Prepare
However, to the surprise of both Xu Ruoyan and Pei Jue, nothing unusual happened for the next two weeks. Xu Ruoyan did go to the palace every two or three days, but only to examine Pei Huai as originally planned, and she would be out of the palace soon. Neither Qi Feng nor Pei Huai made things difficult for her.
Could it be that they're overthinking it?
Moreover, within two days of rescuing Madam Guo, the names of Xu Ruoyan became known among the high-ranking officials and nobles of the capital. Then, news spread from somewhere that Xu Ruoyan had joined the Imperial Medical Academy as the Emperor's appointed physician. As a result, in addition to treating the common people at her clinic every day, Xu Ruoyan also made house calls to various families. This kept her extremely busy, leaving early and returning late every day, and she barely had time to exchange a few words with Pei Jue.
Compared to Xu Ruoyan, Pei Jue was practically a free man. Logically, he should have been looking for shops and buyers before the salt he bought in Jiangnan arrived, but because Xu Ruoyan was going on a medical mission and frequently interacted with most of the families in the capital, she took the opportunity to find a home for Pei Jue's salt. In other words, all of Pei Jue's salt had already been pre-ordered before it even reached his hands.
"My wife is truly amazing."
This is what Xu Ruoyan has heard most often lately. Sometimes, it's accompanied by Pei An's affirmative agreement.
"Brother, where did you find your wife? You're so lucky!" Pei An blinked his sly eyes and teased Pei Jue beside him.
Pei Jue didn't reply, but just looked at Xu Ruoyan with a faint smile.
Xu Ruoyan felt a little embarrassed by his gaze, so she looked away, but couldn't help but laugh at Pei An's envious expression.
With the deposit for the salt plus Xu Ruoyan's consultation fee, Pei Jue quickly recouped his investment in salt. Seeing that there was still a lot of money left after repaying Pei An, Xu Ruoyan suggested first moving the whole family to a larger courtyard, then moving her small pharmacy to a larger storefront, and hiring three more doctors to practice medicine in the store, so that patients wouldn't make a wasted trip even if she wasn't there.
Although Xu Ruoyan was extremely busy every day, the sense of satisfaction in her heart was undeniable. This peaceful period gave her the illusion that they were not "rebels" preparing for a rebellion, but simply an ordinary and happy family.
Before they knew it, the imperial examination they had been looking forward to was just around the corner. Two days before the examination began, Pei An sneaked off to his brother and sister-in-law's house to attend their regular meeting.
"Brother, sister-in-law, I'll be gone for at least half a month, so please don't miss me."
Xu Ruoyan's desire to perform kicked in, and she rolled her eyes and scoffed, "What a presumptuous person."
Pei An immediately grabbed Xu Ruoyan's arm and wailed, "Sister-in-law, my brother may not miss me, but you can't not miss me!"
Xu Ruoyan broke down in an instant, laughing as she patted his head: "Don't worry, we'll all miss you."
“That’s more like it,” Pei An said smugly as he sat back down, then complained to Pei Jue, “Brother, the list you gave me is way too long, a hundred people! How many eyes do I need to keep track of them all!”
To everyone's surprise, Pei Jue didn't react, but Xu Ruoyan choked on her tea.
"A hundred?" She didn't even bother to wipe the water from the corner of her mouth, turning her head to look at Pei Jue in shock.
I didn't tell her there were so many people!
Pei Jue very considerately took out a handkerchief to wipe the water droplets from the corner of her mouth, and then said, "Well, I picked the hundred people I felt most confident about."
Pei An added from the side, "Actually, it's not that many. There are a total of four thousand people participating in this imperial examination, and only three hundred will be admitted. If my brother finds someone, it would be good if half of them succeed."
Xu Ruoyan stared wide-eyed in disbelief.
As a science student, she really didn't know how large a metropolitan examination was. She thought that the population in ancient times wasn't large, and it would be good if three or five hundred people came, but who knew that it would be ten times more than she guessed.
"But I didn't see you go to see so many people. When did you do this?"
She turned her head with difficulty toward Pei Jue, looking like a rusty robot.
"Well, apart from a few like Li Siming who have a very high chance of success, I've had the Shadowless Pavilion handle the rest."
"Shadowless Pavilion?" Xu Ruoyan's already gaping mouth opened even wider.
If she remembered correctly, the Shadowless Pavilion was a secret guard organization, right? Sending those black-clad, murderous-looking guards to negotiate with those scholars—won't they really think they're there to carry out an assassination?
Pei Jue seemed to be able to read her mind and said, "The Shadowless Pavilion is not just a secret guard organization; it is more like a complete intelligence organization. Therefore, in addition to those secret guards, there are also many civil officials in the Shadowless Pavilion. They were the ones who went to do things for me this time."
It had only been a little over a year since the Shadowless Pavilion was completely destroyed and rebuilt, and during that year Pei Jue was penniless. To be able to find people and rebuild a highly efficient intelligence organization in such a short time…
Xu Ruoyan looked at Pei Jue with new respect once again.
She felt that Pei Jue was particularly suited to be a slave in the modern world; he would definitely be a high-class slave that every boss would like—hardworking, dedicated, and excellent at his job.
