good season

Xiao Zhen certainly remembered this incident. Back then, he and Zhao Shiqing stumbled upon the mountain gate of Shili Pu by accident, based on that map.

Although they cleaned up the place in Shili Pu, the clues on that map were lost as a result.

Zhao Shiqing said, "No wonder Doctor Yang did not return to his hometown after leaving the Imperial Hospital. Instead, he traveled around with his grandson. I thought it was because he was carefree and unrestrained, but now it seems that he wanted to protect his grandson."

At that moment, Xiao Zhen and Zhao Shiqing both thought of the same name—Lang Qiubai.

Zhao Shiqing first heard this name from Xiao Zhen.

This is Feng Yalan's husband from her previous life. He was Lang Jing's adopted nephew, a second-class Jinshi (successful candidate in the highest imperial examination), and an ordinary official of the fifth rank in the Ministry of Works.

When Tongzhou was hit by floods, he was sent by the Third Prince to serve the Fifth Prince. After the floods, the Fifth Prince was demoted to a commoner for dereliction of duty and later died in his own palace.

The Fifth Prince's five subordinates were all executed by slow slicing, while Lang Qiubai died in the line of duty.

When Zhao Shiqing heard this, she suspected that Lang Qiubai was a thorn in the side of the Fifth Prince sent by the Third Prince. However, since he died in the line of duty, the court did not find him when it investigated.

Later, Lang Qiubai lost his only son, and Feng Yalan lived a secluded life, disappearing from the world's sight.

At that time, Zhao Shiqing suspected that Lang Qiubai was not dead, but was swept away by the flood. Of course, he could also use the flood to escape death. Zhao Shiqing also suspected that his son was not kidnapped, but was taken away by Lang Qiubai.

Furthermore, Lang Qiubai is Yang Shengqiu, and Yang Shengqiu is Lang Qiubai.

As for why Yang Shengqiu changed his name in his previous life, why he came to the capital as Lang Jing's nephew, and why he did not become the top scholar in the imperial examination, Xiao Zhen found the answers to these differences from his previous life.

In short, it was because of Zhao Shiqing, this little butterfly, that Princess Jiayi and her husband survived, and that the Liang Prince's Mansion and the Xiao family did not go to war. The world was at peace, so peaceful that Yang Shengqiu no longer had the cautiousness he had in his previous life. He also relied on Lang Jing's help. In his previous life, he became the adopted son of Lang Jing's prematurely deceased younger brother. In this life, however, he appeared as a tutor in the Lang family. He still clung to Lang Jing's coattails, but in this life, he left himself room to maneuver.

Moreover, in his previous life, he even had to hide his talents in the imperial examinations, but in this life, he revealed his brilliance and became the top scholar.
At that time, neither Xiao Zhen nor Zhao Shiqing could understand why Lang Qiubai faked his death. Even after the Fifth Prince died and the Third Prince's position was secured, he did not appear and even took his son away.

At the time, neither Xiao Zhen nor Zhao Shiqing could understand this.

However, if Lang Qiubai is Yang Shengqiu, and if Yang Shengqiu's mother is a survivor of that tragic internal strife, then he has a reason to flee from death.

Whether the people at the mountain gate discovered him, or someone knew his secret background and used it to blackmail him, he had no choice but to die or leave.

Zhao Shiqing sat there blankly for a long time, then sighed.

"When those assassins from the mountain sect came to Zhuxitang on the orders of the dog emperor, they certainly didn't know that Doctor Yang's daughter-in-law was a member of the mountain sect. They were carrying out their employer's orders, not the sect's rules. Otherwise, they wouldn't have let Yang Shengqiu go."

Yes, although Yang Shengqiu wasn't there at the time, it wasn't a secret that he was studying a hundred miles away. If those people were after Yang Shengqiu, they would definitely go to Baifeng City to eliminate him completely.

However, those people did not kill anyone; they only killed the people who lived under the same roof as Dr. Yang.

This shows that those people wanted to kill Doctor Yang, not Yang Shengqiu.

However, Yang Shengqiu was still afraid. Therefore, except for that one time when no one came to pick him up or brought him food and flowers, he asked the teacher to take him back to Zhuxitang. He learned that his family had gone on a long trip. For the next ten years, he never returned to Zhuxitang.

It's normal for Shi's family to ignore him when they go on a long trip, but Dr. Yang wouldn't do that; he wouldn't abandon his underage grandson.

Therefore, when Yang Shengqiu learned that his grandfather and the Shi family had gone on a long trip together, he knew that something might have happened to them.

Zhao Shiqing took a deep breath: "This person is really cold-hearted. He guessed that his grandfather had an accident, but he was able to live a carefree life for ten years as if it were none of his business!"
He doesn't even care about his own grandfather!
Looking back now, before I found him and gave him that letter, he probably always thought that his grandfather's accident was related to the sect, and he also believed that his grandfather would not betray him. So he could rest easy as long as he was an orphan and could be content to be the top scholar.

