How could my childhood sweetheart be the current empress?

He only said to Your Majesty, "I have a clever plan."

But in the end, the empress took back his military order and just let him go and give it a try.

This is good. This way Xu Chengling won’t feel any pressure and can just do his job.

……

After the grand court meeting ended, officials from all walks of life left the hall and prepared to return to their local posts.

Their trip to this year's grand court meeting was not in vain.

At the grand court meeting, they not only learned about Dayan's development direction for the next year, but also met a young prime minister with great ambitions. His talent and thinking in the court were truly a model for them to learn from.

For this reason, many young officials regard Xu Chengling as an idol and aspire to become great people like him.

However, even if they work hard for their entire lives, they probably won’t be able to achieve the same success as others today.

Then try to be reborn into a better life in the next life.

After the court was dismissed, a group of officials left the hall one after another, until finally Xu Chengling left alone.

As soon as he walked out of the hall, a group of officials surrounded Xu Chengling, introduced themselves to him, invited him to their homes, and some even wanted to marry their daughters to him as a concubine.

They did this naturally because they wanted to get closer to Xu Chengling. Such a young prime minister must have a bright future.

In this regard, Xu Chengling had no choice but to refuse one by one, but these officials were too enthusiastic and refused to let him leave the hall.

At this time, an old man with gray hair on his temples squeezed out from the crowd and put a small box emitting a strange fragrance into his hands.

"Master Xiangguo, this box contains a secret recipe passed down by my ancestors. It uses deer penis, ginseng, oysters and dozens of other precious medicinal ingredients to make a pill called the Golden Gun Pill. It can help Master Xiangguo show his virility."

"Cough cough..."

Xu Chengling couldn't help but cough lightly, and with quick eyes and hands, he put the Golden Spear Pill into his pocket.

As the saying goes, one who eats from someone else's food will be soft-hearted, and one who takes from someone else will be obliged to do something to help. Since you have accepted something from someone else, you naturally have to help do something.

So Xu Chengling asked:

"What can I do for you, old man?"

"My Lord, I am an imperial physician. I have opened a Tongchuntang in the capital. I have a little granddaughter who has been learning medicine from me since she was young. Now she is old enough to get married, but she does not want to get married. She only wants to concentrate on studying medicine."

The old man couldn't help but smile bitterly, and then said:

"So, can I ask the Prime Minister to help my daughter find a job in the capital?"

Chapter 109: Madam, who are you?

Xu Chengling raised his eyebrows slightly and looked at the old man in front of him. He didn't expect that the other party was actually an imperial physician, and his ancestors had been imperial physicians.

A family of imperial physicians, Tongchuntang, this really aroused Xu Chengling's interest.

You know, in the field of Traditional Chinese Medicine, experience is often linked to age, not to mention a family of imperial physicians. The medical experience accumulated by their ancestors alone is enough to benefit future generations for a lifetime.

Although Xu Chengling has developed allicin, the purity of the extracted product is far from enough. After all, he is not a medical professional and can only be considered a novice in this field.

As for wanting to mass-produce more allicin, that was basically impossible. Just think about it, in order to cure Yan Ruoyao's illness, it took him several days just to extract that small bottle of allicin.

To put it bluntly, it was because he lacked experience and did not know how to analyze the pharmacological components. However, if he wanted to improve the efficacy of allicin, he had to understand the pharmacology of allicin before he could conduct experiments and improvements.

What a coincidence! Someone sent me a pillow just in time for me to feel sleepy.

Since they are from a family of imperial physicians, they must be the best in the field of medicine and understand the pharmacology of various medicinal materials. As long as I tell them the principle of extracting allicin and let them be responsible for improving it, it will definitely be more effective than him.

Thinking of this, Xu Chengling pretended to hesitate for a moment and said to the old imperial physician:

"Old man, I'll take note of your granddaughter's matter. If I happen to have a suitable position, I will contact you again."

As the prime minister, Xu Chengling could directly appoint his own officials, which was why the old imperial physician came to him to seek a position for his granddaughter.

However, Xu Chengling still had to find out if he had any idle positions. After all, it was not easy to get an official position in the capital, nor was it easy to find one.

