Chapter 64
Upon learning that she would be forever mute, Wei Qiuyu cried and made a scene, demanding Shi Mei avenge her. She couldn't speak, but she could write. She found some tea and wrote two words on the ground: "Revenge! Revenge for me!"
The traditional Chinese character for "报" is bao. They could guess what Wei Qiuyu meant by the simplified "报" (report), but they assumed she had simplified it in a moment of haste. Plus, it was written with tea, so it dried up right after it was written, leaving no trace.
Shi Mei had a very bad feeling.
The others were speechless. If they had truly wanted to hold someone accountable, they would have bitten their finger and written the words in their blood to demonstrate their resolve. But what had Wei Qiuyu used? Tea, something that dried up instantly. How could anyone take her seriously?
"Master Yao, what do you say?" Shi Mei asked.
Yao Chunnuan looked at him. They both knew that there would be no result after negotiation. But Shi Mei would need Wei Qiuyu later, so was he trying to appease her?
Yao Chunnuan didn't care. She looked at the maid who was kneeling beside her after the incident and said, "How could you give such scalding water directly to the prisoner Wei?"
"It's my fault."
"Alright, since you've sincerely admitted your mistake, I'll punish you by making you responsible for cleaning up the snow inside and outside the Juntun Office for this month."
"yes."
"Go down."
After receiving the order, the maid went downstairs as fast as a flash.
Everyone in Yichun Camp: That's it? They took off their pants, and this is what we show them?
Our side: It’s very much in the style of Yao Zhubo.
Shi Mei: This punishment is too insincere. Could it be a little more perfunctory? The Yao family really doesn't take him seriously. Not only do they deny the poisoning, but they won't even give them a scapegoat!
Wei Qiuyu was so angry that she vomited blood. What kind of punishment was this?
"Master Shi, are you satisfied with the outcome?" Yao Chunnuan asked.
Shi Mei: Don’t you know whether I am satisfied or not?
Wei Qiuyu tugged at his sleeve fiercely.
Shi Mei said with a forced smile, "Master Yao, you think we are all fools, don't you?"
"Master Shi, I don't agree with what you said. Wei Qiuyu was scalded by tea. Although the maid was at fault, she should also bear part of the responsibility. How could she drink such hot tea? She is not a fool. Doesn't she know whether the tea is hot or not? So, I seriously suspect that she did it on purpose, and her purpose is to blackmail me." Yao Chunnuan said nonsense seriously.
Everyone was stunned. This was what it meant to put the blame on someone else!
"She made herself mute just to blackmail you?" Shi Mei raised her voice unconsciously.
Yao Chunnuan waved her hand and said, "Master Shi, there's no need to make a fuss. I know Wei Qiuyu. She often does this. I'm used to her causing trouble for me like this."
Everyone: What she meant was that Wei Qiuyu's muteness this time was entirely her own fault. If they didn't know that Wei Qiuyu was poisoned and became mute, they would have believed her.
Wei Qiuyu was speechless and burst into tears with anger.
Everyone immediately felt that Wei Qiuyu was quite pitiful. After becoming mute, Yao Zhubo still bullied her for not being able to speak and kept putting hats on her head.
Shi Mei realized that this person had too many crooked ideas and was very good at making jokes. It was too difficult to get any advantage from her. If she continued talking, she might ask for compensation. Realizing this, Shi Mei didn't want to talk to her anymore.
Shi Mei proposed to leave, and Yao Chunnuan warmly saw her off.
Wei Qiuyu became mute and was unwilling to show her face, so Shi Mei could only get her a sedan chair.
Shi Mei was so angry that she did not hide the fact that Wei Qiuyu became mute in such a short time. She even hinted in her words that Wei Qiuyu was poisoned and made mute by their Yao Zhubo.
When the Han family learned that Wei Qiuyu had become mute, they felt relieved.
The explanation given by the military settlement office, members of the shogunate, and the generals of the shogunate was that Wei Qiuyu had been drinking tea too hastily and burned his throat, and would probably become mute in the future. A fig leaf was still needed.
