flstandardbreds Chapter 119, Part 1 of 8 Gossips
Chapter 119, Part 1 of 8 Gossips
Lu Yangyang watched in confusion as Sheng Yunjiao rummaged through the drawers and cabinets by the bedside.
Then she actually found a book that looked like a storybook, presented it to her like a treasure, and proudly opened it, finding the page about the Marquis of Guangping's mansion and turning to Xue Wanning.
Her slender white fingers traced the dots on the paper: "Let me think... Xue Wanning, Xue's older sister... Her current mother is her stepmother. Her marriage to my eldest brother was arranged when she was young, I think it was arranged by my grandfather. My aunt also knows her birth mother and likes Xue's older sister very much. So even though the Guangping Marquis's mansion has declined somewhat in recent years, my aunt is still very satisfied with this marriage."
Lu Yangyang reached out and picked up her little notebook, flipped through it casually, and asked in surprise, "You... you've recorded the entire network of relationships in the capital?"
Can you believe there's such a thing, such an operation, in this world?
Lu Yangyang looked at the small notebook in her hand in disbelief, then looked at Sheng Yunjiao. Was this still the same Jiaojiao who didn't like studying and got a headache at the mere mention of reading and writing?
"Ahem," perhaps because Lu Yangyang's gaze was too shocked, Sheng Yunjiao was a little embarrassed. She picked at her chin with her fingertips and said softly, "I guess a bad pen is worse than a good memory. The in-law relationships in the capital are more complicated than a spider web. How could anyone remember them all? But don't underestimate this network of relationships. It's said to be an essential course for the matriarch of the family. You have to memorize it purely by heart, otherwise you won't be able to handle the social interactions between the families. I used to dislike these things the most, but then I found them entertaining, and I was afraid of missing anything, so I wrote them down. See, this is where it comes in handy!"
Lu Yangyang: ...
She truly hadn't expected such a thing to happen.
"Getting back to the point, getting back to the point," Sheng Yunjiao leaned over and flipped through her notebook to Xue Wanning's side, "Who exactly are you looking for?"
"Let's find someone she's close to, someone she spends a lot of time with. That's probably the person she cares about the most." Lu Yangyang thought for a moment. For Xue Wanning to go to such lengths to ask the Third Prince for help at this time, their relationship must be extraordinary. If they only met occasionally and weren't very close, she probably wouldn't have had to step in.
She must have had no other choice to do this.
"That makes things easier. It must be her cousin from her maternal uncle's family. Xue's mother died early, and after her father remarried, something happened. Anyway, not long after, she was taken to live with her uncle. When her uncle went to take up his post in another place, he took her with him. She didn't return to the capital until after she came of age."
"Her maternal uncle's family name is Xie. Their ancestors were from Jiangnan. They were originally just ordinary farming and scholarly families. It was only after her grandfather passed the imperial examination that they moved to the capital. Her maternal uncle has a cousin who is said to be the sixth in the family, so he is known as Xie Liulang. He should be about the same age as her eldest brother. It is said that he passed the county-level examination a long time ago and is now studying at the same academy as her second and third brothers. If all goes well, he should participate in next year's autumn imperial examination."
Sheng Yunjiao thought for a moment and said, "That's all I know. I don't know anything else. The Xie family has been away from the capital for a long time. I only heard a little about it when people talked about Sister Xue. They said that her cousin Xie Liulang is quite knowledgeable and will definitely pass the imperial examination in the future. The Xie family has a good family tradition and can be considered a scholarly family. Many people have inquired about Xie Liulang's situation."
Lu Yangyang then asked, "Do you know what's happened to the Xie family recently?"
Sheng Yunjiao shook her head: "I haven't heard anything. What did you hear? Tell me quickly!"
She shook Lu Yangyang's arm: "You're definitely hiding something from me. Tell me quickly, what exactly did you see at Huguo Temple? Did you see Sister Xue and her cousin? No, didn't Big Brother go too? Did he see them too? Big Brother is such a sullen person, he definitely wouldn't try to make a girl happy. But Big Brother is very particular; he won't easily make trouble unless there's solid evidence. Oh, tell me quickly, what happened?"
Sheng Yunjiao was extremely anxious. At this moment, she completely forgot about the fright she had experienced. She was filled with regret that she had missed such an important matter! She had missed it!
Sheng Yunjiao clung to Lu Yangyang, acting all cute and coquettish, gazing at Lu Yangyang with pleading eyes.
Lu Yangyang poked her head away with her finger. "I did run into a little trouble, but you're right, I can't make things up without solid evidence. I'll tell you when I find the evidence. I'm going back now, I have an exam the day after tomorrow, and I still have homework to finish!"
Sheng Yunjiao was stunned. She watched helplessly as Lu Yangyang pushed her away and left. Completely bewildered, she rushed over and grabbed Lu Yangyang. "No way? No way? Yangyang, my dear Yangyang, my precious Yangyang, you just left like that? How could you be so heartless? How could you keep such an important thing from me?"
"I'll tell you after I finish my exams and find out the truth," Lu Yangyang said, rejecting her without hesitation.
If it were anything else, she would have said it without hesitation, but since it concerned her elder brother's life-long happiness, she felt it was inappropriate to draw conclusions without evidence.
"Yangyang, Yangyang, oh, how cruel you are—"
Sheng Yunjiao pounded her chest, heartbroken as she watched Lu Yangyang leave. She reluctantly clung to the door frame, wanting to chase after her, but Yangyang had an exam the day after tomorrow, something so important, and she couldn't afford to cause trouble at this time.
Waaaaah, listening to only half of the gossip is toxic!
……
When Lu Yangyang returned to her courtyard, Granny Shen came out to greet her. She first asked her about her situation at Huguo Temple these past two days, and then said, "Miss, His Highness sent someone to say that he has returned to the palace these past few days on business. He asked me to tell you to do well in the exam, and that you will definitely pass!"
Lu Yangyang glanced at the neighboring yard and said, "I see."
She had just been thinking that if it was a matter of the court, His Highness should know more about it than others, and she even wanted to ask him for information. But now it seems that's not an option, and she can only wait for news from Princess Liduan.
Fortunately, her older brother's wedding was after her exams, so there was still time.
With that in mind, Lu Yangyang stopped having any wild thoughts and focused on preparing for the exam. The night before the exam, Lan sent over Lu Yangyang's registration form and also had Granny Hui send over a few sets of new clothes.
Early the next morning, Lu Yangyang got ready and, together with Granny Shen, Yuanxing, Sheng Yunjiao who was determined to cheer her on, and her maid, boarded a carriage to Taiming Academy.
The annual entrance examination for Taiming Academy is a major event in the capital. When Lu Yangyang's carriage arrived outside Taiming Academy, he found that the entire road was blocked by carriages.
The group had no choice but to get off the carriage and finally managed to squeeze to the door to hand over their registration forms.
At this point, Sheng Yunjiao and the others could no longer get in.
Lu Yangyang said goodbye to them, took the exam supplies from Yuanxing's hands, and then her gaze fell on the food box that Yuanxing was carrying, which was filled with her favorite snacks.
"Put the snacks in my purse, I'll take them with me."
Yuanxing's face paled for a moment, and she whispered, "Girl, maybe, maybe you shouldn't eat it, and should eat it after the exam."