Painting Doctor Jinhua

Chapter 208 Testing and forcing a divorce

It turns out that Xie Zhen is actually a woman? And she is Lanling King’s woman!

He Shikai's eyes flickered, and he secretly rubbed his hands. As soon as the eunuch left Zhaoyang Palace with the imperial decree, he advised Gao Zhan, "Your Majesty, if you only send the eunuchs, I'm afraid you won't be able to invite the Princess of Lanling. After all, you have sent the eunuchs to invite her before... What if she fails to come and runs away again?"

"So what do you think we should do?"

"I think we should send the Imperial Guards Commander Han Changluan to bring the Imperial Guards to ask for permission. If they disobey the order, they can be arrested and punished directly..."

"I just invited him here to test his true identity. Why do I need to mobilize the imperial guards? Moreover, Gao Changgong made great contributions in the battle of Mangshan. I cannot use weapons to attack him now, otherwise it will chill the hearts of other soldiers!"

"Your Majesty is right!" He Shikai bowed his head, "But what if they really escaped?"

"Then let Mr. Liu keep an eye on it!"

Mr. Liu is Liu Taozhi!

……

Half an hour later, a eunuch outside Zhaoyang Palace screamed, "Prince Lanling and Princess Lanling have arrived!"

Only then did Gao Zhan see that both men were dressed in black and walked into the hall.

As soon as Xiao Jinyu's figure came into his sight, Gao Zhan couldn't take his eyes away. He carefully examined her outline, facial features, height and figure.

This was also the first time he saw the true face of the Princess of Lanling at such a close distance. She was so beautiful that it was heart-stirring and unforgettable, and he felt pity for her even when he saw her.

Moreover, this posture and demeanor are indeed somewhat similar to Xie Qing!

"Your Majesty, what is the purpose of calling us here?" Xiao Jinyu asked first.

Gao Zhan then retracted his gaze, coughed lightly, and replied: "You asked me for this position of female official of the Imperial Historian, but it seems that you haven't made any achievements so far? Why did you ask for this position?"

Xiao Jinyu replied, "Your Majesty, I have been calculating the celestial phenomena for some time. If the celestial phenomena show nothing, I will not disturb Your Majesty. If there is something, I will report it to Your Majesty immediately!"

"Oh, so what did you figure out in the end?"

"Yes, in early March this year, there will be a white rainbow piercing the sun... a comet will appear, heralding a national crisis!"

Gao Zhan's face changed drastically!

Gao Changgong's expression also changed in surprise.

He Shikai shouted, "Nonsense! Now under the rule of the Emperor of Qi, the seas are peaceful and the rivers are calm. There are many brave generals, and we just won a victory. What disaster can there be?"

Turning to Gao Zhan,

"Your Majesty, Princess Lanling is talking nonsense. It is still unclear whether this rainbow piercing the sun will really appear! Your Majesty, please do not worry!"

Xiao Jinyu just smiled calmly: "Whether it is nonsense or not, we will know when the time comes!"

Seeing how confident she was, Gao Zhan stopped talking. After a moment of silence, he turned his gaze to Gao Changgong.

"Chang Gong, you were surrounded by a hundred thousand troops of the Pseudo-Zhou army, and you rushed into the battle line regardless of your life. Aren't you afraid at all?" he suddenly asked.

Gao Changgong was suddenly shocked, and the words Xiao Jinyu had said to him suddenly appeared in his mind. He pondered for a moment, and felt Xiao Jinyu holding his hand tightly, and then he replied: "I am a citizen of the city and also a close friend. I can't bear to see my country Qi lose a good general and a wise minister!"

"People? Confidant? Good general? Wise minister?" Gao Zhan smiled and asked with a hint of sarcasm, "Isn't it for your princess?"

Gao Changgong looked slightly annoyed and did not answer.

After a long period of forbearance, he suddenly heard Gao Zhan say, "Okay, it's okay, you can go back!"

Xiao Jinyu and the other two were a little surprised, and said in unison, "Yes!" and then left the hall.

As soon as the two of them left, Gao Zhan asked He Shikai: "Does Yan Tong think that this Princess Lanling is Xie Zhen?"

"I think so. They have similar figures and temperaments. I also heard that Xie Zhen has been living in Lanling Palace. Your Majesty previously sent an order to Lanling Palace to summon her to the palace, but she refused several times. It seems that she is not in the palace, but went to Yubi City to negotiate in the name of Xie Zhen."

Gao Zhan nodded, thinking that what He Shikai said made sense.

"If Xie Zhen and Lanling Prince's Concubine Xiao Jinyu are the same person, then this is the only one in the world who has both wisdom and beauty!"

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

"She once blocked an arrow for me!"

Gao Zhan said this suddenly, with a somewhat fascinated look on his face.

"Your Majesty, do you still want to..."

"I do want to, but they have a very good relationship. I have asked Gao Changgong for it many times, but he didn't give it to me. Now he has made great contributions, and it will be even more difficult for me to deal with him!"

He Shikai rolled his eyes and smiled, "Your Majesty, you can't do anything to him now? Don't you still have the Queen Mother? The Queen Mother is the best at this kind of marriage and harem affairs!"

"You can ask the Queen Mother to persuade them to divorce, and then Your Majesty can bring her to the palace!"

Gao Zhan's eyes lit up.

"How to persuade?"

……

Empress Dowager Lou has become increasingly forgetful recently. Ever since she had a quarrel with her son Gao Zhan, she has been in a state of self-reflection.

She thought about how she seemed to have been losing loved ones throughout her life and making wrong choices.

She believed that Gao Yin was too cowardly to be the ruler of a country, so she gave the throne to her kind-hearted sixth son Gao Yan, thinking that Gao Yan's kindness could spare Gao Yin's life. However, in the end, her sixth son killed her grandson Gao Yin.

