Chapter 40
As we all know, members of the shogunate are the shogun's think tanks and close confidants.
Yao Chunnuan was now a member of the shogunate, a position she held rapidly. She was now the most successful and attractive of her fellow exiles. Naturally, some people inquired about her likes and dislikes, hoping to befriend her or avoid her antagonism.
Her relationship with the Wang family, and the grudge between her, the Han family, and Wei Qiuyu, were no secret. Therefore, someone had quietly told her about Wei Qiuyu.
When Yao Chunnuan heard that Wei Qiuyu was giving Zheng Pei's wife a pedicure, she raised her eyebrows. Does Wei Qiuyu know what she is doing?
Pedicures are different from facial and body treatments. In modern times, pedicures are not frowned upon, as money is everything. But in ancient times, after the social classes were categorized, pedicures were truly considered the lowest class.
No matter what she's after now, if she doesn't return to the officialdom after this career, it's fine. If she does, it will be a stain on her life, and even her children will be affected by it. Unless she can achieve greater merit, she can turn this stain into a suffering that everyone talks about, but can she?
Never mind, her brain has never been very good, so it's not surprising.
Yao Chunnuan didn't expect that she would come to find her just after she learned about Wei Qiuyu's recent situation.
It was time to get off work. Usually, she was the first one to leave. There was no other way, she had to be efficient. Besides, she was pregnant and couldn't sit for a long time.
Influenced by her efficient working style, the members of the shogunate worked attentively during their shifts, and then followed her home on time after their shifts.
As soon as Yao Chunnuan came out, she saw Wei Qiuyu, and Xiao Jieming subconsciously protected her behind him.
"Come out, I have something to tell you!" Wei Qiuyu said.
Yao Chunnuan saw that her nose and eyes were red. He ran from the North District to the South District just to talk to her? This was quite a determination.
Yao Chunnuan did not go out as she said, but hugged her belly and said, "You can say a few words, but just stand there and don't come over." She was pregnant now, and if Wei Qiuyu pushed her away, even if she lost her life, it would not be enough.
Everyone in the shogunate looked at you sideways. They all knew that you and the Han family's second son's wife, Wei, were not on good terms, but it was rare to see you on guard like this.
Yao Chunnuan remained calm.
She looked so afraid of death that Wei Qiuyu glared at her, "Are you so afraid of death?"
Yao Chunnuan asked back, "Aren't you afraid?" She had just started to make progress in her life, and she felt so motivated. She hadn't lived enough yet. "If you're not afraid, you could try dying."
Everyone in the shogunate: ...
They had only fallen behind a little, stopped for a moment, and heard such explosive words. Was Chief Secretary Yao really that vicious? He'd always send people to their deaths, and they'd probably die if they tried.
Wei Qiuyu was angry. She took a deep breath and told herself that business was more important and she couldn't get angry.
In the end, of course, Wei Qiuyu compromised. The two stood two meters apart in the northeast corner of the general's residence, with Xiao Jieming tying Wei Qiuyu's feet together with a rope. Xiao Jieming's position allowed him to provide support at any time, while also ensuring the privacy of the two's conversation. The people in the shogunate gradually returned home. The two of them clearly had something to say, but they were not the kind of people who would be so tactless as to not stay and disturb them.
Wei Qiuyu sniffed and said, "Could you please show some mercy and stop targeting me and the Han family?"
Yao Chunnuan: ...
It was really a big pot falling from the sky. She reflected seriously and thought, has she not taken any action against the Han family recently?
Well, although she didn't take action, she has been paying attention. They are in a pretty bad situation now, so she didn't take action to avoid giving them sympathy points and giving them the opportunity to play the victim. She always knew that she just needed to knock them down like a mole every time they showed up.
Also, the Han family has Wei Qiuyu, who acts on her own and messes herself up. Is there any need for her to take action?
Besides, besides her, there is also the third prince who is eyeing her covetously.
Tsk, the Han family has two, no, three huge mountains pressing down on their heads. It’s difficult to think about it.
This was the plan in his mind, but when facing Wei Qiuyu, he said something else, "Tsk, look at what you said, as if I would be unworthy of this slander if I didn't take action. Thank you for your reminder, I will implement it later."
