Chapter 61 Chapter 61 Sir, what’s wrong with you!
It was near the Dragon Boat Festival, the great festival marking the beginning of summer. Temples and Taoist temples were busy sending memorials to donors and pilgrims, while ordinary people were busy hanging mugwort to make sachets and wrapping rice dumplings with realgar.
There are also many people who use connections to send holiday gifts, especially those from families of high-ranking officials.
At the residence of the newly appointed Grand Secretary Liu, the hallway, aisles and corridors were filled with festival gifts from people. Of course, there were rice dumplings suitable for the occasion, but also things like borneol and musk, famous teas and fine wines, jade ruyi and golden Buddha statues, and engraved screens... It was a dazzling sight.
After a day of meeting guests, Mrs. Qin did not seem tired at all. Instead, she looked even more energetic, and her whole body exuded an excitement that had nowhere to vent.
It’s better to be the wife of the Prime Minister. There is only one word difference between the second prime minister and the first prime minister, but there is a world of difference between them.
Mrs. Qin leaned comfortably on the couch, admiring the long gift list in her hand, and the smile on her face became more and more intense.
So what if I am not valued by my family? I am now the wife of the Prime Minister, and there will be people who will come to curry favor with me.
Suddenly her gaze paused and she gradually sat up straight.
"Prince Ning's Mansion?" She pointed at the gift list, very surprised. "Who came to the palace? Why didn't I see them?"
The housekeeper replied, "It was a housekeeper who came. He said he didn't want to bother you any further, so he put his things down and left."
Mrs. Qin stared at the gift list in confusion.
The emperor has always been averse to close contact between court officials and vassal kings. Should he accept this gift?
The Dragon Boat Festival is here, and the imperial tributes from various princes have arrived one after another. It is only natural for Prince Ning to escort the imperial tributes to Beijing and say hello to the newly appointed Prime Minister on the way. It cannot be considered as too close contact.
Prince Ning is the emperor's brother from the same mother. He strongly supported the emperor's ascension to the throne and has a good relationship with the emperor.
It seems inappropriate for the master to be so disrespectful to the prince right after taking office.
Looking at the gifts again, they were just fresh fruits like peaches and bayberries. Only the bird's nest and snow fungus were acceptable, but they were not worth much. It would seem petty to return them.
Madam Qin then instructed the steward to prepare six similar return gifts and send them to the place where Prince Ning was staying.
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When Prince Ning received the return gift, he was very surprised, "Is it really sent by the Liu family?"
The old attendant said, "I was also puzzled. I looked at it over and over again. It is indeed a name card from the Liu family, but it is not from Lord Liu. It was sent by his wife."
Prince Ning was very puzzled. "I have no friendship with them. They are being so attentive to me for no reason. This is strange."
The old attendant said, "These gifts are ordinary, not an attempt to curry favor. I think... the deposed emperor once issued an order to reduce the power of the princes, and later the emperor launched an army in the name of opposing this reduction. But the situation has changed, and it's hard to say that the emperor doesn't have the intention to reduce the power of the princes. A new official takes office with three major changes, so perhaps Lord Liu is here to test the waters."
Prince Ning pondered for a moment and said, "When I came here, my father also asked me to take a good look at the situation in the capital. I was just worrying that I wouldn't have the chance, but he has come to me. In this case, let's meet this Prime Minister."
"To send an invitation, use..." He paused, then said with some annoyance, "I didn't bring any female relatives this time, so I really don't know whose name to use to send the invitation."
The old attendant smiled and said, "Just write anything you want. It's Elder Liu you want to see, not his wife. Similarly, it's Elder Liu who wants to see you. Once the invitation arrives, both parties will know what's going on."
Prince Ning also smiled and quickly wrote the invitation.
Soon, the invitation was delivered to Mrs. Qin.
"Invite me to a gathering?" Mrs. Qin's first reaction was to refuse, but when she saw the sincere and heartfelt respectful words on the invitation, she could no longer suppress the pride in her heart.
She decided to go to the appointment.
"Should we ask the master? This involves the palace, so we'd better be cautious." The housekeeper said hesitantly, "When we went to return the gifts the other day, my boy found out that Prince Ning didn't bring any female relatives to the capital. Who is this 'Selected Consort Hu' mentioned in the invitation?"
