"We can't go on like this..."

The words fell to the ground faintly, and Cheng Luo stepped forward following the words.

When he came, everyone saluted each other, and he returned the salute, and gave a brief salute to the man with a slightly older voice sitting at the top, and sat down in the seat reserved for him.

Everyone continued to talk about what they had just said.

The old man at the top said, "It can't go on like this," and that was humane.

"In the past, we simmered the food slowly, which gave them a chance. Now it seems we have to cook it faster."

Someone snorted coldly, with a sinister tone.

"If we don't hurry up, our clan will really be suppressed. The whole clan can't take the imperial examination for five years and can't be promoted for five years. It's really a good feeling."

This person spoke, and the people beside him were speechless. Everyone had their own thoughts, and the person in charge said something comforting.

"It's just an expedient. We have to let Dong Palace and the poor family of the common people breathe a sigh of relief."

After the person in charge said this, the person just now snorted twice, but did not refute. He just said.

"Of course we can endure the humiliation, but it is just for the sake of future generations. But you can't retreat. If the common people stand up, our many years of hard planning will be in vain. These humble common people with mixed surnames are only worthy of crawling at the feet of the common people. As long as we accomplish this, the hierarchy will be determined by the surname for thousands of years to come, and it doesn't matter if the dynasty changes."

When he said this, everyone nodded in agreement, and only one person said.

"It would be great if all aristocratic families could work together like us. Otherwise, like the Tan family of Qingkan and the Li family of Huaining, who have close contacts with the common people and speak for those despicable people, it would really be very embarrassing for us. This time Before the Spring Festival, it was the eldest son of the Tan family who joined forces with the East Palace and caused us to lose the opportunity... Speaking of which, who should get rid of this person?"

The man said and went to sit next to the chief minister and him. One of them looked over.

The elderly man above him was speechless, but the people around him got looks from everyone, but he only said one sentence without emotion.

"I just didn't find a chance."

After saying this, the pavilion became quiet.

A gust of wind swirled in from under the veil, and half of Cheng Luo's face felt slightly painful and uncomfortable.

He was a little impatient.

"Just tell me what's going to happen next."

Since Cheng Luo's incident with Gu Xianying a few years ago, his temperament has become very cold. Naturally, everyone will not be in trouble with him, so they all follow his words and talk seriously about the people gathered this time. Important things...

the hot spring resort in the suburbs of Beijing.

When Tan Ting got up, it was still dark everywhere and he couldn't see his fingers.

He has finished his rest today and is going back to Beijing to go to the Yamen.

At noon yesterday, Xiang Yi thought that he was going back, and the meal for the return journey was prepared for him, so he went to the stove himself to give orders.

But he ate her return meal and let Zhengji lead the horse up the mountain to graze.

He whispered to her, "Yizhen has been saying she misses her husband these past two days, so I have to stay one more night."

At that time, her face turned red, she bit her lip and glared at him.

The secretly angry but helpless look made people's hearts beat faster.

Tan Ting stayed again that night and took her to the warmest pool to soak for a while, but she couldn't delay any longer this morning.

At this moment, his wife hadn't woken up yet, so he had to get up.

He lit a small lamp, put on his clothes quietly, and buckled his jade belt, then walked to the bed again, lifted the bed curtain and glanced at her again.

She was still asleep, deep in the darkness, but the flickering light of the small lamp shone over her. Tan Ting saw a red mark on her neck at a glance.

Last night, she called him "husband" again...

Tan Ting was in a daze, his hand fell on Xiang Yi's shoulder, and while covering her with the thin quilt, he gently rubbed against her fair skin. The red mark on the neck.

With just a slight touch, she moved.

Tan Ting thought he had woken her up, but she just frowned, snorted softly, and went back to sleep.

The humming sound was like the melodious chirping of birds in the mountains. Tan Ting couldn't help but think of last night's scene in his ears, but he still had to go to the office. Zhengji was already outside urging him, so he could only put down the tent, turn around and leave quickly.

The capital was crowded with people in the morning, and squeezing through the city gate was a problem, so he had no choice but to leave quickly.

...

When Xiang Yi woke up, the man had already disappeared.

She pushed herself up and sat up, still feeling a little tired, but half of the clothes on the hanger were empty, and she remembered that the old man was gone.

Chun Bamboo came over to serve her and brought over a gauze shirt with a stand-up collar.

It has been getting hot these past two days, and wearing a stand-up collar is a bit boring at this time of year. She waved her hand and said, "I'll give you another collar."

But Chun Bamboo felt a little embarrassed.

"Madam, I ordered you to wear a stand-up collar."

"Huh?" Xiang Yi was startled and saw Chun Zhu's eyes falling on his neck.

She thought of something, glanced at the bronze mirror on the dressing table, and almost lost her breath.

In front of Chun Bamboo, Xiang Yi's face felt a little hot, and he quickly put on the stand collar to cover it up.

After the old man left, peace finally returned to the villa.

