Jinling.

Xiao Mansion.

Chen Yuanqing received an order from Lord Xiao to check the life story of Mr. Xiao Huang, the head of the Ministry of Revenue, and discovered that he was a man of Prime Minister Xue and was promoted by Prime Minister Xue. In just three years, Xiao Huang was promoted from the magistrate of Fengtai County to a sixth-rank official in the capital. Although the difference between the seventh rank and the sixth rank is not far, one is a Beijing official and the other is a local official, which is a world of difference.

Looking closely at the tasks Xiao Huang does, he is meticulous and organized, and is a capable person.

As for the information about the second daughter of Xiao Huang's family, there is even less.

Yuan Qing only found out that the second Miss Xiao was named Xiao Ting, her maiden name was Qiaoqiao, and she was twenty years old and still unmarried. Today, when Yuan Qing sneaked into the Xiao Mansion, he saw two young men coming to pay a visit to Xiao Huang.

A handsome man who looks less than 30 years old, he is Tang Mengyang, the Grand Secretary of Jianji Hall in the Cabinet, with a fifth rank. He is in charge of presenting rules and regulations, checking memorials, and drafting replies.

The other man was younger, also dressed in white, with a dignified appearance, a mole at the corner of his mouth, and followed Tang Mengyang closely.

Xiao Huang welcomed him in with a cheerful face: "Master Tang, please come in quickly. Who is this?"

Lord Tang introduced, "This is Lord Wen Shengliwen, the Minister of Imperial College."

Xiao Huang immediately bowed and said, "It turns out to be Master Wen. I have heard of you for a long time! Please come in!"

The Minister of Imperial College, of the sixth rank, such a young Minister of Imperial College! Xiao Huang has a bright future ahead of him, so he should welcome people with kindness.

It was just a common visit between officials, and Yuan Qing just looked around casually. After a while, he saw the Minister of the Imperial College Wen Shengli, who went to the back house under the pretext of relieving himself, and then took out a piece of paper from his bosom in a sneaky way. Yuan Qing hung upside down on a tree to take a peek, and saw that it was a hand-drawn map.

Wen Shengli was a little nervous, as if he was looking for something. After searching for a while, he caught sight of a girl standing in the pavilion in the middle of the lake. His eyes lit up, and he walked closer quickly, adjusted his hair, looked up and began to recite poems to the plum blossoms.

The girl, the second girl of the Xiao family, looked over when she heard the voice.

"Who is that? Such a great talent."

Wen Shengli was interrupted and pretended to turn his head away. He immediately bowed and apologized: "I came to pay my respects to Master Xiao at his residence. Seeing the plum blossoms in full bloom, I couldn't help but feel inspired to write a poem. I accidentally offended the young lady. I am ashamed! Please forgive me, young lady."

"Then why don't you go out!" Xiao Ting half covered her face in embarrassment. Wen Shengli secretly raised his eyes to look at her, and his gaze became a little direct.

Xiao Ting glanced at him, while Wen Shengli smiled secretly: "I am sorry, young lady. I will come to your house to apologize another day."

Immediately, Wen Shengli deliberately dropped the folding fan in his arms, and then left in a hurry.

Miss Xiao said "Huh?" and hesitated as she bent down to pick up the folding fan.

She looked at his disappearing back, bit her lip, and put the folding fan into her sleeve.

After a while, she asked the maid beside her to inquire, "Who has come to pay a visit to my father today?"

The maid quickly replied, "Second Miss, today only two gentlemen came to pay their respects to the master, one is Master Tang, the Grand Secretary of Jianji Palace, and the other is Master Wen, the Minister of the Imperial Academy."

Yuan Qing was amazed. How could Wen Shengli deliberately seduce the young lady of the head of the Ministry of Revenue?

He crossed his arms, and after Lord Tang and Lord Wen left the Xiao Mansion, he followed them and openly eavesdropped on their conversation.

Wen Shengli said, "Brother Tang, you are right. The second lady of the Xiao family is quite pretty and gentle. I gave her a folding fan as you said. The poem on the fan is my most proud work. But Brother Tang..." He changed the subject, "I heard that she is already engaged?"

Lord Tang said in a gentle tone, "The man she is engaged to is just a failed scholar. Brother Wen, you are a second-class Jinshi. How can a scholar compete with you? Xiao Huang is now a capable man under Prime Minister Xue. Promotion is just around the corner. If you can succeed with the second lady of the Xiao family, you will be listed in Prime Minister Xue's place and show your face in front of him. I don't need to say much about the benefits to you, right?"

