Chapter 8 Chapter 8 Flame

Two quarters of an hour ago.

As soon as Shao Boju left Zhenyue Tower, his cousin Shao Wuxing led people to surround the west side of Jishuitan. Not only the woods on the west side, but also the surrounding houses were secretly checked.

Fortunately, Changpu was fast and ran away like a cat before Shao's people found him.

At this moment, he went to the Pillow Moon Tower and told Du Lingjing everything he had said, "Miss, I saw that Shao Wuxing's face was very tense, as if he was determined to dig out something even if he had to dig three feet deep into the ground."

Du Lingjing couldn't help but shook her head.

There was nothing there, she had told Shaw Brothers, there was nothing there.

But how persistent is Shaw Brothers?

She didn't know what had happened to the Hu brothers and sisters, but Ruan Gong reminded her.

"Girl, there is only one day left until Mid-Autumn Festival."

After the Mid-Autumn Festival, the imperial decree granting marriage will come down.

Du Lingjing nodded, but Ruan Gong didn't quite understand what the girl meant.

But the people in the Zhenyue Tower became more and more excited as they talked.

"The Shao family is marrying the only daughter of the old man, so the Yongding Marquis's mansion must marry the daughter of a nobleman. I don't know whether the Du family is of greater help to the Shao family, or whether the nobleman's daughter will make Lord Lu even more powerful!"

"So which noble lady does the Marquis want to marry?"

"That depends on which family is willing to help the Marquis with all their strength," the person who spoke lowered his voice, "and can suppress the Shao family and the Du family."

This is all that people know, and no other concrete information can be found. Someone mentioned this.

"How about going to Qianxingfang to have a look, play some money, and place some bets?"

As soon as this suggestion was made, everyone reached for their wallets.

"How can I bet to win?"

"When you gamble, there are winners and losers." One of them, who was well versed in this, sorted things out for everyone.

"If you want to be safe, just bet on the marriage between the Shao family and the Du family without even thinking about it."

He said many people bet on this, "I heard that it was Madam Wan from the Gu family who acted as a matchmaker. You know Madam Wan, the marriage between the Liu family, a powerful family in Lingnan, and the Zhang family, the deputy chief censor of the Metropolitan Censorate, was arranged by the Emperor two years ago. These two families are completely unrelated, but it is said that it was Madam Wan who brought them together. The Zhang family is in a high position but comes from a poor family and has no one to rely on; the Liu family in Lingnan is well-established but has no one in the capital. Madam Wan was able to bring these two families together and even got the Emperor's decree to grant the marriage. In the past two years, Madam Wan has been the real matchmaker between the powerful families."

He said that the Shao family and the Du family were also the work of this old lady. "Think about it yourself, is it possible?"

When everyone heard this, they couldn't hold back the money in their pockets, but some people also said that if they all bet on the same thing, they would not win any money.

"That's exactly what you said. If you don't want to play it safe and want to bet on something exciting, then bet on Lord Lu." He said, "Just bet on whether Lord Lu will get married this year. Even more specifically, bet directly on which noblewoman Lord Lu will marry. If you win, you'll make a lot of money."

Every Mid-Autumn Festival, the number of people who bet on Marquis Lu is countless, but the marquis's wife has never appeared. There is no news yet this year, so it is hard to say.

It was simply that someone suddenly came up with a pledge of five hundred taels, promising that the Marquis would marry this year, which caused the crowd to become agitated again.

But some people still asked, "Besides the Marquis marrying a wife, is there anything more exciting?"

"Yes," everyone looked at the man, who said, "It still has to be the Shao family and the Du family. Don't bet on the marriage, bet on the wrong one!"

On the other hand, the two families will not be able to get married.

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone burst into laughter.

Changpu was eager to try, and he took out several pieces of silver from the toe of his shoe, gathered them together and held them in front of Du Lingjing's face.

Du Lingjing quickly told him to stop and not to go any further.

"Just stand there and talk."

Chang Pu clenched his fists and said, "All my belongings are here. I want to stake some too!"

Ruan Gong kicked him and said, "How dare you gamble? In front of a girl?"

Chang Pu quickly covered his buttocks, "Isn't this just to encourage the girl? I'm betting everything on the opposite side! I'm betting that the Shaw family can't marry the girl!"

