Liu Wan looked majestic and looked at Zhou Chen below with satisfaction.
To be honest, compared to the old-looking housekeeper Zhao Heng, who has a somewhat ethereal temperament because of his Taoism, this queen seems to be more majestic and solemn.
"Zhou Qing, I heard that you haven't gotten married yet, right?"
Before Zhou Chen could speak, Zhao Heng suddenly reacted.
"Yes, Zhou Qing, you also have this year..."
Waiter Cui reminded in a low voice: "Twenty to six."
"Yes, Zhou Qing, you are already twenty-six this year. Because you went to the border battlefield before, and later because of your filial piety, you have not yet gotten married. Zhou Qing, you have to hurry up."
"I thank the officials for their concern."
Zhou Chen had a bad feeling in his heart. He felt that Liu Wan would definitely not mention the fact that he was not married for no reason, so he instinctively wanted to change the subject, but before he could speak, Liu Wan spoke again.
"Zhou Qing is the pillar of our dynasty. Marriage must not be done casually. In the official family, my concubine's brother has a legitimate daughter, who is seventeen years old. She is a virtuous and kind-hearted person, and she is a good match for Zhou Qing. Why not
…”
"Haha, the queen is trying to protect Zhou Qing as a matchmaker?"
Zhao Heng suddenly laughed, but his eyes changed because Liu Wan did not discuss it with him before saying this.
If it were other ministers, he wouldn't care. He would satisfy Liu Wan if he could. But Zhou Chen was different. Now Zhou Chen was not only an important minister of the imperial court, but also a representative of the noble lineage, and he was also very prestigious among the military attachés.
Therefore, Zhou Chen's marriage is not only Zhou Chen's personal matter, but also involves many complicated factors.
Queen Liu Wan's power has already expanded greatly with his support. If Liu Wan and Zhou Chen are allowed to marry again, Liu Wan's prestige and power will be even more astonishing.
Although Zhao Heng loves Liu Wan and is even willing to let her take power, it does not mean that he can tolerate Liu Wan single-handedly controlling the government and doing whatever she wants.
Liu Wan smiled gently at Zhao Heng and said: "Guan family, this is not the case a few days ago, when Yu'er's child came to the palace to meet the concubine. I saw that the child was really good. No, Zhou Qing is a young hero again, and Yu'er is a young hero.
It’s really a perfect match.”
"That kid Yu'er is pretty good."
Zhao Heng also praised: "But Zhou Qing has to make his own decision on this matter. If Zhou Qing already has the person he likes, we can't mess with the relationship anymore."
After saying that, he looked at Zhou Chen: "Zhou Qing, what do you think of the queen's proposal?"
Zhou Chen clearly felt that something was wrong with the way Zhao Heng looked at him, and he immediately understood what Zhao Heng meant and didn't want him to agree.
This was exactly what he wanted. He had never wanted to agree to the queen's promise. He didn't talk about the main mission, just talked about his current relationship with Zhao Pan'er, and he didn't allow him to marry Liu Wan's niece.
Maybe this would arouse the queen's dissatisfaction, but now that even Zhao Heng has made his attitude clear, it is even less likely that he will agree.
"I would like to thank the saint for his attention, but I actually already have the woman I like. Although we haven't gotten married yet, I have already sworn that I will not marry anyone but her in this life."
When the queen heard Zhou Chen's rejection, a look of anger flashed across her face, but Zhao Heng was very interested.
"Zhou Qing already has the woman he likes? This makes me a little curious. What kind of woman can win the favor of a young hero like Zhou Qing? Which noble family is she?"
In his eyes, a wealthy family member like Zhou Chen must marry a noble girl of similar rank.
But Zhou Chen's answer surprised him.
"Reporting to the official family, I found that the woman I like is not a noble girl, nor a daughter of an official, but a commoner's girl named Zhao Pan'er."
"Folk girl?"
Several people in Chui Gong Hall were shocked, and Zhao Heng even wondered if Zhou Chen was talking nonsense.
"Zhou Qing, tell me again, the woman you like is a commoner?"
Zhou Chen knew very well that Zhao Heng did not want him to marry Liu Wan's niece, but Liu Wan was the queen after all, and in the future she would be the queen mother who would listen to politics from behind the curtain.
In the future, if he wants to send troops to the border and regain the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun, he cannot avoid Liu Wan's support, so of course he does not want to offend Liu Wan to death.
It was impossible for him to marry Liu Wan's niece, but he couldn't offend her to death, so the best option was to tell the truth.
"Yes, the woman I like is a civilian girl. Not only that, she was once sent to the Jiaofang Division for her father's crime. However, she was pardoned and became a good citizen many years ago. She previously ran a teahouse in Qiantang. A few months ago
I came to Tokyo and now run a teahouse on Maxing Street in the capital."
"Have you ever been in the Jiaofangsi? Or are you a business woman?"
If they were just shocked just now, now Zhao Heng and others felt that there was something wrong with their ears.
"Zhou Qing, do you know what you just said?"
