Chapter 68: Being Beaten (Please collect~~~~)

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  A little over 9,700, just passing by, collect one!

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  Qin Yun's words cleared up many things and dispelled a lot of doubts in Wei Xiao's mind.

  Just because the King of Jin is still alive, Wei Zuo knew that either the old emperor had left a trump card to protect the King of Jin or the King of Jin had other hidden cards that made the current emperor hesitant to take action, even if it meant letting the King of Jin continue to cause trouble in Jinling despite the rebellion in five states.

  Wei Xiao's biggest doubt in his heart was resolved, and he felt much more at ease. But then he thought of the emperor's intention to marry him off, and his brow furrowed again as he asked: "Sir, do you know which family's daughter the Emperor intends to betroth me to?"

  Qin Yun was taken aback, a look of surprise flashing in his eyes as he stared at Wei Zhao and asked cautiously: "Young friend, did the Emperor say he wants to grant you a marriage?"

  Wei Zhao saw that he was not pretending, so he nodded and said lightly: "Yes, Cui Gonggong mentioned it on the platform that day." It was clear that this was what the Emperor intentionally told him.

  Qin Yun's eyes narrowed slightly as he murmured a low "oh". He furrowed his brow in thought. After a long while, he chuckled awkwardly and said, "Don't mind me, little friend, it's not that I'm hiding anything from you, it's just that even I couldn't figure it out." Qin Yun had been trying to get closer to Wei Zhao, but the latter's calm and collected demeanor kept him at arm's length. No matter how hard he tried to bridge the gap, the distance between them remained unchanged. At least, that was how it seemed to him.

  Wei Zhao looked at him seriously and smiled faintly: "No problem, thank you also to Mr. for helping, the Wei family business has improved a lot recently."

  Qin Yun seemed completely nonchalant, chuckled and said: "Little friend, don't mind it, Qin has some things to take care of, so I'll take my leave." With that, he stood up.

  He hastily stood up and followed him out the door. Watching him get into the sedan, he slightly furrowed his brow, gazing at the sun above, and after a long while, let out a sigh: "What a massive whirlpool indeed."

  Qin Yun sat in the sedan chair, also with a thousand emotions and endless sighs. Now that he had returned to the imperial court as the Deputy Minister of Rites, regardless of his imperial connections, he was still a high-ranking official, yet he couldn't help but feel a sense of trepidation and unease in front of Wei Zhao, an ordinary scholar, with a feeling that he couldn't see through.

  Wei Zhao knew he was powerless, so he shook his head and didn't think much of it. He thought that when Li Xiujuan came back in the evening, he would ask her what had happened twenty years ago. Why most people in Jinling now were immigrants who moved in later, even the original residents of Jinling wouldn't mention that matter, as if it was a taboo.

  Wei Zuo walked back into the house, lay down on the bed and picked up a book. After reading for a few moments, he suddenly got up and walked to the desk, looking at the neatly written characters of the young servant girl with a smile: "Write a few words for Young Master."

  Xiao Yatou hurriedly spread out a white paper, her hands held up high, her body straight and proper, and said in a sweet voice: "Young Master says."

  "Limestone, clean leaves, dye vats..."

  The little girl was writing and suddenly stopped, looked up at Wei Xiao with a curious expression and whispered: "Young Master, aren't these for dyeing fabrics?"

  Wei Zhao wasn't surprised, these little girls had learned some unusual things, and smiled: "Finished writing, still grab the square, move one to the back, Young Master has a big use."

  The little girl's big eyes blinked, and she immediately giggled and quickly turned her head to write seriously. She thought to herself, wondering if the young master was going to come up with another clever trick that went against the rules.

  Wei Zhao didn't pay attention to what she was thinking, seeing that she had written enough, he urged her to hurry up and go. The little girl pestered and reduced the number of words she should have written today by a hundred, before happily running out to busy herself.

  Wei Zao sat down at the table, opened the book that he had stacked up unfinished from last night, and began to read with his head lowered.

