kvmb Chapter 357 Disintegration
Chapter 357 Disintegration
Madam Jiang knew very well that the Ziwei Star represented the Emperor Star.
She asked, "Are you sure?"
Jiang Jianzheng nodded slightly: "There won't be any mistakes."
Madam Jiang understood.
No wonder that for the past few months, the master has been observing the celestial phenomena every night, and when he returns from the government office during the day, he locks himself in his study to study the "Tui Bei Tu".
Until these last few days, they proposed to break off the engagement with the Lin family.
Madam Jiang did not inquire further about such a secret, fearing it might bring about her own demise.
-
Shen Qingtan took Tingxue shopping for New Year's goods. She saw that the gold-flecked Zhengdan paper was particularly exquisite and beautiful, and planned to buy it to write couplets with Zhao Yi.
She handed the sample paper to the shopkeeper: "I'd like to buy a ream of Zhengdan paper."
Just then, a voice came from the doorway: "Do you have any gold leaf-sprinkled cinnabar paper here?"
Shen Qingtan looked in the direction of the sound and saw Yan Yi, who was beside the Imperial Tutor, walk in. She looked somewhat surprised, as if she hadn't expected Yan Yi to come and buy Zhengdan paper to write couplets.
She had seen a piece of information about the Imperial Tutor in the booklet: all the couplets in the Imperial Tutor's residence were written by the Emperor of Northern Qi himself and bestowed upon the Imperial Tutor.
Yan Yi was also taken aback when she saw Shen Qingtan, and quickly bowed: "Your Highness."
"No need for formalities." Shen Qingtan glanced at the door subconsciously.
Yan Yi caught Shen Qingtan's gaze, pretended not to see it, and waited for the shopkeeper to bring the cinnabar paper.
The shopkeeper recognized Yan Yi. Upon hearing Yan Yi address Shen Qingtan, he looked alarmed and said tremblingly, "This...this is the newest Zhengdan paper this year. It is not only sprinkled with gold leaf but also printed with subtle patterns. It is very popular among the nobles in the capital. There are only twenty or thirty sheets left."
He was just an ordinary commoner, and he couldn't afford to offend either the Imperial Tutor or Shen Qingtan.
Shen Qingtan didn't make things difficult for the shopkeeper: "Give him the cinnabar paper."
In addition, it was also to give face to the Imperial Tutor, since the Imperial Tutor had helped Zhao Yi a lot.
The shopkeeper felt as if he had been granted a pardon and quickly brought out the remaining cinnabar paper for Yan Yi.
"Thank you for your generosity, Your Highness." Yan Yi accepted the cinnabar paper without hesitation and placed a silver ingot on the counter. Before leaving, he said to Shen Qingtan, "I heard that Lin Qinian brought gifts to the Guangling Prince's mansion and blocked the prince at the gate, causing quite a commotion."
Upon hearing this, Shen Qingtan brought Tingxue out of the shop. As they passed a carriage, the driver bowed to her and said, "Greetings, Your Highness."
The Imperial Tutor, sitting in the carriage, heard the commotion outside and lifted the carriage curtain. The jade pendant worn by Shen Qingtan at her waist unexpectedly came into view.
His gaze lingered on the jade pendant for a few moments.
Ah, these are actually Yizhen's relics.
Shen Qingtan's mind was entirely on Zhao Yi, and she didn't pay any attention to who the owner of the carriage was, or even look at the driver. She simply said "No need for formalities" and got into her own carriage to return home.
The Imperial Tutor lowered the carriage curtain and saw Yan Yi returning carrying the elixir paper.
Yan Yi said, "Master, the Princess Consort bought some Zhengdan paper at the shop, but unfortunately there were only twenty or thirty sheets left, so she gave them to me."
The Imperial Tutor glanced at the elixir paper indifferently and said, "Let's set off."
-
Shen Qingtan returned to the Guangling Prince's Mansion and went straight to the study in the front courtyard to find Zhao Yi.
Jiang Mu, who was guarding the door, saw Shen Qingtan return and quickly opened the study door to invite her in.
Shen Qingtan hurriedly entered the study and saw Zhao Yi working on official business at his desk.
