Zhao Defang's road to the virtuous king

Defang returned to the mansion, invited Concubine Di, called Song Jiajun, Nan Gongwen, Baili and Ke'er to the study, Concubine Di asked, "My lord, why do you want us all to come to the study?"

"Your Majesty has confessed an important matter, which only a few of us know about."

"My lord, what's the matter?"

Defang told several people that Zhenzong wanted to investigate the rumors, and Concubine Di said, "Your Majesty wants the prince to investigate the rumors, but how do you investigate?"

"Ma'am, don't you often drink tea with the wives of officials, take a peek from their mouths."

Concubine Di nodded, "That's right, they are always very well informed about such things. The concubine knows that Mrs. Lu, the wife of the member of the Ministry of Industry, Wailang, and Liu Meiren are from the same hometown. I heard her talk about entering the palace and meeting Liu Meiren before. To enjoy the flowers, the concubine can take a peek from her mouth, after a few days His Majesty will announce the announcement, and the concubine will also go to the palace to meet her, maybe she will hear something."

"Then there's Mrs. Lao," De Fang said, "Baili Ke'er, you are very familiar with the servants in the mansion, His Majesty, the long-term workers, etc. Some of them often go out to do business in the mansion, and now His Majesty has named Mrs. Liu a beauty. There must be discussions about her affairs, you two pay attention, and immediately tell the lonely king if there are any rumors."

"Yes, my lord"

"Jiajun, pay attention to the imperial guards and see if they will talk about this."

"Yes"

"Nangong, Liu Meiren has an elder brother named Liu Mei, you go and check his details."

"Prince" Nangong was puzzled, "Why do you want to investigate his elder brother?"

"There are rumors that Liu Mei is not Liu's brother, but rather." Defang said in a low voice, "it's her husband."

Several people were shocked when they heard this, and Defang said, "I'm afraid this incident will become more and more serious as Liu's being named a beauty. I don't know who this Liu Mei is. Liu only said it was his." Cousin, he has also been an official in the past few years, and I heard that he is not bad, so you must carefully check Nangong."

"Yes, my lord"

"My lord," Concubine Di asked, "Have things happened to Mrs. Liu for many years? Wasn't it because of her that both the late emperor and Mrs. Qin were unhappy? Who is this Mrs. Liu?"

Defang sighed softly, "She is also a general. Liu's real name is Liu E, her grandfather Liu Yanqing was the general of Youxiaowei in the Later Jin and Later Han, and her father Liu Tong served as the commander of Hujiedu in the Song Dynasty. As governor of Jiazhou, Liu E was born in Huayang, Shu. In the first year of Kaibao, Liu Tong was ordered to fight and sacrificed on the battlefield. Although the imperial court gave honors and money, because Liu Tong had no heirs, there was no one to replace him. He was an official, and he had no money during his lifetime, so Liu E's mother, Pang, took her back to live with her natal family when she was still a baby. However, the Pang brothers were greedy for money and took all the money brought back by their mother. For this reason, she was very poor. In order to make a living, Liu E went to learn to sing drums, but for some reason, when Liu E was 14 years old, she followed her current brother Liu Mei to the capital. Her brother was a silversmith, but he didn't make any money, so he wanted Let Liu E get married, and I will get some dowry money. It just so happened that at that time, His Majesty's opponent, Zhang Min, said: "Shu women are talented and intelligent, and I want her." So Zhang Min brought Liu E into the palace. But, madam, do you still remember? That year, His Majesty turned sixteen and was about to marry Empress Zhang Huaipan."

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