In the Marquis of Jiang'an Mansion, Xia Jingyun took the letter handed over by Qin Li and looked at the contents she had copied. She did not doubt whether it was true or false, because she could easily go to Concubine De to get the original manuscript for verification.
He just frowned slightly, "You mean the Qin family chose my sister and me from the beginning?"
Qin Li hummed, "The current situation in Beijing is complex and complex, but after careful analysis, there are only a few people who are qualified to sit on the card table, such as the prince, Qin Prime Minister, concubine Shu, and concubine De."
"According to grandpa, the prince is already full-fledged and the situation is worrying, so he is not a good master for the Qin family. The Qin family and the Qin family have the same surname and have always been coveted, and grandpa does not like the way Prime Minister Qin behaves. Feng; as for Concubine Shu, she has been honored for many generations, and the British Duke is the head of the nobles and has huge power. For her, the Qin family is just the icing on the cake, and Concubine Shu has always acted arrogantly and willfully, and is not a good master."
She looked at Xia Jingyun with a sincere look, "Concubine De has a reputation of being kind and gentle. The way she handled the affairs in Sishui Prefecture last year also impressed the courtiers and officials, demonstrating her ability to serve as a minister. And Mr. Xia's talents , Needless to say, during the cooperation with me, Ming Yulou, his character and business ability also amazed the Qin family."
"The most important thing is that the death of the eldest brother made the Qin family understand that with the Qin family's current wealth, it is impossible to stay out of the matter. The Qin family must rely on someone in the court as they did back then. Therefore, Empress Dowager De The Qin family’s only choice is with Mr. Xia.”
Xia Jingyun nodded, acknowledging what Qin Li said, "So, on the surface, this reply letter that day was a letter of stern rejection. It was to continue the plan of luring the snake out of the cave and to test our strength again. Strength, but you are also afraid that this problem will never be solved, and it will be difficult to win the trust of my sister with empty words in the future, so you buried such a mystery in the letter? "
Qin Li smiled slightly, "I'm actually a little surprised. I didn't expect grandpa to be so quick-witted."
"How can someone like Lingzu, who has experienced the turmoil between the government and the opposition, be so helpless?"
Xia Jingyun was filled with emotion. The old head of the Qin family really made him a little amazed. After Qin Li explained this, he connected the previous and later news and couldn't help but admire the old man. Under such circumstances, Even though he was obviously the biggest suspect, he was able to make this decision so rationally and calmly, while hiding it from almost everyone.
Qin Li said: "Then how will Mr. Xia decide on this matter?"
Xia Jingyun looked at Qin Li and suddenly smiled. He seemed to understand the other side of the Qin family's old man's thoughts. It would not be a good idea for the old man to go to Concubine De and join the camp by praying. ’s ending, his status will obviously be reduced in the future.
But if Qin Li came to beg him, he wouldn't have this trouble.
A woman, especially a beautiful woman, showing weakness to a man will not arouse arrogance, but only pity.
He nodded and said: "For us, this matter is naturally something we couldn't ask for. We wish we could sweep up the couch to welcome you. If we can get help from the Qin family, we will be like a tiger with wings and a fish in water. How can we disagree? I will discuss the specific details with my sister. Let's discuss it. After your brother's matter comes to light, we can discuss it with your mansion again. What does Miss Qin think?"
Qin Li nodded and stood up, with a slight blessing, "Young Master Xia has just been released from prison. He should rest more, so that this little lady won't disturb you too much."
Xia Jingyun hummed and sent Qin Li to the door.
"Miss Qin."
He suddenly shouted and Qin Li turned her head.
"Would you still act like this without your ancestor's instructions?"
Qin Li was stunned, and Xia Jingyun also smiled, "It's okay, I just asked casually, Miss Qin, walk slowly."
"I can."
Qin Li whispered two words and left quickly.
Looking at the fleeing figure, Xia Jingyun scratched his head, as if he had incurred some undue blessings.
Why!
