Chapter 82

  Unexpected gain

  Feng Jishu married the daughter of the Right Prime Minister, and naturally she was also favored by the Right Prime Minister. Otherwise, as a small family with no great talent or reputation, how could he have entered the eyes of the Right Prime Minister and married his daughter?

  Feng Jixu handled matters with ease and had a rather smooth approach, never leaving any traces. The Right Chancellor was also like this, but since the Left Chancellor took office, he has been trying to suppress him everywhere. However, the Right Chancellor seemed to be unaffected and didn't take any action, instead quietly watching as the Left Chancellor's influence grew rapidly.

  Feng Jishu handed over the things he had inquired about to Ze Wang and then ordered someone to close the gate of the mansion, regardless of who came, no one was allowed to see him. On the other hand, Ze Wang sent someone to Tianxiang Building, found everything that Zhao Pu had called out, and also found the account book he mentioned from his concubine.

  "Master, I've brought the things." Rong Shi personally took action, without leaving any trace.

  Rong Jingze flipped through it and said, "Let's find someone to take a look."

  Twenty-eight guards, all kinds of people are there. Checking the secret account is naturally not a problem. A few days later, it was sorted out and resubmitted, and at the same time, another identical account book that had been hastily made was also returned to its original place.

  Rong Jingze finished reading with a cold smile and directly took the originally tidy account book into the palace. After explaining things one by one, the emperor's face turned red with rage.

  "You little thief." The Emperor was furious. "Investigate, investigate thoroughly, and see who is behind this."

  "Brother, this matter must not be made public, lest we alarm the snakes in the grass." Rong Jingze could understand his brother's anger, for he too was angry. He had suffered so much over the years, and even been wrongly killed in a previous life due to being embroiled in a great calamity. He could even confirm that Tianxiang Tower was one of the king's pawns, constantly gathering information about officials in the capital and watching the emperor's every move. "We must plan for the long term."

  "Alas." The Emperor sighed, "Fortunately, you're by my side." Over the years, Rong Jingze had helped him a lot. As the Emperor, there were some things that couldn't be done openly, and those private matters needed someone to handle them. This person had to have ability and also be trustworthy.

  This younger brother is the most suitable, learned a good skill, and is very clever. He was originally guilty of poisoning his younger brother, and now he has to drag his sick body to help him, which makes him feel even more uneasy.

  But there is no way. During the previous emperor's reign, Liu Fei was favored, and the court was full of treacherous officials. Although it didn't reach the point where the people were on the verge of collapse, it wasn't a prosperous era either. Later, after the palace coup, the imperial family suffered greatly. At this time, looking back, it seems that this emperor also reigned with great anxiety.

  "Older brother of an emperor."

  "Zhe'er, I've wronged you, brother. The Emperor is already thirty-five this year, and under the strain of his duties, he's showing signs of aging, looking more like someone in his forties."

  "Your Majesty, you're being too serious. It's my duty to share your worries, brother. Moreover..." A hint of coldness appeared on Rong Jing Ze's face. "Whoever wants to harm me, the Crown Prince, or our brothers and mother, I won't let a single one off."

  Following Rong Jingze's orders, Feng Jishu shut himself indoors every day, which worried the people outside. His calm and collected demeanor startled a group of people.

  Rong Shi secretly remembered all these people in his heart and made a list.

  "Zhao Pu, someone has come to bail you out, you can go." Feng Jixu escorted the person out with a smile.

  Zhao Pu's eyes were filled with terror, but he still remembered Feng Jishou's words: If you don't want to die, act as if nothing has happened.

  After he confessed, Feng Jishu was really good to him. The prison guards were nice and polite every day, and there was wine and meat every day. At first, he was nervous, but later on, he simply broke the jar and threw it away. In the few days he spent in prison, he actually gained some weight.

  "Lord Feng, you're too kind." The person who came this time was not familiar to Feng Jishu, but the other party brought a visiting card as soon as they arrived, and there were also five thousand taels of silver tickets enclosed in the card.

  Feng Jishu took a look at the silver ticket and thought about Ze Wang's words, so he let the person go.

