The portrait was presented to everyone, a perfect one-to-one depiction of Qiao Lian'er, down to every single eyelash and every strand of hair.
The villagers started discussing it again.
"Of course it's Old Qiao's Lian'er. How did Lian'er get his identity as a strategist? It was during the battle with the Kui Niu Kingdom that he came up with a powerful formation. To this day, the Kui Niu Kingdom hasn't dared to make any moves, and our border is peaceful."
"Yes, when Lian'er became the little strategist, Lian'er from the east end of the village hadn't come here yet."
"Although Lian'er from the east end of the village is likable, when it comes to ability, we have to look to our Lian'er. Lian'er is a prodigy, and God suddenly enlightened him. He is not comparable to ordinary children."
Qiao Lian'er smiled slightly, a warm feeling flowing through her heart.
Qiao Lian'er tried her best to win over the villagers, but nothing could compare to the more than ten years of friendship she had built with them.
Later, she effectively saved the villagers' food supply, allowing them to plant another crop in the winter.
It's not just about feelings, it's also about livelihood. The latter is what's truly relevant to our personal interests, and it can't be replaced by simply giving someone a few chestnuts or saying a few comforting words.
Qiao Lian'er's face grew paler and paler. She hadn't expected that after she had set aside her pride and gone through so much trouble to get close to these villagers, at this crucial moment, they would only speak up for Qiao Lian'er.
The Qiao family members at the east end of the village became uneasy. Qiao Chaoheng wanted to speak, but Madam Qiao tugged at his sleeve, signaling him to be quiet.
Qiao Yuan and Qin Ren were also startled, their faces showing a bad mood. General Lu and General Xu had come prepared, producing portraits. This made things more difficult.
Qiao Yuan said coolly, "Generals, you actually received the portraits a long time ago. I'm afraid someone sent them to you in advance to steal credit. What does that mean?"
How could the two generals not know about the relationship between Qiao Yuan and the Qiao family in the east of the village? Although Third Master Qiao's position was somewhat lowly, he was still an important figure in the Jingzhao Yin department. They had returned to the capital many times to report on their duties, and they must have met before.
When they saw another Qiao Lian'er, who was the daughter of Third Master Qiao, and that Third Master Qiao had even resigned from his job and traveled thousands of miles from the capital to settle down here, they understood what was going on.
As demon generals who fought their way out of the battlefield, they only recognize true strength and cannot tolerate any deceptive or fraudulent methods.
"Who exactly is trying to steal the credit and has orchestrated such a grand scheme for it? Everyone knows the answer in their hearts," General Xu sneered.
“If you stop here, I will consider this just a dispute that is not yet clear. But if you continue to harass us, and even try to smear me and General Lu, when the truth comes out and all the filth is laid out on the table and presented to the Emperor, I don’t know how many people will be implicated.”
These words, which contained both threats and warnings yet were also well-reasoned, caused the expressions of the people from the Qiao family in the capital to change repeatedly.
At this moment, the villagers looked at the Qiao family in the east of the village differently.
So, they came here from the capital, using the same name as Lian'er, with this in mind?
They had long heard that Zhao Lizheng had reported Lian'er's merits one by one, and they were just waiting for the emperor to make a decision. Some people were indeed coveting his position.
Were they all deceived by the Qiao family at the east end of the village? Was their friendliness and enthusiasm fake, a ploy to win them over and isolate Lian'er? That way, it would be easier to steal Lian'er's credit.
Although the villagers had hardly ever attended school, they had eaten salt for decades and could easily deduce the truth.
Listening to the villagers' discussion and seeing their disbelief, and even their growing anger and disgust, the people from the Qiao family in the capital felt as if they were being pricked by needles, their spines aching.
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