Back in the room, he sorted out his thoughts. If he could bring the Qin family under his control and make up for his shortcomings in terms of financial resources, then his side would really have the ability to compete head-on with other opponents, and would be able to compete head-on with other opponents in the future. There is also capital in troubled times.
My sister’s prestige in Sishui Prefecture, Li Tianfeng’s management in Sishui Prefecture, that is the base camp;
The Su family's century-old operation in Yunmeng Prefecture, its family property, money and food, thousands of elite clan soldiers, and the geographical location connected to Sishui Prefecture, are a strong source of confidence and deterrence;
If coupled with the Qin family's business network all over the world, as well as the massive wealth, money and food, it can play a huge role in material reserves. These are the things to rely on to gather strength in troubled times.
With these three things, plus Xue'er's irrefutable status as a prince, the title of a close disciple of the Three Great Masters of Tushan, the status of my sister in the Sixth Palace, and the fact that she is not considered a high official in the court at the moment. With a weak voice, great things can really happen!
Thinking of this, Xia Jingyun, who was originally a little happy, suddenly froze.
Damn it, after all this calculation, my biggest shortcoming is actually myself?
The corner of his mouth twitched and he read a book!
It seems that it is impossible not to get the top score in the exam!
Two days have passed in a flash, and spring is already around the corner.
During the past two days, except for the first night when Xia Jingyun took a nap to replenish his energy, Xia Jingyun spent the rest of the time reading seriously, forgetting to sleep and eat.
However, he did agree with Su Yuanshang's teasing at the time. Thanks to his focused study for more than ten days in prison, otherwise he would not have been fully prepared for the exam.
During this period, news of Bai Yunbian's sexual behavior at the Surabaya Guild Hall was heard. In addition to being completely speechless about Bai Yunbian, Xia Jingyun was also quite moved by the actions of Xu Dapeng, Zeng Jimin and others.
But now that spring is coming, everything can only be said after spring is over.
On February 17, one day before the start of spring, everyone in the Hou Mansion first accompanied Xia Jingyun and Bai Yunbian to the Ministry of Etiquette, and wrote the headers in advance, which was equivalent to verifying their identity in advance, saving them the time to formally enter the venue tomorrow. A lot of trouble.
February 18th is the day when spring begins.
At midnight, the Hou Mansion was already busy.
After waiting for Xia Jingyun and Bai Yunbian to get up, wash and eat, the two of them dressed up and came to the front of the hall.
Arriving in advance, Wei Yuanzhi, who was also ranked second in the first class, smiled and tied two square scarves tightly on their heads, and said with a smile, "It won't fall to the ground."
Then Su Yuanshang, Gongsun Jing and others came forward to congratulate him on being named on the gold medal list, or on the apricot list.
Feng Xiuyun had carefully prepared all the items for the examination. Gongsun Jing carefully asked to help check them again, but Feng Xiuyun refused with a blushing face.
"Miss Feng, sometimes there are things you don't understand on your own. It's good to have more than one person helping you check and fill in the gaps."
Gongsun Jing was still persuading him with a simple face. Xia Jingyun was just trying to stop his enthusiasm for not understanding the situation. It was my job to help her check for leaks and fill them up. Why are you joining in the fun?
Feng Xiuyun took out another item and handed it to Gongsun Jing, "Mr. Gongsun, please help me take a look at this one. This belongs to Young Master Bai. All the Young Masters here have it."
By the white clouds:
I just think Surabaya Guild Hall is more interesting.
After a lot of fuss, everyone rushed to Gongyuan in carriages.
It's a pity that even the carriage with the Marquis's signboard on it was completely unable to move a few hundred meters away from the Gongyuan.
Everyone had no choice but to get out of the car and escort Xia Jingyun and Bai Yunbian there together.
Chen Fugui and Bai Yunbian's guards worked together to squeeze a path through the crowd.
After a series of tedious procedures such as firing cannons to open the door, checking and frisking, Xia Jingyun and Bai Yunbian followed the crowd, said goodbye to everyone, and walked into the examination room.
The spring of the 24th year of Chongning has begun!
A dragon gate leap competition is also coming!
