Although this world lacks internal energy, Li Xuan still possesses keen hearing and sharp eyesight, allowing him to hear everything clearly.
Not to mention Qingwen's attitude.
Just the fact that she calls him "Fourth Master" instead of "Xuan Fourth Master" shows that she has accepted her current identity.
A must-have praise!
Without further thought, Li Xuan walked back to his courtyard.
After finishing dinner with Xiangling and Qingwen serving him, he asked:
"Today, I spent the entire day outside, but didn't find anything interesting. Did anything happen at the Duke's Mansion?"
Xiangling, who had begun eating, tilted her head, pondering, then looked again at Qingwen.
As soon as Qingwen put down her chopsticks, Li Xuan said:
"No need, you can speak while you eat."
"We don't have so many rules within our family."
"Thank you, Fourth Master," Qingwen picked up her bowl and chopsticks but didn't resume eating. "If we're talking about events, there have been a few in the mansion recently."
"Two days ago, the eldest master of the eastern mansion, Zhen, wanted to arrange a marriage for Rong Brother. Unexpectedly, the chosen bride was actually the daughter of the Ning Mansion, a betrothed girl promised to their younger brother Hu."
"After investigating for two days, today, Rong Brother went to their house with fifty taels of silver, hoping to negotiate Hu's withdrawal from the engagement, so he could marry his intended."
Seeing that not only Li Xuan, but even Xiangling had stopped eating, Qingwen felt proud.
She smiled and said, "Guess what?"
Xiangling asked, "What happened?"
Qingwen waved her chopsticks, "That Hu grabbed a long spear he used as a supporting beam, and swung it to beat Rong Brother out!"
Qingwen didn't elaborate on what exactly Jia Rong did, but the disdain in her eyes showed that she knew it was nothing good.
As for the method, it could only be blackmail and enticement.
They were all relatives, why do this?
"Who is this Hu? Do you know anything about him?"
Li Xuan stroked his chin.
Using a long spear as a supporting beam meant it was at least a zhang long, and it had to be made of pure iron, not white wax wood.
It must weigh dozens of pounds, and to be able to swing it with one hand, his strength was not bad!
However, there doesn't seem to be such a character in Dream of the Red Chamber...
"I actually do know about him," Qingwen said proudly. "Someone inquired carefully, and found out that Hu is related to the Ning Guogong Mansion, not exceeding five generations."
"Hu's grandfather was a general who fought alongside Daihua Gong, wielding a nine-foot-long, 129-pound giant gilded tiger head spear, invincible on the battlefield."
"Later, Daihua Gong led his army to war and suffered a defeat. Jiao Da carried Hu's grandfather back from the pile of corpses, and it was his grandfather's last stand that bought time for them to retreat."
"His father was a servant who ran errands for Jing Ye, and he disappeared mysteriously nine years ago."
"His mother was a woman Lin Ye redeemed from the brothel and gave to Hu's father as his wife, and she passed away a few years ago."
Li Xuan squinted his eyes, thinking.
Nine years ago, that was the time when the deposed crown prince, Yizhong Laopin Wang, rebelled.
Jia Jing, the Crown Prince's tutor and advisor to the East Palace, was probably cleaned up by the Jia family.
As for the brothel, Jia Jing's involvement meant there was definitely something fishy there!
If this Jia Hu were the protagonist in a typical transmigration novel, would he have a hidden identity, such as being the son of the former Crown Prince or the Emperor's son…
After pondering for a while, Li Xuan tapped on the table and said:
"Don't stop eating, you two."
"Qingwen, didn't you say there were several things happening at the mansion recently? What are the others?"
"Yes, Master," Qingwen quickly swallowed two mouthfuls of rice before continuing, "There are also two things about the Madam."
"One is about the Madam's cousin, Xue Yimu, who married into the Xue family."
"Early today, the Madam received a letter from Jinling, saying that Xue Yimu's family is preparing to come to the capital and stay at the Rong Guogong Mansion!"
This information had already spread?
Indeed, the Rong Guogong Mansion was leakier than a sieve, no false words there.
The only point worth mentioning is that Xue Pan killed… wait, Xiangling is here with me, who is he going to fight with? Could it be that Xue Pan is destined to kill Feng Yuan?
Or is this a trap set for the Xue family?
Li Xuan remained silent, and Qingwen continued:
"The other matter concerns the Madam's relatives, the Wang family."
"The four great families of Jia, Shi, Wang, and Xue are all interconnected. The Madam married Second Master, and the Wang family's uncle (Wang Ziting) also rose through the ranks because of the Jia family."
"There is a girl from the Wang family named Wang Xifeng, who has come to the mansion frequently since childhood, and she is also betrothed to the eldest master's illegitimate son, Gui Brother, and their marriage seems to be approaching soon."
Li Xuan: "..."
I thought something felt wrong, so the head housekeeper and Madam is actually Wang Xifeng.
Wang Xifeng hasn't even married in yet!
Gui Brother…
Could there be something wrong with him too?
Rubbing his temples, Li Xuan asked, "Anything else?"
"There is nothing else in the mansion, but there is one more in our courtyard."
Is this the beginning of self-disclosure and loyalty?
Li Xuan, intrigued, said, "Oh, what is it?"
Qingwen bowed slightly, "I was originally a servant in the Lai family, and Lai Po Po gave me to the Old Madam, and then the Old Madam gave me to Fourth Master."
"Lai Po Po came to me earlier, saying she wanted to find a way to transfer me to Bao Er Ye's room."
"I refused, I think it's pretty good following Fourth Master."
Although he knew it was a deliberate statement, Li Xuan felt a sense of warmth in his heart.
But soon, his curiosity got the better of him, "From what you said, Lai Po Po seems to have considerable power."
"If that's the case, why weren't you assigned to Bao Er Ye in the beginning?"
"I'm also quite confused," Qingwen was equally puzzled, "I don't know why, but the Old Madam assigned me to you, and assigned Mei Ren to Bao Er Ye."
"Has anything happened recently concerning you two?"
Li Xuan pressed further.
It must be that Qingwen did something that didn't please the Old Madam, hence the Old Madam assigning Mei Ren to the big-faced Bao.
Pleased, he pondered for a moment and said:
"Just a while ago, I caught Mei Ren stealing and drinking the Old Madam's leftover ginseng tea, and I made a big scene about it, even taking it to the Old Madam."
"No matter how you look at it, I was in the right, and the Old Madam is a reasonable person, so why did she suddenly transfer Mei Ren to Bao Er Ye's room?"
"Ah, Fourth Master, I didn't mean I didn't want to serve you!"
"I know what you mean," Li Xuan raised his hand and pressed it down, calming her, "But it was precisely because you caused that commotion that the Old Madam gave up her intention of sending you there."
"Fourth Master, I don't understand."
"Bao Er Ye has plenty of maids, he shouldn't need to add more personnel."
"Yes, there are many, so why would the Old Madam still transfer Mei Ren there?"
"Then we need to understand her intentions for assigning people."
As far as I understand, among Bao Brother's maids, the most outstanding one is Xiren, and she is loyal to the Madam.
The Old Madam, to divide Xiren's power, and to compete with the Madam for control of Bao Brother, so she sent a maid from her own side."
After all, Xiren, originally a maid of the Old Madam, had turned to the Madam.
If she didn't make any moves.
What if Xiren influenced the phoenix egg and it wouldn't listen to the Old Madam anymore!