Red Mansion Huacai

Chapter 334 Clarification
Although Aunt Wang yelled loudly, she finally listened to Wang Ziteng's words, so the Wang family stopped. Aunt Wang was not a generous person to begin with, and because she could not take revenge on Li Weijian, she hated her nephew Wang Ren. If Wang Ren was not seriously injured at this time, he would probably be kicked out by Aunt Wang.

Aunt Xue and Baochai visited the family twice, but after realizing that Aunt Wang was really indifferent, they found that she looked down on the Xue family, so they simply stopped visiting the family.

The crown prince in Changle Palace was reprimanded by Emperor Zhenghe and was very depressed for a while. He often complained to the officials of the Zhanshi Mansion, saying, "I originally wanted to look up to the bright moon, but the bright moon only shines on the ditch." The crown prince really couldn't understand why all the learned people in the Hanlin Academy wanted to cling to the Crown Prince, hoping to gain merits from the emperor in the future, but they were rejected by Li Weijian.

Three days later, the prince's teacher Gu Weiyue came to visit, and the prince mentioned Li Weijian again. Gu Weiyue thought for a while before saying, "What do you think Li Fusheng relies on, Your Highness?"

The prince said, "It's just that my father favors me."

Gu Weiyue said sternly, "Your Highness is wrong! Your Highness, you know that last year the imperial court carried out a new policy and launched a western expedition. Apart from other things, the western expedition alone has cost more than 20 million silver coins so far. Even so, the Ministry of Revenue still has a surplus of more than 8 million taels. Who do you think is responsible for this?"

"Li Fusheng?"

Gu Weiyue advised: "If the prince ascends the throne in the future, even if he doesn't like this person, he must be used. Think about how the former Ming Dynasty collapsed, and think about how few dynasties did not perish due to insufficient financial resources. Li Fusheng can ensure that the court has sufficient financial resources every year without reforming the government. It can be said that it is because of this person that the Dashun Dynasty has a long history."

The prince wanted to argue, but seeing Gu Weiyue's extremely serious expression, he bowed and said, "I accept your advice."

Gu Weiyue saw that the prince was not convinced, so he did not persuade him too much. As the saying goes, one should not interfere in other people's affairs if one is not in a position to do so. If the prince really ascends to the throne in the future, he will naturally know the importance of Li Weijian!
The nine-day wedding leave passed quickly, and in the blink of an eye it was March 20th.

Li Weijian got up lazily that day, and let Zijuan and Xueyan help him get dressed. He yawned and complained to Daiyu, "It's only nine days of marriage leave, which is too short. I will submit a petition tomorrow to extend it to three months."

Daiyu, who was dressing up, suddenly turned around and said, "Fourth brother really likes sister Yun more."

Yes, Daiyu has already married, and Xiangyun will not marry for a few more years. Isn’t it just asking for trouble to say this?

Li Weijian quickly apologized with a smile: "Sister, you are worried again, you know that's not what I meant."

Daiyu laughed and said, "Fourth brother is also strange. He often teases me. Why do you take it seriously when it's my turn to tease you?"

Just kidding, if I don't take this kind of thing seriously, Sister Lin will really be unkind to me.

Li Weijian immediately changed the subject and said, "I'm going to be in the government office today, and I'm afraid I won't be back until 3 p.m. If you're bored, why don't you go to Rongguo Mansion next door? It's been a while since I last visited the old lady."

Daiyu agreed, and the two of them walked out in unison. After having breakfast together, Li Weijian led the Ding brothers to the government office, while Daiyu went to the main hall of the central courtyard. When Baoqin, Qingwen, Hongyu, Xiangling, Xiuying and others gathered, she first asked about Fu Qiufang's affairs.

Hongyu had just checked last night, and she smiled and said, "To answer grandma, Aunt Fu is fine. It's just that she is still in confinement and can't go out. Yesterday she asked me to thank you for the bird's nest she sent to you."

Daiyu nodded slightly and said, "I discussed this with the master yesterday. Madam Fu only has two maids to serve her. Now that Miss Lian has come, I'm afraid there won't be enough. Hongyu, if you have time today, go to the market and find some maids you like and hire them."

