Dressed As the Deadly Opponent of the Male Protagonist of the Imperial Examination

"Second brother? What's wrong?"

I saw Pei Yunxiao holding on to his shoulders, stood up tremblingly, his eyes dodged, and waved his hand in embarrassment: "It's nothing, it may be... hungry."

Tang Heng discovered that Pei Yunxiao's hand was touching his abdomen, and his face felt uncomfortable. Inexplicably, he felt a bit of pity in his heart.

A pampered noble son, who has suffered to investigate the case. Compared with Xu Mu's stuff, it's really different.

"Don't look for evidence for now." Tang Hang straightened Pei Yunxiao's body.

"For a while, Xu Mu won't come back, so I'm not in a hurry. We haven't eaten anything for a day. If we don't fill up our stomachs, we can't run anything when we encounter them. Let's find something to eat first, by the way. Look at the delicacies of the mountains and seas that Xu's family eats."

Pei Yunxiao still wanted to struggle, but Tang Heng's expression was beyond doubt.

In the end, Pei Yunxiao chose to appease his five internal organs temple first.

She raised her face, smiled brightly, and her eyes were shining brightly, she saw very clearly in the dark night: "Okay, just listen to the big brother! The big brother covers me!"

Tang Hang couldn't help but curled up his mouth. Somehow, he suddenly remembered Xu Mu's words—Brother Xiao's countenance was indeed incomparable with how many beauties.

Although he was confident in his appearance, he was a little rough because of the wind and sun for many years. After all, Pei Yunxiao is like a Guanyin boy like a Guanyin boy.

Just like Xu Mu's words, one black and one white.

If Pei Yunxiao could really be his mother and brother, Tang Heng thought to himself, how would he put him in his palm to spoil him.

Thinking about it, Tang Hang unconsciously grabbed Pei Yunxiao's wrist lightly, like the eldest brother in the family caring for the younger brother underneath: "Go, eat!"

In the manor at night, a lamp was lit at ten steps, and the dim lights set off the beautiful scenery.

But Pei Yunxiao didn't dare to think about it, how many bones and blood and sweat of the poor and ordinary people are under this beautiful scenery, how many are the nightmares of the people who have no food, clothes, and displaced people.

And she, wearing a family with the same beaded and turquoise family, couldn't even make accusations justified.

Avoiding the servants and maids all the way, Tang Heng's sense of direction was really good, he was not lost at all, and he actually found the kitchen in the village for him.

It was midnight, the master in the manor was no longer there, the kitchen naturally did not open fire, and the servants who were supposed to be guards did not know where to hide.

This is convenient for Tang Hang and Pei Yunxiao.

The two sneaked into the kitchen, lit the candles, and immediately saw all kinds of food and snacks on the table.

For large families, cooking has always been extremely extravagant and wasteful. A meal requires countless kinds of dishes, but not all of them are used.

The present case is left over from dinner, no one has moved, just a bit cold.

At the current gourmet food, Pei Yunxiao's stomach, which has not been filled with water and rice all day, immediately screamed.

Regardless of anything else, she grabbed the roasted chicken drumsticks on the plate in one hand, and took a mung bean cake in the other hand, and ate hesai in her mouth.

At this moment, she left behind all the etiquette and image. Those are things that people who have never been hungry pay attention to!

At that time, Tang Hang was slowly tearing off a piece of pork from the belly of the roast chicken. As soon as he put it in his mouth, he saw Pei Yunxiao on the opposite side giving a cup of white jade jade soup that he had just picked up. It’s done.

Tang Heng looked at the chicken in his hand and suddenly felt tasteless.

Thinking of him over the years, in order to become a qualified righteous brother of the seventh son of the Pei family, and to get ahead as soon as possible, it took him how much effort he could easily pull out an ancient book on teaching etiquette from the books stored in his mind and copy it carefully. Practice with great concentration.

Let's look at the image of Pei Yunxiao now...

He was lonely after studying etiquette!

"Big brother? Why don't you eat it?" Pei Yunxiao, who was on the opposite side, said with a bulging mouth, and came to him to ask him.

"Eating, eating." Tang Hang didn't know what to say for a while.

Pei Yunxiao suddenly realized his thoughts, and swallowed the white jade tofu in his mouth, and said: "Canglin really knows the etiquette, I am hungry, and some etiquette is really unnecessary."

"Furthermore, etiquette is only used to regulate words and deeds. Gentlemen stand up and put benevolence and righteousness first. If they are too rigid in small etiquette, then put the cart before the horse. Isn't there not enough people in this world who have little etiquette and no righteousness?"

Tang Heng's heart violently moved. All small courtesy and meaningless, this is a good point.

He once again looked at Pei Yunxiao with admiration. Be open-minded and sober. It is no wonder that she is incompatible with Pei's family, and feels weak family affection every time she mentions it.

Tang Heng looked at the roast chicken in his hand, opened his mouth and took a bite, just like when he was hungry for a day by Mrs. Tang when he was a child, hiding in the kitchen and stealing food.

The two of them were eating happily, and suddenly a sound of footsteps sounded outside the kitchen.

The two moved for a while, and listened with bated breath. The footsteps are getting closer, getting closer...

Tang Heng threw down the roast chicken in his hand, grabbed Pei Yunxiao's back, tucked his sleeves over, wiped out the lights in the house, and ran up to the beam with his toes.

