The wife of Duke Jingguo Zhang Pei, Mrs. Yuan, almost died in childbirth when she gave birth to her eldest son Zhang Yuanming. Zhang Yuanming was born dull and stupid, and as he grew up, he became more and more foolish and fat. Mrs. Yuan found him annoying and preferred their second son Zhang Jiming and youngest son Zhang Xueming. As a result, although Zhang Yuanming was already twenty-six years old, the Duke Jingguo's estate had not yet established an heir, which made Wei Tingzhen very uneasy. Underneath the surface of prosperity and splendor, the Duke Jingguo's estate was actually seething with undercurrents.

  Wang Qinghai was the fourth son of the Ting'an Marquis's manor and also got along well with Wei Tingyu, so he naturally knew the ins and outs of this matter.

  He fell silent upon hearing this and asked Wei Tingyu in a soft voice, "Then what are you going to do?"

  "So I want to hurry back and find my dad!"

  Wang Qinghai's spirit was shaken, and he said: "You're saying..."

  Wei Tingyu's face suddenly turned bright red: "Can't let, can't let Duan Xiaojie be jilted? How will she live then?" He stuttered, his expression somewhat awkward.

  Wang Qinghai burst out laughing and patted Wei Tingyu's shoulder with great force, almost knocking him over: "I knew it, Brother Wei is a real man who stands tall and won't run away with his tail between his legs. Come on, I'll go with you to see Old Master Hou."

  Wei Tingyu nodded and patted Wang Qinghai's shoulder, and the two mounted their horses and galloped away.

  In the flower hall, Duan Zhao was still talking to Chen Qu Shui: "...... Have you ever thought carefully that when the Duan and Wei families broke off the engagement, why didn't they come forward themselves, but instead let the He family come forward?"

  "I think it's probably because the sixth and seventh masters strongly opposed this marriage, and the fifth master didn't want to ruin the relationship between brothers by taking responsibility for it himself. So he passed it off to the He family, which can be seen as a way of letting them know they're in over their heads; at the same time, it's also a way of giving the He family an explanation, so neither side loses face. The real reason is that right now, the fifth master is at a critical moment in his bid for promotion to Grand Councilor, and he can't afford even the slightest mistake - especially not any moral transgressions that his opponents could seize on. That's why the fifth master has been able to compete with Wang Xingyi all these years: because he's always conducted himself with integrity, hastening to do good deeds and earning the praise of his colleagues..."

  Dong Zhao nodded without stopping, smiling: "We must seize this opportunity!"

  "Opportunity?" Chen Quanshui was puzzled: "What opportunity? The matter has already been made public, the Wei family will not return the token to the He family, will they? What would they become? Selling their wife for glory, can the Wei family still stand in the noble circle from now on!"

  "Don't say things so absolutely," Du Zhao said. "I may not know about other things, but I'm very clear about the Wei family's situation. At this time, the Jin Ning Hou Mansion has long been far away from the temple and the royal family, and it has fallen to a second- or third-rate noble family. Not only does it need the support of powerful ministers to get favorable treatment and maintain its gate, but it also needs money to support its increasingly difficult expenses." She paused for a moment, then mentioned Zhang Yuanming: "He is not only the eldest son, but also the oldest, and he has already reached the age of requesting a title. For the He family, this matter is just a trivial matter, and with Wei Tingzhen's help in speaking up, given the love that the old Marquis and his wife have for her, eight or nine out of ten times the Wei family will agree to let Wei Tingyu discuss conditions with the He family regarding Zhang Yuanming's title."

  "In her heart, she looked down on the Wei family even more. She said: 'What does Fourth Miss mean?'"

