When it was still dark, Cheng Zhao had already gotten up and set out from home to the outside of the capital.
At this time, there was already a long queue at the city gate. Some were going to the city for business, some were going to the market, and some, like him, were preparing to go into the city to attend court in the palace.
In order to enter the city early, he had to get up nearly an hour early every day.
When there was a hint of light in the sky, the city gate opened and the crowd lined up in an orderly manner.
Cheng Zhao walked in, when a familiar figure walked towards him: "Brother Cheng."
The person who walked over was Zheng Wangfeng. He was a seventh-grade official and did not need to attend the morning court. He was wearing dark black clothes and blended in with the crowd without being noticeable at all.
Cheng Zhao paused and said, "Brother Zheng is leaving the city so early?"
Zheng Wangfeng walked over quickly and patted Cheng Zhao's arm with his left hand. A piece of paper fell out of his sleeve and fell on Cheng Zhao's arm.
"I'm out of town to do some errands." He smiled and said, "Brother Cheng looks really good in what he wears. If you take a break someday, we fellow villagers can get together."
After he finished speaking, he left.
Cheng Zhao picked up the piece of paper and opened it. There was only one sentence on it: "Tell the people of Sui'an that Xiao He's identity has been known to Master He."
He was stunned and suddenly looked up at Zheng Wangfeng.
Zheng Wangfeng's figure has blended into the crowd. He has been vigilant about whether there are spies from the He family around him. Fortunately, he has a low status and the He family does not take him seriously, so naturally they will not find anyone to spy on him.
He took such a big risk to inform Cheng Zhao of such important news today just because when he was in Yun Province, if it weren't for Cheng Zhao and Shen Zheng, then he would definitely be one of the people who were expelled. He, Zheng Wangfeng, had never He is not a person who likes to owe favors. If he repays his debt today, he will be able to hold his chest high when he meets Cheng Zhao in officialdom.
He is a staff member of the He family, while Cheng Zhao has defected to the Lin family. They are destined not to be in the same boat.
From now on, if anything happens, he will no longer need to think about his hometown feelings.
His figure hurriedly disappeared into the crowd.
Cheng Zhao hid the note in the inner sleeve of his clothes. He had been restless when he went to court. After the morning court, he was supposed to go to the Hanlin Academy to do business. He asked Fu Zheli to help him apply for leave. After leaving the palace, he went straight to Cheng Wanwan. 's residence.
But at this moment, Cheng Wanwan was not at her residence. She went to the palace to work as a translator and didn't come back until evening.
So Cheng Zhao had to enter the palace again. Instead of going to the Hanlin Academy, he went to Honglu Temple. The Hanlin Academy served the imperial power and was the main hall in the palace, while Honglu Temple was in a very remote place.
He reported his intention to the eunuch at the door. After the eunuch went in to report, he led him in.
He walked all the way in and stopped at the entrance of the side hall. There were no foreign envoys inside, they were all officials of Honglu Temple.
The person standing at the front was none other than Cheng Wanwan, the person sitting next to him writing was Mr. Qingzhang of Honglu Temple, and below, there were at least twenty officials sitting.
"Some basic commonly used nouns are recorded in Mr. Zhang's dictionary. I mainly want to talk about conjunctions and grammar with you." Cheng Wanwan seriously talked about the basic usage of English, "Assab's spoken and written idioms are Big difference, pay attention to this sentence..."
She sighed as she spoke.
She never imagined that she would become an English teacher, teaching a group of old antiques.
The main reason is that she will leave the capital soon. If she doesn't teach these basic usages, she is afraid that Master Zhang will send letters to "harass" her from time to time.
The people below listened attentively, took notes from time to time, and some were not ashamed to ask questions. The classroom atmosphere was particularly good.
The class was finally over, but Mr. Zhang did not intend to let go of the process. He asked her a bunch of questions. After getting the answers, he took the example sentences to the side to study.
Cheng Wanwan finally had a moment to rest, and then the young eunuch went in to report that Master Cheng from the Hanlin Academy was here.
She looked up outside and saw Cheng Zhao standing at the foot of the steps with a serious look on his face.
She immediately walked out: "Zhao'er, aren't you supposed to be busy in the Hanlin Academy? Why are you here at Honglu Temple? But what happened?"
"Second aunt, let's go over there and talk." Cheng Zhao walked to a relatively remote tree and took out the note from his sleeve. "After Zheng Wangfeng came to the capital, he became the staff of the He family. He probably started from He. I found out what happened and secretly passed the news to me early this morning..."
He didn't know who Xiao He was at first, but Zheng Wangfeng was so serious about it and was related to the He family in the capital. After a little thought, he understood what was going on.
If Master He from Dahe Village is really the second young master of the He family, then this matter may be more serious, so he does not dare to delay at all...
Cheng Wanwan opened the note without any unnecessary emotion on her face. When He Ling tested her that night, she had already guessed that He Ling already knew everything.
Now Mrs. He has been "critically ill" for several days, but He Xiao has never appeared. So, He Ling will definitely have another trick.
If she were He Ling, then what method would she use to force He Xiao out?
Cheng Wanwan thought for a while, but couldn't think of a reason.
Cheng Zhao spoke slowly: "Second aunt, is there anything I can do to help with this matter?"
"Remember to keep your distance from Zheng Wangfeng." Cheng Wanwan paused and said, "He has already boarded the He family's boat. He is a member of the He family. He told you this news in private today. Maybe he thought about the friendship between his fellow countrymen. , or it may be that the eldest young master of the He family ordered him to deliberately test, Zhao'er, please do your errands well and don't interfere in these things."
"But Second Aunt..."
"It's nothing." Cheng Wanwan pressed his shoulder, "You have just reached the temple. You still have a long, long way to go. When you reach a certain height, by then, Even if you don't speak, Second Aunt will send you to do something, so you can go back to the Hanlin Academy as soon as possible."
Cheng Zhao had to leave first.
Cheng Wanwan continued to stay in the palace to give lectures. After teaching the basic knowledge to everyone in Honglu Temple, they went to review the contract with Asab. Originally, she was supposed to do this again tomorrow, but she was a little uneasy and just wanted to go early. Get the business done so you have more time for personal matters.
When it got dark, she left Honglu Temple.
When they reached the gate of the palace, Cheng Jia and Mrs. Qi had been waiting for a long time. She held Mrs. Qi's hand in the car and sat in the car with her eyes closed to rest.
The car slowed down as it reached the city. The streets were bustling with people, and many pedestrians were talking in groups.
Her eyes suddenly opened: "Cheng Jia, stop the car."
The carriage stopped suddenly, and the voices of people talking on the street became clearer.
"The eldest young master of the He family is really filial and touching."
"Although Mrs. He's biological son is a traitor, this stepson is very good. He is promising and filial. Having a son like this makes you happy even if you close your eyes."
"Master He's mother and Mrs. He are sisters. They are related by blood. It is normal to be filial."
"Haha, Young Master He is a third-rank official in the imperial court. Have you ever seen any third-rank official take a month off for his critically ill mother? In Young Master He's heart, his mother is much more important than his future."
"It is said that Young Master He took a month's leave to go to Nanyang to find a miracle doctor to treat Mrs. He."
"Yes, I also heard that there is a miracle doctor in Nanyang who specializes in treating strange diseases. If he can be invited, Mrs. He may be saved..."
