Do you know: I am Qi Heng

Qi Heng stopped, looked at Guo Yong with a calm expression, and said, "Cousin, the imperial court stipulates that members of the imperial family are not allowed to have private contact with court officials."

My uncle is currently serving in the western suburban military camp, while my cousin has a personal relationship with the Prince of Yan's heir. Aren't you afraid of causing trouble for my uncle?

"My cousin is exaggerating."

Guo Yong said indifferently, "The imperial court stipulates that those who hold a real official position are not eligible. Since the Prince of Yan's heir has not inherited the title, I do not hold a real official position either."

Moreover, the Crown Prince of Yan didn't just invite me this time.

"Never mind, the Prince of Yan didn't invite me, so I won't be an unwelcome guest," Qi Heng said, shaking his head.

I can understand those eager members of the royal family, but those who are now so eager to make contact with the royal family are simply idiots.

Qi Heng did not believe that Guo Yong was unaware of the reason why the Prince of Yan had invited him.

However, he found it strange that if the Marquis of Xiangyang's family participated in the struggle for the crown prince, they would still support the Prince of Yan.

After Zhao Zongquan ascended the throne, he thoroughly investigated the matter of the Prince of Yan's rebellion. Why would he entrust it to Qi Heng?

Logically, this incident could also have affected the Duke of Qi's mansion.

"How could they be unwelcome guests?"

Guo Yong quickly replied, "This was proposed by the Prince of Yan's heir. I was originally planning to go to the Duke of Qi's residence yesterday to ask my cousin's opinion, but after learning that my cousin and aunt were coming today, I didn't go."

"Does your uncle know that your cousin is on good terms with the Prince of Yan?" Qi Heng asked.

Guo Yong looked around and saw that there were only two attendants following behind him and no one else. He lowered his voice and said, "Cousin, you know what happened in the court. The Emperor can only choose to adopt from among the imperial clan."

It's hard to say who will be chosen. But the Prince of Yan doesn't have a bad reputation, so his chances are quite good.

We're the younger generation, we can't represent the family. But if we told Father, it would be a different story.

"..."

Qi Heng looked at his cousin with a speechless expression.

If you say he's brainless, at least he knows that the Marquis of Xiangyang's mansion can't take sides yet.

While some might say he's intelligent, he chose this time to associate with members of the imperial clan.

You could say they have some brains, but not many.

To think that direct interactions between younger generations don't represent the family—how stupid do you have to be to think that way?

If you think like that, don't others think that it's because your family is temporarily unable to contact the royal family that you've been secretly befriending the Prince of Yan?

Many things in this world are not about how you feel, but about how others think.

"Cousin, why are you looking at me like that?"

Guo Yong was initially quite pleased with himself, but Qi Heng's gaze made him somewhat insecure.

"Cousin, tell me honestly, have you been approached by many members of the imperial clan while you were at the Imperial Academy recently?" Qi Heng asked.

The Imperial College had a Martial Arts Academy, specifically for the sons of nobles.

The martial arts academy teaches horseback riding, archery, military strategy, and the like.

Guo Yong is Guo Yunjian's eldest son and will inherit the title in the future, so he is naturally qualified to study at the martial arts academy.

"There are quite a few, but I've been polite on the surface and kept my distance from them, without interacting with them," Guo Yong said.

"So that's how it is!" Qi Heng murmured.

He finally understood why he later went to the Sheng family to study.

Zhuang Xuejiu was a capable teacher, but he only produced a few Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations) in total; he himself never achieved the highest honors in the imperial examinations.

The Imperial Academy was the highest institution of learning in the Great Zhou Dynasty. Among its teachers were some great Confucian scholars, and the rest were also quite famous.

Given Qi Jia's status, he was able to study at the Imperial Academy and frequently consult with renowned scholars.

There's no reason for him to abandon the Imperial Academy and go to the Sheng family to study.

If Zhuang Xuejiu's reputation were truly that great, he wouldn't be the only one who went to the Sheng family to study.

With so many officials and nobles in Bianjing, even though it's the Sheng family's private school, if high-ranking officials and nobles come knocking, how could Sheng Hong possibly refuse them?

