Pei Shijiu asked, "Do you remember the Chen family of the Marquis of Qucheng on Quexi Avenue?"
There are many prominent families in the capital, and the Chen family has several, but they are distinguished by their addresses and titles.
Qiao Lian'er thought for a moment. The Qu Chengbo family had also come to buy nuts and fruits from her before, and they had met more than once at banquets, so she still remembered them. The two families were very polite to each other and exchanged some pleasantries.
"We're just casual acquaintances in the general sense."
This is why most prominent families maintain a peaceful coexistence by keeping to themselves and not interfering with each other.
Qiao Lian'er quickly realized the oddity in Pei Shijiu's words.
“The Earl’s Mansion? I remember the Chen family on Quexi Avenue was a Duke’s Mansion, a very prominent family.”
She believed that Pei Shijiu was not wrong.
Pei Shijiu slowly said, "More than a month ago, a rather significant incident occurred in the capital. When the patriarch of the Qucheng Marquis's family went to Guoqing Temple to offer incense, the abbot asked him to inscribe a couplet for a meditation room. The patriarch of the Chen family then inscribed a couplet, but the problem lay in this couplet. The words clashed with the emperor's old reign title, and the Chen family was severely punished as a result. They were demoted from marquises to earls, and the Chen family members who were officials were also demoted by two to three ranks. Their family fortunes were greatly diminished, and they were no longer as prosperous as before."
“The Emperor still has an old reign title,” Qiao Lian’er said. Generally, emperors use only one reign title.
"Yes, but the old era name was only used for two years before it was changed to the new era name. The current number of years in the new era name also includes those two years of the old era name. The old era name seemed to have a bad connotation, so it was changed."
"Thirty years have passed, and many people have forgotten the old reign title. The Marquis of Qucheng did not intend to offend it; they were just unlucky."
Qiao Lian'er pondered: "Could it be that the Marquis of Qucheng harbors resentment towards the imperial family because of this matter, and therefore is willing to collude with enemy countries?"
He said, "I believe this is not the old man's intention. I'm afraid someone in the Chen family acted on their own."
For Qiao Lian'er, the priority is to find out who made the decision. As for what kind of repercussions and punishments the Chen family will suffer, that's none of her concern.
That's how it was in ancient times; if one person committed a crime, the whole family would suffer. If it wasn't the old man's idea, it was ultimately his fault for not teaching and supervising properly.
"I'm going to the Chen family to see who has gotten hold of that letter. Tonight is crucial; someone might make a move."
"I'll go too."
Qiao Lian'er put the person into her space.
She changed into an invisibility cloak and entered the Chen family's house without hindrance. The fierce dog lying in the front yard of the Chen family sensed something, got up and barked at the air a few times. The gatekeeper put on his clothes and went out to see what was going on, but saw nothing.
"That's strange, what a ghost I saw in the middle of the night! You beast, you're getting old, your eyes are failing, and your ears are deaf, all you do is yell nonsense." He cursed as he muttered to himself as he went back to his room to sleep.
The fierce dog whimpered and lay back down on the ground, looking utterly dejected.
At this time, almost everyone in the Qu Chengbo residence had gone to sleep, except for one study where a single lamp was still lit.
A slender figure sat under the lamp, seemingly intently watching something, with a tall figure standing beside him.
Qiao Lian'er used spatial positioning to enter the study. Under the lamplight, there was a boy who looked to be about fifteen or sixteen years old. In his hand was the very piece of paper with the array written on it.
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