Wei Qiuyu choked, and after a while, she said with a sad face, "Don't be like this. The Han family is having a hard time now. Can you just treat us like a fart?"
Yao Chunnuan looked her up and down. Did she really come to beg for mercy? But she didn't believe that Wei Qiuyu had given up on her. She just wanted to paralyze her first.
"I heard that you have been appreciated by Mrs. Zheng Pei recently." Yao Chunnuan said slowly.
Hearing this, Wei Qiuyu was furious. She had begged her so much, but Yao Chunnuan still deliberately stepped on her sore spot.
She already knew she had made a foolish move, because it was her own decision, and now the Han family disliked her even more, even her husband had to sleep in a separate bed from her. She felt that if conditions allowed, he would have wanted to sleep in a separate room from her.
Under these circumstances, she had reflected deeply and decided to approach Yao Chunnuan, hoping to atone for her crime. She hoped that her submission would dissuade Yao Chunnuan from targeting the Han family, giving them a chance to thrive. Because of Yao Chunnuan's current status, even if she didn't intervene, those who curry favor with her would likely do so. Therefore, she needed Yao Chunnuan's response, a sign that she would let them off the hook.
Seeing that she was still holding back her anger despite her eyes turning red, Yao Chunnuan spoke again, "I never thought you would lower yourself to do this. I'm curious what you were thinking back then."
Wei Qiuyu took a deep breath, her chest heaving. "We are old friends after all. Can't you speak with less venom?"
Yao Chunnuan said decisively, "No." Wei Qiuyu's patience had improved again.
She will never forget that there is a life-and-death feud between them, and Wei Qiuyu has plotted against her life twice.
If the car accident in her previous life was unintentional, then reporting her and sending her into exile was intentional. Exile was so arduous; a single mistake could result in two deaths. Although she had survived and stood up by her own strength, she hadn't forgotten who had caused all this.
She still wants me to be nice to her? She will only leave her sarcasm to her.
Wei Qiuyu didn't expect that even after she had lowered her stance to seek peace, she was still so stubborn and kept making sarcastic remarks. She couldn't bear it any longer, "Yao Chunnuan, you're only living a glorious life now. I advise you to forgive others while you can, otherwise you will end up in a miserable situation in the future, with no one to collect your body!"
Yao Chunnuan raised her eyebrows. Is Wei Qiuyu going to explode?
"You don't believe it, right? I tell you, we are both wearing a book. In the book, your ending is very miserable. Your children, husband, family members and even yourself either died a miserable death or became poor and destitute." Wei Qiuyu said maliciously.
Yao Chunnuan found it funny. She didn't expect that Wei Qiuyu would be so full of lies. Was this to disturb and attack her?
After Wei Qiuyu said that, she kept staring at Yao Chunnuan.
Yao Chunnuan nodded, as if pleased with her madness. "Yes, that's it! Come on, we should just call each other by our first names. Remember, when you see me next time, don't pretend to be old friends or have a deep sisterly relationship. I'll throw up."
"Didn't you hear what I said just now?" Wei Qiuyu was going crazy. Was Yao Chunnuan mentally ill that she couldn't even hear the key points?
"I heard it. You told me this all of a sudden because you wanted to tell me that no matter how hard I struggle, I can't escape a tragic ending, right? Why, you weren't disappointed when you didn't see me panicking and losing my mind? Do you think I would believe you?"
"Believe it or not, this is the ending."
"So, how did you end up like this even though you knew the plot?" Yao Chunnuan slowly delivered a critical hit.
Wei Qiuyu's face instantly turned pale. Yao Chunnuan's words were a clear mockery of her incompetence. Wasn't that right? Even knowing the plot, she was still far behind Yao Chunnuan. Could it be that a person's overall ability was so important? Wei Qiuyu didn't believe it. She just believed it was Yao Chunnuan's luck, because she was really no worse than Yao Chunnuan in the company.
