Wei is feeling better?"

He called himself a junior instead of using his military rank, in order to take the initiative to build a closer relationship with the other party.

"Envoy Li, excuse me, excuse me."

Fu Yanqing gently supported Li Yi and said with a smile, "Although Lian Po is old, he can still eat. I am in good health now."

"The King of Wei is a great general of five dynasties and a pillar of the Great Zhou. He must take good care of himself," Li Yi said in a rather corny compliment. "The younger generation of us in the Imperial Guards still need to learn more about battle formations from the King of Wei."

Older people like to hear nice words, and it doesn’t take much effort to get them across.

Even a reckless and annoying man like Shi Yanchao would flatter the emperor in the court.

Li Yi felt that there was nothing to be embarrassed about praising the King of Wei.

"Hahaha!" As expected, Fu Yanqing laughed heartily, "Although I don't want to admit my age, my body is indeed no longer as strong as it used to be."

Hearing this, Li Yi couldn't help but secretly look at Fu Yanqing a few times.

He didn't know if it was an illusion, but he felt that King Wei did look older than when he was in Xinzhou.

His eye bags were slightly droopy, his skin was visibly sagging, and the age spots on both sides of his cheeks were particularly eye-catching.

The King of Wei today is just an old man in his sixties.

No matter how handsome and heroic you are when you are young, once you age, your body functions will drop sharply.

At the same time, personal energy, courage and judgment will be severely frustrated.

Li Yi couldn't help but think of the time in Xinzhou when his side was clearly at a disadvantage in terms of military strength, but Fu Yanqing still insisted on dividing the troops into two routes.

At that time, Li Yi couldn't figure out the reason. He just thought that he had too little experience and couldn't understand the plan of the veteran on the battlefield.

But after the war he thought it over carefully in private.

Only then did I realize that Fu Yanqing's arrangement had no profound meaning at all.

It was simply because Fu Yanqing was too cautious, which led to him being at a loss as to what to do and making a stupid move.

Think about it this way.

The King of Wei... is indeed old!

"In the battle of Xinkou, it was thanks to Li Dushi that he fought with all his might."

Fu Yanqing grabbed Li Yi's wrist and sighed, "If we let the Liao army reach Jinyang, I will lose my integrity in my later years, endangering Your Majesty and even the country. Even death is not enough to atone for this crime."

Li Yi immediately said modestly, "Your Majesty, you are too kind. It is only thanks to your wise leadership that we have been able to achieve this modest success."

Fu Yanqing shook his head and chuckled, "You, you... but it's a good thing for young people to be humble."

"Alright, hurry up and follow me in. Everyone wants to see who the rumored Xiajin Li Yi is!"

"Oh, and Madu Yuhou, I forgot to greet him."

Ma Renyu, who was ignored by Fu Yanqing, did not dare to express any dissatisfaction and bowed respectfully.

……

In the main hall.

After Li Yi came in, he took a quick look and found that most of the people present were young men.

This is consistent with the rumor that the King of Wei wants to choose a son-in-law.

Ok?
Li Yi suddenly noticed that the third son of Wang Rao, the governor of Zhangde, was also present.

Moreover, his seat was quite close to the front, right next to the eldest son of King Wei, Fu Zhaoxin.

Wang Sanlang also noticed Li Yi.

Seeing King Wei Fu Yanqing holding Li Yi's arm affectionately.

Wang Sanlang's face was a little shocked.

"Come, come, let me introduce this to you. This is the man who killed the Han army's most powerful general in battle..."

Listening to Fu Yanqing introducing his many titles, Li Yi felt numb.

Wherever I go, people will mention the two battles of Gaoping and Xinkou.

It becomes meaningless if you listen to it too much.

I just hope that one day when someone mentions me again, it will be with a new title... Li Yi shook his head secretly.

Sooner or later he would remove the two place names Gaoping and Xinkou that were attributed to him.

After the introduction, Fu Yanqing pulled Li Yi to sit next to him, showing his closeness.

When everyone heard Li Yi's name, they all flattered him and acted very humble.

After all, apart from Wei Wang Fu Yanqing, there was no one else sitting there with a higher status than him.

But there is an exception, and that is Wang Sanlang. To be honest, he is just a commoner.

Although his father was a Jiedushi, he was nothing, not to mention that he was not the eldest son, and he could not even be the commander of the Yaneidu.

But Wang Sanlang still feels good about himself.

Perhaps it was the incident of giving way a few days ago that made him feel that Li Yi had offended him.

At the banquet, everyone was surrounding Fu Yanqing and Li Yi's duo performance.

Only Wang Sanlang was out of tune. He was quite respectful to King Wei, but blatantly ignored Li Yi.

