Are you in the Shura field today?

Thinking about it, the person Empress An Yuan is looking for may not necessarily be unfavorable to her, maybe it is someone who is capable and distinguished, so that she can recruit talented sons-in-law for the princesses and princes in the palace who have not left the court.

Li Zuoqing wanted to suppress the ominous premonition in his heart, but Lin Qiwu's cautiousness just now showed that the search for someone was secretly.

After Lin Qiwu left, she didn't care about the singing and dancing at the banquet, so she slouched out of the main hall with her sleeves in her hands. Anyway, her father and empress had already left the hall for other banquets, so she didn't stop her.

Li Zuoqing intentionally searched among the crowd for an attendant who walked in a hurry and looked like a checker, and finally found the queen's personal maid on the corridor of Xiangting Palace.

"Qinglan, Jinghe!" Li Zuoqing stopped them, and after the two of them turned around and saluted, they asked again: "What are you two doing? Why aren't you by your mother's side?"

Qinglan and Jinghe looked at each other, and soon decided to be honest with Li Zuoqing: "Your Majesty asked us to secretly search for a woman in the palace."

Li Zuoqing rolled her eyes and said puzzledly, "What kind of woman bothers the empress?"

"It's a woman in apricot and maple-colored clothes," Qinglan replied as she said, "If your highness sees it, please tell the queen empress too."

"Apricot and... maple?"

Li Zuoqing thought of many possibilities, whether it was the assassin Wen Mingran who sneaked into the palace banquet again, or the court lady who contradicted the queen, or the messenger who had a chance meeting.

Only the image of Xin Fei was not expected to appear here.

An Linlang teased Xin Fei because of this outfit when she left the palace in the morning, saying that her low-key and simple outfit was probably rare in royal palace banquets.

But now, she has become a thorn in the empress's eyes.

"No, why did the queen mother look for her?" Li Zuoqing asked eagerly.

"This servant does not know, but the empress said that before finding this person, the gate of the palace city can only be entered."

"It turned out to be so..."

Finding someone secretly at the New Year's banquet is probably as difficult as finding a needle in a haystack, and you don't know what the queen mother will do to Xin Fei.

She hadn't shown Xin Fei to Empress An Yuan yet, so the reason why the Empress noticed this daughter-in-law was probably not because of Li Zuoqing, but something else.

An ominous premonition arose in her heart, because she was distracted to other places during this period, so she was too comfortable...

Why did I forget that Xin Fei will leave later in the book, as if the world has evaporated.

She remembered that during that period, the original owner was busy with her own affairs and also encountered setbacks, so there was no one in the house who was usually cold-faced towards her, and she had no time to take care of her, so-until the end, Xin Fei did not appear again.

Calculating the time, it is probably these days.

She didn't know what would happen to Xin Fei, but it happened so well that she began to suspect that Xin Fei's departure or disappearance had something to do with the Queen.

And there is a high probability that this relationship will only be bad and not good.

But Li Zuoqing couldn't understand it.

Empress An Yuan and her concubine have never met before, and they have no grievances or enmities, so there is no reason why they must find Xin Fei.

Could it be that the queen realized that she was becoming more and more obsessed with beauty, and decided to throw out tens of thousands of taels of silver to let Xin Fei leave.

Or maybe it was Jinghong—a glimpse of Xin Fei's beauty captured her... It's not impossible, and her queen's mother doesn't seem to be able to empathize with others.

She stopped these outrageous thoughts, Qing Lan and Jing He couldn't ask more questions here, so the most important thing at this time was to find Xin Fei before the Queen found someone.

"You two, go and help my mother find him earlier."

"Yes." Qinglan and Jinghe replied together, and after saluting, they turned around and walked towards Xiangting Palace in a hurry.

They still don't know who the apricot-clothed woman is.

But since the queen saw it, she probably saw it when Xin Fei and the sixth concubine were staying together.

After the two maids left, Li Zuoqing turned around and walked towards the palace where the sixth imperial concubine was.

—Many attendants and guards on the road patrolled the palace city with purposeful eyes. Li Zuoqing guessed that these people also accepted the orders of Queen An Yuan.

Then unexpectedly, the sixth imperial concubine was not at the banquet, but met her near the palace, with her maid, but she was the only one who didn't see Xin Fei.

"His Royal Highness!" The sixth imperial concubine hurried up when she saw her.

"Calm down, where is Xin Fei?" Don't tell her that she was taken away or lost.

Suqianqian grabbed the handkerchief, with a face of remorse: "Just now after the Empress Empress came to our banquet to toast, Xin Liangyuan said that she was a little sleepy and wanted to come out to get some air, but it was too late, so I came out to look for her, but I haven't found her yet. ..."

Li Zuoqing wiped his forehead, really afraid of something.

So the Queen did run into Xin Fei not long ago.

"Did the two of them have a conflict?" Li Zuoqing asked.

"Which two people?" Su Qianqian's eyes widened in confusion, "But since the banquet started, Xin Liangyuan hasn't said anything to anyone other than me."