  "I think it would be best if you, sir, were to personally go to Kyoto and have a good talk with Old Master Wei," said Du Zhao with a smile. "Whether for the sake of appearances or benefits, leaving the betrothal gifts at the Wei household is the most suitable choice. After all, my fifth uncle also has the potential to become a Grand Councilor, and I have a substantial dowry. By doing so, you can also help rectify my fifth uncle's reputation - it's not that our Du family wants to back out of this marriage arrangement, but rather because for so many years, the Wei family has been ignoring this engagement. One bows their head when marrying a daughter-in-law, and looks up when giving away a daughter. Can't have the Du family take the initiative themselves, can we?"

  Chen Qushui hesitated and said: "Tell the Wei family how many properties are under your name?"

  "It's not necessary." Duan Zhao smiled and said, "I'm afraid that when the time comes, I won't be able to get out of it. After all, I am a daughter of the Duan family, and having more dowry than ordinary families is normal."

  She thought of her past life when she married into the Wei family and saw Wei Tingzhen's satisfied expression when he saw her dowry.

  Chen Qu Shui nodded in agreement. Smiling, he said: "I will definitely shift this blame onto the Wei family."

  Dong Zhao chuckled twice.

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  Ji Yong looked at the note in his hand and smiled too.

  The Wei family proposed that if the He family could help Zhang Yuanming request the title of Crown Prince, they would return the engagement token to the He family.

  Not bad.

  Dòu Zhāo was at least worthy of a viscount's rank.

  He couldn't help but curl up the corners of his mouth, and ordered his personal attendant to say: "Bring my name card, we're going to the Jin Ning Marquis's mansion." His tone seemed somewhat excited.

  "Hey, what's going on? Why are we going to the Hou Mansion of Jining? We're not familiar with those noble families..."

  Ji Yong gave him a cold glance.

  The young master was busy and called the maid to serve Ji Yong to change his clothes, while he himself went to Ji Yong's study to fetch a name card, had someone harness the carriage, and accompanied Ji Yong out of the door.

  They lived in the Ji family's mansion in Kyoto Gongzhong, located in Nanxunfang, the most central part of Kyoto. The Liu Bu government office, Hanlin Academy, and Zhan Shi Fu were all here. The three-room, five-advance, three-road mansion occupied one-third of the Yuhetong alley, with a very majestic atmosphere.

  In the main hall they met several young men dressed as scholars.

  When they saw Ji Yong, they made way for him from a distance.

  Ji Yong didn't even raise an eyebrow, and with a dismissive glance, he walked away.

  The son recognized that the leader was Mr. Min from the Twelfth Old Master's house, and the others were unfamiliar, probably classmates of Mr. Min at Guozijian.

  He smiled at Master Min, which was a greeting, and then he heard someone in the group say discontentedly: "Is this your family's young man who achieved great success as a top scholar? He's also too arrogant! Although we may not be as knowledgeable as him, it doesn't mean that we won't have our own day of being on the golden list..."

  "Brother Jieyuan, you've misunderstood. My younger brother isn't arrogant, but rather 'with a single heart devoted to reading the classics, and two ears that don't hear external affairs', he doesn't understand human relationships and worldly matters. Let alone it being your first meeting, even if you'd known each other for a long time and hadn't seen each other in some days, he would immediately forget what you look like. Because of this, my younger brother has often been the source of laughter, our family is used to it, and once you get to know him, you'll understand that from a young age, he's never been good at recognizing people..."

  It's fortunate that I met Master Min, if I had met Master Yu instead, let alone helping the young master explain himself, he wouldn't even bother to stir up trouble for him.

  Zi Shang quickly caught up with Ji Yong as he walked out of the gate, intending to say a few good words about Min Shao Ye in front of him. However, he saw a black lacquer carriage wrapped in green cloth stopped in front of them.

  The one who got off the bus was Ji Yong's father, Ji Qi.

  He was in his forties, wearing a crimson official robe with a cloud and wild goose pattern of the fourth rank, looking handsome, with a gentle expression, appearing very elegant.

  Ji Qi smiled and asked his son: "Jian Ming, where are you going?"

  Ji Yong's eyes didn't even blink. He said: "I want to go to Yu Bao Xuan to see if there are any better inkstones."

