After bidding farewell to the Huang sisters, Xiang Yi asked the coachman to return home.

Masaki watched his wife's expression carefully and had to step forward to explain for his uncle.

"I'm afraid that Madam will worry you too much. Several prefectures and counties in Gyeonggi are very close to each other. She will be back in about three to five days..."

Zhengji said. He looked at Madam carefully and saw Madam sighing softly. Take a breath.

"I understand."

After saying that, Xiang Yi went home without going to the newly opened jade shop.

Unexpectedly, when she returned home, Tan Jian and Yang Zhen arrived as well.

The two of them left Guining from the uncle's residence one day in advance, and Yang Zhen stepped forward.

"Sister-in-law, don't worry. My father said that Mr. Xu, the assistant minister of the East Palace, is also going together and has provided a lot of manpower for my elder brother."

Tan Jian said yes, but he couldn't help but say something.

"Brother, it's true that he accepted this job without consulting anyone... How about I go over and have a look?"

Before he finished speaking, Zhengji hurriedly stepped forward.

"Second Master must not go. I have told you to stay at home and take care of me. If I see you not at home, I will probably be angry."

Tan Jian is most afraid of his eldest brother being angry, and he also knows that his eldest brother is specially there for him. Boyun Academy took a leave of absence and asked him to go home early these days.

At the moment, he could only stop bringing up the matter of going out, rubbed his nose, and looked at Xiang Yi.

"Sister-in-law, don't worry, maybe eldest brother will come home to write a letter in the evening."

After all, we are so close.

Xiang Yi nodded, said nothing, and returned to the room.

The main room of the old house in Beijing is slightly smaller than the main room of the Tan family in Qingkan, but compared to Qinghan's house, it is filled with household items, clothes, tea bowls, and ornaments, but it is much warmer than Qinghan's house.

But at this moment, the wind blew in from the west window and slipped away from the east window, making the whole room feel cool.

Xiang Yi stood in front of the door and was blown by the cool breeze. He didn't move for a while. After a long while, he slowly walked to the desk.

She opened the seal carving box and saw the small seal made for the old man inside. After she polished it carefully, she didn't have time to give it to him.

She took out the small seal.

Every time the uncle asked her if she was done and he wanted to take it back, she felt that it was still a little short of the mark. This time it was finally done and he was not at home.

Xiang Yi opened the red ink pad, dipped it in with a small seal, printed it on the rice paper, and printed two words -

Yuan Zhi - neatly.

Sitting silently in front of the desk, Xiang Yi read those two words for an unknown amount of time.

...

In the evening, there were only three people eating in the Tan family dining room in Beijing.

Yang Zhen always felt that her sister-in-law was quieter than usual. Although her sister-in-law was always taciturn, today she felt inexplicably that her sister-in-law really didn't want to say a word.

She gave Tan Jian a look, and Tan Jian looked back at her.

At the large table, Yang Zhen squeezed to Xiang Yi and gave her a chopstick of food.

Suddenly someone came over to pick up some food. Xiang Yi was startled subconsciously, turned his head and looked to his side, and paused when he saw Yang Zhen.

"They are younger siblings..."

Yang Zhen blinked and gave Xiang Yi another chopstick to eat.

"Sister-in-law, eat more."

As soon as she finished speaking, someone suddenly came outside. Zhengji led a dusty guard and hurried forward.

"The uncle has come home to write a letter."

After saying this, Yang Zhen saw that her sister-in-law's eyes seemed to light up for a moment.

In the past, Tan Ting's letters to his family were always presented to Qiuzhaoyuan, and Tan Jian opened them and read them.

This time Tan Jian also immediately stepped forward to take the family letter in his hand and quickly opened it.

The letter was not long and had no complicated content. It just stated that he was so determined that he did not have time to discuss with his clansmen, so he asked Tan Jian to explain something to his clansmen. He also talked about some things in the clan and at home, and also asked Qing Kan to do so. Bian's mother, sister, elders, and elders did not have to worry, and they told Tan Jian not to neglect his studies even if he was at home.

This letter was no different from his old letters home, but both Tan Jian and Yang Zhen silently glanced at their sister-in-law.

As before, the eldest brother did not mention his sister-in-law this time.

There was silence in the hall, and even Zhengji swallowed dryly.

Xiang Yi was silent for a moment, then came back to his senses after a short pause.

It's been a long time since he mentioned her in his letters home. It shouldn't be surprising that she wasn't mentioned today.

Xiang Yi was speechless and his eyes dropped.