She stared at Pei Jue for a long time, then patted him on the shoulder with a very serious expression: "Brother, you've worked hard."
Pei Jue's expression also turned serious in an instant.
He hesitated for a moment, then said, "No, how could it be..."
He was interrupted by Xu Ruoyan before he could finish speaking.
"Xiao An, I'm counting on you this time."
Pei An hurriedly waved his hand: "It's no trouble for you, sister-in-law. Consider this a valuable experience."
Pei Jue lowered his head and silently swallowed his words.
Then he felt someone step on him.
What are your plans next?
Pei Jue silently pulled his foot back a little, then looked up at Xu Ruoyan and said, "I was thinking that after we deliver that batch of salt, we'll go to Jiangnan again."
"Us?" Xu Ruoyan immediately caught the key word. "Do you want me to come with you?"
Pei Jue nodded: "That's what I'm planning to do."
Xu Ruoyan thought for a moment: "That won't work. It would take a month. How am I supposed to tell Pei Huai?"
Pei Jue sighed: "I didn't know that Madam had been admitted to the Imperial Hospital before I came back, so I didn't think much about it. This matter does need to be discussed."
As soon as he finished speaking, Xu Ruoyan exclaimed "Hey!"
“I can tell him that my senior classmate back home is sick and has no one to take care of him, so I need to go back and stay for a while.”
"What senior brother?"
Xu Ruoyan then realized that she hadn't told them about this, so she explained, "It's like this, when Qi Feng asked me who I learned medicine from, I made up a story and said that I had a master in my hometown, but he has passed away."
Upon hearing her words, the two brothers standing nearby suddenly realized that something was amiss.
Pei Jue was pondering to himself. He only knew that his wife was the daughter of a poor family, and that they had sold her because they couldn't afford to eat. Zhu Ying also told him that she bought Xu Ruoyan only because she was the lowest priced, and there was no other reason.
When did she learn her martial arts and medical skills, and from whom?
The two brothers exchanged a glance and tacitly suppressed their doubts.
Xu Ruoyan didn't notice anything unusual about them and continued talking to herself, "Since we've already made up a master, why not make up a senior brother too? If he still won't let me go after I've said all this, then I'll just run away."
“But,” Pei An couldn’t help but say, “Qi Feng will definitely send someone to investigate, and he might even send someone to follow you.”
Xu Ruoyan shrugged indifferently: "Just have the guards take care of it."
That's one way to do it.
"Let's leave it at that for now. We'll set off after the imperial examination," Pei Jue said.
"Hey, wait a minute, you still haven't told me what we're going there to do."
Pei Jue reached out and tucked a stray hair behind Xu Ruoyan's ear, then picked up the teapot and filled the teacup in front of her.
Pei An turned his head away with a look of disgust, making "tsk tsk tsk" noises all the while.
“Our purpose in going this time is not to bring in another batch of salt, but mainly to make contact with local forces,” Pei Jue said calmly, putting down the teapot. “If we want to fight against Qi Feng, we need soldiers, and they can’t be those temporary soldiers who were brought in to fill the ranks. We must give them special training.”
“Jiangnan is an important area monitored by the imperial court, right?” Xu Ruoyan couldn’t help but frown. “It might be difficult for you to make things happen there.”
"Does Madam know about Li Wen, the Grand Secretary of the Hanlin Academy?"
Pei An immediately interjected, "I've already introduced her to my sister-in-law!"
Pei Jue nodded: "Song Mingyang, the prefect of Yangzhou, used to be a student of Li Wen with me, and we were on good terms. Since Pei Huai took office, he has been dissatisfied with Pei Huai's style. In addition, he has good relations with the surrounding prefectures. As long as we can get his help, nothing else will be difficult."
Pei An slammed his hand on the table and let out a long "Aww!": "The economy in Jiangnan is very developed, so the power of the prefectures is generally very strong, let alone a large prefecture like Yangzhou. Brother, are you trying to take advantage of their existing power?"
"Yes. And it's not just about their existing forces. If we want to recruit soldiers ourselves, we need a place to settle them. This place can't be too small, nor can it be easily discovered. This requires the help of local forces."
Xu Ruoyan leaned back in her chair, tilting her head back as she listened to their discussion, then let out a long groan: "Why is this so difficult—"
Pei An couldn't help but laugh out loud: "There aren't many things that my sister-in-law finds difficult."
Pei Jue immediately replied, "Yes, that's my question. Thank you for your help, Madam."
Xu Ruoyan no longer wanted to talk to them.
“We can discuss what happens after we go to Jiangnan later,” Xu Ruoyan sighed. “The most important thing now is to pass the imperial examination.”
“Oh, right,” she suddenly remembered something and looked at Pei Jue, “Since you are a student of the Grand Academician of the Hanlin Academy, could you ask him to make an exception and arrange some positions with real power for our people?”
“That’s one way,” Pei Jue said. “I know my teacher very well. He’s always been upright and honest. Maybe we can try to win him over.”
Xu Ruoyan then turned to Pei An: "Then it's up to you now, Xiao An."
"Don't worry, sister-in-law," Pei An patted his chest and said, "No matter how difficult it is, I will complete the mission!"
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