CHAPTER 226: CHAPTER 223: THE WINGS HAVE HARDENED! (SECOND UPDATE FOR MONTHLY VOTES)

If Prince Rong’s Mansion is an accomplice to Xu Yin, then Lian Rong is truly Xu Yin’s henchman. To rescue Zhe Yu, we must keep a close watch on him.

The next day, after getting up early, Pei Zhan went to the Capital Camp, while Fu Zhen returned to the Ning Family to look for Mrs. Ning.

The carriage arrived at the Ning Family’s entrance, only to find another carriage parked under the large tree in front. Fu Zhen glanced twice and recognized Xie Zhang through the partially opened window, and hurriedly got out of the carriage.

"Mr. Xie?"

Upon seeing her, Xie Zhang immediately got out of his carriage as well, "General’s wife."

Fu Zhen grinned, "You’re too polite." She continued, "Why aren’t you going inside? Is mother not at home?"

"No..."

A trace of unease inexplicably flashed across Xie Zhang’s face as he said, "I was just passing by... and, I wanted to deliver a token of thanks. Your mother has been so attentive in teaching my young daughter, and I have yet to formally express my gratitude, so I felt..."

"You’re being too formal, sir," Fu Zhen said, "My mother teaches Miss Xie these skills of managing the household voluntarily, precisely because of Mr. Xie’s generous care for us. My mother wishes to return the favor, so why should you thank us back?"

Xie Zhang, as a court official, was at a loss for words, "I just, just felt uneasy. She, she is so attentive, and Ah Yu, she comes home every day praising your mother; it must be, too much trouble for her."

Fu Zhen paused for a moment on his slightly flushed face, then suddenly laughed, "Since you’re already out of the carriage, sir, why not come in for a cup of tea? You can talk face-to-face."

Xie Zhang seemed to want to decline, but Fu Zhen had already directed someone to knock the door open.

Mrs. Ning was directing people to tidy up the yard, her slender figure standing amidst the vast courtyard looked somewhat solitary.

Seeing them both appear, Mrs. Ning was also taken aback.

Fu Zhen said, "Mr. Xie has something to discuss with mother, I just happened to meet him at the door, so we came in together.

"Please sit in the hall, sir, I’ll excuse myself for a moment."

With that, she went straight to her Yixin Hall.

The last time, Mrs. Ning mentioned opening a street-facing gate in the courtyard, and now it was open. Fu Zhen took the opportunity to send someone to the nearby Ning Family’s pharmacy to call over a shopkeeper.

Now, all the chief managers, second managers in every shop in the capital had met Fu Zhen under the guidance of Mrs. Ning and Manager Su, saving a lot of unnecessary talk.

After making arrangements, Fu Zhen waited there for the shopkeeper to bring the prepared medicine over. Seeing the calligraphy tools he had used before on the desk, she spread out paper and pen, and began to paint.

By the time Mrs. Ning returned, she had already painted a portrait.

"Who is this? Looks familiar, as if I’ve seen him somewhere."

Fu Zhen, having been frail since childhood, couldn’t do anything else. Mrs. Ning had the conditions to nurture her into a talented lady, but lacked the physical strength. So she chose the relatively easy art of painting, apprenticing Fu Zhen to a famous painter in the suburban capital, gaining some skill.

Now, with Liang Ning in control of this body, the skills learned are still firmly attached to the body and memory.

Fu Zhen said, "It’s not surprising that mother has seen him. This person is Lian Rong, a confidant of the Assistant Minister of Rites, Xu Yin."

In the past, there might not have been opportunities to meet, but today’s Wanbin Building has long become the new favorite venue for the capital’s aristocracy’s banquets. Last time, Xu Yin even bought pastries from Wanbin Building to take to Baihe Temple to please Yongping, indicating that Xu Yin has become a customer of Wanbin Building.

"Is he someone from the Xu family?" Mrs. Ning furrowed her brow, "No wonder I’m not very familiar. This Assistant Minister Xu doesn’t visit Wanbin Building often among their group.

"The shopkeepers in the building usually keep a close eye on their peers’ news. They say he likes to go to West Lake Building."

"Is that so," Fu Zhen recalled the old restaurant they used to frequent frequently.

West Lake Building is indeed good, but someone like Xu Yin, who is eager to mingle with high-ranking officials, surprisingly didn’t join the crowd at Wanbin Building, but instead opted to frequent West Lake Building, which is unusual.

"Why are you painting this person?" Mrs. Ning asked again.

Fu Zhen then pushed the painting to her, "Our Wanbin Building has a lot of people coming and going every day. Please tell Manager Su to pass the word down, to usually keep an eye out for this person, and if he comes, watch what he does. Also, any news related to the Xu family and Prince Rong’s Mansion, if they hear anything, come and tell me."

The teahouses and taverns are places where information flows most rapidly. How could Fu Zhen pass up the chance right under her nose?

Mrs. Ning had naturally heard about the dispute between the Pei family and Prince Rong’s Mansion, so she kept the painting without further questioning.

Just then, the pharmacy manager personally brought the medicine back, and Ning Jia came home from school, sitting down as a family of three to chat about family affairs.

Fu Zhen stayed until almost dinner time before returning to the Pei family.

The Pei family ate separately by household, so Fu Zhen gave the medicine to Ziyan, instructing her to watch over it while it was decocted.

After dinner, she and Pei Zhan carried a jar filled with the decocted medicine and went to the Zhe family again under the cover of night.

This time, with Chen Shun inside assisting, it went even more smoothly.

After last night’s correction of the maid, Zhe Yu’s condition looked better, at least his lips were not so dry.

Fu Zhen fed him the medicine bit by bit, and replaced the injury medicine Pei Zhan had brought. His wound had festered, looking appalling. When changing the medicine, Zhe Yu began to twist in pain again, but when the new medicine was applied to the edges, he gradually calmed down.

"Take some time during the day to apply more of this to the edges of his wounds,"

Fu Zhen handed the medicine to Chen Shun, then withdrew from the Zhe family with Pei Zhan.

Whether or not this method works, we’ll find out in three to five days.

While Fu Zhen secretly tended to Zhe Yu’s recovery, the rumor of Prince Rong’s Mansion being smashed was still lingering.

On the day it happened, the emperor summoned Prince Rong to the palace to ask for the details and gave him a scolding.

Prince Rong returned to his mansion crestfallen, and the emperor subsequently summoned Pei Yu to the palace. It’s unclear if he scolded him, but Pei Yu returned without saying anything; he went in with justified conviction and returned just as confidently, even having three bowls of rice upon his return.

However, what the Prince Rong’s Mansion couldn’t suppress was the street gossip; the courtiers remained fairly discreet, not publicly saying much.

But when repairing the gate walls, Prince Rong, seeing the nearby Xu family, couldn’t contain his anger, remembering that after the incident, Xu Yin never came to inquire, so he sent someone to summon him.

The messengers quickly returned, "Assistant Minister Xu was summoned to the palace by the emperor to lecture the Third Prince and won’t be back anytime soon."

Prince Rong’s eyes flashed with a moment of astonishment; after a pause, he said with his hands behind his back, "He’s got strong wings now, having the emperor as a backing!"

Hearing this, someone below said, "I also heard that Wei Kingdom’s Great General He Huan intends to strongly recommend Assistant Minister Xu to replace the soon-to-retire Minister Lin as the Chancellor of the Chamberlain’s Office."