Wen Shengli was moved and said repeatedly: "Thank you, Brother Tang!"

After all, he is not like Tang Mengyang, who is the adopted son of the prime minister of the current cabinet. The two of them were both second-class Jinshi in the fourth year of Wen Tai. Tang Mengyang passed the examination and became a Shujishi, entered the cabinet, and now holds the fifth rank, while he is only the sixth rank.

On the roof, Yuanqing figured out the trick.

——It turned out that he came here specifically to break up Mr. Lin’s engagement.

According to Yuanqing, Wen Shengli's appearance and demeanor are far inferior to that of Lin Shusheng.

Miss Xiao stays in the mansion all year round, never goes out of the main door or the secondary door, and has never met a good man. When the blind man saw Wenlin and the other man, he knew how to make a choice.

Yuan Qing thought about it, moved his feet, and followed Tang Mengyang quietly, and found that he had gone to Yingtianfu Academy to find Lin Zikui.

He was not found, and someone told him: "Mr. Lin has been gone for less than half a month. He must have gone to the Xingzhi Temple outside the capital to review his studies."

After saying goodbye thoughtfully, Tang Mengyang got on the carriage. The wheels turned several corners in the streets of Jinling and finally stopped at the residence of Xu Hui, the chief minister of the cabinet.

Walk, stop and observe, cleanse your mind in the hall.

Because of Lin Zikui's foot injury these days, Mo Liu had to go to the dining hall to get him meals every day. His eyes were getting more and more painful because he was reading late at night. The anxiety of wanting to pass the imperial examination became even more intense after he met the second girl.

Mo Liu's voice also fell silent: "Sir, please have some vegetable porridge."

Lin Zikui stood up, holding the wooden spoon he fed him, the warm rice porridge melted in his mouth, and he felt more and more guilty: "Mo Liu, you don't need to read to me today."

"How can this be possible, sir? You have to study every day. You said that you can't slack off. How can you stop?"

Lin Zikui shook his head: "I have something for you to do today. Where is the She inkstone that Brother Tang gave me?"

Mo Liu put down the bowl and went to look for it: "It's here, sir. I've kept it well."

Lin Zikui held the bowl himself and said, "Take this inkstone down the mountain and pawn it. Then exchange it for some top-quality silver charcoal."

"Huh?" Mo Liu was surprised. "There is firewood in the temple, why change it to silver charcoal? This kind of good charcoal is used by the government. Besides, this is a fine She inkstone given by Lord Tang. It would be a pity to pawn it..."

"It's getting colder... I..." Lin Zikui coughed lightly, "Just do as I say. If you have some money left, buy some pear candies and sesame candies. When you come back, I'll see if I can ask a Taoist priest who can read and write to take turns with you and read for me."

"Young Master..." Mo Liu's voice was very hoarse. He knew that Lin Zikui sold the rare She inkstone because he felt distressed when he heard his voice.

Mo Liu went down the mountain carrying the She inkstone. Lin Zikui sat under the eaves with the window open. There was a fire burning in the stove and a pot of tea bubbling. He held a book in his hand, opened his eyes and looked closely for a while, then closed his eyes and thought, muttering to himself as if answering.

Xiao Fu's desire to play came and went quickly. In just a few days, he seemed to have forgotten about Scholar Lin.

Although the scholar was lovely, he was also pedantic and awkward. Xiao Fu gave him some grapes, but he refused to eat any and turned around and gave them back.

Sitting opposite Jinzun at the chess table, Xiao Fu looked tired and bored.

There were footsteps outside the door.

Jinzun's ears twitched, and he stood up suddenly: "My Lord, Brother Qing is back!"

Yuan Qing stood outside the door and knocked. He only came in after Xiao Fu agreed.

He told everything he had found out: "There is nothing special about this Xiao Er girl. However, Xu Hui has an adopted son, who is a scholar of Jianji Palace, named Tang Mengyang. This Tang Mengyang brought his men to the Xiao Mansion to seduce Xiao Er girl and cut off Master Lin's beard. I think it was intentional. It seems that Xiao Huang will ask Master Lin to cancel the engagement."

Xiao Fu: "Xu Hui's adopted son."

"That's right, that Tang Mengyang. I checked it out. He was a Jinshi three years ago. Mr. Lin was a classmate of Tang Mengyang at Yingtianfu Academy at that time. He failed the exam the following spring."

It doesn't sound anything special.

Xiao Fu heard the hidden meaning: "This Tang guy was a classmate of Lin Zikui, so they must know each other. But now he brought people to ruin his marriage. Could it be that they have made an enemy?"

