Gu'anfang, Tan's study room.

Tan Ting looked at the letter and his thoughts were wandering.

Yang Muhong was an official who was born in the same class as a Jinshi. He thought highly of himself and believed that he could win the second-class Jinshi. He didn't expect that he would win the second-class Jinshi, but he was the same as the third-class Jinshi.

Wash Mrs. Ru's feet and give her the same background as a Jinshi.

Tong Jinshi was inferior to others among Jinshi, so Yang Muhong felt very uncomfortable and could only hang around with the official title of Tongzhi of the state. It was not until the old magistrate of Fengshui resigned and returned to his hometown that he became the temporary official of Fengshui Prefecture.

When his father Tan Chaokuan received the temporary transfer order to Fengshui, Yang Muhong returned to his original place.

The man deeply resented that he had not passed the Jinshi examination, and most of the Jinshi in his year were from aristocratic families. What's more, Tan Ting's father, Tan Chaokuan, was the Jinshi in the same year as Yang Muhong.

Tan Chao Kuan had a prosperous official career, but Yang Muhong could only be a small fellow. How could he not feel jealous?

Instead of thinking about saving the people who were harmed by the plague, he secretly spread rumors.

Those common people thought that he was an official from a poor family and would not consider the interests of the poor family, so they believed him for a while.

At that time, the epidemic that was finally suppressed by Tan Chaokuan broke out again. If it had not been suppressed by the officers and soldiers of the surrounding guard station, this epidemic would have caused an outbreak in Fengshui Prefecture.

Because of this, Tan Chaokuan was overworked.

When he also got sick, he couldn't get sick anymore.

...

When Tan Ting rushed to Fengshui, it was already too late.

As for Yang Muhong, although Tan Chaokuan's death had a lot to do with him, Tan Chaokuan died of the plague due to overwork.

During Tan Chaokuan's funeral, Yang Muhong visited the Tan family in Qingkan, but was beaten out with sticks by the Tan family.

I don't know if he was guilty or afraid, but he lingered in Qingkan for three days before leaving.

Tan Ting had no intention of knowing where this man had gone after resigning from office. If his father hadn't left a handwritten note, he wouldn't have hated others because of such an accident. Tan Ting didn't know what he would have done to Yang Muhong at that time...

Although his father did not allow him to feel resentful, Tan Ting still refused to believe that it was just a coincidence caused by Yang Muhong that his father died so young.

Yang Muhong's responsibility cannot be shied away, but the Ministry of Personnel selected officials for transfer at that time, so why did it happen to be his father.

You must know that for such a dangerous job, the imperial court will also consider the stability of the family and will not arbitrarily place such a dangerous job on the patriarch or eldest son who bears important responsibilities.

He had been paying attention to this matter since he arrived in the capital. Because the Tan family had no important officials in the Ministry of Personnel, he entrusted it to Li Chengyun.

Li Chengyun checked the ins and outs for him, and there was not much difference from the information Tan had received before.

So, the transfer of his father by the Ministry of Civil Affairs was also a coincidence...

Tan Ting put the letter away and took out a mutton-fat white jade lotus paperweight from a red sandalwood box.

It was his father's favorite object during his lifetime, but now he was holding it in his hands and playing with it. The mutton-fat jade was warm and smooth, and Tan Ting couldn't help but return to the days when he was with his father when he put it in his hands.

At that time, Tan Jian had just started to learn, and he showed a naughty attitude. Every time he practiced a few big characters, he would take a break for a long time, secretly put some toys in his purse to play with, and would listen to half a class at most before writing every word. Out of shape.

The children of the clan are different from ordinary people. When Tan Ting saw that his younger brother only wanted to play, he angrily scolded him and made him stand by the wall.

Tan Jian pitifully asked him not to be angry, so he just asked him if he could listen to the class well and write well. Unexpectedly, the useless brother didn't dare to agree.

Tan Ting became even more angry when he saw that he still refused to correct himself. However, his father heard about it and called him over.

"Why is my son so angry?"

Tan Ting replied with a straight face, "Father doesn't know something, but my brother is really stubborn and unmotivated."

After hearing this, his father laughed, "Brother Jian has just started to learn, and he is also playful. It will be better when he gets older."

At that time, Tan Ting felt that his useless brother might not be able to get better when he gets older.

But as if his father had read his mind, he called him forward and patted his shoulder gently.

"Even if brother Jian is so playful when he grows up, there is no need to be angry with my son. You can't ask everyone to be as self-disciplined as you are. Regardless of brother Jian or a clan member, there are three most important things to do when you are the eldest son of a clan. "Things."

