Chapter 172 Cousin
As the saying goes, if you lose something in one place, you may gain something in another.
The sense of existence lost in the mansion naturally has to be regained elsewhere.
After the assassins outside the door were defeated by Zhuying and others and committed suicide by biting the poison sac, Ji Changqing ordered someone to report the case to the government office.
The next morning, he told the emperor about his fears with a lingering fear on his face.
"I fear that if he assassinates me today, he will dare to attack me tomorrow. Your Majesty, please investigate and eradicate this law-defying lunatic!"
The emperor was extremely angry.
The last time Spring Hunting was attempted, the assassin used a musket.
The musket was not made by the Ordnance Department, but it was obviously based on the blueprint drawn by the Ordnance Department.
It is 100% certain that Zhao Bixiang stole the blueprints and made it privately.
That evil creature not only secretly made muskets, but also raised a large number of assassins. He openly assassinated important officials of the court in the street, clearly showing off his power to him.
How can I allow others to sleep peacefully beside my bed?
He immediately ordered the Pursuit Division: "Even if you have to turn the entire capital upside down, you must find the mastermind behind this!"
So for several days in a row, people could be seen chasing Sitiqi everywhere in the streets and alleys.
After a thorough search, two strongholds were indeed discovered.
Catch all the shadow guards hiding here.
Unfortunately, the message point has not been found yet.
Ji Changqing guessed that Zhao Bixiang set up the messaging point outside the city, otherwise the frequent comings and goings of carrier pigeons would definitely be noticed by someone and reported to the Pursuit Department.
He adjusted his deployment accordingly and asked Ye Lu and others to focus their search on the outskirts of the city.
Zhao Bixiang was so angry that he almost vomited blood.
All the shadow guards he left in the capital were wiped out!
"waste!"
"waste!"
"It's all garbage!"
He cursed for a long time.
Then he sent a message to the Queen: "Didn't I tell you to kill Ji Changqing and Feng Shi? Why haven't you done it yet?"
After receiving the letter sent by carrier pigeon, the queen sighed deeply.
Yongning has already been involved, and you still blame her for not taking action?
I'm getting more and more irritable.
Knowing that Ji Changqing and Feng were difficult to deal with, he still let the shadow guard die in vain.
She couldn't help but wonder if she shouldn't place her hopes on him.
But the Han family has fallen, Yongning has married off, and even if she could find ways to give birth to another prince, it would be of no avail.
There is only one way to go.
She sat down at her desk and replied, "Please be patient, arrangements are being made."
"Second Master, are the people deployed at the academy going to be withdrawn?"
In Qingquan Town, Pei Yunzhan's followers asked their master who had already ordered people to pack their luggage and prepare to return home.
Pei Yunzhan said calmly: "Keep it and let them protect the young lady well."
The attendant received the order and left.
Pei Yunzhan walked to the window and looked into the distance.
At the end of the field of vision is Qingquan Academy, and from his position he can clearly see the scene inside the academy.
Pei Minru was leading a group of children to paint the flowers and plants in the courtyard in the morning light.
The old servant led his two "nephews" and the "craftsmen sent by the gentry" to repair a corner of the kitchen that had been burned.
The "woodcutter" carried the neatly chopped firewood into the woodshed with familiarity.
The couple selling pancakes stood at the gate of the academy as usual, selling pancakes that no one bought.
He knew that these people had different identities, but he didn't know who they belonged to.
He also had no idea of the origins of the masked man in black who broke into the academy that night and took the assassin away.
He only knew that Pei Minru had deceived him and his father.
——She didn’t come back to teach, but to serve as bait.
When he questioned Pei Minru why she would cooperate with someone with ulterior motives and put herself in danger, she simply replied, "I know what I'm doing."
He was greatly disappointed.
The sister who used to call him along even when going out to appreciate flowers and relied on him for protection seemed to have become a completely different person during the years when he was traveling.
She was no longer gentle and respectful, no longer trusted her family, and no longer negotiated with others.
Instead, he is unruly and rebellious, preferring to rely on people with ulterior motives rather than on his second brother.
Was it because he knew nothing about her being abused by Zhao Bixiang and failed to help her?
Or was it Feng who bewitched her?
He didn't know.
But he wanted to find out.
She has experts protecting her, so she doesn't need him. It would be useless for him to stay in Qingquan Town. It would be better for him to return to Beijing and investigate Feng's family thoroughly.
After retracting his gaze, he walked out of the inn room, went downstairs, got into the car, and started his journey home.
When he arrived in Beijing, some people also arrived at their destinations.
"Excuse me, my name is Bi Yue'er, and I'm your old lady's cousin."
In front of the gate of Ji Mansion, a young girl with an oval face informed the doorman.
The concierge was stunned.
The old lady has cousins?
It was the first time he had heard of it.
"Wait a moment, girl."
He asked Shunzi to pass the message to the inner courtyard.
When Qi learned about this, she was also stunned.
"Where did my cousin come from?"
Could it be a relative of Marquis Wenyuan’s Mansion?
But she had severed all ties with the Wenyuan Marquisate, and the Wenyuan Marquisate had been stripped of its title and its property confiscated. Why would someone come to her door?
Feng Qingsui smiled and said, "Mom, you'll know once you see her."
Qi nodded.
He immediately ordered the maid: "Bring the person here for me to see."
The maid obeys the order.
Soon, the girl named Bi Yue'er was brought to her.
"Hello, cousin. I am the granddaughter of your aunt's brother."
Bi Yueer bowed respectfully.
Qi was stunned.
Her aunt was originally the daughter of a small family, and her family had made a living by running a restaurant for generations.
My aunt's parents died early due to illness, and the restaurant was passed on to my aunt's eldest brother early on.
This big brother was originally an honest and decent person. However, after taking over the restaurant, perhaps because he made too many friends with bad habits, he gradually became addicted to gambling.
Therefore, he incurred huge debts.
Not only did he mortgage the restaurant, he also sold his sister to the then prince of Wenyuan as a concubine.
Even so, the hole could not be filled, and he was forced to flee Beijing with his wife and hide from place to place.
Less than half a year after her aunt entered the mansion, she received the news of his death.
He drowned in a pond in his hometown outside Beijing.
It is said that the misfortune came about because he fell into the water while trying to steal fish.
"…Just as my grandmother became pregnant, something happened to my grandfather."
Bi Yue'er said with red eyes.
"My grandmother had no choice but to return to her parents' home. Her parents found her another marriage and asked her to abort her unborn child and remarry. My grandmother couldn't bear to let her go, so she kept it a secret. That's how my father was born."
"My father and mother had two sons and one daughter. My eldest brother inherited the Bi family's fortune. My second brother was idle and wanted to send me to be a concubine in order to curry favor with the rich and powerful."
"I don't want to be a concubine, but that family is quite important and the Bi family can't afford to offend them. My grandmother knows that my cousin is now prominent, so she asked me to come to you, my cousin, to seek shelter."
Feng Qingsui felt that the wording sounded somewhat familiar.
Wuhua whispered in her ear, "Madam, the family you first wanted to go to also had a concubine with a brother who died young and a sister-in-law who remarried. You wanted to pretend to be that concubine's niece."
Feng Qingsui: “…”
It turns out she had made it up.
No wonder it sounds so familiar.
Could this cousin be fake too?
Qi was probably also suspicious and did not immediately acknowledge him. Instead, she asked, "Is the Bi family in the capital?"
Bi Yueer replied, "Exactly. My family runs a pawnshop, the Hengchang one in the west of the city."
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