Chapter 241 Winning Over
Seeing that his wife's eyes were bright and she showed no signs of sleepiness, Xu Jinnian lifted her chin with one hand and kissed her.
"If I pass the imperial examination and stay in the capital, I'll see if I can persuade my teacher and his wife to come here."
Sheng An thought it was unlikely: "For the teacher and his wife, the capital is a place of sorrow. If they were willing to come back, they wouldn't have left back then."
Master Jiang was a capable man who rose to the position of Vice Minister of Revenue at a young age. The fact that he was willing to give up everything he had worked hard for over decades and take his wife away from the troubles of the capital shows how much the events of that year had hurt them.
Thinking of this, Sheng An poked the man's chest: "You've been with the Master for so many years, and he's never revealed anything about what happened back then?"
Xu Jinnian's eyes were deep and dark. He pulled her closer to his waist and said, "The Master didn't mention it, but I suspect it's related to Princess Pingyuan."
Sheng An's spirits lifted: "What do you mean?"
Xu Jinnian: "Every time the Master mentions matters of the court, he always brings up the Zhang Princess Mansion in Pingyuan. I suspect that the power struggle of that year implicated the Master and his only child with his wife."
Sheng An's heart sank; it was Princess Pingyuan's residence again!
She had never met Princess Pingyuan, but she had met Princess Shanmin.
The fact that Princess Shanmin was spoiled into this lawless state suggests that Princess Pingyuan's mother is no good person and is likely even more unscrupulous in her actions.
Sheng An suppressed the cruel images in her nightmare, her hand unconsciously tightening its grip on Xu Jinnian's clothes:
"If you obediently listen to the teacher and stay here to study in peace, neither the court struggles nor the power struggles of the imperial court will affect small people like us for the time being."
Xu Jinnian sensed his wife's unease and gently patted her back repeatedly, saying, "Okay."
Before he set off, his teacher called him to his study alone and told him that if he passed the imperial examination with flying colors, he must be wary of the Princess Pingyuan's residence and not be blinded by power and fall into a trap carefully woven by others.
He came from humble origins, merely a top scholar in the provincial examination of Dongjiang Prefecture. Even if he had achieved the highest honors in the imperial examinations, he would not have been worth the efforts of the Princess of Pingyuan's mansion to win him over.
But Confucius was not one to worry unnecessarily; for him to be so vigilant, there must be some hidden reason he was unaware of.
Even though the Master didn't say it explicitly, he could guess what it meant.
The Jiang family of Jinling was not only the most prominent family in Jinling, but also a powerful force among the Jiang family officials in the imperial court.
While Jiang's officials appear to be uninvolved in any partisan disputes, they actually form their own faction, deeply intertwined with other factions, making it impossible to distinguish friend from foe without being involved.
The struggle for imperial power has always been brutal. In recent years, the Princess Pingyuan's mansion has been extending its reach further and further, and it is likely that it has been trying its best to win over the Jiang family faction, but it has never succeeded.
He is a student of the Master, and if he passes the imperial examination with flying colors next year, he will inevitably attract the attention of other factions.
The Master only told him to be wary of Princess Zhang's residence in Pingyuan, which clearly meant that he believed Princess Zhang's residence would target him and then use him as an anchor to pull the entire Jiang clan under its control.
I'm afraid the Jiang family isn't a united front either, which is why the Master is so worried about him.
Xu Jinnian sighed inwardly and held the woman in his arms tightly as her eyelids began to droop.
No matter what, he had to protect An'an and prevent her from suffering the same harm as his teacher's wife.
Sheng An slept relatively soundly that night, and woke up the next morning just as the sun was rising.
I reached out and touched the side; it was already ice-cold.
Sheng An was puzzled. She lifted the blanket to get dressed, but the strong cold air made her shiver several times.
Her hands, which had just taken out the blanket, suddenly turned icy cold. She shivered as she dressed and walked out of the room, only to see the man squatting in a horse stance in the yard.
Compared to Sheng An, who was bundled up like a bear, Xu Jinnian's clothes were much thinner, with only a cotton coat as an outer garment, making him look slender yet robust.
Sheng An ran over with small, quick steps and poked the man's waist and abdomen with her finger.
Yes, as expected, it's rock hard.
When I pinched his thigh again, it felt like I was pinching a steel bar.
Sheng An subconsciously pinched her stomach; each pinch revealed a soft lump of flesh that felt strangely pleasant.
Xu Jinnian let out a soft breath, straightened up, and stomped a few steps to relieve the stiffness in his lower limbs before chuckling and ruffling her hair: "Will you practice with your husband from now on?"
Sheng An quickly shook her head, afraid that if she was a step too slow she wouldn't be able to sleep in: "No, it's cold, I can't get up, don't bother me!"
Seeing how frightened she was, Xu Jinnian couldn't help but chuckle: "Alright, alright, let's not practice."
Hearing his doting tone, Sheng An felt a little embarrassed and retorted:
"I'm perfectly healthy, and unlike you, I don't have to freeze in the examination hall for nine days. There's really no need for me to suffer!"
Xu Jinnian thought about how his wife had hardly ever been sick in the past few years, at most sneezing a few times when it was cold, and he agreed with her words: "Yes, An'an is absolutely right."
Sheng An touched his hand, envying that he was so warm despite wearing so little. She quickly picked up the fur coat that was placed aside, stood on tiptoe, and personally put it on him.
“This place is not like Qingzhou. You need to put on clothes in time after you finish squatting. If you catch a cold, you will suffer, and I will have to take care of you.”
Xu Jinnian obediently listened, looking at her with smiling eyes.
Li Tian went to the kitchen to fetch hot water, and the couple washed up before going to the dining room for breakfast.
Fang Qingzhou and Ye Yunhua arrived early. By the time Tan Zhenlin arrived, breakfast was served. It was all noodles, and it tasted quite good.
Clearly, the cook is skilled at making noodles, so they probably eat noodles most of the time.
After the meal, Sheng An handed Fu Bo two hundred taels of silver notes, which was their food expenses for the past month.
The two hundred taels of silver were for food expenses, enough for the five of them.
The accompanying guards and servants bought their own food outside, otherwise, with so many people cooking, the cook would be exhausted by herself.
Uncle Fu refused to accept it, saying, "Young Master Fang has already given it to me."
Sheng An was not surprised and insisted on giving it to Uncle Fang: "Then consider it as next month's payment, please don't be polite with me."
Upon hearing this, Uncle Fu did not refuse and accepted the silver note with a smile.
After tidying up, the group, carrying their respective gifts, took a carriage with Tan Zhenlin to visit Madam Tan at his home.
Madam Tan and Tan Qingrou received news of their impending arrival early in the morning, and stayed home to wait for them instead of going anywhere else.
As soon as the gatekeeper ran in to report, Tan Qingrou lifted her skirt and ran out impatiently.
When she encountered Sheng An and her group in the courtyard, she called out happily and rushed into Sheng An's arms, hugging her excitedly: "Sister An'an, you've finally come!"
Tan Zhenlin felt jealous and complained to the other three, "Whenever my sister-in-law is around, even I, her own brother, have to step aside!"
Fang Qingzhou and Ye Yunhua smiled but remained silent. Xu Jinnian then spoke up, saying, "Fifteen years of sibling affection is not as good as three years of friendship. You should reflect on this behind closed doors."
Tan Zhenlin: "..."
That damned fox looks all human, but he has a mouth that spews poison at any moment!
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