After he finished speaking, he added, "For the sake of the girl's dignity, I will accept that this little money will go down the drain!"

Ruan Gong kicked him again, almost knocking him over.

"Are you saying bad things again?"

But before Ruan Gong finished speaking, he heard the girl call out "Acorus".

"Please help me place a bet as well."

"Girl?" Ruan Gong thought he had heard it wrong.

Acorus jumped up and asked, "How much do you bet, girl?"

Du Lingjing thought for a moment, "Is it five hundred taels at most?"

Chang Pu nodded vigorously, and Du Lingjing said, "Then I'll bet 500 taels, betting against the opponent."

Five hundred taels! Ruan Gong was speechless.

His daughter is a serious scholar, she has never touched these things. This time, he actually bet five hundred taels!

Changpu didn't care about Ruan Gong's look. She was so excited that she wanted to run to Qianxingfang immediately.

"The girl is gambling with me too!"

The sound is a bit loud.

Du Lingjing coughed. This word did not sound very nice, so she corrected it.

"It's Bo Caishan."

Chang Pu's eyes lit up, "Yes, yes, yes, the girl is still very elegant. I will go and get a beautiful girl for her right away!"

Du Lingjing pursed her lips and smiled.

Ruan Gong gritted his teeth, the girl has been led astray by this boy!

*

From the Lantern Festival to the entire Chongwenmenli Street, the lights are dazzling and bustling, especially the Paozi River south of Mingshifang in the southeast corner. The ripples of the water reflect the lights, and the fine lights shine like fish scales. The banks are filled with people.

It was rare for Du Runqing to take her maid out to the street. She usually stayed at home to take care of her mother and had no free time.

By the time we walked all the way to the vicinity of Paozi River, people all over the street were talking about the Mid-Autumn Festival marriage. Not to mention Qianxingfang, even the small gambling house next to Paozi River had started a betting event on the marriage of Baogui's descendants.

Du Runqing listened carefully and heard that someone was depositing 500 taels of silver to allow the Marquis of Yongding to marry a wife this year.

"Really?" she couldn't help but ask.

The maid Ruixue said it was impossible, "There has been no one who has forced the marquis to marry a wife. It's all nonsense. Don't believe it, young lady."

This is true. Apart from the matter of Marquis Lu, Ruixue said, "On the contrary, there are more people betting on the eldest girl and Shao Tanhua. Anyone with a discerning eye can see that this matter will definitely succeed."

Since my eldest sister suddenly came to Beijing, within just a few days, the whole family was in chaos.

But after hearing that even people on the street were so confident, she felt relieved.

She called Ruixue and walked a few steps towards the Paozi River. A vendor immediately came up to her.

"Miss, are you here to make a wish? We have invited a master to consecrate the river lanterns this year. Buying our river lanterns and making a wish is the most effective. If you wish to your loved one, as long as you are pious and silently recite the name of your loved one, the red thread in your hand will definitely go to your loved one. It's so accurate!"

The young man was selling his own river lanterns with all his might, but Ruixue rolled her eyes.

"No matter how good the talk is, the Paozi River cannot be connected to the Jiutianxing River, and the fish will be fished out by the children for fun, right?"

The vendor selling river lanterns was choked and turned to leave.

Du Runqing called Ruixue, "Take the money. I want to buy a river lantern."

Ruixue was stunned. The vendor's mouth was grinning from ear to ear. He quickly picked out the most exquisite one and handed it to Du Runqing.

"As long as the girl recites silently in her heart, the red thread will be handed to her lover!"

Du Runqing took it, her face slightly flushed against the backdrop of the river lanterns. She bit her lip gently, walked to the river, closed her eyes, and after a moment, she gently pushed the river lantern with her fingertips and it drifted into the small river that looked like the Milky Way.

On the way back, Ruixue saw that her daughter's face was still blushing, and she laughed quietly, "The girl really believed what the vendor said."

Du Runqing's face turned even redder. Just as she was about to say something, she saw her mother's servant coming to find her.

"What's the matter?"

The servant whispered, "Second Miss, I just followed the eldest lady and saw them go to the Pillow Moon Tower to meet Shao Tanhua."

Du Runqing was surprised.

My eldest sister didn't want to marry Shao Boju, so why did she go to meet him? I'm afraid something might happen.