Xiang Ning still wanted to go out for a walk, so he said to her, "The wind in the mountains must be cool. Sister, why don't you go to the mountains to enjoy the breeze in the early morning?"

As they walked up the mountain, they would pass by the house of "Fu Shang Zhang". Xiang Yi didn't If you dare to take this risk, you can only let someone put two cool melons in the well to cool down my sister.

During the two days that Tan Tingxiu came here, there was no movement at the wealthy businessman's villa.

After she received the Jiangnan snacks from that store, she also had people come to her door to say thank you. She also said that the Jiangnan snacks from that store were very suitable for her, and she wanted to ask for advice, but she was only sent back by the polite words of the lady in charge. , there is no other sound.

She didn't dare to act rashly, so she could only let people continue to stare at the lady's villa.

Beijing.

Tan Ting didn't even have time to go home and went directly to the Yamen, still two quarters of an hour late.

Fortunately, several senior officials from the General Administration Department all stroked their beards and smiled to show their understanding of what he had done as a young man.

Tan Ting felt a little embarrassed and deliberately did a lot more things that day.

The Secretary of General Affairs has the responsibility to collect public opinion and listen to it. Tan Ting just took office, so he was placed here.

He saw some official documents handed over by officials below, and there were still some objections to the Jiangxi fraud case and the incident this spring.

The Jiangxi fraud case was vigorously punished by the prince himself. This year's Spring Festival can be considered as raising the proportion of poor scholars, but there are still many people who don't think so.

When Tan Ting got off the government office in the evening, he invited He Guanfu and Zhao Li, who had been selected as Jinshi officials and had stayed in the capital to elect officials, to the teahouse to talk.

These two people are the leaders of Chunwei this time. When Tan Ting mentioned something that they had objections to, they said so.

"I was going to see Mr. Tan two days ago, but unfortunately the concierge said you were not at home."

Tan Ting is indeed not at home, and he has not had time to go back home today.

He cleared his throat, bypassed the topic, and asked directly what was going on.

Zhao Li became more articulate and told Tan Ting directly that because the Jiangxi fraud case and this year's spring incident were so close, there were many candidates who had failed the exams who thought that all the deserving places should be given to common people. It is the poor family. The court cannot punish the Jiangxi family involved in the case, but does not give preferential treatment and compensation to the poor family.

There are more than one or two incidents like the Jiangxi fraud case. In recent years, the imperial examinations of poor scholars have been difficult to achieve under the strict control of family officials.

Now just punishing them is not enough. Their court wants more compensation to appease the oppression and grievance they have suffered for many years.

Tan Ting listened, rubbed his temples, and asked.

"Are there many people who have such thoughts? Will there be any trouble?"

He Guanfu told him that the trouble was unlikely, but many candidates were still stranded in Gyeonggi and did not return to their hometowns. They mostly gathered in Hanmen Academy, and Since academies from poor families in various places communicate with each other through letters, there must be many scholars from poor families in various places who also have this idea.

Zhao Li added.

"Speaking of it, it's not that the poor family doesn't trust the imperial court, it's that they don't trust the noble family."

Similarly, how much goodwill can the noble family have towards these common people from the humble family who want to compete with them?

Punishing the wanton clan is only the first step. The next step is to ease the relationship between the two clans, which is a long-term solution.

Tan Ting asked the two of them some more questions and returned home full of thoughts.

Within two days, more officials reported this matter to the General Affairs Department.

Tan Ting thought that it could not be treated as invisible, so he discussed it with the bosses of the General Affairs Department and presented it to the emperor.

The emperor called the prince to discuss the matter that day.

Regarding the common people's claims, the prince is doing his best, and this time is no exception.

In the court hall the next day, the prince took the initiative to ask how to bridge the relationship between the two clans.

He asked about the wealthy families as well as the poor families.

In the next three days, all officials in the court began to offer suggestions on this matter. The previous chaotic attitude in the court was gone, and they all wanted to follow the prince's wishes and do their best for the two clans.

This can be seen only from the daily memorials on this matter received by the General Affairs Department.

Tan Ting didn't know why the people who stirred up the situation behind the scenes were so quiet this time and didn't take action here, making the East Palace in trouble again.

A few days later, among everyone's suggestions, the prince took a fancy to one of them, and ordered Xu Yuanming, the assistant minister of the East Palace, to invite the helmsmen of various aristocratic families to discuss and take the lead in trying this matter.

Tan Ting was naturally among those invited, along with eldest sons, clan elders or senior officials from various clans.

The prince stated his intention straight to the point.

So far, the conflicts between the common people are mainly due to distrust. Only the imperial court can mediate, and it is difficult to quickly eliminate the rift between the two ethnic groups. It is better to strengthen the exchanges between the two ethnic groups.

The prince's intention was to open the clan schools of various aristocratic families to scholars from poor families, and to give the common people from poor families more opportunities to seek refuge.

Taking refuge is different from selling yourself into slavery. In essence, you just come to rely on someone. You can still study for the imperial examination without changing your place of origin.

