Go to school

Xie Sili, led by Jun Qiyu, took a short stroll around Chang'an City, and the two occasionally discussed the current situation.

Xie Sili had witnessed Jun Qiyu's ambition to serve the people. During his years in Yuzhou City, Jun Qiyu had essentially lived a life of harmony and happiness with the common people.

The same applies to Jun Qiyu in the story. The more important reason why he was able to ascend the throne and become emperor in the later period was that he won the hearts of the people. No people would dislike a benevolent monarch.

The current emperor is also benevolent, but he is hesitant in dealing with powerful clans, fearing that their influence will destabilize the country. He has been taking a gradual approach to this matter.

Unlike Emperor Jun, Jun Qiyu ascended the throne later in the story and immediately used various pretexts and excuses to suppress powerful clans. He used overwhelming force to suppress the aristocratic families, and even uprooted the clans that had been hiding in the shadows.

That's exactly what she liked about Jun Qiyu.

Politely declining Jun Qiyu's offer, Xie Sili suggested returning to the Prime Minister's residence with the maid.

On the way back to the Prime Minister's residence, Xie Sili's gaze fell on Luo Mei. She reached out and flicked her head, "Little girl, what are you thinking about?"

“I think the Fourth Young Master seems quite nice.” Luo Mei’s eyes crinkled with a smile. “I noticed he’s very attentive to you, Miss, and his gaze towards you is full of focus. Don’t you really want to consider him?”

Xie Sili laughed when she heard Luo Mei's words, "You're overthinking it." She then patted Luo Mei's head.

Why not consider Jun Qiyu?

Of course, it's because Jun Qiyu is the male protagonist of this book, who eventually ascends the throne and reigns supreme; while she is just a minor character with only one line in the original work, and his female protagonist has not yet appeared.

Seeing that Luo Mei was about to speak again, Xie Sili instructed, "Please buy some seeds for me from the market later. I learned some from my grandmother before I returned to Chang'an. The empty space in our yard is just right for planting things."

Back at Liju, Xie Sili took a shovel from the tool shed and started turning the soil. The repeated turning of the soil made him understand the state of mind his grandparents had described.

"Young lady, I heard from Si Ze that you're going to the academy?" A figure suddenly appeared in front of him. "No, what are you going there for?"

Seeing his movements, Xie Sili shouted, "Siyi, watch your step. If you step on the soil I turned over, I'll throw you to Aze for training."

Si Yi quickly withdrew his foot, which hadn't yet landed.

"Girl, I just don't understand why you came back. Did you come back to watch them turn against you?" Si Yi said angrily. "Look at what's happened since you came back. The Prime Minister and his wife have been bullying you, and you even have to marry that scoundrel Prince Yan. Tell me, is this something a human being would do..."

"Si Yi, you really should go back and learn from An Yi. If that doesn't work, you can learn from Ying Yi. They are much more mature than you." Xie Sili interrupted Si Yi.

“Young lady, this is an absolute insult to me. I am far more skilled than them.” Si Yi refused to admit it. “Their martial arts are nowhere near as good as mine. If I weren’t so skilled, why would you have me by your side?”

"Among the twenty-four people, including the Guards, Shadow Guards, and Dark Guards, you are indeed the most skilled in martial arts, but Shadow One and Dark One are much smarter than you."

After a long while, Xie Sili heard Si Yi's voice, "Miss, you're just subtly calling me stupid!"

“Girl, did you come back just to suffer? I think you could live perfectly well on your own, why did you insist on coming back to this place?” Si Yi curled her lip. “This wretched place isn’t even as big as the old master’s mansion in Yuzhou City, and it’s not even as big as a single finger of Si Yuan…”

Hearing Si Yi's words, Xie Sili stopped what she was doing and looked up at him slightly.

A moment later, his voice rang out, "Miss, I was wrong."

“Coming back isn’t about asking for trouble.” Xie Sili continued turning the soil. “How can we delegate this kind of thing to someone else? It’s only meaningful to do it ourselves, don’t you think?”

Having received a satisfactory reply, Xie Sili continued what she was doing. Upon hearing footsteps, Si Yi quickly disappeared from her sight.

The person who came to Liju was Baizhi, a maidservant of Huangshi. She brought the writing implements. Looking at the writing implements in her hands, Xie Sili could clearly see the hidden emotions in the eyes of Mei, Lan, Zhu, and Ju.

She glanced at what Bai Zhi was holding. Perhaps Huang thought she didn't know the value of things, so she used this defective product that had been sitting for who knows how long to get rid of her. In Huang's eyes, she was nothing more than a daughter from Yuzhou City who was not worthy of being presented to the world.

After Xie Sili took the items, he thanked Bai Zhi and watched her leave before instructing Mei Lan Zhu Ju to dispose of the defective products.

"Miss, does this lady think you don't know what's good for you?" Luo Mei flipped through the writing implements in her hands, her eyebrows showing a hint of displeasure. "She's actually trying to fool you with something like this."

