Chapter 50: Action in Progress (Part 3) Two chapters combined into one

There are several flowers in bloom, each showing its own beauty.

After meeting Zhao Tinghan at Wanfu Temple, Zhao Shiqing asked Ling Bo to go to Su Ji Tea House to find Xiao Zhen, while she herself went to see Mr. Bai with the examination papers from the Imperial College.

These two test papers were the deposit she gave to Mr. Bai.

Mr. Bai grew up in the capital and has been in the city for many years. He knows very well that in the capital, no matter whether it is the naughty kids fighting in the streets or the outsiders who can't even speak Mandarin well, they must not be taken lightly.

Who knows from which marquis' mansion this naughty kid sneaked out as this unfilial son, and who knows which prince is behind that outsider.

In the capital, those who wear bright clothes are not necessarily high-ranking officials. Those who wear plain clothes may be third-rank officials who have just arrived in the capital.

For example, the little girl wearing a conical hat, revealing half of her dark and thin arms, threw out two golden beans at once, and talked about the history of Fang Ying in her family.

You say she is bragging?

If you want to brag in front of Mr. Bai, you have to have the confidence.

Master Bai tossed and turned. In fact, no matter what the deposit Zhao Shiqing brought was, for the sake of the Spring and Autumn Annals marked by the Fang brothers, Master Bai had already decided: as long as the little girl named Xiao Si dared to come again today, no matter what the so-called deposit she brought was, Master Bai would cooperate with her or the person behind her.

Mr. Bai now has only one wish, which is to pass the imperial examination and then tell the Bai family that all his sons have the surname Zhong and that he has long looked down upon the Bai family.

It’s not that the Bai family doesn’t want him, but that he doesn’t want the Bai family.

Therefore, when Zhao Shiqing placed the two test papers in front of Mr. Bai, Mr. Bai's heart, which had been pounding for forty years, began to flutter.

The test paper was corrected by the children of the Meng family themselves, so it cannot be faked.

Finding a test paper from the Imperial College is neither difficult nor easy.

However, it is not easy to find a blank test paper with the seal of the Imperial College.

First of all, you have to know someone from the Imperial College. This person is most likely not an ordinary professor, let alone a student, but a person of a higher level.

Only those with a high enough status in the Imperial College could get a blank test paper.

From this, it can be seen that the two deposits sent by Zhao Shiqing are decent enough.

Mr. Bai's smile reached his eyes. When he looked at Zhao Shiqing, he even changed his address: "Fourth Miss, let's sit down and talk."

......

Everything went smoothly for Zhao Shiqing, but Ling Bo was not so lucky.

She got off the sedan chair and bought a bag of peanuts at the bridgehead. Su Datou sat at the door in the sun like he did that day. Ling Bo handed over the peanuts: "Uncle Datou, I bought these for you."

Seeing the peanuts, Su Datou was delighted: "Zhang Xiaoer's peanuts are delicious. They are my favorite."

"Uncle Big Head, as long as you like it, it's good." Ling Bo smiled.

"My name is Su Dahong." Su Datou corrected.

"Got it, Uncle Big Head."

Su Datou......

When Xiao Zhen heard that the girl who came that day was here again, he felt something in his heart. He walked to the window and looked downstairs. From this angle, he could only see a corner of the skirt with a blue background and white flowers.

Then, the corner of the skirt disappeared. Was she going upstairs?

Xiao Zhen quickly sat back in his chair and picked up a book.

Da Zhuang's voice rang out from outside the door: "Boss, someone is coming."

"Let her in." Xiao Zhen ordered in a deep voice.

The door opened and a little girl in a blue dress with white flowers walked in.

The same blue background with white flowers, the same double buns, the same fourteen or fifteen years old, but they are not the same person.

"The maidservant Lingbo, under the order of my second young lady, brings a letter to Master Zhen. Master Zhen, be well."

A hint of disappointment flashed across Xiao Zhen's eyes, and he suddenly wanted to lie back in bed to recuperate.