Hongyu asked hurriedly, "Grandma, how many do you want to hire?"

Daiyu smiled and said, "Don't accuse me of being partial. Aunt Fu has two more people, so each of you can pick two."

As soon as these words came out, Qingwen, Xiangling, Xiuying and others were immediately delighted. Although the Fourth Master had promised long ago that he would take them in as concubines in the future, the affairs of the harem still had to be decided by the mistress. Now that the mistress had spoken out, although she had not explicitly said that she would give them a status, the fact that they were assigned as maids was enough to show that the mistress had passed this hurdle.

Because the country was still in mourning at that time, it was not easy for noble families to get married or take concubines, so the women hoped to get a legitimate status by this time next year.

Baoqin had another idea, and said, "Sister Lin, I have Xiaoluo and Xiaoha by my side, so I don't need to add a maid this time, right?"

Daiyu said, "Isn't that partiality? Sister Qin and Aunt Fu are both aunts, so it is reasonable for them to add two maids. If Sister Qin has more brothers and sisters around her in the future, it will be fine to add a few maids to her room."

Baoqin had nothing to say, so she smiled and thanked Daiyu.

Afterwards, Daiyu gave instructions about household affairs and dismissed everyone. After leaving the central courtyard and going through the inner gate, the girls began to chatter and argue.

Xiangling had no desires or requests. She was full of joy at the moment. She had no other thoughts about the maids around her, and just hoped that they would not make trouble. Qingwen was a fussy person. She kept chattering with Xiangling and Xiuying. After a while, she pulled Hongyu and said, "It's okay that the maid is pretty, but it's not good to bring that vixen home. The most important thing is that her family is clean!"

This is not without purpose, for I heard a piece of news yesterday which was about Daiyu's cousin Qin Qiaoer.

Qin Qiaoer's father was a man of many vices, drinking, whoring and gambling, and had ruined the family. In desperation, he betrothed Qin Qiaoer to the third son of a wealthy family outside the city for 200 taels of silver.

Mr. Fang's family was quite wealthy, and Qin Qiaoer originally thought it would be a good marriage. However, she turned around and heard that Mr. Fang's third son was a fool!

Qin Qiaoer thought she was pretty, so how could she be willing to marry a fool? Lin Qinshi happened to come to the capital, and heard that Daiyu had married Li Weijian, a first-class baron. The aunt had a quarrel with her niece, and on the one hand, she delayed the marriage due to the national mourning, and on the other hand, she set her sights on the baron's mansion.

I thought Daiyu was weak and easy to bully, but I didn't expect that Daiyu would turn hostile. Lin Qinshi was so angry that she spread the word that Daiyu was disrespectful to her elders and ignored family affection. Unexpectedly, a group of old women suddenly came yesterday, rushed into the house, beat up Lin Qinshi, and said that Lin Qinshi was not a good wife.

Lin Qinshi suffered an unexpected disaster and became a laughing stock. She was too embarrassed to stay in the capital and packed her bags early this morning to return to Suzhou.

After Hongyu agreed, Qingwen frowned and said, "It's a pity that Lin Qin came to the mansion to take the money. I didn't expect that she is an unfaithful woman!"

Hongyu smiled and said, "You can judge a person by his face but not his heart." As she said this, her eyes glanced at Baoqin who was leading the maids ahead.

Others did not know, but Hongyu was in charge of the household affairs, so how could she not know that when Baoqin checked the accounts a few days ago, she had withdrawn a full 500 taels of silver from the public treasury, and she only said that it was withdrawn by the Fourth Master.

As it happened, it was Hongyu's turn to be on duty that night, and she saw with her own eyes the Fourth Master take out a stack of silver bills worth several thousand taels from his sleeve.

A few days later, Lin Qin met with misfortune. If Hongyu didn't understand who did it, she would be a fool.

After leaving the inner gate, Qingwen pulled Xiangling to the east courtyard, while Xiuying, who was following behind, had a sad face. She was originally a country girl, and her appearance was not outstanding among the other girls. She was the first to follow the Fourth Master Jian, and was then taken into the room.

