After returning to Jiangning Prefecture, Xu Qing had Yan Shan, who came back with him, host Xie Quan to show him around Jiangning Prefecture, familiarizing him with the local customs and also introducing him to the matters of the Recovery Society.
Yan Shan, who had long admired Xie Quan, a once renowned scholar from Yingtian, was quite excited to take on this task.
Xie Quan intended to leave Xu Qing for a while to further investigate the actual situation of Jiangning Prefecture and the Recovery Society and to gain a deeper understanding of Xu Qing.
He deeply agreed with the principles Xu Qing proposed, such as "Unity of Knowledge and Action, Returning to the Good."
Experience teaches us that theoretical knowledge is shallow without personal involvement.
Thus, without practical investigation, understanding a person merely through theoretical discussions is not comprehensive.
On another side, after seeing off Xie Quan, Xu Qing hurried back to the Li Mansion and sent Guo Zhuang to summon back Commander Li.
Currently, Li Gongpu held the position of an external commander, leading a thousand soldiers.
He was stationed at Breeze Village, which was formerly Breeze Temple.
In reality, there weren’t a thousand men, but many were Xu Qing’s forces, certainly a power that could not be ignored within Jiangning Prefecture.
Upon receiving the message, Li Gongpu rushed back and upon seeing Xu Qing, asked:
"Qing, how did you do in this rural examination?"
In his view, no matter how great Xu Qing’s undertakings were, they could not compare to becoming a Scholar.
Such an achievement ensures familial prosperity for generations.
The foundations established in the worldly society come quickly and go quickly, all being rootless duckweeds.
Zhou criticized, "You, always asking about these trifles and not even concerning over Qing’s lifelong matters."
Actually, she was more eager to know how Xu Qing performed in the rural examination, but since Xu Qing didn’t bring it up, she feared he might have underperformed and asking about it would only upset him more.
Li Gongpu gave an awkward smile and said, "I was too anxious."
Xu Qing had dismissed everyone around and said, "Uncle, Aunt, I did very well in my articles, probably the top scorer this time, but still..."
He briefly explained his concerns.
Li Gongpu and Zhou were his closest family; if things did not go smoothly, he would need to ensure their safety first.
For this, he had already made arrangements in advance.
These days, the duel between Yan Kong and Gu Wuji could distract attention, providing a good opportunity for Zhou to temporarily leave Jiangning Prefecture.
Too early or too late would not be appropriate.
Although Zhou was a woman and pregnant, she was not frightened and simply asked, "Qing, is the situation really that bad?"
Xu Qing replied, "It’s just preparing for the worst. In fact, I am very likely to become the Five Classics Leader, or even Top Scorer. Right now, it’s just a precaution in case we are caught off-guard when the examination results are out."
Zhou nodded, "I will follow your arrangements."
Xu Qing continued, "Aunt and my aunt by marriage being pregnant, I have arranged for a water route. They’ll leave early tomorrow under the pretense of going out to offer prayers, then using the excuse of praying at Golden Ray Monastery for my success in the rural examination. In fact, we’ll take the water route to a small port in Wuzhong County where a fisherman’s family will temporarily accommodate Aunt and my aunt by marriage. Should things turn for the worst, I’ve arranged for Aunt to take a boat to an island in the East Sea where an old friend can ensure your safety. As for my aunt by marriage, she will stay in the countryside."
Zhou asked, "Qing, what about you?"
Xu Qing smiled slightly, "Uncle and I have made arrangements, don’t worry, Aunt. With me here, I will ensure Uncle’s safety. Once everything here is settled, I will come to fetch Aunt, my younger brother, and sister."
Zhou quickly said, "Tsk tsk, it must not be a girl; a boy is much more useful."
She was bearing a child after half a lifetime; how could she have a daughter.
Xu Qing laughed heartily.
Li Gongpu indifferently said, "Boy or girl, I’ll cherish them all the same."
Zhou rolled her eyes at him, "You men always say the nicest things."
Talking about childbirth actually relaxed Zhou and Li Gongpu.
People are amazing; having descendants gives hope and motivation to strive, no fear before great difficulties.
Even though they had never felt this while raising Xu Qing.
Because Xu Qing had already prepared in advance, they didn’t need to take many valuables tomorrow; traveling downstream to Wuzhong County by water would only take half a day.
Later, Xu Qing and Li Gongpu went to the study to discuss the matters of Breeze Village.
The major arrangements had been settled, and Li Gongpu would later move into the mountains with the people of Breeze Village to wait for Xu Qing to join them.
Having achieved the Manifestation of Refining Internal, Xu Qing could escape to the deep mountains and vast marshes where even the vast influence of the Duke Wei Mansion could not reach him.
These preparations were all targeted against a possible attack initiated by the Duke Wei Mansion.
Given the change of circumstances, Xu Qing well knew that once the key figures at the Central recognized that they didn’t value him much, they would definitely aim to nip such a promising young man in the bud.
After all, having already created enmity, should they wait for Xu Qing to grow powerful and seek revenge?
Even if there was only a one percent chance of this happening, Xu Qing had to be thoroughly prepared.
Luckily, up to now, the dark aura within his Qi Fortune showed no changes, similar as always.
This indicated that the Duke Wei Mansion was probably also undecided, waiting for the rural examination results.
The more skilled the hunter, the more patient they are, often only revealing their ferocity at the moment they must act.
Xu Qing was wary of Duke Wei.
Because in his view, the Young Master’s reckless behavior was exactly what Duke Wei intended, serving to intimidate outsiders while simultaneously causing others to underestimate the Duke Wei Mansion.