At the same moment, the door of the kitchen was pushed open, and a boy rubbing his eyes came in: "Damn it, it was still lit just now..."

With that said, the young man didn't even look at it, turned around and muttered a few words, and left again angrily.

Above the beam, Tang Hang breathed a sigh of relief. After he recovered, he discovered that Pei Yunxiao was clutching his sleeve.

Thinking of her being extremely afraid of heights, Tang Heng turned his head to comfort him. I didn't know that I was seeing Pei Yunxiao holding himself in one hand, and actually holding a chicken wing in the other hand, eating right away!

At the critical moment of Lightning Flint, Pei Yunxiao could actually take the opportunity to abduct a chicken wing!

Tang Heng: ...in the future, it's better not to be too hungry for her.

After filling their stomachs, Pei Yunxiao and Tang Heng left the kitchen, and Xu Mu summoned them to their yard in the daytime.

This is the center of the manor’s inner courtyard, where Xu Mu’s bedroom and study are located.

Inferring from the minds of ordinary people, if there is evidence, the most likely thing is to hide here.

Pei Yunxiao and Tang Heng first touched Xu Mu's study.

There is a fact that Pei Yunxiao has to admit, that is, the children of the family who have been carefully nurtured, no matter how ridiculous, there is no lower limit, the ink in the stomach will not be less.

In this sense, perhaps Xu Mu can really be called a Jiangnan talent.

Just like the various classics and historical books displayed in this study, you can see that they have been turned over many times at a glance; there are also treasures on the Duobao Pavilion, which are definitely valuable; and the calligraphy and paintings hanging on the wall are signed by one. People are very likely to be Xu Mu's handwriting.

Pei Yunxiao and Tang Hang rummaged carefully in the room, but they have not been able to find any valuable clues.

Suddenly, Tang Heng's gaze was attracted by a bookcase on the bookshelf.

The book case is a lacquer box, the whole body is dark red, and it is simple enough to have the Ruyi pattern on it, which is very common and ordinary.

After opening the bookcase, there were three manuscripts of "Zhezhou Topography". Tang Heng flipped the pages of the book and found nothing unusual.

"Big brother, but what did you find?" Pei Yunxiao noticed Tang Hang's movements and walked over.

"Not yet, I just think it's a bit strange." Tang Heng held the book case and checked it back and forth: "I always feel that something is wrong with this book case."

Pei Yunxiao took it from him, but didn't see anything famous.

Tang Hang thought for a while, and felt that he might be thinking too much, so he put back the three books one by one.

Just as he was about to close the bookcase, there was a sudden flash in his mind, and the movement of his hand was just a pause.

In the next second, he took out all three books and put them aside, raised the bookcase, looked at it again, and suddenly said in surprise: "I see!"

Pei Yunxiao came up.

"Look, my second brother, this book case is four or five inches long from the outside, but the depth inside is only two inches. This case must have a mezzanine!" Tang Hang said.

"It makes sense!" Pei Yunxiao's eyes lit up: "Hurry up and find out if there is a mechanism!"

Tang Hang's fingers fumbled for a while on the edge of the bookcase. Suddenly, he held down a place on the Ruyi Wen Road and gently pressed, a small wooden stick popped out a head.

He pulled out the wooden stick, and then there was a slight noise in the box, and the mezzanine of the box came out.

"Really! Big brother is too good!" Pei Yunxiao praised without hesitation.

Tang Hang shook his head, "It's just that I learned from the old carpenter in the county to make organ boxes. There are only those kinds of organs on the left."

Pei Yunxiao nodded. But in a place that Tang Hang couldn't see, he secretly glanced at his mouth.

What old carpenter, it should be the database in his head! Tang Heng's gold fingers cover almost all walks of life. If things go on like this, what else can he not?

The mezzanine of the bookcase is opened, revealing the space inside.

I saw a few small wooden plaques neatly stacked in this small mezzanine. Two wooden signs read "Iron", and the other two read "Salt". There was a gap beside the two signs with "salt", just enough to put another wooden sign.

Pei Yunxiao's inspiration flashed: "Jinnian said that Xu Mu came back to take something after seeing the money, it should be this! This is the proof they used to raise salt, and the money is really used to sell private salt!"

Tang Hang also agreed.

Pei Yunxiao picked up the wooden sign that said "Iron" again.

The salt and iron were sold exclusively by the imperial court, and there were more specialized officials in the DPRK to manage salt and iron affairs. Therefore, when the wooden sign with "iron" and the wooden sign with "salt" were placed together, she would naturally think that the Xu family also operated private iron trading.

"Is there any iron ore in Zhezhou?" Pei Yunxiao asked in confusion.

Tang Hang picked up the "Zhezhou Topography" next to it and turned it over, and it turned out: "Yes, in the hills south of Zhezhou, it is said that there are iron ore deposits, but the author estimates that the volume is not large."

"Selling private salt doesn't count, even digging iron ore privately can do it, so I really don't want to die!" Pei Yunxiao cursed secretly.

Tang Heng looked into the mezzanine, and several pieces of paper were still pressed under the wooden signs.

He took it out and looked at his face with joy: "It's all here, where the salt gang is, and the accounts of the previous transactions. The second brother said it was really good. They just took over the Jiangnan Salt City and they were not cautious enough. It was served by us."

Pei Yunxiao took the paper that recorded the location of the Salt Gang, and when he looked at it, he showed doubts: "This... is not right at all!"