"It doesn't make sense for me to leave a poisonous snake that wants to bite me just because I can't pinch it."

Rong Ting's eyes turned slightly cold, and his fingers moved slightly while he spoke.

It was a sunny day, but Huai Qing felt cold when he heard a few crackling sounds in the air.

…

After returning home, Jiang Rao went to the study to find Fourth Master Jiang.

Daddy thinks about his elder brother every day. He does not seek fame or fortune, but is willing to stay behind after his death. Nowadays, when people in Jinling mention the Ning'an Marquis' Mansion, they only know that Uncle Jiang is the one in charge.

If her father had not become famous for his calligraphy and painting early on, given his casual personality, probably no one in the world would know that there was a Fourth Master Jiang in the Jiang Mansion.

When others praised her father's calligraphy and painting, her father would often say that it was his brother who taught him well when he was a child.

Even though Daddy cares so much about Uncle, Liu calls him an ungrateful person behind his back.

She couldn't swallow this.

In the study, Fourth Master Jiang was holding a painting of a thousand mountains by a predecessor, staring at it intently, fascinated.

Hearing the servant say that Jiang Rao came to look for him, he slowly put down the calligraphy and painting in his hand.

When Jiang Rao came, she didn't want to mention Liu's matter directly.

She just felt aggrieved for her father.

She hesitated whether to tell him directly about Liu's matter, but she hadn't figured out how to comfort her father so that he wouldn't be so sad.

"Dad, are you tired from looking at the paintings?" Jiang Rao ran behind him and began to massage Jiang Siye's shoulders. "Let me massage Dad's shoulders."

Fourth Master Jiang immediately became alert, "What are you trying to do to help that kid Ninth Prince?"

“No.” Probably only her father would dare to connect “the Ninth Prince” and “that kid” together.

Jiang Rao drooped her eyes, "I'm just worried that Daddy is too tired."

Fourth Master Jiang snorted softly, looking like he really enjoyed this.

But he knew that everything happened for a reason, and his daughter would not worry about whether he, an old father, was tired for no reason.

Fourth Master Jiang's eyes narrowed slightly, and he asked, "Jiang Ping told me today that you went to the Qinhuai River?"

Jiang Rao nodded.

Upon hearing this, Fourth Master Jiang let out a deep breath, as if he had heard something tricky. He raised his hand and rubbed her head, "You must have seen the account book."

Jiang Rao nodded again.

Fourth Master Jiang's eyes turned cold, and to Jiang Rao's surprise, he said, "Daddy knows everything that the eldest wife did."

Jiang Rao looked up in surprise.

I never expected that Dad knew everything.

"I specifically told your mother that the accounts of those shops would be settled when

Wait until the big house is delivered for you to take a look. "Master Jiang shook his head helplessly," and you ran away on your own. ”

Jiang Rao said: "I am worried that there is a problem with the account..."

"Before I returned to the shop, I realized that this account would not be settled." There was a hint of helplessness in Fourth Master Jiang's eyes. "Come here, listen to me."

Jiang Rao went over obediently and listened to Fourth Master Jiang say, "When my mother passed away, I was very young and weak. When I was sick as a child, my eldest brother would always stay by my side until I recovered. He was not afraid that I would pass on my illness to him. At that time, I wanted to grow up quickly and repay my eldest brother as soon as possible."

"The little money Liu embezzled was not much for me, so I just wanted to turn a blind eye to it. I won't calculate it and just pretend I don't know. It's just a small loss of money, which doesn't touch my bottom line, so I'll just treat it as a gift to my eldest brother."

Jiang Rao curled her lips and felt angry after listening to it.

"But now she has made my daughter angry, what should I do?"

Fourth Master Jiang suddenly said.

The words were still gentle, but the eyes had become a little cold.

He still wants to repay his elder brother, but he knows it very clearly in his heart.

The eldest brother is no longer the eldest brother he used to be.

When he left Jinling six years ago, his eldest brother rode a horse to accompany him for thirty miles. Everyone who saw him would praise their deep brotherly love.