Of course, Li Yi was too lazy to deal with this kind of stuff. He was thinking about something else in his mind.

……

The banquet lasted until dusk.

The crowd gradually dispersed, and when Wang Sanlang was about to leave, he seemed to want to say something but hesitated.

However, Fu Yanqing had no intention of paying any attention to him.

Wang Sanlang could only leave in shame.

"Li Dushi, you are still young and have plenty of time to learn."

Fu Yanqing patted Li Yi on the shoulder and encouraged him, "Don't rush to achieve success in the short term. The key is to consolidate the current foundation."

"Your Majesty will ultimately have to rely on you young generals of the Imperial Guard in the future."

Li Yi was stunned. He always felt that Fu Yanqing's last sentence seemed to have a deep meaning.

Before he could think about it, he heard Fu Yanqing say again: "I don't know if I drank too much, why do I suddenly feel dizzy..."

Hearing this, Li Yi knew that this was the King of Wei's subtle order to expel the guest.

Although he had many doubts in his mind, he still took Ma Renyu and left tactfully.

After politely declining Fu Zhaoxin's offer to let them stay in the guest room.

Li Yi and the other man rode their horses back to the posthouse outside Weizhou City.

"Brother Yi, didn't they say that the King of Wei was going to choose a son-in-law? Why didn't they mention this at the banquet?"

After returning to the inn, Ma Renyu couldn't help but ask about the doubts in his heart.

Li Yi shook his head: "I don't know either."

In fact, this was what he had been thinking about at the banquet.

But I still don't understand what King Wei Fu Yanqing is up to. And the two words Fu Yanqing said when he was leaving, patting me on the shoulder, seem to have a deeper meaning the more I think about them.

Li Yi had a vague idea, but couldn't figure it out clearly in a short time.

Ma Renyu took a sip of tea and suddenly said, "Brother Yi, why don't you call Li Hanchao over to discuss this?"

"You always said, 'Three heads are better than one,' wouldn't it be easier if the three of us worked together?"

"This..." Li Yi hesitated for a moment before saying, "Okay, go call Li Hanchao over."

In the two days since he took Li Hanchao under his command, the other party has behaved quite well, and his brain is indeed more flexible than Ma Renyu's.

Since Li Yi has already accepted him, there is naturally no need to be on guard against him everywhere.

As the saying goes, don't employ people you doubt, and don't doubt people you employ.

It's time to let Li Hanchao work harder, just to test his ability.

After a while, Ma Renyu brought Li Hanchao to Li Yi.

Li Hanchao has been obediently staying in the inn these two days and not running around.

"Han Chao, what do you think the King of Wei is planning?"

He briefly described the situation at the banquet and mentioned in passing that he was not married yet and was interested in the daughter of King Wei.

"Well..."

Li Hanchao frowned, stood up and paced for a long time, then suddenly stopped and slapped his thigh.

"Don't worry, Li Dushi, the marriage should be a great success!"

"Oh? Why?"

Li Yi was quite curious when he heard this. He actually had some guesses in his mind, but he was not too sure. Now it was a good opportunity to hear Li Hanchao's thoughts.

Li Hanchao immediately said, "In my humble opinion, the King of Wei probably did have the idea of ​​choosing a son-in-law..."

At this point, he lowered his voice and said, "I'm going to say something extremely treasonous. The King of Wei has been raising his second daughter in his palace for all these years. I'm afraid he has other plans."

Li Hanchao glanced at Li Yi, and seeing him nod slightly, he continued, "But this time, the emperor personally led the army and won a great victory, and the throne is already secure."

"The eldest daughter of the King of Wei became the Queen, and I was also granted a noble title. This is the ultimate honor."

"Your Majesty is a wise and virtuous ruler. Our dynasty will surely grow stronger. Why does the King of Wei continue to raise his second daughter? Could it be that the King of Wei, at such an advanced age, still wants to..."

Li Hanchao suddenly stopped talking, but any smart person would understand what he said next.

Li Yi couldn't help but look at Li Hanchao a few more times.

Unexpectedly, his guesses coincided with mine.

In particular, there is speculation that King Wei had ulterior motives in raising his second daughter in his mansion for many years.

Li Yi only came to his senses after he was free from the time traveler's prophetic perspective.

"Go on." Li Yi gestured for the other party to continue.

"When the King of Wei returned from his expedition with the Emperor, he may have come to understand this, and that's why he wanted to marry his daughter off."

Li Hanchao said, "But the King of Wei didn't mention the matter of choosing a son-in-law at the banquet today. So there is only one possibility... The King of Wei has chosen Envoy Li!"