When it came time to assign the maids, Xiuying was immediately in a dilemma. If she chose two dumb maids with ordinary looks, they would inevitably be outshined by the other maids; but if she chose the ones with outstanding looks, wouldn't she be outshined herself?
Because Xiuying was at a loss, she had not yet figured out how to choose. Hongyu was smart, and seeing Xiuying like this, she smiled and said, "What are you thinking about? You followed the Fourth Master the first time, and your love for him was extraordinary. There are so many powerful people out there who are eager to send their daughters to be concubines. If the Fourth Master is fickle, I'm afraid the Earl's Mansion won't be big enough to accommodate you now."

Xiuying pouted and said, "I really don't know how to choose. Sister Hongyu, please help me choose two suitable ones."

Hongyu smiled and touched Xiuying's forehead with her hand, saying, "You are lazy. Well, I will choose two that you like later."

Xiuying then felt relieved and smiled as she sent Hongyu out the door.

There was no mention of Hongyu's going to the market, but Daiyu looked at the account books for a while in the morning, and then went to ask Qianxue a few questions, and then led Zijuan and Xueyan to the Rongguo Mansion.

Her parents were both dead, and she had no other brothers or sisters, so she attached great importance to the sisters in the Grand View Garden. Daiyu went to see Lady Jia first, and sat for half an hour before she picked up her things and left.

Daiyu led two maids to Fengjie's courtyard first. Ping'er, who came to greet them, was stunned for a moment. Perhaps she thought of what Wang Xifeng had said before, so she couldn't help feeling a little strange when she saw Daiyu at this time. Soon she recovered and led Daiyu into the room with a smile.

By this time, Sister Feng was seven months pregnant (actually six months), and was lying on the couch flipping through a storybook. When she saw Daiyu coming, she immediately smiled and propped herself up.

"Why did Miss Lin come to see me?"

Daiyu smiled and hurried forward to support her, saying, "Sister Feng, please don't work too hard and take care of yourself."

Zijuan presented the gift she was carrying and said with a smile, "Second Madam, our grandmother found some red-billed sturgeon fish glue, saying that it is most beneficial for pregnant women to take, and it will be good for both you and the child."

This red-billed sturgeon fish maw is produced in the coastal areas of Guangdong. It was not rare before the Ming Dynasty, but it is becoming increasingly scarce at this time, and inevitably becomes very valuable.

Feng Jieer immediately said angrily, "We are not strangers, so just come if you want. Why did you bother to choose such an expensive gift?"

Daiyu smiled and said, "It's a good thing, Fourth Brother... The master bought some last year, but who knew that the gentry in Jiangnan sent a lot more. There are quite a lot piled up in the storehouse now. I took inventory of the storehouse yesterday and found that there were too many. I just borrowed some flowers to offer to Sister Feng and sent some."

Wang Xifeng was very happy and surprised. She wondered what would happen when Sister Lin found out that the child in her belly was from Brother Jian. For some reason, thinking about this, Sister Feng became even more excited.

While thinking about this, Fengjie was extremely considerate in her words. After joking around for a few times and talking about Daiyu, she looked at her from head to toe and said, "Look, it's only been a few days and you've become the mistress of the house. I told you that you were always hiding your abilities at home, but the old lady didn't believe me."

Daiyu laughed and said, "After all, I am a stranger and a girl, so why should I make such remarks?"

Sister Feng continued, "I heard that sister gave that damned Lin Qin a good lesson?"

Daiyu asked, "How come even Sister Feng knows about this?"

Feng Jieer laughed and said, "No matter how secretive the mansion is, there are so many eyes watching, how can it be hidden?"

Daiyu nodded and told her everything that had happened before.

Feng Jieer immediately said, "Sister, you are right. It's fine to not have any contact with such unknown relatives. If you really get involved with them, I'm afraid it will be like a dog-skin plaster that you can't get rid of."

Daiyu smiled and agreed. She glanced at the numerous account books on the desk, among which there was a storybook, which looked particularly out of place. She asked with a smile, "Sister Feng, why are you looking at the storybook?"

Feng Jieer frowned immediately and said, "I am annoyed, so I just picked up the storybook to change my mind."

