The Rongning Temple caught fire, and the arsonist was Miss Cen. Miss Cen was unhappy with her husband's family. Although she seemed to be living well on the surface, her husband was actually a womanizer.
In such a small family, Miss Cen's husband even touched the maid and forced her to give birth to a child.
Miss Cen didn't want her maid to give birth so soon, so her husband beat and scolded her. How could she bear it?
On this day, Miss Cen went to the Rongning Temple with others and was ridiculed by others again.
"You were the one who said Princess Rongning was bad. You are the one who is so mean."
"Good and evil will eventually be rewarded. It's not that there is no reward, but the time has not come."
"Oh, I heard you were expecting a child. Your belly doesn't seem to be getting bigger. And yes, even the bastard calls you mother."
…
Miss Cen had offended many people in the past. Some people were fooled by Miss Cen into doing stupid things. Of course, those people would not think Miss Cen was good, and they would not give her face when they met Miss Cen.
Don’t the girls of the Cen family have a good reputation? Oh, that was in the past.
In short, Miss Cen was criticized. Then, Miss Cen vented her anger at the Rongning Temple, not even considering what would happen if she was discovered.
If there weren't so many people coming here, Miss Cen would have thought nothing would happen.
Who could have imagined that when Miss Cen was setting the fire, she was seen by a little girl. The little girl immediately went to look for help, and the fire was put out before it got bigger.
Miss Cen was also caught, and only then did she feel a little scared.
The people said they wanted to send Miss Cen to the authorities, but Miss Cen's maid said it was just a small fire and didn't burn anything.
"Our lady was careless." said the maid.
What's the point of a little girl seeing it? Maybe that little girl was just talking nonsense.
The maidservant still protected Miss Cen because she had no status in the family. If she were another lady, she might not be able to act so arrogantly.
That's why the maid was so protective of Miss Cen. "If you really need compensation, our Madam can afford it."
Others are not stupid. How could a woman accidentally start a fire?
Miss Cen doesn't need to cook or smoke, so where does the fire come from? Or is it because the weather is cold, so she needs a fire?
But the weather is not that cold, it's quite warm.
Miss Cen's husband's family soon found out about this matter. They didn't want Miss Cen to be sent to the authorities, as that would be an extremely shameful thing.
So they paid compensation, more compensation, and the matter was finally over. Even so, Miss Cen was still criticized by others.
Just because Miss Cen was not sent to the government office doesn't mean she can live a good life.
If Miss Cen was sent to the government, the government would certainly hold her accountable. Fire prevention facilities in ancient times were not so advanced, and the government would not tolerate someone like Miss Cen who would wantonly set fire to other buildings.
This incident made Miss Cen's husband's family very unhappy. They thought that Miss Cen was mentally ill, so they sent her back to her parents' home for a while.
When Mrs. Cen San learned what Miss Cen had done, she was stunned. She didn't believe her daughter was so stupid. She knew her daughter didn't like Princess Rongning, but Princess Rongning was not here.
"What are you doing? Burning down the Rongning Temple?" Mrs. Cen San asked. "If you were going to burn it, why would you do it in broad daylight?"
Others set fires late at night when everyone is asleep, but Miss Cen did it in broad daylight.
Mrs. Cen San did not encourage Miss Cen to set the fire, but she thought that Miss Cen would easily be discovered if she did so.
"I'm just in a bad mood." Miss Cen said, "These people are heartless. They treat me... badly."
"As long as we have food and shelter, why do you care so much?" Mrs. Cen San said, "Look, your brother still has to work in the fields, and your sister-in-law also has to do embroidery to supplement the family income."
Mrs. Cen San thought that if she changed the person or changed her thinking, perhaps they would be able to live a good life.
"Your family is not good, and other people say bad things about you. Why did you burn down the Rongning Temple?" asked Mrs. Cen San.
"I was just angry at the time." Afterwards, Miss Cen regained her composure and others knew she was the one who set the fire. "The fire wasn't big."
"If you're angry, you can't stay here any longer." Mrs. Cen San said, "This time, your husband's family was respectable and gave a lot of money, so they suppressed it."
