Chapter 200 – The Old Madam is from a Scholarly Family (part 14)

In the backyard of Li family’s house, Li Su stood under the eaves and watched a pigeon fly in.

Li Su looked at it coldly and said nothing. Li Yuan walked out from behind her with a bad expression on his face. “Grandma, who is it? Why didn’t you stop it?”

Who was colluding with outsiders? What did their family have? Could it be because of grandma’s heirloom? Li Yuan thought a lot about this.

“Until you know what other people want to do, the best way to deal with it is to stay still, so as not to startle the snake.” Li Su patted Li Yuan on the shoulder.

“Grandma, what do you think is of worth in our family? Is it related to your family heirloom?” Li Yuan trusted his grandma and asked her directly.

Li Su shook her head. “I don’t know either. However, just be more careful in the future.” After all, this matter was too bizarre. She couldn’t tell Li Yuan.

Li Yuan was also puzzled. He looked at the place where the carrier pigeon flew. It seemed to be the west wing, where his mother lived. The suspicious Wet Nurse Yan was also there. Li Yuan did not know what to think.

Li Yuan did not express his doubts. In his opinion, when dad was not at home, he was the pillar of the family. His dad said not to disturb the grandma and the others about these little things. Wet Nurse Yan was suspicious, but unfortunately he had no evidence. It was better not to startle the snake, and to observe things in secret.

Li Yuan was thinking about it, and suddenly saw the carrier pigeon fly out again. It was about to fly out of the Li family’s yard. Suddenly, the carrier pigeon suddenly fell down in a strange way.

Li Su and Li Yuan glanced at each other, and quickly went in the direction in which the carrier pigeon fell.

When they reached there, they were out of breath. They found that Zuo Kui was grabbing the pigeon and preparing to shed its feathers. When Zuo Kui saw Li Su and Li Yuan coming, he was a little nervous. “Old madam, young master!”

“You shot the carrier pigeon? Do you still have this ability?” Li Su asked with a smile after seeing the carrier pigeon.

“When I was in the countryside, I used to catch birds like this.” Zuo Kui also saw that the pigeon was very fat and it should have a lot of meat. In addition, this pigeon was not raised by his master. So he just shot it.

“Bring it over for me to see.” Li Yuan said with his hand stretched out.

Zuo Kui quickly handed over the carrier pigeon. Li Yuan took the pigeon, and found something abnormal on the pigeon’s leg. He took the small bamboo tube and returned the pigeon to Zuo Kui. “It’s okay. This pigeon doesn’t belong to our family. If you see another pigeon in the future, just kill it.”

Zuo Kui nodded quickly. “Don’t worry, young master, leave it to me. I’m a good shot!”

Li Yuan nodded, gave Li Su a wink, and the two went back. They looked for a place where there was no-one around before Li Yuan took out the things on the pigeon’s leg. He retrieved a letter and opened it. Li Yuan and Li Su looked at each other. What was written on it?

“Could it be that these are code words?” Li Yuan asked, which made it even more suspicious. Who the hell were they, and what did they want with their family?

“Maybe we are thinking too much. How could it be so serious along with the use of a code? Maybe it’s a prank. There’s nothing in our family that is worth paying attention to.” Li Su tore the note and threw it into the drain in the corner. “Yuan’er, we have a clear conscience. We are not afraid of shadows, so we don’t have to take these little things to heart. If you study hard, that’s the right way. Besides, you have grandma and your dad.”

Li Yuan nodded. “Grandma, don’t worry. I know what to do.” The doubts in his heart had not diminished. It was just that grandma was getting older, so he didn’t want to let her worry about these things. She had him.

Li Su raised her head and glanced in the direction of the west wing. Although she didn’t know how Wet Nurse Yan got in touch with that side, if this way did not work, they surely had a second way. She wanted to see what tricks they would play.

After Wet Nurse Yan sent the letter out, she waited for a reply from the capital. But, after waiting for more than two months, there was no news at all. Wet Nurse Yan thought that something happened to the carrier pigeon on the way, so she had to send a letter out again.

She didn’t expect that the letter was lost on the way again. There was no reply from the capital until Li Yu returned.

Wet Nurse Yan was a little flustered. What did the eldest prince mean?

In fact, after Zhao Zongqing learned that Wet Nurse Yan had successfully entered the Li family, he forgot about the Li family. He believed that with Wet Nurse Yan’s methods, Li Ru could become a respectful and qualified concubine. He had more important things to do.

Yes, he successfully persuaded the grandmother of the empress dowager, obtained the approval of the emperor’s uncle, and made an envoy to represent Daqi as an ambassador to the country of Xiluo. He would see Jinlin soon. He had already imagined what he would say and do after seeing Jinlin. He was ready to win Jinlin’s heart again.

He was fully prepared. In this life, he would meet Jinlin at the best age, get to know each other, fall in love with each other, and promise themselves to each other for a lifetime. In this life, he would give Jinlin the best of everything.

When Wet Nurse Yan’s second letter was delivered to the capital, Zhao Zongqing had already left the capital and was on his way to the country of Xiluo.