  "Is the money enough?"

  Ji Yongli didn't say anything and directly got on the horse carriage.

  "That's enough, that's enough!"

  Ji Qi didn't think much of it, nodded slightly and reminded them to "be careful".

  The son nodded repeatedly and hastily gave Ji Qi a salute before climbing onto the horse carriage.

  Ji Qi watched as their carriage drove out of Bandaohutong before entering the gate.

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  Jining Marquis Mansion is located in Yumin Alley in the west of the city, and Yan'an Marquis Mansion, Changxing Marquis Mansion, and Xingguo Gong Mansion are all located here. Many founding meritorious officials of the previous dynasty also opened their mansions there. Therefore, it was also jokingly called "Rich and Noble Alley" by people in Kyoto.

  Ji Yong met Chen Qu Shui coming out of the Hou Mansion in Jining.

  He was very surprised.

  Chen Qu's eyes widened in surprise as he stepped forward and bowed to Ji Yong.

  Ji Yong said: "How did you get here? Where is Fourth Miss?"

  Chen Qu Shui smiled and said: "Fourth Miss is in Zhending. I was sent by her to take care of some business at the Jin'ning Marquis's residence."

  Ji Yun furrowed her brow and pulled Chen Qu Shui aside to speak: "What did Fourth Miss send you to do?"

  Chen Qu'shu smiled but did not answer.

  Ji Yong gazed at his joyful eyes and eyebrows, but in her heart, she had a faint sense of foreboding.

  He snorted and said, "Don't think I didn't hear about it. You're telling me just to save me some trouble."

  Chen Qu didn't smile and said: "I'm entrusted by someone, I'm doing something for that person's sake. Please don't make things difficult for me, Master Ji."

  Ji sneered coldly and said: "I didn't expect that the Fujian Governor Zhang Kai would be a weakling. His attendants, however, are loyal and brave."

  Fujian Governor Zhang Kai was fleeing the city when the Japanese pirates attacked Fuzhou, and was beheaded by General Jiang Meicun, with his head hung on the city wall for three days as a warning to all. The whole court knew about it.

  Chen Qu's face changed greatly, his expression suddenly becoming very cold and stern: "In that case, I can only trouble Ji Ju to go and ask himself." With that, he flung his sleeve and got into a nearby horse carriage, which drove away with a rumbling sound.

  Zi Shang nervously looked at Ji Yong's gloomy face and muttered to himself.

  The young master has never been ignored like this before, I'm afraid he's furious.

  I also don't know how Young Master will deal with this Mr. Chen?

  However, this Mr. Chen seems to be a person of the Fourth Miss Duan's household. The Fourth Miss Duan is also formidable, pretending to be deaf and dumb, and severely beating that Pang Kunbai half to death. If the young master were to mess with her people, it's unknown whether she would come to settle accounts with him or not.

  Although the young master's personality is strong, every time he meets Miss Duan, it's like fire meeting water. No matter how fierce his temper is, she can douse him with just a few words, leaving him breathless for half a day.

  If Miss Duan and the young master have a dispute, will it affect this little fish and shrimp?

  Zi Shang painfully pondered, hearing Ji Yong grit his teeth and say "We're going back".

  Young Master won't be going to the Hou Mansion in Jining anymore?

  He slightly stunned, hastily served Ji Yong got on the carriage.

  At night, Zixi returned after inquiring about the news for Ji Yong. Ji Yong was furious and pacing back and forth inside the house.

  "This woman, can't she just behave herself? I said I'd help her, of course I'll get things done properly, what's the point of her making a scene!" After scolding, he slumped back into his chair, gazing up at the blue-green vines painted on the ceiling and smiled wryly: "But really, she's clever and capable..." Saying this, he jumped up and asked Zi Shang: "Which wine house in Kyoto is the best? I want to invite He Yu for a drink!"

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  To all book readers, here is yesterday's additional update.

  PS: Looking for pink tickets...~~~~~

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