In the early hours of the next morning, before dawn, Fanning was awakened by a slight clang, and he opened his eyes in a daze, only to find a dark figure sitting on a chair.

Fanning's hair suddenly exploded, and he sat up suddenly, "Who are you?" ”

The person on the chair smiled lightly: "The vigilance of the little official is still too bad, I sat for half the night!" ”

Fan Ning heard this voice, it was Xu Qing, who had been elusive in the past.

Fan Ning's heart was relieved, he sat up, put on a coat, and saw that Xu Qing was playing with his Ru porcelain official kiln teacup, he couldn't help glaring at him, and said angrily: "I didn't do anything wrong, what should I do with such high vigilance?" ”

Xu Qing smiled slightly and put the teacup back into the tea tray on the table, "Since I advised petty officials to be vigilant, there is always a reason. ”

"What do you mean by that?" Fan Ning heard something in Xu Qing's words.

"Just look at the window, be careful, look behind the curtains."

Fan Ning was puzzled, walked quickly behind the curtain, opened a crack, and looked out into the street.

It was still dark and the streets were still dark, but the lanterns of the inn and the snack shop were so bright that they were faintly recognizable from all around them.

"You don't look too far, it's down there!"

Xu Qing reminded beside him: "There is a person squatting next to the snack shop pole, do you see it?" ”

Fanning saw it, under the dim light, there was a black shadow squatting next to the pole of the snack shop, it was not yet dawn, and there was actually a black shadow squatting there, which was indeed a little strange.

"What is he doing crouching there?" Fanning asked, puzzled.

"Spying on you!"

"Spying on me?" Fanning was stunned, "What are you spying on me for?" ”

"That man is just a scoundrel, someone pays 500 yuan a day to hire two scoundrels to monitor your every move, mainly to see who you are in contact with.

Yesterday outside the bookstore, I knocked out a scoundrel who was following you, interrogated him and learned that it was a middle-aged man who hired them to spy on you, and they didn't know who the hired person was, and they didn't know why they were spying on you. ”

Fan Ning thought of Ouyang Xiu's words, he vaguely guessed it, and his face immediately became gloomy.

After a while, he asked, "Is this just the one watcher?" ”

"There's another one, diagonally across from the gate, squatting in an alley, and now you can't see him."

Speaking of this, Xu Qing looked at Fan Ning, "My little master wants to know why someone is spying on you." ”

Fanning sighed slightly, "I haven't figured it out yet, I'm thinking about it later." ”

In fact, Fan Ning had already guessed that these people were not targeting him, but his cousin Fan Zhongyan, and some people didn't want Fan Zhongyan to enter Beijing, so they went around collecting evidence against him, maybe they thought they would become the contact of their cousin.

"I see!"

Xu Qing saw that Fan Ning refused to say it explicitly, so he no longer forced him, and said: "My little master hopes that you can leave the inn, concentrate on preparing for the exam, and don't get involved in these rights and wrongs." ”

Fanning smiled bitterly, how could he be willing to get involved in these rights and wrongs, but there were some things that he could avoid if he wanted to.

He thought for a while and asked, "I only came to the capital two days ago, how could I be found by the other party?" ”

"It should be your name on the inn register, and you'd better live in a private house, so that it will be difficult for the other party to find you."

After a pause, Xu Qing said again: "I can help the little official find a residence, if it is convenient, we will move out today." ”

..........

Before dawn, Fan Ning called Su Liang and Li Dashou to his room and explained the situation to them.

In addition to being stunned, the two immediately expressed their willingness to move out immediately.

Half an hour later, the sky was just dawning, the three of them settled the account, at this time Xu Qing drove a double ox cart has quietly parked at the back door of the inn, the three of them carried their luggage onto the ox cart, and then sat on the ox cart, the ox cart started slowly, drove towards the misty morning light, and disappeared in the morning fog after a short time.

It wasn't until noon that the two people who were monitoring Fan Ning at the door found that it was another stranger who opened the window of Fan Ning's room, so they realized that something was wrong, and hurriedly ran to the inn to inquire about the news, but learned that Fan Ning and the three of them had checked out early in the morning and left, as if they had left the capital to go to Chenliu County.

The two were dumbfounded by this news, and they had no choice but to report the unexpected news to their employers.

In Chunmingfang, not far from the south of the inn, there is a huge mansion covering an area of about 80 acres, with carved beams and painted buildings in the house, and exquisite small buildings are hidden in the green trees and ponds.

This is the mansion of the famous magnate of the dynasty, the abbot Zhang Yaozuo, Zhang Yaozuo because of his daughter Zhang Guifei is deeply favored by the Son of Heaven, in recent years he has also been very favored by the Son of Heaven, as the most powerful three envoys, in charge of the imperial treasury, his two sons were also given the same Jinshi background.

In the afternoon, Zhang Yaozuo woke up from a nap, and the two concubines served him to get up, wash his face, and put on a wide white Zen robe.

