The maid's road to success

Chen Luoxi brought everyone from Zhushan to where the disaster victims were gathered and helped distribute rice porridge.

The staff who came from Yong'an Marquis' Mansion looked at Chen Luoxi taking some food to help the victims, and a hint of suspicion flashed in their eyes.

Seeing his own prince discussing with several adults how to dredge the river, he walked over with reluctance.

After the adults had discussed the matter, they went about their own business.

The Prince of Yong'an looked at his staff and sat in the shed to rest for a while.

"What's wrong? Did you find anything?"

The aide immediately expressed his frustration.

"My Lord, I feel that you are at a disadvantage."

"My Lord sent you to the disaster area so that you could gain fame and honor. He hoped that you could gain merit in this disaster relief and be promoted when you return."

"But the Protector of the Country always wants to suppress you, and now he is taking the food we brought to help the victims."

"Those people don't know how hard it was for us to transport the food from far away. They only remember that the food was given to them by the Protector of the Country."

"Isn't this a blatant attempt to steal your credit and the people's hearts?"

The Prince of Yong'an looked at the aide and a smile appeared on his face.

"Then tell me, what should I do?"

The aide thought he had hit the mark with the prince and excitedly showed off his abilities.

"The Crown Prince is now in talks with the other Lords about disaster relief. I can have my subordinates carry the nameplate and flag of our Yong'an Marquisate to distribute food, letting everyone know that the Crown Prince and not the Duke of the Protectorate is the envoy for disaster relief this time."

The servant standing by looked at the prince's eyes and couldn't help but take two steps back and asked the servants to leave the shed.

This idiot, the Crown Prince admired the Duke of Protectorate very much. At such a young age, he relied on his own strength to avenge his family, overthrow the parasites, and fight against the cruel and lustful Fourth Prince and Sixth Prince.

Helped Prince Li ascend the throne as emperor.

The Yong'an Marquisate and the Emperor's second son are getting married. Because Prince Li ascended the throne, the Yong'an Marquisate also gained in status.

In their view, although the Duke of Protectorate's Mansion had suffered a disaster and had a small population, they must not make enemies with it.

The Empress and the Duke of Protectorate were sisters, and the current Princess Chenhui (formerly Princess Yong'an, wife of Chen Luoyuan) is also the eldest grandson's wife of the Duke of Protectorate.

For families like this, the Yong'an Marquisate can only make friends with them, become allies, and become friends.

This idiot is so smart that he thinks he is thinking about the Yong'an Marquisate!

"I remember you couldn't take the science test, right?"

The Prince of Yong'an looked at his staff who were still looking smug.

The man was excited, but was suddenly stimulated by the prince's words and lowered his head.

"Yes, I have a birthmark on my face, so I can't take the exam."

The Prince of Yong'an stared at him.

"So you want to get some credit for this disaster relief, so that the court can directly appoint you as a minor official without taking an imperial examination?"

The aide looked a little frightened and knelt down quickly to speak.

"I am doing this entirely for the sake of the Yong'an Marquisate. I dare not give up."

The aide did not expect that his thoughts were clearly seen by the prince.

"Mr. Wang, before you set out, you made arrangements everywhere to be able to come to Yuzhou. You gave the chief steward two hundred taels of silver and used laxatives to make the other staff members suffer from diarrhea so that they could not come with you. You did this just to make contributions in this disaster relief effort. You will be rewarded when you return, right?"

"You also bribed a few people among my guards to spread the word of your righteousness, Mr. Wang, during the disaster. It would be best if everyone knew about your contribution, right?"

The king's staff never expected that the prince knew everything.

He just begged for mercy and his whole body was shaking.

"You are actually quite talented in writing, but unfortunately you have a bad heart. You have a flawed appearance and cannot take the imperial examinations according to the law. But you refuse to accept this and think that you are extremely talented. It is only because of the birthmark on your face that you have to humble yourself and work as a staff member in the Marquis' Mansion. You must have felt very aggrieved all these years."