The wind blew straight through the hall.

At this moment, the messenger outside said a special word to her.

"Madam, the uncle wrote another letter to Madam."

After saying that, he handed over the letter. On the envelope, he wrote four words in a calm and elegant hand -

My wife's personal signature.

Putting the letter in his hand, Xiang Yi was still stunned and had not come back to his senses.

They have never written letters, and they don't even mention a word of news exchanges in letters home, but today there is a letter specifically written by him to her.

Yang Zhen came over at the right time.

"Ah! Brother has a secret message for his sister-in-law! What is he writing?"

Xiang Yi felt uncomfortable for a moment, and suddenly he didn't know whether to open it in front of everyone.

It was Tan Jian who pulled his wife back.

"You knew it was a whisper, but you asked what was written?"

"Yes!" Yang Zhen suddenly realized it, giggled, and said the same thing to Xiang Yi.

"Then sister-in-law, we won't bother you reading the letter, let's go!"

After the two of them finished speaking, they held hands and ran away with a smile.

Xiang Yi: "..."

The hall became a little warm. Xiang Yi opened all the windows, sat in front of the desk, and opened the letter.

The letter to her alone was similar in length to the letters home to everyone, although they were not very long...

Xiang Yi read it from beginning to end, was stunned for a while, and then read it twice. Come to his senses.

He told the matter first because he was short of time, so he didn't discuss it with everyone. He was also afraid that she would be worried after hearing what happened to Mr. Qi, so he didn't tell him yesterday.

He apologized to her and then asked her how well she slept last night.

When Xiang Yi saw this sentence, he couldn't help but think of what happened last night, and also what happened when he suddenly took her hand and put it on his waist last night...

Xiang Yi brushed this sentence over , he asked her if she had gone to the newly opened jade shop. He didn’t know what she had bought, but he had picked out decent jade and told her not to keep her eyes open at night.

Finally, he said:

My wife, don’t worry, my husband will return home before the tenth day of the next month.

The tenth day of next month...

Xiang Yi sat in front of the desk and read the uncle's letter in silence for a long time.

He usually talks so little, but he didn't expect that he said a lot in the letter.

Zhengji came over and asked.

"Madam, do you want to reply to the uncle?"

This question made Xiang Yi stunned for a moment. Letters should come and go, but what about the other things mentioned in the uncle's letter, except the jade shop?

But she didn't have time to go to the jade shop yet.

She thought for a while and couldn't help but cast a distant glance in the direction of Gyeonggi Prefecture and County.

The stars twinkled in the sky, the bright moon hung high, and a few clouds lingered quietly in the night sky.

After a while, she said something to Zhengji.

"Then let's go to the jade shop tomorrow."

Gyeonggi.

When Tan Ting arrived at the place, he went to see Mr. Qi.

Mr. Qi was old and already suffering from illness. He fell from a high slope and could not wake up, but he finally managed to survive.

Tan Ting asked the imperial doctor sent by the palace. The imperial doctor had used all the medicine and it was just a matter of whether the old man would wake up tomorrow.

If he could wake up tomorrow, his life would be saved. If he couldn't, he might have to notify the Qi family to prepare for nothing.

These words made Tan Ting feel anxious and his nose was sore for a while.

He was an open-minded and happy man all his life, how could he die in such a situation?

He stayed by the old man's bedside for a long time, and only came out after all the officials gathered here came over.

Xu Yuanming, the assistant minister of the East Palace, came with him and said a word to him immediately.

"I just asked everyone, and there are actually a few leading scholars among these candidates. Naturally, they are all from poor families, and they are all quite talented. But even if something happened to Mr. Qi, they did not relent, and insisted that they would pay for tens of thousands of poor families. "The scholar asked for an explanation."

Xu Yuanming said, "They are all difficult to chew. Our people have tried to persuade them many times, but it is useless."

Tan Ting entered the hall silently with Xu Yuanming, and he heard that the officials who were helping him before were really heard. and local state and county officials have always believed that these leading candidates are very critical. As long as they can change their attitudes, the rest will be easy to say.

But no one can figure out how to get these people to change their attitudes.

After the officials left, Xu Yuanming asked Tan Ting, who had been listening silently for a long time.

"What did Mr. Tan say?"

"Of course we have to start with these people." Tan Ting said and paused.

"Since persuasion is useless, I won't do it anymore. It's best to let them see for themselves and understand the complicated situation at hand."

"Then how can we make them understand? They are all scholars who have got the best of them."

