Author: Hao Yele

When the waiter from the dining room came to deliver dinner, it was only then that Shen Haolin and Xue Rui finished reading the thick pile of confessions.

Shen Haolin stood up, put the pile of confessions back into the drawer of the desk, took Xue Ruitian to wash his hands, and waited until the servants and attendants set the table and left the flower hall one by one, then sat back down again.

"This time, Xiao Jue can get what she wants." Shen Haolin picked out a few pieces of mutton that were not too fat and put them in his bowl for Shen Cha. He also gave her a small bowl of porridge and said, " After what happened in Ningchang Kingdom, the big clans restrained themselves a little, but they did not really give up their daydream. Xiaojue received news several times that the literati in the south of the Yangtze River were ready to take part in the next imperial examination. When the time comes, something big will happen."

"The next imperial examination?" Shen Cha frowned slightly, mixed a bowl of noodles with mutton stew soup for Shen Haolin, and gently placed it in front of him, "Isn't that next year or the year after that?"

"Yeah!" Xue Ruitian nodded, bit into a piece of mutton, chewed it several times carefully, and said, "Our spies who stayed in Jiangnan also said that the literati and big clans in Jiangnan began to become restless again, especially the Several big clans that were suppressed in the past few years are secretly colluding together again, and I don't know what they are planning. Moreover, this time it is not just the big clans involved, they have also secretly contacted several imperial merchants."

"It's not about contacting the imperial merchants. Just relying on them to recruit disciples and open lectures will not support their rebellion. They need a lot of money, so they must join forces with the imperial merchants." Shen Cha sneered, thinking back. Thinking of the news that came from Jiangnan some time ago, and thinking of the Luan and Liu families who were coming to the border now, they snorted coldly again, picked up the spoon and took a sip of the porridge, turned to look at Shen Haolin, and said, "Looking at it this way, the reason why their family moved away from Jiangnan and settled in Wangxin Town is probably not just for Uncle Ning Wang, right?"

"You mean..." Although he didn't mention anyone by name, Shen Haolin immediately knew who Shen Cha was talking about, "They are also preparing for the imperial examination next year. Are they the internal agents of those people?"

"Yeah!" Shen Cha nodded, "It's hard to say whether they are insiders, but I suspect that their role here is more than just providing money, right?" She curled her lips, "Those two families are only interested in profit, and a small favor can be bribed. Can’t reach them.”

"It's really not that simple." Shen Haolin bit down on a noodle fruit that Shen Cha fed to his mouth, and thought while chewing it. After finishing the noodle fruit, he said, "The Ning Cheng family broke up with the Chaozhou Ning family at this time. I’m afraid it’s not that simple, right?”

"Well, I've thought about this too." Shen Cha sighed, picked up a chopstick of green vegetables, and ate it slowly. She looked at Xue Ruitian, then at Jin Jing, and finally at Jin Miaomiao, "Why? Don’t even speak?”

"Didn't I just listen to what you two said?" Xue Ruitian raised an eyebrow, "I think what you just said makes sense."

"If we go by our previous guess, Ning Cheng's mother is most likely Mrs. Ning of the Ning family in Zhongzhou. They chose this time to leave the Chaozhou Ning family, which also shows that the Ning family was also involved in this plan. They want to take advantage of this opportunity to make a comeback. They feel that the large number of people this time will inevitably have a certain impact on the royal family. Even if they cannot make the royal family step down, they will force the royal family and nobles to give in. But Mrs. Ning had such an experience before and didn't want to experience it again. In addition, Ning Cheng and Ning Cheng's sister didn't want their family to be involved in this turmoil, so they decided to divorce. This scene of being expelled from the family led to the incident of Ning Cheng and his family coming to the border." Jin Jing took out a mutton with bones from the cauldron, holding it in her mouth, and said, "But just now I carefully After thinking about it, everything else makes sense, but the age doesn't match, right?"

"Yes!" Shen Cha nodded, "Others can be explained, but the age does not match. Mrs. Ning of the Ning family in Zhongzhou, if she is still alive, should be over a hundred years old, but I observed Ning Cheng My mother looks very old, but she is definitely no more than seventy years old. If she is more than seventy years old, it will not be too much, at most one or two years old."

"Xiao Cha is right. I feel the same way. Although Senior Tantai, Senior General Xuanyuan, and Brother Jing are all very young, their appearance does not match their age. But this is Because of their strange experiences, they have all taken that magical little pill, which is different from normal aging people." Jin Miaomiao touched his chin and snatched a big pot of mutton stew from Xue Ruitian's hands. She took a bite of the egg that she flipped out of the pot and said proudly, "Ning Cheng's mother, according to my judgment, has not changed or extended her lifespan through any external influence. Therefore, she should not be Mrs. Ning." .”

"She's not Mrs. Ning?" Shen Cha thought for a moment and shook her head gently, "But she's definitely not Ning Cheng's mother."

"Yes!" Jin Miaomiao and Shen Cha exchanged a look, "Yes, she is definitely not Ning Cheng's mother."

"So, who could she be?"

"You two wait a minute." Jin Jing patted her sister and waved to Shen Cha, "You guys are so lively, why are you so sure that Ning Cheng's mother has nothing to do with Ning Cheng and Ning Cheng's sister? Just Based on your guess?"

"No, no!" Jin Miaomiao smiled, "Blood relationship is a very strange thing. Although I have never met Ning Cheng's father, Ning Cheng and sister Ning Cheng's appearance and some characteristics are similar to Ning Cheng's. Both mothers are completely inconsistent." Seeing that Jin Jing and Xue Ruitian were still confused, she put down the bowl in her hand and explained, "There is a folk saying that sons are like mothers and daughters are like fathers. Although it is not completely accurate, it is You can use this to determine whether they are biological children. You see, Ning Cheng looks completely different from his mother. Ning Cheng's sister is also different from her mother. Ning Cheng and his sister are like twins. There is some overlap in appearance, right?"

"It's true." Jin Jing nodded, "Then there is another possibility, that is, they all followed their father, without any trace of their mother, right?"

"Yes, but this situation is not very common. Even if they follow their father and look nothing like their mother, you can still tell from the skull whether they are biological children." Jin Miaomiao took two mouthfuls of porridge and looked at her. Jin Jing waved her hand, "This is a bit difficult to explain. All in all, as a doctor, I can conclude that Ning Cheng's mother has no biological relationship with him or his sister."

"Although I didn't understand it very clearly, I agree with your statement." Xue Ruitian nodded, "Then who could she be?"

"There is another possibility." Shen Cha put down the empty porridge bowl, wiped his mouth and said, "There is another person similar to her age."

"who?"
Chapter completed!