Chapter 326 I'm bound to meet these two people

“Well, if we want to find a way to befriend Mr. Mo, we need to understand what kind of person he is first.” Xie Yunchuan stood up. “Fourth brother, let’s go and have a chat.”

Xie Yunchuan glanced at Xie Yunyang, giving him a hint.

Xie Yunyang realized what was going on and immediately smiled, "Although sending someone to inquire is one way, Fourth Brother and Mr. Mo are both book lovers, so they will likely have a more unique resonance than ordinary people, which will definitely be very helpful for us to understand Mr. Mo."

Xie Yunwen was taken aback: "Huh? This..."

"Let's leave here, fourth brother."

Xie Yun-yang didn't give Xie Yun-wen a chance to speak again and pushed him towards the study.

"It's time to have dinner after we finish our business. We brothers can have a good chat later tonight."

Xie Yunwen was taken to the study without any room for argument. Watching them all enter the study, he let out a long sigh of relief.

"Oh, Fourth Brother, we're all family. When will you stop worrying about these things?"

Sheng Sheng knew that Xie Yunwen felt indebted, but there was no such thing as indebtedness between family members. It was just that I considered you family and wanted to be good to you.

...

June 16th. Early summer has passed, it's not too hot, but the coolness of spring has completely dissipated.

Today is both Sheng Sheng's first birthday since returning home and a farewell banquet for her and Xie Yunxiang.

The outside world only knew that the second princess was going on a trip with the Crown Prince for a while, but they did not know where they were going or how long they would be gone. Only those close to them knew.

Therefore, after this news was officially disseminated some time ago, it caused quite a stir in the imperial court.

As the crown prince of a nation, this is a crucial time; how can he be out sightseeing at such a time?

In particular, His Majesty not only did not object, but also subtly held a farewell banquet for the two of them at the Second Princess's birthday party, which seemed to mean that he wished them a good time.

The second princess is still young, and it's one thing for her to be a bit childish and playful, but why doesn't His Majesty discipline the crown prince for his misbehavior?

The result of the courtiers' infighting was that the rumors that had been barely suppressed at the Spring Banquet were stirred up again, and even more violently than before.

But nobody had time to care about the specifics.

In three days, Sheng Sheng will officially embark on his voyage. He is both excited and reluctant to leave, and has been busy learning about the towns they will pass through along the way.

From the prefects and magistrates of each county to the main customs and food culture.

Make preparations in advance, and get a general understanding of each unfamiliar place beforehand, so that you will have some confidence when you arrive in that unfamiliar place.

In order to make the most of the remaining time, Sheng Sheng would go to eat with her elder sister or the other elder brothers during her free time each day.

Sheng Sheng didn't have time to pay attention to those rumors anymore.

She should have realized this a long time ago. People can say whatever they want; if she tries to control everything, she might as well exhaust herself.

"Princess, it's time to get ready for the Golden Palace."

Zijuan and Huangying came in carrying things; one carried jewelry, and the other carried a blue dress with flowing gauze.

Behind the two, eight palace maids filed in, each carrying a jade tray filled with various kinds of jewelry and dresses.

Sheng Sheng was still engrossed in her book, "Travels in Nanli County," when she heard this. Without even looking up, she replied, "Okay, okay, Sheng Sheng will be right there."

They said they would come right away, but in reality, Zijuan and the others had already arranged all the things in their hands, and the little girl on the soft couch didn't even raise her head.

Zijuan and Huangying exchanged a glance and stepped forward helplessly.

"Princess, we really need to start getting ready. The Golden Palace has already begun preparations. Today is your birthday, why don't you care at all?"

"Yes, Princess, the princes have been busy preparing for your birthday for quite some time. Just a few days ago, we saw that you were looking forward to it every day, so why do you seem to be in a bad mood today?"

“It’s not that I’m not paying attention.” Sheng Sheng closed the book “Travels in Nanli County” with a bit of distress and said to the two of them, “It’s just that I suddenly remembered two people, and I have a feeling that I will definitely meet these two people.”

"ah?"

"Princess, who is it?"

"Hmm... Do you all remember that prince who was sent south by Father to 'reflect' before?"

“Your Highness?” Zijuan thought for a moment. “You mean the Prince Yong’s heir, right? Back then, because His Highness and the second young master of the original Jingguo Duke’s Mansion bullied the Fourth Prince, His Majesty sent him south in a fit of anger, saying that it was to temper him.”

"That's right, it's this Crown Prince's cousin."

Prince Yong's heir, Xie Yubin, happened to be in the Wenhua Hall looking for Xie Yunchuan when he saw Xie Yunwen being bullied by several纨绔 (playboys). Later, he accidentally brought the matter to Xie Yuxiao's attention.

In a fit of anger, Xie Yuxiao disregarded the fact that Xie Yubin was the son of his respected elder brother and sent him to the lower levels of society for training.

Although this whole affair was Xie Yubin's own fault, if Xie Yubin were the spoiled, arrogant playboy type, the blame would probably still be placed on her.

However, Sheng Sheng wasn't afraid of meeting Xie Yubin; she was troubled by another person—Qin Zhibin, the eldest son of the Duke of Jingguo's mansion.

What did Xie Yuxiao say back then?

Oh, they said that Qin Zhibin and Xie Yubin's names had the same pronunciation at the end, and that they were destined to be together, so they sent Xie Yubin to Nanlin County, where Qin Zhibin was the magistrate.

Although Qin Zhibin is the eldest son of the Duke of Jingguo's mansion, Shen Sheng has never actually met him.

After passing the imperial examination, Qin Zhibin could have entered the Hanlin Academy. Given his family background, if he had chosen to stay in the capital from the beginning, he would have risen rapidly in his career.

Despite the Duke of Jingguo's opposition, Qin Zhibin went to Liucheng in Nanli County to serve as the county magistrate. After his three-year term expired, he even requested to be reappointed and serve as the county magistrate of Liucheng for another three years.

Calculating the timeline, the two months before Sheng Sheng was abducted to the Duke of Jingguo's mansion were exactly when Qin Zhibin had just arrived in Nanli County, which means that this year is Qin Zhibin's last year in Liucheng.

Along the way, they might avoid other officials, but Xie Yubin, a relative of the emperor, was in Liucheng, so they were bound to go there and inevitably meet Magistrate Qin.

She sighed repeatedly, thinking that if she wanted to find some evidence about what happened back then without making a fuss, Qin Zhibin might be a good breakthrough.

As the Duke of Jingguo's mansion gradually declined, it was only with Qin Zhibin that a junior member managed to obtain an official position through his own examinations. Therefore, even though Qin Zhibin did not follow the Duke of Jingguo's mansion's plan to quickly advance in rank and bring glory to the family, he remained a pillar of the Duke of Jingguo's generation and was highly regarded.