Chapter 658: Is It Related?

Not to mention Rongchuan, he had kept his head down during the palace examination, and now that he felt the prince's gaze on him, his heart tensed up.

The Crown Prince looked at his third uncle out of the corner of his eye. This man was not the kind of person who would look for trouble. Today he not only invited Zhou Changlian, but also Zhang Rongchuan. This was interesting. During the palace examination, his father had paid special attention to this young man. After the examination, his father called his third uncle into the palace, saying that he was going to play chess. Who was he kidding!

He was not idle yesterday either, and had already found out everything he wanted to know, including a man called Shen Yang, whose family background was too clean. Zhang Rongchuan was even more interesting, being the child son-in-law raised by Zhou Shuren as his son.

Ning Xu knew that the prince would not come here for no reason. Seeing that the prince was paying attention to Rong Chuan, she said, "Prince, I will ask the butler to send them away."

The prince looked away, "Yeah."

Chang Lian and Rong Chuan heaved a sigh of relief after leaving Ning Hou's Mansion. They thought to themselves that the prince was worthy of being taught by the emperor himself. He said nothing and they dared not even breathe.

Back in the carriage, Chang Lian opened the box sent by the Marquis and was surprised, "Is this an ancient book?"

Rongchuan also opened his box, "Mine is a calligraphy copybook."

Chang Lian carefully opened it and was shocked. "This, this is too precious."

Rongchuan carefully put away the copybook. Lord Ning had investigated him thoroughly, even his preferences were clear to him. He felt bad being investigated, but he couldn't let go of the box. This was something that no one who loved calligraphy could give up. He was happy in his heart, thinking to himself that since it was given to him, he would not return it.

Chang Lian closed the box, feeling somewhat anxious. "This ancient book is hard to come by even if you have money. If I sell it, it will cost me all my family fortune."

He has worked hard to collect books for several years, but it is still not enough to buy the ancient book in his hand. It is very sad to think about it.

Rong Chuan no longer thought about the calligraphy, "From what I can see so far, Lord Hou has no ill will towards me."

Chang Lian's mouth twitched, and he pointed at his box and at what Rong Chuan was holding. "If these are malicious, I hope there will be more malicious intent."

Rongchuan chuckled and felt a lot more relieved.

Chang Lian held the box, feeling emotional. It seemed that Rong Chuan was from a high-ranking family, otherwise, he wouldn't have given him such a large sum of money after just the first meeting. Then he became worried about the girl again.

In Ning Mansion, the prince ate fruit and drank tea, and did not wait for his third uncle to speak. Well, if he did not speak, his third uncle would not say anything. "Third uncle, who is Zhang Rongchuan? Father summoned you to the palace not to play chess, but for Zhang Rongchuan. Zhang Rongchuan is a bit like grandpa and second uncle. He can't have any relationship with the Ning family!"

Ning Xu was silent. Look, the prince's reactions were all related to Ning Mansion. "Is this what the prince is asking today?"

Prince, "Ah, not really. I just wanted to ask this question when I saw Zhang Rongchuan. Third uncle didn't answer directly. It seems that Ziwu's guess is correct?"

Ning Xu was unsure how much the prince knew about the emperor's plan, but if she didn't tell him something, she was afraid that he would investigate blindly. "It is indeed related to Ning Mansion. I will investigate this matter thoroughly."

The prince was surprised. Forget about the eldest uncle, who had passed away many years ago. Could it be the second uncle? The third uncle was also possible, or a relative who was still alive in Ning Mansion?

At Zhou Mansion, Zhulan saw the gifts sent by the Marquis Mansion and said calmly, "Take them."

Chang Lian looked at his mother and always felt that she knew something, but he couldn't tell what she knew. He was depressed. He thought he was very smart, but he found that his mother was still his mother and would always be more capable than her.

Zhulan waited for Chang Lian and the others to leave, and continued to embroider the purse. This was for Changzhong. The temperature outside was high, and Changzhong would not stay in the house anymore. The purse was broken yesterday, so Zhulan wanted to make a new one for her son.

Mrs. Song couldn't help but ask, "Madam, aren't you worried?"

Zhu Lan didn't even raise her head. "What are you worried about?"

Mrs. Song said, "Miss."

Zhu Lan raised her head, "You know more than me. You also saw that such a valuable gift was given right away. Why should I worry? Fortunately, the Zhou family has always been kind to Rongchuan. I hope that this kindness will not affect the relationship between Rongchuan and Xuehan."

Although she said this, Zhulan really didn't want her daughter to marry into the royal family. Although she would be rich, her and Shuren's plans for Xuehan had come to nothing. She and Zhou Shuren had no power over Xuehan's future. It was really terrible.

Moreover, if the marriage fails, it will be a big blow to Xue Han. Xue Han and Rong Chuan grew up together, so she knows everything she needs to know. It will not be good for Xue Han's future.

Now both results have their pros and cons. Now things are really one after another. However, at present, since Chang Lian has sent expensive meeting gifts, it can be seen that he has a good impression of the Zhou family. Maintaining the marriage will bring more benefits than disadvantages to Xue Han.

Mrs. Song remained silent. She just felt sorry for the young lady. She was such a smart and intelligent person, and she hoped that there would be no setbacks in her personal life.

Chang Lian returned to the courtyard and told his wife his conjecture, only to see that his wife continued to play with the girl. "Madam, why don't you react at all?"

Mrs. Dong threw the ball of fur in her hand to the other side of the bed. When she saw her daughter crawling to get it, she replied, "It sounds like this is not something we should worry about. Anyway, we have our parents here, so we just need to take care of ourselves. Instead of worrying about it, why don't you play with your daughter for a while?"

Chang Lian looked at Dong and said, "My lady is right. This is not what I should be thinking about."

Mrs. Dong saw her daughter crawling back, "Yuyi, give the ball to me."

Chang Lian clapped his hands, "Girl, give the ball to daddy."

Mrs. Dong caught the lady who threw her over and kissed her with a smile, "Good lady."

Chang Lian sat aside and said, "I was so focused on the palace examination these days that this girl and I are no longer close."

"It would be good if the kids could spend more time with her."

Chang Lian held his wife and daughter in his arms and said, "You see Yuyi is grown up now, we can have another child."

Dong also wanted it, but unfortunately she never got it. "It all depends on fate."

At the Yaohou Mansion, Bai came to her daughter's room with a list in her hand, "Yao Yao, are you still reading?"

Yao Yao put down the book, "Mom, you're not with your brother?"

Bai was mentally exhausted. Her son suddenly became weak. He went to see the imperial physician and recovered but then the symptoms recurred. Now he could only stay in his room. "Mother is worried about you. You are not young anymore. This is the list your father gave me. I asked someone to check it and selected a few. Take a look."

If Yao Yao hadn't heard the news from her elder brother, she would have read it. But it was meaningless to read it now. "Mom, I won't read it anymore."

Bai's eyes were red, "You and your brother are my biggest worries. Your brother is not getting better. Your father didn't care about him in the first place, but now he has completely given up. I just want you to be fine."

Yao Yao picked up the list and said, "Let me see."

She also looked at what her father had chosen for her. This was not a marriage arrangement, so the idea was set on the candidates for this imperial examination. She opened the list and sneered. He really was taking advantage of her surplus value, and the candidates chosen were all from families with some influence in other places.

She had a bad reputation, and if she really married there, it would be far away from the capital, and no one would care whether she lived or died. It was just a marriage of arrangement after all. Her heart was already cold enough, and now she felt chill in her bones.

(End of this chapter)