But he remembered that after they finally parted, he looked back once more and saw his eldest brother's expression of obvious relief while his face was filled with sadness.

His elder brother might not even realize it himself.

He was afraid of his younger brother who was ten years younger than him.

What he wanted was for his younger brother to be weak forever, always follow behind him, without any edge at all, and rely on him for everything.

But he didn't want a younger brother who might threaten his title.

What's more, later his eldest brother married a woman named Liu who was always whispering in his ear.

The more clearly Fourth Master Jiang saw, the more heartbroken he felt. The carefree years are only those few years, once the good times are gone they can never be returned.

He said in a deep voice: "I don't want to have a conflict with the eldest wife, but if you feel offended, don't think about Daddy."

Today, Liu brought up the matter of Jiang Rao being kidnapped again, which touched his bottom line.

When Liu did things, she didn't consider his and his elder brother's feelings.

"If you want to confront Liu right now about the problems you found, I will accompany you. If you don't want to, just leave the account book with me. I will help you hide it and find someone to watch it. You can use it in the future when it is useful."

His bottom line is that his wife and daughter cannot suffer any grievances.

Jiang Rao chose the latter.

She had an inexplicable intuition in her heart.

He asked quietly, "Dad, are you really not interested in the affairs of the Ning'an Marquis' Mansion?"

Fourth Master Jiang smiled slightly, and there was too much in his smile. He held a cup of tea and said leisurely, "Most men want to achieve great things and bring honor to their family."

…

It is difficult to settle the accounts of several shops, and most of the people there are from the Liu family, so it is not easy to clean up the mess.

Jiang Rao counted the accounts and rearranged the staff, closing each store for a few days and then opening them one by one.

She sometimes had dreams and sometimes didn't. She was afraid that she would rely too much on these dreams that allowed her to predict the future, and instead lose the ability to observe things in real life. She asked her maids and servants to go out and inquire about news, and she did so more diligently than before.

When Jiang Rao heard a servant say that the harvest was poor last autumn and that the people would have a hard time this year, he thought about it and made a decision.

…

When Liu heard that Jiang Rao's grain store was going to open its warehouse to distribute grain on the first day of its opening, she just snorted and laughed.

She sneered, "You are indeed a girl who has never suffered. She should have chosen a prosperous year to open the granary to distribute grain. This would have earned her a good reputation and saved her from losing much grain. But she chose this year. Those food-starved disaster victims are like vicious wolves. I'm afraid she won't be able to save any grain to sell."

Liu heard that Jiang Rao had found the shopkeeper and asked for the account book early on. She had been feeling very uneasy for the past few days, fearing that Jiang Rao would discover the problems in the account.

Who knew that after waiting for such a long time, nothing happened.

After hearing this today, he was relieved. "That girl is really spoiled. She has no brains."

Not only can he not see the problems in the accounts, he even has some naive fantasies.

"These days, those who want to be Bodhisattvas can't make money."

"When will she reopen?" Liu felt relieved when she thought about those shops going bankrupt in Jiang Rao's hands. "I'll go and see when the time comes."

Go and watch the fun.

…

Egret Academy.

Dusk is falling.

Rong Ting was holding a book in his bedroom when Huai Qing walked in quickly, secretly took out a piece of paper from his sleeve, and handed it to Rong Ting, "Your Highness, I took Changxing to check the background of the Jiang family's eldest wife. Everything we can find is here."

In Shouhuai Palace, because Rong Ting was studying outside, there were only two palace maids who could leave the palace. Huai Qing and Jiang Rao arranged for a long-sleeved man who was skilled in martial arts to come in, and it took them more than ten days to find out the news.

Although it is not comprehensive enough, it should be sufficient.

Let go

He took the paper from the book in his hand, glanced at it, and then threw the paper into the candle flame and burned it.

He imitated the way Jiang Rao usually managed his servants and gave him the first half of a month's salary as a reward for Huai Qing.

Huai Qing was flattered.

“Give some to Changxing.” Rong Ting said without looking back.