She quickly called the servant.

"Go tell my father. No," she suddenly changed her mind. "Go to Gu's house and tell my grandmother!"

*

The Gu Mansion in Huanghuafang is separated from the Du Family in Chengqingfang by only Chongwenmenli Street.

When the servant arrived, Rong Yutang of the Gu family was all smiles. Madam Gu Liang, who had just gone on a long journey on the orders of the old lady, brought back good news.

"... Huang from Jinan and Shen from Shunde both sent gifts to mother. They said that their daughters don't know the rules and won't be able to get married in the future, so they wanted to send them to our house so that they can see the world with you. As for the expenses, we don't have to worry about it."

Madam Wan shook her head after hearing this, but a smile appeared on the corners of her eyes.

"It's true. Since last year, some people wanted to send girls to my garden, but I was too busy to respond. This year, there are even more people."

Liang stepped forward and respectfully massaged her mother-in-law's shoulders. "How can they raise a good girl? When it comes to training a girl to be married, it's you, mother."

Madam Wan shook her head even more. "I am indeed more thankful than they are, but don't they just want to use me to marry their daughter into a wealthy family?"

Liang said yes repeatedly and asked again, "So should we bring these girls to Beijing?"

Madam Wan nodded slowly, "Of course I will answer it, but I'll just have to wait a while."

"How long will mother wait?"

Madam Wan let her massage her shoulders and closed her eyes.

"Just wait until the Mid-Autumn Festival is over and the Emperor issues an imperial decree granting the marriage between the Shao family and the Du family."

Liang understood immediately.

The marriage between the two families was decided by the imperial decree, and there will be more families who want to send their daughters to the Gu family, and they will think more carefully about what they can bring to the Gu family and the old lady.

Marriages between high-class families are never between good couples.

While he was speaking, the servant Du Runqing had sent to deliver the message came forward hurriedly and spoke.

Compared to his haste, Madam Wan just nodded and didn't take it seriously.

The servant was at a loss as to what to do, and then Madam Wan spoke.

"Go back and tell Qing'er that even if she meets Shao Boju, what will happen? The Shao family wants to marry her, and she can't just say a few words to Shao Boju and let it go. The arrow is on the string and it will be shot. This marriage must be successful or not, and she can't stop it."

The servant took note of these words and went to the Du family.

Madam Wan drank a sip of tea served by her daughter-in-law and shook her head again.

"The thing that women fear the most is reading too many books. These books are written by men and are written for men. When women read them, they will only think that they can make decisions for themselves. Little do they know that this is harming themselves, thinking that they can do anything."

Liang quickly bowed and listened to her mother-in-law's teachings.

Madam Wan did not wake her up, but just looked at the books beside her and said something.

"From tomorrow on, the girls' schoolwork will be cut in half. Even those who stay will only read "Female Training" and "Female Precepts". Let them take care of the household affairs and learn to share the worries of their fathers, brothers and husbands. This is better than any other schoolwork."

Liang didn't dare to say anything else, and bowed even more, "Mother is right."

But she asked again, "Should we keep a closer eye on the eldest daughter of the Du family?"

Madam Wan waved her hand.

"No need, this is the capital, she can't make any waves."

... ...

Mrs. Wan was served by her daughter-in-law and went to bed early.

However, the wind blew in the capital in the middle of the night, and the strong wind made the window frames rattle. Elderly people sleep lightly, so Liang hurriedly asked the servants to find something to press the window frames tightly from inside and outside. After more than an hour of hard work, there was no noise around, and Madam Wan fell asleep.

After this sleep, I inevitably woke up a little late in the morning.

Tomorrow is Mid-Autumn Festival.

Liang had already prepared the meal. Madam Wan took two sips of tea and just sat down at the table when Nanny Guan suddenly ran over.

"Why are you so flustered? Could it be that the Mid-Autumn Festival is tomorrow, and the Emperor has already issued an order to grant the marriage today?"

It's not impossible.

But Nanny Guan looked extremely unhappy.

"Madam, the rumors spread overnight that Shao had killed someone!"

Madam Wan raised her eyebrows, "Where does this nonsense come from?"

