Great, it's just a lackey, we're saved!

Chapter 84 Xiaosheng's Notebook!

Reminded by Ning He's words, Xie Yuan's first reaction was to deny it, but after thinking about it, he suddenly became somewhat uncertain.

"No one enters my study except for Xi Tong."

Xi Tong was Xie Yuan's pageboy, having followed him since childhood, and the two had a deep bond.

Xie Yuan didn't believe Xi Tong would do such a thing.

Ning He, however, found the matter strange.

She suddenly asked, "What is the background of this Xi Tong?"

"Back then, I was rescued by Prime Minister Ning. Three years later, Xi Tong was suddenly sent by the Ning family to take care of my daily life."

Xie Yuan knew what Ning He was thinking, and he said confidently, "He'er, Xi Tong's indenture is still in the Prime Minister's residence, and she was personally selected by Prime Minister Ning, so there will be no problem."

Ning He nodded. If that was the case, then there was nothing to doubt about Xi Tong.

But that's where the trick lies.

Apart from Xie Yuan, Xi Tong was the only person who had access to his writings.

"Xie Yuan, can Xi Tong read?"

"I don't know him." Xie Yuan said with a smile, "Xi Tong has been with me for so many years, but he still has the heart of a child. On weekdays, besides taking care of my daily life, he goes out to play."

"He won't come back until curfew every day."

Ning He seemed to be deep in thought, then changed the subject and started talking about Princess Jiang Yueli.

"Xie Yuan, are you aware that a few days ago, the third-ranked scholar Chu Tiance went to the princess's residence and demanded that the princess annul the engagement?"

Xie Yuan was somewhat shocked: "Has this newly appointed third-ranked scholar gone mad? How can a marriage bestowed by the Emperor be treated so lightly?"

Although the Great Zhou Emperor was not ruthless, as an emperor, how could he tolerate others' disobedience?

To put it simply, an imperial marriage was the emperor choosing a son-in-law.

On a grander scale, that is the manifestation of the will of the imperial power!

It's truly unbelievable that Chu Tianze actually wanted to annul the engagement.

"If the third-ranked scholar doesn't want this marriage, he shouldn't go to the eldest princess. Wouldn't that be forcing the princess?"

"If he truly had the courage to refuse the marriage, he should have informed the Emperor directly. To pass the problem on to the princess is not the act of a gentleman."

Ning He smiled dismissively, saying that Xie Yuan's thoughts were those of a normal person.

Chu Tianze is not a normal person, so he naturally doesn't follow the usual path.

"These days, rumors are going around in the capital that the third-ranked scholar has a confidant. I thought it was just a romantic affair made up by the common people."

"Now it seems that the woman is the one Chu Tiance wants to marry."

Ning He asked, "You've also heard of Hu Youniang? What do the people say about her?"

Xie Yuan took a storybook directly from the bookshelf.

"This was brought back by Xi Tong. He said it's the best-selling storybook in the capital recently."

Ning He took a look and discovered that the author of the storybook was actually Bai Xiaosheng.

She asked in surprise, "Doesn't Bai Xiaosheng have the Beijing Gazette? How come he's making money from storybooks too?"

Xie Yuan laughed upon hearing this.

"The bookstore owner who sells storybooks said that this was specially delivered by Bai Xiaosheng, not by their invitation."

"This story was even published shortly after Chu Tianze arrived in the capital, and it sold extremely well!"

Ning He is a loyal reader of the Jianghu Gazette.

Bai Xiaosheng was a very mysterious person, and no one had ever seen what he looked like.

But what he reported in the martial arts gazette was 100% true!

Most of them are secrets that ordinary people cannot see.

Therefore, Ning He was extremely interested in the stories he wrote.

I flipped through it casually and got hooked.

She didn't look up in surprise until she had finished reading the whole book.

"This Hu Youniang is not Chu Tiance's childhood sweetheart. The two met when Chu Tiance was on his way to take the imperial examination. Chu Tiance actually defied the imperial decree and refused to marry her for Hu Youniang. It seems that this woman is quite charming."

