Chapter 421 The Situation in Jinyang Prefecture
Rong Ting is a grateful person. He knows very well that there are not many people in the mansion with whom he can confide.
He is also a filial person.
After Cai Wen Ning finished his worship, Rong Ting helped Cai Wen Ning up.
He didn't let go until she stood firmly.
"I will propose to cancel the engagement with the Cai family. The one who was engaged that day was Wen Qian's daughter, not the daughter of a steward." A murderous look flashed in the corner of Rong Ting's eyes.
Cai Wen Ning originally thought that Rong Ting would be determined to be with Cai Wen Ting.
After all... they are childhood sweethearts.
"Are you willing to give it up?"
Cai Wen Ning was happy in his heart, as long as Cai Wen Ting was trampled into the bottom of the valley.
"I heard that you two were childhood sweethearts."
Rong Ting: ...?
"It was common when I was a child. Later, when I was studying, I followed the young master to travel and study." Rong Ting disdained to explain, but still felt that he should explain.
"Since I was ten, I've only seen him once at the end of last year."
"After my mother passed away, didn't you help her deal with the afterlife? How come I haven't seen Cai Wenting?" Cai Wen Ning said hesitantly, and there seemed to be disbelief in his words.
Rong Ting's eyes darkened.
"Miss Cai Wenting was so heartbroken over Aunt Qian's passing that she fell seriously ill."
Rong Ting had no feelings for either Cai Wenting or Cai Wenning, but he thought he would marry whoever was Aunt Qian's daughter. However...if both of them were Aunt Qian's daughters, he suddenly felt that the girl in front of him who kept testing him had actually aroused his interest.
Cai Wen Ning lowered his eyes.
It turned out that his mother raised an ungrateful person.
She remembered that Cai Wenting was not seriously ill.
Those days.
She had met Cai Wenting at the farm, and she was accompanied by Cai Wenting's biological mother and the old lady of the Cai Mansion.
After the worship.
Cai Wen Ning hurriedly followed Rong Ting back to the city.
She didn't go home, but went directly to Fu's house.
After arriving at Fu Mansion.
Shen Yunyue first gave her acupuncture and moxibustion. "Your cold hasn't healed yet. Why don't you come back to make tea in a few days?"
Cai Wen Ning shook his head.
"Madam, I'm fine. I'll make some tea for you to try first. If it works, I'll make more tea."
Seeing that she insisted, Shen Yunyue did not refuse again.
She likes people who work hard.
Acupuncture is over.
Cai Wen Ning went to the warehouse at the back, where all the tools for making tea were available.
The warehouse is very dry.
There was a bamboo curtain on the ground, covered with a layer of emerald green tea leaves.
Cai Wenning took a closer look at the tea leaves, then chewed them gently. She was surprised to find they were spring tea, which was still about two months away from the earliest picking season.
Tea also has a special fragrance.
Refreshing.
After checking the tea leaves, Cai Wen Ning knew that they were tea leaves from four types of tea trees.
She had a plan in mind.
*
Shen Yunyue arrived at the front yard, where Rong Ting was talking to Fu Xuanheng. "Jinyang Prefecture knows that General Ma's troops have besieged Jinyang Prefecture, but they are not worried about their own safety."
Rong Ting adjusted his sleeves nonchalantly. "No matter how the regime changes, the aristocratic families of Jinyang Prefecture will never fall."
Never take sides.
Whoever wins will be recognized as emperor.
Moreover, aristocratic families have always been good at negotiating terms with the emperor.
That’s why…
The noble families in Jinyang Prefecture were richer than the emperor, and their family farms and fields were growing larger and larger.
No taxes have to be paid.
Even when a natural disaster struck, the emperor would send people to collect donations. The noble families would only give a few tens of thousands of taels of silver per family as a pretense, and then they would find excuses to ask for some benefits.
Fu Xuanheng will first target the aristocratic families.
There is no need to wait until other places are conquered, as Jinyang Prefecture will be more willing to negotiate terms.
"What kind of person is the current mayor of Jinyang Prefecture?"
Since Rong Ting started working with Fu Xuanheng and others, he has collected a lot of information for Fu Xuanheng.
Hearing this, he pondered for a moment.
Then whispered:
"Jinyang Prefecture says the city lord is in charge, but in reality, it's still the old city lord who makes the decision."
"Now, every important position in Jinyang Prefecture is held by the old city lord's confidant, and the new city lord is the old city lord's nephew. Back then, the Tian family discovered a secret realm, and several old families in Jinyang Prefecture unanimously decided to let the Tian family become the city lord."
"Unless the Tian family refuses to do anything, or unless they do something terribly wrong, the Tian family is the only choice for the city lord of Jinyang Prefecture. However, important matters will be decided by the eight major families together. If things are decided by voting, the Tian family will have two votes."
In this way, including the other seven, there are nine votes.
"The new city lord's father had an accident. Since the new city lord was young at the time, the old city lord took over as city lord. When the new city lord turns 18, the position of city lord will be returned to the new city lord."
Shen Yunyue knew that once people gained power, they would never give it up easily.
After the new city lord comes of age.
The old city lord returned the city lord position to him, but also arranged his confidants to restrain him.
Rong Ting leaned lazily on the chair and said, "We can start with Tian Wenjing, the city lord of Tian."