Huai Qing was actually a little stunned.

He originally thought that His Highness only showed some human touch when he was with the Fourth Young Lady.

But now, as he squeezed the considerable reward money, he thought, it is really nice to have the Ninth Prince as his master.

Rong Ting turned back and continued to burn the paper. He held the edge of the paper with his fingers, watching the green flames dancing, and sneered, "There's no need to bother to fabricate something to hold against her. She already has a lot of things to hold against her."

I'm talking about the Liu family.

"Liu is greedy for money, and what she cares about most is the shop in her dowry." His voice was cold and indifferent, as if he was talking about a trivial matter. The dancing firelight cast a thick shadow on his eyelashes, "Then destroy the shop."

He thought it would be difficult to do this with his current abilities.

Unexpectedly, there was light at the end of the tunnel.

It was Liu herself who gave him this opportunity.

Huai Qing's heart trembled, and he replied "yes".

He knew what Rong Ting meant.

Liu was born into a family of a first or second rank official. Although her family was a little declining, she was still a legitimate daughter. Her dowry included a small grain shop with a neither good nor bad location in Jinling City, but the annual harvest was also considerable.

At least it's a lot more than Mr. Jiang's salary.

Unfortunately, if you go directly to the shop to ask, you won’t be able to find out much.

It was a good idea for His Majesty the Ninth Prince to ask the workers who were fired from the shop.

The fired workers all held a grudge against Liu.

They knew all the tricks in Liu's shop and told everything they knew.

For example, last year’s rice or rice that has been gnawed by mice is dried and washed, then mixed with this year’s rice and sold.

It's a small matter.

This year, taking advantage of the food shortage, the government secretly set the price of rice higher than the price set by the government on several occasions.

This is a big deal.

Privately raising the price of rice is strictly prohibited by the Dazhao Law.

But because the eldest master of the Jiang family is the future lord of the Ning'an Marquisate, and the price is set high only a few times, he often gives a low price to this customer today, and raises it a little bit to the next customer. It is not easy to be noticed, and no one cares about this matter.

Moreover, this is not uncommon in the shops run by the powerful and wealthy in Beijing.

Huai Qing suspected that the small workers were exaggerating and was afraid that he

We made it up, so we specifically asked a few more people and confirmed it repeatedly before coming back.

But Rong Ting's words just now, "There's no need to go to the trouble of fabricating something to hold against her," made him completely understand that he shouldn't have wasted his energy.

All the Ninth Prince wants is an excuse to deal with Liu, whether true or false.

"I will report this to my father." The paper in Rong Ting's hand was half burned.

When Emperor Zhaowu knew that he had entered the Bailu Academy, he kept saying that he would reward him and asked him if there was anything he wanted.

Now he had what he wanted.

He wants to move into Liu's shop.

“When will the Niannian store reopen?”

People call you the Ninth Prince respectfully every day, you should at least be polite and call her Fourth Miss Jiang.

Huai Qing blinked, "It's the seventh of this month. An auspicious day for opening a business."

Rong Ting said, "Before this, I will ask Mr. Yan for a day off to go back to the palace and talk to my father about this matter. Please help me prepare the carriage."

"It would be best if we could close Liu's shop on the opening day of Nian Nian." He smiled gently, "As a gift to Nian Nian."

Huai Qing shuddered slightly.

"Don't tell Nian Nian." Rong Ting said softly.

He didn't want Jiang Rao to know about this kind of secretive method.

Huai Qing often feels that he knows too much.

But Rong Ting looked back in dissatisfaction and said to him, "Didn't Master Jiang have two concubines and a maid?"

As soon as he finished speaking, he smiled as if he remembered seeing something happy.

The boy was extremely handsome when he smiled, as if all the beautiful colors in the world were gathered together.

He was so handsome that when Huai Qing saw his face, he understood why his mother, who was just a lowly palace maid, caught the eye of Emperor Zhaowu and won his favor.

If she had not died young due to complications during childbirth, that palace maid would be in the harem today and would probably have a certain status.