This made her unable to figure it out, she was about to see that person again just by looking at it, could it be that she really fell in love with Xin Fei's beauty?

Li Zuoqing frowned, and solemnly said to Su Qianqian: "I'll go find her, but if someone asks you, don't—" Don't tell Xin Fei's identity and whereabouts.

But before she finished speaking, Suqianqian blinked and said, "How do you know someone asked about me?"

Li Zuoqing: "..."

"Just now, the empress sent someone to ask me, who is the woman who is walking with me?" Seeing Li Zuoqing's expression becoming serious, Suqian always suspected that she had done something wrong, but she still said it five-ten .

"Then I told her that this woman is the side concubine of His Royal Highness the eldest princess... that, did I say something wrong?"

Li Zuoqing came back to his senses and shook his head: "No."

Suqianqian is just an ordinary princess and concubine, and it is unreasonable not to answer truthfully when faced with inquiries from the queen's servants.

"Princess..." Her face was very bad.Suqianqian swallowed back the second half of the sentence, recalling the coldness and resistance in the empress's eyes when she looked at her just now, which made her inexplicably afraid, so she became worried belatedly: "You want me to take An Yu away?" Did you find it?"

"It's just a trivial matter, don't bother the sixth prince." Li Zuoqing smiled with the corners of his mouth pulled.

"Really?"

"Yes, it's because the empress mother has a grudge against me marrying Xiaofei." Li Zuoqing babbled nonsense, but those in the know should understand that Empress An Yuan never cared about her actions before.

Hearing this, Su Qianqian blinked her eyes, but most of her believed it in her heart.

She thought, maybe the only one in the empress's heart--satisfied with the eldest concubine is that one. If that is the case, it will be really hard for Xin Liangyuan.

"His Royal Highness, come on!" Su Qianqian nodded to her.

"Okay?" Li Zuoqing smiled helplessly.

Ever since she heard that Empress An Yuan had asked Su Qianqian for a question, she knew that she would be approached sooner or later. Before that, she still asked the Sixth Concubine to keep an eye on Xin Fei in the palace city.

As expected, the queen's person was that familiar face again.

"Eunuch Zhao, lead the way." Li Zuoqing waited for the old fox.

Eunuch Zhao smiled happily and said, "Your Highness is indeed the empress's biological daughter. The old minister knew what the empress meant before he even said a word."

"Eunuch Zhao is being modest. This princess didn't even say where she is, and she can still find my trace." Li Zuoqing replied with a half-smile.

The other party smiled and did not deny it, but made a "please" gesture to her.

A few people went straight to the side hall of Kunning Palace. Li Zuoqing smelled the faint fragrance of ink in the study room, but it seemed that people in the future lived here, and there was still choking dust in the air.

When I got closer, I saw several maids busy with the windows open, and the inner room was already cleaned up.

"Emperor, where is my mother?" Li Zuoqing looked around, but did not see that graceful figure.

"Your Highness, wait a moment." Eunuch Zhao withdrew after finishing speaking.

Li Zuoqing was full of confusion, while walking in this side hall, while observing the things in the hall.

Why did the queen meet her in such an unpopular place, and she always felt that nothing good would happen, what if she repeated her tricks and brought her and Lin Qiwu together like last time?

No, this time it should have something to do with Xin Fei. If the Queen asks about this, should she speak truthfully or hold back... Or should I look at Queen An Yuan's attitude first?But a winner in a palace fight like Empress An Yuan, she doesn't have the confidence to stand up to it.

Li Zuoqing felt uneasy and wanted to find something to do.

Compared with the layout of other palaces, this room can be called simple. On the table are piles of Kaimeng scrolls for the prince and princess when they were young. They are neat but half-old. There are rarely such old books in the study room of Fengyang Pavilion. And she doesn't read such "children's books".

The screens and bookshelves at the back are also relatively low, and the more they look, the more they look like study decorations for children.

She blinked her eyes, and approached the increasingly familiar screen, and a few drops of ink were splashed on the screen's - flowing cloud and white crane embroidery - at that moment, the memories of the past flashed back into her mind.

She recalled the memories of several original owners who were punished to copy in the queen's room when they were young.

The original owner was a playboy when he grew up, but he had a very temper when he was young. When he got impatient with copying, he just threw back the pen and quit.

This is also the reason for the splashes of ink on the screen.

Thinking of this, Li Zuoqing was amused by the child's naughty nature in the memory.

The embarrassment she had just now was swept away, and she suddenly felt that she was the owner of this small study, and she took a step to touch around.

At this time, a bookshelf that was almost emptied caught her attention.

There are only a few blue and white porcelains on the shelf, but there is a small empty space behind the bookshelf, and there is a painting scroll half the height of a person hanging.

The painting scroll is covered by white gauze, and the front is also blocked-the peony has fallen into the winter melon bottle. If you don't look closely, you really can't find the painting scroll hanging on this high place.

