Gululu!
The rolling waterwheels brought cool canal water to the rooftops of the palace, making artificial rain.
After meeting his master Queen Qin as a courtesy, Ren Ning walked out of the yard.
Under the heavy rain in the front yard, more than thirty young men of about the same age as him were chatting in groups.
Ren Ning walked along and listened a few times.
He could even hear his name being mentioned frequently.
Ren Ning was not surprised at all.
What Yunzhong County did was not bad. Especially the news that he had eliminated the Ren clan a few days ago was no secret among the wealthy families.
hey-hey.
Someone mocked in a weird tone.
"This illegitimate son actually removed his family name. He really doesn't know what is good or bad."
"As the saying goes, the seventh-rank official in front of the prime minister's door. Although it is unpleasant to have an illegitimate child, after all, he has the reputation of the Grand Master's Palace. At least no ordinary commoner dares to bully him."
"Let's see what kind of reputation he can make as a single man with no clan or clan. I bet that there is a 90% chance that he won't even be able to marry someone from a small family, and in the end he will have to bow his head and go back to the Grand Master's Mansion to catch the autumn wind."
Pooh!
"The bird knows the ambition of the swan." A good-looking young man in the crowd suddenly took a sip at that person.
"Those who only rely on the shelter of their ancestors, of course, can't understand Ren Ning's thoughts. Some people may have plugs in their ears. I don't know that they are already living a prosperous life in the Rock Frontier Fortress, and they have already achieved military exploits at a young age. Fight to become a security commander."
"After this mission of sending the spirit back home is completed, he will be at least a seventh-grade military general. I don't know how much better than those who just eat free meals at home."
Ha ha!
"Seventh-grade general?" The man from before turned his head and looked over. After seeing the young master who had spoken clearly, he laughed disdainfully.
"I asked who would fight for the illegitimate child. It turns out to be Xiao Gang, the unworthy second son of Uncle Zhongyong's house."
"Speaking of which, in two years' time, your uncle Zhongyong's palace will be demoted. I guess you will never have the chance to attend the banquets of major princes and princes with me in the future."
"In this case, you Xiao family must quickly find another way out like the illegitimate child in the Taishi Mansion. After all, we are in the same boat."
A group of noble gentlemen around him had strange expressions on their faces, but no one said anything.
Xiao Gang, the second son of Uncle Zhongyong?
Ren Ning turned his head and quickly remembered this person.
On the passenger ship back to the imperial capital, weren't the four men in black who boarded the ship and wanted to kill Xiao Gang in front of them?
As for the demotion of Zhongyong Count, Ren Ning was even more aware of it.
When the empire was first established 600 years ago, His Majesty Emperor Taizu stopped making progress in order to prevent the descendants of the founding general. It is stipulated that no matter how high or low the title is, it will be reduced after three generations.
That is, if the three generations of descendants do not make enough contributions to the empire, they will be demoted.
The Xiao family used to be the founding father of the country.
It’s just that the descendants of the Xiao family are not as good as the previous generation. The last Duke Xiao went to the battlefield and was so frightened that he fell off his horse and cried to go home.
The emperor at that time was furious. When the time limit for the third generation is up, the Xiao family will be directly demoted from the Duke's position to the uncle's residence.
Now preparations have reached the juncture of the third generation. In another two years, if no promising son of the Xiao family comes back with some meritorious deeds, it is estimated that even the uncle's house will not be able to be saved.
Therefore, all the noble families in the imperial capital secretly call their Xiao family the "Xiao" family, which means they are unworthy of their descendants.
Listening to the dark history of his ancestors, Xiao Gang's eyes were red and his face was ashen, he clenched his teeth but was speechless.
"What, you're not convinced?" The other person sneered.
"Due to the epidemic in Yunzhong County, there has been no banquet in Xingji City for a long time. Just eating and drinking is meaningless. Many of the people here are from military generals' families, so why don't they join in the fun by making gestures. Let this unscrupulous second master look at their arrogance. How far has our home fallen?"
