Chapter 525 The Man in a Bad Mood (1)_1
We mustn’t let the Fang family produce another Scholar. We’ll have to sever Fang Liuming’s path to the scientific examinations! Old Pei didn’t want to resort to shady tactics and risk getting caught, which wasn’t an easy matter.
Ever since Ms. Liangsan successfully cultivated double-cropping rice and was titled County Magistrate, Qian Wanxiu had people watching Sister Peiqin and her siblings, hoping to catch something incriminating to deliver a fatal blow. Yet until now, not a single useful clue has emerged.
Without the influence of the Shen family, without Wu Dongsi, it would have been easy to pin a charge of defying the Imperial decree on Pei Qin and the others. A few witnesses, and they’d be unable to shake off the charge. However, Pei Qin’s marriage to Mo Heng, and her continuing relations with Shen Songming, meant that even Meng Dinglun’s connections were of no use. Now, she could only hope that Wu Dongsi would be reassigned, and that the new County Magistrate would not be from the Shen faction, but a political enemy of the Shen family.
Shen Songming’s letter arrived, along with a heap of New Year’s goods for Pei Qin.
Pei Qin opened the chest and turned it upside down. It was only then, in a hidden compartment at the bottom of the chest, that she found what she was looking for. "It’s not something precious, yet it’s hidden so well..."
"What’s all this? Big sister!" Pei Qian asked, holding up a package.
"It’s none of a child’s business," Pei Qin said as she took it away and put the items into her inner bag, instructing Feng Wei to take them to the storeroom.
Pei Qian was puzzled. It wasn’t summer, so there was no need for making ice. Could these be for making fire? But how could fire be made without burning wood!?
However, she was quickly distracted by the small gifts Shen Songming had sent them.