Chapter 89
Qi Yingshan stood up straight. Was she really going all out for her lover? And she had listened to what he had just said. She really wasn't being polite to the Wang family anymore, he thought happily.
When Wang Lang's men stepped forward to stop them, in order to prevent Axia from suffering any loss, Yao Chunnuan spoke up, "Axia, that's enough, stop it." At this time, Zhang's face had been slapped back and forth several times.
"His second uncle!" He had a pig-like face, tears streaming down his face, and his speech was unclear.
She was now terrified. Yao Chunnuan had become truly terrifying, a woman who would resort to violence without warning. She had thought it was still like the old days in the Censorate, where she wouldn't have to bear any responsibility for anything she said to her. At most, she would be verbally reprimanded by her elders and receive a halfhearted apology.
Wang Chao couldn't help but glare at Yao Chunnuan, "Yao, you've gone too far!"
Yao Chunnuan noticed some powder on her hands, and she blew it off. "Before you say this, reflect on yourself. Remember, don't provoke people you can't afford to offend. Otherwise, a beating would be the least of your worries. If you're not careful, you could lose your life."
Wang Lang ignored Zhang and kept looking at Yao Chunnuan, "Do you think he is better than me?" Was she serious about making such a fuss for a man?
When Qi Yingshan heard Wang Lang mention him, his ears pricked up, but on the surface he looked at his nose and his heart.
"He is better than you." Yao Chunnuan said bluntly.
She said he was better than Wang Lang? Really?
"How is he better than me? In terms of ability, family background or personality?" Wang Lang asked, suppressing his anger.
Yao Chun said warmly, why don’t you talk about your character? So you also know that you have a bad character?
In fact, they both knew that after they divorced, she couldn't stay alone, and the same went for him.
Yao Chunnuan hadn't mentioned remarrying. Finding a man wasn't the same as remarrying. Furthermore, given her current position in the military settlement and her future potential, remarrying wasn't just her decision. It involved both the military settlement and the Yao family, so it was a serious matter.
Wang Lang remarried to take advantage of the situation, but she didn't want to be taken advantage of.
"You don't need to know what's good about him. You just need to know that you have no chance. There is no possibility between you and me." Just talking about what she would lose if they got back together, Yao Chunnuan was absolutely unwilling to do it.
If they were to reunite, Wang Lang would take over everything she owned, and she would become his vassal. Her imperial rank would depend on his meritorious service, and she wouldn't get any of the credit. Wouldn't it be nice for her to hold all the power herself?
Her cold-hearted answer was extremely irritating to the Wang family's ears.
"Yao, you are so power-hungry. Who do you think, outside of Yichun, would accept a woman's leadership and work with you?" Putting himself in her shoes, Wang Lang probably understood why she said she had no chance.
"That's my business. You don't need to worry about it." At worst, she could just turn the whole Daliang into Yichun.
Wang Chao endured it again and again, but finally couldn't stand it anymore. He shouted at Yao Chunnuan, "My second brother is about to marry the daughter of Governor Lei! You think you are so high and mighty that you think my second brother won't be able to find a good wife if he divorces you."
Hearing this, Yao Chunnuan's heart stirred. She was thinking more about the impact that Wang Lang's marriage to Governor Lei would have on the Yichun military settlement. More than anything, she felt a strange sense of relief. She hadn't forgotten the soldiers' eagerness at the full moon banquet for her to lead them in another big attack. Originally, she had felt a bit guilty about attacking Governor Lei, who was neither her enemy nor her enemy. But now, that was no longer the case.
"Dynasty!" Wang Lang shouted softly.
Seeing the reproachful look in his second brother's eyes, Wang Chao suddenly realized that he had told the news he overheard in a fit of anger. The marriage between his second brother and the daughter of Governor Lei was still kept secret.
Zhang couldn't help but stick her head out and said, "That's right, his second uncle is just a little girl, isn't she so precious to our Wang family?"
She really only remembered the food and not the beating. Yao Chunnuan glared at her, and she was so scared that she immediately shrank back behind Wang Lang.
But she thought of the news she had just heard and poked her head out again with resentment, "Yao, aren't you just relying on your position as a chief clerk? I think you're like a grasshopper after autumn. You won't be able to jump around for much longer."
Yao Chunnuan narrowed her eyes and said bluntly, "If you really want to say that, then I will ask the general to agree to the Third Prince's side. You should know that although we haven't agreed to the Crown Prince yet, we haven't accepted the Third Prince's solicitation either. If we completely side with the Third Prince, I wonder if the Crown Prince will blame you."
Yao Chunnuan made a bet that there must be someone of the prince around Wang Lang.
Her words not only intimidated the Crown Prince's men, but also fueled the Third Prince's suspicions. Yao Chunnuan held considerable influence within the military settlement, and it was doubtful that Xing Changfeng would make such a choice under her influence. Consequently, these people privately ordered Wang Lang and the others to stop provoking her.
The Third Prince's men were secretly hoping that they would fight, and it would be best if they could reap the benefits without any effort.
