People in the early Tang Dynasty: I compete with Wu Zhao for the throne

Chapter 1451 That temptress
The night is dark, in the study room of the west courtyard of Yulongyuan.

Li Xuan stood calmly in front of the window. The cold wind blew, but he didn't care. He looked straight at the crescent moon above his head.

The crescent moon flashed out from the clouds like a hook, and then landed on Jade Dragon Garden, Li Xuan, and a secret book on the desk in the study behind him.

There are four big characters written on it - "Xingyang Zheng Family".

The Zheng family of Xingyang is the mother clan of the Yin Crown Princess Zheng Guanyin.

The cold wind blew, the pages of the book turned, and countless names flashed.

Li Xuan sighed softly, turned around, and walked back to the desk.

Turning the page gently with his hand, the page of the book had landed on Zheng Guanyin's page.

Princess Yin Zheng Guanyin came from the third room of the northern ancestor of the Zheng family in Xingyang.

Starting from Zheng Donglin, their lineage included Zheng Daoyong, Zheng Daoyu, Zheng Cheng, Zheng Chen, Zheng Shanguo, Zheng Jibo and other clansmen, most of whom held the positions of governor, governor, prefect and general.

Tong'an Xianggong Zheng Rentai came from the fifth house of the northern ancestor of the Zheng family in Xingyang.

Except for Zheng Rentai, most of their ancestors were Sima soldiers in the army. Only their great ancestor Zheng Jing was the doctor of Jin Ziguanglu, the prefect of Yangping, and the Duke of Xingyang in the Northern Qi Dynasty.

It got worse and worse after that.

Even during the Wude period, the dukedom of Xingyang County was inherited by Zheng Guanyintang's uncle Zheng Shanguo.

Therefore, even though Zheng Rentai was a meritorious official of Emperor Taizong's Xuanwu Sect, he was only named Tong'an County Duke in the end.

……

Li Xuan looked at the copy of the Xingyang Zheng family genealogy recorded in detail in the book and couldn't help but shake her head.

This copy was obtained by Li Xuan from the "Record of Surnames" compiled during the reign of Emperor Xianqing.

The predecessor of the "Record of Surnames" was the "Record of Clan" written during the Zhenguan period of Emperor Taizong. In this dynasty, at the suggestion of Empress Wu, the "Record of Clan" was revised and renamed "Record of Surnames".

Among them, the details of some wealthy families were revealed to everyone.

However, compared to the rapid progress of other noble families, the Zheng family in Xingyang was in decline.

Especially Zheng Guanyin's lineage has been severely damaged since the incident of Prince Yin.

Zheng Guanyin's father, Zheng Jibo, served as governor of Kuozhou and died of illness shortly after the Xuanwumen Incident.

Zheng Shanguo, the uncle of Zheng Guanyintang, served as the prince's concubine Zuo during the Wude period, minister of Dali Temple, and minister of the Ministry of Punishment. After the Xuanwumen Incident, he was sent to Qizhou and Jiangzhou. He died in the third year of Zhenguan.

There is only one governor in the Sanfang lineage of Beizu, and most of the others are long history, joined the army, and are Yuanwailang.

Among the five families of Zheng Rentai's northern ancestor, since Zheng Rentai died of illness, only Zheng Rentai's son Zheng Xuanguo was transferred from General Youjin Wuwei to be the governor of Yizhou a few years ago.

In fact, the entire Zheng family in Xingyang, whether they were the eldest, second, third, fourth or fifth, had a bumpy career during Li Zhi's reign.

Even with the efforts of a whole family, at most one governor can be trained, and sometimes the situation will be even worse.

The tragedy hidden in "The Record of Surnames" makes people shudder.

Standing behind the desk and looking at the records on it, Li Xuan couldn't help but sigh.

It's no wonder that Mrs. Tong'an chose to make a move at this time, because if she didn't move, I'm afraid the Zheng family in Xingyang would no longer be able to maintain its status as the five surnames and seven families.

After closing the secret book, Li Xuan's eyes became cold and solemn.

If the Zheng family in Xingyang can seize this opportunity and marry their legitimate daughter into the East Palace, they will naturally have a chance to reverse the decline. However, Li Xian, who has Li Zhi's words and deeds, will never give the Zheng family too many opportunities easily.