The wealthy family took the initiative to help the poor family, and the relationship between the two families gradually eased.

The prince adopted this plan and asked each family what they wanted.

In fact, the Tan family was doing these things, but they didn't do it deliberately. Tan Ting felt that there was nothing wrong with it. After all, the Tan family had a good relationship with the Qingguang common people.

It's just that at this juncture, it's hard to say whether the common people will buy into the sudden closeness between the two clans, and how the people of the secular clan will view it.

But when the prince mentioned this, the heads of various aristocratic families agreed, so Tan Ting was inconvenient to say anything.

When he left the East Palace, he met Gu Yansheng.

The Taoist priest looks much thinner in the past two days, which shows that he has not stopped working.

Gu Yansheng shared Tan Ting's glance at this bridging plan and felt that it was still open to discussion.

But he didn't come here to talk about this.

He directly talked about the "eunuch" in Cheng Luo's mouth.

His eyes trembled and he said dumbly.

"It's my uncle. I saw it with my own eyes, but he almost has no human form anymore..."

Sure enough.

Cheng Yunxian had to escape from her father Cheng Luo, let alone Gu Xianying who fell into Cheng Luo's hands.

Tan Ting's heart sank, but he also raised some hopes when he thought that Gu Xianying was very close to his father-in-law Xiang Zhiyuan and must know more about the Xiang family.

He asked Gu Yansheng if he could help.

Gu Yansheng nodded, "Although I met my uncle, the Cheng family guarded him extremely tightly, and I couldn't find a chance to save him. Fortunately, an elder of the Cheng family passed away recently, and Cheng Luo was at this time. He has no time to torture his uncle. His life is not in danger at the moment. "

He said, "I have to find another opportunity to save my uncle from prison. Gu doesn't want his uncle to suffer again, and hopes that nothing will happen, so he can only ask Master Tan to help him."

Tan Ting has already helped him . After preparing the men, he immediately summoned Xiao Guan to send a team of troops for Gu Yansheng's use.

However, when he thought of Gu Yansheng wanting to save people, he also thought of Xiang Yi.

We still don’t know who “Fu Shang Zhang” is. If he is as difficult to deal with as the Cheng family, wouldn’t Yizhen be in great danger?

He originally left manpower for her, but after thinking about it, he quietly sent some people over.

Hot spring villa.

Xiang Yi never got any further news from the wife.

But the lady specially sent her the same Jiangnan snacks as her mother, so she didn't seem to mean that there was no movement.

Xiang Yi waited quietly for a few days, and happened to receive four baskets of good-looking pomegranates sent by his tribe. Xiang Yi had people send more pomegranates to the neighbors on the same day.

Each family returned some fruits and snacks as usual the next day, but the lady had not made any move yet.

Just when Xiang Yi couldn't help but worry, someone from that family came. Just like last time, they also brought a box of Jiangnan snacks.

But this time a lady in charge came, and she came over to tell Xiang Yi that her wife was in poor health and had no time to take care of the affairs. She hoped that the Tan family would not take offense, and then took a snack recipe and handed it to the concierge.

After saying that, he didn't even drink the Tan family's tea, put down the snacks and prescriptions and left.

The concierge sounded a little unhappy, feeling that this house was really cold, but other houses were not like this.

But Xiang Yi didn't say anything. He glanced at the recipe and asked Qiao Yun to pick up some snacks and go back to the room.

According to the wishes of the lady in charge, the Tan family will not have to interact with that family in the future.

That’s why even giving a snack in return is so laborious.

The more this happens, the more fishy it is.

But Xiang Yi went back to the room and asked Qiao Yun to break every snack and look at it, but found nothing unusual.

She waved Qiao Yun down and took out the snack house from her sleeve.

It is Juanxiu's small regular script with hairpin flowers, and the characters are written very densely. At first glance, there is nothing different about it.

Xiang Yi looked and looked, and looked at the sunlight and water shadows, but couldn't see anything.

Just when she thought there was no more news about the lady, Xiang Ning came over to take a look at her. When she saw the paper on the house, she let out a sigh.

"Why does sister have this kind of paper?"

Xiang Yi asked her instead of answering.

"What's wrong with this kind of paper?"

Xiang Ning took it over and looked at it carefully and said that this paper was unusual.

"Ayu saw it in the academy before and gave it to me to play with. This paper looked ordinary at first, but after writing with water, in the dark night, you can see the light in it. Even a night-blind person like me can See. This paper is very expensive. Ayu also said that when he gets rich, he can buy it for me to write at night..."

After saying this, Xiang Yi immediately hid in the shadow of the room and walked towards the darkness. Go, words slowly appeared on the plain paper.

Xiang Ning also followed from behind and was surprised when he saw the words on it.

"Sister, why did someone send you a secret message?!"

After she finished speaking, her eldest sister paused slightly, then turned to look at her.

Sister's eyes were filled with pity, she looked at her quietly for a few breaths, and said slowly.

"Ning Ning, sister has something to say to you."