Hearing the noise, Zhao Yi looked up and asked gently, "Did you find anything outside today?"
“I bought some New Year’s goods and planned to buy a ream of Zhengdan paper to write couplets with you. I happened to run into the Imperial Tutor’s subordinate. He was also there to buy Zhengdan paper. He only had twenty or thirty sheets left, so I gave them to him.”
Shen Qingtan kept Yan Yi's words in mind and asked softly, "Did the young master of the Lin family cause trouble at our residence?"
"Young Master Lin came to deliver a gift," Zhao Yi said succinctly. "I also returned the gift."
Shen Qingtan waited for a moment, and seeing that Zhao Yi was unwilling to say more, she felt that the gift was probably not a good thing.
"Liuyue told me today that Arong bought a lot of tea at the Lin family's tea shop. I instructed her to investigate, and if there is no problem with the tea, I will have Vice General Sun arrange for someone to buy more tea."
Shen Qingtan stood beside him, her hand on his shoulder: "The Lin family's tea comes from legitimate sources, so they definitely won't be able to supply the amount we need. If the tea comes from illegitimate sources, they will definitely be using smuggled tea when they sell it to us. In this way, if we follow this line of investigation, we can catch them red-handed selling smuggled tea."
Zhao Yi grasped her hand: "This is not something we should do ourselves. Just make sure they are selling smuggled tea, and leave the rest to another rival of the Lin family."
He explained, “We have just arrived in Northern Qi and have only recently established ourselves. The Lin family are relatives of the imperial family, and if we interfere, it will inevitably arouse their suspicion.”
Shen Qingtan understood Zhao Yi's meaning; he wanted to use someone else to do his dirty work.
She had the same idea.
The two people hit it off immediately.
At this moment, Jiang Chao's voice rang out from outside: "Master, the Jiang family has broken off the engagement with the Lin family."
Zhao Yi remained calm upon hearing this.
This was within his expectations.
The Jiang family recently intended to annul the engagement with the Lin family, but they were struggling to find a legitimate reason.
Lin Qinian gave him a secret recipe for tonifying the kidneys and fertility, so he casually retaliated.
Every family places great importance on offspring, and Madam Lin especially dotes on Lin Qinian, so she wouldn't be careless in his affairs. To put her mind at ease, she would definitely ask the family physician to examine Lin Qinian's pulse.
With the Jiang family's influence, they would surely find out about the Lin family.
The news that Lin Qinian was unable to have children gave the Jiang family a reason to annul the engagement.
Losing the Jiang family, a powerful backer, is tantamount to severing a strong arm of the Lin family.
Shen Qingtan asked, "Now that the Jiang family and the Lin family have broken off their engagement, will Prince Qi try to win over the Jiang family?"
Zhao Yi shook his head slightly: "By choosing to marry into the Lin family, Jiang Jianzheng has placed himself on the opposite side of Prince Qi. Now that the marriage has been broken off, if the Jiang family were wise, they would not have sided with Prince Qi."
Because Jiang Jianzheng was initially in the camp of the Wise King, not with the King of Qi from the beginning.
Now that Jiang Jianzheng has broken off the engagement with the Lin family, he has withdrawn from the camp of the Wise Prince.
If he accepts the King of Qi's offer and wants to gain the King's attention, he must provide the King with effective information in order to win his favor.
The reason why King Qi recruited Jiang Jianzheng was twofold: firstly, because of Jiang Jianzheng's status and position, and secondly, because Jiang Jianzheng possessed evidence of the Lin family's crimes.
If Jiang Jianzheng were to betray the Lin family and the Prince Xian, he would, in a sense, be breaking a taboo.
Even if the King of Qi were foolish, he would not appoint someone who would betray his former master.
Shen Qingtan felt that the Jiang family's annulment of the engagement was undoubtedly adding insult to injury for the Lin family.
Those who associate with the Lin family might speculate that there might be other inside stories behind the Jiang family's annulment of the engagement.
Then they began to waver and wait and see.
If just one more straw were added, the Lin family's power would likely collapse completely.
"Knock Knock-"
There was a knock on the door, and Liuyue said from outside, "Your Highness, I have something important to report."