Chapter 90
In just one night, the news that Yao Zhubo and a young man from Juntun were out on the Flower Festival spread quickly throughout Juntun.
Soon, the man's identity was investigated. His name was Qi Yingshan, and he was just an ordinary person. Apart from being a bit more handsome, taller, and more upright, and having a better brain than ordinary people, there was nothing else about him.
Many single young men: ..., it's very sour.
At the same time, I cried out in my heart: Master Yao, look at us!
The top military officials attached great importance to Yao Chunnuan's matter and responded quickly. They even asked Yu Chen to test her opinion.
"Are you planning to get married? Do you want to find a father for little Yao Xi?" Yu Chen asked her jokingly.
Yao Chunnuan shook her head. "That's nothing new. I'm just envious of you and your sister-in-law, always together. So, let's just date for now, and there's no rush to get married."
When she said that, Yu Chen understood. He coughed lightly and smiled, "You have a good idea. It's true that being alone can be a bit lonely. It's good to have someone to keep you company."
Yu Chen slipped away after achieving his goal.
When they learned about Yao Chunnuan's idea, everyone was amazed at her boldness.
The general was silent for a moment before he smiled and said, "Isn't this good?"
Meng Yi's body trembled at first, and then he cheered loudly, "Master Yao is indeed Master Yao."
When Yao Chunnuan walked into the meeting room, she wasn't surprised to see everyone in a small meeting. "Everyone is here. It's just right. I need to tell you something."
Meng Yi stood up and pulled a chair for her attentively, "Master Yao, please sit down."
After Yao Chunnuan sat down, she said, "I went out yesterday and heard a piece of news: Governor Lei is going to marry Wang Lang."
As soon as this news came out, everyone's expressions became serious.
"Is this true?"
In fact, without asking, you know that this news must be true, which is why she brought it up.
Yichun originally had three factions: the local official faction headed by Prefect Lei, the Yichun Daying faction, and the Yichun military settlement faction. These three factions coexisted and supported each other, maintaining a delicate balance. Wang Lang's marriage to Prefect Lei represented a collaboration or alliance between the Yichun Daying faction and the Prefect's faction, which was bound to disrupt the balance among the three.
"Wang Lang will definitely make things difficult for Juntun because of the grudge between him and me. I'm sorry for causing trouble to everyone." There are some things that Yao Chunnuan has to say.
The general said, "You don't have to be like this. Everyone has opponents and enemies." The benefits she brought to the military settlement far outweighed the disadvantages. "Besides, his position is different from ours." Different positions meant a greater possibility of conflict.
The generals below asked, "Can we break up their alliance?" Isn't it obvious that a marriage is an alliance?
Then someone started to make a noise, "Butler Wu, didn't you have someone collect some outstanding, marriageable men some time ago? Do you still have that list? Hurry and arrange for one for Governor Lei's daughter."
"Stop—" Yao Chunnuan raised her hand, "Wang Lang won't give us this chance."
She knew Wang Lang, and Wang Lang was also wary of her. Especially after she learned about this, he would definitely try his best to promote the marriage.
They all believed in Yao Chunnuan's judgment and just felt it was a pity.
The general said, "Be calm and wait for the opportunity. There is no point in panicking."
Yao Chunnuan nodded and said seriously, "But don't worry, if they really attack our military settlement, I won't let them suffer any loss."
Meng Yi was the most alert. Upon hearing this, his eyes lit up. "Master Yao, what are you going to do? Just tell me. I promise to do it beautifully."
Yao Chunnuan was amused by her and said, "We have to wait a little longer."
"I have something to tell you all," Chief Steward Wu said with a smile, "People from the northern border will be arriving soon, and our military settlement must prepare for their reception."
The higher-ups were aware that a veteran general in the northern border had been actively trying to match the general with the daughter of the God of War, Huo Ting. They'd likely come this time for this very purpose. Their military settlement needed to demonstrate their enthusiasm and sincerity, and most importantly, the general's performance. If all went well, their general would marry General Huo's daughter.
Yao Chunnuan is not good at this, so the reception work is handled by Manager Wu.
The general asked with concern, "There's already news of drought in the northwest. Is our military settlement all right?"
Others echoed.
"Yeah, I've heard there's a drought in the northwest."
"Come to think of it, it hasn't rained in Yichun for more than half a month."
When this was mentioned, everyone felt a little heavy.
"Whenever extreme weather occurs, grain production will decrease."
Yu Chen said, "Don't worry, the canals in our military settlement have been widened and deepened, and can be used for irrigation. We have even dug ponds at key points in some rivers to store water." Now, various crops have entered the flowering and fruiting period. The drought in Yichun has just emerged, and even if there is no rain in the future, it will not have much impact on them.
Even those who didn't know much about farming, seeing the growth of the plants in the military settlements, felt that this year's harvest would be plentiful. Take the rice ears, for example; they were long, clustered together, longer than any they had ever seen before. They could already imagine how much they would have to bend over as the grains filled with grain.
According to the estimates of the agricultural doctors at the Institute of Agriculture, the total output of their military farms is conservatively estimated to have increased by 50% compared to last year, that is, 1.5 times that of last year.
With high-quality seeds, scientific planting and reasonable fertilization, the yield of a single crop has increased by 20% compared to the previous highest yield. Combined with intercropping, the yield has increased by another 20% to 30%.
