After entering the palace, he was led to the same place as last time.

Xiao Hanzheng bowed first. “Greetings, Your Majesty!”

The emperor raised his hand. “Rise.”

He said, “Can you guess why I called you into the palace today?”

Xiao Hanzheng knew that the emperor was not the kind of person who liked to suppress talented people.

On the contrary, he liked to nurture smart people.

So he pretended to think for a moment and replied, “Your Majesty, I think that there are two reasons.

“One is that Your Majesty has already decided what you want me to do at the northern border.”

“The other guess is that you have already found out Zhuo Jun’s identity.”

After hearing Xiao Hanzheng’s reply, the emperor’s eyes showed some appreciation.

“Not bad, you guessed everything right. You are very smart.”

He continued, “Originally, I didn’t want you to go to the northern border so quickly, but now that I have found out Zhuo Jun’s identity, you have to go early.”

Xiao Hanzheng did not ask the emperor what Zhuo Jun’s identity was, but instead looked like he was listening respectfully.

The emperor was even more satisfied.

Not only was Xiao Hanzheng a smart person, he also knew how to advance and retreat.

He was not impetuous at all at such a young age.

He did not beat around the bush and directly pointed out, “Zhuo Jun’s identity is not simple. She is the illegitimate daughter of King Jin.”

Xiao Hanzheng was extremely shocked. “She is actually King Jin’s illegitimate daughter.”

He really did not expect Zhuo Jun to have a background like this.

He guessed that Zhuo Jun was someone linked to the previous dynasty.

Moreover, he had never heard of King Jin having an illegitimate daughter in his previous life.

It seemed that Zhuo Jun had hidden it very well in his previous life.

After King Jin was executed, not only did Zhuo Jun not keep a low profile, he even took the position as the governor of the northern city.

What was the reason for that?

Could it be that he wanted to avenge King Jin?

The emperor was not surprised to see Xiao Hanzheng shocked, because he was also very surprised when he heard the news.

He did not expect King Jin to have such a trick.

“Her younger brother is also of King Jin’s bloodline. Their so-called father who died on the battlefield did exist, but it was used as a cover.

“It was King Jin who arranged for Zhuo Jun to dress up as a man since she was young, so that if the rebellion failed in the future, he could still keep his bloodline.

“The most important thing he wanted to protect was Zhuo Jun’s younger brother.

“The reason why Zhuo Jun was arranged to dress up as a man was to protect her younger brother when he grew up.

“In the future, she will hand over all the power in her hands to her younger brother.”

Her younger brother must be very smart in order for such a backup plan to be needed.

If Xiao Hanzheng did not find out that Zhuo Jun was a woman and took the initiative to report to him, he would not have thought of this otherwise.

When Xiao Hanzheng heard him say this, he suddenly felt that the matter was not simple.

Zhuo Jun’s identity, which had been hidden for so many years, had not been discovered, not even by the emperor’s informants.

Would she really reveal that she was a woman just because she had taken a fancy to him?

He thought for a moment. “Your Majesty, may I ask a question?”

The emperor saw Xiao Hanzheng’s serious expression and nodded. “Go ahead.”

Xiao Hanzheng asked, “Your Majesty, Zhuo Jun has been disguised as a man and has not been discovered. Did she receive strict training?”

The emperor nodded. “From the information we have found, she has indeed received training since she was young.

“Therefore, be it in her speech or behavior, there is no femininity.

“She even used a fake Adam’s apple and drank medicine that can change her voice.

“Oh right, our people found out that Zhuo Jun also has some medical skills.”

According to the information that came from the emperor, Zhuo Jun had to take medicine every month before she became more like a man.

After coming to the capital, her identity would be easily revealed if she went to find someone to prescribe her medicine, so she did it herself.

Hearing the emperor say this, Xiao Hanzheng realized that something was wrong.

He suddenly said, “Your Majesty, I suspect that Zhuo Jun intentionally exposed her identity.”

The emperor was stunned. “Why would you suspect this?”

Xiao Hanzheng said a few suspicious points. “First, the reason why I paid attention to Zhuo Jun was mainly because the way she looked at me was not right. This was discovered by my wife.

“Moreover, she looked at my wife with dislike and hostility, hence my wife realized that something was wrong and told me.

“But she was someone who had undergone training and could disguise herself for more than ten years.

“Was it really that easy for her to reveal her emotions?”

“Secondly, that day, when she saw me, she would blush and deliberately fall into my arms. I took the opportunity to take her pulse.

“If she also knew some medical skills, she would have definitely noticed that took her pulse.

“Later, when I found out that she was a woman and went to the party, the way she looked at me was even more obvious.

“Previously, I felt that something was wrong.

“After all, when I was interacting with her, she was very normal. At the very least, she was able to hide her expression and emotions.

“But why did she deliberately continue to expose herself after I found out that she was a woman?”

After the emperor heard his words, he could not help but think about it.

“I found out that the appearance of you and your wife has disrupted King Jin’s plans.

“In addition, your wife is the disciple of the old priest and knows so many things that can make money.

“Therefore, the reason why Zhuo Jun participated in this enke was because King Jin arranged for her to come here.

“He wanted to use this opportunity to bribe you and persuade you to join him.

“King Jin should be very short of money right now.”

Money was too important for a rebel.

Recruiting soldiers and buying horses, bribing court officials, weapons, rations, and so on.

As for Shi Qingluo’s ability to make money, King Jin definitely knew about it.

Xiao Hanzheng thought for a moment. “If that’s the case, then I humbly feel that something is even more wrong.

“Since King Jin wanted Zhuo Jun to bribe my wife and I to join King Jin, then the moment she came, she showed her hostility toward my wife and seemed to want to express her feelings toward me.

“Doesn’t that mean that she’s trying to make things worse?”

“To be able to advance to a jinshi, her writings won’t be poor. Logically speaking, she should not have done such a stupid thing.”

The emperor had not thought about it carefully at first, but after hearing what he said, he could not help but think deeply again.

“That’s right, this is indeed not right.”

“According to what you mean, she deliberately exposed her identity as a woman to you. Then what is she after?”

This was something that the emperor was very puzzled about.

But it was indeed like what Xiao Hanzheng said.

If Zhuo Jun was really so inexperience and stupid, it would be impossible for her to be one of the first-ranked candidates in this exam.

Moreover, it had been so many years and no one had discovered her identity.

Would she have exposed her identity as a female so quickly just because she liked Xiao Hanzheng?

As the daughter of King Jin and having received strict training, could it be that she could not even control her emotions and not reveal them?

No matter how one looked at it, it felt like it was done on purpose.

Xiao Hanzheng shook his head. “I can’t guess it either.

“Therefore, Your Majesty, why don’t you get someone to bring Zhuo Jun into the palace and ask her?”

If Zhuo Jun really had a premeditated plan and wanted to deliberately expose her identity as a female in front of him, then she definitely had a motive.

Moreover, it was very obvious that the motive wasn’t targeting him, but to let the emperor know.

The emperor felt that it made sense. “Alright, then sit down for a while. I will send someone to bring Zhuo Jun.”

Xiao Hanzheng nodded. “Yes!”

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