"Where's the letter?" Xiao Zhen said in a light tone.

Ling Bo respectfully held up a letter, which was written by Zhao Shiqing to Xiao Zhen.

Xiao Zhen opened the letter and at a glance he knew that this letter was definitely not written by Zhao Shiqing.

The square and upright Taige style of calligraphy shows that a lot of effort has been put into it.

Zhao Shiqing was a noble lady from the royal family. Even if she had learned the Taige style, there was no need for her to work hard on it.

Therefore, even if the letter was not written by a clerk, she had someone else write it for her.

The writings of ladies from wealthy families are generally not circulated to prevent people from writing articles based on them and ruining their reputation.

But he is not the kind of shameless villain who would destroy other people's reputation, so Zhao Shiqing is so wary of him.

Xiao Zhen felt uncomfortable, but then he thought that he had already lived two lives. In his previous life, he lived to be 38 years old, and King Liang was only in his early 40s.

If we consider the number of years he has lived, he could be Zhao Shiqing's father.

Forget it, I won’t bother with the kid.

Xiao Zhen quickly convinced himself and read the letter at a glance.

I have to say that Xiao Zhen has a sharp eye. This letter was indeed not written by Zhao Shiqing himself, but by Zhao Tinghan.

Originally, Zhao Shiqing wanted to write the letter herself, but Zhao Tinghan didn't let her. He thought his sister was a daughter of a wealthy family, so how could the letter fall into the hands of a man outside?

Therefore, not only was this letter written by Zhao Tinghan's ghostwriter, but there was not even a signature on the letter.

In the letter, Zhao Shiqing asked about the situation of several censors in the Censorate.

Although Zhao Tinghan had been in Beijing for many years, his identity was sensitive and he could not openly interact with officials. What's more, these censors were all controversial figures, so he had to stay away from them.

However, Xiao Zhen's identity was different. He belonged to the circle of royal family and nobles.

Although civil officials were not in this circle, the censors were anomalies among the civil officials, and the emperor also liked to use the censors to suppress the royal family and nobles.

Therefore, if someone had dung thrown at the door of an imperial censor's house, and one wanted to know who was behind it, one would check whether he had offended any royal family member or noble family recently.

Your enemies are often the people who know you best.

Therefore, Zhao Shiqing decided to ask Xiao Zhen humbly. Even if Xiao Zhen didn't understand, he could find someone who knew these censors.

After reading the letter, Xiao Zhen pursed his lips slightly.

In his previous life, he had actually heard of a few things, all of which were related to the people listed in the letter.

"This is a serious matter. Let your second young lady come in person." Xiao Zhen's voice was cold. He didn't say he knew, nor did he say he didn't know. Whether he knew or not depended on whether the little girl was willing to come.

As for why the little girl had to come here in person?

Xiao Zhen himself couldn't explain it clearly, maybe he was too bored during his recuperation.

When Ling Bo returned to You Xiyingmen, Zhao Shiqing had just walked in. When she heard that Xiao Zhen wanted her to go there in person, Zhao Shiqing frowned. She was very busy now, but since Xiao Zhen said so, it must be necessary for her to go.

Although it was already evening, Zhao Shiqing still went to Su Ji Tea Shop.

She couldn't wait until tomorrow.

When Xiao Zhen heard that Zhao Shiqing had really come, he was stunned. So soon?

Although it was evening, it was still bright outside, but the house had already become dark.

Xiao Zhen asked Da Zhuang to light a candle. When Zhao Shiqing entered the room, he saw the face that looked neither human nor ghost in the dim candlelight.

This face, coupled with the dancing flames, added a bit of weirdness.

Zhao Shiqing comforted herself that although her face was scary, her voice was nice. Besides, when asking for help from others, she should not be picky.

Zhao Shiqing smiled widely and said, "Master Zhen looks much better. It seems the climate and soil of the capital nourishes people. Master Zhen is more elegant than before."