"I thought that since the two of them had such a deep relationship, they must have known each other for a long time, but I didn't expect that to be the case."

"If you really want to calculate it carefully, it's only about three months, right?"

Xie Yuan did the math and nodded.

"About right. Chu Tianze comes from the remote Yizhou. It will take him about three months to travel to the capital, including preparation time."

Ning He increasingly felt that Hu Youniang was suspicious.

In just three months, Chu Tianze defied the imperial decree and refused to marry her?

This kind of skill is something most women wouldn't possess.

Ning He picked up the storybook and said, "I need to go to the Princess's residence. Hu Youniang is strange, and I can't figure her out. I need to find someone to discuss it with."

Xie Yuan asked in confusion, "Can the Eldest Princess see through it?"

"It wasn't Yue Li, it was a palace maid by her side named Zhou Wei."

When Zhou Wei is mentioned, Ning He's face is full of smiles.

“Auntie is something else this week. She’s quick-witted, intelligent, and skilled. I’m sure she knows what’s wrong with Hu Youniang.”

As she was leaving, Ning He thought of something else.

He asked Xie Yuan, "These policy essays of yours are really very similar to those written by Chu Tian Ce."

"As far as I know, you don't often write policy essays, so why did you write several policy essays on governing the country during the imperial examination period?"

Xie Yuan seemed somewhat bewildered by the question.

After thinking for a long time, he said uncertainly, "Actually, I forgot too. Maybe I just wrote it down when I felt like it..."

"However, I do have some recollection of this last one. That morning, I seemed to hear Xi Tong muttering something, which inspired me to write this piece."

Xie Yuan paused as he spoke, exchanging a glance with Ning He.

What a coincidence!

Xi Tong's identity is indeed legitimate, but that doesn't mean his actions are necessarily without fault.

The reason why Xie Yuan's governance policies turned into Chu Tian's policies still needs to be investigated.

……

When Ning He arrived at the princess's residence, Zhou Wei was playing shuttlecock with Jiang Yueli, Hongxiu, and Ziyu.

Upon seeing Ning He, he took the initiative to invite her to join him.

Ning He smiled and waved her hand, "I'm not playing anymore, I'm a little tired from yesterday."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Wei glanced at Ning He's expression and couldn't help but laugh.

"Miss Ning, it seems you made some progress yesterday?"

Even Ning He, with her carefree personality, blushed when Zhou Wei teased her.

"Aunt Zhou, please don't make fun of me. I've come today to ask you something."

Jiang Yueli, holding a shuttlecock, walked over curiously.

"What's all this secrecy about?"

Hongxiu and Ziyu went out to serve tea, while the three of them sat down in the flower hall.

Ning He handed over the storybook, and after Jiang Yueli opened it, Zhou Wei came over.

Their two little brains moved almost in sync, reading the storybook in a flash.

"Is this about my consort? Is it all true?" Jiang Yueli asked.

Ning He nodded: "These words were originally written by Bai Xiaosheng, so they are probably true."

Jiang Yueli chuckled and casually flipped open the storybook again.

"How ridiculous! I thought Chu Tianze and Hu Youniang were inseparable, having gone through so much together. I never imagined they had only known each other for three months."

Jiang Yueli's tone was both sarcastic and angry.

Thinking back to his previous life, he remembered the humiliation Chu Tianze had caused him because of Hu Youniang.

She was speechless!

Zhou Wei looked disdainful and said, "Princess, don't flatter them! It sounds nice that they met on Chu Tiance's way to take the imperial examination, but in reality, it was just a fleeting romance."

However, Hu Youniang is a vixen, and once Chu Tianze gets involved with her, it will be difficult for him to escape.

"Miss Ning, what's the background of your lover, Xie Yuan?"

When Xie Yuan suddenly appeared, Zhou Wei immediately got to the point.