After the Dragon Boat Festival, the footsteps of midsummer are here. At noon, the wind blows the bamboo waves, making a sound, and the tireless cicadas sing repeatedly outside the window. Accompanied by the rustling of pages, a soothing and warm voice echoes: "Confucius said: While parents are alive, do not travel far, and if you travel, you must have a plan. This sentence means that while parents are alive, you should not leave your hometown far away. If you have to leave home, you need to settle everything properly."

The student paused, his thoughts drifting uncontrollably, winding through a long time, and landing in a school that had already been dismissed. The fifteen-year-old girl held her chin with her hands, her eyes bright, and asked in a soft voice: "Little teacher, where is your hometown?"

He raised his head from the pages of the book and replied with a smile, "My hometown is far away from the capital. Even if I take a carriage, it will take several days and nights to get there."

The girl tilted her head and thought for a long time, but she couldn't figure out how far the place was that would take days and nights to walk to, so she asked, "What is your hometown like?"

He slowly put the book down, turned his gaze toward the window, and drifted into the distance. "There aren't as many people there as in the capital. Because of wars, many people moved elsewhere. But there are still a group of people who stayed there, because there you can see the most beautiful sunsets, the most magnificent mountain views, and the shadows left by eagles flying over the city walls."

The girl was deeply moved by the scenery he described, her face full of longing, and then she said with some frustration: "I have never been to Wanxiang Mountain in the capital. I am afraid that I will never have the opportunity to see such a beautiful scenery in this lifetime."

He withdrew his gaze and gently fell on her face. After a while, he said softly, "Wanwan, when you grow up, I will take you to see my hometown, okay?"

The girl immediately put on a bright smile and said in surprise: "Really? Can I really go?" This smile reflected in his eyes, but gradually faded with time, and finally dissipated like quicksand, and no trace of it could be found anymore.

"Master? Master?" A few clear calls brought Luo Yuan back to his senses. Xiao Zhixuan sat beside him and waited for a long time without hearing him speak. She poked her head out from behind the screen and looked at him strangely. Luo Yuan had been in the mansion as her teacher for several days. Because Xiao Zhixuan was going to be a 15-year-old next year, in order to avoid suspicion, a flower hall in the courtyard was set up as a school, and a screen was built in the middle.

Luo Yuan brushed off the past in his mind and said with an apologetic smile: "I just heard the sound of cicadas outside and got distracted."

Xiao Zhixuan smiled slyly and said, "I see, Master, you must be sleepy. Why don't you take a nap here secretly? I promise not to tell Big Brother."

Luo Yuan was amused by her and shook his head, but he saw her yawning in annoyance. He guessed that she must be sleepy and wanted to rest, but was too embarrassed to tell him. At this moment, a pair of soft blue boots with gold embroidery appeared in front of the hall door. Luo Yuan quickly put down the book in his hand, stood up and bowed, "My Lord."

Xiao Du looked at the two of them and said with a smile, "So, is my little sister very naughty and difficult to teach?"

Luo Yuan quickly replied, "Miss San is very intelligent and quick to learn. As for her love of playing and being active, it is her nature. In my opinion, there is no need to restrict her too much. Just let it flow naturally."

When Xiao Zhixuan heard the compliment, she pulled Xiao Du and said proudly, "Did you hear that? In the past, those old pedants only knew how to force me to memorize and learn calligraphy. But Mr. Luo has a keen eye and knows how to teach students according to their aptitude."

Xiao Du picked up the book and tapped her head gently, saying, "I was just being polite, but you took advantage of me and climbed up quickly." He saw that Xiao Zhixuan was so embarrassed by his scolding that he shook his head helplessly and said, "Looking at you like this, you can't study now, go back to your room and rest first."

Xiao Zhixuan immediately turned happy and said, "That's great. Thank you, big brother." Then she bowed to Luo Yuan and said goodbye, then left briskly with two maids holding fans beside her.

Xiao Du had someone bring a pot of iced plum wine, removed the screen, and sent away all the servants in the hall. Turning around, he saw Luo Yuan calmly tidying up the books and papers on the table, with an attitude that he knew everything. Xiao Du sat down opposite him and said, "Mr. Luo seems to have been prepared."

Luo Yuan stood up and poured a glass of ice wine for each of them. He put it to his lips and took a sip. He said, "Luo just felt that the Marquis specially invited me to his house, and it must not be just for teaching."

Xiao Du took the wine cup and said calmly, "Then what do you think my purpose is, Mr. Luo?"

"Since the Marquis is unwilling to speak out, I can only make a bold guess. I guess that although Xia Xian was driven back to the capital, Prime Minister Xia would never let it go, and would even be more jealous of the Xiao family army, so he took the risk of assassinating the Marquis on the Dragon Boat Festival. The Xia family has been growing stronger over the past two dynasties, and has key figures in the three books and six ministries. Now the court is controlled by Prime Minister Xia, and the inner court is controlled by Empress Dowager Xia. The current emperor has been on the throne for only two years, so he has to be a little tolerant of them. The only person the Marquis and the Xiao family army can rely on in the court is Wang Shoucheng, the Minister of War. So even though the Marquis has many suspicions about Luo, he still can't help but want to give it a try."