Daiyu said, "Just take a general look at the accounts. Fourth brother told me that I should go to the account office outside every now and then to have a careful check. It is not necessary to go through everything personally."

Sister Feng sighed, not knowing how to start. As a housekeeper for many years, she had her own way of dealing with the accounts. She was worried about the evil deeds done by Lady Wang outside.
It had only been a few months since he had lent money, but he had forced a family to pawn their wife and daughter, and he had also forced another family's daughter to jump into a well in the middle of the night. How could this be a small matter if human lives were involved?

It was because the debt collector Ma Saner was very resourceful that he managed to scare these two families, otherwise who knows what would have happened.

After chatting with Daiyu for a while, Fengjie sent Ping'er to take Daiyu to the Grand View Garden. She sat back and thought for herself.

If Li Weijian had not stopped her from doing so, she would have taken the money to make a loan for the sake of her family's finances. Over the years, who knows how many murders would have been caused.

Before, Feng Jieer did not believe in gods and Buddhas, and even less in retribution. But somehow, ever since she became pregnant, she wanted to accumulate virtue and blessings for her unborn child, and she could not stand seeing such evil things anymore.

A month ago, with Li Weijian's advice, Sister Feng, although not very willing, dealt with the injustice done by Lady Wang. Lai Wang had been on the move for the past few days, and the man who had pawned his wife and daughter was easy to deal with. Sister Feng privately gave 300 taels of silver to redeem his wife and daughter, and compensated the family with 200 taels of silver.

The family was so grateful that they never mentioned the complaint. But the daughter had jumped into the well, the wife had gone mad, and the head of the family was stubborn and refused to give in no matter how Lai Wang tried to persuade her.

Feng Jieer was at a loss for a moment and had to ask Lai Wang to go home and nag her every day.

Thinking about this, Sister Feng raised her hand and gently patted her belly: "If it weren't for you, why would I be so humble?"

As if she heard what Feng Jieer said, a bump suddenly appeared where her palm touched. She didn't know whether it was the child's hand or foot. Feng Jieer's brows relaxed immediately, her face became kind, and she laughed and said, "Forget it, at worst I can go and tell them in person someday."

............................................................

Xiaoxiang Pavilion.

The northeast corner door opened, and Tanchun entered first, guiding her, "Look, Sister Lin, there are maids and old women cleaning every day. Since Sister Lin left, this Xiaoxiang Pavilion has been closed, but the furnishings inside are still the same as before."

Daiyu, Xichun and Xing Xiuyan went in. Daiyu looked around and vaguely remembered how she had lived here before. Not only she, but also the two maids Zijuan and Xueyan were like this.

Zijuan smiled and looked around. Xueyan walked along the path and came to the moon-shaped window first. She saw the parrot calling out, "Xueyan, quickly lift the curtain. The girl is coming!"

Snow Goose blinked and said happily: "Grandma, this bird still remembers me!"

Daiyu looked at the parrot and said, "I have been so busy over the past month that I have forgotten about it."

Tanchun laughed and said, "It's well taken care of. It's not just the parrot. Look over there, Sister Lin!"

Daiyu raised her eyes and looked over, and saw that the door of Xiaoxiang Pavilion was open, and there were a few more hungry little swallows in the swallow's nest under the eaves.

Daiyu was immediately filled with gratitude and pulled Tanchun aside, saying, "Third sister, you are so thoughtful."

Xichun came over and said with a smile: "Sister Lin, we can take the parrot away this time, but it's hard to deal with this big swallow." Daiyu smiled and said: "They are wild animals flying in the sky, there is no need to restrain them."

The group of people just walked around inside and then went out. Daiyu saw that Yihong Courtyard was vacant, so she said to everyone, "The Yihong Courtyard is bigger, why don't you move there?"

Tanchun said, "What's the difference? Anyway, I'm used to living in Qiu Shuang Zhai."

Xichun said, "Nuanxiangwu is better. Yihongyuan is too far away, and it is inconvenient to travel with my sisters."