Many people would not let Miss Cen go, but if they sent her to the government office, she might not receive a severe punishment. So they would teach Miss Cen a lesson first. She would never be allowed to enter the Rongning Temple again. If she made another mistake, no one would tolerate her.
"But..." Miss Cen was interrupted by Mrs. Cen before she could finish her words.
"Don't talk about this. You should be quiet." Madam Cen San said, "Don't come back so often. This time, you were sent back. Wait two days and let your brother take you back."
Mrs. Cen San didn't know whether her son-in-law would come to pick up her daughter. She suspected that her son-in-law's family might be deliberately ignoring her daughter and deliberately not coming to pick her up.
If her daughter stayed at home all the time, she would need money for food, clothing and other expenses, and Mrs. Cen San thought that this was not a good idea.
They have no money, so they think about so many things.
Mrs. Cen San did not expect Miss Cen to consider them much, as Miss Cen was a rather selfish person.
Because Miss Cen came back to live with them, the other people in the village knew what she had done, and some even threw stones and spitted at the Cen family's yard. They simply felt that the Cen family was extremely shameless. Princess Rongning was so kind, but Miss Cen actually wanted to set fire to the Rongning Temple. Miss Cen was a wicked person with a wolf's heart and a dog's lungs.
In Shiyuan Village, after Liu Yanqing learned what Miss Cen had done, he thought that Miss Cen was really stupid.
Why set fire in broad daylight?
At least Liu Yanqing would never do anything stupid in broad daylight. He would have to check whether there were other people around, and run away quickly if he did something bad.
Miss Cen's behavior was as if she was deliberately standing there waiting for someone to come find her.
"Do you think she wanted to be discovered on purpose?" Liu Yanqing asked Lin Xiaowan.
"How should I know?" Lin Xiaowan didn't care whether Miss Cen was discovered on purpose. What did it have to do with her?
No matter how much they pay attention to Miss Cen, they cannot gain any benefit from her.
Lin Xiaowan thought that Miss Cen didn't know how to live a good life at all. After thinking about it for a while, she felt that was the case. Only women themselves knew what kind of life they lived.
Others think they live a happy life, but in fact they don’t live that well at all.
"Take care of your daughter." Lin Xiaowan said, "She just wet her pants."
"What's the big deal? My little sister also wet her pants when she was little." Liu Yanqing said, "My little sister also cried loudly when she was little, just like us."
"It's the same, so it's fine." Lin Xiaowan said, "When you grow up, it will be different."
"..." Liu Yanqing thought that things would certainly be different when he grew up. If they were the same, he would not be standing here, but would stay in the capital.
Even if he had one tenth of his younger sister's ability, he would be able to make it. But no, he wasn't that powerful.
"Many people's childhoods were similar," Lin Xiaowan said, "so don't even think about it."
"Isn't it okay to think about it?" Liu Yanqing curled his lips.
"I'm afraid you'll get stuck in a dead end, wondering why you're not that powerful. You'll force your daughter to be powerful, but unfortunately, she's not that powerful either." Lin Xiaowan said, "Don't push someone to the point of being bad."
"How is that possible? Am I that kind of person?" Liu Yanqing said quickly, "If my daughter wasn't that capable, I wouldn't force her to do those things. She can still make a living without being capable."
"You can continue to live like this." Lin Xiaowan nodded.
Liu Yanqing suspected that Lin Xiaowan was slandering him, but he had no evidence.
In Hainan, when the imperial court arrived, Second Miss Xue was temporarily suspended from her duties. She had already anticipated that something bad would happen to her this time; the world was inherently harsh on women. She hadn't done enough, and when she thought about what she had done before, she felt she still lacked courage.
Miss Xue Er had the courage to come to Hainan, but when she worked in the fields, she was still a child. Other people's toenails had changed, but hers were still quite clean, and her toenails had not grown much thicker.
Originally, she thought that when she went to the fields wearing shoes, she was wasting her own shoes and her own money, and others should not say anything.
