After the New Year, Shen Rong took some of the Shen family members who were unhappy with their lives or could not adapt to the weather in northern Xinjiang and left. Among them were two of the three Jinshi.
Another Jinshi, Shen Yuanchou, who once worked as an editor in the Hanlin Academy, had long wanted to teach at the Northern Frontier Academy, but due to pride he had never asked Wan Xueying for help.
Upon learning that he would not return south with Shen Rong, Wan Xueying guessed his intentions and approached him, offering him the position of Vice Principal of the Northern Frontier Academy. After he had adapted to the teaching and management of the academy, Wan Xueying appointed him Principal again, as she was busy with the work of the Wasteland.
During his tenure as headmaster, he cultivated a large number of talented individuals, allowing northern students to finally hold their heads high and gain the confidence to compete with those in the south. This earned him and Wan Xueying, the founder of Northern Frontier Academy, a place in history. Of course, this is a story for later.
If we were to say who Wan Xueying's best friend is, it would be Xue Lingyue. The two of them often meet privately.
Xue Lingyue had married Pei Xuanqing relatively early, and Pei Xuanqing treated her well, even sending away all the concubines in his family before coming to Northern Xinjiang. However, she had been unable to conceive, so she followed her mother's advice and resorted to a foolish act.
"You gave your maidservant who came with your dowry to Lord Pei as a concubine?" When Wan Xueying brought Xue Lingyue into the mansion, she saw that Xue Lingyue's maidservant had combed her hair like a woman, so she asked about this matter when they were alone.
"I have no other choice but to do this." Xue Lingyue felt bad about doing this. But she had to get herself or Qiuying, the maid, pregnant before Ji Rongshan came in.
Talking about this incident makes people even more infuriated. No one would have thought that the great General Dingbei would actually plot against Pei Xuanqing. Not only did he get him drunk, but he also sent his third daughter Ji Rongshan to Pei Xuanqing's bed.
Ji Rongshan was of noble status, so she could not be just a concubine. Pei Xuanqing therefore promised to marry her as his equal wife.
Shen Yu and Wan Xueying had discussed this matter privately. With Pei Xuanqing's abilities, it was impossible for him not to see through Ji Yun's scheme. Furthermore, even if he was merely drunk, it was impossible for him to simply take Ji Rongshan. Although he later claimed that he had mistaken Ji Rongshan for an ordinary maid, and Ji Rongshan was indeed dressed that way, only a fool would believe his story.
"Then why did he still do that?" Wan Xueying didn't understand at first.
Shen Yu smiled and said, "Power, perhaps overwhelming power." After all these years in the officialdom and following Pei Xuanqing for so long, he now sees things more clearly than Wan Xueying.
"Torrential power? That's not what I think it means, is it?"
Shen Yu's smile widened. "Why can't it be what you think?" He added, "Instead of making wedding dresses for others, why not take advantage of the situation yourself? Otherwise, why would Ji Yun send his own daughter to his bed? How could he feign ignorance and admit this?"
Pei Xuanqing had only been in Northern Xinjiang for a short time, so even if he and Xue Wanfang joined forces to check and balance Ji Yun, it would be impossible to do so in a short period of time. He needed a large team, which Ji Yun could provide him. Since he could reach a cooperation with Ji Yun, why not do it?
"How is he going to solve the antidote problem?" Wan Xueying thought she had successfully developed an antidote for Qiansi, but after testing it on mice, she discovered that the antidote was still missing something. In short, it had failed. This was why Shen Yu and Pei Xuanqing still hadn't been able to detoxify.
In addition, Pei Xuanqing also brought Shen Yu an extremely bad news, that is, the disease will be passed on to the next generation. If the amount of antidote is not correct, the child is likely to die prematurely.
It is obvious that Pei Xuanqing did not tell Xue Lingyue about this matter. It is very likely that Pei Xuanqing did not let Xue Lingyue give birth to the child because he was afraid that the child would die young.
But Xue Lingyue thought it was her own fault, which was why she let the maid she came with as a dowry become Pei Xuanqing's concubine.
Since this was someone else's family affair, Wan Xueying didn't want to interfere too much and just talked to her about other things.
While chatting, we talked about an old acquaintance, Qian Youyun.
"Isn't she your eldest brother's concubine? Why is she causing trouble?"
After Qian Tongzhi was forced out of office by Pei Xuanqing, Qian Youyun announced in front of everyone that she was pregnant with Xue Fengyu, the eldest son of the Xue family. For the sake of the Xue family's reputation, Xue Wanfang asked Xue Fengyu to take Qian Youyun as a concubine, and the matter was finally settled.
But the problem is that if the concubine gives birth to a child before the wife enters the house, it will be difficult for the man to find a good marriage.
Qian Youyun entered the Xue family, and without her own family to rely on, Madam Xue, Xue Lingyue's mother, casually killed the child. Qian Youyun foolishly believed that it was his fault, and was scolded by Madam Xue for a long time.
"How could someone like her not cause trouble?" Xue Lingyue sneered. "Just a few days ago, she tried to push my pregnant sister-in-law into the lake, but she dodged and fell into the water herself. How can this spring be warm? If she caught a cold, she might never get pregnant again. However," she added, "even if she could still get pregnant, my mother won't let my brother touch her again. It's all her own fault!"
"That's what happens when there are so many women in the backyard. You'd better be more careful in the future." Thinking of Xue Lingyue's situation, Wan Xueying, as a good friend, had to remind her.
"I know. But when I think about sharing a husband with Ji Rongshan, I feel uncomfortable and I'm even more afraid that she will harm me."
"Equal wife is just a nice word, in reality she's still a concubine. If you're worried about her harming you, just send her away so she's out of sight and out of mind. But you'd better keep an eye on the people around you and don't let anyone take advantage of you."
"Your reminder is very correct. I will sort out the people in the yard when I get back."
It wasn't easy for Xue Lingyue to come all this way, so Wan Xueying not only invited her to eat at her home, but also let her stay for several days. This was also because Pei Xuanqing and Shen Yu were busy in the military camp recently, and the two of them just wanted to keep each other company.
However, Wan Xueying was busy, so the time she spent with Xue Lingyue was limited. When Xue Lingyue had nothing to do, she would go shopping with her guards.
In the past, the Ningyang County government market certainly had more and more items on sale. But ever since Wan Xueying opened the Northern Frontier Academy in Ningjiang County and subsequently opened a warehouse, a food court, clothing shops, jewelry shops, a herbal medicine shop, and other diverse shops in the Ningjiang County government, it suddenly became the largest and best market in Northern Frontier, attracting more and more outsiders. Seeing another business opportunity, Wan Xueying has recently been busy opening an inn.
Many of the Shen family members remained in Northern Xinjiang, and many of them were skilled in management. Wan Xueying selected some of them to manage the shop and, according to the old rules, gave each of them some shares. The more the shop earned, the more dividends they would receive at the end of the year. There was no need to worry about them not running the business well.
However, Wan Xueying set a strict rule for everyone: they must be honest and trustworthy. Anyone who breaks this rule will be kicked out!
Just as Wan Xueying was discussing the decoration of the inn with others with the design drawings, Xue Lingyue's maid came running over in a panic.
"Oh no! My wife has been kidnapped by a group of thieves!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com