After my mind was read, I became the emperor's favorite

Huo Le'an had been in the Marquis of Wuwei's Mansion for less than half an hour when he was called back by the steward of the Duke of Anguo's Mansion.

Presumably, it was his behavior in front of the Marquis of Wuwei's Mansion that alarmed the Grand Princess.

Before leaving, he also asked Qi Mingze to join him in the poetry competition the day after tomorrow.

Qi Mingze thought that he should be able to finish Prime Minister Zhang's autobiography in the next two days, so he accepted his suggestion.

[Host, will he be okay?] The system asked with a hint of concern.

The system, which originally disliked Huo Le'an, no longer rejected him after this incident.

The Grand Princess asked him to go back, probably out of a protective mentality.

Qi Mingze knew that it was not a serious matter when he saw Huo Le'an's fearless look when he received the message.

People who protect their children basically don’t think their children are wrong. Even if they are wrong, they will not allow outsiders to discipline them.

After Huo Le'an left, he also had to start working. Time was tight and the task was heavy.

Disaster relief was an urgent matter, so he had no time to act at night to avoid being seen.

Anyway, no one will pay attention to his movements. After all, he is just an inconspicuous little person now.

In fact, the main reason was that the ancient oil lamps were too dim. His eyes had started to feel uncomfortable just in the past few hours last night.

If he continued like this, he would definitely become nearsighted. He didn't want to wear glasses at all, not to mention that there were no such things as glasses in ancient times.

I remember that his friend bought him plain glasses and asked him to cosplay as a gentleman but he refused.

"Qi Yan, tell everyone that no one except you is allowed to approach the study. If you need anything, just knock on the door and call me."

Qi Mingze instructed Qi Yan before walking into the study.

"Yes, sir." Qi Yan immediately passed the order on.

"Before the Madam left, she asked Madam Huang to pass on a message that the young cousin would arrive at 3 p.m."

"understood."

Qi Mingze took out the Pu'er tea powder and diluted ferric chloride solution prepared yesterday.

Time is running out, and there are too many people in the mansion to watch, so baking and smoking are definitely impossible.

The paper can only be soaked in dye repeatedly and then dried in the sun.

After doing all this, Qi Mingze carefully avoided the papers on the floor and went to the secret room to get the unfinished manuscript from last night.

When Qi Yan knocked on the door, Qi Mingze had just finished writing the first draft and had a quick lunch, and then his cousin from the Yan family arrived.

The man was eight feet tall, with a handsome face. His behavior was not like that of a businessman, but rather revealed the elegance of a scholar.

"Hello, cousin. I'm Yan Xiujing. It's been a long time since we last met. You've grown into a handsome young man." Yan Xiujing saluted with his arms crossed.

"Thank you for coming here specially, cousin." Qi Mingze returned the greeting.

Yan Xiujin handed the box to Qi Yan, "This is a gift from my father to congratulate my cousin on his entry into the court."

"Thank you for your kindness, uncle. Mingze feels unworthy of it."

After a round of greetings, Qi Mingze went straight to the point.

"Cousin, His Majesty is going to raise funds in exchange for places in the imperial examinations. Is the Yan family interested?"

"Cousin, is this true?" Yan Xiujing stood up in shock and confirmed again in disbelief.

"Nine out of ten." Although he did not give a definite answer, Qi Mingze's attitude said it all.

In addition to some rumors from yesterday, even if the noble families joined forces to suppress them, they were unable to stop those with ulterior motives from spreading them.

Now all parties are in a state of bargaining and waiting.

Qi Mingze felt that if the situation continued to ferment for another two days, the emperor would probably send people to add fuel to the fire. After all, the disaster could not wait.

"The Yan family must be interested. I would like to ask for your advice, cousin." Yan Xiujin bowed and asked for advice.

"Cousin, please take a seat. This is what Mingze deserves. It is thanks to the support of my uncles that Mingze is where she is today."

Qi Mingze helped Yan Xiujing up and pressed him into a chair.

"Mingze will do his best to help the Yan family find a way out."

The Yan family has indeed been in a difficult situation in recent years, and Qi Mingze knows it.