Ha, our Shi family are outsiders to him, but what about his grandfather? He was his only relative in this world, yet he could be so heartless as to ignore him.

We don't expect him to seek revenge or catch the culprit, but it would be good if he could come back to Zhuxitang often, just in case his grandfather wasn't dead.
By the way, after his grandfather's remains were found, it was my maternal grandfather who paid for the coffin and the burial site. He has never thanked my grandfather in person, nor has he gone back to pay respects to his ancestors.

I originally thought he was just cold-hearted, but now it seems he's afraid. He's afraid others will find out about his relationship with Doctor Yang, and he's even more afraid of being exposed as a descendant of a powerful family—no, he's a member of the former imperial family!

And that unfortunate Lin Xian, no wonder he wanted to kill me to cover it up. He probably wanted to kill me too, since I was the one who gave him that letter. Unfortunately, he couldn't find an opportunity, so he tried to get rid of Xiuxiu. Luckily, Xiuxiu isn't stupid.

Zhao Shiqing grew angrier and angrier as she spoke, slamming her hand on the table repeatedly. If Yang Shengqiu were in front of her, he would have been smashed into a pulp.

Yang Shengqiu originally thought the crisis was over, which is why he came to the capital and became the top scholar in the imperial examination.

But at that moment, Zhao Shiqing appeared, carrying that letter.

From then on, that invisible giant blade once again hung over Yang Shengqiu's head. He suddenly realized that the crisis was still there, and even greater than before, because before he was just an unknown country boy, but now he was the top scholar, he was in the light, and the mountain gate was in the dark.

That's why he was so eager to curry favor with the powerful. He wanted to become Feng Ke's son-in-law. With the Third Prince and Feng Ke protecting him, the higher he stood, the less the sect could touch him.

The two people who knew about his connection with the Shi family of Zhuxitang were Lin Xian and Zhao Shiqing.

Lin Xian was silenced by him, but although he didn't die, he still lives in the Xu residence. In Yang Shengqiu's opinion, Lin Xian was already dead, so all that was left was Zhao Shiqing.

How could Zhao Shiqing not be angry?

She was so angry!

Because her father was kind enough to take in the grandmother and granddaughter, the whole family lost their lives.

Just because she kindly delivered a letter, her family, who had miraculously survived, were also to be silenced.

"Does our Shi family owe him anything? Yes, my eyes were healed by Dr. Yang, but that was also his way of repaying a debt of gratitude. Our family saved them, took them in, and even paid for Yang Shengqiu's schooling and pulled strings. Every time Yang Shengqiu came home, my father would travel a long way to pick him up. We don't even treat our own nephews and nieces like that. So our family doesn't owe them anything. On the contrary, they owe our family. Now he even wants to kill me. Is he even human?"

Zhao Shiqing raised her hand and slammed it on the table again, but this time, her hand landed on a large hand. Xiao Zhen had placed his hand on the table without her noticing.

"Does your hand hurt?" Xiao Zhen asked her gently.

Zhao Shiqing's anger suddenly dissipated, and she let Xiao Zhen's large hand gently hold her small hand. Xiao Zhen's hand was slightly cool. Zhao Shiqing thought that the serious injury that time had still damaged her internal organs, and she still hadn't been able to recover after so long.

Xiao Zhen didn't say anything, so she didn't realize it until Xiao Zhen told her. Only then did she realize that her hand was really in pain. Luckily, she didn't grow long nails, otherwise they would have broken off at the root.

Suddenly, Xiao Zhen's hand went empty as the small hand slipped away. Xiao Zhen felt a pang of reluctance, but the next moment, that soft, white hand was already at his lips: "Give me some breath."

The warm breath touched her fingers, and Zhao Shiqing's face flushed instantly. She withdrew her hand, thought for a moment, and then simply hid her hands behind her back: "Okay, it doesn't hurt anymore, you don't need to blow on it."

Her almond-shaped eyes darted left and right, her long eyelashes fluttering like butterfly wings, concealing a girl's innermost thoughts within her shimmering gaze.

Back in Tianjing Hutong, Zhao Shiqing couldn't wait to tell Zhen Wuduo about Yang Shengqiu's relationship with the mountain gate.

Zhen Wuduo was also furious, so the grandfather and grandson slammed their fists on the table, and the poor little rosewood kang table was gloriously destroyed.

Zhen Wuduo frowned: "I've been saying for a long time that I want to use sandalwood. A sandalwood table is definitely unbreakable."

Zhao Shiqing frowned as well: "If rosewood isn't pretty, then we need huanghuali. Even if we change ten more, they'll still be huanghuali."

Finally, the old man gave in, and the next day, a new rosewood kang table was placed in the room.

"When you reach my age, you'll understand how good sandalwood is."

Zhao Shiqing made a face at him, and so on the third day, another rosewood kang table appeared in the room.