"I asked around at the Yingtianfu Academy and heard that Tang Mengyang took good care of Master Lin and even introduced a famous doctor to treat his eyes. Just now, he even went to the academy to look for Master Lin."

"That means she likes him, that's why she broke up his marriage." Xiao Fu said without raising his head, holding the white piece in his hand. "If there is such a relationship, then why did Lin Zikui come to the book of conduct?"

A cabinet minister can provide Lin Zikui with countless conveniences.

Yuan Qing said, "I heard that he was short of money. He had to go around to study in the academy, and he also had to find a doctor to treat his eye disease, which was very expensive. Master Lin had been in Nanjing for less than two months, and he had spent a lot of money. He had no money left, so he had to leave Yingtianfu Academy and come to Xingzhi Temple."

As soon as he finished speaking, a childish voice came from outside the door: "Is anyone there?"

It was the book boy beside Lin Zikui.

Yuan Wu was standing under the eaves. He pushed open the gate and saw Lin Zikui there. He asked, "What do you want?"

There were two black handprints on Mo Liu's face. He and Lin Zikui each held a box of charcoal. Lin Zikui lowered his head shyly and said, "Winter is coming soon. This is the red snail charcoal I bought from the foot of the mountain. It is the best you can buy in town. I... came here to give some to the second girl."

He was wearing a light grey cloak with a rabbit fur collar, and as he spoke he quietly peeked inside.

It was vaguely visible that the door was closed and the second girl seemed not to be there.

Yuan Wu also looked back, thinking that his master probably didn't take Mr. Lin seriously. The master had never had much patience, and he didn't expect that Mr. Lin would send him charcoal today.

He took a look and found that it was high-quality charcoal, not cheap stuff.

Yuan Wu: "Please wait a moment, sir. I will inform my master."

“Okay.” Lin Zikui was worried that she might not like the charcoal, so he nodded nervously. The charcoal was too heavy and he could hardly hold it.

Yuan Wu pushed the door open and said to Xiao Fu, "My Lord, Master Lin sent two boxes of red snail charcoal."

"Red snail charcoal?" Xiao Fu glanced at Yuan Qing.

Yuan Qing was also puzzled: "Two boxes of red snail charcoal? That would cost at least ten taels of silver. Doesn't he have no money?"

Xiao Fu was also a little surprised. He glanced through the window and saw that Lin Zikui was still wearing thin clothes in winter. The clothes were made of ordinary fabrics and were stained with charcoal ash. Perhaps he was tired of holding the charcoal fire. Lin Zikui's face turned red and a layer of sweat appeared on his forehead. The water was dripping down. He stood there waiting obediently.

This scholar...

Does he like himself so much?

Xiao Fu looked at him through the window for a while, then turned to Yuan Wu and said, "Go and take it, and say thank you to him."

Yuan Wu conveyed his gratitude. Lin Zikui was a little depressed because he didn't see Xiao Fu. He bowed and said goodbye. He had just taken a few steps when there was a "pop" sound from behind, and a small stone lightly hit his back.

A clear voice came, stopping Lin Zikui in his tracks: "Lin Lang, are your legs and feet feeling better?"

He turned around and saw his wife-to-be, dressed in men's clothes. She lifted the bamboo curtain with her slender fingers and looked at him with a smile in her peach blossom eyes.

Before Lin Zikui could answer, Xiao Fu lay on the windowsill under the banana leaves and gently hooked his finger towards him: "If you feel better, come in and have tea with me. I haven't seen Lin Lang for a few days, and I miss him very much."

...It was strange. The second girl looked like a man, not the gentle, virtuous, lovely and charming person he had imagined. But Lin Zikui still blushed uncontrollably.

He thought, maybe the winter sun was too bright today.

Although she wanted to come in, Lin Zikui was still embarrassed: "Second Miss, I'm dirty, so I won't come in."

He didn't dare to enter a woman's boudoir at will. What would happen if Lord Xiao knew about it?

Seeing a streak of charcoal dust on his face, Xiao Fu turned around and asked Yuan Qing to pour him a cup of warm water: "Let him wipe his face."

Yuanqing went out with the water and said, "The master gave it to me."

"Thank you, brother." Before Yuan Qing finished speaking, Lin Zikui drank it all and said, "I've finished it. Please tell the second young lady that I'm leaving now."

"Wait," Xiao Fu called him, "little scholar, what are you carrying in the bag behind you?" It looked like food to him.

