Chapter 193

The father of the Prince of Jin was once the regent who wielded absolute power and, for many years was the presumed heir…

Although he is now showing signs of decline, and many of his former supporters are contemplating leaving him, a starved camel is still larger than a horse.

The Prince of Jin still has a considerable number of followers.

Last year, after the Lou family incident and Governor Zhang’s promotion, the King of Jin wanted his men to deal with Governor Zhang, even considering having Governor Zhang killed.

However, his advisors and confidants persuaded him otherwise.

Everyone in the court knew that Governor Zhang had offended the Prince of Jin. If something happened to Governor Zhang now, the Prince of Jin would undoubtedly face public outrage!

At that time, those around the Prince of Jin urged him to act low-key and find ways to regain the emperor’s favor.

As for Governor Zhang… once the emperor dies and the Prince of Jin ascends to the throne, wouldn’t he be able to deal with Governor Zhang however he wants?

Therefore, the Prince of Jin only placed some of his people around Governor Zhang and did not take further action.

Unexpectedly, just as the Prince of Jin had been low-key for a while and regained the emperor’s attention, a book titled “Record of Escape from Famine” emerged, bringing up the flood disaster in Yuxi Prefecture seven years ago, delivering another heavy blow to the Prince of Jin.

This “Record of Escape from Famine” was printed by the Shen family, a wealthy merchant family allied with Lü Qingxi, and according to the information found by the Prince of Jin’s men, the original manuscript of the book came from Governor Zhang.

They did not uncover the identity of the solitary scholar who wrote it, but even if this person wasn’t Governor Zhang, he was closely related to Governor Zhang!

The Prince of Jin hated Governor Zhang and wanted him dead, but his men stopped him again.

Assassinating Governor Zhang in this tense situation would only hasten their defeat.

These people advised the King of Jin to be patient and suggested causing trouble for those around Governor Zhang instead.

As for whom to target…

After his promotion, Governor Zhang had strongly recommended the former county magistrate of Chongcheng to become the prefect of Hexing Prefecture. It was said that when the Linhu County incident occurred, Governor Zhang initially had this Gou Tongzhi investigate it…

Now everyone knew that Gou Tongzhi was Governor Zhang’s man. If Gou Tongzhi committed crimes like arbitrary judgments, corruption, or even abducting women, Governor Zhang, who had recommended him, would lose face.

After sending a letter to his contacts in Jiang’an Province, the Prince of Jin’s men immediately started plotting against Gou Tongzhi.

However, digging a pit for Gou Tongzhi was not easy, especially since their personnel in Hexing Prefecture had already been cleared out.

They managed to bribe a few minor officials in Hexing Prefecture, but those people were only willing to pass on information about Gou Tongzhi, not commit crimes themselves.

They were living well and did not want to risk being beheaded for any wrongdoing.

The King of Jin’s men, after much consideration, decided to use a honey trap against Gou Tongzhi.

According to their information, Gou Tongzhi had only one wife.

Gou Tongzhi’s wife, although pregnant and not young, was still his only spouse, indicating his preference for such a woman.

So they found a younger and more beautiful woman with similar manners to Gou Tongzhi’s wife to approach him.

But Gou Tongzhi refused!

Did he really love his wife that much?

The Prince of Jin’s men, besides trying to ensnare Gou Tongzhi, also targeted Li Qingzhi.

Initially, they did not consider Li Qingzhi, a mere scholar, worth their attention, but then their informants in Hexing Prefecture reported some things about him.

According to these reports, Li Qingzhi was highly valued by both Governor Zhang and Gou Tongzhi. Gou Tongzhi’s son was even raised in Li Qingzhi’s home. Additionally, Li Qingzhi had written some books praising both Governor Zhang and Gou Tongzhi.

Recently, the Shen family’s bookstore published Li Qingzhi’s “Collection of Children’s Stories,” which was said to be related to Governor Zhang.

If they placed someone around Li Qingzhi, they might find ways to trouble Governor Zhang and Gou Tongzhi.

As for how to place someone around Li Qingzhi, it would definitely involve a honey trap.

Unfortunately, Li Qingzhi rarely went out!

Li Qingzhi spent most of his time at home or at his school, leaving them with no opportunity to act. They had to adopt the suggestion of targeting Li Qingzhi’s father instead.

But even Li Qingzhi’s father, an old bachelor, didn’t take the bait.

The King of Jin’s men were genuinely frustrated.

Hong Hui was even more frustrated.

The Prince of Jin’s men had found some helpers in Hexing Prefecture, and coincidentally, Hong Hui was among them.

After losing his title in last year’s county examination, Hong Hui didn’t go to jail because his family paid a hefty sum.

Humiliated and facing such circumstances, Hong Hui left Chongcheng, seeking refuge with a retired official, doing unsavory jobs like loan sharking.

During this time, he returned to Chongcheng, set his sights on Fang Zijian, wanting Fang to work for him, and planned to use Fang’s sister to climb the social ladder.

Unfortunately, Fang’s sister committed suicide, and only Fang came to him.

Hong Hui did well working for the retired official, and when the Prince of Jin’s men needed manpower, he was recommended.

He encouraged the Prince of Jin’s men to target Li Qingzhi, even going to Chongcheng himself to find Shen Xuniang and instruct her to seduce Li Qingzhi’s father.

As long as Shen Xuniang married Li Qingzhi’s father, he had ways to target Li Qingzhi.

