Yu Wenjun left the palace and rode a carriage straight to Dong's house.

She was in a very anxious mood, thinking that since Fu Xiaoguan's policy paper had been favored by her father and her father had also stated that he wanted to use him, he would definitely be given an official position. In this way, he would have an official position. In addition, since he was the person appointed by her father, she was afraid that those people would not dare to touch him again.

This was great news, and she wanted to meet Fu Xiaoguan and tell him the news.

When she arrived at the Dong Mansion, Mrs. Dong came out to greet her personally. She was of course happy about the very good relationship between the Ninth Princess and her daughter. Moreover, she was already used to the Ninth Princess's frequent visits.

"It's raining so hard. If Your Highness needs anything, just ask Shulan to tell her. There's no need for Your Highness to come here in person. Look at your clothes, they're all soaked. Don't catch a cold."

Yu Wenjun chuckled, "How could I be so precious? Auntie, is Shulan home?"

"Yes, yes, I'll take you there."

"Thank you, auntie."

The two of them walked towards the backyard while talking. Su Mo was squatting on the wall in the backyard at this moment. He was wearing a straw hat and a raincoat, holding a pot of wine and drinking it in gulps. He looked very pitiful.

He heard footsteps and looked up...Yu Wenjun and Madam Dong!

Why is she here?

How to do this?

Then he looked behind the two of them and saw Hongzhuang standing under an osmanthus tree, staring at him vigilantly.

Damn it, now I don’t even have the chance to knock them out.

Su Mo thought about it, put away the wine pot, bent down, walked over the wall, and landed on the ground with a somersault. He did not disturb Yu Wenyun and Mrs. Dong, but walked towards Hongzhuang.

"What are you doing here?" Hongzhuang's hand was still holding the hilt of the sword, and her eyes were fierce and never relaxed.

"If I say I'm standing guard here, would you believe me?"

Hong Zhuang tilted her head to look at Yu Wenjun and nodded, "I believe it. Does that mean Shulan isn't here?"

"Of course, now that I've been exposed, what should I do?"

"It's none of my business, why should I care what he does."

There was a cry of surprise from the backyard: "Shulan, Shulan! Ah...!"

It was probably because Madam Dong discovered that it was the maid Xiaoqi lying on the bed. Su Mo spread his hands and said, "Tell His Highness that Master Fu and Miss Shulan went to Qin's old home. I have to leave."

With that, Su Mo flew out of the courtyard wall and disappeared into the rainy night. The Dong Mansion was in chaos at this moment.

"Help! Help! A thief has kidnapped Shulan!"

Lanterns and torches gathered from all over the Dong Mansion to the backyard. Dozens of guards were panicked. Xiao Qi touched the back of his head which still hurt a little and looked around blankly.

Hongzhuang laughed. This boy was too bold. He actually dared to use such a trick to steal someone!

She walked towards the equally nervous Yu Wenjun. Yu Wenjun was stunned when she heard this. After thinking for a moment, she said to the panicked Madam Dong, "Oh, Auntie, it's a misunderstanding. I just remembered that I asked Shulan to go to the palace tonight. Look at my memory. I'm afraid I missed her on the way. Don't panic. I'll send Shulan back later. That's it. I have to hurry back."

Mrs. Dong stood there in a daze, her face full of suspicion. "That's not right. I have put Shulan under house arrest. I have been at home all day and have not gone out. When did His Highness make an appointment with Shulan?"

Besides, even if His Highness had made an appointment with Shulan, what would be the point of knocking Xiaoqi unconscious and putting her on the bed to disguise herself?

And the guard in the backyard, he said there must be a master, he was knocked unconscious without even seeing the person - this is clearly a hijacking, and His Highness was also very panicked just now, why did he suddenly change?

I'm afraid there must be something hidden here, we need to investigate it thoroughly!

…

At Qin Bingzhong's house, five people sat around a tea table.

Qin Ruoxue was making tea while Fu Xiaoguan was chatting with Qin Bingzhong.

"I thought I had done a good deed, but I didn't expect to ruin someone else's good fortune. Actually, I hadn't thought of this myself. It was Lord Liu, the prefect of Linjiang, who reminded me of this, so I rushed to the capital."

"Hearing what you said, I also feel that this matter needs to be handled with caution. Actually, many of the officials in the Thirteen Prefectures of Dayu are my students." Qin Bingzhong shook his head and chuckled to himself, "Occasionally they come to see me and give me gifts when they come to the capital. I know it's because I still have some reputation. They mostly visit the Prime Minister's Mansion, the Six Ministers, or Old Master Fei, etc. I understand this. After all, I resigned long ago and have no power."

Qin Bingzhong didn't dwell on the fact that the man had left and the tea had gone cold. He asked again, "Since you've already come to the capital, you must have a plan. How did you calculate it?"

Fu Xiaoguan smiled awkwardly, "I'm not afraid of you laughing at me, brother. My original plan was to find Wen Yun through Shulan, and then find Concubine Shang, and transfer all my family's assets to Concubine Shang or the Ninth Princess. I even brought the contract with me. This way, I can get Concubine Shang's protection, and those people won't do anything to my Fu family."

Dong Shulan tilted her head and looked at Fu Xiaoguan. This man had not mentioned it, which meant that he had changed his mind.

Qin Bingzhong laughed, "That's a good idea. So, what's going on between you and the Ninth Princess..." Qin Bingzhong looked at Dong Shulan.

Since Fu Xiaoguan dared to entrust all his belongings to Concubine Shang, it seems that there has been a breakthrough in the relationship between Fu Xiaoguan and the Ninth Princess.

But if Fu Xiaoguan becomes the prince consort, what will happen to Dong Shulan?

"Don't make wild guesses. I won't become a consort to a princess, but I'm going to marry Yu Wenjun too. There's no rush."

Qin Ruoxue looked at Fu Xiaoguan. "Marry the Ninth Princess? Why do you want to do that?"

Are you handsome?

Wrote a Dream of the Red Chamber?

Or is his name left on those thousand stone tablets?

That's the princess, brother!

If the princess wants to marry, you have to be a prince of a different surname, but you are just a landlord in Linjiang, far from being a prince... Well, Qin Ruoxue couldn't imagine it.

Qin Bingzhong was actually confused, but he was not in a position to ask about such a private affair, so he returned to the previous topic.

"Since you've given up on seeking Concubine Shang's protection, what's your plan now?"

"Your Majesty, didn't you issue a court order? I've written a paper on disaster relief. If it catches your Majesty's eye, I'll see if I can get an audience with you. As long as I get a chance to see your Majesty, I'm sure I'll be able to get an official position."

Qin Bingzhong certainly knew about this matter. In the beginning, he often went to Lanting Pavilion to take a look, but the articles there were nothing original. He himself was also wondering how to put an end to the corruption in disaster relief, but he still had no idea.

"Tell me about your strategy."

So Fu Xiaoguan recited the policy essay one by one, of course he did not say the words of praise at the beginning.

Qin Bingzhong sometimes frowned, sometimes nodded, sometimes looked puzzled, and sometimes fell into deep thought.

Dong Shulan had no idea what Fu Xiaoguan had written before, but when she heard it, she showed a lot of expressions.

Qin Ruoxue also listened very carefully, but she didn't understand it. She just felt that it seemed very profound.

Qin Chengye didn't understand at all. He was thinking about what Fu Xiaoguan had just said about Xishan.

He was very interested in the things in Xishan and was thinking about asking his grandfather to go to Xishan with Fu Xiaoguan when he returned to Linjiang.