The Prince of Yong'an didn't like any of his father's aides, but the one he disliked the most was the one in front of him.

He is too utilitarian and has evil intentions.

A staff member, but he kept many women in his private residence.

But these women did not follow him voluntarily, they were all bought girls.

Wang Muliao had a bad temper. Whenever he was not satisfied, he would vent his anger on those women when he got home.

But even if my father and I knew about these things, it would be difficult to do anything about them. After all, those people were bought by Wang's staff, and no one else had the right to interfere.

But this time he thought that the flood in Yuzhou might bring him a reward, and it would be best if he could become a minor official and climb up step by step.

Directly drug those who were also his staff members.

My father felt that this person was a nuisance and was not suitable to stay in the Yong'an Marquis Mansion. However, he had handled some private matters of the Yong'an Marquis Mansion and they could not be leaked, so before leaving, he told me what to do if the other party had bad intentions.

The thought prevented him from returning to Kyoto.

"If you are smart, you should know that in the eyes of the emperor, the Duke of Protectorate is his right-hand man. No matter what he does here, he will take a large part of the credit. Moreover, he did alleviate the disaster here when we had the means to rush here, preventing the flood from flooding more villages."

"It's not false that he went to help the disaster victims. Before that, he brought dozens of carriages of food to fill the stomachs of the people, which won their hearts. Moreover, it was the Protector of the Country who paid for the people to help dredge the river dam."

"When we came and calculated the money to give him, we were also asked to exchange it for more medicinal materials to prevent the epidemic. No one can compare to us in this regard. Do you still want to help the victims under the name of Yong'an Marquis?"

Wang's aide then realized that the Duke of Protectorate was an important minister favored by the Emperor, who even gave him the power to supervise all officials. How could he allow a small follower like him to take all the credit?

"How can you, being so stupid, serve my mansion?"

When the servant heard this, he immediately called two guards to take the embarrassed Wang Muliao away.

Because of the struggle, he was covered in mud and water, just like his entire body. He fell into the quagmire and could no longer stand in front of people cleanly.

Chen Luoxi brought the relief food sent by the court to the place where the victims gathered.

"Go put that sign up."

Zhushan divided the grain into two groups. The grain from the imperial court was distributed in one tent, and the other tent was filled with extra grain that he bought with his own money.

"Anjia Wenniang Charity Shed"

Everyone was divided into two teams, one team took the rice porridge from the court, and the other team took the bread from An Jiawen Niang.

"Sir, what does this An family Wen Niang Shanpeng mean?"

Zhushan looked at everyone and spoke loudly.

"Mrs. An Jiawen is our mistress. She is heartbroken about what happened to everyone. She took out some money to buy food to help everyone get through this disaster."

Looking at the people below talking about it, most of them were talking about how kind-hearted he was, how good people would be rewarded, and how kind-hearted he was.

This was also the idea given by An Yun, to let An Wenniang's good name spread among the people.

In addition, when the plague prescription is developed, if it is useful, then in the hearts of the people, An Wen Niang, who they have heard the most about, will be the person with the greatest contribution.

It is even possible to obtain an umbrella for all people.

This umbrella is very powerful. In the past, those who obtained the Umbrella of Ten Thousand People either rose to high positions or became famous.

In short, the Wanmin Umbrella can not only improve Wen Niang's status, but also serve as her umbrella of protection.

With the Wanmin Umbrella, no one can say anything bad about Wen Niang's background.

But Chen Luoxi's purpose is not only to gain fame and credit for Wen Niang.

His purpose was to go to the Queen Mother with these two achievements: helping the people and making contributions to the research on plague.

Please ask the Queen to come forward and grant Wen Niang the title of a princess. That would be the real support.

A princess has a rank, so even if she doesn't have a fiefdom, she is not someone that ordinary female relatives can disrespect.