Xiao Zhen: Your hypocritical smile has betrayed you.

"Tell me, what is your purpose in inquiring about those imperial censors?" Xiao Zhen asked.

Zhao Shiqing: "Of course it's to get my eldest brother out of the capital. Don't worry, Master Zhen, this is my only goal. As for those people in the court, I have no interest in them, and neither do we in the Prince Liang's Mansion."

Xiao Zhen nodded, didn't ask any more questions, and went straight to the point.

"Censor Jin was born into a humble family and always considered himself a noble man. He had only one wife and one son, but he did not take a concubine or even a maid.

He once impeached my father for keeping a concubine and also opposed the emperor's selection of concubines.

However, when Censor Jin was still a juren, he had an affair with his cousin's wife and gave birth to a son. Later, Censor Jin passed the imperial examination and was selected as a son-in-law from the list of successful candidates. He married the current Mrs. Jin. Mrs. Jin came from a merchant family and had a generous dowry. As a result, Censor Jin became a nobleman who regarded money as dirt.

After his cousin died, Censor Jin brought his cousin's wife and the son into his house in the name of repaying his cousin's kindness. His cousin's wife's father was a poor scholar, and his cousin's wife always prided herself on being from a scholarly family, in order to highlight Mrs. Jin's vulgarity and money-grubbing.

Mrs. Jin was unaware of this and has been supporting the family with real money..."

Xiao Zhen paused here and swallowed the rest of his words.

In her previous life, Madam Jin became ill due to overwork and died in her thirties. After her death, her cousin's wife became the mistress of the Jin Mansion and spread rumors everywhere, causing Censor Jin to hate the son born to Madam Jin and turn to raising the illegitimate child.

This matter was finally exposed. It was the second wife of Censor Jin. Although this lady was a second marriage, she came from a noble family. After entering the mansion, she had a close fight with her cousin's wife. This lady found that Censor Jin loved her nephew too much. She felt it was abnormal, so she sent people to Censor Jin's hometown to look for old friends, and bribed the maid around her cousin's wife.

During this period, the second wife became pregnant. The cousin's wife was worried that if she gave birth to a son, it would affect her own son, so she secretly gave the wife drugs, causing her to have a miscarriage.

So when the second wife found out the truth, she told her parents' family.

She first found an excuse to divorce Censor Jin, and then filed a complaint with the emperor.

There were witnesses and evidence, and Censor Jin was demoted and exiled, where he died on the road. Legend has it that his first wife's family hired someone to kill him, but there was no evidence to prove it, and the case was eventually left unresolved.

This incident caused a lot of uproar at the time, and almost everyone knew about it. However, it did not happen now, but many years later.

Now the original wife, Mrs. Jin, is still alive, and my cousin's wife and her son have just moved into the mansion. Censor Jin is still a good husband and a good father, a model of integrity.

Xiao Zhen only talked about the story of Censor Jin, and Zhao Shiqing opened her mouth wide. This Censor Jin was deeply in her heart.

This scumbag is perfect for blackmail.

"... Censor Sun is known as a man of steel in the court, but in reality he fears his wife like a tiger.

Madam Sun was a daughter of a general, with a fiery temper. Censor Sun always liked to preach and was aggressive. Once, even with a broken head, he still insisted on going to court to report someone. He said to others that he was speaking out for justice and was retaliated against, but in fact, it was Madam Sun who injured him.

"... Censor Qian and Minister Lin of the Ministry of Personnel are at loggerheads, yet they actually have a private relationship, often involving money."

"The world only knows that Concubine Fu in the palace is Censor Shi's cousin, but they don't know that the two of them were once secretly engaged, and that Censor Shi has always been Concubine Fu's most trusted person."

In the previous life, the story of these two people eventually reached the ears of Emperor Yongjia. Censor Shi committed suicide, and Concubine Fu died in the cold palace.

