There was no such thing as winter and summer vacations in ancient schools. Except for Ma Xiaomi, the other two members of the Ma family were not good at studying. The fact that they had persisted in studying for so long and could barely write and read letters had far exceeded Tian's expectations of them.
After Ma Xiaomai and Ma Xiaodou learned that their father was going to the capital as an escort, the two brothers kept pestering Tian for several days. Tian then discussed with Ma Fuquan and said that these two guys knew that he was going to the capital and wanted to go with him to play, so if they were forced to stay in the school, they would not be able to study anyway.
It would be better to take him to the capital to broaden his horizons. Ma Xiaomai is already fifteen years old and a grown man. He can also help out on the road.
Ma Fuquan made them promise to study hard after returning from the capital, and that he would at least give him the title of Tongsheng in the future. Ma Xiaomai, the fool, immediately agreed and almost bit his finger to write a blood oath, but was only stopped by Tian's clap on the head with a chopstick.
Because the eldest girl looked most like Xiu Gu, Jian Ning wanted Ma Fuquan to bring her along, but this matter needed to be discussed with Ding Youtian. In the morning, she hit Ding Youtian in front of Duan Yu. Although Ding Youtian might not really mind, she still reflected on her behavior afterwards.
How many women become spoiled and disregard men's dignity in front of others because of their favor. Over time, not only will they get used to it and become more and more serious, but men will also gradually develop a disgust for them.
After all this time, the marriage has come to an end!
Perhaps because of Jane Ning's own parents, and because she had seen too many examples of couples turning against each other in her previous life, she is extremely sensitive to maintaining the relationship between couples.
Respect is mutual, so she thought about asking Ding Youtian for his opinion before deciding whether the big girl would come or not.
Just as she had freed her hands, Cai Bo came over and said, "Madam Jian, Mr. Ding asked you to go over and discuss something. I'll keep an eye on this end."
"Thank you so much, Uncle Cai. I'll be back soon."
"Haha, go ahead, I can handle this."
The legitimate daughter of Prince Pingnan's mansion was engaged to his own young master in the past. She was cheerful every day when she saw him, and treated him, the old housekeeper, as an elder. This made Cai Bo very happy, and he smiled so much that all the wrinkles on his face were blooming.
Jian Ning walked to the flower hall and saw that Ding Youtian and Huo Jincheng both looked a little solemn. She asked hurriedly, "What happened?"
Ding Youtian glanced at Huo Jincheng and saw that he had lowered his eyes, so he said, "He went to the palace today. The emperor appointed two concubines for Prince Yong. The concubine is from the Prince of Pingnan's mansion, and the Prince Yong's wife is Miss Fei, the legitimate daughter of Mr. Fei from the Ministry of Rites."
"Just point it out. You scared me, but you thought it was a big deal." Jian Ning had no feelings for Duan Xinyan. Didn't she also like Prince Yong? It was just that she became a concubine like her own mother. She didn't know whether she was happy or angry. Jian Ning was still a little curious and wanted to know.
"Do you know who Miss Fei has been promised to?" Ding Youtian asked her.
"Is the person she promised us related to us? We know each other... Are you talking about Jinyu?" Jian Ning glanced at Huo Jincheng when he mentioned Yang Jinyu.
Ding Youtian would not ask about Miss Fei's relationship with him for no reason. There was only one possibility: it was someone they knew and had a close relationship with. The first person she thought of was Yang Jinyu.
Yang Jinyu's father was only a fourth-rank official in the Censorate, but Lord Fei was a first-rank minister in the Ministry of Rites. It was the Crown Prince who arranged this marriage for Yang Jinyu, and asked the Crown Princess to ask Madam Huo to act as a matchmaker for Yang Jinyu.
"Prince Yong's mother also had a crush on Miss Fei and asked the Emperor privately. When the Crown Prince found out, he asked the Empress to come forward and tactfully inform the Emperor that Miss Fei was engaged to Jin Yu. But the Emperor..."
Huo Jincheng didn't say anything else.
The Emperor, unknowingly, had granted Prince Yong's mother's request. How could he go back on his word? When Lord Fei learned of this, he considered the situation, with Prince Yong on one side and the son of a fourth-rank censor on the other. Besides, Prince Yong's ambitions were widely known at court. Naturally, his heart tilted in favor of Prince Yong.
"Mrs. Fei cried for a long time in front of my mother," Huo Jincheng continued. "When my mother was acting as matchmaker, Jinyu happened to be in Beijing. She met her and was very pleased with her. But now she's asking my mother to cancel the engagement. It's really annoying!"
"Mrs. Huo won't agree?" Jane Ning asked with a frown.
"Of course not."
"Actually..." Jian Ning hesitated for a moment, then said, "Why not ask Jin Yu's opinion first? If he doesn't have feelings for Miss Fei, or if, even if he does, he doesn't insist on marrying her, then there's no need to make things difficult for Mrs. Huo. How can a woman be married to two men? Even the Emperor has to be reasonable."
"My wife!"
"You woman!"
Ding Youtian and Huo Jincheng's faces froze when they heard her words. Jian Ning knew that she had said something wrong, but she was not convinced in her heart. She pretended to be angry and turned her back, then sent a message to Ma Fuquan, asking him to tell Yang Jinyu about this. At the same time, she made up her mind that as long as Yang Jinyu insisted on marrying Miss Fei, she would force Ding Youtian to ask Blind Liu how to make the emperor take back his decision!
"How can you say that so carelessly?" Huo Jincheng glanced at her. He came to see Ding Youtian on the orders of the prince. Yang Jinyu, like him, was the prince's tutor and was on the prince's side.
Miss Fei was going to marry Yang Jinyu, and even if Lord Fei of the Ministry of Rites didn't side with the Crown Prince in the future, he certainly wouldn't support Prince Yong. Therefore, the Crown Prince also wanted him to seek advice from Ding Youtian.
On the surface, he was trying to get rid of Ding Youtian, but in fact, he was targeting Liu the Blind who was behind him.
Blind Liu had followed the emperor in his campaigns since he was young, so he naturally understood the emperor's character better than anyone else.
Ding Youtian told Jian Ning, "Jincheng wants me to go back with him tonight, take Brother Qiu with me, and ask Jinyu. The prince also wants to do his best to help him save this marriage."
"The imperial examination will be held in a few days, so you'd better not go." Jian Ning said to Huo Jincheng, "You don't have to go either. I'll go there tonight and come back overnight."
Ding Youtian immediately agreed, "That's fine, Jincheng. I'll discuss this with my wife. If Jinyu insists on marrying Miss Fei, we'll see what we can do. You can take Man'er and the others back later. You don't have to bring them here. I'll let you know after we've discussed it."
Huo Jincheng didn't know that Jian Ning had a mysterious Baicao Room where she could communicate with Ma Fuquan at any time, so there was no need for Brother Qiu to take them on this trip.
"Okay, I'll go discuss countermeasures with my father."
After Huo Jincheng left, Jian Ning closed the door and pulled Ding Youtian into the Baicao Room. She asked Ding Youtian to help fill an empty wine jug with the spiritual spring water and carry it to the armory. She then told Ma Fuquan to take it away and secretly mark it and put it in her cellar, and then take it out and give it to Qiaofeng.
Ma Fuquan was still in the county. He wrote back to say that he would go back to the town in the evening and look for Yang Jinyu. Ding Youtian thought for a while and asked Jian Ning to ask him to convey a message to Blind Liu.
"But is it about Jinyu?" Jian Ning asked him.
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