Female martial arts fanatics only love to fight, while men fight for their lives.

58

"I only wish Your Majesty good health and a long life. I dare not ask for any reward."

Under so many ambiguous gazes, it only took Lou Xiao a moment to come back to her senses.

She didn't think she had done anything remarkable, and she wasn't shameless enough to ask for a reward without any merit.

The Queen was determined to confirm her status as a favorite minister. Even if she said "I dare not", she would not allow it.

"I remember you said you wanted a farm. By the way, Ling Yu, how is the renovation of Wanqiu Garden outside the capital going?"

The mention of the royal garden at this time made everyone present feel a little uneasy. Is His Majesty going to give it to the Duke of Zhenguo?

It was a royal garden that was started when the previous emperor was still alive. It was repaired sporadically for various reasons.

From the specifications of the main hall to the patterns and decorations of the various sceneries, everything was designed according to the royal standards. If it was given to a minister, it would be simply... disgraceful!

Fortunately, the queen was not confused. When Ling Yu's servant bowed and answered "it's not finished yet", she changed to another garden.

"Hechun Garden is built on the mountain, with hot springs at the foot of the mountain and flowers blooming on the mountain. It is the most peaceful place." There is also a large orchard nearby, which is just right for Lou Xiao's greedy mouth.

"Then I will grant you Hechun Garden for your use in resting, playing and summering."

Having said this, Lou Xiao could only kneel down to express his gratitude.

Although Hechun Garden was also built by the royal family, it has been passed down through several generations and is located in a remote area with few visitors. It would be no big deal to give it to Lou Xiao.

All parties are extremely satisfied with this.

Lou Xiao inexplicably got a garden, and the matter of the birthday gift finally came to an end, and she breathed a sigh of relief.

Later, she also saw Xiao Zhengdu, who had changed into festive clothes and presented a screen with a poem on it engraved with bat patterns to wish her a happy birthday.

Of course, the poem was not written by him, and the calligraphy that Lou Xiaocao saw was not written by him either - he couldn't write very well.

While the empress was watching the beauty sent by the envoy singing and dancing, Youshan King Xiao Zhengdu quietly approached her and spoke to her in a sarcastic tone.

"The handwriting of the Duke of Zhenguo looks so familiar. Who wrote it...?"

He crossed one hand over his chest, supported himself with the other hand and tapped his temple with his index finger, "Alas, I can't remember it for a moment."

Lou Xiao looked at him with a slanted look, "If you want to say something about Li Huaiqing, just say it directly. I can't stand you beating around the bush."

Her words made Xiao Zhengdu's expression freeze. He wanted to tease her but she didn't respond and he wasn't angry, so it was just a waste of time.

Then he put down his hands and looked at the foreign men and women dancing on the stage.

"Are you learning calligraphy from Li Huaiqing just to prove that your calligraphy is better than mine, or are you using me as an excuse to get close to Li Huaiqing?

This copybook has fallen into the eyes of all officials, and your relationship with Li Huaiqing cannot be explained. "

Lou Xiao didn’t understand. Didn’t she just go to Li’s house for a few days and had contact with Li Huaiqing for some time? How could it be “unclear”?

And from what he said, it seemed as if she was the one who took the initiative unilaterally.

She had always been a bad-mouthed person, and was used to being straightforward when she met her senior sister in private, so she commented on his calligraphy.

But it's hard to say, even if she didn't say that, would the Queen still let her write and recite or something...

Senior sister always has an inexplicable obsession with her education.

What Lou Xiao didn't know was that the reason why the empress could stand out from the many royal children of the previous emperor was that she had excellent understanding and academic performance under the former tutor.

She also paid great attention to the studies of her younger brothers and sisters, but none of them were smart and did well in their studies.

Lou Xiao was not very willing to learn, he just watched and swallowed it, and was satisfied with it.

Xiao Zhengdu gave him a headache even when learning poetry and reading literature. He practiced calligraphy anyway, but he didn't make any good progress.

As for Xiao Zhengze... forget it. The Queen couldn't bear to make any demands on him.

Lou Xiao practiced calligraphy very seriously this time. Originally, as a small landlord, it didn't matter how her handwriting was, but now that she was promoted to this position by her senior sister, if her handwriting was too bad, it would be a disgrace to her senior sister. She just wanted to do better.

"A man of integrity is not afraid of his own shadow being crooked. What is my relationship with him? It's enough for him to know, I know, and your Majesty knows.

If you want to gossip, go ahead. I can control other people's mouths even if I want to. Anyway, no one dares to say anything to me."

She was very open-minded and didn't think that just a few times of getting along would be a big deal. "Except for you, King Youshan, no one should be so idle."

Xiao Zhengdu really liked the atmosphere of bickering with her, so he moved closer to her and could smell the scent of her sachet.

"Li Huaiqing is a man of some charm. In just a few days, the Duke of Zhenguo has spoken out to defend him. This king really admires him."

"He is indeed charming," Lou Xiao moved one step further away from him, "If he didn't have some charm, how could King Youshan pay so much attention to him, thinking about him all the time, and talking about him all the time."

She glanced at him from head to toe, remembering how furious he was at that time, and said sarcastically,

"Your Highness, don't you feel that you are jealous? If you have any thoughts, just go find him yourself. Why come to me to talk?"

Here we go again,

Xiao Zhengdu narrowed his eyes and laughed angrily. He wanted to speak but felt that he could not mention Li Huaiqing again.

Looking at the agile postures of the foreign men and women and their primitive dances, I didn't know if it was because she was angry or what, but I felt a little agitated all over.

The relationship between him and Xiao Zhengze has always been strained since childhood. When he first found out that Xiao Zhengze liked a commoner girl, he even laughed at him.

Xiao Zhengze protected her like nothing, he just wanted to see why she was worthy of it.

The more Xiao Zhengze was on guard against him, the more he wanted to be closer to her.

As for whether he liked her or not, he was unwilling to admit it in his heart. He just... wanted to see how far Xiao Zhengze could go.

That guy has been unlucky since he was a child, as if he was born to protect the Queen from disasters. He always gets into trouble.

This time too, Lou Xiao had clearly blocked most of the needles and he was dodging them well, so how come he still got hit by one needle?

He stopped talking about Li Huaiqing, and thought about the time when he interrogated the assassin, and suppressed his emotions.

Seriously speaking to Lou Xiao,

"The assassin's hidden weapon was tested by the imperial physician and was found to be poisoned, but the exact nature of the poison has yet to be determined."

When he talked about serious matters, Lou Xiao turned around and listened carefully.

Xiao Zhengdu asked her with some scrutiny,

"What did you say when you confronted her? Is she...an old acquaintance of yours?"

Lou Xiaoyuan was going to find a chance to explain this to the Queen, but he had already asked, perhaps Tang Wang had revealed something during the interrogation.

So he said, "I..."

At this time, the servant beside Xiao Zhengdu came hurriedly from the corner, with a slightly concealed smell of blood, and reported in his ear in a voice that was still soft but could be heard by Lou Xiao,

"Your Highness, that person said...he would only confess after meeting the Duke of Zhenguo."

After saying this, he glanced at Lou Xiao in fear and immediately lowered his head.

Xiao Zhengdu raised his eyebrows and looked at Lou Xiao. It seemed that the previous question no longer needed to be answered.