“If I wait until I enter the palace and successfully ask for permission, I will spread the news among the servants in Jiang’s mansion that the shop is gone and that Liu is to blame.” Rong Ting said, “It would be best if the concubines know this.”

He raised his finger and flicked away the ashes of the burnt paper under the candle, and said in a light and gentle voice, "Then the Jiang family's backyard will be very lively."

He is obviously the mastermind behind all this trouble, but with his fairy-like appearance, he seems to be aloof and detached from the worldly affairs.

…

Liu dressed up beautifully that day, waiting to see Jiang Rao's performance.

The carriage was stopped halfway on the road.

The man gasped, "Madam, there's something wrong with the shop.

It’s done! ”

The carriage stopped, Liu opened the curtain and saw a servant in the house.

"Madam, the grain store in our family has been impeached in front of the emperor for raising the price of rice. The store has been closed and is under investigation."

Liu couldn't believe it, "Who?"

Those officials are not as high-ranking as her husband, let alone as powerful as the Ning'an Marquis's Mansion. Who dares to take care of this matter?

"It was an imperial decree issued directly by the emperor. It was probably issued by a trusted official. But since the emperor didn't say it, no one knows who it was."

Liu was completely in the dark.

He no longer cared about what happened to Jiang Rao, jumped into the carriage, and asked the coachman to go home quickly.

…

At Jiang Rao's grain shop, rice was being distributed in a bustling manner.

She herself did not show up in public, but stayed in a small elegant room on the second floor, occasionally opening the window to take a look at the scene below.

In her eyes, opening the granaries to provide relief food was something that would benefit her and those who were short of rice and flour as well.

Her father had been away from Jinling for too long, and his reputation in Jinling had become weak. This time when she opened the granaries to provide relief grain, she used her father's name to prevent others from believing Liu's bad words about her father.

One street away.

The students of Bailu Academy went their separate ways after school. When the Third Prince saw Rong Ting walking this way and some common people also running this way, he followed him.

Seeing that it was the Jiang family who opened their warehouses to provide relief grain, the Third Prince sighed, "No wonder my father always said that Fourth Master Jiang's calligraphy and paintings are like him, very elegant and free. He is indeed a man of high character."

"I heard that he has a daughter who is about to reach marriageable age. My mother mentioned her to me two days ago and asked if I wanted to meet her. I didn't want to meet her then, but now I kind of want to."

He rubbed his head and smiled at Rong Ting, "Ninth brother, don't you think that girls raised by this kind of people must be kind-hearted? Girls with kind hearts are especially pretty?"

During the few days in the academy, he found that Rong Ting was not as bad as the rumors in Jinxiu Palace said. Mr. Yan treated Rong Ting very well, so Mr. Yan's vision should not be wrong.

In addition, he heard from Concubine Shu that Rong Ting had returned to the palace to talk to his father. Although he didn't know what the matter was, his father was very pleased and it was obvious that he valued him as his ninth brother.

I became much closer to Rong Ting.

——It was just what he thought was close.

For a moment, Rong Ting smiled with his face but not his heart, and looked at the Third Prince as if he were his mortal enemy.

Concubine Shu and the Third Prince mentioned Jiang Rao. The person they were almost engaged to when they were young might be the Third Brother in front of them.

But that sinister smile climbed up his cold and handsome face, but it only lasted for a moment and then disappeared, so quickly that no one else could see it.

His smile quickly became gentle, and he raised the corners of his lips again and replied, "I've seen it a long time ago."

The third prince said "Oh" and was very interested. "How is she?"

Rong Ting narrowed his eyes and spoke slowly, "She is the best girl I have ever met."

"She is gentle, pretty, and kind-hearted. I have known her for a long time and have lived together with her, so I know her character even better. She cooked for me and brought me medicine. She took care of me and was very worried about my leg injury. However, I know that she just felt sorry for my serious injury and treated me like a brother."

He paused, smiled, and said kindly, "Third brother, don't think too much."

It's just that the last few words were pronounced a little too heavily.