He was not worried about how to improve Wen Niang's status, but how to find Wen Niang and make her agree to marry him.

Wen Niang and several children were in Chun Garden. Taking advantage of the fact that she could not do anything recently, she taught the children some words and read books to them.

The monks nearby showed even more respect to these children after knowing that Wen Niang and the other three were not related to them.

"The benefactor is so kind that he has taken in so many children and allowed us to stay here. The abbot asked me to ask if you can practice with us every day."

Wushan and the others looked at Wenniang and the others excitedly, asking for their opinions.

In the end, An Pingning analyzed the pros and cons.

"The children are growing up, and there will always be a time for them to go out and explore the world on their own. Learning martial arts with the masters in the temple can help them strengthen their bodies and protect themselves."

Bihe thought that it was because of the joining of An Ning and An Ping, two people who were good at martial arts, that they were much safer along the way and avoided a lot of trouble.

I think it would be a good idea for kids like Wushan Julien to practice.

He directly took out some snacks and tea as a thank you gift.

The host refused to accept it and just said peace and tranquility.

"I think there are many children following you to learn. Although it doesn't cost the masters any food, it's enough for you to worry about. Please accept these gifts of gratitude. When the disaster is over, I will definitely go to the temple to donate incense."

The children also clamored for their men to take it down.

The abbot felt pity for the two young monks who were only four or five years old behind him. He accepted the food and let the younger monks share it.

Several children would go to practice basic skills with the monks before dawn every day. They would come back in the afternoon with sore backs and waists, so they would sit under the porch and listen to Bihe reading and teaching them how to read.

The rain had stopped, and people from Kyoto immediately started disaster relief work, and the flood was quickly drained into the open depression.

Although it may take a long time for this area to return to its original state, at least there is no threat of flooding in Yuzhou now.

The thing that Wen Niang was most worried about finally happened.

Three days ago, Wushan went to the place where the prefect and his family lived and heard that some of the victims were suffering from fever and eye bleeding.

When Wen Niang heard this, she knew that the plague had finally come.

The flood submerged too many snakes, insects, rats and ants underground, especially mice. If a person was bitten by one of them, his life would be in danger, not to mention that so many rat corpses were soaked in water.

The disease will be transmitted to people through water.

"I heard that someone found a big rat in the mountains, took it home and ate it with his family, and then something went wrong that night."

Wushan’s words made everyone feel sick and nervous.

"It's not just that. Most of what those people drink is rainwater. There's not even dry firewood now. They basically don't boil it to drink, so the disease will naturally spread."

Wen Niang told Wulan to fetch clean water from the well every day, boil it, and soak the detoxifying wood for everyone to drink.

From then on, everyone was restricted from going out. The monks sawed off a small piece of wood and gave it to them to make tea. Even the daily practices were stopped, and everyone was told to close the doors and not to contact strangers.

When Chen Luoxi heard that the plague had already appeared, he urged An Yun to get out the preventive medicine first.

He wanted Wen Niang to make merit with the epidemic prescription in An Yun's hand, but he couldn't do it at the cost of the lives of the people.

An Yun has not yet decided what specific medicinal herbs to use to cure the epidemic, but it is still possible to control the speed of infection.

"Weigh two liang of this powder every day, mix it with honeysuckle water and astragalus root to make water, and each person only needs one cup."

Chen Luoxi looked at the medicine powder in his hand and stared at An Yun, who had messy hair and looked exhausted.

"I think this recipe is from your family..."

As soon as An Yun heard this, he knew that Chen Luoxi was hesitating again, and quickly interrupted him.

"I told you that you saved our family's life, and Wen Niang took care of us, which was also a great favor. I don't like to owe favors to others. This time I can help you get married smoothly, which I will consider as my repayment of your kindness, although it is not as good as your kindness in saving us from the mine and letting us live."

"But don't they say that gifts should be given to the heart? Only marrying Wen Niang is the most important thing in your heart. Only by raising Wen Niang's status can you ensure her a stable life in the future. It's worth it."