Nanny Guan couldn't explain the source of the rumor, but she said it was something that came up overnight. "It seems that the Hu brothers and sisters have been missing for more than a month. The Hu family's master is a Jinshi, but no one in the capital knew about his disappearance for more than a month. Now everyone is saying that it was the Shao family's doing. Someone in the Hu family might have been killed! It was the Shao family that did it."

Madam Wan’s brows were getting higher and higher.

Nanny Guan couldn't tell where it came from, but Liang asked in a low voice, "Mother, could it be that the girl from the Du family had someone spread it?"

She is the one who least wants the marriage to be finalized right now.

Madam Wan paused, then suddenly sneered.

"She is a girl, does she really think she can stir up trouble in the capital? It's just rumors, she takes herself too seriously."

*

Du Mansion in Chengqingfang.

Qiulin asked the maid Ai Ye to go out and inquire about it, and she came back.

"Girl, the rumor is everywhere now."

She said, "Someone saw the Shao family surrounding the west side of Jishuitan yesterday, and they were digging for something. Some said it was dirt, some said it was evidence, and some said it was... a corpse! The more the rumors spread, the more outrageous they became. Miss, this move is really powerful. We can't get our name card, but we can directly make Shao Bo lose favor in front of the emperor and get him out in one fell swoop. Isn't this the same thing?"

Qiu Lin couldn't help but get excited, but Ruan Gong was always cautious, so he looked at the girl.

"But no matter how much the rumors spread, what can it really do to Shaw if there is no evidence?"

The Hu brothers and sisters have been missing for more than a month. The Shao family has managed to keep no one in the court in Beijing paying attention to them. How can a few rumors now shake the favor of Shao Boju, a close friend?

Ruan Gong asked, and Du Lingjing nodded.

"I really don't have the ability to bring down the third place."

What kind of place is the capital? It is a place where even her father failed. She naturally does not have that kind of ability.

She just wanted to pull herself out of it, and wait until the Mid-Autumn Festival was over so that she could travel safely and return to Qingzhou early.

"But, of course, there are many people in the capital who want to see Shao Boju fall." Du Lingjing paused slightly, and the image of the man standing in front of the railing of the tall building in the Zhenyue Tower yesterday appeared in front of his eyes.

"All I can do is light a small flame for these powerful officials and nobles."

As soon as he finished speaking, the wind outside blew open the half-closed carved window.

*

Jiqingfang, the Mansion of Marquis Yongding.

The Marquis's staff filled the meeting room in the front yard. They could not hide their excitement as they discussed the rumors that suddenly emerged last night. Their voices were so loud that they almost blew off the roof of the meeting room.

Suddenly, a message came from outside, "The Marquis is here."

Everyone quickly fell silent and looked outside the meeting room. They saw a man in a dark green brocade robe striding in from the morning light outside the door and stepping into the room.

All the staff members saluted, and he said, "I have just heard what you are discussing."

He only mentioned this lightly, and everyone's excitement rose again.

One of the aides named Yu stepped forward.

"My Lord, regardless of whether this is true or not, this is our chance."

"In the past few years, Shao has been building connections for Prince Yong and making friends with court officials. With the support of Dou Ge Lao, even local officials are leaning towards Prince Yong's party. Unfortunately, the emperor values Shao's talent and favors her. At present, they only use the excuse that there is no legitimate son to establish the eldest son as the heir. They have repeatedly written to the emperor to request that he establish a crown prince. They also said that Prince Yong is virtuous and Shao is also a clean official. There is no other choice for the position of crown prince. The emperor is inevitably shaken."

Yu Aide said, "But if the matter of the Hu brothers and sisters is confirmed, Shao Boju's own fall from favor is a minor matter, but the reputation of the entire Shao family and even Prince Yong's party will be dragged down, which is a major matter. The emperor loves talents the most, how can he watch such a dignified Jinshi being murdered like this?"

He was a little hesitant as he spoke, "I just don't know who spread the rumor? And what's their intention? But... should we check it out?"

Everyone had the same concern, but the Marquis just shook his head.

"Don't check."

Then he said something else that was not very clear, and his already hoarse voice became even deeper.

"Let her relax a little."

Everyone didn't know what the Marquis meant, and they looked at each other.

Another staff member asked another question.

"My Lord, what should we do? Should we follow that person's wishes?"

The people in the hall waited in silence, and the prince standing in the middle of the crowd slowly said four words.

"Help with all your strength."