The Prodigal Son

Upon returning to the Qin residence, Qin Yu immediately summoned Nan Que'er and Luo Qingyi to his courtyard.

"The Baojing Division has already investigated and found out that Jiang Ci is a spy from Bei Qi."

Qin Yu told the two women the result directly.

"What?"

Luo Qingyi's eyes widened suddenly as she stared at Qin Yu in disbelief, her mind a complete mess.

Ginger porcelain?

A spy from Northern Qi?

How could she be a spy from Northern Qi?

Compared to Luo Qingyi's shock, Nan Que'er was much calmer.

When Qin Yu followed Xu Wan and the others into the palace, she knew that Jiang Ci definitely had a problem.

Unexpectedly, Jiang Ci turned out to be a spy for Bei Qi.

Luo Qingyi was stunned for a long time before she finally came to her senses and tentatively asked, "Could there be a mistake? How could she, a weak woman, be a spy from Bei Qi?"

Nan Que'er gently shook her head: "She's not a weak woman!"

Hearing Nan Que'er's words, Luo Qingyi suddenly realized, "You've already started to suspect her?"

"right!"

Qin Yu took Luo Qingyi's hand. "I only suspected it before, and I didn't have any evidence, so I didn't tell you..."

As he spoke, Qin Yu laid out all their suspicions about Jiang Ci and what the Baojing Division had found out.

After hearing Qin Yu's words, Luo Qingyi was somewhat dazed.

Immediately following was an overwhelming surge of anger.

I even considered Jiang Ci a sister!

Nan Que'er was just putting on an act, but she genuinely considered Jiang Ci a sister!

It turns out that Jiang Ci was actually a spy from Northern Qi?

From the very beginning, Jiang Ci approached her with a purpose!

The thought that Jiang Ci wanted to use her trust to harm her man made her want to tear Jiang Ci apart.

Qin Yu was also more cautious.

If he rashly trusts Jiang Ci and lets her into his residence, Jiang Ci will surely steal court secrets from the Qin family.

At that point, the Qin family will become her accomplices!

I've become the one who let the wolf into the house!

Sensing Luo Qingyi's anger, Qin Yu chuckled and comforted her, "Alright, don't be angry! This is a good thing for us!"

"Huh? This... is a good thing?"

Luo Qingyi stared at Qin Yu in astonishment, momentarily doubting whether she had misheard.

Qin Yu smiled and said, "We can use her to pass on false information to Bei Qi, so that she can indirectly help us. Isn't that a good thing?"

Luo Qingyi was slightly taken aback, but her anger quickly dissipated, and a smile finally appeared on her face: "Thirteenth Young Master is indeed clever!"

Qin Yu smiled and cautioned, "I'm telling you this so you can be on your guard!"

"Let's treat her the same way we treated her before, and continue to treat her the same way we treat her in the future. Let's pretend we know nothing."

"Be careful, whatever you do, don't let her find out we know her secret!"

"I'm not worried about Que'er, but Qingyi, you need to be especially careful..."

Qin Yu was giving instructions to the two women when there was another knock on the door.

Immediately afterwards, Aunt Sun's voice rang out from outside: "Young Master, Miss Jiang has arrived."

Speak of the devil, and he shall appear!

"Okay, I understand!"

Qin Yu replied, then said to the two women, "Go and greet her! Tell her I'm busy with something, and ask her to stay for lunch! Remember what I just said!"

"rest assured!"

Luo Qingyi smiled, "Since she's useful to the court, I don't need to resent her. Just consider it a joke!"

"Having this mindset is the right thing to do!"

Qin Yu nodded and smiled, gesturing for the two women to greet Jiang Ci.

After the two women left, Qin Yu sat down at his desk.

The location for Tiangongfang has been decided, and he needs to get the planning documents for Tiangongfang done as soon as possible.

Outside, Nan Que'er and Luo Qingyi arrived at the front hall.

"It feels like three autumns have passed since we last met!"

Upon seeing Jiang Ci, Nan Que'er teased, "It's only been a few days. Qin Yu just got back yesterday, and you're already here to see him?"

"Sparrow!"

Jiang Ci stomped her foot in embarrassment and annoyance, "I came to see Lord Qin on important business."

"Oh, so it's Lord Qin again."

Luo Qingyi said with a mischievous grin, "It's okay, you can call him your lover. We won't be jealous."

"Qingyi, how did you get so bad with Que'er?" Jiang Ci said shyly. "I really have something important to do! I heard that Prime Minister Song has passed away, and I want to go and pay my respects, but I don't know if it's convenient."

"What's inconvenient about that?"

Luo Qingyi smiled and said, "Prime Minister Song was a wise prime minister. Even if you have no connection with the Song family, it's no big deal for you to go and pay your respects! When we went to pay our respects this morning, some people spontaneously went to do the same."

"She wants one of our men to accompany her to the funeral," Nan Que'er said with a smile, revealing Jiang Ci's true intentions.

Jiang Ci blushed, and said in embarrassment and anger, "Que'er, I'll tear your mouth apart today!"

Soon, the three girls were playfully fighting together.

It was as if nothing had happened...

……

For the next few days, Qin Yu was busy with the affairs of Tiangongfang.

He even took a few people from Tiangongfang to Diecui Mountain for an on-site inspection.

"This is it!"

Qin Yu led a group of people to wander around Diecui Mountain for almost two days before finally determining the final location.

This is a valley.

There is also a river with a significant drop in elevation in the valley.

"This place is really perfect!"

Wang Dou nodded repeatedly, his eyes fixed intently on the river before him. "With just a few minor modifications to this river—building dams where necessary and narrowing it where needed—those hydraulic machines can be put into operation."

"And that cave over there, we can make use of it too!"

Wang Su nodded in agreement, but then immediately changed the subject: "However, the roads here are impassable, so it will be quite troublesome to transport those things in."

Qin Yu shook his head and smiled, "That's not something you need to worry about! Now that the location has been decided, the road will definitely be built in!"

Many things are still in the research and improvement stage, and the materials needed are not particularly numerous.

They could easily study and improve the road while simultaneously building it.

Once the framework of Tiangongfang is established and the research and improvements are completed, the road should be open.

Upon hearing this, Wang Su grinned and said, "Then I have nothing to worry about!"

"You can no longer refer to yourself as a petty person."

Qin Yu smiled at Wang Su, then glanced at the people around him. "From now on, you should all refer to yourselves as lower-ranking officials!"

As Qin Yu finished speaking, the group of people were all stunned at the same time.

Immediately afterwards, a huge wave of surprise swept over them, making their eyes light up considerably.

"Can people like us... become officials?"

Wang Dou asked Qin Yu in a trembling voice.

"Of course! From now on, you will be the main people in charge of Tiangongfang!"

Qin Yu answered with absolute certainty, "I will petition His Majesty to grant you official positions! The lowest rank among you should not be lower than the seventh grade!"

Hearing Qin Yu's words, the group was overjoyed, and their bodies trembled uncontrollably.

Even the lowest rank is seventh grade?

Even the worst one wouldn't be worse than a county magistrate?

This was something they had never even dared to dream of before.

"Don't be too happy yet."

Qin Yu calmed the excited group down, "Since we've given you good treatment, we naturally have expectations of you too!"

"And the most important point is secrecy!"

"You must not utter a single word about what you have done to your families!"

"If anyone breaks the rules, I won't hesitate to take their heads!"