But as time went on, Miss Xue herself began to feel something was amiss. Some people seemed to respect her, but in reality, they were saying behind her back that she wasn't that powerful, that she was just a paper tiger.
She wanted to say that she was not, that she was also capable...
Miss Xue Er wanted to say too much, but she really didn't do it well. As a woman, she was destined to work harder, do more and know more than those men, so that those men would recognize her ability.
"Take good care of the baby first." That was all Miss Xue's husband could say.
"Yeah." Miss Xue Er responded.
Miss Xue Er still wanted to work in the fields, but the court had already punished her. Even her cousin wrote to her, urging her to read more. If that didn't work out, she could get some land of her own, but she couldn't interfere with the research of the others at the institute.
If Miss Xue Er affects other people's research, then she will not be able to stay in the institute and will be expelled.
Liu Yulian didn't say much about the difficulties of being a woman in the letter. She just wrote some content, and she believed that Miss Xue Er would understand. If Miss Xue Er didn't understand, then Liu Yulian would not say anything more.
After Miss Xue Er got into trouble, some people in her husband's family still spoke ill of her, saying that women should stay at home to take care of their husbands and children, and that women should not think about so many things.
Miss Xue's in-laws asked the men in the family to accompany her to Hainan. This was a huge sacrifice, and Miss Xue was still so useless.
Those people were talking about Miss Xue Er. It was no secret that Miss Xue Er was stopped.
When this news reached the Xue family's main house, Madam Xue thought Liu Yulian was truly ruthless. She suspended Second Miss Xue for a year. Who knew what would happen after that? If Second Miss Xue was only focused on raising her children, she wouldn't want to continue her research.
Madam Xue looked at her daughter who came to pay her respects and said, "See, your cousin couldn't hold on either."
"Whether she can hold on or not is her business. Just because she can't doesn't mean I can't either." Miss Xue San said, "Princess Rongning is powerful, but her sisters aren't that powerful."
Miss Xue San thought Miss Xue Er hadn't seized the opportunity. If it were her, she would try her best. If they didn't like farming, it would be best not to choose paddy fields. It would be best to choose crops that can be grown in dry land. Then they would be much better.
"My cousin originally saw the importance of rice," said Miss Xue San. "She didn't consider other factors. Even if she did, she had never grown those things before, and she didn't know how to grow them. When she got there, she found that life was rather harsh."
"Oh?" Madam Xue raised her eyebrows. "You know all this?"
"Don't underestimate me. Didn't you give me a farm? I've tried it too." Miss Xue San found that farming was not an easy task. The research institute and the Ministry of Agriculture had overlapping research, and Miss Xue San also wanted to give it a try, in case she could be admitted to the research institute.
Miss Xue San hadn't passed the spring entrance exam for the research institute, but she planned to take the exam again after she got married. She wasn't interested in studying rice, nor in anything particularly important; she wanted to choose a field that suited her.
At the Marquis of Jingning's mansion, Liu Yulian was reading a book. She had just returned from the farm. She looked at the game system again. She had to study hard and memorize the information. If one day the system was gone, she would still be able to use it.
Even if she memorized those recipes and wrote them down, she still had to learn them. Only when she mastered the knowledge could she apply it to other situations.
"The flowers in your yard are growing better than the ones in ours," Princess Zhaoyang said. "By the way, those bags of soil in the corner are growing mushrooms."
"Those are oyster mushrooms, edible," Liu Yulian said. "When they grow a little bigger, you can pick them and eat them."
"Others plant flowers, but you plant mushrooms in the yard." Princess Zhaoyang said with a smile.
"We need to study it. We can grow Ganoderma lucidum in the future." Liu Yulian knew the value of Ganoderma lucidum. In later generations, some people still sold Ganoderma lucidum spore powder, which was a very expensive item.
Liu Yulian also wanted to research artificial cultivation of Ganoderma lucidum, so that ordinary people could also make money from it. Artificially cultivated things are not as expensive as wild ones, but if people can cultivate them, it is better than looking for wild herbs that grow in unknown places.
"It's just that I haven't figured out how to do it yet." Liu Yulian said, "Someone at the research institute is researching it. I believe they will figure it out soon."
