"Mom." Su Ningjie ran into the room.
"I'll take my leave." Yan Wei left the room. Xiao Lingyu asked, "Where did you go just now?"
Su Ningjie scratched his head. "...I, just now in the tea room, accidentally overheard the conversation in the front hall. I really didn't mean to overhear. Please believe me!"
I wouldn’t believe you!
Brother Jie had his own ideas and would not stay quietly in Lanxin Waterside Pavilion. "So what did you hear?"
"After three years, the rare ingredients we have improved will be handed over to the court through the Cui family. The Cui family has great influence in Huayang Jun, so can we still purchase rare ingredients from the villagers? It would be safer to let Lord Miao hand them over to the court."
Xiao Lingyu touched his little head and said, "In three years, the rare ingredients will have been planted in all the counties of Beiyi. The reason why we told the Cui family to wait three years was to buy time."
"procrastination?"
Xiao Lingyu patiently explained, "The Cui family has great influence in Huayang Jun. We can't reject him directly. We can only buy time."
"But..." Su Ningjie looked worried, "If we hand over the rare ingredients, won't the Cui family find out?"
"Don't be afraid! The Cui family poses no threat to us."
That’s right, mother is a princess, she shouldn’t be afraid of the Cui family!
But mother is a weak woman after all, so it seems that father and elder brother need to stay by her side to protect her.
"Brother Jie, you run really fast."
"Dad, you're here just in time. You and big brother must protect mother in two days."
"Of course." Su Xingyi said with a smile, "With your eldest brother and I here, no one can bully your mother. Yan Wei, Zhu Xu, Su Yun, and Su Ying will all go with her that day. You just stay home and take good care of your younger brothers and sisters."
Su Xingyi looked up at Xiao Lingyu and said, "I told Mr. Cui what you said, and he didn't doubt it at all."
Xiao Lingyu said, "The person who came today is Cui Zhehan. If his second brother had come, it would have taken some time to talk him over."
"His second brother has seen you?"
Seeing Xiao Lingyu nod, Su Xingyi stretched out his hand and gestured at Xiao Lingyu's face.
He picked up a pen and paper, wrote a few numbers, and called Su Yun.
"Go to Master Zhang and ask them to make half a mask for Madam Su the night after tomorrow. Be sure to have him polish it to make it thinner."
"No need to do anything, just wear the veil."
Su Xingyi winked at Su Yun, and Su Yun hurriedly left with the drawings.
"I wonder what unexpected situation might arise at the Cui residence that day? The half-face mask and veil will provide double protection."
"Mother, Dad is right."
Xiao Lingyu held her forehead with her hand, "Mom, do you know how to put on makeup?"
"That's triple protection!" the father and son said in unison.
Xiao Lingyu: ...
"Okay, okay, I'll do as you say. Call An Ge'er and the others, it's time to go have dinner."
Night falls.
The moon in the night sky seems bigger and rounder than on Mid-Autumn Night.
A black shadow crossed the full moon and landed on a wall of the Imperial Examination Hall. It avoided the guards of the officers and soldiers and slipped into a side room like a ghost.
There was deafening snoring in the room, and Zhu Xu couldn't help but frown.
After a quarter of an hour, having found nothing, he entered Zhang Sheng's room next door.
The room was so quiet that only the sound of even breathing could be heard. Zhu Xu's tightly furrowed brows relaxed.
It took him half a cup of tea to find the list under Zhang Sheng's bedside, and he left quickly after getting it.
The autumn night was a little chilly. Su Xingyi draped a long gown over Xiao Lingyu and said softly, "Xiaoyu, it's late. You should take a nap on the couch. I'll call you when Zhu Xu comes."
"I'm not sleepy. If everything goes well, Zhu Xu will be back soon."
"Xiao Yu, there's a mission coming up. Can I join in? I haven't been able to use the skills my master taught me yet."
Su Xingyi found that he was unable to share the burden with Xiao Lingyu at all, not only that, he was also protected by Xiaoyu.
This kind of protection does not rely on force, but on brains.
Xiao Lingyu raised his eyes and looked at him. "Who said you didn't contribute? Didn't you trick Cui Zhehan this evening?"
"That's not enough. You need to assign me more tasks. For example, I can go out and get information. For example, I should be able to do what Zhu Xu is going to do tonight."
Xiao Lingyu said, "Tracking, investigating, secretly investigating, and collecting evidence are their strengths. You should make good use of their strengths like me and serve us."
"I can do that too." Su Xingyi touched her shoulder, his tone a little coquettish, "You can use it. I am willing to do things for you."
Xiao Lingyu raised his eyebrows slightly, "In that case, I'll use you. I'm a little tired from sitting. Can you give me a back massage and shoulder massage?"
"Okay." Su Xingyi stood up and walked behind her, took off the long gown draped over her, put his hands on her shoulders and squeezed them gently.
“Hiss—”
"Gentle."
You won’t know how stiff this shoulder is until you press it!
Su Xingyi was so scared that he quickly withdrew his hand. Xiaoyu's body was really weak, and he hadn't even used any strength!
"Okay, I'll try again more gently."
Su Xingyi controlled the pressure and pressed again, "Is this pressure okay?"
"It's a little light, try harder."
Xiao Lingyu realized that he wasn't using any strength at all. "Push harder! I can't stand the pain any more. Please slow down."
"Oh, okay."
"Ah!" Xiao Lingyu exclaimed softly, "It's OK, this is the right strength."
Zhu Xu came to the outside of the study and heard the noise in the study, but he didn't dare to go in. He waited for half a lamp before he made a sound and went into the study.
"Ma'am, this is the list you requested."
Su Xingyi took it and handed it to Xiao Lingyu.
Xiao Lingyu opened the list and quickly noticed Wu Huaiyuan's name.
"It turns out that Wu Huaiyuan failed the exam so many times. It really was the Cui family who did it!"
Su Xingyi glanced at the list and suddenly felt a lump in his throat, distressed and suffocated.
"I remember Huaiyuan took the exam three times, and this is his fourth time. It's been twelve years. If he fails this time, he won't be able to take it again."
Xiao Lingyu soothed him, "Don't get excited. He will fail the exam again this time."
"Now that we know the Cui family is cheating in the imperial examinations, is there no way to stop it? This is the fate of ten people!"
Xiao Lingyu said, "Only if these ten people fail the exam can the Cui family's cheating in the imperial examination be exposed."
"Xiao Yu, does that mean there is a solution?"
"All students who failed the exam can get their papers back with their test papers..."
Xiao Lingyu briefly explained his plan.
"The key to this success lies with the Meng family, but what I'm worried about now is whether Qi Lianli has been bribed by the Cui family."
"Madam, I haven't yet discovered any private dealings between Master Qi and the Cui family, but I think it's unlikely that Master Qi is involved in this matter."
"What do you mean?"
"Lord Qi came to Huayang County to serve as the prefect at the end of last year, and Lord Miao of Xishui County also came to serve as the prefect at the end of last year."
Xiao Lingyu frowned: "How did you know?"
"Before leaving, Master instructed us to investigate their background. After all, they know Madam's identity."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