  "Politeness, politeness." Feng Jishu cupped his hands together, "Since it's already been agreed upon with the Duke's estate, this official naturally has no reason to detain anyone."

  "Yes, I've troubled you this time, Lord Feng. It's all because of this thing not being worthy, and it has actually offended the young master." The newcomer glared at Zhao Pu fiercely, "Fortunately, the young master doesn't hold grudges against petty people. Lord Feng, I bid farewell."

  "Walk slowly, don't see me off."

  Watching the group of people leave, Feng Jishu instructed someone to close the large gate and walked into the backyard garden to sit down. His heart was still racing with anxiety. This matter would depend on Zhao Pu's performance; he must not reveal any flaws.

  Zhao Pu was even more uneasy in his heart.

  "Zhao Pu, do you know your crime?" Following the person in front of him into a house, the others retreated, leaving only one who led him inside. A man with cold and severe eyebrows sat above, coldly scolding him.

  "The lesser one should be punished for his crime, the lesser one deserves death." Zhao Pu kowtowed heavily.

  "Hmph. You can't even do a small task properly, and because of that lowlife, you almost ruined my big plan." The man sneered, "Hand over the account book and whatnot."

  Zhao Pu hastily kowtowed and stood up, with two people following him. They walked through the streets and alleys back to the courtyard of his concubine, where they took out an account book.

  Seeing the account book, Zhao Pu's stone in his heart finally fell to the ground. It turned out that Director Feng had not taken the account book after all, and he had been frightened for several days. With a sense of relief, Zhao Pu's expression relaxed, and he followed the two people back to their original location.

  "The account book is here."

  Zhao Pu presented the account book, and the person standing next to the cold and stern man flipped through it for a few moments before nodding.

  "It's fortunate nothing serious happened." The man's expression eased slightly, "Take him away."

  Zhao Pu was stunned, and before he could understand what was happening, he had already been dragged out.

  Just then, a mournful cry echoed from outside, and the standing man turned around to salute, "Master, this matter is probably just in time. These people don't understand what's deep or shallow, they're making a big show everywhere, and almost caused a great disaster."

  "Hmph, those despicable brats, they actually caused me to lose a wine tavern."

  The previous few times they sent people to say that nothing was feasible, and they could only investigate from the root. It wasn't until later that they finally found out that Xiling Hao was present at the scene. They also breathed a sigh of relief, as Xiling Hao had always been hot-headed and overbearing, never reasonable, so it was normal for him to be caught after offending someone.

  Zhao Pu's life or death didn't matter to them; what they wanted was the account book hidden by Zhao Pu. There were many things recorded on it, and there was no room for error.

  Dispatched and national government close people to say and, in the end still can't help but rely on Xiling Hao's lion open mouth, will Tianxiang Building offset, this matter only then considered finished.

  Tianxiang Building changed hands and was transferred to the name of Xiling Xiao. Xiling Xiao had originally intended to give Tianxiang Building to Yin Ruofei, as this plan was orchestrated by Yin Ruofei himself, including capturing people, not releasing them, and demanding Tianxiang Building in a series of actions.

  Xiling Hao didn't know that this small matter would lead to even bigger things. However, Yin Ruofei knew about it, but couldn't tell Xiling Hao.

  Yin Ruofei shook his head and refused, letting Xiling Hao manage the estate himself. The national public house industry was rich and abundant, and no one came to manage it. Xiling Hao, a small public master, was just sitting there counting money. For now, it's better for him to keep a low profile, he's young and his identity is sensitive, so it's best to wait until he has the ability to protect himself before making a big move.

  The house outside the city has been handed over to others for renovation, the front room is a study, and the back is a martial arts training ground. The middle house serves as a residence. Except for Meng Ke's group at first, Meng Ke also contacted other people on the street and added many more.

  A house can accommodate two or three people, and younger ones can accommodate four or five. Roughly calculated, this mansion can accommodate hundreds of people without any problem. So, I posted a notice in some poor gathering places in the capital to absorb children who cannot afford to study.