As they were talking, they arrived at the Liaofeng Pavilion. A maid brought cushions and the girls sat next to each other. Xing Xiuyan didn't say much, just smiled at the side; Tanchun was envious and although she was very curious about Daiyu's situation in the Bo's Mansion, she didn't dare to ask; but Xichun, because she was young, had no taboos at this time and asked a lot of questions.

Daiyu answered all of them, and Xichun frowned and said, "The Bo's house is quite ordinary. Fourth Brother Jian has such a large family fortune, and you still think Sister Daoling lives differently from us?"

Daiyu immediately laughed and said, "No matter how rich you are, you can't eat gold and drink jade, right? Fourth brother once said that when money reaches a certain level, it is just a number in his eyes."

Xichun blinked and said, "Sister Lin has a lot of numbers."

Daiyu was overjoyed. Just then the maid brought tea and snacks, and because of the obstruction, Tanchun was about to stand up to greet her, but was beaten to the punch by Xing Xiuyan.

Xing Xiuyan took the teacup first, bit her lip and thought for a moment, then offered it to Daiyu with both hands: "Sister Lin, please have some tea."

Daiyu's face froze. She raised her eyes and looked at Xing Xiuyun. She saw that although there was respect in her eyes, the rest was determination.

Zijuan was smart and came over quickly and said, "How can I trouble Miss Xing? I'll do it."

As she spoke, Zijuan reached out to take it, but she couldn't move it. Xing Xiuyan lost her smile and just lowered her eyebrows and said, "It's okay, it's just a side job."

Daiyu suddenly smiled and said, "Sister Xing, you are so polite. I am still the younger one in age." As she spoke, she stood up and took the teacup, then turned around and put it in Xichun's hand: "I am not thirsty at the moment. Fourth sister is younger, so you should have the tea first."

Xichun felt something was wrong, but she didn't understand what was going on, so she picked up the teacup and took a sip.

Tanchun, who was standing by, was extremely surprised and kept looking at Xing Xiuyan. This Xing sister had always been low-key and cautious, but for some reason she suddenly became bold.

Looking at Xing Xiuyun and Daiyu again, in just a moment, the two seemed to have forgotten what had happened just now. One was laughing and the other was still laughing along.

Tanchun admired Xing Xiuyan's boldness, but she was not optimistic about it.

At this time, Daiyu said, "I've been so used to eating home-cooked meals these days that I really miss Sister Xing's cooking. I wonder if Sister Xing will be free later?"

Xing Xiuyan smiled and said, "Sister, just tell me what you want. The only thing I can show off is my cooking skills."

As it was approaching noon, Daiyu said goodbye to Tanchun and Xichun, and took Xing Xiuyun to the Bo's house.

Tanchun and Xichun escorted Daiyu and the others through the East Corner Gate. When they returned, Xichun belatedly asked, "Third sister, did Sister Xing offer tea to Sister Lin just now?"

Tanchun sighed and shook her head, saying, "It's not appropriate for us to get involved in this matter, so let's not get involved."

Tanchun thought to herself, I don't know when Xing Xiuyan and Fourth Brother Jian fell in love, if it was not so, she would never have offered tea just now. She also thought, Sister Lin is usually mean, humorous and a little bit petty, I don't know how the two of them would deal with this time.

............................................................

In Ningxi Pavilion, Daiyu and Xing Xiuyun were strolling. Xing Xiuyun was very well-behaved and always lagged behind Daiyu by half a step.

Zijuan and Xueyan watched from behind, gnashing their teeth, wondering what the hell was wrong with this Miss Xing. Grandma had just married, and the Fourth Master's wedding leave had just ended today, but now he was rushing to offer tea to Grandma, what on earth was he thinking?
Daiyu suddenly stopped and said to the two maids, "You go back first, I want to talk to Miss Xing."

Zijuan and Xueyan looked at each other, and seeing Daiyu's determined gaze, they reluctantly retreated.

Only Daiyu and Xing Xiuyan were left in Ningxi Pavilion. Daiyu looked at the sparkling water and said, "I know your character, but I never thought you would come to serve tea today."

Xing Xiuyan sighed and said, "Please forgive me, sister. Firstly, I have no choice, and secondly... I really have no choice."