“Use rosewood on odd-numbered days and huanghuali on even-numbered days. Any incidents requiring table-pounding should be scheduled for odd-numbered days,” Zhao Shiqing said.

The old man was delighted; it had to be his little darling, how could she be so understanding?

"Grandpa, how is your eldest granddaughter?"

"Okay, of course."

"Could you give me some of your good blood-nourishing products? Like those century-old ginseng roots, could you give me one too?"

The old man looked her up and down. Her face was rosy, her eyes were bright, and even her hair was shiny black. She didn't look like someone who needed to replenish her qi and blood at all. "Hmph, what kind of qi and blood replenishment does a grown man need? A hundred-year-old ginseng? I think a bunch of red dates that cost ten coins on the roadside would be more suitable for him."

Zhao Shiqing. Waaah, Xiao Zhen, your godfather doesn't want you anymore!

Yang Shengqiu, whom Zhao Shiqing wanted to kill, was currently sweating profusely as he searched for a document.

This document was delivered to him yesterday. After he processed it, he put it on his desk, but when the Vice Minister sent someone to pick it up today, he couldn't find it anywhere.

Although it wasn't a very important document, it was still compiled and submitted by the local authorities, and the Vice Minister was waiting to review it. If he couldn't produce it, he would definitely have to take responsibility.

However, Yang Shengqiu searched through all the books and files on his desk, in the drawers, and in the cabinets, but could not find the document.

Sweat rolled down his fair forehead as he slumped into a chair.

He had developed good habits since childhood, never leaving things lying around, especially since these were documents he would need the next day.

His gaze fell on the other two desks. In the same room were two other officials, but neither of them had come to the yamen in the past two days. Lord Zhang's father was ill, and he had asked for leave to take care of him; the two granary clerks of Baofeng Granary were to be transferred, and Lord Wang had been sent to check the accounts.

Therefore, he has been the only person in this room for the past two days.

Just then, the Vice Minister sent someone over to urge him again. When the person saw that Yang Shengqiu had not yet found the document, he immediately frowned and said, "Lord Yang, you did not take the document home, did you? Our Ministry of Revenue has clearly stipulated that documents cannot be taken out of the yamen without the Vice Minister's approval."

Yang Shengqiu was furious. This man was just a lowly clerk working under the Vice Minister, someone without even a rank, yet he dared to talk nonsense to him.

He suppressed his anger and said in a deep voice, "Who said I took the documents out of the yamen? Someone clearly entered my room and stole the documents. I will go with you to see the Vice Minister now and have him investigate thoroughly to find out who stole the documents."

The clerk was not intimidated. The two of them walked out of the house, arguing loudly. There was still a distance to the Vice Minister's room. The clerk kept talking and his voice was loud. So before Yang Shengqiu could even see the Vice Minister, the whole Ministry of Revenue knew that Yang Shengqiu had lost an important document.

"Judging from your tone, that document was reported from the local authorities. Sigh, if we need to make a replacement, it will take a long time."

“I know where it came from; it was from Changxing Prefecture.”

"Good heavens, Prefect Liu of Changxing Prefecture is the most rigid, serious and lecturing. If he finds out that it was our Ministry of Revenue that lost the document, he probably won't cooperate in submitting a replacement. Besides, Changxing Prefecture is more than a thousand miles away from the capital. It will probably take more than a month for this round trip."

"Who says otherwise? Of all the documents to lose, it had to be Prefect Liu's. Lord Yang is really unlucky."

"If Lord Yang had become the son-in-law of Chief Minister Feng, he probably wouldn't have gotten into all this trouble."

"That's why I say Lord Yang is unlucky; he's even ruined a perfectly good marriage."

Although these people spoke softly, a few of their words still reached Yang Shengqiu's ears.

It's obvious someone is trying to frame him; otherwise, why would it be the documents sent by Prefect Liu that were lost?

Prefect Liu of Changxing Prefecture was notoriously stubborn and difficult to deal with. If he knew that the documents he sent had been lost by the Ministry of Revenue, he could submit a memorial to the emperor. He had done this before, and more than once.

Yang Shengqiu told the Vice Minister the whole story. The Vice Minister was displeased, but still ordered an investigation.

The investigation revealed that, from yesterday until now, only Yang Shengqiu and the minor official had entered that room. The minor official had only gone in to ask Yang Shengqiu for documents, so no one had stolen the documents. Yang Shengqiu himself had lost those documents.

The final outcome was that Yang Shengqiu was fined one month's salary, and he also had to personally write a letter to Prefect Liu to apologize and ask Prefect Liu to provide a supplementary document.

Yang Shengqiu didn't know how he walked out of the yamen. He felt like he was being ridiculed by countless people.

When Xiao Mo saw him come out, she quickly ran over: "Sir, you don't look well. Are you tired?"

Yang Shengqiu shook his head, then suddenly froze, for he saw a person, a person who had long since died.

Lin Xian! (End of Chapter)