Chen Luoxi knew that An Yun’s suggestion was good, but he was always hesitant if Wen Niang knew that they were using An Yun’s hard work to exchange for her reputation and future.

I’m afraid they will be unhappy or even refuse.

"Mrs. Wen won't agree."

When Chen Luoxi thought of this, he suddenly felt that all this was useless, such as distributing porridge in Wen Niang's name, treating disaster victims in Wen Niang's name, and researching prescriptions for epidemics.

She was just afraid that she would feel even more like a shameless person with no bottom line and who was selfish and self-centered.

"She still has to rely on you. There is nothing we can do about it unless you can give up Wen Niang."

Chen Luoxi pinched the medicine bag, gradually exerting more force. Seeing that the bag was almost broken, An Yun quickly snatched it away and gave it to Zhushan to keep.

"I just don't understand. You have so many tricks and such sinister means. When it comes to Wen Niang, you hesitate and act foolishly. Either you stop thinking about her all the time, or you find ways to make her willing to spend the rest of her life with you. Even Lord Cheng En and the late Queen Mother are not your opponents, so how can you do nothing for Wen Niang?"

Chen Luoxi listened to An Yun's words and sat there thinking for a long time.

Giving up is impossible. If I could have set Wen Niang free, I would have let her go long ago. Why would I have waited for seven years and done so many things that Wen Niang disagreed with?

It's not that he has no way to deal with Wen Niang, he's just worried that Wen Niang will blame him and hate him even more after she finds out.

Zhu Hai looked at the painful Chen Luoxi and couldn't help but mutter something.

"It's really tiring. If you can't leave, just find a way to get it. We can talk about the future later. Can you still run away after getting married and having children?"

After hearing such unreasonable words, Zhushan slapped Zhuhai on the back of the head.

"How dare you! You can make up stories about the girl. Have you forgotten the kindness she has shown you? If you continue to talk nonsense, I will send you back to Gongzhou Xishan."

Zhuhai didn't dare to talk nonsense anymore. Zhushan was much more insidious than him. Ever since the young master became the Duke of Protectorate, Zhushan had become more and more adept at his duties. He was like the most capable subordinate of the young master. He didn't dare to provoke him because Zhushan had many ways to deal with him.

Chen Luoxi stood up after hearing Zhu Hai's words.

They can't leave each other, of course they can't leave each other, but they can't do as Zhuhai said and tie Wen Niang down with marriage and children, which will make her even more unhappy.

But he can stay with Wen Niang, guide her, influence her, and let her see his sincerity and feelings.

Don't care about the constraints of class identity and spend your life together.

"An Yun, study it carefully. When we return to Kyoto, ask my mother to adopt An Nian and An Rui as her adopted children. The Yuan family will be relatives of the Duke of Huguo's Mansion in the future."

An Yun looked up at Chen Luoxi in surprise. He was sure that he was not lying and was so happy that he almost jumped up.

Only four people were left in the Yuan family after they were killed. Even though their brother was the emperor's imperial physician, he himself was not considered a good doctor in the eyes of the aristocratic families.

The marriage was not smooth, but if the Duke of Protectorate had his protection and Madam Bai had become his stepmother, everything would be different.

The status of the younger siblings will be greatly raised, and the Bai family will become a support for these two children.

The Bai family is a great scholar in the eyes of literati. The Bai family is willing to teach, so my younger brother and sister-in-law can break free from the constraints of the Yuan family's identity and have a brand new life whether they take the imperial examinations or get married.

"Thank you, sir."

Thinking of this, An Yun felt like crying. His grandfather had tried hard for a long time, but the family still couldn't provide a student who could change the future of the Yuan family.

Perhaps my efforts this time can continue my grandfather's wish and allow the Yuan family to gradually move towards the official career, while my eldest brother will inherit the family business and not lose his abilities.

They did what their grandfathers failed to do, and even better.