Chapter 105 Xiao Yan's carelessness reveals his strength
There was a bamboo pipe in the room, connected to the water flowing by the lake outside, extending all the way to the edge of the Leaping Carp Terrace. Song Tangning squatted on the edge of the water pavilion and teased the fish in the lake for a while. Then he washed his hands and returned to the desk, holding the peach blossom pastry and started to eat it.
The dim sum at Xijue Tower has always been a specialty in Beijing. They are soft, sweet, and full of the fragrance of spring peach blossoms.
Tang Ning was very satisfied with the meal and handed a piece to Xiao Yan: "Brother, have some too."
"Just eat it."
He didn't really like this kind of overly sweet snack. Just watching the little girl eat happily, Xiao Yan took some hot tea and placed it in front of Tang Ning, saying in a gentle voice, "Eat slowly."
Tang Ning held the cake in his mouth and pointed at the ginseng soup, signaling Xiao Yan to drink it too.
Xiao Yan smiled and took the spoon to help her drink most of the ginseng soup. The warm soup flowed down his throat into his stomach, making his originally pale face look a little rosy and his thin lips look a little more beautiful.
Seeing that she had slowed down her eating, Xiao Yan leaned on the table and asked, "Have you heard about what happened with the Lu family?"
Tang Ning nodded: "I understand."
Xiao Yan said, "Lu Zhinian suddenly broke into Duke Song's mansion at night, catching the entire Lu family off guard. Lu Chongyuan went to see the Queen after the morning court today and even requested an audience with His Majesty. If nothing unexpected happens, they will definitely give in on the matter between you and Lu Zhinian."
"I'm afraid most of the things you sent to the Lu family earlier won't be retrieved, and the Lu family won't force the Fourth Prince to ask for them. What are you thinking?"
Song Tangning held the half piece of peach blossom cake in his hand and asked, "Brother, do you think I should continue to fight with them?"
Xiao Yan said indifferently: "It's up to you."
He looked casual, with a casual intensity.
"Those were left to you by Taifu Rong. If you want to take them back, no one can accuse you of anything. It was the Lu family that was at fault, and even the Queen can't do anything to you. As for His Majesty, as long as you don't directly target the Queen and the Fourth Prince and publicly embarrass the royal family, His Majesty won't favor them and may even side with you."
Song Tangning understood what Xiao Yan meant. Emperor An was happy to see her argue with the aristocratic families, so the emperor's heart was naturally on her side. However, after a moment of silence, she whispered, "But I don't want it anymore."
Xiao Yan raised an eyebrow and looked at her. Although he was surprised, he did not speak in a hurry. He just gestured for her to continue.
Song Tangning considered his words before speaking, "Grandfather's belongings are naturally precious. If they were still in the hands of the Lu family, I would never let them go. But now most of those things have passed into other people's hands."
Her eyelashes drooped slightly, with a hint of helplessness.
"Those people who were able to be sent out by the Fourth Prince must have very important identities. If I insist on demanding repayment from them, I can certainly force the Lu family to lose face, but I will also offend those people and make them bear a grudge. Moreover, given the status of the Fourth Prince and the Queen, the Lu family can't really fall because of such a small matter."
"I'll tear my face off with them and let everyone know what they did. In the end, at most I'll force them to pay back the same price and make them lose face, but it will also make them lose their scruples."
Tang Ning had experienced the cruelty of the aristocratic families, and she was also aware of the Queen's methods.
Now they dare not touch her because her brother is protecting her, and Lu Zhinian has caused trouble again and again, pushing the Lu family to the forefront.
In addition, the Fourth Prince's "bribery" was a private matter, and those court officials might not completely defect to the Empress just because of those rare ancient books. They might just be watching and waiting, and might not be close to the Lu family.
If they knew that the Fourth Prince was giving them something belonging to someone else and getting them into trouble, they would naturally feel disgusted and choose to stay away from him. Both the Lu family and the Fourth Prince would suffer a great loss if they failed to steal the chicken.
But if she insisted on getting the things back and exposing the secret dealings between the Fourth Prince and those people, it would be tantamount to forcing those people to take sides.
By then, although they will still be angry with the Fourth Prince and the Lu family, they will be even more angry at her for causing this matter. It might even backfire and force those people to get together with the Lu family and the Fourth Prince in advance, which would help them instead.
Song Tangning was not good at strategy. Most of the things about the court were taught to her by Xiao Yan. She seemed immature in her words, but she tried her best to think everything through.
"I don't have the protection of my clan now. Forcing things to escalate will only make my brother and those people enemies. It's better to take advantage of my advantage and then generously let the Lu family go this time."
"No one who can enter the court and gain power is stupid. They will remember my favor, and the Lu family will still be infamous. Everyone will know that the Lu family owes me, and I am magnanimous and don't hold it against them. This way, they can't make things difficult for me in marriage, and they won't provoke me easily for fear that I will bring it up again."
Not only can she teach the Lu family a lesson, but she can also earn a good reputation and use the Lu family's leverage to prevent them from touching her.
Kill two birds with one stone.
Tang Ning played with the remaining half piece of peach blossom cake in her hand and said, "Besides, I don't intend to ask the Lu family to repay the things I gave away with gold or silver."
Xiao Yan looked at her: "Then what do you want?"
"The Lu family's collection of books."
Xiao Yan couldn't help but sit up straight, and heard Song Tangning's voice slowly.
"Aristocratic families have a profound heritage. It's not just about power, status, and gold and silver, but also about inheritance and collections of books that those poor scholars outside have no access to. The collection of books held by the Lu family alone is enough to match all the academies in the capital, or even more."
"The imperial court has always prioritized the children of aristocratic families when selecting talented individuals. There are very few noble sons from humble backgrounds. Aristocratic families have almost monopolized all academies, making it difficult for students from poor families to succeed."
"I want to build a college in the capital in my grandfather's name. When the time comes, I will put all the things returned by the Lu family, along with some books and ancient books left by my grandfather, into the college and let the students there borrow them."
Xiao Yan looked at the chattering young woman beside him in astonishment, never expecting her to think this way. "Do you know that with the Lu family's wealth, if it were compensation in gold or silver, it would definitely be hundreds of thousands?"
"I know they'll only give me more to silence outsiders, but this money will be too hot to handle for me."
Now she has no protection from the Duke's Mansion, and she has offended the Queen and the Lu family. Even if she has her brother to protect her, keeping so much money in her hands will only attract attention. Besides, the Lu family will never let it go after suffering such a big loss.
If she used gold and silver to settle the dispute between them and let the Lu family no longer bear the reputation of owing her, then after a while, the Lu family and the Queen would definitely take revenge. Moreover, if she was too greedy for money, it would weaken her innocence and weakness in the eyes of outsiders, and would also consume other people's sympathy for the weak.
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