Even if some speculated that the previous statement was more true and that Chief Secretary Yao had indeed attacked Wei Qiuyu, even so, the villagers did not think she was wrong. The two had a long-standing feud, and it was normal for Wei Qiuyu, a prisoner doing labor service, to leave something behind when she was being sent out of the military settlement, right?
Wei Qiuyu sat in the sedan chair, crying the whole time. No matter how hard her life had been, she had never thought that she would one day become disabled. Yao Chunnuan's cruelty frightened her. She even felt that if she had the chance, Yao Chunnuan would really kill her.
Wei Qiuyu now yearns for life in the future, where the rule of law prevails. Even in a quarrel, if the parties involved wish, they can call the police and have them intervene, ensuring their personal safety. Only then did she realize that the role of the law is to protect people like her.
If Yao Chunnuan knew what she was thinking, she would definitely roll her eyes. What she missed were the days when she used to act recklessly and even if she hurt others, they could do nothing to her and were so angry that they felt heartbroken.
In later generations, the law is sound, and the vast majority of citizens are good law-abiding citizens. Morality is another matter. In such a good environment, people dare not easily cross the line, which gives these green tea spirits and moralists an advantage, because their moral and character flaws cannot be punished by law.
Yichun Camp, Marshal's Mansion
Marshal Zhu never expected that his confidant Shi Mei would take people to Yichun Juntun for negotiations. Everything was fine when he left, but when he returned, his young general Bai Ma was gone! What he got in return was a woman who was unknown and mute!
"You lost Zhou Yushu, and all you bring back is this? Old Shi, you want a woman? No problem, I'll have someone find one for you, but you can't trade my men for her." Marshal Zhu pounded his chest and stamped his feet. He was very optimistic about Zhou Yushu. He was young, a skilled rider, and determined to lead an elite cavalry unit. However, the camp didn't have enough warhorses, so he had to keep him by his side to train him first.
Shi Mei didn't know whether to laugh or cry, "Marshal, what are you thinking? I brought Wei Qiuyu back for a reason."
"Like your sister who died young?"
"Marshal, that was just an excuse, the excuse I used to take him away. Please listen to me and I will explain it to you."
"Then tell me."
Shi Mei's expression straightened. "Marshal, today we went to the Yichun military settlement. Honestly, I'm shocked. It's changed so much." The changes he was referring to weren't just the infrastructure that had sprung up in the settlement, but also the spirit of the people. The soldiers in their camp were all carefully selected, but their spirit couldn't even compare to the settlers. That was a bit ridiculous.
"I've seen some places inside today, and I can assert that if we do nothing and allow them to develop, they will definitely become our formidable rival. Based on the information I've gathered, these changes are inseparable from one person—the female chief clerk named Yao, newly appointed by Xing Changfeng."
Zhu Dashuai listened silently. When he mentioned Yao Chunnuan, he tried to recall his last visit to the Yichun military settlement. He found that he had no impression of the female leader he mentioned. "Are you sure? Is this woman really that powerful?"
"We went to Juntun today and dealt with her. I can only say that she is truly powerful." Thinking of Yao Chunnuan's difficulty, Shi Mei felt a headache again.
"And what does this have to do with you exchanging Zhou Yushu for a woman today?"
"Because Wei Qiuyu told me that she and Yao Chunnuan are from the same place, and she can do everything that the other one can do."
"really?"
"I've verified it. Apart from anything else, the previous table method was actually created by her first. Yao Chunnuan just copied her." That's why he was so tough in wanting to get Wei Qiuyu out, even at the risk of losing Zhou Yushu.
"Then this exchange isn't such a bad deal." Marshal Zhu finally felt a little better, and then he instructed, "Even if Zhou Yushu goes to the Yichun military settlement, you must have someone keep in touch with him. Don't let the people in the military settlement win him over."
Shi Mei hummed and said with some regret, "It's a pity that Yao was too alert. I was careless for a moment and let her poison the person and make him mute." Thinking of this, Shi Mei still regrets it. He really didn't expect that in such a short time, he sent people to protect Wei Qiuyu, and finally let Yao Chunnuan succeed.
Zhu Dashuai was stunned, "Is that hand okay?"
