Ma Zhi lit the rosemary, and soon the faint fragrance filled the whole room.
Geshu Liushui sniffed it and said, "Well, this smells really good... Sister, where did you buy it?"
Ge Shuqing smiled and said: "There are many spice shops in the capital. This kind of fragrance is expensive, very expensive..."
Ma Zhi chuckled: "It's not that expensive, we can afford it."
The first time Ma Zhi said such words, the Geshu brothers were stunned for a while, but they soon realized that Ma Zhi is not what he used to be.
Geshu Xingyun was stubborn. He just thought about it and didn't think about it further. But Geshu Liushui was thinking about how to observe it for a while, and then organize the words and report to his father.
It didn't take long for the incense to burn out. Since the smell was good, Song Shuliu Shui signaled to continue lighting it.
Ma Zhi sighed secretly and was very suspicious. There were people in the whole room. If he was poisoned by smelling the incense, wouldn't everyone have been poisoned?
With this doubt, Ma Zhi looked at Ma Xiaoquan.
Ma Xiaoquan knew what Ma Zhi was thinking, but it was not the time to explain the situation to him right now, so he changed the subject and chatted with brother Geshu about home affairs for a while.
"Okay, it's getting late. Now that you have made a decision, I feel relieved and will go back." Ma Xiaoquan thought for a moment and then said, "By the way, my wife, Beiming Family, was taken away by your two brothers.
When will the classics be returned?"
The Geshu brothers looked at each other awkwardly, and Geshu Liushui said: "When our injuries are healed, we should go to the Beiming Family in person to return the classics, plead guilty and be punished."
Ma Xiaoquan chuckled and said: "It's right to return. I don't think the Beiming Family will do anything if you plead guilty and be punished. Haha... You two are getting a little bolder. Okay, I won't say any more, I'm leaving.
~”
Ma Xiaoquan was leaving, and Ma Zhi was unwilling to stay any longer. It wasn't that he didn't want to stay, but the more he looked at the rosemary on the table, the more frightened he became.
"Madam, why don't we leave too? It might not be appropriate to stay here for a long time. Tian Ergen has eyes all over the capital."
Ge Shuqing hummed in a reasonable manner: "Okay~"
...
Back at Ma's house, after Ma Zhi settled his wife, he hurried to the study to find Ma Xiaoquan.
"Well, if we all smoked rosemary, wouldn't we all be poisoned?" Ma Zhi asked straight to the point.
Ma Xiaoquan laughed, shook his head and said, "That's not true. Rosemary is not poisonous, and it is indeed used to soothe the mind."
"Oh? What do you mean, we are not poisoned?"
"Of course it is..."
"Who is going to die, Brother Geshu?"
Ma Xiaoquan pretended not to know and shook his head: "Actually, I don't know. This has something to do with their physical conditions, but don't worry, they will definitely not die immediately."
Ma Zhi breathed out. Although he still didn't believe Ma Xiaoquan's words, even if he didn't believe it, he had to believe it now.
...
A few days later, the Geshu family sent someone to secretly pick up the Geshu brothers, and the previously agreed meeting with Ma Xiaoquan was canceled due to a surprise investigation by the Jin Yiwei in the capital.
Ma Xiaoquan was very upset and heard Ge Shuqing say that the person who came to the capital this time was the grandson of the head of the Geshu family and the most capable one.
Ma Xiaoquan has always been curious about the Geshu family, especially when this family keeps saying that they are descendants of the Baiyi clan. He wants to see what the descendants of the Baiyi clan will look like more than 1,400 years later.
Earlier at the end of the Han Dynasty, Qingyi had told Ma Xiaoquan that the Baiyi clan had another lineage besides theirs, and the Qingyi lineage had been exterminated by Lu Xian, and the lineage left behind was probably the song book.
The ancestor of the family.
...
Ma Zhi found Ma Xiaoquan and expressed his concerns about the Geshu brothers.
Ma Xiaoquan comforted him: "Your worries are also my worries, but to be honest, after they came to the capital for this trip, I'm afraid it was you, Ma Zhi, who talked about them the most after they returned."
"Me? What's wrong with me?"
Ma Xiaoquan chuckled and said: "You have no power at all when you marry into a family of poets and writers. But now that you have come to the capital, you have suddenly become a counselor of the Jinyiwei. If you compare it before and after, your Ma Zhi can be said to have soared into the sky...
..Of course, since you are the son-in-law of the Songshu family, they shouldn’t do anything to you. On the contrary, they will show kindness to you or even force you to help the Songshu family with their affairs.”
"Uh~~ Doing something? What do you do?"
Ma Xiaoquan said: "They could arrange your fake death at that time, so they will definitely arrange other things."
Ma Zhi worried: "They don't want to rebel, right? If this is true, wouldn't it..."
Ma Xiaoquan said: "Rebellion? Haha, don't mention it, it is really possible."
