Chapter 177 A true man can bend and stretch.
Qingling walked into the house.
As he walked, he said, "I'm a businessman now, and he's an official. There's nothing wrong with officials and businessmen colluding, but I'm not an ordinary businessman, have you forgotten?"
Xia Chan shook her head: "Of course I know. Miss doesn't want to implicate Young Master Lin. But what you're doing..."
She always felt that secret relationships between men and women were bad for a woman's reputation.
If word gets out, Yao Qingling will attract a lot of criticism.
She had already suffered losses at Zhan Xingzhuo's hands.
Xia Chan felt that criticism couldn't be ignored just by saying you didn't care.
If she wants to survive in this circle, she can't avoid being affected by gossip.
Qingling nodded: "You're right, that's why he can only scale walls and rooftops without being seen."
Xia Chan: "..."
It seems she talked for nothing.
Qingling understood her intention, patted her shoulder, her smile faded, and she became serious and profound.
She said, "Lin Shiyuan and I are not just an official and a merchant. The more stable and higher his position in the court is, the more powerful we are, and the safer we are."
She wanted to help Lin Shiyuan rise to power.
Before she has achieved complete success, it is not advisable for others to know about her relationship with Lin Shiyuan.
—Now, they are on separate paths.
"Besides, what relationship do I have with Lin Shiyuan?" Yao Qingling put away her serious demeanor and smiled gently.
Neither she nor Lin Shiyuan explicitly stated what they had said.
Who knows what the future holds?
She trusted Lin Shiyuan's abilities and believed that no one would discover their secret rendezvous at night.
Not long after, Lin Shiyuan sent him a "return gift".
He brought a woman with him.
—Nie Yun, Lin Qiao's "wet nurse".
Yao Qingling thought that a wet nurse must be quite old, but to her surprise, Nie Yun was only twenty-five years old, looking very young and not old at all.
Yao Qingling had previously heard Lin Shiyuan say that he spent most of his time in the military camp and could not take Lin Qiao with him, so he entrusted her to his subordinates for care.
At the time, Qingling was a little curious about what kind of people could hold positions in the military.
When Qingling was in the southwest, she met women who were in the army.
However, the people of Southwest China are open-minded and fierce, and even the women are not to be outdone, being brave and decisive in battle.
Are the women in the Southern Army the same?
Lin Shiyuan, however, said that women in the south do not fight; they mainly take care of the elderly and children at home.
Women in the south are gentle and kind, not fierce.
Qingling looked at Nie Yun.
Compared to a young girl, she has completely lost her innocence and naivety; but compared to a woman who has been married for many years, she has lost much of the weariness and numbness that comes with being steeped in the mundane affairs of family life.
Her eyes were bright and clear, with a gentle yet firm quality. She wasn't shy around strangers, but rather openly and confidently allowed people to look at her. At first glance, one would think she was a straightforward, efficient, and meticulous woman.
How could a woman like that join the army?
Would her family be willing to do that?
Qingling instructed Lou Yue and Xia Chan to take Nie Yun to a side room so she could familiarize herself with the environment and people in the mansion.
In the courtyard, she asked Lin Shiyuan for details about Nie Yun.
“The person you sent is naturally much more reliable than the person I hired elsewhere, but I would like to know more about her.”
"Nie Yun was only a teenager when she was taking care of Lin Qiao, right? Why didn't she get married and instead joined the army?"
Lin Shiyuan said that Nie Yun was originally the daughter of a bodyguard.
Nie Yun's father was a镖头 (bodyguard/escort) who encountered the Japanese while escorting goods. He was robbed and killed by them, so Nie Yun wanted to join the army to avenge her father.
"She knows martial arts?"
Lin Shiyuan sat down. "She doesn't know martial arts. Shall I send her here to be your bodyguard?"
Yao Qingling: "..."
When she heard that he had sent Lin Qiao's wet nurse, she assumed that he had sent her an experienced wet nurse. Who would have thought that the guards would go up to protect her?
Lin Shiyuan continued, "The head镖师's daughter was influenced by her family from a young age. She was the only daughter in her family, and her father taught her almost everything he knew. So, when her father died a violent death, she only thought about revenge."
"But back then, I was just a centurion. She joined my ranks, and at that time I was having a headache over Lin Qiao's arrival—"
He seemed to have inadvertently brought up some unpleasant memories, his brow furrowing slightly before he quickly changed the subject and returned to Nie Yun.
Nie Yun initially disagreed; her eyes were filled with murderous intent, and she only wanted to kill the Japanese.
Lin Shiyuan had no choice; he couldn't force Lin Qiao onto her.
The only option was to entrust the care of the animals to a rural woman, who would then provide them with some money each month.
A woman arrived at the military camp, causing many inconveniences, and the men ganged up on her. Nie Yun overcame all of this and even went to the battlefield once.
In that battle, she killed twelve Japanese soldiers and stole their swords and silver.
During the post-war recovery period, Lin Shiyuan was too busy to visit his sister, so he asked Nie Yun to go and check on her.
Nie Yun went there, but brought Lin Qiao back with her.
It turned out that the peasant woman had not taken good care of Lin Qiao.
When Nie Yun saw Lin Qiao, the little baby was sitting on the ground, being dragged along by a dog that was biting her clothes. She was crying loudly in fear, but no one came out to take a look.
Nie Yun was furious and kicked open the door of the peasant woman's house.
Inside, the peasant woman was feeding her son steamed egg custard.
The farmer's wife nonchalantly said that the dog didn't bite, it was just playing with the child. She added that the child was timid, and being scared would make him grow up.
This angered Nie Yun, who then beat the peasant woman.
The peasant woman refused to support Lin Qiao any longer, so Nie Yun took Lin Qiao, along with the money Lin Shiyuan had given her, back with her.
"...After that, Nie Yun agreed to take care of Lin Qiao until I was escorted to the capital, and Lin Qiao came back with me."
After Lin Shiyuan finished speaking, Yao Qingling handed him a teacup filled with water.
The man sipped his drink slowly, as if reminiscing about the past.
Yao Qingling didn't interrupt him as he was savoring the story, but she thought that when he talked about that story, there was something about him that she couldn't quite explain.
"Then why didn't she go back to Beijing with you?" Yao Qingling asked.
Lin Shiyuan said, "At that time, we did not know the specific situation in the capital. Lin Qiao insisted on coming. But I thought of leaving her in the southern border just in case."
Yao Qingling pondered his use of the word "what if".
Is it the one in case he gets executed?
He was definitely unwilling to die, so he left himself a backup plan.
If the court insists on his death in exchange for a chance to negotiate peace, his men will have to come out to rescue him.
Perhaps while he was parading through the streets, his men were already waiting quietly somewhere outside the capital for the sound.
Lin Qiao was his errand girl.
She was small, just a child, and hardly anyone noticed her.
This was the real reason why Lin Shiyuan agreed to return to the capital with her.
Yao Qingling's eyes flickered slightly.
This Lin Shiyuan is cunning and audacious.
Everyone thought he was absolutely loyal to the court, that he would die if the emperor asked him to, but he also had his own ulterior motives.
But that's understandable.
A general can die on the battlefield, wrapped in a horse's hide, but he cannot die a miserable death, or be killed by his own people.
He certainly has more than just Nie Yun among his subordinates in the capital.
Ha, after knowing each other for so long, he kept it from her for so long.
That's impressive.
To lower the guard of some people, Lin Shiyuan even took on the job of a shop waiter, proving that a true man can bend and stretch.
Yao Qingling muttered to herself for a moment, then slowly took a sip of tea.
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