Tan Ting raised his head at his father's words and heard his father say the three most important things.

"The body is upright, the eyes are far-sighted, and the heart is broad-minded."

At that time, Tan Ting remembered these three words in his mind. He knew that these were three important things, but he was still too young to say that they melted into his heart.

He was still angry at his useless brother.

His father understood his thoughts best, so he didn't try to persuade him anymore. He just thought about it secretly and whispered something.

"It seems that I have to find a chaste, gentle, delicate and transparent girl as your wife."

...

Tan Ting was stuck in old memories.

His father had indeed chosen a chaste, gentle, delicate and transparent girl as his wife.

Tan Ting thought about his wife and couldn't help but soften his eyes.

But the useless younger brother is indeed the same as when he was enlightened at the age of five. He is still stubborn and unmotivated.

Thinking of this, Tan Ting's soft eyes turned ice cold again.

But how could his father, a gentleman as gentle as jade, end his life so early because of a villain like Yang Muhong?

Tan Ting's expression dimmed and he was silent for a long time.

In the past two days, Qiao Yun noticed that Madam frowned and was lost in thought more and more often.

But when she went to ask the madam what was wrong, the madam seemed to regain her senses, said nothing happened, and then returned to normal for a short time.

But how could Qiao Yun not notice anything unusual after following Xiang Yi for so many years?

Madam seems to have some secret hidden in her heart, and she doesn't know about it...

But if Madam doesn't tell her, Qiao Yun can't figure it out either.

Xiang Yi, on the other hand, was counting the time and preparing to send some medicine to his elder brother.

She had brought Qiao Yun there before to avoid being seen, but now that the old man knew about it, he could no longer act like this.

Xiang Yi temporarily suppressed the uneasy thoughts in her heart and asked Zhengji to tell the uncle on her behalf that she wanted to go to the yard where the elder brother was hiding.

When Zhengji came back from the study in the outer courtyard, Xiao Guan also arrived.

Xiao Guan saluted her and said, "It is inconvenient for the uncle to accompany my wife, so I will leave my servant to accompany her to protect her."

Xiao Guan was Tan Ting's chief guard.

Xiang Yi guessed that the old man would not be able to come forward on his own and would send someone to accompany him, but he directly assigned Xiao Guan, which can only be said to make Xiang Yi sigh in surprise.

...

Gu Yansheng's injury has improved a lot, but the people from the East Palace who came to rescue him were also a little late.

Before leaving the capital, he had expected that the trip would not go smoothly, but he really could not have guessed that it would take such a long time.

At the moment, he didn't need Xiang Yi to change his dressing, but seeing that she looked a little tired, he couldn't help but ask her.

"Did the Tan family blame you?"

Xiang Yi quickly shook his head, "Brother, don't worry, there is no such thing."

Gu Yansheng thought of the way Tan Ting looked at her before, and saw that there was no lie on her face. The old man from the Tan family did not criticize her harshly.

In the past, he neither knew nor had any intention of getting acquainted with Tan Ting, the eldest son of the aristocratic family. But there was an intersection under such circumstances.

It's just that the eldest son of the Tan family treats each other like a gentleman, and he can't act like a villain.

He was stuck in such a situation, and he could only say something after he got out of it. But now, seeing that Xiang Yi didn't intend to talk to him too much, he changed the topic with his usual smile.

"Does Yizhen know the terrain in the Qingkan area?"

He asked Qiu Ying to bring a map and lay it out in front of Xiang Yi.

"This map was drawn by someone before I came here. Unfortunately, it is very sketchy and some important details were not drawn, which is very inconvenient."

Xiang Yi understood as soon as he heard it, "Big brother wants a detailed map of Qinghuang. ?"

She said, her eyes brightening, "Is it the person from the East Palace who is coming? Or is it the other person with the evidence that the elder brother mentioned before?"

She was so smart, Gu Yansheng looked at her with a peach blossom look. His eyes smiled.

He nodded yes and explained softly to her.

The people who responded to the East Palace were blocked and delayed for a long time, and their party who came from another way were also delayed because they were hiding in Tibet.

The two sides collided together and ended up spending the same time together.

"I will take care of Yang Tongzhi first, and then wait for the assistant minister of the East Palace. Maybe he will leave soon."

Xiang Yi was not sure who Yang Tongzhi he was talking about, but when he heard that his sworn brother was leaving soon, he felt a little reluctant.

But she thought again of what the old man said that day by the river.