After a pause, she explained, "After seeing a man like Lord Bo, I'm afraid most men in the world have become filthy men. May I ask, if you had never entered Lord Bo's house, have you ever thought about marrying into another family one day?"

Daiyu shook her head. Since she was in love with Li Weijian, she had nothing to do with any other man in the world, so why would she consider any other way out? If she really couldn't get into the Bo's house, Daiyu would rather die.

Xing Xiuyan smiled bitterly and said, "Sis, if you think so, how much more so me? And you know a little about my family situation. My parents are only interested in profit, and now they are bewitched by my aunt. I am afraid that I will not be able to decide my future marriage. Who knows, one day I will be sold to the rich and powerful as a concubine.

After much deliberation, I decided that I would rather enter the mansion as a concubine."

After taking a look at Daiyu and seeing that she remained calm, Xing Xiuyan said, "Sister, you are the mistress of the family, so matters like this must be handled by you. Don't worry, my relationship with the uncle is clean now, and there is nothing else going on. I'll make it clear today. If you agree, I will serve you as the mistress in the future. If you don't agree—"

She suddenly began to ponder, and Daiyu looked at her and said, "So what?"

Xing Xiuyan smiled bitterly and said, "Second sister is a little lonely, why don't I go and keep her company."

Daiyu did not answer, but asked: "Does he know what you are thinking?"

Xing Xiuyan shook her head.

Daiyu breathed a sigh of relief and suddenly realized that her fourth brother had been thinking about her all these days, and the concubines at home must be envious. So where did her fourth brother get the time to go out and attract other women?

Besides, Fourth Brother was so outstanding that there were countless gentry outside who wanted to send their daughters to marry into the Earl's Mansion. Xing Xiuyan could often see Fourth Brother, so it was normal for her to fall in love with him over time.

Daiyu smiled and said, "I can't be his boss. You can ask him about this matter. Oh, I want to eat stir-fried pork today."

Xing Xiuyan immediately started to laugh: "I knew that my sister likes this. I will go and prepare it right away."

Daiyu neither agreed nor refuted, and that was enough for Xing Xiuyun.

............................................................

Outside Xuanwu Gate.

The carriage stopped, and Ding Rusong rode back on his horse and said, "Master, the carriage of Marquis Cheng'en is coming, we must give way to him."

The streets of the capital were narrow. Apart from a few main streets, the rest could only accommodate two carriages. Because the capital was full of dignitaries and officials, there were rules for encountering each other. What rules? To put it simply, those with lower titles should give way to those with higher titles, and those with lower positions should give way to those with higher positions.

Li Weijian didn't take it seriously and nodded, and the carriage immediately moved aside.

After a while, the Marquis of Cheng'en passed by in a winding way. When the carriage approached, he suddenly stopped, opened the curtain and revealed a smiling face. The man bowed and said, "Master Li, long time no see."

Marquis Cheng'en was the father of the current Concubine Wu. Li Weijian quickly responded with a greeting: "You are too polite, my Lord."

The Marquis Cheng'en smiled and said, "It's true that details are worse than chance encounters. I have been planning to establish a practical learning society these days. I heard that Master Li is the most outstanding practical learning expert in the dynasty. When the society is opened, I hope Master Li will come to support us."

Li Weijian smiled instinctively and said, "This... I have an errand to do. I may have to go to Tianjin and Liaodong for inspection in a few days. If I can't make it in time, I hope you will forgive me, Lord."

The Marquis Cheng'en laughed and said, "I heard that there are Akmal people in foreign countries. As long as they pray for rain, it will rain from the sky. What do you think that means, Lord Li?" Without waiting for Li Weijian to respond, the Marquis Cheng'en laughed and said, "It's because the Akmal people keep praying until it rains. If Lord Li doesn't come to visit this practical school, I'm afraid it will be in name only. So, when Lord Li returns to Beijing, it won't be too late to open the practical school. I have some business to attend to, so I'll leave first."

Li Weijian bowed and said, "Have a good time, Lord Cheng'en."

The carriage rumbled away, and Li Weijian frowned immediately.