  This actually attracted quite a few people. However, they didn't necessarily come just because of this.

  Several gentlemen who have been invited to examine these children, do not necessarily need to read books or recognize characters. First and foremost, they want to see what kind of heart they have. Those who are lazy and lack ambition might as well not come and waste their time.

  After careful selection, there were more than 100 people left. Among them, some wanted to learn literature and others wanted to learn martial arts. Those who wanted to learn literature were naturally easier to deal with, but those who wanted to learn martial arts had to have a natural talent.

  Senya and Duan Shui, the two of them, although they were a bit older in years, had already missed their best age for martial arts training. However, because they had been struggling to make a living since childhood, going up into the mountains to chop firewood and hunt, their bodies were actually fully developed. With bitter practice for over a decade, there would eventually be gains.

  Apart from them, there were more than a dozen children who were suitable for martial arts training. Gong Jiu personally went to select them and even got the title of "Teaching Head" while he was at it.

  In less than two months, this seemingly simple and even crude academy has already started teaching. And after Tianxiang Building was renovated again, it also began to welcome guests, with many new dishes, including medicinal cuisine.

  Knowing that the Tianxiang Building had changed hands and became a property of the Guogong Mansion, many people went to try it out. After tasting it, they found that the flavor was indeed novel and delicious, and from then on, they became regular customers. The Tianxiang Building's profits increased daily, and after deducting the initial investment and the wages of the staff, they could still make a profit of several thousand taels every month.

  This money, Xi Ling Hao didn't covet it either. He was originally not short of this amount of money, and the Guo Gong Fu naturally wasn't short of it either. All of this money was invested in the academy. Under a virtuous cycle, this academy named Cheng En gradually became famous.

  Before long, it's already March, and the eagerly anticipated Gaokao has begun.

  Many students of the Imperial Academy participated, most of whom had sufficient knowledge and it was good to practice in the arena. If they could pass the imperial examination and become officials, that would be best; if not, as sons of scholar-official families, they could also rely on their ancestors' reputation to purchase an official position. Moreover, as students of the Imperial Academy, they were already registered as "monitoring students" and could take the exam directly.

  Yin Ruofei and Xi Linghao are naturally not included in the reference range. They are young, to say nothing of Xi Linghao who is not fond of studying. Yin Ruofei is even younger, only a few months away from turning ten years old, it's really not suitable for him to participate in the imperial examination.

  However, Gao Jin is participating this year, he is already nineteen years old, and his age is just right. Among the examinees, he can be considered young, but his learning has already become very solid.

  These days, the three of them worked hard together on the academy's affairs, and their relationship became increasingly close. Xiling Hao and Yin Ruofei escorted Gao Jin to the gate, presenting him with prepared food, stationery, and other items, and reluctantly reminded him to take care of his body.

  "You two," Gao Jin chuckled and shook his head. "I'm just going to take an exam, not go to war. Don't worry!"

  As for whether Gao Jin can get in, Yin Ruofei is not worried at all. Gao Jin's academic achievements are there, and he was also a high school student in his previous life, even the emperor praised his academic achievements.

  Yin Ruofei was worried about his body. This senior brother of his had a good appearance, a good temperament, and even more impressive learning. Unfortunately, he was very thin.

  Although he was also thin, his was due to martial arts training, looking thin but actually having a strong physique. Gao Jin, on the other hand, ate very little and no matter what, couldn't seem to gain weight.

  The college entrance examination is not easy, and I just hope that Gao Jin can get through it smoothly.

  The author has something to say: Recently I haven't replied to comments, but I've read them all. My heart isn't good and I'm in the hospital, I'll reply when I get back.

  Yin Ruofei: Your Highness, there is a commoner who wants you to go out and make a statement.

  Rong Jingze: How dare you, can these commoners also remember me? Tell Feng Jishu, those who don't respond properly will be arrested for threatening public security.

  Yin Ruofei: Your Majesty is wise! Brother Feng, His Majesty has ordered you to go and ask for the message!

  Feng Jishu: ... Fooled me again!