Chapter 518: He Yanli's Beauty Trap Plan. (1)
In the spring of the second year of the new calendar, Yueling, the temple.
Qiao Wanyan was sitting in the garden reading a book. In the back garden was the Mengtan Garden, which was built by He Yanli himself.
The flowers are blooming and the fragrance is everywhere, just like a paradise on earth.
Zi Yuan came over with a tray in her hand, "Saint, this was sent from Zhenyang Pass. Although I don't know much about jade, this piece of jade looks really top quality."
Qiao Wanyan picked it up and took a look. "It is indeed very good. I will ask someone to make two jade bracelets out of it and send one to Baozhu in the capital."
Zi Yuan nodded in agreement, "Miss, aren't we going back to the capital for your birthday this year?"
Qiao Wanyan put the jade back and picked up the book to read. "I won't go back. Daddy resigned and took mom to travel around the world. Now my brother is the only one in the capital. He is very busy and certainly has no time to pay attention to me. Let's talk about it at the end of the year."
Dad resigned and took Mom on a tour around the world, and they happened to pass by Yue Ling last month.
Now, the head of the Qiao family is still my father, but I can’t find the head of the family for big or small matters, so I can only talk to Qiao Jibai who was adopted into the eldest house.
Although the Qiao family members were fussy about small matters, no one dared to do anything wrong in big matters, because everyone knew that the Qiao family members were all in the same boat.
The head of the family can make money from unimportant little things, but the whole family will not be able to escape from big things. Naturally, they all work together to fight internal conflicts but unite against external forces.
Therefore, Qiao Jibai usually cannot deal with any of the Qiao family's affairs.
Now, Qiao Jibai has entered the cabinet.
Within three years, the position of Prime Minister would be in his pocket.
A maid stepped forward and said, "Saint, an envoy from the capital has come and said that the emperor sent someone to deliver a birthday gift for you."
Qiao Wanyan didn't even raise her head. "Ask someone to wait for me at Minghui Pavilion. I'll go there after I finish reading the last few pages."
"Yes, Saint."
It was already two cups of tea when Qiao Wanyan went there, but she saw an acquaintance she hadn't seen for a long time in Minghui Pavilion.
"Guo Licheng?"
Qiao Wanyan walked in, looked him up and down in disbelief, "Your outfit..."
Guo Licheng smiled lightly, "I am now a female official! Although it is only the lowest ninth rank, I studied hard for more than a year and two months before I entered the officialdom."
Qiao Wanyan was very surprised. "I know you are talented. I heard that my brother petitioned the emperor to allow women to serve as officials, but many old officials tried to stop him. In the end, they failed."
"That's right, Master Qiao is a very good person." Guo Licheng smiled as he lowered his head. "Although the path for women to become officials is now open, they can only be ninth-rank officials and cannot be promoted."
In other words, under the current circumstances, even if one has made great contributions, the only reward he can receive is money.
After all, the implementation of new laws is always full of thorns.
However, there are many talented people in this world, and she is not the first female official from the previous dynasty in Dayu.
Qiao Wanyan said: "Congratulations."
Guo Licheng smiled and said, "Thank you, Saint. The Emperor knew that I was close to the Saint in the past, so he gave me the task of delivering the birthday gift."
She waved her hand, and saw two guards coming up carrying something covered with red cloth.
The sound of it landing was dull, and it must be something very heavy.
Qiao Wanyan stood up and uncovered the red cloth. "This is... a Chongming bird? Made of gold?"
Guo Licheng was a little surprised. "The Saint actually knew about this? The Saint's birthday is coming soon. The ministers in the court discussed for a long time before putting together their opinions and requesting to make a pure gold phoenix to send auspicious signs to Yue Ling. But the Emperor rejected it and personally drew a blueprint and had this Chongming bird made."
Qiao Wanyan looked at it carefully and it must have been made by a top-notch craftsman.
"The Chongming bird can ward off evil and disasters, and protect the world. This has been recorded in the Records of Lost Things and Classic of Mountains and Seas. There are also rumors among the people that the Chongming bird's double pupils are regarded as the sign of a saint, even better than the phoenix."
Qiao Wanyan was very satisfied with the gift, "It's very thoughtful."
Guo Licheng was envious. No wonder such a flawless woman would attract the admiration of many men.
Qiao Wanyan said, "You guys go down first."
Minghui Pavilion fell silent, and Qiao Wanyan sat down and said slowly, "I thought you would marry my brother."
Guo Licheng liked Qiao Jibai, she had already seen it, but she didn't intend to get involved too much and always pretended not to know.
Guo Licheng also sat down, picked up the teacup and took a sip of tea. He was silent for a moment before speaking.
"I did ask him directly if he was willing to marry me. As long as he was willing, I could be his wife without any flaws. A wife who would obey him in everything and be able to hold the position of mistress."
Guo Licheng paused after speaking, "He rejected me, which was expected. But he told me that if you want to be respected by others and not be bullied, you can't rely on others. He saw it..."
"I didn't understand it at the time, until my mother passed away. I started thinking about his words day and night. I wanted to marry up because my mother was not loved by my father and because my mother was bullied and harassed by the concubines. So I wanted to marry up to a higher position to intimidate my mother's family and prevent my mother from being bullied."
"After my mother died, my father quickly made a favored concubine his wife. I took my mother's dowry and moved out. Later, the court allowed women to enter the government. I used my mother's dowry to hire a teacher to teach me, and became a female official of the lowest rank."
After all the money was spent, my father personally brought me back home and divorced his wife.
She understood that it was not that he valued her, but that he looked down on her in his heart. He took her home because she was in the spotlight, and he was afraid that others would say that he was not strict with his family traditions by treating his daughter harshly.
Qiao Wanyan listened to her quietly, and waited until she finished speaking before saying, "You must have had a hard time and encountered many hardships along the way. But fortunately, you made it through."
Guo Licheng was stunned for a moment, and tears immediately flowed uncontrollably.
Everyone she met congratulated her and told her how lucky she was.
But only the Second Miss, who in her impression was domineering and arrogant, said that her journey must have been very difficult.
Lord Qiao is his mentor, and the Saint is his benefactor.
"It's not easy to come to Yueling, let's try the unique flower cakes here."
Guo Licheng had tears in her eyes, but she smiled, "Okay!"
The two stood up and walked out. Guo Licheng said, "By the way, Saint, a lot of things have happened in the capital in the past two years. The new emperor ascended the throne, and the new emperor's uncle, the Qian family, wanted to make Qian Miaoyun the queen. The emperor didn't say anything but dismissed him from his position. Now no one in the Qian family dares to mention the queen."
Qiao Wanyan raised her eyebrows slightly, "Killing the chicken to scare the monkeys."
"Isn't it?" Guo Licheng said, "The new emperor's uncle ended up like this, and the ministers in the court are now keeping their mouths shut and refuse to mention it. Oh, yes, I heard that Prince Chen Che of Xiling also ascended the throne, and the ministers also advised him to take a queen and concubines, but Chen Che insisted on taking a painting as the queen, and the ministers of Xiling were so angry that their eyes turned black."
Qiao Wanyan's expression changed slightly. The painting Xu Shujian drew for her, the one she was most satisfied with, was stolen by Chen Che!
Bitch, damn it!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
