Chapter 58 They're all just trying to frame me by making empty promises.

The third day of the sports meet.

Cheng Hui watched the sprint hurdles with his hands behind his back, then slowly walked forward to watch the shuttlecock kicking competition, which was open to all genders and ages.

Honestly, the shuttlecock kicking competition is much more entertaining.

He stood on the sidelines, watching the old lady effortlessly and skillfully kick the shuttlecock, watching the little girl stare intently at the shuttlecock flying up and down, watching the young man use his long legs to sway his body and constantly make emergency saves...

Cheng Hui watched for a while, stretched his legs, and regretfully realized that with his physical condition, he couldn't do even something as simple as kicking a shuttlecock, let alone those sports that required running and jumping.

But the old man has lived to such an old age mainly because he has a very open mind.

He quickly convinced himself: I make a living with my brain, so it's okay if I'm not good at competitive sports.

"Is it the goddess's reward that the top three in each project receive?"

Suddenly, the sound of several teenagers discussing something came from the side.

They are students of Longyuan Academy.

A tall girl nodded, "According to the goddess, yes."

The somewhat chubby boy gaped, "A reward for just the preliminary round?"

Before anyone could answer, he said, "Then if one of them gets a top-three finish in this event at the county sports meet, wouldn't they also get a Goddess's reward?"

His dear classmates: "..."

A petite girl said enviously, "I wonder what the goddess will reward us with this time."

"I want that desk lamp from Minister Zhu," the tall, thin boy said, his face full of longing.

The tall girl cupped her face in her hands, "Then I still want the calculator. Senior Brother Liang said that calculator is really useful, better than ten thousand of his."

The chubby boy expressed skepticism: "Is it really that good?"

The tall, thin boy's eyebrows shot up. "Are you questioning Senior Brother Liang?"

Fat boy: "..."

The petite girl crossed her arms and frowned. "Hasn't the goddess announced the prizes yet?"

Several classmates shook their heads, "We haven't heard of it."

"Has the goddess not yet decided what reward to give?"

"We need to prepare lots of prizes."

"I want a calculator..."

"We'll find out after the sports meet!" the tall, thin boy said. "There will definitely be a lot of people watching the goddess award the prizes!"

Cheng Hui stroked his beard and smiled kindly.

Just then, he saw several people carrying a man on a stretcher hurrying past him.

Cheng Hui was startled and quickly followed, asking one of the people accompanying him, "What happened?"

The man glanced at him and replied, "I twisted my ankle while running too fast during the relay race."

Looking at the expression on the person's face on the stretcher, Cheng Hui thought it looked like a broken bone.

He followed them all the way to the medical station.

The doctor and apprentice at the medical station skillfully instructed the stretcher bearers to carefully lower the injured person. The doctor examined the injured person's injured foot and said, "It's broken."

"A fracture?"

The doctor said to the apprentice, "Bring the fixation frame."

The young apprentice nodded and immediately ran into the medical tent.

The injured man turned pale. "Doctor, my injury..."

The doctor looked at him and reassured him, "It's alright, just go home and rest for two or three months, you'll be fine."

Since he was already there, Cheng Hui sought out a young apprentice who hadn't participated in the treatment to inquire about the situation: "Were there many injuries during the sports meet?"

The young apprentice looked at Cheng Hui's face, politely greeted him, and then replied, "Not many, not many. Although quite a few contestants fell and sprained their ankles during the competition, no one was seriously injured. The only one who needed to come to me with a broken bone was the third guy inside."

Cheng Hui was speechless: Is three considered a small number?

The young doctor thought for a moment, "In terms of the number of participants, it's not too few, is it? Besides, everyone only has minor fractures, the injuries aren't serious, and they can recover with proper rest."

Cheng Hui nodded. "That's good."

Cheng Hui left the treatment center, intending to talk to Gu Lanying about the issue of compensation for the injured.

On the way, he was stopped by Mo Jingchun's mother, Cai Suhua.

Cai Suhua glanced around instinctively, took two steps forward, and whispered, "Mr. Cheng, can we find a quiet place to talk?"

Cheng Hui narrowed his eyes, realizing something, and said, "Come with me."

The two left the playground one after the other, bypassed the teaching building, and arrived at the administration building.

Cai Suhua watched as Cheng Hui greeted the guards at the door, then led her inside to the dean's office.

Then, Cheng Hui took a key out of his pocket and inserted it into the lock.

Cai Suhua was shocked: "Mr. Cheng, how could you have..."

Cheng Hui turned around and smiled, "I am, after all, the prefect of Anling County. Shouldn't I have some privileges?"

Cai Suhua's lips twitched.

However, the dean's office has two rooms, an inner and an outer one. Qian Shiwen only gave Cheng Hui the key to the outer meeting room so that he would have a place to sit if he urgently needed to discuss matters.

Cheng Hui asked Cai Suhua to sit down and asked her what was wrong.

Cai Suhua took a deep breath and adjusted her breathing. She said with a serious expression, "There's a woman from our laundry shop who I usually get along with. She came to my house last night to talk to me about Chun Chun's marriage."

