Jining Hou's face turned bright red as he argued sternly, "Looking at Mr. Chen's appearance, he is also a scholar, how can he listen to rumors and believe them? Those few years were just when the children were still young, and our family only had Yucun, this single seedling, not to mention going to Zhen Ding, even if it was going to Xishan, his mother would not be at ease, so she neglected to socialize. What you said, where did it come from?"

  But never mentioned the marriage of Wei and Diao's two families.

  Chen Qu Shui's hopes for the Wei family had sunk like a stone in the ocean, without even a ripple. His gaze was as cold and sharp as an arrow: "I'm afraid you're not being sincere, Your Excellency? I've heard that if the He family helps your son-in-law become the heir, you'll hand over the betrothal gift to the Duan family... our fifth elder, the Minister of the Ministry of Rites!"

  The cabinet university scholars are only fifth-grade, the six departmental ministers are second-grade, in order to improve the grade of these university scholars, they usually let these university scholars concurrently hold the title of minister of the six departments, and whoever is appointed as the minister of which department will be in charge of the affairs of that department. However, it is not possible for these university scholars to sit in the six departments every day, so the left servant of each department has become the person who actually manages specific matters.

  The granting of hereditary titles is managed by the Ministry of Personnel's Hereditary Titles and Honors Section.

  Jining Hou heard this and his heart skipped a beat, in his mind he cursed Cai Yi as a dog's blood.

  What is it that outsiders would never know, yet the accountant of the Duan family knew? If even the accountant of the Duan family knows, then Zhang Jiming and Zhang Xueming must have known too. Originally, Zhang Jiming and Zhang Xueming were just pretending to be brotherly and respectful in front of their father Zhang Pei, but now that Zhang Yuanming has broken the rule of not airing dirty laundry by seeking external help to become the crown prince, it will only give Zhang Jiming and Zhang Xueming an excuse to openly compete with Zhang Yuanming for the position of crown prince. Even Zhang Pei would have nothing to say about it.

  Zhang Jiming married the niece of Changxing Hou, while Zhang Xueming married the great-niece of Ningde Empress. How can a small Jining Hou Mansion compare to them?

  If this gets out, it's not just a loss of face for the Hou Manor of Jining; if things escalate and both sides suffer losses, won't that be a case of two ends dropping?

  He could only grit his teeth and vehemently deny it: "Absolutely nothing of the sort! If Mr. Chen doesn't believe us, we can go to the He's house for a confrontation!"

  You are a noble marquis, yet you actually want to confront me, a humble accountant...

  Chen Qu thought of Du Zhao and couldn't help but feel indignant for her when she thought that Du Zhao had been engaged to such a person.

  He barely suppressed the anger in his heart, pretending to be calm and composed, and sighed: "I also think it's impossible, but everyone says that there is a nose and eyes, even what kind of person the He family invited to the mansion, what tea was used to entertain him, everything is clear, I couldn't help but believe it!"

  Jining Hou clenched his teeth to prevent himself from pulling out a handkerchief from his sleeve to wipe the sweat on his forehead. Chen Quanshui, however, changed the subject and spoke with sincerity and a hint of apology: "However, this matter was indeed my oversight. The young master of Jingguo Gongfu is your nephew, after all, and also the son-in-law of someone else's family. Can he not pay respects to the ancestors of the Wei family? You naturally want to consider the well-being of the young master, as only when the young master prospers can the Jining Hou Mansion flourish, and the noble lady of your manor can use her natal family's influence to help her son-in-law obtain the title of Crown Prince. This is a matter of course, and it is only natural that the Zhang family's two masters have some dissatisfaction. But who can blame others for this? Who made their wives' families so powerless? Lord Hou, don't you think this is the truth?"

  Yes! The He family wants to help Zhang Yuanming become the Crown Prince, but it's impossible to bypass the Duan family. Since that's the case, why not just form an alliance with the Duan family? Looking at the current situation, you can gain a reputation for being honest and trustworthy, while also being able to intervene in the Zhang family's affairs in a legitimate manner. It's a win-win situation, much less risky than dealing with the He family.

  He nodded in agreement: "What you said makes sense, sir."

  "It's not that what I said makes sense, it's just that the person in charge is confused. We bystanders are clear." Chen Quanshui changed his sharp tone from earlier and humbly said, "Has Master Hou ever carefully considered that since Duke Jing's son is so incompetent, why has the Jingguo Gong Fu not asked to confer the title of Crown Prince until today?"

  He thought of some words Dou Zhao mentioned when he brought up Zhang Yuanming and used them in a timely manner.

  Marquis Ning of Ji felt a stir in his heart.

  "If I'm not mistaken, Duke Jingguo still favors the young master of the Gu Manor as his successor." Chen Quanshui analyzed slowly, "However, he's being held back by his wife and several sons, and can't find an opportunity to do so. Otherwise, why would he drag things out like this? If the young master of the Gu Manor remains calm and does nothing, perhaps there will still be a turning point in events. But if he borrows the power of outsiders to forcibly intervene in the affairs of the Jingguo Duke's manor, the duke will definitely not tolerate it, and his relatives will also be dissatisfied. There may even be people who follow suit, using every means possible to show off their skills, and by then, the Jingguo Duke's manor will be thrown into chaos..."

