The small house where Yu Qizhe lived was rented for him in advance by Lu Jin, who knew that he was coming to the capital.

The house is in Kanjing Hutong. The houses in this area are not that expensive. It is far away from the downtown area and it takes nearly half an hour to get to the inner city by carriage. But it is quiet and suitable for scholars who come to Beijing to take the imperial examinations.

Mu Yan knew that Yu Qizhe was going to Beijing to take the imperial examination, so he specially wrote a letter to the eldest master of the Mu family, asking him to take care of him.

The eldest master of the Mu family learned from the letter that Yu Qizhe was the top scholar in Qingzhou this autumn. His family also cured Mu Yan's chronic illness. Therefore, he took this matter to heart and sent people to guard the city gate early to find out whether there was any scholar named Yu from Changkui, Qingzhou entering the city.

That day, Yu Qizhe had just handed the pass to the guard at the city gate when a servant from the Mu family came up to him and said that he was ordered by his uncle Mu Chen to take Yu Qizhe to live in his house.

The eldest master of the Mu family holds the post of Minister of the Ministry of Rites in the capital. Yu Qizhe is just a commoner. Even if he has some friendship with the second master of the Mu family, there is no way he can really live in the home of a fourth-rank official.

Besides, living in someone else's house is very inconvenient, so it's better to find a house of your own and feel more comfortable.

Yu Qizhe followed the servant to visit the Mu Mansion. After meeting the master of the Mu family, he rejected the Mu family's kindness and said that he had asked someone to find a house for him and it was not easy to cancel the lease. The master of the Mu family did not force him and asked Madam Mu to send a few capable people to his house.

The old lady Song who was sweeping the yard was sent by the Mu family, along with two servants.

Yu Qizhe didn't want to refuse the kindness of Mr. Mu again and again, so he kept the person.

He nodded slightly to the woman in the yard, picked up a book of literary essays from the desk, leaned on the low couch by the window and began to read.

Not long after, the woman brought in hot water and made a cup of hot tea, which she placed on the low table on the couch. Then she turned around and hurried to the kitchen to light a fire and prepare breakfast.

Yu Qizhe put the book down, dipped his cold, slender fingers in the hot water, wet the handkerchief and wiped his face.

There was a knock on the door in the yard. Soon, footsteps came closer and closer. Yu Qizhe wiped the water drops from his face, put the towel on the wooden rack, and looked outside the door.

Lu Jin, dressed in green brocade clothes, walked into the house with his sword still on his body and a sleepy look on his face. He must have just returned from the night shift at the Guard Bureau.

He walked in and threw the sword in his hand onto the table. He washed his face with the still steaming water that Yu Qizhe had just used. He yawned lazily and said, "I'll have some breakfast."

Yu Qizhe poured him a cup of hot tea, told the servant to ask the kitchen to prepare one more meal, then sat back on the couch and picked up the book he had been reading.

Lu Jin picked up the tea and rinsed his mouth, then poured himself another cup, took off his boots, and got on the couch. "Young Marquis Gu is making a fuss. The emperor has ordered the Dali Temple to conduct a thorough investigation into the case of official silver embezzlement during the dredging of silt in Tanzhou. We, the Jinyiwei, have been very busy. We have been on duty at the Gongwei Division these days and have no time to come and see you."

Yu Qizhe did not raise his eyes from the book, but said calmly, "The emperor favors the Annan Marquisate, and Gu Yun has made great contributions in diverting the flood in Tanzhou. This matter must be explained."

Lu Jin pulled a soft pillow to lean against his back and sneered, "Your Majesty may not want to give an explanation to the Annan Marquisate. The official money for dredging was originally intended to be used by Your Majesty to build a Taoist temple. The censors have been advising for quite some time but have failed to persuade Your Majesty to allocate the official money. Fortunately, Cheng Ying... is very capable and made Your Majesty change his mind."

When mentioning the seal holder of the Imperial Household Department, Lu Jin consciously lowered his name and continued, "The emperor was unable to use the official money to build the Taoist temple, but instead a small official in the Ministry of Works, the Ministry of Water Resources and the Ministry of Personnel, embezzled it. It is inevitable that the emperor will be furious and want to investigate thoroughly to vent his anger."

"Who is Zhou Fang from the Water Purification Division of the Ministry of Works?" Yu Qizhe raised his eyes and asked.

Lu Jin said in detail, "The Minister of Works should be a clean person. He doesn't have much contact with Shen Tian's party. It's strange to say that Zhou Fang is just a small fifth-rank official. How dare he embezzle such a large amount of official silver? Not only Tanzhou, but also Chanzhou, Minzhou, and Danzhou in the Sihe River Basin in Jiangbei did not match the official silver. The national treasury allocated 1.5 million taels of silver, but the official silver used to clear the silt in various prefectures totaled less than 200,000. That group of corrupt officials is really crazy!"

Yu Qizhe rubbed the book in his hand gently and pondered for a while. "The people of the Qingliu will not touch the official money for dredging. You said before that the Prime Minister Shen Tian was trying to please Cheng Ying. Since it was Cheng Ying who persuaded the emperor to dredge the silt, why would Shen Tian and his party pretend to obey and go against Cheng Ying?"

Lu Jin also scratched his head in confusion. He was a martial artist and was not very clear about the twists and turns in the court. "Then could it be that the official silver grew wings and flew away? It must be related to the officials from the Ministry of Works who left Beijing to clear silt and build embankments. The official silver passed through their hands and disappeared. Zhou Fang has been imprisoned in the Guardian Department. Although the emperor ordered the Dali Temple to preside over the case, the relevant criminals were detained in the Guardian Department. Maybe he was worried about the prison of the Ministry of Justice, and it was obvious that he wanted to investigate the case thoroughly."

Yu Qizhe frowned, and a thought emerged in his mind. At this moment, Mrs. Song brought porridge and vegetables into the room. Yu Qizhe did not speak again, and he and Lu Jin got off the bed to eat.