If nothing else happens, it will only take decades for the Zheng family to recover and catch up with the Cui family.

But Mrs. Tong'an is too old.

Mrs. Cui of Tong'an was a figure of the same era as Princess Zheng Guanyin of Yin. Even Zheng Guanyin died of old age and illness, and Ms. Cui was probably not alive for a few years.

Without her, without Zheng Rentai's affection between the royal family and the Zheng family, the Zheng family would only fall faster.

Li Xuan gently pulled out a secret letter, which clearly recorded all Zheng's movements over the past year.

The fire ignited and the secret message was completely burned.

The firelight reflected on Li Xuan's face, and there was endless indifference in his eyes.

Although Princess Yin Zheng Guanyin died, Prince Yin Jiancheng and Zheng Guanyin had descendants left behind, and this person was the King of East China Sea.

But unfortunately, the King of East China Sea also died.

Fortunately, the King of East China Sea had a daughter left behind, namely Ye Wanwan.

Or to be more precise, Ye Wanwan still has the blood of the Zheng family.

Back then, the third brother of the Zheng family had secretly funded the King of East China Sea in a private place where no one could find him.
Although the King of East China Sea was dead, this part of the relationship was transferred to Ye Wanwan without anyone noticing.

The five bedrooms in the Zheng family are five bedrooms, and the three bedrooms in the Zheng family are three bedrooms.

Five-bedroom apartments have five-bedroom apartments, and three-bedroom apartments have three-bedroom apartment apartments.

Seeing the last embers of the secret letter extinguished, Li Xuan said softly: "Now let's see how much impact this chess piece can have on Empress Wu."

The sound echoed in the study, and darkness enveloped it completely.

……

In the dark surroundings, three carriages, escorted by dozens of guards with swords in their hands, arrived at a manor in the west of Luoyang City.

The gate of the manor opened, and everyone entered the manor in an orderly manner.

There was not much fuss about the whole process.

Deep in the backyard, the carriage stopped.

A 70-year-old woman with gray hair, a golden Fuyao on her head and a wrinkled face stepped out of the carriage.

Even though he is quite old, he is still agile in his movements.

The old woman's steps didn't stop, and she glanced around. She always felt like she was being watched, but upon closer inspection, she found nothing.

Raise your head, the new moon is like a bud.

The old woman looked at the bright crescent moon, and it seemed that there was a figure staring at her in the crescent moon. Immediately, the old woman put aside this somewhat ridiculous idea, turned around, and looked into the carriage.

A hair-length girl wearing a green undershirt walked out of the car with a tired look on her face.

Although her body was exhausted and her eyes were a little hard to open, the beautiful woman with bright eyes, white teeth, and soft facial features was gradually opening her eyes.

……

"Grandma." The Zheng girl stepped down from the carriage, yawned, and then saluted Cui's body.

"Yes!" Ms. Cui, Mrs. Tong'an, nodded lovingly, then looked to the side and said, "Help Miss Qi go back and rest."

"Here!" The maids around her relaxed slightly, and then stepped forward to help the Zheng girl back to her room.

When Miss Zheng Qi completely disappeared from sight, Mrs. Tong'an's face suddenly darkened.

Turning around, he gritted his teeth and said to Mrs. An: "Ask Fourth Master to come to the study."

"Here!" The butler on the side immediately responded with his hand, then quickly turned around and left.

Mrs. Tong'an looked towards Luoyang and said with cold hatred in her eyes: "Your Majesty, is there really no place for me, the Zheng family, in the palace?"

It's not that there is no place for the Zheng family in the palace, it's just that there is no place for the main branch of the Zheng family.

Li Xian is now the prince, and the prince has only two concubines.

Once Li Xian takes the throne, in addition to the queen, Li Xian will have four noble concubines.

In other words, if a woman from the Zheng family enters the palace now, she will become one of Li Xian's four noble concubines.

There may even be a chance to spy on the queen's location in the future.

It's just that Mrs. Tong'an hopes that person is her granddaughter.

……

A rush of footsteps sounded outside the study door, and Zheng Xuanan's figure appeared in front of the open study door.

Stopping, Zheng Xuanan stood outside the door, bowed to Cui, Mrs. Tong'an in the study, and said, "Mother."

