The twenty-seventh day of the twelfth lunar month.
Before noon, outside the Duke Xun's mansion.
A gorgeous carriage bearing the emblem of the Fufeng County Government slowly stopped, escorted by more than a dozen elite guards.
In the carriage, Xia Yu took a long breath, feeling a little uneasy.
After two lifetimes in his past life and this life, this was the first time he visited his father-in-law's house, and he couldn't help feeling a little panicked.
In the car, besides Xia Yu, there was also Ling Jing.
When the former Xia Kingdom's number one counselor heard that Xia Yu was getting married, he immediately became energetic and took the initiative to ask for help.
It just so happened that Xia Yu didn't understand anything and was worried about being timid, so she was immediately overjoyed.
"With help from the military advisor, there is a way for everything."
When Ling Jing saw this, he immediately smiled and comforted Xia Yu, a scholar, he always enjoys this kind of adult beauty and elegance.
As soon as the two got off the carriage, Yin Yuan came out to welcome them: "Brother-in-law, you are here, your father and mother are waiting for you."
Early in the morning, the entire Xunguo Duke's mansion was looking forward to Xia Yu. After all, everyone knew how important this marriage was to the Xunguo Duke's mansion.
"Okay, okay, dear brother, please."
When they arrived at the main hall, they saw Yin Kaishan and a middle-aged woman sitting behind the case waiting. When Xia Yu arrived, they all stood up to meet them.
"The military advisor is here. The palace of my lord is really full of splendor, and I have come to see Zhuojing." Yin Kaishan smiled brightly.
"Yu has met Uncle Yin and met Auntie." Xia Yu greeted him.
"Okay, okay, please take a seat." Mrs. Yin looked at Xia Yu and was very happy.
Yin Kaishan had no heirs, which put a lot of pressure on her. She also strongly supported Yin Yuan's adoption. She couldn't let her husband have no heirs.
Now, with an adopted daughter, I can bring a lot of foreign support to the family, which is really worth it.
At this moment, everyone sat down.
Yin Kaishan was a soldier, and he said straight to the point: "Military advisor, what I mean is to keep everything simple and get married before the Lantern Festival. What do you think?"
Xia Yu nodded. After all, it was just Nateng, not a wife. The procedure was of course simple.
He had heard from Ling Jing that many wealthy families took concubines, which meant that the bride was carried in a small sedan chair and entered the house through the back door.
wedding?
I'm afraid you're overthinking it, a concubine is not worthy at all.
And Teng's wife was just a concubine with a higher status.
There won't be a formal wedding, just a simple engagement, and then a few close relatives will be invited to have a meal at home to witness it, and that's it.
Therefore, as the rules are like this, Yin Kaishan will not make any excessive demands.
He had heard that Xia Yu might get married to the Zheng family in Xingyang. If the Zheng family's legitimate daughter was displeased, it would be difficult for Yin Zhixi in the Fufeng County government office in the future.
At that moment, Ling Jing came forward to discuss the specific details with Yin Kaishan.
The two parties agreed that the betrothal would be made the day after tomorrow, and the wedding would be completed on the seventh day of the lunar month. In the afternoon, the Fufeng County Government would send the betrothal gift list.
The reason why this procedure is necessary is that in ancient times, the betrothal gift and dowry were required to be equal.
The amount of betrothal gift given by the man indicates that he attaches great importance to the woman, and the dowry of the woman must be equal or even more generous.
Otherwise, there will be suspicions of selling the daughter, and the family will not be able to hold their head high in the neighborhood.
This is really different from some bad habits in modern times.
After everything was agreed upon, Xia Yu said goodbye and returned home.
The current situation is special, and it is difficult for Yin Kaishan to keep food. If after the wedding, charming guests come to the door, they must be warmly entertained.
Who would have thought that as soon as Xia Yu got off the carriage at the door of her home, Su Dingcong hurriedly greeted her and whispered: "Teacher, His Majesty the King of Qin is here."
Xia Yu was stunned and said hurriedly: "Can anyone see it?"
"No. His Highness King Qin came in disguise, and the disciples didn't make any announcement. Now please wait in the study." Su Dingfang was also very clever.
Xia Yu breathed a sigh of relief. In this current atmosphere, it would definitely not be a good thing if someone found out that Li Shimin had a close relationship with him.
"Good job." Xia Yu was very satisfied.
Immediately, after saying goodbye to Ling Jing, Xia Yu rushed to the study with Su Dingfang.
When he arrived outside the study, he asked Su Dingfang to guard the door and not let anyone disturb him. Xia Yu then straightened her clothes and stepped into the house.
"Military advisor." Inside the room, Li Shimin stood up with a smile.
"Your Highness." Xia Yu greeted him hurriedly.
After sitting down, the relationship between the two naturally did not need to be exposed to the outside world. Xia Yu immediately said: "His Highness suddenly came to the house secretly. Is there something important?"
Li Shimin nodded and his expression turned solemn.
"Your Highness, please speak."
"The first thing is that I met with my father yesterday and asked Dou Jiande and Wang Shichong what to do next. What do you think?"
"Your Majesty still wants to eliminate the root cause?" Xia Yu could guess with her toes that Li Yuan was very sinister.
"Yes." Li Shimin smiled bitterly and lowered his voice: "My father thought that after the new year, he would find an excuse to send the two of them to Bianhuang, and then on the way -" he made a beheading gesture.
