On Chi'an Mountain, Lin Yinan carried Yun Shijiu back from the back of the mountain in a bamboo basket, with a basket of wild vegetables in her hand.
As I passed by that grove of trees, I happened to run into a few women who were resting there after returning from work.
They arrived at the mountain stronghold last, and although they had met Lin Yinan a few times, they hadn't exchanged greetings and weren't familiar with her. They only knew she was General Yunmo's wife and, supposedly, also held the title of city lord.
These days, while they were working, they overheard the women talking about the general's wife. They realized that the man named Lin was her uncle, and they concluded that she had indeed risen to her position through connections.
They didn't care at all whether Lin Yinan could hear them, and started whispering among themselves in front of her.
"Bah! If she hadn't been lucky enough to marry General Yunmo, she probably wouldn't even be as good as us," someone said indignantly.
"Exactly, she has a vixen-like face."
"She's used to wielding her authority like a weapon; without General Yunmo, she's nothing."
Thinking of that man who made everyone swoon, they would be willing to be his slaves every day if they were in his shoes.
"You don't know that day, she was pointing and gesturing at everyone from the sidelines, acting like she knew everything."
"It's all just for show, to impress General Yunmo!"
A mocking look appeared on Lin Yinan's face.
Since ancient times, women in society have been influenced by the patriarchal ideology and have been looked down upon since childhood. They have never received love from their parents and families. Their servility is deeply ingrained. They are born to live only for men. In order to please men, they never dare to challenge men, but only make things difficult for their peers and look down on women who are more outstanding than them.
Even in prosperous later generations, no matter how capable a woman is at work, owns a car and a house, if she is still unmarried in her thirties, her parents will not be able to hold their heads high among relatives and friends. They will criticize her and spread rumors about her, saying things like, "So-and-so is so capable, but she still can't find a man to marry her and becomes an old maid."
When a woman uses sharp and sarcastic words to belittle another woman, she should know that such meaningless belittling will not help her improve.
What's the point of speaking too quickly in the moment?
Just as Lin Yinan was about to walk out of the woods, her ears twitched slightly, and she stopped abruptly.
But then a woman's sharp, sarcastic voice rang out from the crowd: "Tch! A woman like that should have been divorced long ago. General Yunmo's daughter is already a year old, and not only can she not walk, she can't even speak. She's a disgrace to be a mother, raising a child like this!"
Upon hearing this, Lin Yinan's pupils contracted slightly, and a sharp, dark glint flashed in her eyes. Just as she was about to turn around and teach these gossipy women a lesson, Qianwu came running from the mountain stronghold, panting heavily.
"Madam! You should go back quickly, someone has come to the house!" she said, running fast and anxiously, breathless.
"Who's here?" Lin Yinan withdrew her sharp gaze.
Qianwu: "It's the old lady, the second master, and the second mistress!"
Lin Yinan understood. Counting the days, they should be arriving soon. She decided to let the gossipy women behind her go for now, knowing she would have plenty of opportunities to deal with them later.
Watching Lin Yinan and Qianwu's departing figures, the woman in the woods became increasingly unrestrained in her speech.
"The maid said that the old lady has arrived, who is General Yunmo's mother!"
Upon hearing this, the ulterior motives of everyone in the woods became clear, and their ambitions were laid bare.
Back in the mountain stronghold, Yunmu and Lu Yashuang kept trying to get Yun Jun to agree to their engagement.
"I think Ding'er has gained weight." Yun's mother held Yun Jun Ding in her arms and weighed him in her arms.
Lu Yashuang nodded with relief. Fortunately, Ding'er was alright, otherwise she would have gone crazy.
"He looks much stronger now, thank you for taking care of him, my third sister-in-law."
"Ding'er, are you having a good time on the mountain?" Yunmu asked.
Yun Jun said in a childish voice, "I'm happy. I go out with my sister every day to find other children to play with."
Lin Yinan entered the house, "Mother, Second Sister-in-law!"
"Oh, Anan is back! Little Nineteen, come here to your grandmother. Where did you and your mother go?"
Lin Yinan smiled and said, "I'll dig up some wild vegetables on the way to the back mountain to make soup. Mother, Second Sister-in-law, are you feeling better?"
"Much better," Lu Yashuang said, her expression somewhat somber.
Lin Yinan took off her basket and carried Yun Shijiu out. Yun's mother opened her arms, wanting her to walk over.
Unexpectedly, Yun Shijiu, holding Lin Yinan's hand, refused to take a single step, his mouth agape, drool dripping down his face.
Yunmu asked in surprise, "Nineteen, quickly call for your grandfather! Hey, why won't you leave?"
"The doctor said she might be affected by the medication, and her walking and talking are a little slower," Lin Yinan said succinctly.
"Can this still be cured?" Yunmu's expression changed drastically.
Lin Yinan: "It depends on her future development. The doctor said we can't rush it."
"These bastards are heartless; they even dare to harm children."
As Yunmu spoke, Lu Yashuang's eyes stung, and tears welled up in them. She turned away and gently wiped the corners of her eyes with a handkerchief, then pretended to be fine, not wanting to worry everyone.
Just then, Yun Mo, who had been training in the back mountain, returned.
After a brief greeting, knowing that the two brothers and Lin Yinan had important matters to discuss, Yunmu tactfully led Lu Yashuang and the two children to rest in the room that Qianxia had prepared next door.
As soon as the door closed, Yunye took out a piece of paper from his pocket and handed it to Lin Yinan.
"Third sister-in-law, these are the raw materials that Yun Si and his group seized from the Yu family in Nanzhou Prefecture. Take a look."
Lin Yinan took the paper and looked at it. Good heavens, it was full of raw materials for making explosives that she had stolen from the Yu family. She roughly estimated that it could make a lot of explosives.
"Truly worthy of being the number one family in the South, they were able to gather so many materials in such a short time."
“This is my second uncle’s letter. The Censor has already sent him his appointment letter. In order to maintain peace in the south, the Crown Prince and the Prime Minister have reinstated him to his original position and discussed some details about the salt tax system with the Censor. Once Feng Yongyan reports to the court, salt officials will come to conduct an on-site inspection,” Yunye said.
Lin Yinan quickly finished reading the letter and handed it to Yun Mo next to her.
"We need not worry about the salt issue. Given the current situation of the court, the Crown Prince and the Prime Minister will agree." She was not worried about this at all.
After all, the Yu family held absolute power in the south for the entire previous year, and the imperial court never sent anyone to manage them, not even collecting grain taxes.
If it comes down to a direct confrontation, given their current strength, they can simply go head-to-head.
The southern region is far from the political center, and the imperial court would not be foolish enough to give the southern region a reason to rebel.
After reading the letter, Yun Mo frowned. "What I'm worried about now is that the Yu family will definitely not let the Yun family take over Nanzhou Prefecture easily. We need to be prepared for a long tug-of-war."
Yunye said, "Erbu needs our help. He wants us to send a few capable people to Nanzhou to help him train his troops."
Yun Zhentian was now in the same boat as them; their fates were intertwined.
At this critical moment, we cannot afford to be careless.
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