Luo Ju, skilled in medicine, noticed the same powder found on the writing implements as on the previous medicine packets. "Miss, Madam is trying to kill you!"

“Miss, the garden next door will be completed by the end of the year, and we will be able to move in,” Si Yi reassured her. “Anyway, you don’t care about this Prime Minister’s residence.”

"Hmm." Xie Sili's voice was much calmer, and his gaze toward the writing implements deepened.

"What are you thinking about, young lady?" Luo Mei asked softly. "Do you think Madam's actions are inappropriate?"

"Luomei, do you think she might have used the same methods to murder Mother back then?" Xie Sili said, turning her gaze to the four women, Mei, Lan, Zhu, and Ju. "I heard from my grandmother that Mother's health was quite good back then. She never experienced postpartum hemorrhage when she gave birth to my eldest and second eldest brothers. So why did this happen to me?"

Xie Sili stroked the writing implements with one hand, "But if someone did it on purpose, wanting my mother to die because of it, then everything makes sense."

"Did Madam kill the late Madam?" Luo Mei asked with a puzzled look. "If that's the case, how should we investigate this matter? The death of the late Madam is a taboo subject in the Prime Minister's residence, and no one wants to mention it."

“Yes! ① We only see the new bride laughing, but we never hear the old bride crying.” Xie Sili sighed as she spoke. “Dispose of all the writing materials she sent us, so that no one will find out anything.”

Upon receiving her order, Si Yi quickly went to prepare the writing implements.

The next day, the weather was sunny.

Xie Sili traveled alone by carriage to Longmen Academy.

The academy was in the middle of morning classes, and the gates were closed. After refusing Si Ze's suggestion to help her climb over the wall, she stood in front of the academy gate and knocked on the door knocker.

The person who opened the door was a middle-aged man, who looked somewhat ill-intentioned.

Just as Xie Sili was about to speak, she heard the middle-aged man's voice, "Who are you? Do you know where this is?"

Seeing Si Ze about to step forward to resolve the issue, Xie Sili reached out to stop him, stepped forward, and bowed to the middle-aged man, saying, "I've come to the academy to register."

Judging from the middle-aged man's appearance, Xie Sili knew what he was up to, and simply stood there confronting him.

"What did you just say you came here for?" His tone was tinged with disdain.

"I said I've come to register at the academy," Xie Sili said patiently. "May I ask what advice you have for me, sir?"

"What's your name? Where's your letter of recommendation? You don't have any of these things, yet you dare to come to the academy to register? Do you think this is a place where even beggars can come and beg for food?"

Xie Sili saw that the middle-aged man showed no impatience, but still did not take out what he needed. Just as the middle-aged man was about to close the door, he saw a young man who had just turned twenty walking towards him.

The boy wore a blue and white robe with the words "Longmen Academy" embroidered on the collar and the academy's unique logo embroidered on the waistband.

Xie Sili saw him step forward and said, "Please come in, young lady. He didn't recognize you and offended you."

She nodded to the boy, "It's alright, as the saying goes, ignorance is no excuse." Out of the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of the middle-aged man's emotions. With a cold smile on her lips, she whispered something in the boy's ear.

Si Ze, who was following Xie Sili, disappeared after entering the academy.

She followed the boy to another bamboo house, next to which were two towering ancient trees with a swing on top.

In addition, various kinds of plum trees are planted around the bamboo house.

Xie Sili lay down on the recliner and closed her eyes for a short rest.

"The headmaster just changed everything yesterday. We thought the young lady wouldn't be able to come for a few more days, but who knew she would come today?" The young man's voice reached Xie Sili's ears.

“They want to see me make a fool of myself,” Xie Sili replied. “The Huang family thinks I am illiterate, unfit for public life, and unpresentable. They want to use this method to make me understand that the Prime Minister’s mansion is my support.”

"I never imagined that one day I would also be unable to escape the fate of studying."

"Young master and young lady are in their introductory classes today. They would surely be delighted to know you are here." The young man smiled gently. "After discussing it with the dean, vice-dean, and several teaching assistants, I'm considering placing the young lady in the advanced class. What do you think, young lady?"

Xie Sili reached out his hand to him, and the boy took out a list from his sleeve and placed it in his hand.

She glanced at the list of people, raised an eyebrow at her, and said, "Not a bad arrangement."

Thinking of Xie Sinan's behavior that day, she turned her gaze to the boy. "Mu Bai, how is Xie Sinan doing at the academy? Is he really a domineering idiot?"

"That's right. Xie Sinan is unambitious and ignorant. He doesn't respect the teachers in class and is a headache for all the teachers. The dean and vice dean have talked to him before, but he still does his own thing and doesn't respect anyone."

If Xie Sinan is truly unambitious and incompetent, then what exactly is he planning?

A policy of appeasement? Or a strategy of feigned indifference?

It seems that her brother is not as he appears on the surface, and it is necessary to test him properly.