——
The Spring Festival is indeed the top priority for the empire at the moment, but under the grand narrative, everyone has their own specific troubles.
For example, the people in Heibingtai, Xingbu, and Jingzhao Mansion are all facing lawsuits at the moment.
In the past, all parties had a tacit understanding to delay the case. Only the Jingzhao Mansion still had some motivation to solve the case quickly, but their people were the weakest in terms of strength and ability. The person who was dragged to death was released from prison, and His Majesty issued an oral order urging all efforts to solve the case. This life suddenly became difficult.
It has been loose for almost half a month, and it can be tightened if it is tight.
But after all, it is the most feared spy agency in the entire empire, and the Criminal Department is home to experts in criminal investigation throughout the empire. When the head catchers from the Criminal Department and the rats from Black Ice Terrace came out in force, many clues and details were dug out, and the case was revealed. The structure seems to be slowly emerging, and hope is already in sight.
Outside a blacksmith shop in Nancheng, a criminal officer and two of his men were hiding in the dark, watching the shop in front of them.
According to the groom's itinerary they recently sorted out, they found that he would visit this blacksmith shop every now and then in the past six months.
They judged that the sleeve arrow was probably made by this blacksmith shop.
But when they reported the information, the people above told them to tightly control the blacksmith on the grounds that they should not alert the enemy. As long as the blacksmith did not run away, they would not arrest him.
Everyone had no choice but to do as they were told. At this moment, the catcher's subordinate looked at the sparse blacksmith shop with some boredom. "Boss, it's been almost half a month. Apart from a few neighbors coming to buy things, there's no one here! Want me?" Say, let’s just take him back and punish him severely, why are we afraid that he won’t tell the truth?”
"Yes, if I were involved in this matter, I would definitely not be able to show my face these days. What's the use of being so guarded?"
The head catcher glared, "This is the order from above, let's just follow it! If something goes wrong, it will be slapped on the top. If you act privately, if something goes wrong, we will lose our heads! Don't you understand this?"
He looked at his subordinates who were immediately frightened and snorted coldly, "Do you think you are the only smart ones? Look at the surrounding Black Ice Platform. Is there any movement?"
The men nodded quickly and said that the boss is really awesome!
As he was talking, one of his men suddenly changed his expression, "Boss, look!"
The head catcher immediately looked over and saw a man wearing coarse linen clothes walking into the alley.
He first pretended to walk aimlessly through the blacksmith shop, looked around, and walked out of the alley.
Not long after, he turned back from the other end of the alley and passed by again.
After waiting for about a cup of tea, he appeared in the alley again, walking as if he was strolling, but when he passed by the blacksmith shop, he ducked and got into the shop!
"superior!"
The catcher didn't hesitate any longer and rushed towards the shop with two of his men.
On the other side, the man seemed to have noticed something was wrong, so he jumped out from the back door of the blacksmith shop and ran forward.
Just as he was about to disappear into the messy house, a foot suddenly stretched out from the room and tripped him. Then a man in black stepped out and struck the opponent on the neck with a knife.
"Damn it, you can't commit suicide this time!"
The people from Heibingtai and the Criminal Department looked at each other with a bit of excitement in their eyes.
This is the first living suspect they have gotten so far, except for Xia Jingyun, who cannot be tortured!
In the prison of Black Ice Terrace, several veterans of torture stood ready.
In the small room separated by a window, the leader of the Black Ice Platform, the Minister of Punishment, and the Captain of the Jingzhao Mansion were all present, preparing to watch this first torture interrogation that might be very helpful for them to solve the case.
The leading torture veteran pouted, and a man in black picked up a basin of cold water and poured it on the man's face.
The man woke up leisurely, looked at the man in black in front of him, seemed to understand his current situation, and immediately shouted: "I, the Crown Prince, have abandoned me, Dong Sicheng! Why don't you let me go quickly!"
As soon as these words came out, the entire torture prison instantly became quiet.
In the hut, the three of them looked at each other, and for a moment, they were all speechless and confused.
Chapter 2 later.
I am working hard to code and try to resume the normal update rhythm tomorrow, or2
(End of chapter)