In the memory of the original owner, these bookshelves are filled to the brim, so I don't know whether the scroll was placed later, or it was there from the beginning.

I'm always a little curious about what this painting that might have accompanied the original owner's childhood looked like.

So Li Zuoqing moved the blue and white porcelain vase away with his hands, and was about to pull off the white gauze—when he saw the true face of the painting scroll, he heard gradual footsteps behind him.

"Lang Yu was naughty when he was a child, and the queen mother will send you here to read."

Li Zuoqing turned around and saw Queen An Yuan looking at him calmly.

"Such a small baby, now it's so big now," the queen's eyes showed a trace of nostalgia, "I thought Lang Yu's stubborn temper when he was a child would be better, but now he still likes to make his own decisions about things."

"what?……"

The reminiscence lasted only for a moment, and the next second, the queen's gaze became sharp.

"When are you going to put me at ease?"

???

Where did she go wrong?

Hasn't she mentioned the cancellation of her engagement with Lin Qiwu?

Li Zuoqing was really confused by the internal and external criticism, but she still waited for Queen An Yuan to continue.

"That Dikun named Xin Fei next to you, don't think about meeting her again in the future."

Li Zuoqing thought about it, and said carefully: "When the minister brought her back to the mansion, you didn't say anything, the queen mother, why is it so sudden?"

"Hmph." Empress Anyuan glanced at her resentfully, and waved her hand to screen away the servants except the maid, "Do you know her identity?"

"She said that she was alone, and she made a living as a performer in Huaxianglou." Li Zuoqing replied.

Empress An Yuan sneered again, as if she heard some joke: "If she is really alone, then her companions will not be able to scratch Ben Gong's hand."

Li Zuoqing's eyes widened in shock, and he lowered his head to see Empress An Yuan slowly revealing her gauze-wrapped hands from her long sleeves.

Qing Lan on the side got the hint from the queen's eyes, and said, "If the empress hadn't reacted quickly and protected her with her hands, this injury might have landed on her heart!"

Hearing this, even Li Zuoqing, who had nothing to do with the queen, was a little moved: "Mother, when did this happen?"

"Ten days ago, the wound has healed now."

"Really..." Did Xin Fei and her companions really do this?

"What evidence does the queen mother have?" She still couldn't believe it when she encountered this kind of situation.

The queen was annoyed by her skeptical attitude, and scolded: "Evidence? You don't even know that Tianxianglou is their hiding place, right? Do you want evidence? You can ask the madam of Xianglou that day!"

Li Zuoqing's pupils shrank, her mind was full of questions, but there were too many questions, which made her unable to solve them.

"Where did they come from, why did they assassinate the queen mother, why didn't they attack me—"

It is expected that the royal family has enemies, but why Xin Fei?

Empress An Yuan flicked her sleeves and interrupted her obsessive questioning: "You don't have to worry about these behind-the-scenes matters. This palace has already arranged suitable people to deal with them, and the recent nightmare can also subside."

Arrange for someone to handle it?Deal with Xin Fei?

"Wait, she, she is special, she - must not be that kind of person!"

In Li Zuoqing's heart, the queen's words were undoubtedly an ultimatum to someone, and the reason for Xin Fei's disappearance in the book was right in front of him.

But Xin Fei's disappearance, even death, is no longer irrelevant to her.

"It's really naive... I can only say that your concubine is the one who ordered the assassination."

The queen looked at her with pitiful eyes, and calmed Li Zuoqing's emotions with a gentle and tolerant tone, "Son, you have to believe that the queen will not harm you."

"Stay away from that person in the future and listen to what the queen mother says."

"If she can hide her identity from you, she will deceive you about other things."

"The empress mother told you this because she was also worried about your safety."

"From now on, you must be careful with people outside the palace. Your father is very satisfied with your actions this time, so there is only one person who can support you and control the overall situation..."

Empress An Yuan looked at Li Zuoqing's gradually emptying eyes, knowing that she must have been greatly stimulated, and the corners of her mouth curled into a smile.

When Li Zuoqing left the study, he didn't refute the second sentence.

indeed.

This was completely unexpected to her - but it didn't seem to be all that shocking either.

The only thing that makes her feel conflicted is that this person can sneak into the princess mansion with a devotion attitude.

If it is true what the queen said, then Xin Fei probably—was not her—from the beginning—passers-by.

After Li Zuoqing left, Empress Anyuan still stayed quietly in the study, smiling silently at the scroll as if she was victorious.

Just a little bit, Lang Yu could see that the person on the painting scroll was [-]% similar to Xin Fei.

But she didn't see it, and Empress An Yuan didn't intend to tell her about it, or, it's better not to know these things except those who have experienced the changes of the two dynasties.

And even if Lang Yu saw it, she would still be able to pull that Di Kun into a disadvantageous situation.

"Your Majesty, this canvas seems to be a bit dirty, do you want your servants to sweep the dust?"

"No need," Empress Anyuan glanced there sacrificially, then turned her head and said indifferently, "Just take it and burn it, don't open it, just burn it."