"He likes to visit Baihua Tower and Qinhuai Tower."
Baihua Tower... ?
Isn’t it the largest brothel in Jinyang Prefecture?
It is said that the top girls there only sell their skills but not their bodies.
"Oh? Sure." Shen Yunyue became interested in Baihualou.
"Baihua Tower is owned by the Meng family, a long-established aristocratic family in Jinyang Prefecture, while Qinhuai Tower is owned by the Lu family."
"The Lu family is not as good as other aristocratic families. They belong to the second tier outside the eight major families."
Shen Yunyue and Fu Xuanheng looked at each other.
Is Qinhuai Tower the property of the Lu family?
Then it must be the property of Lu Zhiling’s family.
"Xiaojiu. Send an invitation to the Lu family and invite Young Master Lu Zhiling to come out for a chat." Shen Yunyue instructed Xiaojiu.
"yes."
Xiaojiu hurriedly retreated to write the invitations.
During the conversation, Rong Ting asked about Shen Yunyue and Cai Wenning. "The Cai family, like the Lu family, is an aristocratic family outside the Eight Great Families. The Cai family is good at managing and utilizing the women in their family to marry into the old aristocratic families among the Eight Great Families."
"Most of them are the wives of illegitimate sons, or the concubines of legitimate sons."
The legitimate wife of a legitimate family is basically chosen from the eight major families.
There are people like Rong Ting, but not many.
"Then I'll use Cai Wenning to stir up trouble for the Cai family."
Shen Yunyue called An Yi and asked him to find out the truth about Cai Wenting and her biological mother.
"Is there anyone from the Cai family marrying into the Tian family?"
"The old city lord's two favorite concubines are both from the Cai family." They may not be the Cai family's direct daughters, but they are also beautiful ones selected from the side branches of the family and brought back for training.
He must be proficient in music, chess, calligraphy and painting.
Needless to say, Cai Wenting and Cai Wenning both knew who the Cai family had chosen.
There are many such things in large families.
Especially the daughters of the side branches are basically used to build relationships. If they can't even do this, then this woman will be abandoned, and her life or death will not be that important.
Shen Yunyue sighed.
In this era, it is not easy to live a wonderful life.
Even someone like Li Weiyang ultimately paid the price of breaking away from her family.
When Rong Ting heard that Cai Wen Ning was frying green tea, he frowned unhappily.
This reckless girl.
He stood up and said, "I'll go take a look."
After he left, Shen Yunyue smiled and said, "Rong Ting will fall into it unknowingly."
Fu Xuanheng didn't care about these things. He only cared about Shen Yunyue. "You only thought about Rong Ting and fell in love with him unconsciously, but you forgot that I already had deep feelings for you."
Shen Yunyue:...?
"You were talking about Rong Ting's affairs, why did you involve us?" She blushed and pushed Fu Xuanheng away.
Fu Xuanheng had a smile on his face and placed Shen Yunyue's hand in his palm.
"Yunyue. If I don't have you in this life, my life will probably be meaningless." Fu Xuanheng gently kneaded Shen Yunyue's soft hands, and the deep affection in his eyes was obvious.
Shen Yunyue pulled her hand away.
"You don't have me, so maybe you're interested in someone else. There are so many beautiful girls in the world, who knows who you'd like?"
"Hahaha."
Fu Xuanheng reached out and pinched Shen Yunyue's lips. "You. You always say things like this to make me angry."
Outside, there is a female slave waiting.
Fu Xuanheng's eyes turned cold, and he picked up a cup and smashed it over.
The cup fell on the slave girl's head, hitting her forehead and making it bleed.
The slave girl lay on the ground.
"Master, spare my life."
Shen Yunyue was puzzled, "What's wrong?"
She knew Fu Xuanheng wasn't someone who would get angry for no reason. "An Er, take her away. Gather all the slaves in the mansion and interrogate her thoroughly."
All the slaves standing by knelt down.
"Please spare my life."
"Please spare my life."
An Er responded, "Yes."
"Master, we haven't done anything wrong." Some slaves hurriedly defended themselves. They thought they were bought to do something shameful.
But he didn't expect that his master only used him as a servant in the mansion.
For slaves, this was a great gift.
They have tattoos on their faces and can't do anything that will show them in public.
Just one day of good times...
Fu Xuanheng's eagle eyes were cold and icy. "Interrogate them carefully. What is their relationship with the Tian family?"
The slave girl whose forehead was smashed had a flash of panic in her eyes. How did she know this?
"yes."
Shen Yunyue's consciousness entered the space and asked Xiao Dugua to exchange some truth pills. If necessary, one truth pill would guarantee that everything would be revealed.
It’s just that truth pills are scarce and cannot be exchanged for too many.
All the slaves were called together by An Er for interrogation.
Not long.
An Er came to report that the two people were arranged by the old city lord Tian.
Fu Xuanheng's eyes were cold, "Old City Lord Tian? I haven't even made a move yet, but he can't wait?"
"In that case, let's go over tonight and give them some gifts." Shen Yunyue likes this kind of old-fashioned family the most. There are many things in the house, and she feels a sense of accomplishment when she puts them away.
In the future, their Yunheng Academy will have many more rare ancient books.
How nice...
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