He remembered that when Sheng Hong entered school in his early years, wasn't it through the connections of Old Madam Sheng that he was sent to the private school of the Duke of Ling's mansion?

Guo Yong had previously mentioned that it was the Crown Prince of Yan who had asked him to invite him.

Qi Heng guessed that the Crown Prince of Yan was likely approaching Guo Yong because of him.

He didn't go to the Imperial Academy during this period, otherwise the Prince of Yan would have come to him directly.

The purpose of contacting him was also obvious: Princess Pingning had a good relationship with the palace.

Even if they can't speak up for the Prince of Yan, if the high-ranking officials in Bianjing find out that Qi Heng has been in contact with the Prince of Yan's heir, won't they think that Princess Pingning learned something from the palace that led her to let him contact the Prince of Yan's heir?

Although the decision to adopt a son rests with the government.

But the current officials, to put it nicely, are humbly accepting advice; to put it bluntly, they are soft-hearted.

If many officials make this speculation, they are likely to support the Prince of Yan in the matter of adoption.

Having more supporters can significantly influence the government's decisions.

Qi Heng estimated that if it weren't for his time travel, the original Qi Heng would have been approached by many members of the imperial clan after returning to the Imperial Academy. Princess Pingning, not wanting to get involved, allowed Qi Heng to leave the Imperial Academy.

Otherwise, given Princess Pingning's desire for him to pass the imperial examination with flying colors, there would be no reason for her to send him to the Sheng family to study.

"What did you say, cousin?" Guo Yong asked, puzzled.

"I told you, cousin, that today is a day of trouble, and it's not a good day for you to go out," Qi Heng said with a smile.

He didn't know whether, given the original course of events, Guo Yong had also come into contact with the Prince of Yan, or whether he was affected by his own butterfly effect.

If it is the former, it means that there are clever people in the Marquis of Xiangyang's mansion who noticed in advance and prevented Guo Yong and the Prince of Yan from having too much contact.

But if it's the latter, then that's troublesome.

He dared not gamble, so he could only turn back and tell his mother to remind the Guo family.

"Cousin, why are you acting so strangely?"

Guo Yong laughed and said, "You haven't been studying Taoist classics lately, have you?"

Just kidding.

Seeing that he didn't believe him, Qi Heng didn't say anything more and said, "Didn't my cousin want to take me to see the plum blossoms? Let's go."

…………

In the main hall of the backyard of the Marquis of Xiangyang's residence, Old Madam Miao and Princess Pingning sat at the head of the table, accompanied only by Madam Qu and her eldest daughter-in-law, Madam Miao.

Grandma Miao had two sons and one daughter: her eldest son, Guo Yungong, and her second son, Guo Yunjian.

Guo Yunjian was adopted into Qi Heng's maternal grandfather's lineage and should have changed his name.

However, since he was adopted after Qi Heng's maternal grandfather died, his name was not changed.

Guo Yungong's wife, née Miao, was a niece from the Miao family.

Actually, Old Madam Miao originally wanted to adopt her legitimate son so that he could inherit the title.

However, according to etiquette, apart from the emperor, no other family could adopt the eldest son of another's legitimate wife.

Because the eldest son and the second son and the son born out of wedlock receive different educations from a young age.

The emperor adopted sons to inherit the throne. Unless the sons were adopted from a young age, the emperor would only adopt the eldest son who was the best heir.

Grandma Miao and Princess Pingning chatted about everyday things. After waiting for a while, Madam Miao became a little anxious and kept giving her meaningful glances.

Grandma Miao cursed herself inwardly for being so impatient, but simply pretended not to see it and chatted with Princess Pingning for a while before bringing up the important matter.

"Auntie, Heng is not young anymore. He is your only son, and he has the important responsibility of continuing the family line. He should get married as soon as possible."

"Although Xiang'er is a few years older than Heng'er, if he gets married earlier, he can't marry someone who hasn't even grown up yet. Wouldn't it be better if the Qi and Guo families became even closer through marriage?" Old Madam Miao said with a smile.