The majestic and graceful Queen Liu Wan also had a look of astonishment on her face. She directly wondered if Zhou Chen didn't want to marry her own children, so she made up such a ridiculous reason.
Zhou Chen replied in a calm tone: "In the official family, although Zhao Pan'er is only a businesswoman and has been admitted to a lowly status, I have a deep love for her and am willing to love each other and stay with her forever."
Zhao Heng and Liu Wan's expressions changed suddenly, because Zhou Chen's words made them couldn't help but think of their past.
Although Liu Wan was not from a humble background, she was forced to become a singer because of her family's financial difficulties when she was young. However, this was only for a short period of time, and she later married a silversmith.
But later Zhao Heng met Liu Wan, fell in true love with her, staged a "golden house hidden beauty", and did not care about Liu Wan's past and included her in the harem.
What's even more interesting is that Zhao Heng also treated Liu Wan's ex-husband kindly, who is now Liu Wan's nominal brother, and is the father of Yu'er who Liu Wan said wanted to marry Zhou Chen.
Of course, in order to stabilize the position and identity of Liu Wan's harem, all these secrets have been eliminated by Zhao Heng. There are very few people in the world who know about this except the person involved.
These were all investigated by Zhou Chen. Although this world is imaginary, it is also closely related to official history. Based on the information from official history and Liu Wan's experience, he can easily analyze these secrets.
Zhou Chen admired Zhao Heng's tolerance very much. If it were him, he would never be able to do this.
He couldn't do it himself, but it didn't stop him from admiring Zhao Heng. Zhao Heng really doted on Liu Wan. An emperor could do this for his beloved woman. There was no other way to describe it other than affection.
reason.
"This makes me curious, what kind of strange woman is this Zhao Pan'er, who can actually make a young hero like Zhou Qing obsessed with her."
Zhao Heng himself is a lover, so Zhou Chen's behavior is unreasonable and incomprehensible to others, but he is more curious about what the woman who can fascinate Zhou Chen looks like.
Liu Wan glanced at Zhao Heng calmly. Of course she understood what her man was thinking at this time, but she was extremely dissatisfied with Zhou Chen's behavior.
How could a business woman who had been a lowly citizen compare with her niece? Zhou Chen was really confused this time.
"Pan'er is just an ordinary woman, but she is the woman I love most deeply. It's just that she knows that she has a humble status, so she can't bear to drag me down. But as a man, since I love her, I will love her regardless of anything.
Marry her as your wife, protect her and love her all your life."
Listening to Zhou Chen's words, Zhao Heng looked moved, as if he saw his former self in Zhou Chen.
"Queen, Zhou Qing is so affectionate, we can't do anything like beating mandarin ducks. Let's forget about what you just said."
Liu Wan pursed her lips, feeling very unhappy, but still obeyed Zhao Heng.
"I, my concubine, listen to the officials."
Zhao Heng made the final decision, and Zhou Chen was relieved. It seemed that Zhao Heng was also wise. Although he loved Liu Wan very much, he could still keep a clear head when it came to national affairs and would not follow Liu Wan in everything.
Zhou Chen stood outside the Chui Gong Hall. He knew that today he took the initiative to confess his relationship with Zhao Pan'er, and what he would face next might be a bunch of people's comments and criticisms.
Especially those literati, if they knew that he was going to marry a business woman, they might not know how to attack him. Even those from the noble lineage would probably come to question him.
Although he had a headache, Zhou Chen had no regrets. It was only a matter of time, and now it was just a little earlier.
However, the official Zhao Heng asked him to investigate the matter of the Hat Demon, which made him even more concerned.
The truth he learned from the TV plot was that the Hat Demon incident was planned by Commander Cui of the Palace Division and a disciple of Xianggong Ke Zheng. However, the plot did not explain which disciple of Xianggong Ke.
It can only be determined that it is Qingliu.
However, Qi Mu knew about this matter and took advantage of it.
Zhou Chen didn't know who the real mastermind was, but that didn't stop him from blaming Qi Mu for the incident. Qi Mu had nothing to do with it anyway, so he just beat him to death.
However, this matter needs to be planned slowly and cannot be rushed.
After leaving the palace, Zhou Chen went straight to the mansion where he last met Xiao Qinyan, and an hour later, he saw Xiao Qinyan again.
"Master Zhou came here uninvited. It seems that he has something important to discuss with me?"
The last time they met, Xiao Qinyan called Zi Heng Zi Heng in order to get closer to Zhou Chen, but after the two parties reached a consensus, he stopped calling him that way.
Zhou Chen did not speak official terms to Xiao Qinyan, but said directly: "The officials summoned me today and ordered me to secretly investigate the Hat Demon."
Xiao Qinyan looked surprised: "Isn't the Imperial City Department in charge of the hat demon? Why would the officials let you investigate secretly?"
However, he quickly reacted: "It seems that the officials also want to eliminate the influence of the Hat Demon as soon as possible."
"Is this why you came to me?"
To be continued...