With the cannon fodder script in hand, it is easy for the king to change his fate

This time, Azhen called other bodyguards to practice moves with Xie Kui.

Although Xie Kui was talented, he was still no match for the experts among the secret guards in terms of experience. In addition, the secret guards also practiced the martial arts techniques given to them by Azhen.

"Will Thirteen still stay by my side from now on?" Xie Kui asked.

"Do you want him to stay by your side?" A-Zhen heard Xie Kui's longing.

Xie Kui didn't hesitate: "Although I've surpassed Thirteen now, he probably doesn't have time to practice martial arts, otherwise he would be just as good as the other guards. I happen to be short of a sparring partner. If you don't need anyone, Aunt, could you lend me Thirteen for a while? That way, Thirteen won't have to hide in the shadows and will have more time to practice martial arts."

“Sure,” A-Zhen said. She had plenty of bodyguards; what was wrong with assigning one to Xie Kui?

"Thirteen, from now on you will follow Kui'er and follow her lead in everything." After giving the instructions, Azhen gave Thirteen a martial arts manual.

Being a bodyguard wouldn't be too bad, and if there was a chance to step into the open, following Xie Kui would be a good choice. Xie Kui will definitely join the army in the future, and with Thirteen by her side, he should be able to achieve something great.

The Zhao Kingdom is currently at peace, but who knows what the future holds.

After Xie Kui and Thirteen left, Azhen asked Yuan Qi about Xie Nuo's recent movements.

In the client's previous life, although Xie Nuo only became entangled with those men after ascending the throne, they knew each other before that and had a good relationship.

Based on the current timeline, the men involved with Xie Nuo should be making their appearances one after another.

“The capital has been bustling lately, and Princess Nuo has indeed made quite a few new friends in her spare time,” Yuan Qi said. “But most of them are just casual acquaintances, and not many are particularly outstanding. The most outstanding one is a young man from a merchant family named Zhuang Xu. He seems to be in poor health, but he is quite handsome and is known as the sickly beauty.”

“Recently, Princess Nuo has often met with Zhuang Xu. The Zhuang family's business is quite large, and they have brought a lot of new goods to the capital. In addition, the Zhuang family is also trying to obtain the right to sell these new and exotic items from the imperial court.”

"As far as I know, this dealer is indeed a good businessman with an excellent reputation. As long as there are no shady dealings, he will definitely be able to obtain the qualifications to sell a lot of goods."

The shady dealings Yuan Qi mentioned naturally referred to the officials in charge of this matter.

This kind of thing is too common. Every year there are people trying to profit from it. Even if you manage it today, it will happen again tomorrow. It's impossible to completely eliminate it. It just depends on their luck.

Last year, two unlucky ones went too far, blocking merchants below them so much that they left them no way to survive. His Majesty discovered them, and they're probably queuing up to be reincarnated now.

Since then, things have been quiet for quite some time, and no one should dare to cause trouble for a while.

His Majesty actually sold some common recipes directly to some reputable and capable merchants, letting them make the products themselves. Moreover, he sold them to more than one company, and how big they could become depended on their own abilities.

Only some of the more precious items, which are not suitable for public release, are still controlled by the imperial court.

“Princess Nuo has already considered Zhuang Xu a friend, and all parties have probably heard the news and dare not make things too difficult for him,” Yuan Qi added. “Zhuang Xu comes from Yunzhou, and the Zhuang family are major merchants there.”

“Arrange for someone to keep an eye on Zhuang Xu,” A-Zhou said.

Yuan Qi was startled and somewhat confused, but she still agreed.

Every order His Majesty gives has a reason; she should just do as he says, and when the time comes, she will naturally know what's going on.

The main reason why Azhen arranged for people to keep an eye on Zhuang Xu was that Zhuang Xu was not the son of an ordinary merchant; he was the son of a prince from the previous dynasty, and he himself knew this identity.

The client was naturally unaware of exactly how much he had done in the process.

When the Kingdom of Zhao fell apart, he declared himself king and established a small kingdom called Chen.

Unfortunately, he lacked the ability to unify the land, and instead plunged it into chaos once again.

