"If you wish to continue living in the capital, please do so, but do not disturb me again. I will not allow you into my residence. If you wish to return to the border town, I can send someone to escort you back." After all, we came together.

Meng Jiujiu never said anything like "Don't like me anymore" or "I don't like you," and always felt like she was just imagining things.

Zhang Xiaotang looked on in disbelief, "Sister Meng, how could you do this to me?"

Is he really going to lose?

Can't!

How could he just go back like that? How could he face his mother?

So many people know he came to chase after Lord Meng. If he were to go back like this, he could imagine how the people of the border town would ridicule him.

Moreover, his reputation is ruined, and no one will ever marry him again.

No, absolutely not!

Zhang Xiaotang, calm down and think of another way. There will definitely be a way.

"There are only these two options. You decide for yourself." With that, she turned and left, leaving him no room for negotiation.

Zhang Xiaotang felt a surge of resentment; why was she so heartless, not giving him any hope?

No, he can't lose, absolutely not.

Zhang Xiaotang stared fiercely at Meng Jiujiu's departing figure.

Since you are so heartless, don't blame me for being ruthless.

Three days later.

Zhang Xiaotang still came.

He stood outside the mansion waiting for Meng Jiujiu.

After finishing her shift, Meng Jiujiu saw Zhang Xiaotang standing outside her residence and frowned, saying, "Didn't I tell you not to come again?"

Zhang Xiaotang stepped forward, looking at Meng Jiujiu with a pitiful expression, "Sister Meng, I've decided to go back to the border town. Can't I even see you one last time before that?"

"Now that you've seen it, can you leave?"

Zhang Xiaotang clenched her fist. What an ungrateful woman!

"Sister Meng, please let me have one last meal with you, okay? I promise, this is the last time, I will never bother you again." After saying that, she lowered her head pitifully.

Meng Jiujiu agreed, since it would be the last time and she would never see him again.

Zhang Xiaotang sneered inwardly. Hmph, he knew it. No woman could escape his trick.

The two entered the mansion, and Meng Jiujiu ordered the kitchen to prepare dinner.

She doesn't usually eat this early in the evening, but today it's to get rid of this man as soon as possible.

"Sister Meng, let me go to the kitchen to help. I want to cook a dish for you myself."

Meng Jiujiu frowned. Why did he have to make such a fuss?

"No need." There's no reason to have guests cook.

"Oh, Sister Meng, please let me go. I want you to eat the food I made myself." Zhang Xiaotang pleaded. How could she not go into the kitchen?

"I don't want to eat your cooking."

Zhang Xiaotang choked. How could this woman be so clueless about romance?

Is she even a woman?

That's true. If this woman were really that easy to deal with, he wouldn't have needed to use this trick.

Zhang Xiaotang kept pestering Meng Jiujiu until she finally got impatient and told her to go.

Zhang Xiaotang left happily, saying, "I definitely won't let Sister Meng down."

Finally, it was quiet, and Meng Jiujiu breathed a sigh of relief.

But after Zhang Xiaotang turned around, Meng Jiujiu stared intently at Zhang Xiaotang's departing figure, wondering, "Won't you really disappoint me?"

After about 15 minutes, the food was finally served.

Zhang Xiaotang personally brought over the dish he had made.

"Sister Meng, look! This mandarin fish with jujubes is something I made for you myself. Try it!" she said, looking at Meng Jiujiu with anticipation.

Meng Jiujiu gave Zhang Xiaotang a cryptic look. "You eat first."

Zhang Xiaotang's expression froze for a moment. "Sister Meng, please eat. This was specially made for you."

"You eat first." Meng Jiujiu looked straight at Zhang Xiaotang.

Zhang Xiaotang felt a little uneasy under her gaze; could it be that she had figured it out?

Impossible, impossible. He did it very discreetly; no one would have discovered it. Besides, he never told anyone about this idea.

He'll just take a bite, it's okay.

As long as she eats it too, there won't be any problems.

Zhang Xiaotang reached out and picked up a piece of fish, smiling as she said, "Then I'll eat first, and Sister Meng can eat later."

Meng Jiujiu looked at him coldly, without saying a word.

Zhang Xiaotang had no choice but to swallow the piece of fish, but she couldn't taste anything at all; it was as tasteless as chewing wax.

After finishing eating, she turned to Meng Jiujiu and said, "Sister Meng, it's delicious, you should try it."

Meng Jiujiu sneered: "If you're going to cook for me, don't you even bother to find out what my tastes are beforehand?"

Zhang Xiaotang had a bad feeling. "What does Sister Meng mean by this?"

"I never eat fish."

With a 'clatter,' the chopsticks in Zhang Xiaotang's hand fell to the ground.

"What's going on? Someone, bring Young Master Zhang another pair of chopsticks."

"No need, I'm not feeling well, I'll be going now." Zhang Xiaotang was a little flustered, what should he do now?

Meng Jiujiu didn't care how he resolved the situation; he wanted to drug her.

This method is far too naive. If she could fall for such a trick, she would have died countless times back in the imperial court.

Moreover, she gave him a chance.

Many times.

He is unrepentant.

She has always despised such methods.

She considered herself a person of integrity and upright character. What skills did she have that she could use openly and honestly? What kind of skill was it to resort to such underhanded methods?

Since then, Zhang Xiaotang has never appeared in front of Meng Jiujiu again. Whether she stayed in Kyoto or returned to the border town, Meng Jiujiu had no idea and didn't care.

Time flies, and the annual Mid-Autumn Festival is just around the corner again.

Recently, Wei Wangqing has been busy building schools all over the country. After all, everything is on track and the people will soon be able to relax a bit. Then, he will inevitably start to think about the next generation.

We can't let the children suffer along with them.

Therefore, receiving education, learning to read and write, and passing the imperial examinations became imperative.

Wei Wangqing may not be able to make education accessible to everyone, but he should at least strive in that direction.

In this era, writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones were all incredibly expensive, especially for poor families.

Paper and pens are luxuries, things that only the very wealthy and powerful can only dream of and cannot afford.

Therefore, everything from building schools and recruiting teachers to raising funds was problematic.

So, who should be entrusted with handling such an important matter?

Of course, only her beloved minister Meng is capable of this important task.

Meng Jiujiu said expressionlessly, "Thank you for your kind words, Your Majesty."

Although this is what she wanted to do, why did she feel so displeased by His Majesty's expression?

I felt like I was doing free manual labor.

Of course, there were ministers who opposed it, but they were in the minority.

After all, most people think this is a thankless task. If you do it well, you won't get any significant credit. If you do it poorly, well, it's all because of your poor supervision.

Moreover, the funds were already insufficient, so there was no profit to be made.