The emperor would rather have a

Chapter 96 Which daughter does the King of Wei want to marry?

The fourteenth of the first lunar month.

Li Yi and his party arrived at Daming Prefecture.

Just like the last time they came, they did not go directly to pay a visit to the King of Wei, but first stayed in the inn in Weizhou City.

But it was a little different from last time. This time, it was not Ma Renyu who followed Li Yi, but Li Hanchao.

In addition, Li Yi also brought more than 20 personal soldiers and a carriage loaded with goods.

"Brother, why did you bring over a dozen jars of wine?"

Li Hanchao had been holding this question in his mind all the way, and when he arrived at the inn, he finally couldn't help but ask it.

Li Yi smiled and said, "Of course it's a gift for King Wei."

"Send wine?" Li Hanchao looked puzzled.

"I've been invited to meet the King of Wei this time. I can't come empty-handed, right?"

Li Yi explained, "Giving money is too vulgar, and giving precious treasures and antiques is something we can't afford."

"Besides, with the King of Wei's exalted status, people rushing to give gifts can easily pass through his door. What kind of treasure has he not seen? With your eldest brother's wealth, I can't buy such rare treasures even if I empty my family's nest egg."

As he spoke, Li Yi reached out and patted the wine jar on the carriage. "What's in here isn't just ordinary wine, but distilled alcohol, something you can't buy with money."

"I think I can also give King Wei a surprise..."

There are many different opinions about the origin of the technology of distilled liquor in ancient China, including the Han Dynasty, Tang Dynasty, Song Dynasty, Yuan Dynasty, and even the Shang Dynasty.

This debate is an academic issue and no one can explain it clearly until a conclusion is reached.

But based on what Li Yi knew, there seemed to be no wine with too high an alcohol content during the Five Dynasties period.

The alcoholic beverages of this era were roughly divided into sake, turbid wine and shochu.

Turbid wine is wine that is taken out directly after fermentation and brewing, and is mostly the choice of ordinary people.

Sake is made through sedimentation and filtration, so it tastes and looks better, but the price is naturally higher.

As for shochu, it is made by burning clear wine or turbid wine using special utensils. It can also be called "cooked wine". The purpose is to make the taste of the wine smoother.

However, no matter what kind of wine it is, the alcohol content will not be too high, and it is impossible to completely remove impurities. Even the sake that has been precipitated and filtered will still be dark and slightly turbid.

The distilled liquors that Li Yi brought were different. The lowest ones had an alcohol content of 30 to 40 degrees, while the highest ones had an alcohol content of 70 to 80 degrees. They could be drunk and used.

Moreover, the wine is clear and transparent, and its appearance is far superior to other wines of the same era. As for the taste... that depends on personal taste, but it is definitely strong enough.

Li Hanchao suddenly realized, "Big Brother is really thoughtful. The King of Wei really doesn't value ordinary goods, but if you can produce something the King of Wei has never seen before, it will definitely be very rare."

Li Yi smiled and said nothing more.

Since they came to Daming Prefecture at the invitation of King Wei, Li Yi and his party naturally did not need to hide anything and directly entered the post station in an official capacity.

However, these twenty or so big men headed by Li Yi were all very strong and powerful, and they did not look like ordinary people. It was unrealistic to expect them not to attract attention.

After the minor officials of the post station learned of Li Yi's identity, more than a dozen people came and took Li Yi to an independent small courtyard.

The courtyard is located in the core area of ​​the post station. There are many post guards patrolling around it, and ordinary business travelers are not allowed to approach. It should be an area specially used to entertain official personnel.

"This is the best place to stay in our Weizhou Inn. We have a dedicated person to clean it every day..."

The person who spoke was the postmaster of Weizhou Posthouse. He said his surname was Wang and he looked quite old. He nodded and bowed in front of Li Yi with an extremely respectful attitude.

Li Yi nodded slightly and said in a gentle tone, "Thank you for your help, Wang Yicheng."

Postmaster Wang hurriedly said, "I dare not, I dare not... This is my duty."

As they were talking, the group walked into the yard. Li Yi took a quick look and saw that the yard was not large, with only seven or eight rooms in total, but it was decorated very luxuriously, with all the necessary utensils available.

Wang Yicheng asked in a flattering tone, "Would you like me to arrange for two young ladies to serve Li Duyuhou?"

"No need." Li Yi waved his hand and refused. "When you're away from home, keep things simple. I can't stay here for more than two days. Don't bother."

"If Li Du Yuhou has any instructions, just inform the postman at the door."

Seeing that Li Yi was not in the mood to chat, Wang Yicheng immediately apologized and quickly left with a group of people from the post station.

When he left, he specially arranged two postmen to guard the gate of the yard.

I think it was left for Li Yi and the others to do errands.

"Han Chao, go assign rooms to everyone."

After that, Li Yi added, "By the way, bring some food for everyone. I forgot to tell Wang Yicheng just now."

"Also, have someone prepare some hot water. I need to take a shower and change my clothes."

After receiving the instructions, Li Hanchao immediately turned around and did it.

Li Yi then walked into the main bedroom in the middle of the courtyard and casually dropped the package he was carrying onto the table. He'd rushed all the way here, sweating profusely and his clothes were covered in dust. He naturally needed a good shower and a change of clean clothes.

Not a moment later.

The guards prepared hot water for bathing. Li Yi washed himself briefly and took out a new set of clothes from his package and put them on.

A lacquered gauze futou, a white satin undercoat, a thick purple round-necked robe, and a pair of deerskin boots.

This suit is not an official uniform, but it is also something that only high-ranking officials can afford. It was specially customized for Li Yi by Guo at a famous tailor shop in Tokyo City.

