Do you know: I am Qi Heng

"What's wrong with that?"

Manniang said, "Just say that you regretted it later and couldn't find me. I'll plead for you, and Erlang won't be able to investigate further."

Zhu Wei became more and more tempted. Just as Man Niang said, if she were only a concubine, she would be subject to many restrictions in everything she did.

But if she becomes the legal wife, things will be much easier.

The most important thing was that the offer of an official position moved him.

"Fine, let's give it a try!" Zhu Wei said through gritted teeth.

"I need you to go back to Bianjing first and find out the situation of the Gu family. That way, when I get to Bianjing, we can make plans!" Man Niang said.

They didn't know much about the Gu family. Over the years, she had tried to get some information about the Gu family from Gu Tingye, but Gu Tingye was unwilling to talk about it.

Actually, Man Niang never had this idea at first. She thought that she could enter the Gu family smoothly because of her son.

When Gu Tingye told her he was preparing to return to Bianjing, she asked how he would arrange things for her, only to find out that Gu Tingye wouldn't be taking her directly to the Gu family when he returned to Bianjing.

Gu Tingye, fearing she might overthink things, explained the reason to her.

Only then did Man Niang realize just how vast the gap was between her and Gu Tingye.

Even though she bore Gu Tingye two children, she was still not qualified to enter the Gu family as a concubine.

Gu Tingye told her that as long as he could pass the imperial examination with flying colors, none of these problems would matter.

Man Niang suddenly had a brilliant idea: since Gu Tingye had passed the imperial examination with flying colors, he could persuade his family to let her into the family.

Is there any possibility that she could become his legal wife?

Once ambition takes root, it's like weeds growing in your heart.

Even though Manniang felt the chances were slim, she still wanted to give it a try.

After much thought, she decided to have her brother return to Bianjing first and try to find out news about the Gu family.

Only in this way can she have a greater chance of success.

"Okay, I'll leave tomorrow!"

Zhu Wei rubbed his hands together and chuckled, "It's just that the journey is long, so you'll have to give me more travel expenses!"

"Didn't I just give you a hundred taels of silver last time?" Man Niang frowned.

Gu Tingye was very generous with money, and since he studied at the academy regularly, he would give Manniang some silver regularly.

To be honest, it was only because Man Niang was illiterate and didn't know the true situation of those wealthy families that she didn't notice something was wrong.

It's true that noble families are wealthy, but money doesn't come from thin air.

Gu Tingye spends money extravagantly, far exceeding the normal expenses that the Marquis's mansion could afford.

However, Man Niang and Zhu Wei came from humble backgrounds and originally worked in the lowest of professions.

In the eyes of the lower classes, those noble families have endless money, and Gu Tingye's extravagant spending is normal behavior.

Although Gu Tingye gave her a lot of money, Man Niang wanted to appear virtuous in front of him, so she naturally couldn't spend too much money.

In reality, she didn't have many places to spend money, but she couldn't resist Zhu Wei's extravagant spending habits.

"Isn't it because I'm going back to Bianjing? Besides, what kind of family is the Gu family? Doesn't it cost money to find out information?" Zhu Wei said.

"Wait here, I'll go get the money."

Manniang thought it made sense, and since she was still counting on Zhu Wei to find out information for her, she didn't say much.

He gave a few instructions and then left the house. He returned after a short while and handed several silver notes to Zhu Wei.

"Spend it sparingly, this is all the money I have right now."

"That's not enough."

Zhu Wei unfolded the package and saw that it contained only three hundred taels of silver. He said unhappily, "You know how expensive Bianjing is. If you want to find out about the Gu family, you can't just look for those idle thugs. You have to find those young masters."

I tried to get in touch with them—treating them to meals, giving them gifts—all of which cost money.

"But I'm out of money now. If I ask Erlang for it, it might arouse his suspicion, and that would be troublesome," Manniang said.

"I don't care!"

Zhu Wei retorted shamelessly, "I can't do it for this little bit of money!"

"you…"

Manniang glared at Zhu Wei, but seeing his defiant attitude, she could do nothing about it.

She could only grit her teeth, reach out and take the gold hairpin off her head, and hand it over.

Zhu Wei chuckled and reached out to take it, then looked at Man Niang's hand, which was covered by her sleeve, and said, "This hairpin isn't very heavy. Give me that bracelet you're wearing too."

Just now, when Manniang took the hairpin, her sleeve slipped down, revealing the jade bracelet on her wrist.

"you…"

Helpless, Manniang had no choice but to take off the bracelet and hand it to Zhu Wei.

"If you don't handle things properly, don't expect me to help you anymore. I'm not afraid of you going to Erlang. Do you think he trusts me or you?" Manniang said calmly.

Zhu Wei felt a surge of anger upon hearing this, but seeing Man Niang's indifferent expression, he could only suppress his anger and say with a forced smile, "Don't worry, sister, I'll benefit from this as well. I understand that much."

"You know that much is good." Manniang glanced at him.

.........

"Brother Heng!"

Qi Heng followed his mother into the main hall, and Zhao Shou, who was sitting next to Empress Cao, began to hunch over to get down.

"Slow down!"

Empress Cao quickly picked him up and put him down.

As soon as Zhao Shou landed, he ran towards Qi Heng.

The palace maids and eunuchs nearby quickly followed, ready to act as human cushions at any time.

"Your humble servant greets Your Majesty!"

Qi Heng bowed to his mother, and Zhao Shou pounced on him, hugging his legs and laughing uproariously.

"No need for formalities!"

Empress Cao smiled and said, "These past few days, Shou'er has been asking me every day when his brother Heng is coming, and he's been nagging me to go to school with Heng. It's driving me crazy."

If he weren't so young, I would have asked the government to find him two teachers so he could go to school.

"Your Highness is still young, it's normal for him to be playful. He'll become more sensible as he grows older," Princess Pingning said with a smile.

"I hope so."

Empress Cao smiled and shook her head, saying, "Alright, you can go out and have some fun. The weather is nice today, and I've already given instructions to the Imperial Garden."

The Imperial Garden is a place for the Emperor and his consorts to enjoy themselves. Zhao Shou is still young, so there is no need for her to be discreet, but Qi Heng is not.

Therefore, it is necessary to send people to guard the several entrances and exits of the Imperial Garden.

"yes!"

Qi Heng bowed and led Zhao Shou outside.

"Brother Heng, what's the point of studying? Is it fun?"

"Studying is for learning rules and principles; Your Highness will understand when you begin your studies."

"But I want to study now. I heard from Xiao Dezi that studying with a lot of people must be a lot of fun."

"..."

"This child, all he thinks about is playing." Empress Cao shook her head.

"Heng'er was like this when he was little."

"How come I remember Heng-ge'er being very intelligent since he was a child?"

"Your Majesty, you may not know this, but that was after I got a little older. Before that, I was very naughty and made me quite angry."

"So you're very good at raising children. You've raised Heng-ge'er so well. Tell me, how do you usually teach him?"

……

When Empress Cao asked Princess Pingning for advice on raising children, Qi Heng had already brought Zhao Shou to the Imperial Garden.

Zhao Shou is only two years old, so there's not much for him to play with.

It's nothing more than chasing birds and butterflies, or picking flowers and such.

Qi Heng played with him for a while, and when he got tired and rested, he began to implement his plan.