Madam Qin was displeased when she heard this. "Who do I need your approval to see? Are you the master and I am the master?"
The mother in charge knew that she had offended him, and she secretly groaned in her heart, but kept saying that she knew she was wrong and didn't dare to do it again.
Madam Qin refused to let her go and snorted coldly, "You 'old servants', relying on your service to the old master and the old lady, are all acting more arrogantly than your masters."
"When I first came in, you all secretly laughed at me for being the daughter of a military commander, saying that the Qin family's background was shallow and not as good as your century-old family, and that I was unworthy of your elegant and graceful son. You repeatedly tried to trip me up, both openly and covertly. Now that the old lady and the old man are only a few years old, and my son is about to get married, you still dare to act so arrogantly!"
These words were so harsh that the housekeeper turned pale with fear and knelt down to kowtow.
Madam Qin glanced at her from the corner of her eye. "I'm the daughter of a military commander, but I'm also the daughter of a founding hero. Not only am I the head of your Liu family, but I'm also a royal relative, the current niece! Prince Ning is my uncle, and the Prince of Ning is my cousin. Not only can the Prince's concubine pay her respects to me, but even if I meet Prince Ning, no one can say 'no'!"
The housekeeper didn't dare to say anything. She just lowered her head and kept saying that the old slave was wrong.
Mrs. Qin told her to get out.
Even the most respectable old mother was covered in dust and received a severe scolding. Even if the others felt something was wrong, they did not dare to say anything.
In the afternoon, Mrs. Qin went out with the invitation.
The housekeeper hesitated for a long time, still worried, so she asked her son to deliver a letter to the master, repeatedly reminding him: "Be sure to see the master and tell him in person."
"You have been scolded by your mother. If you continue to meddle in the mistress's affairs, you will be sent away from home." The boy didn't want to care, but couldn't stand his old mother's scolding and pleading, so he had to go to find Lord Liu reluctantly.
Wu Yong, who had been keeping an eye on the Liu family's movements, saw this and sighed: Oh my God, the adults have predicted everything!
He flashed and continued with his next move.
Less than half an hour later, the boy appeared in front of the palace gate.
The guard at the gate heard his purpose and asked him to wait outside.
After a while, a young eunuch came out and said to the boy, "Lord Liu is busy in front of the emperor and is not available. What do you want to say to me?"
The boy murmured, not knowing how to start. But seeing the eunuch's increasingly impatient expression, he said anxiously, "My wife has an emergency. Please tell my master to come home quickly."
The young eunuch snorted, indicating that he understood.
In fact, Liu Fang had no escort at all. He was busy in Wenyuan Pavilion when a young eunuch suddenly rushed in with an anxious look on his face. "Your Excellency, someone has come from your family. Your wife has suddenly fallen ill and is now in Ningxi Garden. Please come over as soon as possible."
Liu Fang was horrified and threw down his pen to leave. Just as he stepped over the threshold, he turned around and said, "Call the person in to answer the question."
The young eunuch said, "Don't make it difficult for me, Lord. This is Wenyuan Pavilion, not a place where servants from other families can enter. If you want to come in, please allow me to ask for instructions from Chief Steward Lu."
As soon as the young eunuch uttered his first words, Liu Fang realized that he had been reckless and said, "I was so anxious that I lost my composure and didn't realize what I had said."
As he said this, he casually took off the gold ring on his hand and threw it to the little eunuch - these dirty guys have really sharp tongues, and you have to be on guard against them.
Sure enough, the young eunuch's face was full of smiles. "What are you talking about? I can't take responsibility for it."
Liu Fang hurried to the palace gate.
The boy is still waiting.
Liu Fang asked, "What acute illness did Madam suffer? How is her condition now? Why did she want to go to Ningxi Garden?"
The young man glanced at the guards around him, not daring to speak directly, so he replied, "I didn't go with the Madam. I don't know what happened. The Madam received an invitation this morning from a cousin from her mother's family, asking her to meet at Ningxi Garden."
Then he complained on behalf of his old mother, "My wife insisted on going, and my mother tried to dissuade her from going. She was even scolded and almost kicked out of the house."
Liu Fang felt uncomfortable hearing this, and since the boy kept calling her "cousin from my mother's side", he mistakenly thought that the servants were spreading gossip about the lady, and his face immediately darkened.