Originally, Li Yi also brought a set of brocade robes and jade belts. The emperor rewarded him with one set in Luzhou, and then rewarded him with another set after he reorganized the imperial guards.

But after thinking about it, he felt that it was too ostentatious... He was not here to show off to the King of Wei, and it felt inappropriate to wear clothes that symbolized honor awarded by the emperor.

Fortunately, he brought this new set of clothes. Although it was not as gorgeous as the brocade robe and jade belt, it still made him look noble when he wore it.

After changing into new clothes, Li Yi stood in front of the bronze mirror and adjusted himself carefully. The fine bronze mirror had been carefully polished, and its imaging effect was not much worse than that of the glass mirrors of later generations.

Looking at his handsome and heroic self in the bronze mirror, Li Yi grinned with satisfaction.

No matter what era, good looks are always a plus, and the first impression between people often starts with appearance.

If anyone could really fall in love at first sight with someone like Feng Jie, Li Yi could only admire that the other person was a ruthless person... There is a saying that goes, it starts with appearance and ends with the inner qualities.

How can there be an end without a beginning?
If you want to understand a person's inner self, you must at least have a good impression first before you can have the possibility of going deeper, and appearance is of course the most intuitive.

Li Yi believed that with his looks, any young lady would want to get to know him better.

Thinking of this, Li Yi couldn't help but recall the scene when he met the two ladies of the Fu family last time. He thought that the two sisters of the Fu family should have a good first impression of him.

Next, as long as I can deal with Wei Wang Fu Yanqing, the marriage will be almost done...

Just then, Li Hanchao walked in with food.

As soon as he entered the room, he said, "That Wang Yicheng is quite a man. I just told the postman to prepare food, and in the blink of an eye, someone brought wine and meat. It only took a quarter of an hour to go back and forth."

Li Yi chuckled and said, "He's a person who welcomes and sends off guests in this inn. He does have some ability to read people's expressions. Seeing how exhausted we are, he naturally knows what to do even if we don't speak up."

"I think he arranged for someone to prepare it as soon as he left here. Otherwise, how could it be delivered so quickly after you gave the instructions?"

Li Hanchao put the food on the table, and Li Yi invited him to sit down and eat together.

During the meal, Li Yi was in a good mood and couldn't help but joke, "Fourth brother, if the King of Wei is willing to marry a daughter to me this time, which daughter do you think he would marry?"

Li Hanchao immediately put down his chopsticks and said thoughtfully, "I think it is most likely the second lady of the Fu family."

"Oh? Why do you say that, fourth brother?" Li Yi picked up a piece of meat and put it in his mouth, chewing it slowly, and asked with interest.

Li Hanchao explained, "Look, big brother, the King of Wei suddenly invited you here. This must not be a spur-of-the-moment idea. Otherwise, it doesn't make sense. It can't be that he invited you here to reminisce about the past, right?"

"In my opinion, this is most likely what the Queen intended..."

Li Yi nodded and said, "Speaking of reminiscing about the past, the King of Wei and I have only dealt with each other twice. Once was when we were defending Xinzhou against the Liao army, and the other time was during my last visit."

"The King of Wei certainly wouldn't be so idle as to invite me here specifically for this purpose. It would be more reasonable to say it was the Queen's intention."

"That's right, I think so too," Li Hanchao agreed. "But the King of Wei didn't mention getting married. He just invited you to come over under the pretext of attending the Lantern Festival."

"I don't know whether I should say something or not..."

Li Yi smiled and said, "We are all brothers, what can't we talk about?"

Upon hearing this, Li Hanchao said, "If the King of Wei only wanted to marry the Sixth Lady Fu, there's no need to go through so much trouble. To be frank, the Sixth Lady of the Fu family is only a concubine's daughter. It's more than enough for my brother to marry her. It's just a matter of a word from the King of Wei."

"But if the Prince of Wei wants to marry Madam Fu Er... in terms of status, Madam Fu Er is the current Empress's biological sister. Whoever marries her will become a true brother-in-law to the Emperor."

At this point, Li Hanchao glanced back at the door, leaned over to Li Yi and whispered, "Why is Prince Consort Zhang so highly valued by the Emperor? It's because he's the Emperor's brother-in-law... If he married the Empress's biological sister, his status would be no less than Prince Consort Zhang's."

Having said that, Li Hanchao stopped talking, but the meaning of his words was self-evident.

Since ancient times, there has been a distinction between legitimate and illegitimate children. Although both are daughters of King Wei, the identities of Fu Er Niang and Fu Liu Mei are worlds apart.

Just as Li Hanchao said, if the King of Wei was planning to marry Fu Liumei, there would be no need to go through so much trouble. As long as the Queen issued an edict, Li Yi would just have to wait to get married.

However, the reason why Li Yi had to come in person meant that this matter was not just about the Fu family, but must also involve the emperor and the empress.

There is only one possibility that can attract the attention of the Emperor and the Empress, that is, the Prince of Wei wants to marry his legitimate daughter, Fu Erniang.

"But why not just say it clearly... Could there be some unexpected consequences?"

Li Yi couldn't figure this out.

At this moment, Li Hanchao suddenly whispered a reminder, "My guess is that perhaps it's because Big Brother is now in a high position and is trusted by His Majesty. If this fails, it will hurt Big Brother's reputation, so he is so secretive."

"No chance of that happening." Li Yi tapped the table with his knuckles and said in a deep voice, "I can't make this trip in vain. I must make it a reality to marry the King of Wei's daughter!"

Having said this, he immediately stood up and ordered, "Let's not eat this meal yet. Let's clean up and go to see the King of Wei later."

(End of this chapter)