I just cut off the prince's claws, and now the Jin Wang's mother's family is coming to visit again. It's really annoying. After a little thought, I realized that this is not a solution, so I ordered Ding Rusong to go to the home of my old mentor Yan Xiyao, and sent the guards to inform his family.

Nearing the hour of Shen, the carriage arrived at Yan's house, and Li Weijian entered by himself. Coincidentally, Yan Fengzhen had returned home with his wife and children, and his mistress had gone to the temple outside the city to burn incense and worship Buddha, so Li Weijian had to wander alone in the side garden.

After waiting for half an hour, I suddenly saw teacher Yan Xiyao walking slowly towards me in casual clothes, holding a fishing rod.

Li Weijian hurried forward to greet him. Yan Xiyao waved his hand casually and asked as he walked away, "Another trouble?"

Li Weijian smiled and said, "Teacher, you are very good at predicting things. We just sent away the Crown Prince, and now here comes the Prince of Jin."

"Oh," Yan Xiyao arrived at the pond. Li Weijian hurriedly took the stool from the servant and placed it there, and then helped Yan Xiyao sit down. The fishhook dropped into the pond, and Yan Xiyao said, "It was meant to be... You had a fight with the crown prince, causing the Saint to privately reprimand the East Palace. How could the Wu family not come to show their goodwill? What does Fusheng think? Are you going to send him away as well?"

Li Weijian squatted down, looked at the pond and said, "The saint only has two sons. If I offend the King of Jin again, I am afraid I will have to flee overseas one day."

Yan Xiyao smiled and said, "You are also stubborn. If the prince plots against you, you might as well drag the prince of Jin along and let him do whatever he wants. This way you won't offend anyone, and the prince and the prince of Jin will also know that you don't want to participate in the fight for the throne."

Li Weijian smiled bitterly and said, "I am young and full of energy. I always think that the Wang brothers have been plotting against me. I deserve to be punished."

"Why would we care about these rotten fish and shrimp?"

Li Weijian said, "Master, now that things have come to this, is there any room for maneuver?"

Yan Xiyao narrowed his eyes and smiled, "Don't panic, the prince is really a humble man. Besides, it was the Wang family who made the mistake first. You will see that soon, there will be lobbyists coming to the door to mediate." After a pause, he said, "But this time you can't just give up your job."

"Don't you want me to cut some meat?"

Yan Xiyao scolded him, "You are so stupid! How are you now compared to Shen Wansan of the Ming Dynasty? If you are not an official, then even if you have a fortune of billions, what good is it? Can you keep it?"

Li Weijian said with a smile: "Teacher, what you are teaching is true. I also understand this principle, but I just complain a few words in my heart."

Yan Xiyao said in a low voice: "This fight for the throne has just begun, and I'm afraid there will be more trouble in the future. Fortunately, you are young, so you don't need to get too involved for now."

Li Weijian asked casually, "Who does Master think is better?"

Yan Xiyao smiled and said, "I only follow saints."

I understand. I will support whoever ascends the throne.

Just at this moment, the fish bladder suddenly sank, Yan Xiyao stared and shouted "It's hooked", then stood up and pulled. After pulling twice, something suddenly broke out of the water, and Li Weijian was stunned when he saw it.

But I saw a yellow toad hanging under the fishhook...I couldn't even flatter it.

Yan Xiyao was immediately embarrassed and turned around to scold, "Is the bait recipe correct? How come a toad was caught on the bait?"

The servant at the back felt very aggrieved, but he quickly admitted his mistake and said, "Master, please calm down. I was lazy just now and forgot to put in the chicken bone powder."

Yan Xiyao immediately lost interest and waved his hand, saying, "Forget it. Today's bait is not right. Come with me to the study and chat."

Li Weijian responded awkwardly without saying a word for fear of offending the teacher.

After entering the study, Yan Xiyao said clearly: "I knew about this matter several years ago. Otherwise, why do you think I insisted on letting you marry the heir?"

Li Weijian was stunned, and after blinking, he asked, "Marquis Zhongjing?"

Yan Xiyao smiled and nodded, saying, "With Shi Ding here, I can guarantee that you will be safe."

(End of this chapter)