From the data Yu Chen told them, they knew that the military settlement had a good summer grain harvest, and everyone was very happy.
"By the way, there is a drought in the northwest, and people are coming from the northern border. Is it possible that they are not only here to discuss marriage, but also to borrow food?" Someone boldly guessed.
"This possibility cannot be ruled out."
"But they don't know that our military settlements have a good harvest."
"I guess they think Yichun is less affected by the drought and the situation is much better than theirs."
Someone suddenly thought, "By the way, isn't the Crown Prince awake? If the northern border is short of food and fodder, they can definitely ask the imperial court for help."
Yao Chun said warmly that the prince had woken up, but don't forget that the third prince was already the regent, holding great power and in charge of the allocation of military rations.
Now the Crown Prince and the Regent were forcing the generals and presidents to take sides. They wanted to side with the Crown Prince, the legitimate heir, but if they did, the Regent would hold back their military rations. If they sided with the Regent, they would be held responsible if the Crown Prince ascended the throne. With two mothers-in-law to worry about, General Huo was in a difficult position.
If the leader of the Huo family army who was on his way here knew what Yao Chunnuan was thinking, he would definitely burst into tears and say, "It's so embarrassing, it's so embarrassing."
Manager Wu quickly said, "Don't speculate. Once the people arrive, we'll know everything."
When Yao Chunnuan was off duty in the evening, she walked out.
As soon as we reached the gate, a guard with a strange expression said, "Master Yao, someone is waiting for you outside."
When Yao Chunnuan came out, she saw that the person waiting for her was Qi Yingshan, and she smiled immediately.
"I'll take you home."
"OK."
The two walked slowly in the sunset.
The villagers' eyes would fall on the two of them from time to time, and they allowed themselves to be looked at without dodging or avoiding.
Yao Chunnuan didn't mind Qi Yingshan coming to pick her up, because the more they avoided it, the more curious people would be. So they could just watch if they wanted to. They would get used to it after watching it many times.
When she arrived at the Yao residence, Yao's mother and her wet nurse Luo Suyi were waiting for her in the hallway at the gate, holding little Yao Xi. It was obvious that little Yao Xi was making a fuss, and they were waiting here because they wanted her to comfort the little kid as soon as possible.
But when Yao's mother saw the two people walking side by side, she hesitated. It was not right to come out, and it was not right not to come out.
Yao Chunnuan ignored her mother and asked Qi Yingshan, "Do you want to come in and sit down?"
"Not yet? You probably haven't told your family yet, right?" Qi Yingshan thought of the way Grandfather Yao looked at him in the exchange building today. He felt so conflicted.
"I haven't had time to say it yet."
"As it happens, I haven't said it yet."
The two looked at each other and smiled. Yao Chunnuan said, "Okay, you go back first."
"good."
"You and that young man surnamed Qi..." Yao's mother was troubled. She had heard some rumors in the morning, and just now she saw the two of them walking together, so she knew it was probably true. But the two of them were a bit mismatched. Yao's mother just thought her daughter could marry someone better, completely unaware that her daughter only wanted to sleep with him and didn't want to get married.
Yao Chunnuan quickly said, "Mom, don't you think the young man looks quite energetic?"
Yao's mother's attention was indeed diverted. "He is quite energetic."
Yao Chunnuan had no intention of challenging her values, so let her accept it slowly.
When Yao Chunnuan returned to the second courtyard, she found her grandfather waiting for her in the living room.
She walked in. Now, in the family, only Yao's father, Yao's mother and her grandfather would dare to ask about her affairs. At most, if she added her uncle, and dealt with her grandfather and her mother, she would basically have dealt with the whole family.
Grandfather Yao was in a complicated mood all day. Did he put the rat in the rice jar? Grandfather Yao had noticed something was wrong earlier, but he didn't expect things to develop so quickly.
"Is the rumor true?"
"Um."
"Are you interested in him?"
"Yes, he's a nice young man, isn't he? Don't worry, Grandfather, he won't get married for the time being."
"How long will this temporary period last?"
Yao Chunnuan thought for a moment and said, "Three to five years, until I'm in a position where no one can easily shake my foundation no matter what I do. We'll see. It might even take longer."
She was still very rational and did not indulge in love. Grandfather Yao breathed a sigh of relief, "You are a rational child. I think you know what you are doing." It is hard to say who suffered the loss, but if you turn around and treat his granddaughter as a boy, this matter will really be a trivial matter.
Yao Chunnuan only explained this matter to the senior leaders of the military settlement. Among her family members, only her grandfather knew her true thoughts. As for the others, they could just speculate.
As for the Qi family, when the Qi family learned that the young man who traveled with Yao Zhubo on the Flower Festival was actually their fourth son Ying Shan, they were stunned for a moment. They didn't know whether to praise their son's ability or praise Yao Zhubo for his vision.
As soon as Qi Yingshan returned home, he faced a joint trial by his family.
"Master Yao likes you?" Old Man Qi asked the most crucial question.
Before Qi Yingshan could answer, his third brother answered for him, "Of course. If Yao Zhubo doesn't want to, the fourth brother can't force her."
"Since Chief Secretary Yao likes you, you should get along well with him." Old Man Qi said with a sigh.
Qi Yingshan: From beginning to end, I had no say in the matter, my fate was decided.
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