Spring Mansion Intrigue 011: The Official from the Capital Arrives

  In the Danxia courtyard, after a round of ordinary family talk, Mrs. Lü said with intention or not, "We should let the children come and go more often, so that Feiyang and Huan'er won't become estranged."

  Madam Wu's arrogant face changed slightly, she took a sip of tea before responding, "The child is still too young to be determined." Putting down the teacup, she asked, "I wonder how the children will be arranged?"

  This is what she cares about, without the support of the Qin family, what use does the Wu family have for her?

  "It depends on what the Zhou family says, my husband and I naturally want the child to stay in the mansion, but the Zhou family may not be at ease." Madame Lü sighed, picked up her tea cup and took a sip, quietly observing Madame Wu's expression. If Xinghuan leaves the mansion, it means that the Wu family doesn't want this marriage anymore, right?

  Madam Wu's beautiful face wrinkled up.

  Chen saw the situation and hastily interjected, "The eldest son had infuriated Old Master to the point of almost vomiting blood back then. Doesn't he also find them unbearable? Alas, I don't know where Shen Huan will end up marrying into in the future. A child without a mother, bringing shame to her husband's family. It's really worrisome." After speaking, she quickly glanced at Lü Shi and saw that she was lowering her head to drink tea, knowing that she hadn't said anything wrong, and felt relieved.

  Madam Wu's eyebrows furrowed even deeper, "Whatever the case, our Wu family in Yuhang is still respectable. This matter really needs to be discussed with Master."

  "Yes, today Zhou's family came to take the child away, and their attitude was very firm." Lü said with a sigh.

  Madam Wu looked at her and uttered an "oh" sound, but didn't say anything else.

  "Chen said, 'I just saw Fei Yang young master and Xiang Er eating sugar together. Actually, they see each other often, so their feelings are naturally better than Chen Huan's.'"

  Madam Wu snorted, not even looking at Chen Shi, and said with disdain, "It's often said that a doting mother will spoil her child. The second madam should be stricter, and also teach her daughter some reserve, otherwise, it would make people think she lacks upbringing."

  The blunt words made Chen's face turn bright red, and he didn't dare say anything else.

  Lü glared at her, "Foolish girl, why so impatient!"

  "I'll go take a look in the front hall." Madame Wu stood up and walked out.

  Lü left Chen, who was embarrassed and had a red face, and hurriedly followed Wu's wife, walking and talking with her.

  Wu Feiyang made a fuss about staying at the Qin manor for two more days, and Wu Furen couldn't persuade him otherwise, so she agreed. Before leaving, she gave Shen Huan a meaningful glance and instructed Wu Feiyang not to fool around with the young ladies, lest he lose his dignity.

  Wu Feiyang's face turned red as he nodded, stealing a glance at Chen Huan.

  Eyes watchful as if observing the nose, yet seeing nothing.

  After Wu Bin and the others left, Lü Shi ordered someone to clean up the east wing of the west cross house in the front yard for Wu Feiyang to live in. That was also where Wu Feiyang had lived before, so he naturally didn't feel a bit strange.

  As soon as they got on the carriage, Madame Wu immediately frowned and said, "Master, Qin Chenhuan has no parents, this marriage is not suitable."

  "A woman's vision is short-sighted!" Wu Bin shook his head, "Now Qin Songtao has a boundless future ahead of him, do you care if he has parents or not? I previously interacted with Qin An, did you think we got along well? He's just a bookworm, wasn't I doing it to maintain ties with the Qin family and get closer to the Su family?"

  "Why should we curry favor with the Qin family just because we have a good relationship with the Su family? Even if we did, it would be Qin Yan that we'd choose."

  "Let's just say you're short-sighted, not to mention that Qin Yan is older than Fei Yang. The Qin and Su families wouldn't agree either, they both want to cultivate a future empress. But if Qin Songtao becomes an official in the capital and his daughter enters the palace, they'll become imperial relatives. If we form an alliance with the Qin family through marriage, we'll also benefit from it, not to mention that the dowry of the Yan family is very generous."

  "What about the dowry for our Wu family? Qin Songtao's eight characters are not even a stroke yet, who can guarantee that he will rise to prominence. I don't believe Feiyang won't marry an even better noble lady."

