After I got into the drama, I led the plot astray

After we had packed everything and asked the waiter to pay the bill, he cheerfully told us that someone had already paid.

In Beijing, we only know a few people.

Gongsun Wen ran away, so there is no way he would come out to pay for us; Li Jin is a miser, he can't even spend money himself, let alone pay for us; Du Changfeng is not my friend, because I saw disgust and dissatisfaction in his eyes; the most likely ones are Zheng Yan or Zheng Xian.

I frowned. It was so abominable that they told us that the money had been paid after we had finished eating. They must have been afraid that if they told us in advance, we would just leave without even eating.

My face was so dark that the waiter saw that something was wrong. He had never seen anyone with a dark face when helping pay the bill, so he quickly ran away.

Soon the shopkeeper came over with a small snack box. He handed it to me and said, "This is our restaurant's new pastry. I brought it out especially for you to try. Please accept it."

Ankang looked at me. He didn't dare to move because I didn't say anything. But Yiping reached out to take it and said, "Okay, give it to big brother to try. He's greedy."

I turned around and walked out with a sullen face.

After we left, the shopkeeper ran quickly towards the first month room.

In the first month room, Zheng Xian picked up the teacup, took a sip, and asked, "Have they left?"

The shopkeeper bent over, lowered his head, clasped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, he has left."

Zheng Xian smiled bitterly and said, "That girl must have figured out that it was me who paid for her."

The shopkeeper replied, "You should have noticed that. His expression is not very good."

Zheng Xian waved his hand and said, "Go down, I understand."

The shopkeeper quickly retreated.

Zheng Xian put down his teacup, sighed, and said, "I'm afraid you hate me, right? I have no choice but to live a few more years. If it were you, knowing that you had a chance to survive, would you do everything you can like me?"

Zheng Xian's face looked very bad, with a bluish tint to his pale complexion, as if he had suffered a serious illness, and he even gasped for breath when he spoke.

At this moment, there was a knock on the door.

Zheng Xian said weakly, "Come in."

Du Changfeng pushed the door open and came in, kneeling in front of Zheng Xian, clasping his hands and saying, "Your Majesty, the spies reported that Lord Gongsun appeared outside the imperial city."

Zheng Xian was stunned for a moment and said, "Zi Yan has returned to Beijing?"

Du Changfeng said: "It is very likely."

"Alas." Zheng Xian sighed, stood up, and said, "Zi Yan is just like Ah Man, he hates me so much, I'm afraid he will never see me again."

Du Changfeng was stunned. Logically speaking, Gongsun Wen fled the capital without permission. Now that his whereabouts have been discovered, shouldn't he be arrested and severely punished? Why did His Majesty blame himself instead?

Du Changfeng thought he was hallucinating.

Zheng Xian said, "Get up and continue to keep a close watch. Although I don't know what Zi Yan is planning, it is definitely not good for me. Now that I have not dealt with the servants in the Taifu Mansion, I am waiting for Zi Yan to come to me on his own."

Du Changfeng stood up and quickly bowed and said, "Your Majesty is wise."

Zheng Xian waved his hand and said, "Go down. Don't be too obvious when monitoring Ah Man, or she might get offended."

Du Changfeng took the order and left.

Zheng Xian walked to the window and Wei Yi quickly put his outer robe on him.

Zheng Xian watched the carriage I was riding in gradually disappear from sight, and murmured, "Ah Man, what should I do with you?"

The school that Zhao Jinping attended was called Changlu School, located in the western suburbs of Beijing. When we arrived, it was just the time for students to leave school, and students walked out of the school in groups of three or four, holding books.

These students are relatively young, mostly between seven and ten years old. Those from wealthy families are sent to school at the age of three or four.

Therefore, it is extremely rare for someone like Zhao Jinping to still go to school at the age of sixteen.

These children have no parents to pick them up, they just run home skipping and jumping with their books in their hands.

We waited outside the school gate and waited for the students to leave.

After the students left, the concierge also found us. Although the carriage we were riding in was not conspicuous, judging from our clothes, we looked like a wealthy family.

The concierge came out immediately and asked us what we wanted. Yi Ping answered quickly, "We are here to see our eldest brother Zhao Jinping."

Zhao Jinping was an "overage" student here, so of course the doorman recognized him, but he waited for a long time before calling him.

So I quickly stuffed a silver ingot into his hand. When the doorman saw the silver, his eyes revealed undisguised greed. He threw the silver up into the air. There was at least five taels of it!

The concierge happily bowed to us and said, "Sir, please wait a moment. I will go and ask Mr. Zhao to come out."

The concierge is so greedy, I don't think the school is much better.

I turned to Yiping and said, "Brother is such a grown man, but he is still sitting with a child for enlightenment. I guess he won't learn anything. Why don't we wait for him to come out and take him home."

Yi Ping said hesitantly, "Don't you always want him to take the exam? If there's no one to teach him, what will happen if he delays his exam?"

I said, "I'll think of a way when the time comes. We still have some money, so it shouldn't be a problem to find him a better teacher."

When Yi Ping heard this, he said happily, "Actually, I'm also worried that my elder brother doesn't eat well outside. I can make delicious food for him at home. When he's full, he'll have more energy to study."

I smiled and said nothing.

At this time, Wei Chang came to my side, quietly slipped me a note, and whispered, "Read it when you get home."

I held the note and looked at Wei Chang. Wei Chang nodded gently. I quickly hid my hand in my sleeve to prevent anyone from discovering the note in my hand.

Soon, the doorman led Zhao Jinping out.

After just half a month of not seeing each other, Zhao Jinping seemed to have grown taller!

Zhao Jinping walked towards us quickly. When he saw Yi Ping standing in front of us, he pinched Yi Ping's face and said, "I didn't expect that the third sister would come to see the eldest brother. You have a conscience."

But when he saw me behind Yi Ping, his expression was exactly the same as Bao Youli's. His eyes were wide open, his mouth was open for a long time, and he finally said with difficulty: "Aman, why are you so thin?"

I smiled and said, "This is what happens when you lose weight too much."

Zhao Jinping glared at me and said, "You looked so good when you were fat before, but now you look like a freak, as thin as a female demon. You're so ugly."

I asked unhappily, "Have you ever seen a dominatrix?"

Zhao Jinping said: "I saw it in the play. The female demon in the play was so ugly."

Zhao Jinping couldn't say a single nice word. I didn't want to waste any more time talking to him, so I asked, "How are you doing in school? Do you want to go home with us?"

Zhao Jinping said with some surprise, "Go home? It's not time for me to go to school yet. Lord Gongsun asked me to take the old teacher in the academy as my teacher. The old teacher had already retired, but he did Lord Gongsun a favor and took over the school again. He only taught me and provided me with food and accommodation. Although he was a little strict, I learned a lot about writing from the old teacher here. Lord Gongsun said that I can't leave the academy until the day of the exam of the Royal Academy."