Sure enough, Lin Zikui said: "It's hemp candy..."

He hesitated for a moment, took off his book bag and asked, "Would you like to eat, Miss?"

"Eat," Xiao Fu smiled as he stretched out his hand, "bring it in for me."

Lin Zikui hesitated for a moment, glanced at the tall and strong guard, and slowly walked in.

There are several white plum trees in the yard and a big banana tree next to the eaves. His face is under the banana leaves. His red clothes embroidered with gold satin set off his picturesque face, which is so gorgeous that it is almost gorgeous.

Lin Zikui came closer. Even though he couldn't see clearly, he still didn't dare to look him in the eye. He handed him the candy through the window and said, "It's just ordinary food. Second Miss... Here."

"I'm not picky about food." Xiao Fu said in a light voice, "What does this sesame candy taste like? I've never eaten it."

"It's made of sesame seeds. It's fragrant and sweet."

"Really?" Xiao Fu saw the funny charcoal dust on his face again and couldn't help but said, "Lin Lang, I asked someone to give you a glass of water just now to wipe your face."

"Ah? This..." Lin Zikui thought about how he actually drank it, and lowered his head in embarrassment. He wiped his face with his sleeves, but his sleeves were also dirty. The more he wiped his face, the dirtier it became. He said hurriedly, "Second Miss, I am sorry for being rude."

"Don't wipe it." Xiao Fu went to find a handkerchief, dipped it in some tea, and leaned his upper body out of the window. Seeing Lin Zikui's confused expression, he pinched his chin with one hand and wiped the charcoal ash on his face with the other hand.

Lin Zikui was stunned, her face flushed red in an instant: "Second Miss, I'll do it myself."

"Okay, don't move..." Xiao Fu's eyes were focused, "Well, it's wiped, that's it." He threw the handkerchief aside.

Lin Zikui lowered his head, pursed his lips in embarrassment, and his handsome face flushed. He didn't know what to say, so he thanked her softly, looked at the white plum blossoms, and said, "The plum blossoms in the East Guest Hall of Second Miss are really beautiful."

"Lin Lang likes plum blossoms?"

"Yeah." Lin Zikui responded.

Xiao Fu smiled and said, "How about I dig a few and give them to you?"

"Ah?" Lin Zikui thought he had misheard and was stunned. He immediately waved his hand and said, "No, that's not necessary."

Xiao Fu looked at him: "Lin Lang likes it, why don't you want it?"

"I... just one is enough." He was not greedy.

Xiao Fu shouted, "Yuanwu, pick one for Lin Lang."

"Yes, Master." Yuan Wu raised his knife and handed a large branch of white plum to Lin Zikui: "Mr. Lin."

Lin Zikui was stunned when he saw the branch that was taller than the black willow.

Xiao Fu: "If the flowers are ready to be plucked, you must pluck them. If Lin Lang likes them, I will give them back to you tomorrow."

Lin Zikui waved his hands: "That's enough, thank you, Second Miss." Lin Zikui hugged the white plum blossoms and said, "Then... Second Miss, I'll leave first?"

"Okay." Xiao Fu waved his hand, "Lin Lang, slow down, don't fall."

"Yeah, yeah."

Xiao Fu saw him walking in a hurry, his ears were still red, and he was holding the plum blossom like he was drunk. Xiao Fu's index finger was tapping on the window frame from time to time. With his other hand, he took a bite of the sesame candy, then shared it with the three people beside him and asked, "Is this sweet?"

"My Lord, it is sweet."

Xiao Fu took another bite, and the sesame candy tasted bland in his mouth.

He was poisoned when he was young, and after he was cured, he lost his sense of taste. He has not been cured for so many years, so everything he eats is the same and he has no appetite.

Along with the disappearance of his sense of taste, his sense of smell also weakened a lot. Fortunately, he could still smell a breath of air, so he was more greedy for smells and even used more incense on his clothes.

Xiao Fu slowly finished eating the sesame candy.

He thought for a moment, then tilted his head and said, "It's getting cold, Yuanqing, light the charcoal. I remember there's an unworn white mink fur coat in the suitcase, find it out and give it to the young scholar later."

Yuan Qing hesitated and said, "My Lord, that one is the sable fur coat sent by the princess, and considering Mr. Lin's temperament, I'm sure he won't accept it."

"You've only known him for a few days, and you already know that? Anyway, he has poor eyesight and is a simple person, so just tell him that it's mixed rabbit hair. I just saw that his fingers were red from the cold. The temperature has dropped tonight, how can he write?"