Once magnificent, now brilliant

The pigeon flew into the quiet courtyard with its wings snoring, landed lightly on the window sill, and tapped the window lattice with its sharp beak.

Qi Xiang opened her eyes, it was just dawn outside, and it was late at this time of year, listening to the movement outside, Pan Butler should not have woken up yet.

Getting out of bed and opening the window, Qi Xiang carried the carrier pigeon in, took out the letter from the bamboo tube on its paw, and grabbed a few melon seeds and put them on the table, the carrier pigeon ignored Qi Xiang and pounced on those melon seeds.

Qi Xiang's master, Que Shizhou, had arrived in Beijing five days ago, and settled in a courtyard outside Beijing, which was Que Shizhou's own territory, very safe.

But Shi Zhou didn't show up for the time being. Such caution is also his habit for many years.

Lighting the candle beside the bed, Qi Xiang read the letter by the light of the candle.

The letter said that yesterday's subordinates found out that Wu Qing and Zhao Zhenggang, who survived the battle, are now working in the third prince's residence.The others were nowhere to be seen, so they are probably no longer in Beijing.

No one knew about the defeat at the beginning, which also made it easy to find out who the few people who survived were.Qi Xiang has no impression of these two names.Of course, none of the survivors was known to him.

But this is not the point, the point is why did the third prince accept those two people into the mansion?Shouldn't it be avoided?

Qi Xiang knew that his father belonged to the party of the third prince, so it can be regarded as doing his best for the third prince.The third prince, Rong Li, was the queen's son, and his grandfather was the prime minister of the left. It can be said that his status was very noble, and he was also a hot candidate for the crown prince.With such a status, it is normal for Qi Xiang's father, Qi Yi, to seek refuge with him.

After his father's accident, none of the third prince and his party stood up to plead for his father and speak for the Qi family. It was obvious that his father had become an abandoned son, and the third prince didn't want to have anything to do with it, let alone arouse the emperor's suspicion. .

Since the third prince avoided suspicion at that time, why did he ask two people to work in his house?This is also too unreasonable.

Except in the classroom in the palace, Qi Xiang had no contact with Rong Li, and had no grievances or enmities.But because of his father's affairs, Qi Xiang still remembered Rong Li in his heart.It was only later that he learned that when the Taifu and the fourth prince pleaded for him, there might be room for the emperor to change things.But Rong Li urged the people from the Ministry of Criminal Justice to arrange distribution as soon as possible, obviously because he was afraid of having long nights and dreams, so Qi Xiang went to Xixian without waiting for forgiveness, and he is what he is today.

Qi Xiang returned to Beijing to find out what happened back then and seek an explanation, but so far only Wu Qing and Zhao Zhenggang have been found, so naturally he has to continue digging along this line.If he could get that money back from Rong Li, he would be making a steady profit.

After burning the letter, Qi Xiang went to the table to write a reply, and after that, he lost sleepiness and went to the kitchen to boil water and cook rice—he has become very skilled in doing this kind of thing over the years.

"Hey, my lord, why didn't you wake me up." Steward Pan quickly took the spatula from Qi Xiang's hand, "I'll come and I'll come, how can you do this, my lord?"

Qi Xiang laughed, "I've done it many times before."

Butler Pan looked dissatisfied, "What's the matter? That group of beasts deliberately found you a job, and now you can't do it anymore."

Seeing that the multigrain porridge was already boiled in the pot, Steward Pan said, "Shall I fry another shredded potato for you?"

"Okay." Qi Xiang exited the kitchen, and came back after a while, "Where did you put the things for the master? I'll see if I need to add some on the way."

Butler Pan said with a smile, "It's in the East Wing."

After a few days of rest, Qi Xiang's spirit has improved a lot. Today, he caught up with Taifu Xiumu, and he is going to visit and do all the rituals.

Most of the stalls in the morning are selling breakfast, and the stalls are almost closed at this time, and the streets are bustling and lively.Qi Xiang went to Xian's Mansion in the carriage hired by Pan Butler.

Xian Xing had been waiting for him early in the morning, and when he heard that the carriage had arrived, he hurried out to greet him, "Here he is, what are you doing with so many things?"

Qi Xiang smiled and said, "It's all for the Taifu, not for you. It's not something precious, just a wish."

"That's why you're being stingy." Xianzheng led him in, and joked, "You can even bring you a piece of meat."

"I'm ashamed, I hope you understand." Qi Xiang knew that Xianxuan didn't really want to ask him for meat, but just joking.

Xian Xuan said: "You must understand a thing or two, stay for lunch, brother will give you a big meal!"

"Respect is worse than obedience."

Entering the main hall, Qi Xiang saluted the Taifu.

"Get up quickly. Don't come here with the old man. It's more practical to play two more games of chess with me later." The Taifu smiled and said to the waiter: "You all go down, I will talk to Wen Jing. "

The Xian family served all the old people, and they all knew that besides the grandson, Qi Xiang was the Taifu's favorite, so naturally he was happy to have Qi Xiang accompany the Taifu to talk.

"Is your small courtyard alright?" Tai Fu asked while drinking tea.

Qi Xiang nodded slightly: "Yes, it's a good place to live."

"That's good. I know you are low-key and don't want to cause trouble for me. I don't ask you to come and study with me every day. I have prepared some books. You can take them back and read them. If you don't understand anything, wait for me next time." Bring it when you take a bath, and I will solve your doubts."