He said he would take her to the capital...

Xiang Yi felt a little uneasy in his heart, but she quickly suppressed it temporarily.

She took down the simple map and said, "I am very familiar with the terrain of Qingkan. I will send a detailed one

to my brother tomorrow." After hearing this, Gu Yansheng thanked her with a smile, and his eyes fell on her eyes. A little green, he said softly.

"Yizhen, the world is changing rapidly. You are troubled at this time. The situation will have changed in about two or three months."

If he can return to Beijing smoothly this time, how can the government and the opposition remain unchanged?

These words clicked on Xiang Yi.

But she did think of the Taoist saying, "There is no way for misfortunes and blessings, only people call it upon themselves." Could it be that the eldest brother really became a Taoist priest and had Taoism in his heart.

She blinked slightly and looked at her adopted brother.

Seeing her like this, Gu Yansheng secretly guessed what she was thinking and said with a smile.

"Blessed Immortal Lord."

When he finished speaking, Xiang Yi was stunned for a moment, and then he pursed his lips and smiled.

When she smiled, the corners of her lips were completely raised, but she smiled without showing her teeth, as gentle as the wind.

Gu Yansheng didn't say any more, his eyes became softer and softer than silk handkerchiefs, falling gently on Xiang Yi's face for a long time.

Tan family.

The Tan family's uncle had been standing in the courtyard with a sullen face for a long time since his wife left. Thinking that it was time for his wife to come back, he walked to the door.

Unexpectedly, instead of welcoming his wife, he met Chen Fuyou.

Chen Fuyou thought that the uncle of the Tan family was coming to greet him, and he was very happy.

Tan Ting had no choice but to invite him into the study reluctantly.

"What is Mr. Chen doing here?"

Chen Fuyou naturally went to the Three Treasures Hall for no reason, but this time he didn't need Tan Ting's help, he just gave him a heads up.

He said first, "That Taoist has some sorcery skills, and he has been hiding in Qingkan for so many years."

As he said that, he glanced at the Tan family's uncle, and saw that the Tan family's uncle nodded in agreement and frowned slightly.

"There is indeed some witchcraft..."

So much so that his wife hasn't come home yet.

Chen Fu didn't know what he was thinking. Looking at the look on Mr. Tan's face, he didn't seem to mean to hide the Taoist.

As for why the Taoist could never be found, he couldn't figure it out.

But this didn't stop him from coming over to give a special reminder.

"The Taoist is hiding in Qingkan, but he is actually preparing to recruit his accomplices and is hiding here to wait for the response. Mr. Tan, guess who that accomplice is?"

Tan Ting was still thinking about Taoist Gu's sorcery, so he just asked casually. , "Who is it?"

"It's the former Feng Shui Tongzhi, that Yang Muhong."

After the words fell, Tan Ting's thoughts suddenly came back, and the word "Chuan" settled on his eyebrows.

When Chen Fu saw what was said, he said no more.

Others may not know about the matter between Yang Muhong and the Tan family, but he was informed by Tete before he came.

Even if someone in the Tan family protected Taoist priest Donggong, there was no way they could protect Yang Muhong again, right?

Not to mention other things, let’s just say that this Tan Zongzi was the first one not to allow it.

It didn't take long for Xiang Yi to go back and forth. Xiao Guan even thought about how long it would take for him to remind him of this problem if the madam delayed for too long, and saw that the madam had already walked out the door neatly.

Xiao Guanda breathed a sigh of relief and protected Xiang Yi back to Tan's house.

Xiang Yi returned to the main courtyard, listened to the instructions on a few reports, and then returned to the room to spread out the map.

The map is very simple, and some paths that can be traversed on foot or even on horseback are not included.

She knew that her sworn brother was safe and sound hiding in the small courtyard, but as long as he set off to pick up Yang Tongzhi, or prepared to leave and board the ship from the East Palace, he would be in danger for no reason.

And knowing the terrain well can eliminate many dangers for him.

Xiang Yi didn't dare to slack off and carefully completed the map for him.

When Tan Ting came back, he saw that his wife was not doing needlework under the window or seal carving at the desk, but was filling in the map. He immediately understood what was going on.

But she drew seriously, first sketching it carefully on the piece of paper beside her, and then carefully copying it onto the scroll, completely unaware of his arrival.

Tan Ting sat aside depressedly, waiting to see when his wife would notice him, but she didn't notice anyone entering the room at all. It wasn't until Chun Bamboo served tea and refilled water that she suddenly noticed him.