At this time, the maid reported at the door, "Master, Steward Liu has an urgent report, and he has been waiting for half an hour." ”

"Let him come to me!"

Zhang Yaozuo took a cup of tea, waved his hand, and the two concubines retreated.

After a while, a middle-aged man hurriedly walked in, this person's name was Liu Ling, the third housekeeper of Zhang Yaozuo's mansion, responsible for dealing with the outside world, and he was very shrewd and capable.

He walked into the room, knelt down and said, "Humble and incompetent, I didn't do what the master explained, so I came to ask the master for his guilt!" ”

"What's not going on?" Zhang Yaozuo took a sip of tea and asked.

"Master Qiqi, Master confessed to monitor Fan Zhongyan's grandson, but he disappeared."

Zhang Yaozuo's face sank, and he said dissatisfiedly: "What is missing, make it clear." ”

"Master Qiqi, according to the master's orders, our own family in the house did not come forward, but found two splashes and secretly stared at Fanning, but found that it was not good at noon today, Fanning had already checked out early in the morning and left, and he was nowhere to be found."

"Bastard!"

Zhang Yaozuo slapped the table heavily and scolded angrily: "Such a simple thing can't be done, needless to say, he must have found out, what kind of idiots are you looking for, you can't even keep an eye on a child, give me severe punishment!" ”

"The villain has beaten each of them fifty sticks, but what now? Please show me! ”

Zhang Yaozuo stood in front of the window with his hands down, looking out of the window a little distraught, of course a Fan Ning would not mess with his mood, the key was that the attitude of the Son of Heaven towards Fan Zhongyan began to change.

Fan Zhongyan is a banner of the reformists, and all conservatives are worried about whether some of the reform measures that have been frozen for several years will be restarted once Fan Zhongyan returns to the DPRK.

Preventing Fan Zhongyan from returning to the dynasty is already the consensus of all conservatives, Zhang Yaozuo, as a representative of the conservatives, of course, will not sit idly by, he is mainly responsible for monitoring Fan Zhongyan and his connection with the party, as Fan Zhongyan's cousin, Fan Ning naturally fell into Zhang Yaozuo's eyes.

Others may not know, but Zhang Yaozuo knows very well the weight of Fan Ning in Fan Zhongyan's heart, and the humiliation of three years ago still stings him from time to time.

Although Fan Ning and Fan Zhongyan have been very low-key in the past two years, and the two basically have no connection, the fact that Fan Ning is Fan Zhongyan's heir cannot be denied because of this.

After pondering for a long time, Zhang Yaozuo asked, "Did you ask the innkeeper, where did Fanning go?" ”

"I have asked, and the shopkeeper said that it seems that I heard them say that the capital is not safe, and it is better to go to Chenliu County."

"Go to Chenliu County?"

Zhang Yaozuo frowned slightly, Chenliu County belongs to Kaifeng Prefecture, located forty miles southeast of Kaifeng Prefecture, among the counties of Kaifeng Prefecture, the population and scale are second only to Tokyo Bianliang.

It's not very convenient to live in Chenliu County to participate in the imperial examination or anything, Zhang Yaozuo doesn't believe that Fan Ning and others went to Chenliu County, this is very likely to be Fan Ning's desire to cover up, he must still be in the capital.

Thinking of this, Zhang Yaozuo turned around and said: "Continue to look for his whereabouts in the capital, remember, don't alarm him if you find him, he is a tribute to Pingjiang Mansion, don't be caught by some people and make things bigger, understand?" ”

"Humble understood."

Steward Liu bowed, turned around and walked quickly.

Zhang Yaozuo walked a few steps, and then said to the maid at the door: "Go and find the chief yaman to see me!" ”

Not long after, a young man arrived, he wore an embroidered gold brocade robe, a jade belt around his waist, a gold crown on his head, a long thin face, and a pointed chin, quite like Zhang Yaozuo, because of his youth, he looked relatively delicate.

This young man is Zhang Chun, the eldest grandson of Zhang Yaozuo, who fought with Fan Ning in the Pang Taishi Mansion three years ago.

Zhang Chun, who is 14 years old this year, has been specially recommended by Kaifeng Prefecture to prepare for the Tongzi Provincial Examination in January next year as a tribute priest of Kaifeng Prefecture.

Zhang Chun entered the house and knelt down and kowtowed, "Grandson to meet grandfather!" ”

"Get up!"

Zhang Chun stood up and stood beside his grandfather with his hands down, Zhang Yaozuo glanced at him and asked, "How are you reviewing?" ”

"My grandson is doing his best to study and prepare for the exam."

Sun Tzu's attitude made Zhang Yaozuo very satisfied, but it was not enough to have an attitude, but also to have strength.

Zhang Yaozuo said slowly: "Grandfather asked you to come to tell you that three years ago, that Fan Ning in Master Pang's mansion was going to enter Beijing to participate in the imperial examination, and he, like you, was also taking the boy's examination, this time, I don't want you to lose under his hands again." ”

Zhang Chun's eyes widened suddenly, is that Fanning here again?