The Bad Guys: Everyone, let’s revive the Tang Dynasty together!

Chapter 315 Empress
Fengxiang, Huanyinfang.

Since the empress was placed under house arrest by Li Maozhen, her range of activities has been greatly limited, but Li Maozhen would not be so stingy as to treat his own sister as an enemy. The space of Xiaoban Huanyinfang still allows the empress to move freely, but Li Maozhen's men are deployed all around her, so she cannot be said to be free.

Over the past six months, the empress almost never left the attic. In her spare time, she would calm down and paint, practice calligraphy, and remain calm. It was not because she disdained the freedom given to her by her brother, the prince, but because she did not want to make things difficult for the people below.

The founder of Huanyinfang was actually Li Maozhen, and Huanyin Jue was also a martial art created by him. Although Huanyinfang had become a one-man show of the empress during the fourteen years of his disappearance, Li Maozhen has now returned and wants to take control of Huanyinfang again, and many old people still recognize him.

In addition, in order to get the empress to cooperate, Li Maozhen took the three imprisoned holy maidens, namely, Duowentian, Guangmutian and Yangyantian, to threaten the empress for the sake of safety. Li Maozhen was a cold person, and he would not even allow the empress to have any sympathy, let alone the three holy maidens.

If the empress insisted on standing against him in Huanyinfang, he would not be stingy with three lives. Not to mention killing Duowentian and the other two, abolishing their martial arts and rewarding them to the generals below would also be a great use, and Li Maozhen obviously could do it.

This was one of the main reasons why the empress had to compromise, allowing Huanyinfang to run smoothly in Li Maozhen's hands. The people in charge of looking after her were also from Huanyinfang, all of whom were her former subordinates and slaves. Whether she tried to stop them or not, it would only make things difficult for these people. Li Maozhen was decisive in killing, and if the empress really lost her temper, the only ones who would suffer would be those who looked after her.

Normally the empress did not want to embarrass these people, so she imprisoned herself in the attic, spending her time painting, writing poetry, and drinking. But she could not calm down recently, and going down to the attic for a walk and meditation every day had become something she had to do every day.

Of course, she would not take the initiative to walk out of that activity area. Those servants would stop her, which would be embarrassing. If they did not stop her, they would not dare to do so. The empress had the final say in Huanyinfang over the years, and her actions depended on her mood. But in fact, she was more considerate of her subordinates in unnecessary matters, and it was the same now, so she always had a limited range of wandering.

Li Maozhen sent a group of people to serve her, and the empress did not let them follow her. It goes without saying that these people were all carefully selected by Li Maozhen. This was why the empress acted cautiously. Having them follow her made her even more uneasy. She just walked around, letting the cold wind blow, and then went back to the attic. She picked up the brush and wanted to paint, but she had no interest at all.

At this time, the empress regretted letting Fanyintian take away the painting "Li Jiu Sending Off King Qi". When she had nothing to do, she liked to copy Xiao Yan's calligraphy.

Xiao Yan's handwriting is similar to regular script, but is very different from recent regular script and Tang regular script. The handwriting is thin and strong, yet not without flesh. His large characters are particularly graceful and have a lot of personality. The empress became interested in him after seeing him once. She has copied his calligraphy many times in the past six months. After being placed under house arrest, she wrote whenever she had nothing to do. She already has a thick roll of calligraphy copies.

But after the painting was sent away, the empress always felt that the calligraphy she had copied before lacked some charm, and she couldn't tell where the difference was.

Maybe it has to do with your mood.

After the empress commissioned Fan Yintian to deliver a letter to Bian Jing, she had been waiting for a report, but there had been no news for two months. Not only was Fan Yintian secretly anxious, but even she, who had always looked calm, couldn't help but become a little pessimistic. This feeling of unfulfilled expectations can easily make people feel discouraged.

So the empress felt a little regretful about giving the painting away. Since giving it away would not accomplish anything, keeping it could bring her some comfort. At least keeping it in her hands seemed to be able to maintain the harmonious relationship between the two parties at that time.

The empress now feels that she has overestimated her personal relationship with Xiao Yan, and also overestimated the conflict of interests between Huanyinfang and Anle Pavilion. Whether Xiao Yan can see that there is something fishy about the letter is one thing, and whether he is willing to accept the invitation to help is another.