"When did the uncle come?"

Tan Ting drank tea with his eyes lowered, and said in a muffled voice, "Not long ago."

It was only three-quarters of an hour.

He glanced at her quietly out of the corner of his eye, but she just nodded and said "hmm" believing it was true.

Tan Ting pursed his lips and didn't want to speak.

Xiang Yi calmly continued drawing.

She was so calm that Tan Ting didn't know what to say.

He said himself that he would not interfere with Taoist Gu's affairs. Now that his wife is painting for Taoist Gu, can he still stop her?

But when she made new clothes for him, she didn't put as much thought into them as she did when she was drawing pictures...

Fortunately, it was not too late, so she came back from dinner in the evening and worked on it for an hour, and finally finished it.

It was extremely laborious to lower her head to paint like that. When Tan Ting saw that she kept rubbing her eyes, she felt more and more depressed.

When she made clothes for him before, he told her to take her time and not be in a hurry, not to burn the light at night, and to look carefully.

That's good for Taoist Gu...

But she didn't seem to notice it, and told him that she would go back tomorrow to deliver the picture.

Tan Ting had pursed her thin lips all night, and had to speak when she heard this.

"Why did Yizhen forget? Tomorrow I promised my younger siblings to go horseback riding."

Is there any?

Why can't Xiang Yi remember it?

But it was too late, so she couldn't send someone to ask Xia Yingxuan.

Only the old man said one thing.

"Just ask Xiao Guan to send him off tomorrow. Don't miss riding with your brothers and sisters."

Xiang Yi thought for a while, thinking that Xiao Guan had always been prudent and appropriate, and it was inconvenient for him to always go there, so he agreed.

Tan Ting secretly looked at his wife, and when she wasn't paying attention, he called Zhengji over and asked him to go to Xia Yingxuan early tomorrow morning and ask the second lady to invite her to ride horses at the racecourse.

"Well, it must be early."

There is no time when Yang Zhen refuses to agree to things like horse riding. Even though she was windy last night and was in low spirits today, she changed her clothes and came to invite Xiang Yi early in the morning.

Xiang Yi didn't notice anything and arrived at the racecourse with Yang Zhen and Tan Rong.

Tan Jian still had a heavy day of schoolwork, so he reluctantly left after dropping them off.

But Yang Zhen really didn't have much energy today. After riding with Tan Rong for a while, she sat aside tiredly.

Seeing this, Xiang Yi said forget it, "Let's go back and rest today."

Yang Zhen said no, "Sister-in-law and little sister finally got to know each other better. We should forget about it after two days of rest."

She cheered up again and asked Tan Rong to go to the racecourse. Walking in circles, trotting around with Xiang Yi.

Xiang Yi saw that her horse-riding master was really conscientious, so he couldn't refuse.

But as soon as Yang Zhen and Xiang Yi left the racecourse, they sneezed three times in a row, with tears and mucus flowing down their noses.

"Ouch!" Yang Zhen quickly covered it with a handkerchief.

Xiang Yi didn't dare to make any more noise now, "It's really cold, let's go back quickly."

Yang Zhen also hesitated.

Who would have thought that at this moment, there was the sound of horse hooves, and while they were talking, Tan Jian rode up to them.

Not far behind him was the old man.

Tan Jian returned home with a grimace today. When he met his eldest brother, he thought he was going to be asked about his schoolwork again. He was thinking about sneaking away from another way. Unexpectedly, his eldest brother stopped him, frowned and looked at him for a long time, and said One sentence.

"That's it, let's have a rest today."

Tan Jian almost flew to the racecourse, but he didn't expect his elder brother to come too.

When he saw Yang Zhen sneezing repeatedly, he wanted to take her to a sheltered place to drink some ginger soup to warm her body. Then when he saw Xiang Yi was about to leave, his eyes suddenly glanced at his eldest brother, and his head suddenly seemed to be enlightened.

"Sister-in-law, please don't go. Brother happens to be here, so let him take his sister-in-law to run the horse race."

Before Xiang Yi could react, the man rode up to her side.

Xiang Yi suddenly remembered the last time she rode a horse with him. She was about to shirk away, but he spoke first.

"Let's go forward."

He had no intention of riding with her, but just trotted forward. Xiang Yi breathed a small sigh of relief.

But seeing that Yang Zhen, Tan Jian and the others had left, she could only drive her horse carefully to follow the man.

Although the two were riding horses in the wilderness together, they were in tandem. Tan Ting had no choice but to stop and wait for her. After a while, Xiang Yicai rode forward slowly.

