Jining Hou's face flushed upon hearing this, and he said timidly, "Looking at Mr. Chen's appearance, he is also a scholar. How can he believe everything he hears? In those years, the children were still young, and we only had Yu'er. Let alone going to Zhending, even if he went to Xishan, his mother was worried about him, so she neglected to go out. How could it be possible that what you said happened?"

But he never mentioned the marriage between the Wei and Dou families.

If Chen Qushui had any hope for the Wei family when he came here, it was gone now. He didn't even need to pretend, his eyes were as cold as a sharp arrow: "My Lord, I'm afraid you are not sincere. I heard that if the He family helps your son-in-law to be crowned as the crown prince, you should give the engagement token with the Dou family to the He family - our Fifth Elder is the Minister of Personnel!"

The Grand Bachelor of the Cabinet was only of the fifth rank, and the Ministers of the six ministries were of the second rank. In order to improve the rank of these Grand Bachelors, they were usually allowed to serve as Ministers of the six ministries concurrently. Whoever served as Minister of a ministry would be in charge of the affairs of that ministry. However, it was impossible for these Grand Bachelors to sit in the six ministries every day, so the Left Vice Minister of each ministry became the person who actually managed the affairs.

The conferment of honorary titles is handled by the Ministry of Personnel's Inspection and History Department.

When Marquis Jining heard this, he shuddered at the thought and cursed Cai Bi in his heart.

How did the Dou family's accountant know about it? Since the Dou family's accountant knew about it, there was no reason why Zhang Jiming and Zhang Xuming didn't know about it. Zhang Jiming and Zhang Xuming had only pretended to be friendly and respectful to their father Zhang Pei. Now Zhang Yuanming had broken the family's shame and asked for the title of heir with the help of external forces. This would only give Zhang Jiming and Zhang Xuming an excuse to brazenly compete with Zhang Yuanming for the position of heir. Even Zhang Pei had nothing to say.

Zhang Jiming married the niece of Marquis Changxing, and Zhang Xuming married the granddaughter of Princess Ningde. How could they be compared to the tiny Marquis Jining Mansion?

If word gets out, the Jining Marquis's Mansion will lose face, but if it results in nothing, wouldn't that be a lose-lose situation for both sides?

He could only bite the bullet and flatly deny: "It's absolutely not true! If Mr. Chen doesn't believe it, we can go to the He family to confront him!"

You, a noble lord, actually want to confront me, a cashier who is like a servant...

Chen Qushui couldn't help but feel sorry for Dou Zhao when he thought that he had been engaged to such a family.

He finally suppressed his anger and pretended to be calm, sighing, "I also think it's impossible, but everyone is telling the story with details, including who the He family invited to the mansion to plead the case and what kind of tea was used to entertain him. I can't help but believe it!"

Marquis Jining tried hard not to take out a handkerchief from his sleeve to wipe the sweat from his forehead, but Chen Qushui changed the subject and said sincerely and apologetically, "However, I did not consider this matter enough. No matter how close the eldest master of the Duke of Jing is to you, he is still your son-in-law. Can the son of another family worship the ancestors of the Wei family? You should consider the eldest master more. Only when the prince is well can the Jining Marquisate prosper, and the aunt of the noble family can use the power of her natal family to help her aunt to be crowned as the prince. No matter where you look at it, it is legitimate and upright for the father-in-law to help her aunt. Even if the two masters of the Zhang family are dissatisfied, they can't blame others. Who said that their wives' families are not helpful? Marquis, don't you think this is the truth?"

Yes! If the He family wants to help Zhang Yuanming get the title of Crown Prince, they will definitely not be able to bypass the Dou family. In this case, why not marry into the Dou family? In the current situation, they can not only gain a reputation for being upright and keeping their promises, but also intervene in the affairs of the Zhang family openly, killing two birds with one stone, and it is much less risky than dealing with the He family.

He nodded: "Sir, what you said makes sense."

"It's not that what I said makes sense. It's that the Marquis is confused by the situation, while we, the bystanders, can see clearly." Chen Qushui changed his sharp tone and said humbly, "Have you ever thought about it carefully? The Duke of Jing is smart and capable. If your aunt is so incompetent, why hasn't the Duke of Jing asked for the title of Crown Prince until today?"

He thought of some of the things Dou Zhao had said to him when he mentioned Zhang Yuanming, and followed the trend.

However, Marquis Jining was moved.

"If my guess is correct, Duke Jing still wants your aunt to be the heir." Chen Qushui analyzed for Marquis Jining, "It's just that he can't find a suitable opportunity because of his wife and sons. Otherwise, why would he drag it on like this! If your aunt keeps quiet and does nothing, maybe things will turn around. But if she uses the power of an outsider to forcibly interfere in the affairs of Duke Jing's Mansion, Duke Jing will definitely not tolerate it, and those relatives will not accept it. Some of them may even follow suit and show their magical powers by any means. By then, Duke Jing's Mansion will be in chaos..."

Marquis Jining could no longer sit still and jumped up: "Right, right! Duke Jing often told me that our aunt is extremely filial, and based on this, she is qualified to be the prince of Duke Jing... But Madam Yuan always quarrels with the Duke, leaving him no where to hide... If the Duke had the same idea as Madam Yuan, the Duke Jing's mansion would have appointed a prince long ago, and there would be no need to wait until today... If the aunt does not take action, then forget it. If she dares to plot for the position of prince, given the Duke's personality, he will never tolerate her..."

The sound of a woman crying could be heard from behind the study.

Chen Qushui pretended not to hear.