To put it bluntly, Xiao Yan really has nothing to do with Qi Country, and his dispute with Huanyinfang is purely a matter of interest. If he really wants to involve some personal feelings, he can only drag Ji Ruxue into it.

Even Qi State owed Xiao Yan some favors.

No matter how Qi State is tossed around in Li Maozhen's hands, whether it's the destruction of the country or just becoming someone else's pawn, what does it have to do with Xiao Yan?
From the information the empress now knows, she naturally cannot see the current relationship between Li Maozhen and Yuan Tiangang and Jin State. She only knows that Xiao Yan ignores the affairs of Qi State and directly watches the Daliang court or Jin State swallow up Qi State, which is a beneficial thing for both himself and others. In fact, if Qi State is completely swallowed up by Daliang, it will be more beneficial to Xiao Yan.

After waiting for two months, the empress also thought that Xiao Yan was unlikely to make this trip because of their personal relationship. In fact, the cooperation between Anle Pavilion and Qi State was even cut off by Qi State on its own initiative. Xiao Yan didn't even have time to get angry, so why bother to come and join in the fun?

The empress was upset and pinched her brows with a headache. She realized that she had been sitting on the terrace with her knees hugged for a long time. Although there was no snow, the lower half of Fengxiang was covered in white when she looked out from a distance. The weather was very cold.

The empress had not been in such a lonely posture for a long time. Looking back, it must have been many years. When Li Maozhen went to Raojiang and left the empress alone to barely govern Qi State, she often thought hard alone at night. Later, Qi State got on the right track in her hands, and she truly became the heroic King of Qi and the famous empress. Even if she felt lonely occasionally, there were people like Fanyintian who performed dances for her, not to mention countless other pleasures.

The only thing that can truly make a kingly figure feel lonely is his state of mind.

The empress glanced at the thin hem of her clothes fluttering in the wind, and finally felt the cold. Her inner strength was sealed by Li Maozhen by some unknown means, and she could not use it to keep warm. So she got up and walked into the room, found a military uniform and put on more clothes. It was not until she saw some skirts on the hanger that she was slightly startled.

If she had revealed her female body to Xiao Yan before, perhaps it would be more likely that she could get his help?
The empress could not tell whether Xiao Yan was a man who liked women. Miao Chengtian had reported to her before that Xiao Yan did not seem to have much interest in beauty. But such a man who seemed to be uninterested in beauty founded the Rouge Review.

Everyone said that Yu Youshu, who became famous for her dance in Luoyang and ranked last on the Yu Yanzhi review list, was actually Xiao Yan's concubine. Miao Chengtian could not judge this matter, and the empress had never taken it to heart. But when she thought about it carefully today, she realized that Xiao Yan had always been surrounded by beautiful women.

The surrendered ministers who had met once before, Miao Chengtian and Xuan Jingtian who were specially assigned by the empress to be by Xiao Yan's side, Ji Ruxue who was always by Xiao Yan's side, Yu Youshu from Anle Pavilion...

All of them are stunningly beautiful.

Even as for the Queen Mother Shulido of Mobei, although the empress had limited information about her, she heard from Miao Chengtian that she seemed to have some connection with Xiao Yan, and was also said to be a rare beauty.

The empress supported her chin on her knees, thinking about this, and then remembered what Miao Chengtian said about Xiao Yan not being interested in women, and she couldn't help laughing.

How could this little guy not be interested in women?

The ones nearby are all stunning!
The comment "the most beautiful woman in the world" on her rouge review was made by this guy. The empress had previously thought that Xiao Yan valued her long-standing reputation as a beauty and had never thought deeply about it.

Thinking about it now, the empress regretted not having the face to personally approach Xiao Yan. Now, not only had she lost Ji Ruxue in vain, but the friendship between Qi State and Xiao Yan was also completely severed.

Although she was a famous empress, it was only judged by the people in the world. In terms of real background, she was not as good as Xiao Yan. The empress still remembered the look on Xiao Yan's face when he held up the seal of Zuo Chunfang in Anle Pavilion. The rich and noble temperament seemed to be innate to him, and there was no trace of something abrupt in him.

The empress secretly felt it was a pity. She was a mature woman and seldom had the shy mentality of a young girl like Ji Ruxue. She did not think that committing herself to a man would mean a self-pitying and self-abandoning ending for her.