Otherwise, he would not have sat idly by and watched his daughter being treated so poorly by Marquis Wuwei, and even his own grandson was suppressed. It was really a helpless move.

At that time, the Yan family was targeted by a competitor who had the support of the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue.

The Yan family sought help from many parties and closed all their jewelry stores before the situation was finally resolved.

Later, in order to protect himself and his daughter, he married her to the Marquis of Wuwei and even gave half of his fortune as a dowry.

Even so, they were secretly helping the mother and son. Even the opportunity for Qin Daru to become their apprentice was obtained by them for the original owner.

"I still have to thank my cousin, otherwise the Yan family would have missed this opportunity to change their fate."

Yan Xiujing also knew that this was due to the convenience of having someone in the court.

Otherwise, once the news gets out, those businessmen who come here after hearing the news will be willing to sacrifice everything they have to fight for a bright future for their children and grandchildren.

By then, it will be difficult to get a seat.

"Cousin, tell me about the Yan family first."

"The Yan family currently operates mainly as a restaurant and cosmetics shop, with businesses spread across Xialin Dynasty..."

After understanding the general situation of the Yan family, Qi Mingze analyzed.

“Don’t stop the soup kitchen outside the city for now. You can select some well-behaved and sensible orphans to help.

Before the news gets out, take advantage of the time difference and buy as much rice as possible. Collect it in a dispersed manner so that no one can see its use.

By that time, there will be enough money for disaster relief, and the major families will definitely raise their prices.

When food prices rise, the rice donated by the Yan family will come into your majesty's sight.

Are there any elders in the Yan family who are outstanding in literary talent?"

Qi Mingze asked that specific problems should be analyzed specifically, and if there is one approach, there is another approach, if not, there is another approach.

"Not yet." Yan Xiujing hesitated when he heard that. Most of the elders in his family could only read and write, so it was impossible for them to take the imperial examination.

It was because of Mingze that the younger generations in the family were vigorously cultivated, and many of them entered academies.

He himself also studied under a famous teacher, but unfortunately he was unable to enter the officialdom.

"Then the Yan family doesn't have to fight for the first donor."

The first bird to stick its head out gets shot. Although this first person may catch the eye of His Majesty, he will also be hated by the aristocratic families.

If you cannot enter the government as soon as possible and cash in on the benefits, it will only do more harm than good.

"When the first one appears, immediately donate the silver and rice to the court."

This way you can be in the top ten without being conspicuous and still get the benefits you deserve.

"Then how much silver should the Yan family use as a standard?" Yan Xiujing asked seriously. This degree was the most difficult to grasp.

Too many will cause the Yan family's business to come to a halt, mainly because a company recently emerged out of nowhere and quickly seized nearly half of the Yan family's market.

If it is too little, it will not catch the emperor's eye and this opportunity will be wasted.

“The amount should be limited to the first person who raised funds, and do not exceed that person.

Of course, if he donates too much or too little, the Yan family will reserve enough for one day from their current liquidity and donate more later."

The restaurant and the cosmetics shop are both cash-flowing shops, and the raw materials are basically produced and collected by themselves, so the Yan family's liquid capital is at least one-third of the Yan family's wealth.

"Okay, I know what to do." My cousin has taught us everything step by step, but the Yan family still can't grasp it. It means they will never be able to turn things around.

"Friends who are tight-lipped can also give me some advice."

"Okay, we will definitely choose carefully."

Knowing that my cousin wanted the Yan family to use this information to repay a favor or build up connections, the Yan family would not be ungrateful.

In order not to affect their cousin, they will only choose to inform a few families with whom they have good relations and are reliable.

"Then I will go home and discuss it with Grandfather and the others, and then I will treat my cousin to a good feast later."

After this detailed discussion, Yan Xiujing was convinced by Qi Mingze and would definitely help him in any way he could in the future.

"Cousin, please take me to say hello to my grandfather and uncles. I still have some unfinished business. I will definitely come to visit you another day."

After Yan Xiujing left in a hurry, Qi Mingze started his old project again.

In order to make the fake look real, he adjusted the ink color of an ancient book from the same period and even removed the binding of that book to use for this one.