It is the most difficult for scholars to turn their heads . Done.

Xu Yuanming was worried. He originally wanted to invite some great scholars to speak and slowly persuade him, but after hearing what the eldest son of the Tan family next to him said...

"Master Tan, is there any good way to make them understand? "

Tan Dao said he was not sure about this method either.

"But if it can be used, this dilemma will probably be solved."

At this moment, he lowered his head, and Xu Yuanming also listened. He said a few words, and Xu Yuanming's eyes widened.

"Can it really be exposed...?!"

Tan Ting laughed.

"How will you know if you don't try?"

Xu Yuanming said exactly. If this method works, they will kill two birds with one stone.

When he looked up at the Tan family man again, his eyes were a little different.

As expected of a person who became the eldest son of a clan at a young age, it is completely different from being a civil servant who just came from the imperial examination.

Xu Yuanming agreed, and Tan Ting sent him off, and then went to see the old man Qi for a while. The old man didn't wake up, so he had to go back to his place of stay.

The sky has long been dark, and the two clouds on the horizon have drifted and dispersed, dispersed and gathered again.

Tan Ting looked far away in the direction of the capital.

My wife should have received a letter from him by now, but I don’t know if she will reply to him.

After all, they had been married for three years and had never exchanged letters. No news between them was just news.

Tan Ting sighed heavily when he thought about the past. When he thought about the present, he felt a vague expectation that he could not explain.

He just stood in the night and looked north for a long time before returning to the room.

Early the next morning, Xu Yuanming came to look for him.

"Let's go meet those people today. I've already asked someone to talk to them. It was hard to talk to them before they agreed to see us. It's really..."

Tan Ting nodded and was about to leave when the yard where the old man was recovering suddenly became noisy. .

Tan Ting's heart tightened, and he turned around and walked towards the old man's courtyard. When he reached the door, he hesitated for a moment and did not dare to step in.

I didn't want to hear the imperial doctor's voice suddenly, "Wake up, the old man is really awake!"

Awakened? !

Tan Ting quickly walked into the room without hesitation, and saw the old man opening his eyes at a glance.

While administering acupuncture to the old man, the imperial doctor said, "Just wake up and you can go back to Beijing for treatment!"

Tan Ting arrived in front of the old man in two steps.

It's a pity that the old man could only weakly open his eyes to see people, but he couldn't open his mouth to speak, so he only opened his mouth.

Tan Ting immediately told him that he had come to take over the old man's errand.

"You can return to Beijing to recuperate with peace of mind. Yuan Zhi is here."

He said this, and the old man noticed him even more. He moved his hands and grabbed his clothes.

The old man was speechless, but his brows furrowed and his hands pulled Tan Ting's clothes hard.

Although there were no words, Tan Ting understood immediately.

He shook the old man's hand and lowered his voice.

"There are evil people here, and I know it well, and I will not let them succeed again!"

After he said this, the old man looked at him, and finally closed his eyes with relief and nodded.

Xu Yuanming immediately arranged for someone to send the old man back to Beijing to recuperate. Seeing that it was getting late, he and Tan Ting went to meet the five leading candidates.

These five candidates were quite famous among the candidates who made trouble, and they were protected by many people. No one could touch them, so they worked hard to seek justice for the poor scholar.

When he saw Tan Ting and Xu Yuanming, he said, "I heard that Mr. Qi has woken up and seems to be fine, so we can feel relieved. We will return to the same level. The imperial court will protect the family from persecuting the poor. How to calculate?"

Their tone was very tough, probably because they felt that the court could not do anything to them, which made Xu Yuanming frown.

Tan Ting did not answer their questions, but asked.

"How come you guys got the news so quickly?"

Before they came, Mr. Qi had just woken up.

These people were stunned for a moment when he asked this question. One of them, a thirty-year-old man named He Guanfu, said something.

"We know where the news came from, so we won't bother Mr. Tan."

Tan Ting looked at him. He had heard about this person before he came. He Guanfu was the more eloquent among the five, although he was He is a commoner, but his family has quite a lot of assets, and he also speaks very tough words.

Tan Ting didn't want to get entangled with them on this issue. He just asked Xu Yuanming to tell them what the court had told them not to continue making trouble or inciting emotions.

The government had told them countless times that the wheels of a cart were the same, and these people were tired of hearing it.

"We just want to fight for the benefits we deserve for the common people of the poor family. If we retreat so casually, what else can we win?"

Xu Yuanming couldn't help but said after hearing this.