Putting aside her identity as King of Qi, the empress is certainly qualified to look down on men who are inferior to her. But for someone like Xiao Yan, she would not develop hatred towards men for no reason just because men are superior to women in this world.

The empress has been in charge of Huanyinfang for many years, and of course she knows how difficult it is to change the world's concept. In her Huanyinfang, women and men are equal, but it is very difficult outside.

But when she collected trivia about Xiao Yan in the past two years, Miao Chengtian told her that Xiao Yan's attitude towards women was not like that of ordinary men who regarded women as inferior. He was equally polite and courteous to both Miao Chengtian and Xuan Jingtian, and was even more considerate to Ji Ruxue, wishing to hold this girl who was born a maid in his hands.

Xiao Yan treats ordinary women in Anle Pavilion equally and does not discriminate against them, so the salaries of ordinary maids in Anle Pavilion are very high, and these women will feel confident when they go out.

Even the empress had heard of a small incident. It was that last year when Xiao Yan was fighting in Hebei, he put clothes on a camp prostitute who was insulted by the people of Mobei. It was witnessed by many people and it was said to have caused quite a stir. After that, the military discipline under Xiao Yan's command became relatively strict.

Regardless of whether Xiao Yan was putting on a show in this matter, compared to those princes and nobles who viewed women as playthings, he did it after all, and he did it as the supreme commander of an army. The impact was immediate and left a deep impression on the empress.

It was from then on that the empress began to collect trivia about Xiao Yan. She couldn't explain the reason, but after listening to Miao Chengtian's story, the empress admitted that regardless of Xiao Yan's other achievements, she might also be attracted by his personal charm.

Women are born to admire the strong, even the empress is no exception. She is willing to offer Qi to Xiao Yan not simply because of his former status as the crown prince. These collected trivialities make her naturally have a good impression of Xiao Yan. In today's world, how many princes would take a woman's life as their own? It is precisely because of Xiao Yan's kindness that the empress is determined to follow him as the King of Qi with all her strength. There are benefits, but there is also a desire in her heart to work with Xiao Yan to promote world peace.

The empress thought intently for a long time, her knees leaving faint red marks on her round chin, before she suddenly heard a soft knock on the door, which seemed to have happened several times.

Her cheeks felt a little hot, but she certainly didn't blame it on the fact that she was thinking too intently about Xiao Yan. She could only say that her inner strength was sealed, and her sensitivity was reduced as a result.

She thought it was another maid who was in charge of delivering meals, so she said in a somewhat listless manner, "Take it away. I don't have a good appetite today."

There was silence outside the door.

The empress's eyes narrowed, and she stood up and walked over to open the door herself.

Outside the door was Fan Yintian holding a food box. She was allowed to come here only for this reason. After all, the empress would often go on a hunger strike. Li Maozhen had a headache and could only ask Fan Yintian to find a solution.

There was some excitement in Fanyintian's eyes, but he suppressed it tightly and did not show it.

The empress had noticed this, and her heart began beating rapidly. She walked to the drawing table with her hands behind her back expressionlessly, looking at the half-finished painting on the table without paying any attention to it.

While taking food out of the food box, Fan Yintian whispered, "Master, there's a letter..."

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The empress did not respond, as if she was only admiring her own paintings.

"There are four people in total, one of whom is a young man. I have never seen his face, but I guess he is the Crown Prince himself..."

The Empress's hands that were grinding suddenly froze.

Although she asked Fanyintian to deliver the message to Bian Jing, she actually did not hold much hope that Xiao Yan would come to the appointment in person. She wanted to seek Xiao Yan's help, and Xiao Yan only needed to see her sincerity. This could be done by sending a relevant person in charge of the Bad People. The painting sent to Diaoyutai only needed to be shown to the relevant person, and the two sides could create an opportunity to meet.

The empress had already made the decision. To show her sincerity, no matter who the visitor was, she would risk going out in person as the King of Qi to discuss the details face to face with him or with Xiao Yan behind him.

Fanyintian whispered again: "I have made preparations. If the master goes out for a day, I can still take care of him within a day..."

------

Xiao Yan and his three companions arrived in Fengxiang yesterday, but they did not go to the agreed location immediately. Instead, Gong Yangzuo observed the area for half a day.

