The journey of the only child of a peasant family to take the imperial examination

Even the reclusive Grand Tutor Qian was surprised and couldn't help but immediately send out his spies to gather information.

At the same time, he instructed his servants to take out white cloth from the storeroom and hang it up as a white banner.

These items are always kept in the mansion's storeroom.

At this sensitive time when the princes were about to be enfeoffed and sent to their fiefdoms, Empress Wei's death seemed very subtle and suspicious.

Without Qian Taishi's instruction, the important figures of the Qian clan gathered in the Qian family study in the shortest possible time.

Grand Tutor Qian’s voice was solemn: “We will be going to the palace to mourn the late emperor soon, so I will keep it brief. From this moment on, everyone must restrain the Qian family members below them. They must not be ostentatious, speak recklessly, or have close contact with any members of the royal family or relatives. Empress Wei’s death was sudden, which is not a good omen for us as subjects.”

"Father, we understand, please don't worry!" Qian Ying said solemnly.

"Hmm," Grand Tutor Qian nodded.

He then instructed: "In addition, focus your clan's spies on the Second Prince, followed by the Third and Fourth Princes. I have a feeling that this enfeoffment will not go so smoothly."

None of the Qian family members who were allowed into this study were useless; they all knew the importance of the matter.

They all nodded in agreement.

Grand Tutor Qian rubbed his temples, feeling both relieved and a bit of a headache. He waved his hand and said, "Alright, that's all. Everyone hurry up and change into your mourning clothes and go to the palace. Once you're in the palace, the clan members shouldn't gather together anymore. We'll discuss matters in the study tomorrow morning."

After everyone else in the clan left, only Grand Tutor Qian and his sons Qian Ying and Qian Jie remained in the study.

Grand Tutor Qian summoned the steward and instructed him to send a message to the Third and Fourth Young Masters, telling them not to make any major moves in the local areas in the short term and to keep a low profile.

The butler bowed in response and quietly closed the door before leaving.

Qian Ying noticed that her father's attitude was unusual this time.

He asked, "Father, your attitude is so serious this time, could it be that the Empress's death really is...?"

"What a pity for Empress Wei's loving motherly heart," sighed Grand Tutor Qian.

"Qian Ying and Qian Jie, remember this: when you have ruled out all the impossible possibilities for a matter, no matter how unbelievable the remaining result may be, it may be the only truth. Things that I couldn't understand before, I finally understand a little after the sudden death of Empress Wei. Although the spies I sent out haven't sent back any news yet, I already have some guesses."

These words were so inexplicable that Qian Ying couldn't help but ask, "Father?!"

"Let's go into the palace first, and I'll explain everything to you in detail tomorrow," Grand Tutor Qian said, not in a hurry to reveal his suspicions.

Qian Ying and Qian Jie were no longer in a hurry to ask. They quickly changed into their mourning clothes and followed Grand Tutor Qian into the palace.

Regardless of what the people in the imperial court and the inner palace thought, the palace maintained an orderly appearance on the surface, busy but not chaotic.

After the funeral bell tolled, the Ministry of Rites, at the emperor's behest, immediately issued a formal obituary to the whole country, announcing the start of the national mourning period.

All entertainment and wedding activities should be immediately suspended.

Princes, princesses, members of the imperial family, and civil and military officials all had to wear different types of robes according to their rank, such as the Qi-cai and Zhan-cai.

Xiao Hu also instructed his servants to fetch white cloth from the storeroom and hang a white banner at the door.

Everyone in the mansion changed out of their brightly colored clothes and into mourning attire.

Xu was not concerned with national affairs and did not understand politics, but she had an imperial decree, so she had to enter the palace to help with the Empress's encoffining according to etiquette, which would take at least three days.

They are even less free than Zhang Ping'an and his group.

She found it all troublesome.

While changing clothes with the help of the maid, I was still worried that this would interfere with my grandson's studies.

When Zhang Ping'an received the message, he immediately sent out his spies, but no news has been sent back yet.

Many familiar colleagues in the neighborhood also sent people to inquire about the matter.

He fed them all and sent them away.

After changing into mourning clothes, he took a moment from his busy schedule to give Xu a few more words of advice: "Mother, the Empress's death was sudden. After you enter the palace, remember to be careful with your words and actions. Don't ask what you shouldn't ask, and don't look at what you shouldn't look at. If anything happens, immediately send someone to send me a message. Xiao Dezi of Yangxin Hall and Lord Liang Siyan of the Imperial Guard are both trustworthy people. If you have no other choice, you can secretly go to them for help."

"Huh? Oh, I see. What could possibly happen? Your mother is an old woman. If I went to the palace, I'd just be there to make up the numbers. The palace maids and young ladies would be the ones doing the real work. I shouldn't have any role to play. Don't worry!"

Xu didn't take these words to heart and didn't feel any danger in entering the palace.

Zhang Ping'an wanted to say something, but felt he didn't know where to begin. In the end, he could only remind her again: "Just stick close to the women of the Qian family. Do what they do. They come from a prestigious family and are very shrewd in their actions. You won't make a mistake if you follow them."

"Okay, okay, I understand," Xu nodded.

Finally, accompanied by two personal maids, he boarded a carriage and entered the palace.

Zhang Lao Er was much smarter than Xu Shi, and only after seeing this situation did he finally realize that something was wrong.

Frowning, she grabbed her son's arm and asked in a low voice, "Could it be that your mother will face some danger if she goes to the palace?"

“Father, I can’t quite put my finger on it either. I have a feeling that the Empress’s death was suspicious. There are a lot of people coming and going in the mansion right now, so it’s not convenient to talk. I’ll tell you in detail when I get back tonight,” Zhang Ping’an replied in a low voice.

Little Fish had already returned from the Imperial Academy. Seeing the white banner hanging at the gate, he quickened his pace, eventually running instead of walking.

Zhang Ping'an wasn't surprised to see his son return. "The Imperial College is on holiday?"

"Yes, they gave us a break. After hearing the palace bells ring and learning that the Empress had passed away, the tutors gave us all a holiday. I rushed back to change my clothes," Xiaoyuer nodded breathlessly.

He looked at his father with a hesitant expression, as if he wanted to say something but couldn't.

Zhang Ping'an could guess what his son was thinking.

Ignoring the fact that her son was all grown up, she reached out and flicked him on the forehead, scolding him in a low voice, "What nonsense are you thinking about?"

A look of confusion crossed Xiaoyuer's eyes. Could it be that it wasn't his father who did it?

"I don't have that much ability!" Zhang Ping'an said before going to the main room to greet guests.

Just now, a few colleagues who live nearby came to my residence on their way and arranged to go to the palace together to mourn Lin.

He couldn't refuse, so it was necessary to give him a polite response.

This incident has sparked a wide variety of speculations.

Everyone was inevitably uneasy. Their pretense of going along the same route was just a pretense; their real intention was to band together and gather information.

Zhang Ping'an was always regarded as the emperor's trusted minister by his colleagues, so those who sought him out naturally assumed that he must know more inside information than others.

Little did he know that his trusted advisor was about to be executed.

He truly knew nothing about Empress Wei's death.

He never made a move in his chess game that resulted in the death of the queen.

So, on the surface, Zhang Ping'an could only make a puzzled expression and echo the crowd's words.

Seeing that it was almost time and they couldn't delay any longer, everyone went out together, boarded the carriage, and headed to the palace.