  Wu Bin gave her a glance, "I heard Mr. Su say that Qin Songtao is likely to enter the top three, think about it, who in Yuzhou can be more powerful than Qin Songtao in three years? Moreover, he's only 35 years old. The Qin family has unlimited prospects."

  Madam Wu thought and thought, growing more and more resentful, "Then I'll think of every way to marry off Qin Yan!"

  Wu Bin furrowed his brow, "This is a bit difficult, but if it's possible, of course, it would be best. At least, no matter what position Qin Songtao holds, he will still support his son-in-law. However, breaking off the engagement with Fourth Young Miss for no reason and then asking to marry Second Young Miss, his reputation won't be able to withstand it."

  Madam Wu immediately nodded in agreement, "This matter, we must think of a way."

  The next morning, just after breakfast, the gatekeeper came with the news that Big Uncle Zhou Zhi had arrived.

  After all, he was a Beijing official, and Qin Gongxun seriously received him in the front yard's side hall to meet Zhou Zhi.

  What surprised Qin Gongxun was that there was another person following Zhou Zhitong, Cao Tianjian, the long history of the Grand Commandery. Although the Grand Commandery is a new institution established by the current emperor, it is outside the six departments and directly under the command of the emperor, supervising local officials in various states, but in reality, the direct superior of the Grand Commandery is the Divine Strategy Department, which is now the palace guard, with 300,000 divine strategy soldiers under its jurisdiction, a direct military system under the palace, and its superior is directly under the wise king, so its status is higher than that of local officials of the same rank.

  "The adults have arrived at our humble abode, and the common people are terrified." Qin Gongxun didn't recognize the person, but understood the official title. After listening to Zhou Zhi's introduction, he was secretly shocked and showed extreme respect.

  "Lord Qin is too polite. I have brought mourning cards and some tribute gifts on behalf of Ning, to express our respects." Cao Tianjian said politely.

  Qin Gongxun was stunned, and it was another Mr. Ning, a government official with the surname Ning in the capital, not a small number of them were relatives of the Rongguo Wangfu Ning family, but which one was this Mr. Ning?

  A commoner who can mobilize the Shen Ce Fu is so concerned about a funeral, why doesn't he teach him to be more cautious.

  "Ah, Lord Qin, I have a message to bring to the Fourth Miss and the Eldest Young Master of your esteemed household. Please ask them to come see me." Cao Tianjian's words made Qin Gonghuan's heart jump again, not daring to be slow, he quickly had Qian Long go call for them.

  Chen Huan had some knowledge of the official positions in the imperial court, and looked at Cao Tianjian with a puzzled expression. That day, she saw that Ning Da Gongzi's riding skills were quite good, and thought that as a young master from the capital, it was nothing special to be able to ride a horse, as they usually practiced both literature and martial arts. Now it seemed that he came from a family of military generals, and it wasn't surprising that he had such a majestic bearing.

  "The young master is deeply concerned about the fourth miss. He asks the young lady to be comforted and adapt to the changes, after which everything will be settled." Cao Tianjian quickly glanced at Shen Huan, finished speaking, and beckoned to his attendant, who presented a wooden box from his hand.

  "The young master said that in three years, Master Qin will be able to take the provincial exam. He specially sent these over and instructed Master Qin to study hard, so he can achieve great things in the future. The young master also said that if Master Qin needs any rare books, Fourth Miss can write a letter of introduction for him, which will be given to me, and I will send someone to deliver it to the capital. The young master will definitely do his best to help."

  She thanked him with a bow, but it was inconvenient to ask more questions in front of Qin Gongxun. She just wondered how he knew that her brother was the eldest son of the Qin family? And how did he know her brother's age? If he wanted to help her brother, why did he want her to write a letter? Thinking again, perhaps Ning Da Gongzi had never seen her brother, so it was inconvenient.

  Qin Gongxun saw Cao Tianjian being so serious and couldn't help but feel curious, "What book is it? May I take a look?"

  Cao Tianjian nodded and said, "Of course." He personally opened it, took out a volume of documents and handed it to Chen Huan.