It was difficult for others to suspect the identity of old man Gongyang Zuo. After making sure that there was nothing unusual around them, the four entered the tavern they had agreed on. After tasting the wine, they discussed with the boss about buying the winemaking recipe and taking it back to Shu to open a winery and sell it.

The proprietress of the grain store was a woman in her thirties, still charming. She only said that the place where the wine was made was not in the city, but there was a shop outside the city that collected grain and made wine. Then, she said that the store was temporarily short of staff and wrote an address on a piece of paper and asked Xiao Yan and his friends to go find it themselves.

The information on the paper was very detailed. Xiao Yan and his companions searched all the way there without asking too many people. If they asked anything, they only asked about the general place name. After arriving at the place, they realized that it was not a wine shop, but a private house.

There was a large pond behind the house, with fish and a place for fishing. The owners of the house were a father and daughter. It was said that the son-in-law ran a fish shop in the city. After seeing the paper with the address on it, they received Xiao Yan and his four companions, and then did not say much, just let Xiao Yan and his four companions stay.

Xiao Yan did not ask too many questions. The empress had been in charge of Fengxiang for many years, it was impossible for her not to have any confidants. Even if Li Maozhen took back Huanyinfang, it would not be easy to confiscate all the empress's confidants in one go.

Half a day later, near noon of the next day, the sound of horse hooves could be heard outside the room.

The father and daughter seemed to be mentally prepared and went out to greet them immediately. Gong Yangzuo also brought people to guard outside, also with a defensive mentality.

The person who came was just a plain-looking woman with a sharp look in her eyes. It seemed that after confirming that there was nothing wrong with the people and things in the house, she immediately retreated. This made Gong Yangzuo a little shocked. How careful was Li Maozhen? How did he guard against the empress? Could it be that there were other people of Li Maozhen in the suburbs?

Xiao Yan had been fishing and didn't ask about what was happening outside, but after waiting for a while, he suddenly felt that it was too quiet behind him, so he turned around to look.

But then a figure walked into the house. The sky was a little overcast. It was daytime, so there was no light in the room. Xiao Yan couldn't see who the person was. He only felt that the person's movements were not slow but very light, and his figure was very beautiful. There was a hazy beauty in the slightly dim environment.

Gong Yangzuo and others did not come in.

Xiao Yan was guessing which saint lady was coming, so he put down his fishing rod, turned around and sat down without getting up.

After a while, the person came out. She was wearing a very ordinary plain long skirt, but judging from the hem of the skirt, she had very long legs and a tall figure. Her waist was narrow, which further highlighted her slender waist. She wore a veil hat, so her face could not be seen clearly. She looked like a chivalrous woman in the martial arts world, with an extraordinary temperament, and like a woman secluded in the boudoir sitting high in the attic.

She stood at the door and did not move forward. Xiao Yan was secretly feeling that she had a temperament that the saints like Miao Chengtian did not have, but he immediately understood what was going on, smiled slightly, and took off the mask on his face.

After the woman saw Xiao Yan's face clearly, she hesitated for a moment, then slowly took off her veil while moving forward.

Xiao Yan looked over nonchalantly, but when he met that pair of beautiful and charming phoenix eyes, he couldn't help but his heart beat for a moment.

After she took off her veil, Xiao Yan finally saw her full face, which gave her a different kind of beauty. Her hair was casually tied behind her head, with a few strands of hair scattered around her cheeks, giving her an unusually soft feeling. Her mature and beautiful face concealed a hint of sadness, which was matched by her charming yet heroic phoenix eyes, making her extremely breathtaking.

Although she is wearing no makeup, she is already extremely beautiful.

When Xiao Yan picked up his pen to write the sentence "the most beautiful woman in the world", he did not feel much. Now he finally realized how appropriate it was. Perhaps any king who saw the woman in front of him would not be able to resist taking her for himself, and would even want to light beacons to trick the princes for her and win her smile.

Xiao Yan was not Liu Xiahui, so it would be abnormal for him not to be moved. However, he quickly came to his senses, smiled faintly and stood up.

But before he could utter the words "Today I learned that the Empress had already come to my face", the most beautiful woman in the world bowed gently.

"I pay my respects to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."

(End of this chapter)