The rain didn't stop until the evening. Yu Shu sent Xue Rui out of the gate.
"Big Brother, go back. Be careful at night."
Xue Rui turned back to look at the thin and slender Yu Shu standing on the steps. He couldn't describe what was wrong with her, but he couldn't put his mind at ease. He looked up and saw that there was no one else in the gatehouse, only a little servant girl.
He stepped aside, using his body as a cover, and raised his hand to grab her soft hair. His palm came into contact with the coldness, which made him frown inwardly. He squeezed her tightly and said in a low voice,
"If you have nothing to do tomorrow, come to Wangji Tower."
In the end, it was not convenient to talk at her home. He had to ask her tomorrow.
Yu Shu looked up at him and saw the concern in his eyes. She pursed her lips and said with a light smile, "Then in the afternoon. I have to go to Assistant Minister Qiu's fu in the morning."
"Okay, I'll wait for you." Xue Rui nodded but didn't let go of her hand. He just stood there and said,
"Last time you said you wanted to go out to play. Pick another day. I see that your red horse is quite spirited. It's just that it always doesn't run."
He said something unimportant as his warm and thick palm wrapped around the back of her hand. He rubbed it for a while until her fingers were warm again. Only then did he end the conversation.
"I'm leaving. Don't stay up late to read. Rest early."
Yu Shu watched as Xue Rui boarded the carriage. She slowly retracted her warm hand into her sleeve. Her heart missed the moment of his warmth. Her gaze followed the carriage into the distance until it disappeared at the corner of the street. She was still staring into the distance in a daze.
"Miss, the wind is rising. Go back to your room." Yun Dou called from behind her.
"En."
Yu Shu turned around. There was no hesitation in her eyes. She thought: It won't be too late to tell him after I thoroughly investigate this matter.
As soon as Xue Rui returned to the fu, he heard the servant say that Xue Lingnan was looking for him.
Xue Rui thought there was something urgent, so he hurried to the small study in the North Yard without even changing his clothes.
All the way to the door, he did not see a single servant. Xue Rui's footsteps slowed down, and he heard a few low coughs coming from the half-closed door. He stopped in his tracks and did not make a sound until the coughs disappeared.
"Grandfather, I'm back."
"Is it Cheng Bi? Come in and talk."
Xue Rui pushed open the door and entered. As soon as he turned around, he saw Xue Lingnan had a dark green cloak draped over his shoulders, and his back was straight as he sat by himself on the recliner under the bookshelf. A thin blanket covered his knees, and he held a few yellow booklets in his hand.
"I heard from Hōtoku that you came back in the afternoon. Where did you go?" Xue Lingnan raised his head and asked. Facing his grandson, whom he had raised since childhood, he still maintained a dignified expression.
"I went to visit a friend and stayed for supper." Xue Rui walked over and looked behind him. He hesitated for a moment before he walked forward and closed the wide-open window. Then, he turned around and retreated in front of the old man.
"Grandfather, did something big happen?"
Xue Lingnan had seen his actions. Under the dim light of the lamp, his aged face was expressionless.
"In the morning court today, someone took the lead in bringing up the matter of appointing a successor and submitted a memorial."
Xue Rui asked in surprise, "Who submitted it?"
He was a fifth-rank official and did not have to attend court every day. Recently, he had been busy revising laws and documents. He had just been released in the afternoon, so he had not heard of the morning court.
"Your second uncle's father-in-law, the Celestial Commissioner, Left Judge Xin."
Xue Rui's second aunt was from the Xin family, one of the twelve prefectures in Jing. The current Left Judge, Xin Ya, was Minister Xue's in-law.
It wasn't that no one had brought up the matter of appointing a successor, but the Emperor was physically strong and the matter was always left unsettled. There had been no movement in recent years. Now that the princes had come of age, it was inevitable that some people would start thinking about it.