"Both hands are intact."
“Then you can still write.”
Shi Mei remained silent. He now seriously suspected that Yao had deliberately left this hand for Wei Qiuyu. No, it should be said that it was left for him, fearing that he would break the contract. However, Yao Chunnuan's actions had just crossed his bottom line, and he could only hold his nose and exchange her back.
After seeing Shi Mei and her group off, Yao Chunnuan told them to return to their respective positions and take charge of their own work. As for Zhou Yushu, Yao Chunnuan asked Meng Yi to take care of him. They had won the man back, so how to keep him was the key. If Meng Yi was not stupid, he should know how to do it.
The middle and senior officials who stayed at the Juntun Office dispersed at Yao Zhubo's call, returning to their respective positions to work diligently. They were all very obedient today, each one of them extremely well behaved.
When most of the people had left, Yu Chen advised her, "It's getting late today, and you're getting heavier and heavier. You should go back and rest."
Yao Chunnuan hesitated for a moment. She had dealt with two battles with the people from the Yichun camp today, which was really tiring. She was pregnant and really felt tired.
"Don't worry, you don't have to stay here. They won't dare to bother you if something happens, at least not today."
Yao Chunnuan looked at him in confusion. What did this mean? Forgive her. All her energy today had been consumed by the two silent battles just now. She really didn't have a single drop left.
Yu Chen smiled but said nothing.
Yao Chunnuan had no idea how she, a mere woman, had risen to become the chief clerk of the Shogun's government, and even the second-in-command. Along the way, despite her exceptional intelligence and the respect her colleagues showed for her abilities, the inherent image of women was that they were soft-hearted and soft-hearted.
In their opinion, Yao Chunnuan was no exception, especially since she had always treated Wei Qiuyu and the Han family, who had grudges against her, in a way that was simply to suppress them and prevent them from getting ahead, which was a bit too lenient.
He knew that some people secretly laughed at her for being too soft-hearted even though she was in a high position.
These were all superficial matters. Little did they know that the Han family and the Third Prince were watching closely. Yao Chunnuan's suppression was perfectly suited to his needs. If Yao Chunnuan had killed his prey right away, the Third Prince might have come after her. She didn't want to confront the Third Prince yet; it wasn't the right time.
Then there's the matter of her severing ties with the Wang family. Because the Wang family was tactful and didn't bother her, she didn't suppress them; she simply ignored them. This created the illusion that she was angry with Wang Lang and his family. Some even secretly speculated about when she and Wang Lang would reconcile. Because of this, the lower- and middle-level military officials were more lenient than others in arranging matters regarding the Wang family.
In short, she lacked a certain ruthlessness before. The middle and higher-ups in the military settlement had always respected her, but not feared her. Yu Chen was still wondering when she would finally show her ruthless side.
But this time, she directly poisoned Wei Qiuyu and made her mute, which greatly changed the views of the shogunate members and the middle and high-level military settlements on her. She became a qualified leader.
Yu Chen didn't tell her the reason, and she was too lazy to ask. However, she didn't refuse his kindness and planned to pack up and go home to rest.
After arriving home, Xiao Jieming appeared and asked in a low voice, "Master, it doesn't matter that I didn't cripple Wei Qiuyu's hand?" Another signal was agreed upon at that time, but she only clapped her hands three times, which meant to be poisonous and mute.
"It's okay." Since she dared to let Wei Qiuyu go, she didn't worry that she would become a threat to her. Because a lot of knowledge in the later generations is difficult to express clearly even in words, let alone writing.
Also, Wei Qiuyu has never been good at controlling her emotions. She doesn't know what to do after suffering this blow. I hope Marshal Zhu and others can be more tolerant of her. Amen.
Moreover, the simplified Chinese characters of later generations seemed incomplete to these ancient people. She had learned calligraphy specifically because she wanted to please the old man. The calligraphy training institution had them practice traditional Chinese characters. After becoming the chief clerk, she continued to study, thus becoming a cultured person in ancient times.
Yao Wenhua Chunnuan could imagine Shi Mei and others frowning and glaring at what Wei Qiuyu wrote.
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