Li Yu was busy the entire time. When he finally got home, he took a shower, changed clothes, ate a hot meal, and then fell asleep. When he woke up, he realised there was something different at home. Li Yuan and Li Ru’s homework had improved. Heng’er and Li’er had also grown up. There was a new wet nurse in the family, and his wife’s words and deeds were also very different from before. Although she was still as gentle and thoughtful as before, she had improved a lot in terms of receiving people. She could also now manage the housework, just like a qualified female master.

Li Yu wondered what had happened. When he was greeting Li Su, he took advantage of Yingniang being busy and asked quietly, “Mother, how did you teach Yingniang? Why does she seem different than before?”

Li Su showed him a meaningful smile. “It’s a coincidence. This Wet Nurse Yan came from the palace and was reluctant to leave her homeland, so she returned to Jixian. Many people in Jixian came to ask for help, even the magistrate’s wife came to the door in person. I didn’t expect that Wet Nurse Yan had chosen our family. What’s more, I don’t know what she said to the rest of them. The families who Wet Nurse Yan didn’t choose didn’t have any resentment at all. That was more than enough to see her ability. I had planned to invite her to teach Ru’er. But, it was more suitable for her to follow and teach Yingniang.”

Li Yu frowned. “How was the family during this time?”

Li Su glanced at him. “Everything is normal.” She also found it strange that, after the pigeon incident, she had not found a single flaw in Wet Nurse Yan’s behaviour even though she had been paying close attention to Wet Nurse Yan.

Li Yu took a deep breath. “That’s weird.”

Li Su was quite calm about this. “Forget it. There is nothing to worry about. We can adopt measures that are appropriate at the time. We have a clear conscience, and there is nothing in our family that we cannot see.”

Seeing her so magnanimous, Li Yu smiled. “Mother is still the most thorough!”

Li Su looked at Li Yu with a smile. “I haven’t had time to ask you about your trip. What did you gain from this study tour?”

Li Yu nodded. “I gained a lot. When I went out this time, your son not only met Fang Daru, but also gained a lot from his advice. During the study tour, I also gained a lot of knowledge.”

Li Su smiled. “That’s good. There’s still more than a year left until the provincial exam. Next, study at home!”

Li Yu pondered for a while. “Mother, I want to send Yuan’er to Qingcheng Academy to study. This time, your son went out and stayed in Qingcheng Academy for a few days. It is a good place. Yuan’er is the eldest son of your son, and your son has high hopes for Yuan’er and doesn’t want to delay him.”

Li Su said, “I have no opinion on this matter. You can discuss it with Yingniang and Yuan’er. But, as soon as Yuan’er leaves, you have to study carefully. Ling Ping, Ling An, and the others will not be able to read the books. You need to talk to Ling Er about this.”

Li Yu was confident. “Your son has already made up his mind, and your son plans on discussing things with second brother Ling. If his family plans to let Ling Ping and Ling An continue to study, your son can recommend them to go to the private school opened by Brother Xie. Brother Xie is a scholar without a qualification. He has been running a private school for over ten years and has taught two scholars, which is not bad. Tuition isn’t that high, so the Ling family should be able to afford it. If they really can’t afford it, I can also help out a bit.”

Li Su nodded with satisfaction. Li Yu had made a lot of progress in terms of human relationships and sophistication when he went out this time.

Although Yingniang was reluctant, she knew that her son’s future was important, so she did not object. Li Yuan himself was also very happy. Only Li Ru was a little unhappy. As soon as her older brother left and her father wanted to study, she was left alone.

In the end, Li Yuan promised her that when he left, he would leave her his books and notes. Li Ru was happy.

When Li Yu and Li Su talked to the Ling family about Ling Ping and Ling An’s reading problems, Ling Er came up with an unexpected answer.

“You want Ling Ping to follow Yuan’er to be his book boy?” Li Su asked in surprise.

Ling Er nodded. His brother-in-law, Yang Anshu, went out with Scholar Li, and the Ling family saw the changes after Yang Anshu returned. He knew very well what his son’s aptitudes were. They went to school with Li Ru, but they couldn’t even catch up with her. Ling Er had already given up on the idea of letting the two study for the imperial examinations.

However, as a father, he always had to find a way out for his children. When he saw his brother-in-law, Ling Er’s heart moved. In the future, if Scholar Li was successful in passing the provincial exams or the highest level of the imperial civil service exams, Anshu would also rise with the tide. As the eldest son of Scholar Li, Li Yuan was also smart. Li Yuan’s future achievements would surely not be inferior to his father’s. He wasn’t wrong in letting A-Ping follow Li Yuan. Maybe in the future the two would rely on Li Yuan for support.

Ling Er made this decision after discussing it with his family!

“Are you willing? Qingcheng Academy is far away from here, and it is estimated that you can only come back once a year,” Li Yu asked. He could bring a book boy to the academy, and Li Yu also thought about choosing either Ling Ping or Ling An to be a book boy for his son. Considering the relationship with the Ling family, Li Yu did not speak about this. He didn’t expect the Ling family to actually take the initiative to bring it up.