The two of you didn't speak, and neither did I. In the end, Tan Ting said.

"Yizhen is really making progress in riding horses."

After only two lessons, she was able to control the horse to move forward slowly.

"Thank you for the compliment, uncle." Xiang Yi lowered his head and stroked the horse's thick and smooth mane.

Seeing her like this, Tan Ting said something in a muffled voice.

"You have just learned to ride a horse. You cannot run at night, in the forest or by the river, lest you stumble."

After saying this, he paused and said, "It is best to have someone to accompany you."

He said, and Xiang Yi agreed and continued to help him with his head bowed. He held the horse and fed him some fodder.

The couple stopped talking again, but met Qin Jiao, an aide of the Lin Mansion, who had returned to his hometown during the New Year in the field.

Qin Jiao saw what seemed to be the uncle from a distance and hurriedly stepped forward. He was surprised when he was not accompanied by the young man Zhengji but only his wife Xiang.

The surprise on his face could hardly be concealed. He Qianqian saluted Tan Ting and left.

After riding away, I couldn't help but look back.

This is...the uncle is taking his wife to race?

You’re not going to bring your wife to Beijing in the spring, are you?

He went back home during the Chinese New Year, why is this happening?

But that's all. The key is that Mrs. Lin in the capital sent a letter the day before yesterday.

Mrs. Lin meant that two girls from aristocratic families were also going north to Beijing, and she was going to ask the uncle to accompany the two girls along the way...

Qin Jiao couldn't help but think of the wrong news he had sent to the eldest wife before.

Mrs. Lin didn't like the Xiang family, so she just wanted to let him go to Beijing with two girls from aristocratic families, so she had other plans.

But what if the uncle wants to take Xiang with him?

Qin Jiao felt dizzy and felt that big trouble was about to happen.

......

field.

The couple walked quietly for a while without saying anything.

The sky is finally getting warmer, there are more birds chirping, and children are playing on their heads.

There is peace in the fields.

However, in the midst of this peace, there was a sudden sound of galloping horse hooves in the distance. The children in the field were frightened by the sound of horse hooves. An adult quickly ran over to greet them, "Stop playing there! Go home!" Go quickly!"

The children disappeared in a panic, and the chirping birds also disappeared.

Tan Ting rode up the slope and saw at a glance the official officers and Chen Fuyou who were searching back and forth not far away.

It seems that they have found some traces.

He immediately thought of something, turned around and glanced at his wife. He didn't want Xiang Yi to know, but his wife actually drove a horse up the slope and also saw people in the distance.

Compared with Tan Tingbu who didn't want to intervene, Xiang Yi's expression suddenly became tense.

She subconsciously thought whether Chen Fuyou and others would discover her eldest brother.

But before she went out, she asked Xiao Guan to deliver the map, and Xiao Guan came back to reply that the map had been delivered.

It seems that the sworn brother is still there, so whose traces did they find?

What about Yang Tongzhi?

Xiang Yi subconsciously urged the horse to take a few steps forward.

When Tan Ting saw that she was moving forward, he stepped forward to stop her.

“Yizhen, don’t worry about this.”

Xiang Yi turned to look at him.

Tan Ting said directly, "What they arrested was not Brother Ling, but another person."

Xiang Yi guessed it.

But Yang Tongzhi is equally important, because this person has evidence of the Jiangxi fraud case.

That is the evidence that is related to the common people's transformation!

Xiang Yi couldn't help but talk to the man next to him.

"Uncle, let's go back first."

The common people cannot just sit back and watch the affairs of the common people, but there is no reason to let the eldest son of the Tan family get involved.

However, after Xiang Yi finished speaking, the man stepped forward to block her horse.

Tan Ting frowned. Seeing that she was really going to intervene, he couldn't help but speak urgently.

"Yizhen is probably not that person. He may not really care about the common people, but he is a villain who has finally passed the imperial examination, but his mind is not on the people.

"Don't think that such a person has Any difficulties or regrets are just due to selfish desires and are no longer worthy of sympathy! "

He said a lot of things in one breath. As soon as he finished speaking, the surrounding area was quiet. Only the distant sounds of officers and soldiers searching for people could be heard.

Xiang Yi raised his head and looked at the man. After another breath, he chuckled silently.

Tan chuckled silently. Is it the Yang Tongzhi described in the uncle's words, or...her father Xiang Zhiyuan? At this moment

, Tan Ting suddenly realized something in her faint smile.

Falling into dead silence, he froze there.