Fu Xuechen just wanted to enjoy his time alone with Su Qingli.
"Your brother-in-law gave it to me."
Su Qingli blurted out that only if Qi Jinqian gave her the golden flower would Su Zhaoming not become suspicious and ask further questions.
When Su Zhaoming heard that it was a gift from Qi Jinqian, he smiled knowingly, "My brother-in-law really loves me and is willing to give me gold flowers."
"Now that the money issue is settled, go and register at the academy. You are the only hope of our Su family. Father and mother are looking forward to you passing the imperial examinations and serving the court in the future. Then they will have no worries about food and clothing."
Although the Su family had experienced the ever-changing officialdom, Su Qingli still felt that even being a small official was better than being an ordinary citizen facing the earth and working hard.
"Sister, I'm going now. I won't let you expect me to do that. I'll pay you back in the future. I won't accept your gold for free."
Su Zhaoming promised her that he would work hard and strive to get into the top three in the exam. The salary of an official was much better than doing hard labor or working as a maid, and he could also live a decent life.
"We'll talk about the future later. You should study hard first."
Su Qingli only hoped that Su Zhaoming's study in the academy could be confirmed as soon as possible. Not only was the work hard, but the wages were also low.
As a woman, she was unwilling to live a life with no end in sight, let alone a man who was subject to even fewer restrictions.
The brother and sister parted ways at the fork in the road. Su Qingli entered the vermilion lacquer gate of the Qi Mansion. The next second after she stepped into the courtyard, she heard the laughter of two children and the sound of them running after each other.
"Sixth aunt, we are almost starving to death. The new tutor hired by grandfather is even stricter than you. It is said that he used to be a student registrar in the Imperial College. He is very strict." Qi Mian was dissatisfied with the newly hired tutor and complained a few words.
The new tutor was not as flexible as Su Qingli. He only knew how to urge and teach them to study and do their homework. Unlike Su Qingli, she would not tell some strange stories as small episodes in the classroom.
The two children almost fell asleep while listening. Qi Caiyao also followed Qi Mian to take some poetry, literature and etiquette lessons.
When Qi Mian grows up, he will take over the responsibilities of Qi Jinqian and Qi Shangshu, while Qi Caiyao will marry a suitable man from an emerging noble family in the court. The paths of the two siblings are clearly arranged by their elders.
"I'll take you to lunch. If you have any questions, you can ask me. Although I'm not as professional as the Imperial College teachers, I do have some basic knowledge of the subjects."
Su Qingli said that she could give some pointers to ease the burden on the new teacher, as the two children might not have adapted to the new teacher's teaching methods.
"Sixth aunt is still the best. Grandfather insisted on going to the Imperial College to invite him to be our tutor, but he is not as good as Sixth aunt in teaching."
Qi Caiyao curled her lips. She disliked this new tutor. His lectures were very boring. He only knew how to impart knowledge mechanically without caring whether the students understood or not.
Su Qingli just smiled and didn't comment. He was a student at the Imperial College, and being invited to the Qi Mansion as a tutor was already a downgrade.
Not long after, Minister Qi and Qi Jinqian walked side by side in the front yard, each exclaiming indignantly, "Jinqian, Tang Baichuan is only the Minister of Personnel, but he's so capable! Fu Xuechen didn't try to persuade him, and he's still sarcastically scolding His Majesty in the court, and Censor Pei is echoing his words!"
"Censor Pei is also Fu Xuechen's man. Most of the high-ranking officials in the court are biased towards Fu Xuechen and are supported by him."
Qi Jinqian didn't say it out loud. In his heart, he was actually wondering why Fu Xuechen was not in the court today, but was only instructing his two accomplices to disrupt the situation in the court behind the scenes.
"As long as Fu Xuechen is removed, there will be no peace in the court."
Minister Qi had some complaints about Fu Xuechen, but he was the chief minister in the court. After supporting the emperor to ascend to the throne, he still held the dominant position today.
In the early days of the new emperor's reign, Fu Xuechen cleared out a group of trusted officials from the previous emperor's reign on charges of accepting bribes, raping decent women, and other crimes, and quickly replaced them with his own trusted officials.
"Yinhan, go and ask our people to check if there is anything unusual about Fu Xuechen recently." Qi Jinqian immediately called Yinhan and asked him to check immediately.
A few hours later, Yinhan came to report that the spies stationed in the Prime Minister's Mansion only found out that Fu Xuechen was ill and had stayed in bed all day, neither going out of the main gate nor the second gate.
On the Prime Minister's side, Fu Xuechen had already prepared a plan to deal with the situation.
He had done a good job of making the fake medicine and the fake person, and the person pretending to be him looked 70% to 80% similar. He lay in bed every day, and if you didn't look carefully, you couldn't tell that it was a fake him.
"Qian Jue, tell Shi Meng to keep a close eye on the Qi Mansion's spies. Don't let him notice any loopholes. Qi Jinqian is a very suspicious person and he won't be fooled easily."
Fu Xuechen is used to taking every step carefully. He always plans for the long term and thinks carefully, and will not give others a chance to see through him. If he is really seen through, it will be too late.
In recent days, Fu Xuechen claimed that he was seriously ill and could not attend court meetings. Day after day, he invited Su Qingli to the teahouse to play the piano. The two of them got along very happily, and Fu Xuechen did not want to go back to the Prime Minister's Mansion.
The eldest princess cooperated with Fu Xuechen and brought Yuyi to visit him at the Prime Minister's Mansion. She personally fed him the medicine soup and was in tears when she left.
It was time to return to the Qi Mansion. After the last note of the zither fell, Su Qingli stood up and said goodbye, "Mr. Tan, I'm going back home. Has your heart disease shown any signs of improvement? I've noticed that you've rarely been holding your chest in pain lately."
"Miss Su's piano music is so pleasant and tranquil. It soothes my heart and reduces my heart attacks. This is all thanks to Miss Su's unparalleled piano skills. When I recover, I want to discuss piano skills with you, Miss Su."
Fu Xuechen pretended to be a musician and talked about their common interests and hobbies so that he could have more conversations with Su Qingli.
Su Qingli felt that the man wearing the veil was easygoing and wealthy. Even though he was extremely wealthy, he was not at all arrogant. "I am always at your service. It is a rare opportunity to have a zither-loving soulmate like Mr. Tan."
"From now on, Mr. Tan and Ms. Su are friends. If Ms. Su encounters any difficulties, she can seek help from Mr. Tan."
Fu Xuechen used the identity of a friend to get closer to Su Qingli.
"I have something I should thank you for, Master Tan. The reward you gave me just covers my younger brother's tuition. As the abbot of Lingyan Temple said, Master Tan is truly my benefactor."
Every time Su Qingli finished playing the piano, she would get a gold ingot, which she kept in her bag for emergency use. The other party treated her with great courtesy in every aspect, and she was overwhelmed with emotion and blurted out everything in her joy.
Fu Xuechen sounded surprised, but he still asked knowingly, "So, does the abbot of Lingyan Temple have the ability to predict the future? What did he say to you, Miss Su? What were you doing at Lingyan Temple?"
A series of questions came down. Su Qingli and Fu Xuechen sat opposite each other in the private room. Qian Jue was waiting outside the door. Fu Xuechen just wanted to enjoy his own world with Su Qingli.
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