The madam nodded coldly and said, "Come in."

"Yes!" Zheng Xuanan entered the room carefully, his expression extremely cautious.

Even though he called Mrs. Tai "Mother", he was not Mrs. Cui's son.

His father Zheng Rentai had a total of five sons during his lifetime, but there was only one legitimate son, Zheng Rentai and Cui's son Zheng Xuanguo.

Therefore, for so many years, although Zheng Xuan'an was in charge of Zheng's outer sect's commercial affairs, he only had one casual official who served as court minister.

"What's the news about Yuan Sheren?" Ms. Cui, Mrs. Tong'an, looked at Zheng Xuan'an with cold eyes.

Zheng Xuan'an lowered his head slightly and bowed: "Yuanshe people said that the Queen of Heaven has a destiny. Zheng will marry Zheng Renshan's granddaughter into the East Palace, and it cannot be changed."

Mrs. Tai's face turned cold and she said disdainfully: "I, the daughter of the Zheng family, am not the one that Mr. Li can marry whomever he wants.

Tell Yuan Wanqing that except Qiniang, the Zheng family will not marry any daughter into the East Palace. "

Zheng Xuanan stood aside and held his hands, not daring to speak.

"Speak, what's wrong?" Madam Tai looked at Zheng Xuan'an with dissatisfaction in her eyes.

"Mom, my sister-in-law also asked Yuan Sheren to help her niece, but Yuan Sheren said that this is the Queen's decision, and there is nothing anyone can do." Zheng Xuan'an looked helpless. Yuan Wanqing was in this matter. There wasn't much that could be done about the matter. Qiniang was also Yuan Wanqing's niece, so he would definitely help if she could, but the Queen of Heaven...

"That witch." Cui gritted her teeth and cursed bitterly.

As soon as Ms. Cui opened her mouth, Zheng Xuanan was immediately startled and said quickly: "Mother, be careful what you say."

Cui raised her head and saw Zheng Xuanan looking worriedly at the maids in the study.

"Don't worry, they are all old people who have been with my mother for decades. They have children at home, so it's okay."

Cui waved her hand. Although her expression was still calm, the carelessness on her face had completely disappeared.

Empress Wu used various means to contact and monitor the world. Even for a well-established family like the Zheng family, where all the servants in the house were their own sons, it was inevitable that they would be intimidated and bribed into submission by the secret guards. What Zheng said just now was already a faux pas. .

Raising his head, Cui asked, "What did Liu Lang say?"

"Sixth brother said that everything is at my mother's disposal. If you don't marry into the palace, you won't marry into the palace. There is no need for my daughter from the Zheng family to marry into the palace, and the Xue family can't explain it." Zheng Xuanan looked solemn. .

Zheng Renshan's son Zheng Xuankai is now Sima of the Prefecture of Daizhou.

Being able to serve as Sima under Xue Rengui, Zheng Xuankai is somewhat capable.

Moreover, after working under Xue Rengui for many years, Zheng Xuankai had already reached an engagement agreement with other members of the Xue clan.

"Then let Yuan Wanqing tell the palace that Jiuniang is already engaged, and let them choose another good one. Our Zheng family..."

Before Ms. Cui finished speaking, a rush of footsteps came from the front yard, and then the housekeeper appeared at the door of the inner yard and walked out with an anxious look on his face.

"Old madam, people from Yuanshe are here." As soon as the housekeeper finished speaking, Cui's face turned completely gloomy.

Immediately, Mrs. Cui raised her head and said with a sneer: "It seems that the witch is indeed staring at my house every day."

Zheng Xuanan's face instantly turned extremely pale.

Mrs. Cui waved her hand, looked at the housekeeper on one side and said, "Take everyone down, change a group of people, and see the Yuanshe person again."

"Yes!" The butler raised his head solemnly, but his cold gaze fell on Zheng Xuan'an and the other maids.

Everyone looked terribly pale.

……

"Wanqing has seen Mrs. Tai and came here late at night. I'm really sorry. I have a gift here for you. I apologize a little bit."

Yuan Wanqing bowed slightly and presented a piece of paper in front of Mrs. Tong'an.

Ms. Cui looked down and her expression suddenly changed, because it was clearly a letter of divorce.

(End of this chapter)