"Okay, then I'll trouble you, Prime Minister."

The old imperial physician thanked Xu Chengling. As long as the prime minister could take this matter to heart, that would be enough. As for whether he could help, he didn't have much hope.

After all, he and the prime minister have no relationship, so there is no reason for others to help him, but he has to try it anyway. Even if it doesn't work, it will not be a loss if he can get closer to the prime minister.

"By the way, Lord Prime Minister, my daughter is currently in Tongchun Hall in the West Market of the capital. If Lord Prime Minister has made up his mind, you can go there directly to see her and say that I asked you to do so."

After saying that, the old imperial physician whispered a few more words into Xu Chengling's ear, roughly meaning that if the Prime Minister felt that the thing was effective, he was welcome to go to Tongchuntang to get a few more.

After the old imperial physician left, a group of officials immediately gathered around and followed suit, stuffing all kinds of treasures into Xu Chengling's hands, also hoping to get an official position for their children.

In this regard, Xu Chengling did not accept their gifts. After all, it was a debt of gratitude, and it would be unreasonable to accept the gifts and not do the favor.

"It's all gone, it's all gone, my wife is calling me home for dinner."

Xu Chengling, who was surrounded and unable to leave, shouted to everyone, saying that if he continued to be harassed by them like this, he would not be able to go home for dinner.

Seeing that the prime minister had already spoken, everyone dared not continue to pester him, so they made way for him to pass.

Until the end, Xu Chengling only verbally agreed to the request of the old imperial physician. Of course, the Vajra Pill was secondary. What he mainly cared about was the imperial physician family background behind the other party.

After walking out of the hall, Xu Chengling couldn't help but look back into the hall. After all the ministers had left, the empress slowly stood up and left the hall with the help of her maid.

He couldn't help but suddenly froze in place.

"This action, the more I look at it, the more it looks like my wife..."

Xu Chengling watched the empress stand up and leave the hall. Even though they were far away, he could tell from the way she walked that her movements were almost exactly the same as his wife's.

You know, everyone has habitual movements when walking. If it is someone you are very familiar with, even if you can't see the appearance clearly, you can still recognize him from his habitual movements.

Especially when the other person is someone he has spent some time with day and night with, and is his closest person.

His wife had a habitual movement when she walked, which was to place her hands on her abdomen, and occasionally use one hand to slightly support her chest, because this could make her walk a little easier.

Just now, when the empress walked down the stairs, she subconsciously made the habitual action of supporting her chest, but the problem was that she had nothing there.

Suspicious, very suspicious!

Xu Chengling couldn't help but think about it, and suddenly a bold idea popped into his mind.

From the day his wife married into the Xiangguo Mansion, he always felt that something was wrong with her, but he couldn't tell what it was.

Because he hadn't seen Ling'er for several years. After all, girls change a lot when they grow up. At that time, he just thought it might be because he hadn't seen her for too long. Ling'er had changed a lot in recent years, so he thought it was just an illusion.

In Xu Chengling's impression, Ling'er should be very well-behaved and obedient. Although he deliberately guided her in this way, it was Ling'er herself who proposed to marry him.

But after not seeing each other for a few years, after Ling'er married into the palace, she seemed to not know him anymore and did not adore him as much as before. He was more like a familiar stranger to her.

At that time, Xu Chengling just thought that Ling'er hadn't seen him for too long, and she was in a new environment, so she would inevitably be a little shy. He just needed to wait for her to adapt slowly.

The most obvious difference is reflected in some details of life, especially some of his wife's usual habitual actions, which are quite different from the Ling'er in his impression.

It's impossible that the elder sister and the younger sister got on the wrong sedan on the day of their wedding, and as a result, the elder sister got married and the younger sister became the empress. This is a bit too bloody.

But Xu Chengling really thought about this possibility. Even if the possibility was only one in ten thousand, he always wanted to believe that his wife was Ling'er, because when she left him, the love in her eyes was definitely not fake.

But no matter how much Xu Chengling doubted it, he still believed that he married the empress's biological sister, Ling'er, as his wife.

It's a very simple truth. If such a bloody development as getting on the wrong sedan really happened, then the person marrying her would become the empress herself.