  Jining Hou jumped up suddenly: "Not bad, not bad! Jing Guo Gong often told me that our family's uncle is filial and pure, just based on this point, he can take the position of Jing Guo Gong's heir... However, it's because Yuan Furen always quarrels with Guo Gong Ye, making Guo Gong Ye avoid her, hide from her... If Guo Gong Ye had the same mind as Yuan Furen, the Jing Guo Gong Fu would have established an heir long ago, why wait until today... Uncle won't move if he doesn't want to, but if he dares to secretly plot for the position of heir, with Guo Gong Ye's temperament, he will not tolerate uncle..."

  A woman's sobbing voice came from behind the study.

  Chen Qu Shui pretended not to hear it.

  Jining Hou then bowed his head towards Chen Qu and made a bow: "Thank you, sir! Great kindness doesn't need to be thanked."

  "Marquis Hou has finally gotten rid of the old thing." Chen Quanshui bowed his head in response, but the corners of his mouth curled up high.

  ※※※※※

  Located in the heart of Kyoto, Nanxunfang, adjacent to Liubu Yamen, Hanlinyuan, and Zhan Shifu, the Ji residence appears ordinary with its pink walls, gray tiles, and two black-lacquered doors. However, upon entering, one discovers a three-route, three-bay, five-advance mansion that occupies one-third of the Jade River Alley.

  Sitting in the southeast corner of the study in the Ji residence, where the fragrance of jasmine flowers wafted through the air, Ji Yong gazed at the note in his hand, and the corners of his mouth involuntarily curled up into a joyful arc.

  Exchanged the token of betrothal with Dou Zhao for the position of Crown Prince of Jing.

  Not bad.

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

  He instructed his personal attendant: "Bring my name card, we're going to visit the residence of Marquis Ningji."

  Zi Shang rarely saw Ji Yong so happy, and with a big smile, he said: "What are we going to the Jin Ning Hou Fu for? We're not familiar with those noble families..."

  Ji Yong's expression changed immediately, and he gave him a cold glance.

  The child was so frightened that he didn't dare say another word, and hastily called the maid to help Ji Yong change his clothes. He himself went to Ji Yong's study, took out a name card, had someone harness the carriage, and accompanied Ji Yong out the door.

  On the road, they met a few young men dressed as scholars.

  When Ji Yong appeared, those people made way for him from a distance.

  Ji Yong didn't even lift 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, presumably classmates of Mr. Min at the Imperial Academy.

  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 has achieved great success as an Imperial Scholar? He is indeed too arrogant! Although we may not be as learned 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, he's just 'single-mindedly devoted to reading the classics, and doesn't hear anything outside his window'. He doesn't understand human relationships or worldly affairs. Don't mention that it's your first meeting, even if you've known each other for a long time and haven't seen each other in some days, he might not remember what you look like. Because of this, my younger brother has often made fools of himself, but our family is used to it. If you interact with him for a while, you'll understand - he's been unable to recognize people since childhood..."

  It's fortunate that I met Master Min, if it were Master Yu, not to mention helping the young master explain himself, it would be good if he didn't stir up trouble for him.

  Zi Shang quickly caught up with Ji Yong as he walked out of the gate. Just as he was about to speak a few words on behalf of Min Shao Ye, he saw a black lacquer carriage wrapped in green cloth stop 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 blink once. 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 it was a big deal. He nodded and reminded them to "be careful".

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

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

  ※※※※※

  Jining Marquis's mansion is located in Yuminfang, west of the city. Yan'an Marquis's mansion, Changxing Marquis's mansion and Xingguo Gongfu are all located here. Many founding meritorious officials of this dynasty opened their mansions there, so Yuminfang was also jokingly called "Rich and Noble Mansion" by people in Kyoto.

  Ji Yong ran into Chen Qu Shui, who had just come out of the Hou Mansion in Jining.

  He was very surprised.

  Chen Qu Shui was even more surprised and stepped forward to pay his respects 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, she sent me to Jin'ning Hou Fu to handle some matters."

  Ji Yun's eyebrows were furrowed, and she pulled Chen Qu Shui aside while talking: "What did Fourth Miss send you to do?"

  Chen Qu'shu smiled but did not answer.

  Ji Yong's mind flashed with a calm and wise face of Duan Zhao, but he 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 yourself some trouble."

  Chen Qu Shui smiled politely and said: "I'm just doing someone a favor, being loyal to that person. Please don't make things difficult for me, Master Ji."

  Ji Yong sneered coldly and said: "I didn't expect that the Fujian Governor Zhang Kai was a weakling, but his staff were loyal and brave."

  Fujian Governor Zhang Kai fled when the Japanese pirates attacked Fuzhou and was beheaded by General Jiang Meicun, with his head hung on the city wall for three days, known to all in the imperial court.

  Chen Qu's face changed greatly, and his expression suddenly became very cold: "Then I can only trouble Ji Ju to go and ask himself." Saying that, he swung his sleeves and got into a horse carriage beside him, and left with a rumbling sound.

  ※

  Book-reading brothers and sisters, Chapter 108 has been revised, other chapters remain unchanged, just a note.

  o(n_n)o~

  PS: Looking for pink tickets...

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