"You don't believe me? Yes, I'm not doing as well as you right now, but this is only temporary!" She gritted her teeth as she spoke, as if this was the only way to convince herself, "Do you know who the hero in the book is? It's your ex-husband, Wang Lang. He will eventually return to the pinnacle of power, and your fate is his fault. It's a pity that you could have won without any effort, but you broke up with him." Wei Qiuyu stared at her, wanting to see her regretful look.
Yao Chunnuan was amused. She hadn't expected Wei Qiuyu to become so clever. Nine of her words were true, and one was a lie. She was describing the original ending of the book's original owner. If someone else standing here wasn't Yao Chunnuan, without knowing the truth, they would probably be tempted to believe her after hearing her elaborate account.
"I believe what you said, but haven't you changed everything?"
Yao Chunnuan's words made Wei Qiuyu's face change suddenly. Her eyes widened, obviously shocked by Yao Chunnuan's words, "You you you - know?" Then wasn't she looking at her like a clown just now?
"Haven't you noticed? You can only reveal the fact that you traveled through a book to me. God won't let you tell anyone else. You can't tell others that this is a world of a book, so this is all you can do. You are furious at me for your incompetence?" Yao Chunnuan's words pointed directly to her malice.
Yao Chunnuan laid her cards on the table to save her from having to act out this lame show in front of her again. She was confident that even if she laid her cards on the table, she could still crush the Han, Wang, and Wei Qiuyu families. Even if she couldn't, they wouldn't be able to control her!
There was nothing left to say about the original novel; it had been altered beyond recognition, and the author himself probably didn't even recognize it. The only thing Wei Qiuyu could rely on as a trump card was probably the important figures and events mentioned in the book.
But big events always have traces to follow, and they don't happen overnight. Yao Chunnuan might not be unable to follow the trend.
And those bigwigs, given Wei Qiuyu's vision and brain capacity, probably wanted to invest in or show favor to these people in advance. But they were all living people, with their own thoughts and behavior patterns, not paper figures in books.
To put it bluntly, the establishment of friendship between people is the exchange of interests, a circular exchange, and then the formation of a common larger interest group.
So even if the big boss is in trouble, he won't be too shallow. With her current situation of being penniless, what can she provide for others? So she wants to get the big boss for nothing, how can it be so simple.
"So you've always known the original story." Wei Qiuyu murmured, "I see. I was wondering, how could you be so amazing... Yao Chunnuan, you're nothing special, haha."
Yao Chunnuan rolled her eyes. Is it so difficult to acknowledge other people’s excellence?
Wei Qiuyu began to mutter to herself. Yao Chunnuan raised an eyebrow. She knew this was her own protective mechanism, activated when she was under great pressure and unwilling to face certain things. It seemed that Wei Qiuyu had suffered a heavy blow recently. Another blow would make her completely collapse.
But would Yao Chunnuan be soft-hearted? No, she was just one last blow away. As long as she could break her self-deception, she would be ruined. From now on, Wei Qiuyu would be afraid of her every time she saw her.
"Wei Qiuyu, you want to take shortcuts, but you don't have the ability to do so. Wouldn't it be nice for you to be a good wife of a scholar, a juren, a jinshi, the mother of a top scholar, and a future noble lord? You have ended up like this because of your greed and incompetence." Yao Chunnuan lowered his voice and spoke slowly, each word reaching her heart.
Sure enough, Wei Qiuyu shrank back.
Wei Qiuyu’s ideas are actually very easy to understand.
She knew the content of the book. The heroine had a life of suffering first and happiness later. Wei Qiuyu's life in the first twenty or thirty years was not easy.
Wei Qiuyu didn't want to follow her original path, simply because by the time her son reached the pinnacle of officialdom, she would be old and faded, years too late to enjoy the pleasures of life. Marrying into the general's mansion would allow her immediate access to wealth and glory. Furthermore, in the original novel, the Han family was rehabilitated earlier than the Wang family, having spent less than a decade on the border. And with the protection of their former subordinates, they didn't suffer too much hardship. After their rehabilitation, they would enjoy wealth and glory again, a true general's wife. She wanted to enjoy all that wealth and glory upfront, not waiting until she was fifty or sixty to receive a title through her son's influence.
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