Xiao Du put the wine cup down heavily and said in a somewhat cold tone: "I never thought that a mere Hanlin like you would dare to discuss the affairs of the court in such a presumptuous way. Even if what you said is true, Xia family can cover the sky with one hand, what use are you, a sixth-rank civil servant, to me?"

Luo Yuan said calmly, "In my opinion, the hundreds of thousands of troops of the Xiao family army stationed at Hangu Pass are the biggest bargaining chip for you. And what you need most now is someone to keep an eye on every move in the court and make plans in advance. Although Luo's position is small, he can handle all kinds of imperial edicts and reports from the court, and he is the best person for this matter."

Xiao Du narrowed his eyes, looked at him coldly, and said, "You are really bold. Leaking the secrets of the court is a serious crime of deceiving the emperor!"

Luo Yuan looked back without flinching and said, "If it weren't for this, how could the Marquis really trust me?"

Xiao Du's eyes were filled with more inquiry, and he asked, "Why on earth are you helping me?"

"I have already told you my purpose last time at the farm. Although I am just a small person, I am also a man of courage. I don't want to see the loyal soldiers who defend the country being exploited by the relatives of the emperor. So I am willing to devote my own strength to serve you." He stood up, bowed and said, "Luo has handed over his life and property, it depends on whether you dare to trust me."

Xiao Du stared at him closely, tapping his fingers on the table, as if he was concentrating on thinking about something. The hall suddenly fell into silence, and the cicada chirping in the bamboo forest became clearer. Luo Yuan was not in a hurry, but just strolled to the door, picked a handful of osmanthus flowers, and sprinkled them into the plum wine. The sweet osmanthus fragrance immediately spread, filling the room with a faint fragrance.

Just as the scent of osmanthus was about to dissipate, Xiao Du finally let out a sigh of relief, took out a letter from his arms and handed it to him, saying, "What do you think?"

Luo Yuan knew that this was his first step in trusting her, so he quickly took the letter and read it carefully, then frowned and asked, "Wang Shoucheng wants his sister to be made a concubine?"

"That's right," Xiao Du snorted coldly, and said, "He has been thinking about this for the past few years and has been hinting at it several times. Because of his relationship, we have been very tolerant of Aunt Wang on weekdays. I didn't expect that they are still greedy and want to take advantage of this opportunity to force the emperor to abdicate."

Luo Yuan thought for a while and said, "Do the old marquis and his wife know about this?"

Xiao Du nodded and said, "Dad has always been laissez-faire about this matter. He thinks that the side room is just a title, and they can give it to them if they want it. But Mom's reaction was a little strange. She didn't seem to be too angry. She just said that it was up to us."

Luo Yuan said, "Wang Shoucheng has been promoted repeatedly in recent years. The emperor thinks highly of him and even intends to support him to join the imperial court. With his current status, it will always be a concern for him that his only sister is only a concubine. The old marquis must have taken this into consideration and was willing to agree to his request."

Xiao Du nodded and said, "I shouldn't have any opinion on this matter. I'm just worried that Aunt Wang is relying on her brother's power and has become more and more arrogant. If she is supported as a concubine, I don't know what tricks she will play. At this critical juncture, I don't want anything to happen in the Marquis' Mansion and let outsiders make trouble."

Luo Yuan paused and said, "Now that we are talking about this, have you ever thought about who would benefit the most if you don't have a legitimate son?"

Xiao Du turned his head suddenly and said, "You mean the farm thing?" He thought for a moment, then shook his head and said, "Although my concubine has some tricks, she is not very cunning. She would not dare to do anything to poison the mistress."

Luo Yuan still advised: "Even so, this is a matter of great importance to Madam's safety, so you should still pay more attention to it."

Xiao Du looked at his expression of concern, which was difficult to conceal, and suddenly felt unhappy. He couldn't help but complain in his heart: Do I need you to remind me to care about my own wife? So he waved his hands impatiently and said, "I will naturally check these things, so don't worry about it, Luo Hanlin."

Luo Yuan looked at his expression and knew that it would be overstepping the boundaries if he continued to persuade him, so he could only sigh inwardly and drink the ice wine on the table in one gulp.

The person they were talking about - the new wife of the Marquis's Mansion, Yuan Xi, was sitting in the room looking through the account books of the estate. As she looked at it, she couldn't help but frowning, feeling that something was wrong.

At this moment, the door was pushed open and Rong Xuan ran in in a panic, saying, "Madam, something bad has happened! Come with me quickly!"

Yuan Xi was startled and quickly put down the account book. As he followed Rong Xuan out, he asked, "What happened?"

Rong Xuan seemed to be very anxious, already out of breath, and kept pulling her forward, saying, "It's the Marquis... Madam, follow me and you'll know."

Yuan Xi was flustered by what she said, so she followed her farther and farther, until they came to a secluded corner gate. Finally, she felt something was wrong. When she suddenly stopped and wanted to ask in detail, she suddenly smelled a strange fragrance, and then her head became dizzy and her body fell to the ground.

In the last moment before she lost consciousness, she only vaguely saw Rong Xuan looking at her with tears in his eyes, choking and saying, "Madam, I'm sorry, I didn't mean it, I really didn't know that was..."

She watched Yuan Xi close her eyes, and quickly turned around in panic. Then she suddenly widened her eyes in fear and shouted, "You!"