Zhao Shiqing picked out these four because they were the most powerful censors in the Censorate. As it turned out, she had asked the right people. These things were almost all known to the public later. Not to mention Zhao Tinghan, at this time, no one else in the entire capital would know about it except themselves.

Of course Xiao Zhen would not tell Zhao Shiqing, as he knew all this in his previous life. Therefore, at this moment, in Zhao Shiqing's eyes, Xiao Zhen was simply the know-it-all in Beijing. It was amazing that he even knew about her and her first love.

Zhao Shiqing thanked him profusely and left happily.

Looking at her back, Xiao Zhen felt a little regretful. Did he say too much today? This little girl might suspect something.

This little girl looks weird, but she is actually very smart and understands things very quickly. If she finds out that he is reincarnated, she will probably mistake him for an old monster.

......

Xiao Zhen was overthinking it.

After walking out of Su's Tea Shop, Zhao Shiqing completely forgot about Xiao Zhen. The only things on her mind were the four censors.

She thought about these four people one by one, and finally decided to let Jin Da Zhazha take all the responsibility.

As for the other three, Censor Sun, who was a weak husband, and Censor Shi, whose sweetheart was taken away by the emperor, these two were already pitiful enough and were automatically eliminated.

Censor Qian is too involved with Minister Lin, so I'm afraid this person cannot be thrown away after use. For safety reasons, it is better not to use him.

When selecting the soldiers and generals, Zhao Shiqing chose Jin Yushi. She had already decided that she would let Jin Yushi burn to the ground and turn him into a real waste.

Of course, she would also remind Mrs. Jin that as a woman, she should help. But forget about that cousin who stole her brother-in-law and wanted to take over his place. Zhao Shiqing had already expelled her from the women's group.

......

Three days later.

Three horse-drawn carriages and two mule-drawn carts quietly stopped outside a cloth shop. A middle-aged man jumped off the carriage and walked into the cloth shop.

A moment later, all the guys in the cloth shop came out and rolled pieces of white cloth were loaded onto the carriage.

All the white cloth from the cloth shop was moved out, but the five carts were still not full.

There was no other way, so the owner of the cloth shop could only ask for help from his colleagues on the next street. In the end, it took the three shops working together to fill all five carts.

The news spread that day.

Because what we bought was not ordinary white cloth, but the finest mourning cloth!

That’s right, mourning cloth is also divided into different grades, and those that can be loaded onto these five cars are all the best mourning cloth.

Even a blind person could see that this was a dead person, and the deceased person was of a high status, no, a very high status!

Immediately afterwards, the clerks from the three shops who had followed the cart to settle the bill came back.

"It's the Prince of Liang's Mansion. All these mourning cloths were bought by the Prince of Liang's Mansion."

The Prince of Liang is about to die, so this is preparation in advance.

At the same time, Censor Jin's nephew suddenly disappeared.

The people in the mansion searched for a day and a night, and finally found that Jin's nephew was thrown in front of his own door.

Fifteen-year-old nephew Jin looked a little strange, and everyone in the family thought he was scared.

Mrs. Jin asked him who kidnapped him, but he said nothing.

Censor Jin has always treated this nephew as his own son. Besides, when a child grows up and avoids his mother, then let him, his uncle and biological father, ask the question.

When only the uncle and nephew were in the room, the eldest nephew Jin finally spoke: "Uncle, are you really my biological father? Those people said that you are my father, and that you and my mother had an affair and gave birth to me, right?"

Censor Jin felt like he was struck by lightning. The secret he had hidden for many years was finally discovered!

"They told you to go to the Thunder God Temple, twenty miles outside the city, at midnight tonight. They also said that if you don't go, or if they set a trap, the Yan'an Earl's Mansion will know about it by this time tomorrow."

A few days ago, Censor Jin impeached the Earl of Yan'an for favoring his concubine and killing his wife. The Earl of Yan'an was fined one year's salary and was forced to sell his most beloved concubine.