Now that Zhuang Xu has come to the capital, he can't just sit idly by. And now that he's acquainted with Xie Nuo, keeping an eye on him should yield some clues. It would be best if he could be dealt with beforehand. "Cough cough cough..." In a teahouse, Zhuang Xu suddenly coughed.

Xie Nuo, who had been listening to the audiobook, saw this and handed him a cup of tea: "What's wrong? Did you catch a cold, choke, or are you feeling unwell?"

A sickly beauty is a sickly beauty; even when she coughs, she is still a delight to behold.

In this era, many things are inconvenient, but there are still quite a few good-looking people, which makes her feel like she's chasing after idols.

In her previous life, she was an office worker. Even if she was a fan of idols, she couldn't possibly be this familiar with them and meet them whenever she wanted.

Most importantly, those idols can't compare to the ones sitting next to her.

Yun Qinglan, Ji Churong, and Zhuang Xu, whom she had just met, were all top-notch in appearance and outstanding in talent.
“It’s an old problem, Princess Nuo, don’t worry.” Zhuang Xu took the tea Xie Nuo handed him, took a small sip, and even that simple action was captivating.

Yun Qinglan sat beside Xie Nuo, her eyes slightly lowered.

As more and more people surrounded Xie Nuo, he was powerless to do anything about it.

Based on his experience, none of these people were simple; they were definitely not simply attracted to Xie Nuo's personality, but rather by his identity.

Since there's no way to stop it, let's each rely on our own abilities.

Thinking of this, Yun Qinglan casually poured tea for Xie Nuo, as if she had done this a thousand times before.

"Have you seen a doctor?" Xie Nuo asked Zhuang Xu. It was really not good that he was so sickly at such a young age.

Zhuang Xu shook his head and smiled, a smile that made him seem even more vulnerable: "I've searched a lot, but nothing has helped. I just feel a little unwell occasionally, but otherwise I'm fine. It's a blessing that I'm still alive."

“Last year, the underground palace of Ao Kingdom was discovered. As far as I know, a lot of prescriptions were found inside, including some for health preservation,” Xie Nuo said. Her parents used the health preservation prescriptions, but she heard that they didn’t work for her aunt. “Next time I go to the palace, I’ll ask the imperial physician for some health preservation pills. You can try them and see if they have any effect.”

Zhuang Xu hesitated for a moment: "I'm afraid I can't handle this. The health-preserving pills made by the imperial physicians shouldn't be given to people without His Majesty's permission, right?"

"Let me go ask my aunt." Xie Nuo paused, casually reaching for the items made by the imperial physician. It was indeed inappropriate, given her current position. She and her aunt were family, and besides, her aunt valued her highly, so her aunt probably wouldn't mind. But it was different for others.

She really couldn't guarantee that the imperial physician would be invited to treat Zhuang Xu.

"In any case, I don't want to put Princess Nuo in a difficult position. Whether this matter succeeds or not, I am very grateful for Princess Nuo's kindness," Zhuang Xu said.

These words made Xie Nuo feel quite pleased, and he wished he could fly to the palace immediately to ask his aunt for the health-preserving pills.

Zhuang Xu coughed lightly a few times, holding a handkerchief, his handsome eyes slightly lowered.

I had long heard of Princess Nuo's reputation, and that she was said to have novel ideas and was the most favored niece of the Empress of Zhao. At first glance, she was indeed stunning and not to be trifled with, but after spending more time with her, I discovered that she was extremely naive.

At first, he actually wanted to ask the imperial physician for health-preserving pills directly?

If it were any more petty ruler, her fate would be unknown. It's only because the Empress of Zhao is close to her that she doesn't care about such things.

But if such things happen too often, the Empress of Zhao will inevitably find that Xie Nuo is unsuitable.

Zhuang Xu frowned in thought. If he had chosen someone else, all his efforts to get close to Xie Nuo would have been in vain.

We cannot allow Xie Nuo's naive, arrogant, and foolish side to be exposed to the Empress of Zhao.

Xie Nuo's personality was actually a pleasant surprise to him; such a person was too easy to control. (End of Chapter)