Chapter 139 has an unknown background.

Jiang Yu was preoccupied with her own thoughts and was somewhat absent-minded while talking to Lu Yifang. When Lu Yifang noticed this, she felt sorry for her again and told her to take care of herself and get some rest before getting up and leaving. Jiang Yu escorted her to the gate of the courtyard.

“I’ve noticed that Zhu’er has lost some weight these days,” Lu Yifang said to Granny Feng as they walked. “Ever since she joined the Ministry of Revenue, she’s been busy every day. While other girls are enjoying flowers and water, and composing poems, she spends all her time reading official documents and using her brain. Just thinking about her makes me tired.”

After listening, Granny Feng thought for a moment and said, "At the last banquet of the Chen family, I heard from the nanny next to Master Wu that the physician Zhang in the palace has a particularly good prescription for conditioning the body. Why don't you ask her to come and take the pulse of the young lady and prescribe some nourishing prescriptions for her body?"

"Are they from the Zhang family, a renowned family of doctors?" Lu Yifang asked.

Granny Feng nodded, and Lu Yifang thought for a moment and said, "Then we'll ask her to come and take Zhu'er's pulse later."

......

Jiang Yu was in the study listening to Li Zhong's report.

“Xiang Yonghe’s family is an old household in the capital. Xiang Yonghe’s great-grandfather was a night watchman.” Li Zhongdao said, “Xiang Yonghe’s grandfather was a scholar who passed the imperial examination at the age of seventeen or eighteen.”

It is said that he used many connections and some unscrupulous means to marry a concubine's daughter from a collateral branch of the Marquis of Jinyang. However, later, Xiang Yonghe's grandfather spent his entire life trying to pass the imperial examinations but never succeeded.

“The Marquis of Jinyang!” Jiang Yu murmured, then asked, “And then?”

Li Zhong: "Xiang Yonghe's father wasn't very good at studying either. He passed the county-level imperial examination early on but never made any further progress. However, he was good at scheming. He used his little connection with the Marquis of Jinyang's family to get a job at the Military Equipment Bureau, which didn't have an official rank. But the Military Equipment Bureau was very lucrative, and the Xiang family's life was much better than before."

"Xiang Yonghe's father probably resented that two generations of his family had failed to become scholars, so he devoted himself to cultivating Xiang Yonghe's education from a young age. It is said that Xiang Yonghe once studied in the family school of the Marquis of Jinyang and was a classmate of the current Marquis of Jinyang."

Hearing this, Jiang Yu seemed to be deep in thought, and unconsciously tapped the table with her hand. Li Zhong stopped talking and looked at Jiang Yu, waiting for her question.

After realizing this, Jiang Yu smiled helplessly and said, "Continue."

"Yes." Li Zhong thought to himself, "I haven't been with the young lady for long enough to know her habits very well!"

He regained his composure and continued, "Besides studying at the Jin Yang Marquis's family school, the Xiang family also hired many famous teachers for Xiang Yonghe, and even spent a lot of money to send him to the Imperial Academy. Xiang Yonghe lived up to expectations and passed the provincial examination, but that was where he ended up."

After hearing about Xiang Yonghe's educational experience, Jiang Yu thought of many modern parents who buy school district housing and use every means to get their children into prestigious schools, pushing themselves and their children to the limit.

She sighed inwardly, glanced at Li Zhong, and said, "Go on."

Li Zhong: "After Xiang Yong passed the imperial examination, he took the examination twice more but failed both times. He and his family probably thought that this was all he could do, so they started to use their connections to recommend him for an official position. For some reason, it never came to fruition. Later, Xiang Yong and his first wife passed away, and he married a woman surnamed Qi. Not long after, he entered the Arms Bureau and became a minor official of the eighth rank."

"What's the background of Xiang Yonghe's wife?" Jiang Yu asked.

Li Zhong also looked puzzled. "The Qi family came to the capital more than 20 years ago, opened a few shops, and lived a comfortable life, though not extremely wealthy. There's nothing particularly special about them."

Jiang Yu frowned. She picked up a pen and wrote the three characters "Marquis of Jinyang" on a piece of paper. Was the Marquis of Jinyang involved? Judging from Xiang Yonghe's experience, he had studied in the Marquis of Jinyang's family school and had been classmates with the Marquis. However, his later entry into the Arms Bureau was unlikely due to his connection with the Marquis of Jinyang.

Marquis Jinyang was also a founding marquis. Although the current Marquis Jinyang does not hold a real position in the court, given the Marquis Jinyang’s family’s network of connections, it wouldn’t have taken Xiang Yong so long to secure an eighth-rank position for him.

If Xiang Yonghe's connections weren't with the Marquis of Jinyang's family, then whose connections were they?

Jiang Yu wrote another character, "Qi," on the paper. This outsider, who came to the capital over twenty years ago, opened several shops in the city. In the capital, where a single brick could hit an official, it wasn't easy for an outsider to open several shops.

The Qi family has a hidden background!

"Investigate the Qi family." Jiang Yu looked at Li Zhong and said, "Be careful, they might be big fish."

"Yes," Li Zhong said very seriously.

Jiang Yu waved him away, staring at the three characters "Marquis of Jinyang" on the paper. After a while, she wrote down what she knew about the network of relationships within the Marquis of Jinyang's household, but she couldn't find any reason why the Marquis of Jinyang would commit such a heinous crime as embezzling military supplies, which could lead to the extermination of his entire clan.

Then we can only wait for the results of the investigation.

......

Prince An's Mansion

Prince An was also listening to reports on the progress of the investigation.

“Hong Yong is from Mingzhou County. His ancestors were blacksmiths, and it is said that the Hong family was very famous in the blacksmithing industry in Mingzhou County. Two years ago, Hong Yong suddenly came to the capital and opened Huifeng Ironware Workshop. A month later, he took on some weapons manufacturing for the Ironware Bureau.”

After listening, Prince An remained silent for a while and then asked, "Do Hong Yong and Xiang Yong usually have close contact?"

The Imperial Guard who reported said, "Logically speaking, since Hong Yong took on such a lucrative position as the Director of the Ironware Bureau, he should have frequently invited Xiang Yong to meals or given him gifts, but he didn't. The two of them rarely even have any contact."

Prince An lowered his eyes and pondered for a while before saying, "Perhaps the two of them have a close relationship in private, or perhaps... Hong Yong doesn't need to please Xiang Yonghe; she needs to please someone else."

The Imperial Guard nodded thoughtfully. After a moment of silence in the room, Prince An said again, "Continue to investigate Hong Yong, starting with his family relationships. Also, keep a close eye on him."

"yes."

Prince An pondered for a moment, then said, "Send the information you found to Miss Jiang."

"yes."

The Imperial Guard bowed and withdrew, braving the cold wind towards the Duke of Chu's residence. Upon reaching a side gate in the northwest corner of the mansion, he knocked a few times, and a servant-like man, wrapped in a cotton-padded coat, opened the door. The Imperial Guard flashed his badge and said, "I want to see your Steward Li."

The servant of the Duke of Chu's mansion felt a chill run down his spine when he saw the waist token, but considering that they were at the side gate and the Embroidered Uniform Guards were speaking politely and asking to see Steward Li, they were definitely not here to confiscate their property. So he smiled and said, "Please wait a moment, I will go and call Steward Li right away."

The servant locked the side gate again and ran to Li Zhong. Li Zhong knew what it meant when he heard the report, so he hurried to the side gate, invited the guard in, and then led him to Yunfeng Courtyard.