"What are you writing? A book?" asked Princess Zhaoyang.
When Liu Yanjing went out of the capital, Princess Zhaoyang liked to come to Liu Yulian's place. Princess Zhaoyang sometimes helped Liu Yulian organize her books, and sometimes she would send some cakes over.
This made Liu Yanjing wonder who Princess Zhaoyang was married to, but he was very satisfied with her. There were not many conflicts between him and Princess Zhaoyang, and the two got along very well.
Even though Princess Zhaoyang was remarried, Liu Yanjing didn't give it much thought. Some men might overthink things, but Liu Yanjing didn't think it was a question he should be considering. If he did, he wouldn't have a good life with Princess Zhaoyang.
"I've recorded some things, and I've also thought of some other things." Liu Yulian said, "I have to sort out those things before I go out."
Liu Yulian likes to sort out the content every time she comes back, so that she won't have anything to sort out by the next time. Sometimes, she just listens and reads, but Liu Yulian wants to sort it out and see if there is anything useful left.
"I'll be going out in a while." Liu Yulian said suddenly.
"Where are you going?" Princess Zhaoyang asked casually.
"Let's go out and play." Liu Yulian was a little shy. She had made an appointment with He Xiyuan.
No matter how busy they are, they will always take time out to go out for a walk together, instead of going to work all the time. They have to work, but also have their own lives.
Princess Zhaoyang knew what Liu Yulian meant when she heard her words, "Go."
After Master Su asked Bai to assist Madam Su in managing the household, Madam Su asked An Hongkang not to hinder her. An Hongkang left the restaurant across from Su Qiuya's shop, and it became much quieter.
But what's the point of An Hongkang being quiet now?
An Hongkang had done something wrong before, such as deliberately colluding with a gambling house to defraud the Su family of their money. An Hongkang said that he lost a lot of money in the gambling house, but in fact, he did not lose that much money at all. He took a lot of money and kept it for himself.
How could someone like Madam Su give An Hongkang so much money all at once? She would also go to the gambling house to ask, but Madam Su didn't know that An Hongkang had colluded with the gambling house people.
Bai Shi had found an opportunity, a witness. She had that witness find an opportunity to let Mr. Su know that Bai Shi hadn't seized the opportunity to pound Madam Su. She had someone else tell Mr. Su first. She was waiting for the chance to crush Madam Su in one fell swoop. She was now gradually undermining Madam Su's good impression of him.
When Master Su learned that An Hongkang and the restaurant had defrauded the Su family of their money, he immediately thought of having someone investigate the matter. He had to know whether it was true or not. If it was true, then he would not necessarily let Madam Su take care of those things, but would still have to put pressure on Madam Su.
Mr. Su had a wide network of contacts, and he soon learned the truth. Mr. Su's face was very ugly. You have to know that An Hongkang took tens of thousands of taels of silver from the Su family over the years. At least Mr. Su knew about 50,000 or 60,000 taels of silver.
If Madam Su had given An Hongkang some money in private, then the amount she gave him should be quite a lot. An Hongkang didn't need to make more money; he could just cheat money from the Su family.
"What?" When Mrs. Su heard Master Su say that An Hongkang cheated her out of her money, she couldn't believe it. "Master, this is definitely a misunderstanding."
Mrs. Su believed that her brother still cared about her. Even if An Hongkang was confused, he still cared about her.
"Whether it's a misunderstanding or not, go to the gambling house and ask around. It's not enough to just ask one question." Master Su said coldly, "Our Su family's money didn't come from the wind."
Mr. Su had heard Mrs. Bai say a while ago that he should be more careful with the things in the treasury, and that something she had asked him to bring back was missing, and the account book showed it as damaged. When Mrs. Bai mentioned that, Mr. Su knew what was going on.
Those things are not cheap. Some of them are worth several thousand taels of silver. If a few of them are missing, then the value would be tens of thousands of taels of silver.
Before, the items in the Su family's warehouse were all managed by Mrs. Su. Whether those items were damaged or Mrs. Su dealt with them separately, only Mrs. Su herself knew.
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