"Why are you suddenly thinking about taking on apprentices, Luan'er?" Wang Zheng leaned against the woman's lap, peeled an apple, and held it to her lips as he asked.
"I felt sorry for that little girl, she reminded me a lot of when I first met you."
"If you want a daughter to keep you company, we can have another one."
Hua Luan glared at her frivolous husband, pushed his head away with her hand, and continued speaking.
"Go and rest now, there's a banquet at the manor tomorrow."
"Thank you for your hard work, Madam."
The prefectural government office was adorned with flowers, and petals were scattered all over the ground by the wind. The courtyard was filled with a sweet fragrance. Today was the first time Huo Panlijian had worn a girl's dress, and the little girl seemed a little nervous.
"The sword is beautiful!"
"right!"
"You should have worn this earlier!"
Beside her, Huo Xiaolong, the little girl, and the Sun siblings sat in a row, watching Huo Panlijian, who was dressed up for the first time with her hair styled and adorned with hairpins. The young master of the Sun family, in particular, was watching intently while munching on an apple, his eyes practically glued to the screen.
"Don't mind Harry's sword. That's just how my brother is. He's always stared at pretty girls since he was little, no matter how beautiful they are."
"No...it's nothing."
The young girl was still a bit uncomfortable; the skirt made it hard to move her legs, and the thing on her head was dangling around uncomfortably. She didn't want to come; it was Hua Luan who insisted she come.
"Sir, shall I go too?"
"yes."
"But...but I...I've never done this before. Won't this embarrass you?"
Hua Luan took a sip of tea and briefly reviewed the list of ladies attending the banquet tomorrow in her mind. Apart from the Prefect's wife, no one was older than her, and the banquet was being held at her own home, so no one would complain.
"It's alright, I'll be the host tomorrow."
Seeing that Huo Panlijian was racking his brains trying to find a reason to refuse her, Hua Luan spoke first.
"You must come; stay at my house today."
"Yes, sir."
As dawn broke, the young girl was dragged out of bed by her maids and dressed and made up in one go.
Huo Panli watched as Hua Luan interacted with the ladies in a leisurely manner, and the young girl did not understand why her master had summoned her.
"This is my newly accepted apprentice, Sharp Sword. Come here and greet the ladies."
The young girl didn't know the proper etiquette for young ladies, so she directly gave the ladies a scholar's bow.
Greetings, ladies.
"No wonder such a pretty young lady caught your eye. Whose daughter is she?"
"Absolutely! He looks clever, and his back is straight; he must be of good character!"
The ladies' chatter made the young girl feel ashamed and inferior. She wasn't some rich young lady; just half a month ago, she was a little beggar in a dilapidated temple.
“My daughter Lijian is not some young lady from a wealthy family. Before, she led a group of younger siblings to make a living on the streets.”
As soon as Hua Luan said this, the atmosphere suddenly fell silent for a moment, and then the ladies began to praise the standing girl in different ways.
“He takes care of his younger siblings all by himself and still manages to study. He’s a good kid no matter how you look at it.”
"Yeah, it's only been a few days since it got warmer. You must have suffered a lot when it was cold before, kid."
The woman seated at the head of the table beckoned Huo Panli to her side and said with a slight smile.
"It's because she's so capable that I took her on as my apprentice. She's so young, yet she has her own opinions and ideas. If my apprentice ever asks for your help in the future, I hope you'll lend her a hand."
The ladies sitting below had no reason not to agree. Today's banquet was held under the guise of a flower appreciation feast, and after the ladies finished chatting, they naturally went out to the courtyard to admire the flowers.
Hua Luan looked at the slightly flushed girl and asked...
Do you know why I asked you to come?
"have no idea."
Do you think the affairs of the inner quarters are easy to handle?
The question stumped the little girl. She had never been involved in such a thing before, so how would she know? But it shouldn't be too difficult, right? It's just a matter of vying for favor, isn't it?
"It should be... alright, most wives and concubines are just vying for the emperor's favor, aren't they?"
"Yes, it's all about vying for favor. Most men in this world look down on the tricks women use in the inner quarters. They think it's nothing serious, just petty squabbles. Some men who pay attention to the inner quarters are either virtuous and don't have concubines, or they are victims of inner quarters struggles. Only these people would think that matters in the inner quarters are also important."
"But where there are people, there is conflict. The methods those ladies and concubines use are the same everywhere, whether it's in schools, markets, or the imperial court. All the methods are basically the same, just different names for the same thing. If you understand this place first, the road ahead will be easier."
"Your disciple has learned much."
"Sharp Sword, do you think your previous identity as someone who made a living on the streets was something shameful?"
When Hua Luan revealed the girl's background, she lowered her head more than usual.
"Hmm...that's true, especially now that everyone here is a lady of high status."
"The road ahead is easy to find. You're not a stranger in Pingyang County; most people have seen you. Men can endure hardship and regard the suffering before achieving great success as an honor, and so can we."
The woman placed an apple in the little girl's hand, and then continued...
"Besides, sir, I never thought your experience was shameful. On the contrary, I thought it was great and that you were very capable."
Huo Panli raised his head, his eyes shining as he looked at Hua Luan.
“Look, the wife of the Prefect of Yucheng standing over there came to ask me for a favor today. Her husband also wants to get promoted, but he doesn’t know how.”
"Does the gentleman have any?"
Hua Luan smiled slightly. "You could say that. As long as Wang Zheng mentions her husband twice in his memorials, the Emperor will have an idea if there are any vacancies in the capital."
"Whether I have it or not depends on what she can give me. Officials abuse their power, merchants pursue profit. Remember this: to be a corrupt official, you must be cunning; to be an honest official, you must be even more cunning."
"I heard from Bin'er that Long'er's wish is that no one will starve or freeze to death in the future. This wish is quite difficult to fulfill."
The woman asked the little girl
"So, are you still going to help her?"
Huo Panli nodded.
"If you want to help Long'er fulfill her wish in the future, no matter which path she chooses, you must be worse than those bad people, so that you can uphold the righteous path in your hearts."
"Being bad doesn't mean you have to be a bad person. It means you have to know all the dirty tricks in this world. You don't have to do bad things, but you can't be ignorant of them."
"There is never pure black and white in this world. Everything a person does has a motive and a goal. Grasp her inner thoughts and strike her right in one blow. This is the first lesson I'm teaching you."
Huo Panlijian only realized today that Hua Luan was never a virtuous and kind wife of the prefect. She was Hua Luan, a woman with a clever mind who could manipulate people's hearts at will.
The woman walked out of the main hall, leaving the little girl holding the apple in her hand, unable to come to her senses for a long time.
If fulfilling Miss Huo's wish is so difficult, then she is willing to learn and observe.
Having witnessed all aspects of life and experienced all the hardships of humanity, all for the sake of fulfilling her dream.
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