This confrontation ended with the Wang family's defeat.
As soon as the Wang family left, Qi Yingshan rushed over to vent his anger, "Wang Lang is so disgusting. He and the prefect Lei are having a hot affair and are even planning a marriage, yet he's still thinking about getting back together with you."
Yao Chunnuan laughed, "I've known about his disgusting nature for a long time, not just on the first day."
At this time, they were the only two left in the tea room, and tea was served again.
Yao Chunnuan thought about it and decided to speak openly with him, "I'm sure you heard what I said just now."
"Um."
"Then I'm going to tell you something, will you listen carefully?"
"Yeah." Qi Yingshan felt something and became inexplicably nervous.
"It's like this. I don't deny that I have feelings for you, the kind between a man and a woman. I hope we can be together, but I can't marry you openly, at least not now. Do you understand what I mean?" Yao Chunnuan directly pointed out her intention of wanting to sleep with the man. For her, getting married would do more harm than good, so she couldn't get married.
She knew it was too abrupt to ask. But things had come to a head, and since it was time to get to the point, she asked. After all, sticking your head out is a risk, and keeping your head down is also a risk.
Qi Yingshan looked up at her. She wanted him to be her lover. Is that what she meant? He thought so and asked so.
Yao Chunnuan's breath caught in her throat. Her words were rough, but the truth was there. She nodded with difficulty. "I really like you. I hope you can seriously consider it. I have shortcomings, but my strengths are also obvious. If you're willing, let's try to be together. If not, once we get out of this door, let's just pretend nothing happened."
Having come this far, she will not give up the power she has fought for. But she is a woman, with desires and aspirations, and she also needs a normal emotional life, yes, an emotional life, not marriage.
Even in marriage, she had limited options, as she had to maintain her power. First, the general wasn't an option. It wasn't that she wasn't worthy of him, but rather that she didn't want to be the woman behind a successful man, similar to her reluctance to reconcile with Wang Lang. Other military and civil officials weren't an option either, for the same reason that large companies in later generations avoided office romances: they were afraid of causing taboos. Therefore, she was very careful about her interactions with the general and her colleagues.
Eliminating these people, she could only choose from the following options. A strong woman and a weak man require a very strong heart on the part of the man. Finding a man who possesses the necessary competence in his field and is also someone she admires is actually quite difficult. Furthermore, his future development and influence would be influenced by her, and whether this influence would be good or bad is hard to say.
She didn't regret making such a request, nor was she afraid of what others would think of her if they found out. If she couldn't even handle this little strange look, she'd better get married and raise a family.
She was taking a different path, and she was quite free and easy. If Qi Yingshan rejected her, though she would be disappointed, she could accept it. Things like this depended on mutual consent. She knew it was too hasty. More time together would have been better. But the situation was pressing, and she couldn't afford to take her time in a relationship. This wasn't the future; if she failed, she would die.
"Will we get married in the future?" Qi Yingshan asked.
Yao Chunnuan said regretfully, "I'm sure not now, but I can't say for sure about the future. This is determined by objective factors. Subjectively, I am willing to marry you."
"Is that so?" Qi Yingshan said, "I have only one request, and that is that you can only have me as your man. If there is a second one, I will die. Can you agree to this?"
"Okay, I promise."
Yao Chunnuan was both surprised and not surprised by this answer. Since he did not refuse immediately and asked her the follow-up questions, she knew she had a chance.
Qi Yingshan is not stupid. On the contrary, he is smart and intelligent. What is more rare is that he has a clear mind.
From the moment she gave him the ointment and the moment he saw her beautiful drunken state, he had developed a fondness for her. Perhaps this fondness had been buried in his heart even longer. After all, her deeds were constantly circulated in the military settlement, and she served as a role model to encourage the settlers to strive for progress. He had long known that she was strong, in every sense of the word, but he was not afraid of her strength.
Last winter, their family suffered a great disaster and great injustice. They came to Yichun and were really at the end of their rope. Thanks to the conscription and shelter of the Yichun military settlement, their family was able to survive.
Unbeknownst to his family, he had been suffering nightmares for days due to his leg injury. It was a deeply disturbing dream: in it, he and his sister were the only ones left, and his leg hadn't healed. Because of that dream, the closer they got to Yichun, the more he dragged his family along, trying to slow their arrival. Even after they entered the city and then the military settlement, nothing in his dream happened. He later learned that the military settlement had dispatched large forces several times before the New Year to crack down on bandits. He felt then that everything was different.
She has contributed to the development of such a good military settlement.
Qi Yingshan knew things were progressing quickly between them, but when the opportunity presented itself, he hesitated. But the thought of giving up made him even more unwilling. Compared to the deep reluctance in his heart, that hesitation was nothing to mention. So, he agreed.
Besides, he'd experienced life and death, illness and disability, and living in a border town like Yichun, so he had a natural sense of ease. Ultimately, she was the one who suffered. For him, it was just a bad reputation, and he never cared about it. It was his parents, though; he needed to talk to them properly.
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