Of the princes who had come of age, Ning Wang Liu Hao, born by Yin Shufei, and Jin Wang Liu Tan, born by Noble Consort Xue, were the hottest topic. Originally, Liu Tan had been recuperating in the mountains for many years and had not returned, so his influence was not as great as Liu Hao's.
But two months ago, Liu Tan had defeated Liu Hao at the Shuang Yang Conference and received the title of "Jin Wang", becoming the youngest Marquis. With Xue Lingnan, the Minister of the Six Departments, as his maternal grandfather, and the Emperor also bestowed a marriage to the Southern Xia Jiang Family, Liu Tan's influence was gradually catching up to Liu Hao's.
Xue Rui's eyelids jumped. Looking at Xue Lingnan's cold face, he knew that the matter of appointing a successor was not his grandfather's idea. There was more to it than meets the eye. So he asked,
"Has Left Adjudicator Xin recommended a candidate?"
Xue Lingnan only shook his head and looked at him.
Xue Rui thought for a while and said,
"His Majesty had just returned from the day of worshipping the ancestors in Huazhen Garden. His body was unwell and he had been bedridden for a few days. He had just recovered, but today, someone proposed to appoint a successor. His Majesty will definitely be unhappy. Although Left Adjudicator Xin did not specifically recommend Jin Wang, but he and our fu are in-laws. Others will definitely guess that it was us. If His Majesty is angry, it is impossible that he would not be suspicious of grandfather. For such a big matter, Left Adjudicator Xin did not discuss it with grandfather. I don't know if he was muddled or instigated by someone."
He did not say everything and did not point out who instigated Xin Ya, but in his heart, he was very sure that this matter had something to do with Ning Wang's faction.
Xue Lingnan looked at the child he had raised with satisfaction. He handed over the memorial that he had been holding in his hands for a long time and sneered, saying,
"You don't need to help exonerate your second uncle's family. Xin Ya is a short-sighted person. His old father, Old Academician Xin, is an intelligent person. It is a pity that he is old and retired early, not meddling in other people's business. If it wasn't for the Imperial Edict that year, I would not have allowed your second uncle to marry this noble girl. Let me ask you, a while ago, did your second aunt look for you in private, intending to match you with the Sixth Young Miss of the Xin family? "
Knowing that nothing in this fu could be hidden from the old man in front of him, Xue Rui lowered his head and said, "Second aunt did have such intentions, but grandson rejected her."
Xue Lingnan said,
"That was also Xin Ya's idea. He was testing this old man, thinking that by marriage, your cousin Jing Wang will be able to achieve great things in the future, his Xin family will be more stable. Seeing that we do not have such intentions, he started to have other ideas. Your aunt sent out news from the palace that Shu Fei seems to be dissatisfied with the current Ning Wang Fei and wants to find a side fei for Ning Wang. Among the candidates that she has her eyes on, the young miss of the Xin family is among them. This old man thinks that Ning Wang must have promised the Xin family something, that Xin Ya dared to pretend to be a fool and stab the Xue family in the Imperial Court today. "
Xue Rui's eyes flashed. Only now did he understand why Xin Zuo Si had made a mistake.
He opened the memorials that Xue Lingnan handed to him and quickly flipped through them. He saw that they were all articles praising Liu Tan. Some of them were exaggerated and even he frowned when he read them. It could be imagined that when the Emperor saw these memorials, he wasn't happy that his son had surpassed his father, but he was angry that someone was coveting the position he was sitting on.
"Grandfather, these memorials –"
"After the court session ended, the Holy Emperor sent me to the Imperial Study and threw them in front of me." Xue Lingnan's face was expressionless. He didn't say more about the Emperor's anger at the time and brushed it over. He looked at Xue Rui and waited for him to continue.
Xue Rui thought for a bit and said: "There is no lack of people watching outside right now. It is not convenient for grandfather to invite Jing Wang over to the fu to prevent any unpleasant rumors from reaching the Holy Emperor's ears. I will go to Jing Wang now. Is there anything you want me to bring?"