Before Xiao Gang could answer, King Qin had already walked out with a smile and his hands behind his back.
"What are you guys talking about? It's so lively!"
Everyone salutes.
People close to King Qin told the story.
But he only said that everyone was preparing to compete in martial arts to add to the fun. The others remained silent.
King Qin nodded and looked around.
"I have good news for you all. Good news has come from Xingluo and Yunzhong counties. The epidemic is being controlled extremely effectively. The imperial doctors reported that the epidemic will be completely subsided within a month."
Everyone was refreshed and quickly congratulated: "God bless my emperor! God bless Yunchui!"
Ha ha!
"So be it." King Qin laughed, "Since you all want to compete in martial arts for fun, I will add some bonuses. The first place will be awarded three hundred catties of ice, the second place will be awarded two hundred catties, and the third place will be awarded one hundred catties."
Buzz~
Everyone was overjoyed.
Ice was very expensive in this day and age. Usually during the twelfth lunar month of winter, ice cubes have to be collected from the northernmost Tamaki County and transported thousands of miles back for storage.
The people in front of me are all children of wealthy families, but it is impossible to have enough ice to cool down in these dog days. That's almost something money can't buy.
Three hundred pounds of ice will definitely make many people’s hearts flutter.
King Qin nodded with satisfaction and continued to speak.
"By the way. Princess Qin has always liked to be a matchmaker. She has also invited many noble ladies of the imperial capital. You must show off your talents in a while. Maybe you can win the hearts of some beauties today."
Everyone's eyes lit up, and they were all excited, pushing and shoving towards the school ground.
Ren Ning didn't want to be alone and followed him silently.
Also at the back was Xiao Gang, whose teeth were clenching.
"Second Young Master Xiao, I am Ren Ning!" He smiled.
Xiao Gang was stunned, looking at Ren Ning up and down, and almost bumped into the golden pillar of the handwriting corridor.
"Are you really Ren Ning? Why are you here in Prince Qin's Mansion?"
"It's guaranteed to be fake." Ren Ning joked, "Of course it's an invitation from Prince Qin's palace. Could it be that I climbed over the wall and sneaked in?"
"That's true." Xiao Gang came back to his senses.
He glanced angrily at the young master in front of him and said hesitantly: "Did you hear what they said just now?"
Ren Ning nodded calmly, "I heard it."
"Aren't you angry?" Xiao Gang was surprised.
"What's there to be angry about?" Ren Ning pointed to the palace at his feet: "It doesn't matter how noble their status is, why am I standing here with my own ability? Let's see what they will be like in a few years."
Xiao Gang was refreshed and finally convinced of the identity of the person in front of him.
He suddenly bent down and bowed to Ren Ning: "Thank you for the life-saving grace on the ship. Although Xiao Gang is useless, he will definitely repay him in this life."
Ren Ning was stunned and looked surprised, "What kind of life-saving grace? I don't understand."
He checked carefully at the time, and no one found that he was the one.
"No need to deny it." Xiao Gang put his hands on Ren Ning's shoulders familiarly.
"I checked later. Although I only saw one corpse, four people actually boarded the boat. There were more than 800 people on the boat that day, and the only one who could silently kill four men in black in the middle of the night was You alone..."
The two of them arrived at the school grounds in the middle of the palace without saying a few words.
The school grounds were almost the same as usual, except for a long thin curtain drawn between the pavilions and pavilions opposite.
There were many slender figures standing dimly behind the curtain. It was the ladies invited to the banquet by King Qin Ji.
Xiao Gang straightened his back subconsciously and muttered dissatisfiedly: "It's such a long distance, and a curtain is drawn. Only a ghost can see clearly what the girls look like."
He turned back and asked Ren Ning: "Brother Ren, do you have a girl you like?"
cough.
Ren Ning coughed, "You are older than me."
"It's okay." Xiao Gang waved his hand nonchalantly, "A capable person is a teacher. Oh no, a capable person is a brother."
