Dressed as a concubine instead of a concubine

With the departure of Prince Ning'an, the entire capital seemed to have returned to peace.

The Imperial Concubine fell out of favor, and the Emperor no longer loved Prince Liang as much as before. Instead, he showed more favor to the Fourth Prince, who was under the Empress' lap.

He made the Grand Tutor Xie Ruixuan's teacher and personally brought him by his side to teach him about court affairs, with the intention of training him to become the crown prince.

Unfortunately, he is still young and the court officials do not take him seriously. Instead, they hope that Prince Qi can come back.

Given the current situation, if he came back, he would definitely be able to take control of the situation.

But no one knew his current whereabouts, including his personal guard Ziye, who was looking outside the city in confusion.

He didn't understand why his master had abandoned him.

This time, Xie Junyi really left alone.

Nan Rongguo

Meng Xiyue thought that the difficulties she faced would only happen when she arrived in the capital.

Unexpectedly, as soon as they entered the territory of Nanrong State, they were surrounded by the general guarding the city.

"Your Highness, you can certainly pass through, but this enchantress from Yuanqing Country must stay."

A witch? Meng Xiyue was ashamed. Her reputation had reached this point.

However, exchanging five cities for a woman, in the eyes of outsiders, it must have seemed that this woman had used some means to deceive people, so it didn't seem unfair for her to be called a witch.

"Cousin, stop messing around."

Nan Rongzhi frowned and looked at Han Wei with dissatisfaction.

The Han family is the queen’s maternal family, and Han Wei is Nan Rongzhi’s cousin.

The Han family has been stationed in Rongcheng all year round. They do not have much military power. In addition, they are not a secular family, so their life in the court is very difficult.

If it weren't for the protection of the emperor and empress, I'm afraid that I would have been eaten up without leaving even a trace.

Nan Rongzhi also led troops to fight for several years in his early years, together with Han Wei, so the two of them had a very good relationship.

"I am not fooling around. It is Your Highness who is confused."

Han Wei has always been very submissive to Nan Rongzhi, but this time his attitude was very firm.

"This witch cannot go back to Beijing with you. She must stay."

"Cousin, I exchanged five cities for her. Do you want me to lose the cities and the person in the end?"

There were some things she couldn't explain to Han Wei clearly, so she could only analyze them from the perspective of interests.

After losing five cities, they would be criticized by many parties after returning to the capital. If they even lost their people, they would not even have anyone to attract fire.

She could not explain to either the emperor or the court officials.

How could Han Wei bear to let her face a more difficult situation.

"I really don't understand why you would do this. Do you know that there are voices impeaching you in the capital now? The eldest prince is determined to use this incident to bring you down?"

Han Wei lowered his voice and told her the current situation in the capital.

Nan Rongzhi was already having a difficult time in the court, and this time he might even lose the support of the people.

"Cousin, do you believe in my choice?"

Nan Rongzhi did not give too much explanation. No one would believe her if she said too much now, but time would prove everything.

Han Wei looked at her determined expression, his body stiffened slightly, and his ears unconsciously turned red.

"Of course I believe you."

"That's fine. Now it's just five cities. The value that Yue'er will bring to me in the future will be a hundred times higher than this."

Han Wei really wanted to say, how could a woman have such ability, but after thinking about it, he just said.

"Just figure it out for yourself."

"It's just that the impeachment in the capital this time is very fierce. You have to think of a countermeasure."

"Don't worry, cousin. I know what to do."

Most of the literati in the court were the eldest prince's men, so they would naturally not miss the opportunity to impeach her.

However, once Meng Xiyue's identity is announced, those literati will not dare to say anything anymore.

The Nanrong Kingdom values ​​culture over military affairs, and the status of scholars has always been high. It was only in the past few years when there were not many wars that the status of military men was slightly improved.

This is also the reason why in everyone's mind, the Queen's status is not as high as Concubine Jing's.

Seeing that she was confident, Han Wei said nothing more and could only send her away reluctantly.

"He knows your identity as a woman?"

Meng Xiyue asked doubtfully.

Nan Rongzhi nodded and explained, "He knew about it before I came here. My original body fought with him, so it was inevitable that there would be omissions. Once I was injured and he found out."

"No wonder." Meng Xiyue suddenly realized, and then said with a gossipy look on her face.

"He likes you."

"I know, but I just think of him as my brother."

Nan Rongzhi generously admitted that Han Wei had confessed to her in private, but she rejected him.

Putting aside their identities, in her heart, they were cousins, which is considered close relative marriage in modern times. Although cousins ​​could get married in ancient times, she couldn't accept it in her heart.

Besides, she had no other feelings for Han Wei except that of a brother, so she refused.

However, Han Wei also said that he just wanted to express his feelings and never thought that the two of them would have any other outcome. After all, the identity of Nan Rongzhi could not be made public.

The two of them only get along as brothers.

They are all straightforward, without so many twists and turns, and once they say it out loud, nothing will happen.

"I can't imagine what it would be like if you met someone you liked."

Meng Xiyue sighed and said that Nan Rongzhi has been single in modern times. She has devoted all her energy to solving cases and has no interest in men at all.

It seems to be still the same now. If she really meets someone she likes, she will probably dare to love and hate. If she likes him, they will be together. If she doesn’t like him, they will break up.

She has always been such a free and easy person, not like me, who is hurt all over because of a relationship.

"Relationships are too troublesome. I'd better focus on my career."

Nan Rongzhi never wanted to give her heart to a man. She wanted to become the empress, and her heart was filled with the people of the world.

"Okay, from now on we will focus on our careers, let you become the queen, and develop Nanrong Country better."

This is also Meng Xiyue’s future goal.

After more than ten days from the border, they arrived at the capital of Nanrong Kingdom.

Compared with the dazzling array of goods in Yuanqing Kingdom, this place seems a bit desolate, and most of the items sold on the street are books, paintings, and some food.

As for the clothes and jewelry for my daughter's home, there are indeed not many.

Moreover, in the capital, at the feet of the emperor, there are many beggars. One can imagine what the situation is like in other cities.

"Nanrong Kingdom is by the sea, the land is barren, and it is not as prosperous as Yuanqing Kingdom."

In modern times, coastal cities are very developed and the tourism industry has driven the economy, but in ancient times, there was not much tourism.

Food cannot be grown in the sea, which has led to the fact that Nanrong Kingdom has always been short of food.

The number of beggars increases year by year.

"Nanrong has only been at peace for a few years, so it is naturally not as rich in resources as Yuanqing. There is a lot of work to be done, and it is in urgent need of development."

However, if a country wants to develop, it will not be achieved overnight.