Chapter 590 He Ling's Filial Piety
While it was still pitch black, Cheng Zhao had already gotten up and left home, arriving at the gates of the capital.
By this time, a long queue had formed at the city gate. Some were going into the city to do business, some were going to the market, and some, like him, were preparing to go into the palace to attend court.
In order to get into the city sooner, he had to get up almost an hour earlier every day.
As dawn broke, the city gates opened, and the crowd lined up in an orderly fashion to enter.
Cheng Zhao stepped inside, and at that moment a familiar figure approached him: "Brother Cheng."
The person walking over was Zheng Wangfeng. He was a seventh-rank official and did not need to attend the morning court. He was dressed in dark clothes and blended into the crowd without being noticeable.
Cheng Zhao stopped in his tracks: "Brother Zheng, are you leaving the city so early?"
Zheng Wangfeng quickly walked over, patted Cheng Zhao's arm with his left hand, and a piece of paper fell out of his sleeve and landed on Cheng Zhao's arm.
"I'm out of town on some business." He smiled and said, "Brother Cheng, you look really smart. When you have a day off, let's get together, fellow townsmen."
He left after he finished speaking.
Cheng Zhao picked up the paper, opened it, and there was only one sentence on it: "Tell the people of Sui'an that Young Master He already knows Xiao He's identity."
He was startled and suddenly looked up at Zheng Wangfeng.
Zheng Wangfeng had already blended into the crowd. He was constantly on guard to see if there were any spies from the He family around him. Fortunately, he was of low status, and the He family did not take him seriously, so they naturally did not have anyone monitor him.
The reason he took such a big risk today to tell Cheng Zhao such important news is that back in Yunnan Province, if it weren't for Cheng Zhao and Shen Zheng, he would have been one of the candidates who were expelled from the examination. Zheng Wangfeng has never been one to like owing favors. Now that he has repaid the debt of gratitude, he can hold his head high when he meets Cheng Zhao in the officialdom in the future.
He was a staff member of the He family, while Cheng Zhao had sided with the Lin family; they were destined to be on different sides.
From now on, he won't need to consider the ties of being from the same hometown anymore if anything happens.
His figure quickly disappeared into the crowd.
Cheng Zhao hid the note in his inner sleeve. He was restless during the court session. After the morning court session, he was supposed to go to the Hanlin Academy to handle some business, but he asked Fu Zheli to help him ask for leave. After leaving the palace, he went straight to Cheng Wanwan's residence.
However, Cheng Wanwan was not at her residence at the moment; she had gone to the palace to work as a translator and would not return until evening.
So Cheng Zhao had no choice but to go to the palace again. Instead of the Hanlin Academy, he went to the Court of State Ceremonies. The Hanlin Academy served the imperial power and was a main hall in the palace, while the Court of State Ceremonies was in a very remote place.
He reported his purpose to the eunuch at the door, who then went in to report before leading him inside.
He walked further in and stopped at the entrance of a side hall. Inside, there were no foreign envoys, only officials of various ranks from the Court of State Ceremonial.
The person standing at the very front was Cheng Wanwan, and the person sitting to the side writing was Minister Zhang of the Court of State Ceremonial. Below them sat at least twenty officials.
"Some basic and commonly used nouns are recorded in Master Zhang's dictionary. I mainly want to talk to you about conjunctions and grammar." Cheng Wanwan earnestly explained the basic usage of English. "Assab's spoken and written language are quite different. Pay attention to this sentence..."
She sighed as she spoke.
She never imagined that she would become an English teacher, giving lessons to a group of old fogies.
The main reason was that she would be leaving the capital soon, and if she didn't teach these basic usages, she was afraid that Lord Zhang would send letters to "harass" her from time to time.
Everyone in the class listened attentively, took notes from time to time, and some asked questions without hesitation. The classroom atmosphere was particularly good.
The class finally ended, but Master Zhang had no intention of letting Cheng Wanwan go. He pulled her aside and asked her a bunch of questions. After getting the answers, he took the example sentences and went to study them.
Cheng Wanwan finally had a moment to rest when the eunuch went in to report that Lord Cheng from the Hanlin Academy had arrived.
She looked up and saw Cheng Zhao standing at the bottom of the steps, looking very serious.
She immediately went out and said, "Zhao'er, shouldn't you be busy at the Hanlin Academy? Why are you at the Court of State Ceremonies? Has something happened?"
"Second Aunt, let's talk over there." Cheng Zhao walked to a more secluded spot under a tree, then took out the note from her sleeve. "After Zheng Wangfeng came to the capital, he became an advisor to the He family. He probably found out something from the He family and secretly passed this information to me early this morning..."
He didn't know who Xiao He was at first, but Zheng Wangfeng was so serious about it, and it was related to the He family in the capital. After a little thought, he understood what was going on.
If Master He from Dahe Village is indeed the second young master of the He family, then this matter could be quite serious, so he dared not delay at all...
Cheng Wanwan opened the note, her face showing no extra emotion. When He Ling tested her that night, she had already guessed that He Ling knew everything.
Now Mrs. He has been "critically ill" for several days, but He Xiao has not shown up. So, He Ling must have another trick up his sleeve.
If she were He Ling, what methods would she use to force He Xiao out?
Cheng Wanwan pondered for a while, but couldn't come up with a solution.
Cheng Zhao spoke slowly, "Second Aunt, is there anything I can do to help with this?"
“Remember to keep your distance from Zheng Wangfeng.” Cheng Wanwan paused and said, “He has already joined the He family and is one of them. He told you this news privately today, perhaps because he cares about the friendship between fellow townsmen, or perhaps it was the eldest young master of the He family who instructed him to test you. Zhao’er, just do your job well and don’t get involved in these things.”
"But Second Aunt..."
“There’s no ‘buts’.” Cheng Wanwan patted his shoulder. “You’ve only just entered the halls of power. You have a very long way to go. When you reach a certain level, even if you don’t ask, your second aunt will ask you to do things. Alright, you should hurry back to the Hanlin Academy.”
Cheng Zhao had no choice but to leave first.
Cheng Wanwan continued to stay in the palace to teach. After teaching the basic knowledge to the people of the Court of State Ceremonial, they reviewed the contract with Asab together. This matter should have been done tomorrow, but she was a little restless and just wanted to finish the important business as soon as possible so that she would have more time to do her personal affairs.
She left the Court of State Ceremonial as dusk fell.
When she arrived at the palace gate, Cheng Jia and Granny Qi had been waiting for a long time. She helped Granny Qi into the carriage and sat down to rest with her eyes closed.
The car slowed down as it entered the city. The streets were bustling with people, and many pedestrians were talking in small groups.
Her eyes suddenly snapped open: "Cheng Jia, stop the car."
The carriage suddenly stopped, and the sounds of conversation from the street became even clearer.
"The eldest son of the He family is truly filial; it's touching."
"Although Madam He's biological son is a traitor, this stepson is quite good. He is promising and filial. With a son like this, one can die content."
“Young Master He’s biological mother and Madam He are sisters, so they are related by blood. It’s normal for her to be filial.”
"Hehe, Young Master He is a third-rank official in the imperial court. Have you ever seen a third-rank official take a month's leave for his critically ill mother? In Young Master He's heart, his mother is much more important than his future."
"It is said that Young Master He took a month's leave to go to Nanyang to find a divine doctor to treat Madam He's illness."
"Yes, I've also heard that there's a miracle doctor in Nanyang who specializes in treating strange and unusual ailments. If we could invite him, Madam He might be saved..."
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