Xue Lingnan nodded, "Jing Wang is still young and can't control his temper. After this matter, the Emperor will definitely find an excuse to reprimand him in a few days to suppress his limelight. You don't need to tell him in advance. It's a good thing to let him suffer a little. In addition, tell him about Xin Ya's scheme so that he will be more careful in the future."
"Grandson will remember. I will change my clothes and go out now." Xue Rui placed the few memorials on the tea table and touched the teapot in passing. He realized that the water inside the teapot had turned cold. When he turned his head and saw Xue Lingnan's white hair and sunken and thin cheeks, he instantly felt as if something was stuck in his throat.
"Grandfather, the tea is cold. I will get someone to change it before I leave."
Xue Lingnan, who was deep in thought, slowly raised his head and looked at the young man in front of him. His cloudy eyes revealed a complicated expression. He swallowed his cough and said in a low voice:
"Your mother's illness acted up again during dinner. Don't disturb her rest for the next two days in case she sees you and causes trouble again."
Xue Rui's arm that was holding the teapot stiffened. He tried his best to suppress the chill that crept up his spine. His nose wrinkled and half of his face turned away from the light. He said in a low voice:
"I know. I won't go to the rear courtyard for the next few days."
Xue Lingnan sighed faintly and leaned on the recliner. He pulled the blanket to his waist and waved at him.
Xue Rui silently left with the teapot until he retreated to the door. He closed the door of the small study with a backhand and instantly clenched his fists. The lantern hanging high under the eaves shone on his handsome face. At this moment, it was full of darkness and sarcasm.
Xue Rui went to the guesthouse that night to see Liu Tan. He said something and brought Minister Xue's words to him. After the fourth watch, he left through the side door of the guesthouse. He did not return to the mansion but went to the Wangji Tower.
The next day, Yu Shu deleted and added several paragraphs of the eight characters of marriage that Xia Jiangmin had annotated last night. She copied it again and sent it to the Assistant Minister's Mansion today.
Mrs. Qiu took it in her hand and looked at it carefully. She saw that her annotations were accurate. Some of the words of good or bad luck matched with what she had heard before.
For example, the mother of Young Master Li was not kind. This annotation said that the elders were against each other and that it was not good for the family business. Moreover, the son of Young Master Zhao had several maidservants. This annotation said that the peach blossoms were rotten and that it was not good for the children.
Mrs. Qiu also noticed that the annotations were all aimed at the men, not the women.
Finally, Yu Shu stamped her two seals at the end of the annotation. One was the Yi Shi Seal and the other was the Suanzi Seal.
Mrs. Qiu was secretly surprised but also convinced. She closed the annotation with great satisfaction. She gave a look to the maidservant beside her. When the maidservant went behind the gauze cabinet, she thanked Yu Shu.
"Thank you for your trouble. The day before yesterday, I got a pair of toys. I want to give them to you to play with."
After a while, she saw the maidservant come out with a square plate. On it were two fist-sized golden Pixiu squatting. They raised their heads and raised their feet. They were shining with golden light and looked like living creatures.
Yu Shu looked at the two lumps of pure gold. Regardless of the workmanship, they were worth one or two hundred taels of silver. She was very surprised by Mrs. Qiu's "heavy" thanks and declined.
"It's nothing. How can I let Madam spend more money?"
Mrs. Qiu didn't mind. She said with a smile, "Lady, don't regard me as an outsider. This is what I should do. You should know that people like us go to the Dayi Exchange Hall to ask for a fortune stick. Not to mention the cost, we can't ask for it once or twice. How can you be so detailed and considerate?"
Yu Shu saw that she didn't seem to have any ulterior motives. She also knew that Qiu Jiming, the Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Works, was very rich and didn't care about this little bit. So she didn't refuse again. She took the two lumps of gold and chatted with Mrs. Qiu for a while before getting up to leave.
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