Ma Renyu couldn't help but interrupt, "The King of Wei has chosen Brother Yi, why doesn't he just say it directly? Why is he beating around the bush?"

Li Hanchao shook his head and said, "The King of Wei probably didn't expect Envoy Li to come visit this time..."

As he spoke, he reminded Li Yi, "The two sentences that the King of Wei said to you before Li Dushi left must have profound meaning."

Li Yi asked, "Han Chao means... that the King of Wei thinks my status is not high enough?"

"No, that should be the second reason. The King of Wei probably thinks your foundation is too shallow."

Li Hanchao pondered, "The King of Wei's family has been kings for three generations, with more than a dozen brothers and nephews serving as generals, and now the eldest daughter is the queen."

"The status of the son-in-law is actually not that important. What the King of Wei needs is someone who can provide stable support to the Fu family."

"Although Envoy Li Du holds a high position, he has no family background. Let me be frank. If Envoy Li Du were to encounter an accident on the battlefield one day, what would become of the King of Wei's daughter?"

"Of course, this is actually easy to solve. As long as Li Dushi can be promoted to a position where his family background can be ignored, it will be fine."

Li Yi was stunned when he heard this, thinking: Ignoring family background to such an extent...is that enough for the Palace Guard? Or...the Chief Inspector?

At this time, Li Hanchao whispered again: "Don't blame me for my nonsense. If Li Dushi is promoted to Jiedushi within two years and marries the King of Wei's daughter, then I think it will be a sure thing."

"After all, Madam Fu Er has been raised in the mansion for many years, so raising her for another two years won't be a big deal. Besides, there's also Madam Fu Liu, who hasn't even reached marriage age yet... Envoy Li, the King of Wei is giving you a chance!"

"This opportunity is really fucked!"

Li Yi smiled bitterly.

To be promoted to Jiedushi within two years? This is not as easy as it sounds!

He is not even twenty years old this year. If he can be promoted to the title of Jiedushi within two years.

Isn't that the rhythm of taking off?
Will it matter whether he marries the daughter of Fu Yanqing, the Prince of Wei, at that time?
Thinking of this, the figures of the two ladies of the Fu family suddenly appeared in Li Yi's mind.

It's quite interesting to think that Fu Erniang looks a bit pretentious with her veil hat on.
As for Fu Liuniang, she is a pure and silly little girl, cute and adorable.

Human desires are indeed very strange. It would have been fine if he hadn't seen them, but after meeting the two ladies of the Fu family, Li Yi was inexplicably reluctant to give them up.

Li Yi shook his head and temporarily put aside his complicated thoughts.

Then, he patted Li Hanchao on the shoulder and praised him, "It is worthwhile to have such a talent like you, Hanchao, in this trip to Weizhou."

Li Hanchao said repeatedly, "You are so kind, Envoy Li. I am honored to be able to follow Envoy Li!"

Li Yi smiled but said nothing.

His compliments were not just out of courtesy. Li Hanchao was indeed a talent. At least he had his own insights when considering things.

Perhaps he will become a capable general in the future.

Li Yi said, "If it's as Han Chao said, since this matter can't be rushed for the time being, then we will set off and return to Kaifeng tomorrow."

……

The next morning.

Li Yi and his three companions left Daming Prefecture and rode back towards Tokyo.

On the way, the three of them met up with the personal soldiers who were escorting Li Yi's uncle's family and Ma Renyu's parents, wife and children.

Then everyone continued on their journey together.

however.

Just when the group was only a few dozen miles away from Tokyo City.

Someone from the imperial guards rode a horse at full speed to deliver a message to Li Yi.

"Your Majesty has not attended court for seven days."

These eight short words made Li Yi stunned.

It has been exactly nine days since he left Tokyo.

In other words, Chai Rong didn't show up again on the third day after he left Tokyo?
It wouldn't be a big deal if the emperor didn't show up, but he hadn't shown up for such a long time, and it was right after he left for war, when there were many things to do inside and outside the court...

Li Yi looked solemnly at the person who delivered the letter, his personal guard captain Zhang Jiangong.

He inquired, "Has there been any news from the palace?"

Zhang Jiangong shook his head and said, "Only the prime ministers are allowed to enter the palace to see His Majesty. Even Envoy Zhang and Envoy Li are not allowed to see the emperor."

Damn! Is it that serious?
A terrible thought popped up in Li Yi's mind:

Could it be... Chai Rong is critically ill?!

　I rushed to type another chapter on the train, which adds up to almost 8,000 words. I really tried my best. Typing on a mobile phone is so annoying. It takes me half a day to type only one word.

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(End of this chapter)