Chapter 410
He Nuan had just brought over lunch when He Sheng, who had gone to gather information, returned. When traveling, there weren't so many formalities. Since Zhan Feiyu spoke, He Sheng and He Nuan sat down to eat together.
"Did the Yuan manor send someone?" Zhan Feiyu wasn't too surprised. The Prefect Yuan of Minhe Prefecture was the uncle of the Second Young Madam Yuan. To make Manager Hong break the contract, one needed not only money but also status.
He Sheng detailed the information he had gathered. It seemed the Yuan manor hadn't tried to conceal their actions, so it was easy to find out.
"The person who met with Manager Hong was the wet nurse of the Second Young Madam, Granny Cao. She agreed to buy the Mu Xiang Residence for five thousand taels. When I returned, Manager Hong was already taking Liu Zhongren to the Yuan manor," He Sheng said. He recalled how the Second Young Madam Yuan had openly sent people to spy on them before, and now she was trying to seize the Mu Xiang Residence. This was clearly aimed at Miss, but He Sheng couldn't figure out what she wanted to achieve.
He Nuan put down his chopsticks and couldn't help but ask, "Is it also for the roster?"
The people who had been tracking them followed from Suzhou Prefecture all the way to Minhe Prefecture. After Miss settled into the Dongsheng Inn, He Nuan took the opportunity while making lunch to walk around the inn's lobby. He noticed several people disguised as diners eating in the lobby.
However, these people were wary of Miss's status and dared not openly try to seize the roster. They also worried that if they made a move, others might benefit from their actions. Thus, the various parties remained in a stalemate.
"Which faction does the Prefect of Minhe belong to?" Zhan Feiyu asked. Logically, the matter of the roster was significant. If Prefect Yuan intended to get involved, he wouldn't let a woman, and his own niece-in-law, handle it.
But Zhan Feiyu had to guard against the possibility that Prefect Yuan might deliberately push his niece-in-law, Yao Zhenyi, to the forefront while he himself remained hidden behind the scenes, able to wash his hands of any trouble.
Zhan Feiyu was unfamiliar with the people and affairs of the court. However, He Sheng had been in contact with the Imperial Dragon Guard all along, so he was very clear about Prefect Yuan and Second Young Madam Yao Zhenyi.
"Although Prefect Yuan was born into the Yuan family, he is from a collateral branch. He was able to study and take the imperial examinations thanks to the Yuan family's ancestral school..." He Sheng detailed Prefect Yuan's resume.
Prefect Yuan's father died early. Although he and his mother suffered bullying from their clansmen, the Yuan family had a righteous and upright family tradition. These were merely struggles within the inner chambers of the women.
Prefect Yuan's ability to study and enter officialdom relied on the clan. Although he was a second-class Jinshi, he was competent enough to serve as a prefect. While Minhe Prefecture was located in the Longyou Circuit and was not a prosperous area, the assistance and support of the Yuan family's direct lineage were indispensable.
As for Second Young Madam Yao Zhenyi, to say she had a prominent background was absurd. Although her maternal grandmother was enfeoffed as a County Princess by the late Emperor, in the end, her maternal grandmother's mother was merely a concubine of a prince. It was the late Emperor's benevolence that led him to grant his niece the title of County Princess.
Not to mention the saying, "One emperor, one courtier." After the current Emperor ascended the throne, this County Princess cousin had already passed away. The two sons and three daughters born to the County Princess no longer belonged to the circle of powerful families in the capital.