Chapter 597: Rain and Dew
Once the two countries go to war, intelligence will be the top priority. The spies from Beiling have been unable to interfere in their court. Although Song Jinxiu has joined Xiahou Ling's army, it is difficult for him to become a big shot at least for now. The people in Changfeng Hall have become important.
Tang Ning naturally understood what Xiao Yan meant: "Then I'll tell Dean Shi to tell Beiling not to investigate anymore."
Xiao Yan hummed softly, then said in a low voice, "I don't know the true identity of Beiling's spy in the Wei Dynasty. I've had people search the entire capital and even left bait outside several times, but I couldn't find him..."
Whether it is the dispute between the Crown Prince and Emperor An, the old case in the South, or the rebellion of Prince Pingshan this time.
Beiling could have made a big fuss if he had seized the opportunity, or even taken advantage of the situation to disrupt the internal affairs of Wei. However, since the last time that man was caught by his men while delivering a letter out of the city and all the survivors were killed without hesitation, he has not shown any trace.
Anyone who can remain dormant and patient like this is probably not a simple person.
Xiao Yan thought about all the officials in the court, both high and low, and carefully investigated the backgrounds and identities of some people who had access to key government officials, but he couldn't find anyone he could suspect. This was what surprised him the most.
If it weren't for the intercepted letters sent to Fengcheng in the northwest about the changes in the Wei Dynasty, Xiao Yan would have once suspected that he was overthinking.
Tang Ning could sense Xiao Yan's rare anxiety and put his arm around his waist, "Don't worry, brother. Since we're in the capital, we'll reveal our identity sooner or later."
Xiao Yan leaned into her hair and hummed softly, a gloomy look appearing in his eyes.
Sooner or later he will find this hiding guy!
The sun was shining brightly outside, and the sunlight made ripples on the water.
The two of them sat in front of the fence, leaning against each other, their long hair tangled in the wind.
Fishes leaped out of the water, and the trees by the lake had already turned yellow, hinting at the bleakness of winter.
After chatting for a while, Xiao Yan suddenly asked about Tang Ning and Xue Ru's visit to several aristocratic families to "read books".
Tang Ning smiled and said, "We've copied quite a bit. At first, A'ru and I weren't very proficient, and the people in the academy also had some trouble cooperating. But we gradually got used to it, and A'ru is becoming more and more proficient now."
"Mrs. Cui from the Cui family seemed to be interested in befriending us and seemed to have noticed what we were doing. Not only did she not tell anyone else in the Cui family, but she even covered it up for us. Later, she even offered to take some of the books out of the Cui family to read slowly if we hadn't finished them."
Mrs. Cui was also an interesting person. After giving them the iron ore, she seemed to have placed all her treasures on them.
When she and Xue Ru came out of Cui's house on the third day, Madam Cui sent two large food boxes full of things, saying that they were homemade snacks. She wanted to refuse them at that time, but Madam Cui forced them into the carriage, saying that it was just a small gift from her.
Tang Ning got on the carriage with a puzzled look on his face. After opening the box, he found that the food box did not contain any snacks, but books.
Those books were different from the ones they saw in the Cui family library. Most of them were selected and treasured by the Cui family in advance and were not allowed to be seen by them. So Madam Cui gave them to them and asked them to take them back to Rongsheng Academy.
After the ecstatic Mr. Tong and his companions finished copying, the person sent by Mrs. Cui to get the "food box" took the contents back to the Cui family openly.
From then on, every time they went to the Cui family, there would be one or two things in the carriage sent by Madam Cui, either wrapped fox furs, or prepared snacks and drinks. They looked like gifts from Madam Cui, but when they were opened, they were all private collections of the Cui family.
Later, Mrs. Cui even blatantly moved boxes into their carriage.
They had run into people from the Cui family several times, and someone had asked what was inside. At that time, Tang Ning and Xue Ru were both sweating coldly, but who knew that Madam Cui remained calm and directly fought back, which made those people from the Cui family so angry that they turned around and left.
Everyone in the Cui family thought that Madam Cui had lost her mind after the Cui family lost power and incurred the disgust of Cui Lin and the head of the Cui family. She wanted to please Tang Ning and get close to Xiao Yan. No one suspected that she had almost emptied the Cui family's wealth and gave it to them.
Originally, Tang Ning and Xue Ru planned to spend a year to see if they could finish copying the Cui family's books, but at the current pace, three or four months would be the maximum.
"Aju and I always bring back quite a few books from the Cui family. Aside from some that are duplicated with the Lu family or are not very important, we don't have to go there every day. The old man and the book boy will copy the books we bring back. We plan to visit a few other families to check so that the Cui family won't really get suspicious."
Treat everyone equally so that Madam Cui won't be put too hard on herself.
Xiao Yan laughed when he heard this: "Mrs. Cui is quite capable."
He pondered for a moment.
"Cui Lin is old enough, it's time for him to step down and let someone else take over. The eldest brother of the Cui family is even worse than Cui Lin. He's been coaxed by the Crown Prince and doing some illogical things behind Liang Guangyi's back. It would be better for the Cui family to let this clear-headed young lady take charge."
There was only one Feng Qiuli among the aristocratic family, so he was still a little weak, not to mention that the iron mine really helped him a lot.
It was worth it for Madam Cui to give up such a big favor and hand over the Cui family to a rational and sensible person.
Tang Ning nestled in Xiao Yan's arms: "Then Madam Cui will surely be happy."
…
As November approaches, it gets dark at the hour of You.
After Xiao Yan accompanied Tang Ning for dinner, Jin Yun came back from outside.
"Master, we've found out. The eunuch who died in the Imperial Kitchen was named Fang Fulai. He used to work for Zhong Sheng and had delivered things to the Grand Empress Dowager's palace on our behalf a few times. Later, Zhong Sheng got into trouble and was caned to death by Concubine Xian. He then took Zhong Sheng's place."
"He originally joined the virtuous concubine's side, and with the Cui family's protection behind him, he was very domineering in the palace. But Cui Lin suddenly met with an accident, which also implicated the virtuous concubine and led to her demotion. His life has become difficult. A few days ago, I don't know who mentioned the old story of the He family, and also mentioned that the He family had a good relationship with the Crown Prince and the deceased eldest grandson of the emperor."
"That Fang Fulai might have heard something he shouldn't have when he was in and out of the Grand Empress Dowager's palace, hoping to take advantage of it. Who knew that when he mentioned it to someone else, the Empress Dowager overheard it and ordered him to be beaten to death on the spot. However, the Empress Dowager also took a liking to the Grand Empress Dowager..."
Xiao Yan's eyes darkened slightly. He naturally knew what the Queen Mother was thinking.
The He family is on good terms with Crown Prince Li, and he is now the former companion of the Eastern Palace and the Crown Prince's best playmate.
Due to Emperor An and his current power, no one dared to mention this matter. However, once someone mentioned it, the old people who were in the palace at that time would definitely guess that he had taken care of the Empress Dowager, and might even suspect that the Empress Dowager had left the palace before.
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