If that's the case, then she could just admit her identity, cancel the engagement, and switch back with her sister. Why would she have to spend the bridal chamber with him?

Even if we take a step back and assume that the empress was afraid of exposing her identity and being laughed at by the world, then she could have just left after the bridal chamber. Why did she have to stay by his side for so long?

If the lady is really the current empress, then was the deep affection in her eyes when she left all a lie?

These are exactly what Xu Chengling has always been confused and conflicted about: is his wife Ling'er?

If so, that's fine.

If not, how should he face this truth?

Xu Chengling was in a state of great confusion at the moment. He couldn't help but think:

"Ma'am, who are you?"

Chapter 110: What? There’s something on my face?

In a few days, it will be New Year's Eve. If my wife keeps her promise, she will be waiting for me on the Yueyang Tower.

When the time comes, when I meet my wife and confront her face to face, the truth will naturally come out.

But for Xu Chengling, is it really necessary for him to be so obsessed with the truth?

Even if we take a step back and say that his wife is not Ling'er, then the person he lives with day and night is the current empress Yan Jixue.

Does he love her? Ask yourself, he does.

Not only because she is his wife, but also because she is the person who lives with him day and night, the one who is always by his side, sharing his worries and solving his problems.

Even though she was the empress and her name was Yan Jixue, she was still the wife who had always been with him, slept with him, treated him with respect, and made a promise with him.

Her every word and action, her every expression, has long been deeply imprinted in Xu Chengling's mind.

What is her identity...does it really matter?

Xu Chengling knew that he loved his wife, and she loved him too. The affection in her autumn-water eyes when they parted was like the gentle and tender light that penetrated the mist between the mountains. There was no way she was lying to him.

But she is the empress of Dayan after all, the monarch who wants to chop off his head, the tyrant that Xu Chengling least wants to interact with in his life and the one he is least likely to have any feelings for.

Marrying the empress was something he had never thought about, and even dared not think about.

But if she is really the Queen of Dayan, how should he choose between the two?

As a mature man, Xu Chengling really wanted to say loudly, I want them all!

Then his ending would most likely not be being beheaded by the empress, but being hacked to death with a hatchet by the empress and her sister.

But no matter what Xu Chengling thinks, the premise of all this is that his wife is the Empress Yan Jixue.

If he was just overthinking it, that would be great, but how could he prove his guess?

While Xu Chengling was thinking it over, most of the ministers in the court had already left.

In a blink of an eye, he was the only one standing at the entrance of the hall, with two stone lions placed on his left and right.

"Let's go back first. Tong'er must be waiting anxiously."

There was no point in thinking too much, so Xu Chengling decided not to stay here any longer and prepared to leave.

Just as he was about to leave, he saw a palace maid coming from the side of the hall not far away. She came in front of him, bowed slightly, and said to him:

"My Lord, the Queen Mother wants to see you."

"Queen Mother?"

Hearing this address, Xu Chengling was stunned for a moment, a little surprised. The Queen Mother actually wanted to see him?

The empress dowager, as the name suggests, is the mother of the empress.

However, as far as Xu Chengling knew, the empress dowager was not the empress's biological mother, but her adoptive mother.

The empress's biological mother died of complications during childbirth after giving birth to her second daughter, Yan Qiaoling.

After that, the empress and her sister were taken care of by another concubine, who is now the empress dowager.

Xu Chengling was puzzled. What did the Queen Mother want to see him for?

Could it be that after my lady returned to the palace, she mentioned him in front of the Queen Mother, and then the Queen Mother planned to meet him, the Prince Consort?

Since it was the Queen Mother who invited him personally, Xu Chengling couldn't refuse in person, so he had to nod.

"Okay, then take me to see the Queen Mother."

"My Lord, this way please."

Led by the palace maid, he walked around the palace several times and entered the harem.

Because the current emperor is a woman, there are no men in the harem, not even eunuchs, only palace maids.

Therefore, the appearance of this big man Xu Chengling naturally attracted the attention of some palace maids.

"Look, how could a man enter the harem? If His Majesty knew about this, it would be a capital crime."

One of the young palace maids looked towards Xu Chengling and couldn't help but speak.