"Madam, do you need to ask your mother for permission to go somewhere? The master won't listen, and you still dare to complain behind her back. Madam respects you, but you are respecting a bunch of ancestors."
Well, after another setback, the boy lowered his head, curled his lips and stopped talking.
Liu Fang got into the sedan chair with a cold face and said, "Let's go to Ningxi Garden."
The sedan chair drove away. The boy was stunned for a moment, then suddenly came to his senses: He clearly said he was going home, so why did the master go to Ning Xi Garden? That's not right, he never mentioned the three words Ning Xi Garden when he asked someone to pass on the message!
Cold sweat streamed down his forehead. It was definitely too late to chase after him now. His mother had also told him not to make a big deal out of it. The boy was so anxious that he almost fainted.
In a hurry, he thought of his own son. The Hanlin Academy was outside the Meridian Gate, so he ran over.
Unfortunately, Liu Jinshu was accompanying the emperor in the palace!
After much pleading, Liu Jin's book finally came out.
The boy no longer dared to speak ambiguously. He ignored the presence of outsiders and whispered the story, his lips white as he said, "I don't know how the message got misspoken. Sir, is the master okay?"
Something must be wrong. It is impossible for Prince Ning to send a holiday gift to his family. It is obviously a trap!
Who set it up and what did he want to do?
Liu Jinshu tried his best to suppress his pounding heart. He thought carefully again and again. There was only one person who had the ability to bribe the palace servants, had the courage to pretend to be a servant of Prince Ning's Mansion, and had some grudges with his family. That person was Chen Ling'an!
But he couldn't understand. It was Chen Shao who had a grudge against Chen Ling'an. The Liu family had never harmed his family and had also cut off ties with Chen Shao. Why did he target his father?
Because I can't forget Xiaoman?
This is too far-fetched. Although Chen Ling'an is petty, he would not frame his father for this. Even if he feels uncomfortable, he should be against himself.
Liu Jinshu let out a long breath. There was no time to think about why Chen Ling'an did this. The most important thing was to rescue his father.
He didn't take the sedan chair either. He ordered someone to bring the horse and told the boy, "Go buy two pounds of soybean flour right away and send it to Ningxi Garden as quickly as possible. I'll wait for you there. The sooner the better."
After saying that, he jumped on the horse, squeezed his legs together, and the horse shot out like an arrow and disappeared in the bright sunshine.
Ningxi Garden.
As soon as Liu Fang entered the room, a man dressed like a shopkeeper came forward anxiously, "Excuse me, is this Lord Liu? Your wife has taken medicine and is feeling better now. She is resting on the second floor. I'll take you upstairs."
Liu Fang was thinking about his beloved wife, so he went upstairs without any suspicion.
In the private room on the second floor, a hint of mockery appeared on Chen Lingan's lips.
"Sir, do you want to..." Wu Yong made a gesture of arrest.
"Wait a little longer." Chen Ling'an stared at the wall next to him. "I thought Liu Fang would come out right away, but he actually sat down. Interesting."
Wu Yong understood and leaned against the wall quietly listening.
Unfortunately, the walls of this restaurant are too thick and I can’t hear anything.
Chen Ling'an frowned, stood up and walked out without waiting.
Wu Yong immediately opened the door and shouted in a low voice: "Action!"
Unexpectedly, a figure flashed in front of him and a package of something was thrown towards him. Wu Yong drew his knife and chopped it across. With a puff, the paper package exploded and yellow dust flew all over the sky, instantly covering the two of them.
"Pah!" Wu Yong touched his face and smacked his lips. "What's that? It's so sweet. Eh, soybean flour?"
I heard heavy breathing behind me, as if someone's neck was being strangled and was using all his strength to desperately take a last breath of air.
Wu Yong turned around to look, his face pale with shock, "Sir, what's wrong with you?"
Chen Ling'an pointed at the door next door, his throat made a terrible gasping sound, his face flushed, and his body fell down bit by bit.
The door next door was still closed. In a restaurant of this size, the private rooms all had secret doors, which were convenient for escape in an emergency. This was also the reason why Prince Ning chose this place.
Wu Yong didn't care about arresting him anymore. He hugged Chen Ling'an tightly, and his voice was filled with tears. "Help, help, help!"
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