Later, she gave the throne to Gao Zhan, thinking that the usually well-behaved and sensible ninth son would listen to the advice of the sixth son and would not follow his brother's example and kill his nephew. However, after he succeeded to the throne, he not only killed her two grandsons, but also forcibly took away his brother's sister-in-law Li Zu'e.

Up to now, she has lost three biological sons, three legitimate grandchildren, and countless illegitimate sons and grandchildren.

"Queen Mother, it's time to take your medicine!"

Wu Ai brought the medicine, and when Lou Zhaojun was about to drink it, a message came from outside the palace: "Your Majesty has arrived!"

Lou Zhaojun was very surprised. Her relationship with Jiuzi had been getting worse and worse. Ever since Gao Zhan ascended the throne, he had no important requests to her and rarely came to see her. So what was the matter today?

After Gao Zhan entered the palace, he unexpectedly exchanged a few pleasantries, and finally got to the point, speaking directly about the relationship between Xie Zhen and Princess Lanling.

"What did you say? Is this Xie Zhen pretending to be Princess Lanling? This is simply ridiculous. How can Chang Gong let her do what she wants?"

"Mother, I know you have always loved your son and grandson. Princess Lanling has saved your life, and she has also saved my life!"

"She is an excellent doctor and extremely intelligent. Since she entered the government under the name of Xie Zhen, she has been assisting me wholeheartedly and has proposed many policies for me to govern the country. She is truly as talented as Yi Yi and Huo Guang!"

"I can't bear to see such a talent die, so I don't care about her dressing up as a man, and I can even allow her to continue to serve in the court!"

"But I allowed it, but I'm afraid those nobles and court officials would object! And..."

"Mother, do you think that the woman from the Southern Dynasty that Chang Gong married, his legal wife, will still be someone who can do him no good?"

"I have now appointed her as the Right Prime Minister. With Xie Zhen's reputation, talent, and medical skills, I'm afraid the entire Zheng family in Xingyang is not as good as her, right?"

Lou Zhaojun was stunned.

"So, what exactly do you want to say?"

Gao Zhan then said solemnly: "A person with such talent should be used by me and should also be mine. Otherwise, if she helps Chang Gong to develop ambitions, won't it cause disaster?"

"Mother, you don't want me and Chang Gong to fight each other anymore, right?"

"You!" Lou Zhaojun's eyes widened with anger.

"So please help me, mother, and persuade them to divorce. After all, Xiao Jinyu has not given him a child yet!"

"And this Xiao Jinyu once blocked an arrow for me when she was pretending to be Xie Zhen. I think she has feelings for me, too. After all...

In terms of appearance, I am not much worse than Chang Gong. In terms of power and status, I don't need to say more...

Mother, don’t you think so?

After smiling for a while, while Lou Zhaojun was stunned and confused, he suddenly stopped smiling and said in a deep voice,

"Mother, please think about it carefully, otherwise your son will have to take another solution!"

After saying this, Gao Zhan stood up and left. After taking a few steps, he suddenly turned back and added:

"Give me three days at most to think about it!"

After Gao Zhan left, Lou Zhaojun was so angry that she covered her face and cried bitterly. Aunt Wu comforted her for a long time.

"After all this talk, you are still coveting the beauty of Chang Gong's wife!"

"Queen Mother, if you don't persuade me, I'm afraid His Majesty will treat His Royal Highness Lanling Prince... just like His Royal Highness Henan Prince..."

Her grandson, Henan King Gao Xiaoyu, was poisoned to death by him! Gao Shaode and Gao Bainian were even beaten to death by him!

"Auntie Wu, go and tell Chang Gong to come to Beigong!"

"Yes!"

……

As soon as Gao Changgong returned to Prince Lanling's Mansion, he received an imperial decree from the Queen Mother, saying that the Queen Mother missed her grandson and asked him to go to the Beigong Palace.

Gao Changgong responded and came to the Chongde Hall in the Beigong Palace.

Seeing that Empress Dowager Lou looked a little depressed and her eyes were red as if she had just cried, he felt a little distressed for his grandmother who seemed to be aging faster and faster at her advanced age.

"grandmother!"

"Sit down quickly!"

Lou Zhaojun was very happy. She asked about everyone's well-being and said a lot of things. She also talked about the Battle of Mangshan!

"It's a good thing that the name of Chang Gong Divine General has spread far and wide, but you must also cherish your own life. Don't do such stupid things in the future, regardless of your life or death!"

"Yes, Grandma!"

"Chang Gong, Grandmother asked you a question, you must answer truthfully!"

"Yes!"

"That Xie Zhen, now the Right Prime Minister, is she your princess Xiao Jinyu?"

Gao Changgong suddenly raised his eyes and clenched his sleeves tightly with his hands.

After a long pause, he answered, "Yes!"

"She has been with you for such a long time and has no children. I'm afraid there is something wrong with her body. You should just divorce her!"

Gao Changgong stood up suddenly, scaring the palace maids beside him!

"Grandma, don't say that I don't want children in the short term. Even if A-Yu really can't have children, I won't divorce her!"

"What nonsense are you talking about! Chang Gong, what did your grandmother teach you? Don't be too emotional. You are a descendant of the Gao family and you are supposed to protect the territory of the Great Qi. How can you focus all your attention on a woman?"

"But I just like her as the only woman, and I can't help it!"

"you!"

"Grandma, I know it was Uncle Nine who asked you to persuade me to divorce, but this is absolutely impossible. I can't do it!"

"Grandma, please take care of yourself. I'm leaving now!"

After saying that, he ran away without looking back!

Lou Zhaojun looked very sad, but she was helpless!

"Send someone to keep an eye on their movements and inform me of any signs of trouble!"