"Ah? What should we do?"
"What should I do? Let's eat it cold..." Ma Xiaoquan joked.
Ma Zhi said anxiously: "Don't gloat about others' misfortunes. If we really want to rebel, you can't get away with it."
Ma Xiaoquan shook his head and comforted Ma Zhi: "Okay, don't worry too much. Based on my guess, the Geshu Family will not do such a treacherous thing. They just want to get what they want...
."
"Want, what do they want?"
Ma Xiaoquan chuckled and said, "I have to ask you this, what on earth have they been doing in the Geshu family during the years you have been in it?"
Ma Zhi was stunned, dragging his chin and fell silent.
After a moment, Ma Zhi raised his head and said: "Actually... I wasn't really clear about what the Geshu Family did at first, but one time, I accidentally saw something...
."
"What?"
Ma Zhi's eyes were a little complicated, as if he was having an inner struggle. After a while, he took out a small piece of cloth from his clothes.
"What's this?"
Ma Zhi smiled bitterly and said: "I drew this from memory after seeing it at that time. I was afraid that someone would find it, so I drew it on the cloth and kept it close to me. Most people would not notice it even if they touched it."
Ma Xiaoquan took the small cloth from Ma Zhi's hand, unfolded it and took a look, and was shocked.
"This is..." Ma Xiaoquan's eyes widened, feeling a little incredible.
Ma Zhi was also surprised by Ma Xiaoquan's expression. He had been looking at the thing painted on the cloth for several years and still didn't know what it was. But looking at Ma Xiaoquan's expression, he seemed to know something. However, before that, Ma Xiaoquan didn't know what it was.
I have never dealt with the Songs and Books family.
"You...what did you see?"
Ma Xiaoquan raised his head and looked at Ma Zhi with a strange look, which made Ma Zhi feel a little irritable.
"What, is something wrong?"
Ma Xiaoquan shook his head and said with a wry smile: "Do you know what is painted on this little cloth?"
Ma Zhi shook his head.
"Haha, I can tell you that this is a weapon."
"Weapon? What weapon? Is it a weapon? I've thought about it, but it doesn't look like it," Ma Zhi retorted.
Ma Xiaoquan said: "Because this is just a very small part of the picture. If the whole picture is placed in front of you, you will understand."
Ma Zhi was a little dissatisfied: "Then why can you see it? Or have you seen this before?"
Ma Xiaoquan nodded: "I have seen...this picture, I made it..."
"What? You...you did it?"
Ma Xiaoquan hummed, something came to mind.
Ma Zhi calmed down his emotions, patted his forehead, and said: "No wonder, you have lived for such a long time and you are still like this. Whatever you draw is normal."
Ma Xiaoquan shook his head with a wry smile and said: "I just made it randomly at the beginning, and it didn't take shape at all. After all...this thing can't be made just by doing it. I didn't expect that it would become something that would become something 1,400 years later."
Okay...Okay, it's good that you and I know this. It's best not to have a third person know about it. Humph, I'm really curious about whether a family with a family of songs and books can do this.
Where’s the weapon?”
Ma Zhidao: "According to what you said, the family of poetry and calligraphy is..."
"Yes, the Songshu family should be a family that studies weapons, but they have no principles. As long as they can afford the money, they will provide weapons. Of course, in front of you, they will not show it. You are so long.
Time still hasn’t made it clear what they did, which suffices to say that you, Ma Zhi, still haven’t gained the trust of the Songs and Books family.”
Ma Xiaoquan originally wanted to say "arms dealer", but then he thought that now is the era of cold weapons, and hot weapons only have simple muskets and earthen cannons. As for the Hongyi cannons used in the Ningyuan victory, they were also made by the Portuguese.
of.
...
Ma Zhi nodded, hummed, and sighed: "I see, I understand."
"By the way~" Ma Xiaoquan asked, "Did you find out anything at Wei Zhongxian's place?"
Ma Zhidao: "You should also know this. He is trying to please the emperor and repair the three main halls. But this repair is a waste of people and money..."
"Hmph~~" Ma Xiaoquan snorted disdainfully, "Just let him do the hard work."
Ma Zhi looked at Ma Xiaoquan in confusion and asked: "I still don't understand. You said that Wei Zhongxian will be overthrown one day. But with his current power, do you mean that when you overthrow him, he will die of old age and illness?"
Ma Xiaoquan smiled and said: "No, haha~~"
.......
A few months passed in the blink of an eye. These few months were relatively peaceful. Of course, this was mainly because Wei Zhongxian was focusing on the repair and construction of the three main halls, so he temporarily relaxed his attack on Ma Xiaoquan.
Without Wei Zhongxian's direct participation, all the impeachment petitions proposed by his partisans were withdrawn by Ma Xiaoquan who paid the eunuchs.
Although Wei Zhongxian is extremely powerful, not everyone is afraid of him and everyone listens to him.