After a while, the steward next to the Marquis came out with the concierge. He saw Shi Jingyang from a distance and said with a smile: "The prince is really back, please come!"
Shi Jingyang walked in with Guanshi He.
Shi Jingyang asked as he walked: "It's so late at night, why hasn't father rested yet?"
Manager He said: "Master Qiu came to visit in the evening. The Marquis and Master Qiu chatted a little late."
Shi Jingyang said oh and said no more.
When he arrived at the door of the study, Guanshi He stood at the door and reported into the room: "Master Marquis, the prince has arrived."
The Marquis's voice sounded in the room, "Come in!"
Manager He turned around and said to Shi Jingyang: "Your Majesty, please!"
Shi Jingyang bowed to Steward He and walked into the study.
Marquis Weiyuan waited for Shi Jingyang to see the ceremony and said, "Sit down. When did you return to the city?"
Shi Jingyang walked to Weiyuan Marquis and sat down, bowed and said, "Go back to my father, I arrived at the end of Youmo."
Manager He brought tea in, put it on the table next to Shi Jingyang, turned to Marquis Weiyuan and said, "Master Marquis, can I give you a cup of hot tea?"
Marquis Weiyuan waved his hand, "No need. I drank tea all night and my stomach is full of water and I feel uncomfortable. Please step back."
Why do you have to step down when you are in charge of things?
Marquis Weiyuan looked at Shi Jingyang and asked, "Is Qing'an coming back today because of the collapse of the Imperial Academy building?"
Shi Jingyang nodded and shook his head, saying, "It doesn't count."
The Marquis frowned slightly and asked, "How do you say this?"
Shi Jingyang said: "The teaching building of the Imperial College will collapse, it is only a matter of time."
"Do you know that the teaching building will collapse? Have you checked?" asked the Marquis.
Shi Jingyang nodded and continued: "The area of the Imperial College was once a muddy pond and a garbage dump in the north of the city. The stench was so bad that the surrounding people complained so much that they moved out of the north city one after another.
In order to improve the living environment of the people in the north of the city, the late emperor ordered the area to be renovated, filled the mud ponds with soil, built a teaching building, and moved the Imperial College from Gongyuan to this place.
Because the land was filled with soil and the soil was soft, when building a house, the foundation required a lot of consumables, a lot of labor, and a lot of money.
It is for this reason that only half of the Imperial College was built, and the other half was never built.
Now that the court has money, the emperor ordered the other half to be built.
My son learned from the Ministry of Household Affairs that the amount of money allocated to the Imperial College by the Ministry of Household Affairs was 20% higher than that of the previous year, taking into account the increase in prices compared to the amount used for building houses during the previous emperor's period.
When the Imperial College was built, the Ministry of Revenue allocated 670,000 taels of silver. Based on this figure, the amount allocated by the Ministry of Revenue to the Imperial College was more than 800,000 taels of silver.
But in reality, how much money did the Imperial College spend on building the teaching building?
My son asked someone to look at it and found out that these teaching buildings were seriously cut corners and overcompensated. The amount of money used was over 200,000 taels. Where did the other 600,000 taels go?"
Marquis Weiyuan stared at Shi Jingyang, knowing in his heart that the collapse of the Imperial College building today was no accident. "So, what happened to Liu Boxue was an accident!"
Shi Jingyang nodded, "Yes, what happened to Liu Jijiu was an accident. The reason why it collapsed at this point was to avoid casualties. Who knew that Liu Jijiu would be in the dormitory."
Marquis Weiyuan thought for a while and said: "The incident of Liu Jijiu shocked the government and the public. Now, the eyes of everyone in the capital have fallen on Liu Jijiu.
Lord Qiu and the others want to seize this opportunity."
"My son understands that Liu Jijiu's incident has aroused public outrage. Now is indeed a good time, and we should seize this opportunity.
But the collapse of the house involves corruption and must be investigated," Shi Jingyang said.
Marquis Weiyuan clasped his hands together, pondered for a moment, looked up at Shi Jingyang, and asked, "Is this what His Highness means?"
Shi Jingyang nodded, "That's what His Highness meant."
Marquis Weiyuan nodded, "I understand. When will you return to the military camp? How are you preparing for the military exercise?"
Shi Jingyang leaned forward and said, "I'll be back early the next morning. The military exercises are being prepared. Father doesn't have to worry. My son knows what he's doing."
Weiyuan nodded and said: "You have always been calm in doing things, I am not worried at all.
It's getting late, so go back and have a rest early. Your mother-in-law has been talking about you a few times. I'll go pay your respects to your mother-in-law tomorrow morning."
Shi Jingyang bowed and responded, "Yes, my son has written it down."
Marquis Weiyuan said: "Go and have a rest."
Shi Jingyang didn't move and stopped talking.
When Marquis Weiyuan saw this, he sat up straight and asked, "What? Is there anything else?"
Shi Jingyang hesitated for a moment, then asked: "Father, mother is not the daughter of the Duke's wife, right?"
After hearing this, Marquis Weiyuan was stunned for a moment, and then asked: "Did you ask someone to check it? Do you know everything?"
Shi Jingyang nodded, "My son asked Jiang Min to check. Does mother know?"
Marquis Weiyuan shook his head and sighed slightly, "I haven't told your mother yet, and your mother doesn't know yet. When you see your mother, be careful what you say."
Shi Jingyang leaned forward and said, "My son understands. My son still has something to tell his father."
Weiyuan Hou looked at Shi Jingyang and asked, "What's the matter?"
Shi Jingyang thought for a moment and then said: "Wei Shangshu's eldest daughter-in-law Jiang and her grandson Wei Yuan are in the capital."
Marquis Weiyuan sat up straight and stared at Shi Jingyang closely, "How did you know? Have you seen them?"
Shi Jingyang saw the nervousness and eagerness in his father's eyes, and nodded: "I've seen it! Father knows Wei Yuan?"
Marquis Weiyuan asked, "Do you know where they are now?"
Weiyuan Hou did not answer Shi Jingyang's question, but Shi Jingyang sensed from his father's demeanor that the Wei family and the Hou Mansion had a long history.
"Wei Yuan is now a guest of Yingzhe's house, and his family all lives in Yingzhe's house. Are the Wei family and our family old acquaintances?" Shi Jingyang asked next.
Marquis Weiyuan leaned back, thinking about how to talk to Shi Jingyang about this. After a while, he said: "This is a long story.
We are not just old acquaintances with the Jiang family and the Wei family, but we are relatives by marriage.
Jiang Yiqing, the eldest daughter-in-law of Wei Shangshu, is the daughter of Jiang Jifeng, the minister of Taipu Temple, and Jiang Jifeng's wife, Shi, is my biological aunt and your grandfather's eldest sister.
At that time, my grandfather served in Minzhou, and my grandmother took several children with her. Later, her eldest daughter was married to Jiang Jifeng, Dalang of the Jiang family in Minzhou."
Shi Jingyang knew about the period when his great-grandfather served in Minzhou. The current base of the Hou Mansion in Minzhou was built at that time.
Shi Jingyang looked at Weiyuan Hou in surprise, "So, Wei Yuan's mother is his father's cousin and his son's cousin."
The Marquis nodded, "Yes, our Shi family has a very deep relationship between brothers and sisters. Before your grandfather died, he always missed his eldest sister's daughter.
When something happened to the Wei family, my cousin took her son back to the Wei family's hometown to worship their ancestors.
Over the years, I have been sending people to inquire about the whereabouts of their mother and son. After so many years of searching, there has been no news.
Unexpectedly, they returned to the capital and moved into Yingzhe's house. What a twist of fate."