  For the hustle and bustle outside, Wei Zuo actually saw it very clearly. It is obvious that since the Emperor went to such great lengths to test him, there must be something on his body that others cannot replace, making the Emperor value him so much as to go through all this trouble repeatedly. So, the result was clear at a glance, and upon examining Wei Zuo's entire body, the only advantage was the extraordinary talent that the Emperor saw. Thinking about being appointed as the Crown Prince's reader, granted marriage, and bestowed with an imperial gold plaque, Wei Zuo vaguely felt the Emperor's intention, but couldn't quite put it into words.

  Similarly, Wei Zhao also understood that no matter how big a role he could play, if he wanted to continue being an idle young master here, he had to secure the title of Jinling's first cizi for the time being, and couldn't afford to be careless at all.

  Understanding this, Wei Zhao no longer paid attention to others, on the one hand coping with the impending crisis of the Wei family, and on the other hand actively preparing for the imperial examination.

  As Chu Han won the virtual champion, the Chu family has been extremely active recently, and the Chen family has also gained recognition from Wang Feng, the deputy minister of the Ministry of Official Personnel, and their value has doubled. Although Wei Xiao talked to Cui Gonggong on stage for a few words, after all, people who know Cui Gonggong are very rare, and almost no one takes this matter to heart, which further stimulated the ambition of the Chen and Chu families.

  The Wei family, who had been mysteriously sealed off due to a broken relationship network, recently had many of their shops unsealed, allowing the tightly-wound Wei family to finally catch their breath. However, this also raised the vigilance of the Chen and Chu families, and for a time, the two families made continuous moves, all targeting the Wei family. As the business relationship network improved, the Wei family naturally would not surrender, and began to lay out a counterattack. The Jinling fabric market was suddenly turbulent, with an invisible smoke quietly spreading.

  Weiduo no longer dislikes the tedious scriptures, and in the midst of dryness, he can appreciate some philosophical ideas. In the midst of complexity, he can grasp some essence. As he reads on, he becomes entranced until his stomach growls loudly, snapping him back to reality.

  Wei Zhuo's eyes were half-closed as he lifted his head to look out the window, only to see that the sun had already set, with golden sunlight spilling and pouring into the room. He couldn't help but yawn, stretched his waist and stood up.

  Walking into the hall, Wei Zao saw that there were still a few small dishes on the table. He smiled lightly and looked around, but not seeing the two little maidservants, he sat down by himself. He poured himself a cup of water, picked up a steamed bun, lifted the lid, and began eating.

  The Wei family was still quite wealthy, but they were also very frugal. From the master to the servants, everyone ate very simply and rarely fussed over food.

  Wei Zhuo took a few bites, picked up his teacup and drank some water, raised an eyebrow and suddenly spat it out again.

  Looking at the little face red, green and black, hair messy, clothes wrinkled and damaged, a small beggar-like Xiangxiang, Weizao with a strange smile on his face.

  The little girl was busy for half a day and was hungry, so she habitually came to eat something. As soon as she saw Wei Zhao's strange smile, she lowered her head to take a look, and immediately let out a "wow" of surprise, turned around and ran away with a swish of her skirt.

  Wei Zhuo wiped his mouth and smiled at her back, flustered and lovable little girl.

  Wei Zhao refilled his cup, just about to take a sip when he saw Yuanner rushing in hastily. Wei Zhao was taken aback, as it was rare to see Yuanner lose her composure. He put down the cup and looked at her, saying: "What's wrong?"

  Wan'er's small face looked strange, and she whispered to Wei Zhao in front of him: "Young master, that Fu Yang has arrived." Wan'er had also heard Xiangqiang mention the young master taking on an apprentice, although she found it a bit astonishing, but also felt extremely proud and happy.

  Wei Xiao smiled faintly and said, "Then bring him in." After parting ways that day, Fu Yang had mentioned he would come find him in a few days.

  Wan'er pursed her lips and hesitated for a moment before responding with a soft "en" sound, then walked out again.

  When Wei Zuo was eating, Yu Rou brought Fu Yang in, and suddenly understood why Yu Rou's face looked strange and hesitant.

  Fu Yang's nose was swollen and his face was blue, he walked in shakily, with big and small bags in his hands, a bitter look on his face.