Apart from revenge, reading is the second thing Qi Xiang wants. The Taifu has already prepared everything for him, so what reason does he have for refusing?

"Thank you, Grand Tutor." Qi Xiang got up and bowed.

The Taifu waved his hand and said: "I heard from Yu'er that the fourth prince wanted to ask you to be a counselor, but you refused?"

"Yes."

Taifu smiled, "Well done. It is not appropriate for you to intervene rashly in the current situation in Beijing. Compared with these, it is more useful for you to take care of yourself and read more books. When there is a chance, I will go to your slavery. Arranging you to teach in the academy is also a good way."

Xianxuan was speechless, his grandfather agreed with Qi Xiang's approach, isn't this changing to say that they didn't think well?Although this is a fact, there is no need to say it specifically, right?It's shameful.

"I'm sorry to bother you, Mr. Taifu." The arrangement of Mr. Taifu is naturally the best, but whether it can be realized in the future is really another matter.

The Taifu took the wooden box at hand and handed it to Qi Xiang, "Here are your body deeds and the documents I prepared for you. You can take them back and keep them yourself. You can't get rid of slavery at the moment, but it will be more convenient to go out in the future anyway. If you have any questions, please report the name of Xianfu, and I will come forward."

Qi Xiang stood up and took the wooden box with both hands, thanking him again.

The Taifu sighed: "It's good to come and go often in the future. When you come back, my first worry is gone. It's very good, very good."

Near noon, the servants came to report that the fourth prince had arrived.

Qi Xiang was surprised. Hearing what the servant said, he should have known that the fourth prince would come.

Tai Tu smiled and said, "Please go directly to the dining room, we will go too."

I haven't seen him for a few years, but the fourth prince, Rong Cang, hasn't changed much. It may be that he has a mature temperament since he was a child, but now he doesn't feel much disobedience.Rong Cang's appearance is not outstanding, but he is also very upright, and his innate luxury is not something ordinary people can compare to.

Rong Cang hurriedly avoided the Taifu's gift, and helped the old man to sit down first, and then looked at Qi Xiang.

"Wen Jing, I'm very happy that you can come back. Only you, Er Mian and Xi Ze are left to study with me. I won't say too much. I will protect you for a day in the future."

Rong Cang always kept his word, Qi Xiang believed in this.But how it can be done does not depend on Rong Cang, because Rong Cang is only a prince, not an emperor.

Qi Xiang thanked him, and his attitude was neither alien nor close, the same as before.

The Taifu invited them to sit down and eat. The Xianfu prepared a lot of dishes today, all of which were Qi Xiang's favorites before. He also knew that Qi Xiang was not in good health, so he specially cooked thick porridge for him so that he could eat enough. good.

There was no one else at the table, so naturally they talked about the court affairs.Qi Xiang didn't know clearly, and didn't interrupt, just heard some useful news from it.

Among the emperor's six sons, apart from the newly born sixth son, the only one who can serve the emperor in front of the imperial court is the third prince Rong Li.This is also expected, after all, he is the queen's son, even if it is for the stability of the court, the emperor will dote on him more.

The princes can go out of the palace to build a mansion after they become adults, and their reading is changed from a daily class to a three-day class, only the Tai Tuo and Tai Bao teach.The masters of the princes went to the mansion to continue teaching.And accompanying students no longer need to attend classes, they can go their separate ways.

Rong Cang has no errands, and he lives by the rules every day without making mistakes, but it doesn't look like he has the power to fight for the throne.

The Taifu said: "The third prince just got the emperor's approval because of the Qianqiu Banquet. It seems that the momentum is good, but the fourth prince does not need to be discouraged. The emperor has not let the third prince touch the military power so far. It can be seen that he is also afraid. The fourth prince just needs to be patient. Hold your temper and wait for the opportunity, there will always be a day when it will be useful."

"Yes. I'm not in a hurry. Although the third brother is loved by the emperor, there are also many people staring at him. It's not as comfortable as I am."

Whether this statement is sincere or not, it is true.

"It's good that your Highness can think like this. Now that Prime Minister Zuo's forces are intertwined, it's not good to confront them head-on. Apart from the veterans around His Highness, only the Bai family is the most important to the emperor. But the Bai family's father and son are all in the military power, and it's even more inconvenient to stand up." I came out to find an errand for His Highness, so His Highness has to be patient in everything."

"I understand. The Tai Tuo and Lord Bai have carefully planned everything for me, and I will definitely not let you down."

The sudden mention of Bai's family made Qi Xiang think of Bai Junyu again, and sighed in his heart. Fortunately, Bai Junyu didn't come today, so he really didn't want to see him.

After bringing back a lot of books from Xian's house, Qi Xiang had something to do every day, and the days went by quite quickly.Whenever I think of Bai Junyu occasionally, it seems that I feel less depressed than before.

It's normal for Bai Junyu to have a girl he likes. Don't say that he hasn't expressed his heart to Bai Junyu, even if he did, Bai Junyu has the right to refuse. Men like men, not everyone can accept it.

Qi Xiang would not make trouble unreasonably and think that Bai Junyu should respond to his feelings, and he is not crazy.

With more self-persuasion, my depressed mood also became more cheerful.

One day, Steward Pan came back from shopping for vegetables, and said to Qi Xiang, "Master, when I was shopping for vegetables, I heard rumors from the neighbors that the people in the third prince's house beat up the shopkeeper of a restaurant, and returned a lot of things. .This morning, things went up to the Yamen!"

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