Cheng Hui laughed out loud upon hearing this.

Cai Suhua: "..." She was puzzled, "What are you laughing at?"

I'm talking to you about serious business!

Cheng Hui waved his hand and explained, "I wasn't laughing at you, I was laughing at those people."

Cai Suhua: "?" She was even more confused.

Cheng Hui extended his right hand and made a "please" gesture.

Cai Suhua continued, "She first praised my Chun Chun for being intelligent and ambitious, then asked me if Chun Chun was engaged. I originally thought she just wanted to play matchmaker for Chun Chun, but she said..."

She frowned.

Cheng Hui looked enlightened and asked, "Did she mean that a girl as outstanding as Chun Chun could probably become a duke or marquis's wife in the capital or any of the other states?"

Cai Suhua shook her head and said, "She said that if she is lucky enough, Chun Chun might be able to become the Duchess of the State."

Cheng Hui: "..." Fine, I underestimated Xiao Mo.

Cai Suhua continued, "As she spoke, she started talking about the people who had come from Maozhou before."

What about the saying, "Now that the world is in chaos, perhaps the governor of Maozhou can become the future emperor?", what about the saying, "Those who follow him will surely be ennobled and appointed as ministers in the future?", what about the saying, "Our goddess is very good, but how wonderful it would be if she were a man"...

"Does she think I'm stupid?" Cai Suhua sneered. "I won't fall for it!"

As the mother of the Minister of Civil Affairs, Cai Suhua had received ideological education from her own daughter: Do not believe anything said by anyone other than me, they are trying to get rid of me; do not accept any money or gifts from anyone, not even a basket of eggs, they are trying to get rid of me; do not discuss my marriage with anyone, they want to remove me from my position and replace me!

Mo Jingchun's eyes were burning with determination. "Mother, it's only because our family's ancestral graves are emitting auspicious smoke that I've been able to reach this position. Many people are jealous of me and want to get rid of me. Please don't fall for their tricks and become the knife that stabs your own daughter!"

Cheng Hui laughed and said, "That's right, for Xiao Mo's sake, don't fall for it."

"Those people are all the same, using the same tricks: promising high-ranking positions, wealth, and good marriages. But our Xiao Mo..."

He looked at Cai Suhua and said, "Following others, you might become a capable and virtuous wife and mother in the inner quarters. But following the goddess, you might stand in the court just like the men."

This is huge! Cai Suhua couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"you……"

She opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but didn't know where to begin.

She could only stare at Cheng Hui in shock, her eyes asking: Does Chun Chun think so too?

How could she be so audacious?!

Cheng Hui said of course not, the younger generation hasn't thought that far ahead.

On the one hand, everyone worked diligently to build Anling County in order to protect the goddess!

Why expand territory, why increase troops, why develop vigorously? It's because many people covet the goddess. We must make the place where the goddess resides strong in order to repel all the bastards who want to seize the goddess.

On the other hand, because of the goddess's gender, many people do not think she has the ambition to conquer the world.

Cheng Hui said affectionately, "Xiao Mo is someone I raised myself. I hope she can keep moving forward and forge a path that no one has ever walked before."

Even if this road is full of thorns and will leave you covered in wounds.

"A goddess has descended from the heavens, giving everyone this opportunity. Wouldn't it be a great pity not to give it a try?"

An opportunity that predecessors would have prayed for but could not obtain.

Cai Suhua took a deep breath, gritted her teeth, and said, "Fine, let's give it a shot!"

Anyway, without the goddess, my daughter and I would have starved to death long ago.

That night.

Cheng Hui requests an audience with He Qinglan.

He Qinglan's gaze swept up and down, scanning Cheng Hui, and after a moment she asked, "Is it because you have no children that you don't mind women competing with men for political resources?"

Curiosity crept into her usually cold voice.

Cheng Hui: "..."

The old man asked helplessly, "Can't I be good at it because of my noble character?"

I'm someone who also read "Ideological and Moral Education" at Ji Zhou's place.

He Qinglan raised one eyebrow, offering no rebuttal.

She has always judged people by their actions, not their intentions: it doesn't matter whether others genuinely respect her or not, as long as they outwardly obey her obediently.

Cheng Hui continued his report, "Goddess, several people have come to talk to me. Someone is trying to bribe them or their family members. This is very likely the work of Maozhou."

His cloudy eyes suddenly cleared: "Do you think we should take them down one by one, or wipe them all out at once?"

He Qinglan said, "Of course, we'll catch them all in one fell swoop." She tilted her head, a cold smile appearing on her pale face. "I haven't established any authority since I came into this world."

One or two of them who transmigrate quickly are somewhat mentally unstable.

But no one publicly defied her, and she couldn't just suddenly go crazy for no reason.

Cheng Hui felt a chill run down his spine for no apparent reason.

"It must be my imagination," he thought.

He bowed respectfully to the goddess, saying, "Yes, I will obey your commands."

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Author's Note: I added 600 words to the previous chapter.