For instance, if Li Qingzhi’s father died before Li Qingzhi could participate in the provincial examination, Li Qingzhi would be unable to attend.

Afterward, they could use Shen Xuniang to seduce Li Qingzhi…

If Li Qingzhi got entangled with his stepmother, he would be ruined!

But Li Qingzhi’s father didn’t take the bait.

Equally frustrated were the men sent by the Duke of Yan.

Recently, some of the Prince of Jin’s followers had secretly pledged allegiance to the Duke of Yan or expressed goodwill towards him, so the Duke of Yan learned about some of the Prince of Jin’s plans.

For instance, the Prince of Jin’s intention was to target Governor Zhang.

The Duke of Yan immediately inserted his own people into these groups. Their mission was to assist the Prince of Jin in targeting Governor Zhang, and then expose the whole affair.

The Duke of Yan’s men even planned to escalate the situation, encouraging the Prince of Jin’s men to kill Gou Tongzhi. This way, once the scandal broke, the already declining Prince of Jin would be utterly ruined.

But, once again, their plans failed.

Li Qingzhi was unaware of all this.

He was now sitting across from Gou Tongzhi, noticing Gou Tongzhi’s tanned face and leaner figure, feeling a bit sympathetic.

It seemed Gou Tongzhi had been working very hard lately.

Gou Tongzhi was easily influenced by others. Although Mrs. Gou had her own little schemes and liked to throw tantrums, she was from a prestigious family and held herself to high standards, avoiding disgraceful actions. Outside women were different.

These women, once they got close to Gou Tongzhi, would definitely have their own agendas, and their relatives might bully others using Gou Tongzhi’s name.

For instance, if Li Qingzhi’s father married Shen Xuniang, her brothers would likely oppress people under his name.

Eventually, these issues would be blamed on Gou Tongzhi!

With these thoughts, Li Qingzhi continued to frighten Gou Tongzhi: “Sir, Governor Zhang told me privately that the Prince of Jin has been acting recklessly recently and has placed many of his people around him…”

Gou Tongzhi was startled by what he heard.

After mingling in the officialdom for a long time, he discovered that many things among officials were not stated explicitly; they would just “hint” a few words.

What they said might seem like a single leaf, but underneath that leaf could be an entire tree.

Was Li Qingzhi’s mention of this prompted by Governor Zhang?

Was Governor Zhang hinting at something?

That woman did seem a bit off… Although he hadn’t liked her before, there was a certain vanity in knowing someone liked him, so he hadn’t thought much of it. Now… he needed to investigate.

Gou Tongzhi stayed in Chongcheng County for five days.

During those five days, he had a good chat with Li Qingzhi and also took a look at his own son’s situation.

His son was not only studying earnestly with Li Xiucai but also teaching students at Chongcheng Elementary School and helping to take care of Li Damao and the others…

This was precisely the perfect son he had always wanted!

So… was it his fault his son had problems before?

When he found out his wife hadn’t sent their son to the tutor recommended by Li Qingzhi, he should have immediately changed tutors for his son!

But things were fine as they were now.

Most likely, the people of King Jin had already set their eyes on him, so his son would be much safer staying in Chongcheng County. Worried, Gou Tongzhi left Chongcheng County.

In the blink of an eye, it was February 15th.

On this day, Chongcheng Elementary School was on holiday, and Gou Ying and the others were also off duty.

Li Qingzhi got up early in the morning and saw his two sons standing by the chicken coop feeding the chickens: “Dabao, Erbao, eat more and grow up quickly.”

“Dabao, Erbao, I’ll catch worms for you; you have to grow stronger than the other chickens!”

“Dabao, Erbao…”

Li Damao and Li Ermao named the chickens they hatched Dabao and Erbao. They were so attentive to these two chickens that Li Qingzhi felt a bit jealous.

Just as they were speaking, someone knocked on the door.

Li Qingzhi opened the door to see Gou Ying coming in with a bamboo basket: “I brought my Jinfeng and Yinfeng to play with Dabao and Erbao.”

Gou Ying had dyed a small tuft of hair on his two chickens’ heads with red paint to avoid any mix-ups, and he happily placed them in the chicken coop with Dabao and Erbao.

Chang Cui, Zhao Xiaodou, and Qian Changsheng had also marked their chickens. During the day, these chickens were all raised together.

When Qian Changsheng arrived, he didn’t carry the bamboo basket with the chicks himself; instead, a servant of the Qian family carried it. However, the servant left immediately after putting down the basket and did not stay at Li Qingzhi’s house.

They knew that Li Qingzhi didn’t like having outsiders in his home.

“Brother Li,” Qian Changsheng greeted everyone as he entered the courtyard.

Li Qingzhi invited Qian Changsheng to join them for breakfast and then noticed Jin Xiaoye watching Qian Changsheng again.

Although Jin Xiaoye’s gaze at Qian Changsheng was no different from how she looked at Fang Jinniang, Li Qingzhi, who had never been looked at by Jin Xiaoye in this way, felt a bit jealous.

Qian Changsheng obediently basked in the sun.

He was no longer the pale-faced boy he used to be.

However… when Qian Changsheng used to look somewhat sickly pale, women felt more pity for him than finding him particularly handsome.

Now, with his skin slightly tanned and his complexion much improved, he was actually looking more and more handsome!

But it wasn’t tanned enough yet. Li Qingzhi didn’t believe that Qian Changsheng would still look this handsome if he got even tanner!