Marquis Jining bowed to Chen Qushui and said, "Thank you for teaching me, sir! I cannot thank you enough for your kindness."

"My Lord, please honor me." Chen Qushui bowed his head in return, but the corners of his mouth were raised high.

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Located in Nanxunfang, the most central part of Kyoto, the Ji residence is adjacent to the six ministries, the Hanlin Academy, and the Zhanshi Mansion. From the outside, it looks like a whitewashed wall with gray tiles and two black lacquered doors. But when you walk in, you will find that the three-way, three-room, five-entry residence occupies one-third of Yuhe Hutong.

Sitting in the study room at the southeast corner of the Ji residence, where the scent of magnolia flowers filled the air, Ji Yong looked at the note in her hand, and the corners of her mouth couldn't help but curl up into a happy arc.

He used the title of Crown Prince of Jinggong Kingdom in exchange for an engagement token with Dou Zhao.

Not bad.

Dou Zhao is at least worthy of the title of prince.

He ordered his personal servant to come up and said, "Take my name card with you and let's go to the Jining Marquis's mansion."

It was rare for Zishang to see Ji Yong so happy, so he laughed boldly and said, "Why are we going to the Jining Marquis's Mansion? We are not familiar with those noble families..."

Ji Yong immediately changed his expression and glanced at him coldly.

Zi Shang was so frightened that he trembled and dared not say another word. He hurriedly asked the maid to help Ji Yong change her clothes. He went to Ji Yong's study to get a business card, asked someone to harness the carriage, and accompanied Ji Yong out.

On the way, they met several young men dressed as scholars.

When they saw Ji Yong, they made way for him from a distance.

Ji Yong didn't even raise his eyelids and walked away without seeing anything.

Zi Shang recognized that the leader was Master Min from the Twelve Masters' family, but he didn't recognize the others. They should be Master Min's classmates at the Imperial College.

He smiled at Master Min as a greeting, and then heard someone in the group say unhappily: "Is this your young and successful scholar? Isn't he a little too arrogant? Although we are not as knowledgeable as him, there may still be a day when we can get our names on the list of successful candidates..."

Zishang heard Master Min laugh and said, "Brother Jieyuan, you misunderstood. My cousin is not arrogant, but he is 'only interested in reading the books of sages and philosophers, and he doesn't know the ways of the world.' Don't say that this is the first time you and him have met. Even if you have known each other for a long time and haven't seen each other for a while, he might have forgotten what you look like. For this reason, my cousin often makes jokes, and everyone in our family is used to it. If you have been in contact with him for a long time, you will know that he has never been able to recognize people since he was a child..."

Fortunately, he met Master Min. If he had met Master Yu, let alone explaining for him, it would be good if he didn't instigate others to cause trouble for him.

Zi Shang quickly caught up with Ji Yong and walked out of the gate. Just as he was about to say a few good words for Master Min in front of Ji Yong, he saw a black lacquered carriage covered with green cloth stopped in front of them.

The person who got off the car was Ji Yong's father Ji Qi.

He was in his forties, wearing a scarlet official uniform of the fourth rank with a cloud and wild goose patch. He had a handsome face, a gentle expression, and looked very elegant.

Ji Qi smiled and asked his son, "Jianming, where are you going?"

Ji Yong didn't even blink and said, "I'm going to Yubaoxuan to see if there's a better inkstone."

"Do you have enough money?"

Ji Yongli ignored him and got on the carriage directly.

Zishang quickly answered for him: "That's enough, that's enough!"

Ji Qi did not take it as an offense, nodded, and told them to "be careful."

Zishang nodded repeatedly, bowed hastily to Ji Qi, and climbed into the carriage.

Ji Qi watched their carriage drive out of Daiqiao Hutong and then entered the gate.

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The Mansion of Marquis Jining is located in Yumingfang in the west of the city. The Mansion of Marquis Yan'an, the Mansion of Marquis Changxing, and the Mansion of Duke Xingguo are all located here. Most of the founding heroes of this dynasty also had their mansions located there, so Yumingfang is also jokingly called "the Place of Wealth" by the people of Kyoto.

Ji Yong met Chen Qushui who had just come out of Jining Marquis's mansion at the gate.

He was very surprised.

Chen Qushui was even more surprised and stepped forward to salute Ji Yong.

Ji Yong asked, "Why are you here? Where is the fourth young lady?"

Chen Qushui smiled and said, "The fourth young lady is in Zhending, and she sent me to the Jining Marquis's Mansion to do some work."

Ji Yong frowned and pulled Chen Qushui aside to talk: "What did the fourth lady send you to do?"

Chen Qushui smiled but did not answer.

Dou Zhaoping's calm and almost wise face appeared in Ji Yong's mind, and she felt a little uneasy.

He snorted coldly and said, "Don't think I can't find out. You told me, it just saved me some time."

Chen Qushui smiled politely and said, "I have to be loyal to the person who entrusted me with the task. Please don't make things difficult for me, Master Ji."

Ji Yong sneered and said, "I didn't expect that Fujian Governor Zhang Kai is such a coward, but his staff are such loyal and brave men."

When Japanese pirates attacked Fuzhou, the Fujian governor Zhang Kai abandoned the city and fled. He was beheaded by the Fujian commander-in-chief, Duke Dingguo Jiang Meisun, and his head was hung on the city wall of Fuzhou for three days for public display. Everyone in the court and the country knew about it.

Chen Qushui's face changed drastically, and his expression suddenly became very cold: "Then I'll have to trouble the recorder to find out for himself." As he said that, he flicked his sleeves, got on a carriage next to him, and drove away.