Everything is fate!
Xia Yu sighed and said: "Wang Shichong can just pay it back, but Dou Jiande has won the hearts of the people in Hebei. If he dies, Hebei will be in chaos. Has your highness made it clear to your majesty?"
"I told you, but my father obviously didn't believe it. He thought that the Xia Kingdom had been destroyed, so he went back and forth a little bit, but he couldn't make any trouble."
"The military advisor also knows that my father is already on guard against Gu, and it is inconvenient for me to persuade him to avoid my father being suspicious."
In this matter, Li Shimin had a promise to Xia Yu, but now, he is really helpless.
Xia Yu fell silent, feeling powerless.
There are some things, even though he is a time traveler, he cannot stop the rolling wheel of history.
"That's all, Your Highness, just try your best." Xia Yu smiled bitterly: "It's just that once Liu Heitai gets into trouble, the disaster will be huge."
"Speaking of Liu Heitai," Li Shimin's eyes were complicated: "I just received the report and I have found him."
Xia Yu's eyes lit up: "Where?"
"He hid in a small mountain village in Zhangnan, kept his name anonymous, brought dozens of soldiers and family members, and worked with the crops all day long."
"The people who were sent searched almost all of Zhangnan before finally discovering his traces."
"Military advisor, do you want to kill Liu Heitai as previously discussed if Dou Jiande must die?"
Li Shimin made a beheading gesture.
Xia Yu was about to nod, but suddenly stopped.
If it were that simple, Li Shimin could just make his own decision, so why bother asking him? Why would he still come to the door secretly like this?
In just a moment, as smart as him, he seemed to realize something.
He looked at Li Shimin.
Li Shimin also looked at him.
Both of them were a little silent.
Xia Yu smiled bitterly in his heart. He knew that there were some words that were inconvenient for Li Shimin to say and could only be said by him.
Sometimes, subordinates are used to take the blame.
"Your Highness, considering the situation in the court, killing Liu Heita will benefit the world, but it will not be of any benefit to your current predicament."
"If Liu Heita is not killed and Dou Jiande dies, chaos will break out."
"When no one is able to control it and the DPRK is in panic, your Majesty will definitely think of you again and he will be able to successfully regain military power."
"In this way, Your Highness's predicament today will be solved immediately."
"When Liu Heitai is defeated, Your Highness will be able to win the hearts and minds of the military and the people of the world. Your Majesty, who is not the prince, is not enough to reward you."
Seeing that he couldn't escape, Xia Yu simply threw him away.
Although he knew that even if he tied with Liu Heita, Li Yuan would still cheat and deny Li Shimin the crown prince position, but at least he could break the situation temporarily and win a buffer.
The most important thing is to pave the way for the final Xuanwumen incident in terms of public opinion.
Of course, we can't tell Li Er about this yet.
Otherwise, such a 'rebellious' thing would probably frighten this young boy now, and Li Er still wants to take over in an upright manner.
When Li Shimin heard this, he hesitated and said: "Military advisor, is this not fair enough and contrary to the righteousness of the ministers?"
hypocritical!
So hypocritical!
Obviously you think so yourself, but the bad guy insists on me doing it!
Xia Yu was slandering in her heart, but she said with a serious expression on her face: "Why did Your Highness say this? In Yu's opinion, it is His Majesty and the Crown Prince who suppressed you. Does Your Highness want to be a good person?"
"I'm afraid that even if His Highness is willing to sacrifice, others won't appreciate it."
"Besides, from Yu's point of view, you are the enlightened master that the world has been waiting for for a long time. With your highness's ambition, you should be more domineering than me!"
"As the saying goes, 'If Your Highness doesn't care, what will happen to the people'?"
Good guy, in order to get Li Er to step down, Xia Yu praised him so hard that he even blushed a little.
Obviously, as a politician, this guy is not thick-skinned and dark-hearted.
However, generally speaking, Xia Yu felt that she was already very much like a 'dog-headed military advisor', much like Yao Guangxiao, the 'prime minister in black' beside Zhu Di.
Li Shimin suddenly felt that the wind was blowing and he sighed: "I don't think so, it's actually forced by the situation and I have to raise my voice."
The two parties agreed to avoid mentioning it immediately and tacitly.
"By the way," Li Shimin suddenly changed his smile and took a box and handed it to Xia Yu: "I heard that the military advisor is going to marry the daughter of Duke Yin. A small gift is Shimin's wish."
This is Nateng's wife, there will be no grand wedding, and it will not be convenient for Li Shimin to attend.
But given the closeness between the two of them, they naturally had to express their feelings.
Xia Yu didn't see anyone outside. When she opened the box, she found a pair of fine jade and a set of gorgeous pure gold wedding headdress.
According to the current price, it is worth thousands of dollars, so it is worth a lot!
Xia Yu knew that he had to accept this, and immediately said with a smile: "Since it is His Highness's wish, Xia Yu will accept it with a smile."
"That's right." Li Shimin clapped his hands and laughed. If Xia Yu didn't accept it, he would have worried about whether Xia Yu had changed her mind. He then stood up and said, "It's not appropriate to stay alone here for a long time, so I'll leave now."
Xia Yu nodded, then called Su Dingfang and asked him to lead Li Shimin away quietly through the back door.