"The imperial court knows what you mean. Your Highness is very considerate, but this matter needs to be considered in the long run. If you continue to make trouble like this, it will make people panic, be incompatible with the people of the clan, and even cause a war. His Highness the Prince wants to protect you all. We can't protect it."

But these people couldn't listen to these words and only said, "We know the sympathy of the prince, but who knows what they will do with the officials in the court? They know that we poor families are not easy to bully!"

After all, He Guanfu just refused to give up making trouble, so He Guanfu also glanced at Tan Ting.

"Even if Mr. Tan can understand us as a noble family, does that mean that all noble families can do the same?"

he said.

"As soon as Mr. Qi fell down a high slope, a lot of comments were made against us by aristocratic families from all over the world. But we don't know how Mr. Qi fell down. Who knows if he fell because he didn't stand firm? Where? But don’t all the aristocratic families agree that it was us poor candidates who did it?"

He asked Tan Ting, who looked back silently, suddenly laughed, and spoke.

"That's a really good question."

He said, looking past several people one by one.

"Have you ever thought that when the old man fell, it was neither because he failed to stand firm nor because someone pushed him, but because of another force hidden in the dark that pushed him down? Did you deliberately cause this situation?"

These words As soon as it came out, everyone was startled.

Then He Guanfu couldn't help but asked, "Master Tan, what do you mean? Do you still want to attribute all this to a conspiracy to make us stop?"

Tan Ting did not say anything, but just glanced at the five people silently.

"You are all scholars with a clean family background. What you are doing now is not wrong. But if you are taken advantage of and go on the wrong path, no one will know what will happen in the future."

"Tan does not serve the court or the family. "Excuse me, but you should think about your own future for the poor family in the world."

He said, his voice lowered a bit.

"Everyone, please think about it. In the past few days, have there been any suspicious people around you, using the guise of making decisions for you, and taking the opportunity to impose their wishes on you?"

"To put it bluntly, they are secretly instigating, Instigator, someone who deliberately manipulates everyone's mood."

His words suddenly stopped here, and the meeting hall was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop.

The five poor candidates were all stunned. Next they looked at me and I looked at you. They looked at each other and were quiet for a while.

Tan Ting was silent and said no more. Only Xu Yuanming reminded them.

"If you see suspicious people, it's best not to alert them, but watch them quietly to see what they do. When the time comes, we will find a way to expose these people and let the truth of the matter come to light. What do you think? "

No one said anything, and Xu Yuanming and Tan Ting said no more, leaving them to discuss the matter privately and left.

As soon as the two court pacifiers left, the five people fell into a strange silence.

Five people, you look at me, I look at you.

There were no words in the room, but there was a change in the eyes of the five people.

...

After the five people dispersed, He Guanfu and another leading candidate, a man named Zhao Li, returned to the inn.

The two lived in the same inn, and He Guanfu lived in a first-class wing. He knew that Zhao Li's family had little money, so he often invited him to his room for tea.

Today was no exception, especially after hearing the words of the two new pacifiers, my mind was a little confused, so I immediately called Zhao Li.

As soon as the two of them arrived in He Guanfu's guest room and boiled the water, someone came.

This person was also taking the exam with them. His name was Li Muyou, and he came from the northwest. There were not many candidates in the northwest. Li Muyou didn't find anyone from his hometown for a while, and he mostly stayed with He Guanfu.

When he came, he didn't make any detours and went straight to the point.

"I heard that you two gentlemen met with the court official again, what do you say this time?" The man said and added.

"It is said that he is the assistant minister of the Eastern Palace and the eldest son of the aristocratic family. He must have a new theory."

After hearing this, He Guanfu nodded. It was indeed a new theory, so he couldn't help but hesitate.

He had known Li Muyou for a short time, but his brain was so clever that he subconsciously wanted to ask him for advice, and was about to tell Li Muyou what Tan Ting and Xu Yuanming said.

But before he could say anything, Zhao Li on the side looked over anxiously.

He Guanfu's words suddenly stopped on his lips.

The words of the eldest son of the Tan family suddenly rang out from the depths of his mind:

"Everyone, please think about it. In the past few days, there have been suspicious people around you. In the name of making decisions for you, they took the opportunity to kill them. "

To put it bluntly, he is someone who secretly instigates and instigates, deliberately influencing everyone's mood."

When the voice sounded, He Guanfu's gaze on Li Muyou changed.

No, the eldest son of the Qingkan Tan family really got it right, right?